 suspense and the producer of radio is outstanding theater of thrills the master of mystery and adventure William and Robeson the security of mankind is guaranteed by the balance of nature it weren't bigger fish to eat smaller fish eventually there would be more fish than water for them to swim in the rabbit is public enemy number one in Australia because there is no indigenous predator with a craving for Hassan Pfeffer the law of the jungle is implacable and when it is broken when nature's balance is upset man had better head for the hills in a moment we bring you a classic story of nature's imbalance on one side the frightful former city eye dori linae ants millions of South American army ants and on the other a man who knew no fear listen listen then as William Conrad stars in line engine versus the ants which begins in 60 seconds the folklore of America is filled with accounts of superhuman sailors like old storm along and extraordinary ships like the coarser perhaps our confidence in our strength to meet any challenge enabled our forefathers to chart the unknown perhaps that's why we just had to have the largest sailing vessel ever built she was so big that all the officers and men were mounted on horses her masts penetrated the clouds and the top sections were on hinges so they could be bent over to let the sun and moon pass well it was during one of those September storms when suddenly the coarser found herself heading down the English Channel between Calais and the cliffs of Dover but the channel just wasn't wide enough the captain shouted to old storm along at the wheel will she make it may scrape a bit of paint off on our sides said old storm along but she'll go through send all hands over and soap the sides and you know they soap that ship so good that big Hulk slipped through just as sweet as honey of course ever since then the cliffs of Dover have been pure white that's from the coarser soap and the action of the waves folklore belongs to every nation's legendary past and I guess we Americans have our share of some tall ones and now William Conrad in line engine versus the ants a story well calculated to keep you in suspense I first met line engine while performing my duty as commissioner of the Potosanto district along the upper reaches of the Santisima River as my boat near his plantation landing I saw him upon the Riverbank regarding me with mild interest a great hulk of a man with bristling gray hair bulky nose and lucid eyes his entire appearance somehow suggested an aging and shabby eagle I came quickly to the point of my visit and issued my warning line engine puffed placidly at a huge cigar and seem unimpressed as decent of you paddling all this way just to give me the tip commissioner but even a herd of crocodiles couldn't frighten me from my plantation you don't understand these aren't creatures you can fight these are army ants they're an elemental force a gigantic catastrophe an act of God ten miles long two miles wide ants nothing but ants and each one as big as your thumb I they can strip a man's body to a skeleton in six minutes commissioner and the three years I've been here I've met and defeated more than one catastrophe flood drought plague I'm not going to run from this one I tell you line engine you don't know these ants but he nearly sat there puffing at his cigar and regarding me with a grin that I knew it was hopeless as I boarded my launch and cast off I felt a sudden resentment toward this obstinate madman yet with it was something else I'd never met a man like this before I couldn't help watching the commissioners launch until it rounded a bend and was lost to sites there was a strange look in his eyes as he stared back at me clearly he thought me insane well he would have not been the first to think so but I knew my own powers I was sure of myself I had seen men defeated many times and always for the same reason that only strengthened the central argument of my life that intelligence directed a right always makes man the master of his feet that evening I called my Indian workers together in front of the plantation house and I saw their faces go ashen with terror as I told them that the ants were coming then one of the men stepped forward blasts the foreman senior we have worked hard here for these three years all of us we have built the finest plantation in this district we all sharing it it has been a home for all of us and our families now the ants come yes now the ants come these ditches we dug last year they were for the ants they were for the ants if we moved our families across the river the ants could not reach them that's right your families would be safe and you the ants are mighty we know what they can do but we think that you are mighty we will stay and fight against the ants with you I knew that the men would give me that answer I counted on it and suddenly I thought of the commissioner and wondered what he would say it's such an unquestioning confidence would he still think I was insane at least I knew he would not soon forget the day spent in warning all the plantations in my district sleep was out of the question for me all that night I could think of only one thing one man line engine one man who calmly evaluated his chances against a deadly menace Cooley decided he could win and was willing to stake his life on it to risk a horrible death for it it was terrifying and yet it was fascinating and when dawn came I knew that the fascination of that man was more than I could resist that line engines fight was drawing my mind was drawing me back toward that plantation and death and there was nothing I could do about it I had to go back the second act of suspense continues in one minute do you know the social security benefits to which you will be entitled when you separate from the service and take a civilian job here's a tip from social security when you open an account at a store a special record is usually started for you when you get a social security account card a personal record is also started for you using both your name and the number of your card to be sure your social security record is correct it's a good idea to check your social security record every few years to get a statement of your earnings from the social security records you can use postcard form 704 this form is yours by writing to social security department 15 Hollywood 28 California that's postcard form 704 and now we continue with act 2 of line engine versus the ants starring William Conrad a tale well calculated to keep you in suspense it was 10 o'clock in the morning when I rounded the bend below line engines plantation I put in at the dock and tied up the launch and then I saw him standing on the bank above me arms folded stubby cigar in his mouth and a sardonic grin on his face back for another warning commissioner no back to stay a while and yes you don't seem very surprised I'm not you expected me I thought you'd be back come along we'll get some horses you'll want to ride around the plantation take a look at the defenses I've ridden defenses how have you had time I've always known that sooner or later the ants would come oh and yes I'd like to see the defenses and the ants will be getting a glimpse of them before long I should think yes and the ants the defenses line engine had devised were quite impressive surrounding three sides of the plantation like a huge horseshoe was a ditch 12 feet wide the end of this ditch ran into the river which formed the fourth side of the plantation and at the upper of the entrance to the ditch line engine had constructed a dam by which river water could be diverted a large hand wheel control the floodgate of the dam as we approach the ditch and road along it I could see that it was nearly full how do you like my first line of defense commissioner well it's reassuring like a motor around a castle unless the ants know how to build rafts they want reach the plantation but this is the only the auto mode there's a better one than this come along we'll go up to the high ground where the buildings are we can get a view from there line engine I didn't see any women or children around the plantation or any animals as that's right move them across the river now then even you think that there's danger not because of danger commissioner matter of efficiency efficiency that's done on the efficiency of the men if they're worried about their families critical situations only become crises when oxen and women get excited here we are see the ditch but it's much smaller than the other you've noticed how all the buildings are on this piece of high ground this inner ditch surrounds them and it's lined with concrete yes but even filled with water this is no barrier it's not big enough why if the ants get this far they'll get no farther this ditch wasn't built for water commissioner you see the pipes leading into it see those storage tanks on the hill huh gasoline they can throw up a wall of flame you cut a bet they want like that oh I guess that they won't look commissioner over there on the horizon yes there are your ants look at them it was a sight I'll never forget over the range of hills as far as I could see crept a darkening hem never longer and broader until the shadows spread across the entire slope and then down and can only swift and all the grass and bushes on the entire slope was being mowed by a giant sickle leaving only the vast moving shadow extending deepening and moving rapidly nearer they're a hideous line on thing oh line engine we can't last against that look at them why they could fill your ditches with their corpses and still have enough to destroy every one of us we've got a run for it no they haven't gotten to us yet and they never will come along we'd best get back to them in hostile army was approaching in perfect formation no human battalions however well drill could ever hope to rival the precision of that advance along the front that move forward as uniformly as a straight line the ants drew nearer and nearer to the water ditch and as they approached two outlying wings of the army detached themselves from the main body and started marching along the sides of the ditch no doubt expecting at some point to find a crossy and during this hour long flanking movement the main army remained still across the scant 12 feet of ditch I stared at them and they seem to stare back at me act three of suspense follows in one minute this is Johnny Baker with communism on the spot the communists often talk about the will of the people but unfortunately their actions don't match their words for example in January 1918 the Bolsheviks broke up by force of arms the constituent assembly the first and only parliament in Russian history freely elected by universal suffrage the Bolsheviks dispersed this democratic body by military force because they feared the will of the people which had given them only 25 percent of the vote and they're leading political opponent twice that number the communists have never come to power in a free election anywhere and they probably never will not the will of the people but their own will to power is their main concern and now we continue with act three of line engine versus the ants starring William Conrad a tale well calculated to keep you in suspense around 4 in the afternoon the ant scouts having found no crossing there was a stirring among the main army and then an immense flood of ants about a hundred yards in width commence pouring in a glimmering black cataract down the far slope of the ditch thousands drowned instantly but the rest began using the bodies as bridges line engine immediately swung into action and I owe get to the dam open the floodgate wider get the water in the ditch moving faster see senior look at them drowned by the thousands they keep coming all right man busy with the shovels now dumps some sand and clubs on them see how they like that you you with the petrol sprinklers start pumping that's it I don't like it commissioner they don't like it a pet look at them yes but how about the ones on the far side of the ditch hold comps of them rolling into the water the rest are using them for bridges yes now we're skipping to Naio he should be at the dam by now yeah they aren't crossing the ditch on the count of earth if you climb up on this site even now yes I say them I say them use your shovels on the main part of the crawler what's the matter? they crawl up on my shovels they crawl in my eyes into the petrol you idiot dust your paws in the petrol don't stop now the rest of your problems who's going to hold you back when we must run? run now when you've tuned every one of you you've got to fight them back use your shovels you're dead if you stop keep at it now keep at it look at the floodgates up in the water running faster now yes look at the ants they can't hold their own against the current now they're being washed away commissioner we've beat them it was true line engine had won at least the first round the floodgates were left open to stall any night crossing I allowed myself to hope that the ants would go on would pass us by but when the dawn came the dark blanket was still there motionless across the ditch and then we noticed a feverish activity on the other side of the plantation here a grove of tamarin trees lined the far end of the ditch and every tree swarmed with the crawling insects but instead of eating the leaves they were merely gnawing through the stems so that a thick green shower fell steadily to the ground well it looks as if it's feeding time for our friends huh glass have all the petrol pumps brought here and get everyone over here except the lookouts on the other side and then pass out the shovels are you going to deprive them of a meal? meal aren't they cutting down the leaves for food? wish they were what do you mean? I said if they wanted to get across they'd have to have rafts that's just what they've got those leaves are the rafts even as he spoke the leaves went tumbling down the far bank by the thousands the current threw them away from the bank and each leaf carried several ants don't worry as long as you keep spraying them and shoveling dirt on their rafts they can't land now much in your area would be too many it's true look more leaves in the ditch all the time while they'll have a solid copy to walk across in a minute not so fast commissioner I've still got a trick up my sleeve for them the water the ditch is drying up yes of course it's drying up that's the plan those are the orders I sent to the dam are you mad as soon as it's empty what's to prevent the ants look the water's weighed down it's almost dry they'll be able to come across the bottom they'll not make it if the man at the dam carries out his orders he should have opened the gates again by now to flood the ants yes right what a chance to take if anything should happen here comes the water now we'll give the crawlers and the ditch a good ride up to the river yes, there, there, look at it now line engine's tactics were successful but first the violent flow of water raced through the ditch overwhelming leaves and ants and sweeping them along three times the ditch was emptied three times the ants raced across the bottom and three times the water arriving just in time carried them away the fourth time as the water lowered nearly to the bottom of the ditch we waited in vain for the rushing waters and then, senor what's the matter? what's gone wrong at the dam? the ants just as the man at the dam lowered the water almost to the bottom the ants attacked the dam before he could open the flood gate he was almost surrounded he ran the ants kept coming they were across the ditch line engine stood motionless absorbing the news of his defeat without a word then he raised his pistol and fired three shots at him the prearranged signal for all men to retreat instantly to the second line of defense the concrete line ditches two miles from the point of invasion soon after we arrived there the natives commenced straggling in silently line engine waited until all of them had gathered and then he spoke to them lads we've won the first round lost the second but we'll smash the crawlers yet anyone who thinks otherwise can draw his pay and push off there are raps enough on the river and plenty of time still to reach them you stay then good, thank you lads and you commission him I I can't persuade you to give up the fight you cannot well then I stay too yes, I knew you wouldn't senor, senor if you were the ants have reached the ditch trying to get across I didn't think there would there's plenty of food out there for them food I've spent three years and raising without it'll last them until morning anyway yes, we were safe for the moment but the next morning the black swarm was solid around us and their shock troops were hard at work they were dropping shreds of bark and twigs and leaves into the petrol filled ditches forming a floating bridge across the surface of the liquid line engine stood silently watching this operation and I could see a grudging admiration in his face then after several hours the attack came down the ditch they poured thousands of them and across the bridge of twigs rapidly approached the inner side line engine sat motionless watching them uh-huh line engine for the love of God don't sit there like a statue they'll be honest in a moment let them fill it first now alright, everyone back from the ditch come on glass hand me the torch we'll see how our friends like a little heath around us flames from the ditch shot into the air devouring the ants by the millions though sometime before the petrol burned down to the bed of the ditch but when it did the devils came back for more again line engine fired the ditch to destroy them and still again they came on but at each successive firing the task of the ants grew easier because of the film of ash which now covered the petrol and as they returned to the assault time after time a slow sickening horror crept into my mind I looked quickly at line engine and then at the gasoline tanks he read my gaze and nodded slowly that's right commissioner we could hold them off forever if our supply of petrol was unlimited but it isn't we've got enough to fill the ditch once more and then now the idiot jumped the ditch he'll never make it to the river pick her up merciful god it's too late Lars keep the men back with your gun don't let anyone else try for the river line engine isn't there any way any way at all we've got to do something we can't there must be a way yes yes yes we'll flood the whole plantation flood but how? we've got to close the flood gate at the dam that'll do it oh mad the dam is nearly two miles away two miles of ants lads listen to me listen lads I'm proud of you now there's still a chance by shutting the flood gates in the dam and flooding the whole plantation from the river fire to it that'll allow time for the flood to wash away the ants then all you have to do is wait for me perhaps impossible you can't get to the dam let alone get back that's where you're wrong commissioner I'll get to him and I'll get back take care of things while I'm gone I watched him as he calmly pulled on high leather boots drew gauntlets over his hands and stuffed the spaces between britches and boots gauntlets and arms with petrol soaked rags he shielded his eyes with close fitting mosquito goggles and plugged his nostrils and ears with cotton then the natives drenched his clothes with petrol line engine was ready and as he stood calmly surveying the course ready for the run I realized that this was as it should be I line engine would meet the ants and defeat them or be defeated by them line engine the ants I ran I ran in long equal strides with one thought one sensation in my being I must get through I dodged all trees and shrubs except for the split seconds my souls touched the ground the ants would have no opportunity to alight on me and I ran on I was halfway to the dam before I felt ants under my clothes and a few on my face I struck at them mechanically scarcely conscious of their bites the dam drew toward me slowly ants drew less and less finally only a hundred yards away and fifty and then I was there I gripped the ant covered wheel but hardly had I seized it when a horde of ants flowed over my hands and arms I strained and slowly the wheel turned and turned more the floodgate was swinging slowly and then it was shot and the water was rising rising behind the breakwater closer to the top and closer and then it was spilling over the flooding of the plantation had begun and I let go of the wheel for the first time I realized that I was coated from head to foot with the fiends tongues of fire stabbed at me bit through my flesh and I almost fainted with a pain as I ran knocking ants from my body brushing them from my bloody face and then one bit me just below the rim of my goggles and I managed to tear it away but the agony of the bite and its venom drilled into the iron herbs and I saw now through circles of fire and to a milky mist I was almost blinded but I knew that if I tripped and fell I ran on my heart pounding as if it would burst blood roaring in my ears a giant's fist battering my lungs that I could see dimly that wall of flame at the ditch but it was too far away I could not last half that distance and I stumbled and I fell and I felt myself being swarmed over devoured and I tried to rise in great weight and then I remembered six minutes and nothing but bones I couldn't let that happen to me I couldn't die like that to my feet to my feet drag myself forward toward the flame in the ditch ring of flame only a little further ten steps it seemed we had waited for hours when all at once through the blazing ring around us an apparition hurtled and fell full length on the ground linogen, alive with ants unconscious with blazing eyes and lacerated face we rushed to him, stripped off his clothes and tore at the ants that covered him his body seemed almost one open wound in one place I could see a white bone later as the curtain of flame lowered I looked out with that blanket of ants had been and saw only a vast expanse of water covering the entire plantation the ants were gone ground and linogen had won he lay on his bed his body swayed from head to foot with bandages but linogen was still alive commissioner everything in order they're gone the ants are gone I told you I'd come back even if I am a bit streamlined and then this amazing man grinned shut his eyes and quietly fell asleep suspense in which william conrad starred in william and robeson's production of linogen versus the ants adapted by robert reif from the original story by carl stevensson listen listen again next week when we return with man from tomorrow starring frank lovejoy another tale well calculated to keep you in suspense supporting mr conrad in linogen versus the ants were ben right lou merrill, donald bucke and don diamond suspense suspense has been brought to you through the worldwide facilities of the united states armed forces radio and television service