 Tired of the everyday routine? Ever a dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you... Escape! Escape, designed to free you from the four walls of today for a half hour of high adventure. Escape, brought to you by your Richfield Gasoline dealer in the Richfield Oil Corporation of New York. Marketers of Richfield Gasolines with Xylene. Richlube, all-weather motor oil and other famous petroleum products. Look for the Richfield Eagle on the cream and blue pumps. Tonight, we escape with the story of the murderous priests of a weird cult hidden in the barren deserts of Mexico as Gov. Morris tells it in his famous tale, The Footprint. Here it is. Now you see me, buckles. It's not the Gulf of California. It's up here near the barred Sanorge. On the coast of Sonora, we find two bays divided by a high spit of sand with a granite pillar marking the bay to the north. It's a massive thing, that pillar. Easy to find, you can't miss it. Then there's 20 miles inland, due east from the pillar, and we find it. Find what? A Chinese pagoda. A Chinese pagoda? You sure it isn't a Japanese wig, won't you? No, boys, I know it sounds strange, but it's the truth I'm telling you. How did you get this map, Mr. Margarage? Dive from a Chinese, God rest his heat and soul. I did him a sort of a favor once. You did him a sort of a favor, and he tells you where to find a fortune in rubies? How come there's a Chinese pagoda full of rubies in Mexico? If you know the facts, me buckles, it wasn't the Spanish who first set foot in these shores. It was the Chinese. Come on, you guys. Thanks, Mr. Margarage. We're sorry to take up your time. Wait a minute, wait a minute. It's a nice trip on a good sound schooner. And if you like sailing, what have you got to lose? And there was nothing to lose except the $200 a head he charged to outfit the schooner. And that was cheap enough for a summer's cruise, and we all liked sailing. Well, we took it easy after we left San Francisco, heading around the Cape of Lower California, hitting La Paz, and then up and across to Weimus, and on into the northern part of the Gulf. And after two weeks of searching for a pair of bays marked by a granite pillar, we finally anchored in a small inlet to look for fresh water. Yeah, the relief from constant sailing was good. Oh, man. I'll draw a card with you, Chris. Jim, you're blitzed. You're a lousy card, please. Yeah, you're just lucky, Pinhead. That makes 500, Yomi. I'll pay you when we find the rubies. You dead bee. Chin up, lads. We'll find that pillar yet. Ah, nuts, Margarage. We've looked into 50 of these bays. Why don't you cut out the act? What are you talking about, lad? Just come right out and say it. You're cooked up this whole deal as a meal ticket. You can't see anything through those binoculars except what we've already seen 100 times. There's no hunk of granite in 500 miles. You know it. Well, do you think the thought could enter your mind? Boy, I must put out as any of you, but now's the time to persevere and we'll find it. I'll skip it. Come on. Hey, wait a minute. Now, there's something for you. What? There's a boat heading into the bay. We scrambled up to Margarage of the bow. Boats were rare this far up the gulf. She was just rounding into the bay a quarter mile off. She looked like one of the fishermen we'd seen down by Weimus, but not quite. I said I wanted you to get the guns out of the locker. There's no use taking any chances. By the time Mef came back with the guns on deck, the stranger was close and sure. And as she came about, we saw him through the binoculars seated on the open stern holding a yellow umbrella to keep off the sun, a Chinese dressed in gleaming white. He was mountainous with fat and his big round smiling face glistened with sweat. Another Chinese stripped to the waist came out of the big cabin, lowered a dinghy and hopped in. The big Chinese swung his rolling fat over the rail. We watched the fat man being rode into shore and continued watching as the dinghy skipped back to the boat which headed out to sea. Until it rounded the horn of the bay, the Chinese just stood there. Then he picked up his yellow umbrella, turned and waddled across the beach, lumbered over a dune and was gone. What do you make of that? I don't know, I don't know, but now's the time to find out. Let's go ashore. That guy's foot prints. He must weigh a ton. You said it, man. Come on, boys, this way, up the dune. Yeah, I can't learn that fastness stuff. Hey, boys, boys! What's got into him? I'll get up the dune and we'll find out, come on. Call me a liar. Call me a cheat. Call the map a phony, will ya? Look, look, look. That's the pillar, the granite pillar. The wonder we couldn't find it. It's almost buried in the sand. Well, you look at the size of it. The rubies, boys, we've as good as got them. What about our fat friend? Looks like he has the same thing on his mind. We follow him, me buckles. It's four with guns against a yellow umbrella. Come on, lads. It all seemed real now. It wasn't a corny gag. Somewhere in that desert was a fortune in rubies. And apparently that Chinese was leading us to it. Ahead of us we could see the yellow umbrella bobbing in the distance. And for all his fat, he set us a murderous pace. Why doesn't he stop? He's just killing me. He will, he will, but we got to put closer to him. Save your breath. But he didn't stop. He kept it up the rest of the day. And the sun was like a red-hot iron on our backs of the heat waves danced off the desert like crazy devils. For a while just before the sun set, the heat threw up a mirage. And the fat bulk of the Chinese seemed to waddle through the sky. And then it was dark. And we lost him. Until... Hey, look. He's coming back. What? It's the Chinese. I come back to say I go twenty miles without no stop. You like to come all the way, I say nothing. I only tell you all the way nasty sound. You go back, wish you pleasant halt and return, Johnny. We're not going back. Very well. Only I experience travel and put up with no complaints. Present conversation and all good friends at end of journey. You. He means you, Johnny. What? Me? You got nice respectable face. Walk with me. Okay. My name, Sangti. Very fine, rich Chinese merchant. Oh, where do you come from? No matter where I go is important. Chan Chan, very fine holy place to end days in. Holy place? Oh, yes. You see, I am dedicated to high gods by parents when very little boy. They ask high gods I'll be given very fine successful life. It is accomplished. Now, must pay our promises of parents to high gods. You're very lucky. Luck? On forty-fifth day of forty-fifth year, I kneel before priests of high gods, pray before sacred rubies of holy grace spirit, reflect on insignificance of life, and I'm soon strangled. What? Strangled? I give you honest word. Being strangled at forty-five is no joke, but cannot break promises of dead parents. Well, maybe so, but I... I arrange for you and friends to see ceremony. It is very dignified, interesting occurrence. Excuse me now. Please, I meditate. He folded his hands inside his sleeves, dropped his chin on his chest and drew a head. We couldn't keep up with him, and three hours later we were still following the black holes the fat Chinese's feet had left behind. It was just an hour before dawn when we finally saw it. Chan chin. A large stone building with a few smaller ones tucked near it. How there could have been a lake in the middle of this impossible waste was beyond understanding, but there was a small one, and we ran for it. It was the sweetest sight in the world. We sucked it up with our paws and mouths, lay in it, had it and kissed it. Oh, it was beautiful. Oh, I don't care if I ever see another French bathing suit again. Oh, you lovely warrior. Where do you suppose to be head, huh? What? The rubies to me buckle, the rubies. How about that big building, huh? Looks like some sort of a heathen temple. It is temple, temple of high gods. Sancti. You are better travelers than I expect. You look a bit, then go home. Priest's a very unhealthy place for unbelievers. How many priests? Ten, ten priests. Not many, but enough. Why you come to Chen Chang? Ah, we, we heard about it through a friend. Now you see? You go before sunrise. I couldn't move another step. Why you come here? Maybe to steal very high gods rubies? You leave very high gods rubie box alone. You with respectable face take friends away. I can't, Sancti. We've got a rest. You wait till after interesting occurrence of strangulation, then you go. For a man about to meet the high gods, you're pretty calm. Oh, very miserable business, but parents make promise. What can do? It is time. Well, me buckles. The fact he then says it is time. Yeah, this I gotta see. Sounds like it's coming from somewhere in front. Hey, look at that up there ahead. You see? Looks like it's suspended in midair. Hold, it's the rubies me buckles. Gold cask, it's started with them. Where's the light coming from? That hole in the roof there. See? Sun's rising. He's an idol and it's got the ruby box held in one of its hands. And in the other hand a snake, a little gray enamel snake. Watch it, somebody's coming. O of green robe priests, eyes closed in silent prayer began filing into the circle of light. One of them stepped in front of the idol, held up a long gray cord as if for the idol to see. The circle of light widened and we saw the kneeling form of Sang-T. He wasn't smiling now. He looked sad and frightened. Gotta get strangled. As if he'd been waiting for a signal, the priest stepped quickly in back of Sang-T, looped the cord over his neck and jerked. C6, H4, and CH3 taken twice. No, that's not pigletting and it's not a secret code either. It's the scientific description of xylene. Xylene is one of the highest adenoc gasoline components ever discovered by science. But here's the big news. Every drop of rich-field gasoline you buy contains xylene. Rich-field gasoline contains this super-antenoc component to take the knock-out-of-hill climbing. To put a new wall up in your motor, to zip you out ahead in traffic, give you power to spare on the open road. And rich-field offers you two great gasoline to choose from, both with xylene. Get rich-field high octane at regular price for the average motor or rich-field ethyl. Ethyl at its best for smooth, knock-less performance in the highest compression motors. Get rich-field gasoline with xylene tomorrow. Stop where you see the rich-field eagle on the cream and blue pumps. And now we return you to... ...escape. Got the priest. Come on. Come on. Make careful. His mother-priest's in here somewhere. Sancti. No, his neck's broken. He's dead. I'll skip the fat-heating. One of you reach for the ruby casket. I'll get him. Look out, Meph. The snake. The snake's not part of the idol. It's alive. The little gray snake struck at his hand like lightning. As Meph fell, it was already on the floor racing at Margridge who had grabbed their ruby casket. He smashed at it with his rifle, but breaking the tail and it slithered away under the idol. We looked at Meph. He was horrible. Purple. Like he'd been dead a week. We ran. Ran out into the desert. Wait up, will ya? I can't keep this up, me buckles. This thing is heavy. There. Let's see that casket, mortgage. Look at him, Johnny. We're rich, you know that? We're rich. Doesn't it mean anything to you that Meph is dead? He's dead. It sure means something, Johnny. It means you only split it three ways. Is that all you can think about? What do you want to do? Send him his share? Forget it. Forget it. Forget I said anything. Let's get out of here. Now, now, now, lads, calm down. There's 20 miles of devil's playground between us and the schooner and we gotta start using our heads. Well, settle down, Johnny. It's gonna be a hot day. The rubies flamed in the early sun. Crisp leered at them and Margridge's face had a look I'd never seen before. All they meant to me was Meph and that sudden horrible death. I don't remember it getting hot. It just was. It jerks not to get that water out of the lake. How do you feel like going back? It's better than me. I've got what I came after. Are we going the right way? Yeah. The sun sets in the west. We'll be walking right into it. How far we come? I don't know. I don't know anything except that it's hot. Here, Chris, it's your turn to carry the cask. Oh, it's a job. Look on that thing. All right. Here, Johnny. You take the rifle. I'll take it for you, Bucco. Now, Johnny will carry it. Boy, of course me fine boy. Well, give it to me. Let's get going. I wish this thing would split three ways already. It wouldn't be so heavy. It seemed like the day was endless. The cask had passed from crisp to me and back to Margridge. I got heavier each time. I didn't think of Meph anymore. The sun burned all thought of him out of my brain. Is it headed down for the horizon with maddening slowness? How much longer is it going to hang there? It's enough to drive a man crazy. Hey, let's stop. I got to stop. We got to stop. We'll never be able to get up. I'm no fat Chinese. I can't walk 20 miles without a stop. If only one of them late Mirages was real. Look. Look, do you see it? Over there on the left. Yeah. Looks like somebody walking in the sky just over them dunes. Looks like one of them priests. Don't you see what it means? We saw the same thing when we were following Sancti. I mean, one of them priests is following us. Yes, it's the casket. He wants the casket. Now, don't get all excited. Remember, we got the gun. There's only one of the devils. Just let him show. He knows we've got a gun. He won't show while there's still sunlight. He'll wait for the darkest time just before the moon. What could he do? I don't know what he could do, and I don't want to find out either. Johnny's right. That's when he'd try. You know, I'm not as tired as I thought. We best be moving along, me buckles. There goes the sun. We didn't run. We couldn't. Chris was carrying the casket, and we had to stay together. All day we'd pray for the sun to go down, and now that it had, we almost wished it was still there. The blackness was sudden and complete. We kept walking, waiting, ready for anything. But nothing happened. The dark hour passed in the moon roads. We fooled him. We did me buckles if he was there at all. He was there, all right. Those priests let us get away too easy. Look, you guys, let's stop. I'm bushed. There's enough moonlight now to see anything. We'd be making it to the schooner tomorrow, easy. It's my turn with the rubies. I'll stay and first watch. Well, I guess it's safe. The moon's pretty bright. All my bones. My muscles. We'd dropped where we stood. I think what woke me was the moonlight creeping under the brim of my hat. I felt cold. I sat up and saw Chris was asleep. His hat had slipped down over his face, but his fingers were still wrapped tighter on the casket. I looked across the desert and froze. Just for an instant I saw a yellow face duck back behind a low dune. When I got to where it had seen it, there was nothing. Not even a mark in the sand. But I had seen a face. Margrige and Chris were still dead asleep. Only it seemed that Chris's hat had slipped a little. And then it actually shifted rows and settled back. Chris, Chris, be awake. Don't move, Chris. It's the snake. Kill it! Kill it! What's happened? Chris was dead. Look at it. It was under his hat all the time. It's the little grey snake with a broken tail. That Chinese is hunting us down. Which way did it go? There. You see the track. You missed it? Yes, I missed it. But it's coming back. It'll keep coming back until it guesses. We've got to get to the schooner. Leave the casket, Margrige. That's what they want. Hasn't it caused enough trouble? It takes a bit of trouble to get which, Johnny Me Boy. And I don't mind it a bit. Johnny Me Boy. I've got to have water. Or help me, Johnny. There isn't any. We've got to get to the schooner. I know the signs, Johnny. There's water out here. Help me look. Don't, Margrige. He'll drive you so crazy. Crazy as it. Don't call me crazy. It's you. Look over there. It's bushes. Green bushes. There's nothing I tell you. It's just sand. No, don't lie, Johnny. Don't lie. I'll go fetch it, drop. It'll make you feel better. You watch after the rubies and I'll fetch it. No, come back, Margrige. We've got to go on. Stay with the rubies, Johnny. I watched him work his way over stumbling in the sand. And then suddenly I saw it. There was something green. Margrige. Margrige, I see it. I see it too. It's water. It's water. No, no, Margrige. It's silk. Green silk. He wasn't crazy now and either was I. The green-robed priest rose up out of the desert and his handy-hell, the little gray snake. Margrige was running back. Then there was darkness in my eyes and I was running, running desperately with something heavy clutched in my arms. We only stopped when it was broad daylight and the sense of fear came to an end. Is he following? No, no. That was a close one. The dirty heathen. Margrige, do you feel it? What? The breeze. The sea breeze. It's the Goff's me-buckle. We've made it. Look, I see it. The schooner. There's a whole cask of water right in deck. The tide's up. Let's get out of here. The two of us can handle the schooner, can't we? Even one. I done it many times. Johnny, step away from the rubies, Johnny. What? Johnny, lad, you see the gun. Now, step away from the rubies. Margrige, you're kidding. You don't think I'd cut you in a fortune in rubies for $200, do you now? Put down the gun. I didn't plan on you getting this far. I needed the three of you to carry the box. But now the box is here aboard the schooner. So step back to the rail, Johnny. Margrige. Step back, Johnny. That's a fine boy. I realized everything now. Margrige knew that Sang T would come. He knew where the bay was in the fallen pillar. It led us like sheep. And I was going to die too in that desolate place. I felt the rail of the schooner against my legs. But before you go, maybe you'd like one last look at the rubies, huh? I hold them up. Oh, ain't they beauties? Then I saw it. The little gray snake slithering across the deck behind Margrige. But he didn't see it. Hey, beauties, Johnny, look at the colors. Red like blood and worth a fortune that won't be divided. Won't be divided at all. And then the snake struck. I looked at Margrige. His color began to change. It was horrible. Horrible. Dumanai. It was the priest standing on the deck beyond Margrige. And then his hand was the little gray snake. He picked up the ruby box, slipped the snake inside as if it had been a rare string of pearls. Then he bowed. It was gone over the schooner's rail. I saw his green robe bobbing into the desert. And the rubies fleshing blood red in the sun. You don't need a fortune teller to tell you this. From now on you'll probably have to wait longer for a new car. So don't neglect the car you've got. See to it that all points have the protection they need to save wear and breakdown in hot summer weather. And to give you that needed protection, Richfield All Point Safety Service is made to order. Richfield All Point Service gives your car the sturdy protection of Rich Lube lithium lubricant. The premium lubricant that's better always. You'll get expert protection for your motor, chassis, transmission, differential and wheel bearings, lubrication that stands up under the toughest summer driving. If you have automatic transmission, you'll get top rated Richfield automatic transmission fluid. And finally, as an extra precaution, you'll get a safety check on your battery, tires, spark plugs and radiator. So tomorrow, stop where you'll see the Richfield Eagle on the cream and blue pumps. Get Richfield All Point Safety Service. Escape is produced and directed by Norman McDonnell. And tonight has presented the footprint by Gov. Morris, adapted for radio by Richard Chandley. Featured in tonight's cast were Bill Conrad, Charles Davis, Luke Krugman, Tom Holland and Ramsey Hill. Special music arranged and played by Ivan Dittmires. Next week. You are creeping through the dark streets of Paris in the middle of the night. Ahead of you, the Gestapo is lying in wait and relentlessly tracking you down from behind is a murderous madman from whom there is no escape. Next week at this time, the Richfield Oil Corporation of New York invites you to escape with the most unusual story of fright and terror in occupied Paris, as Marcel Imé tells it in his unforgettable story, Crossing Paris. Be listening. Goodbye then until this same time next week when once again we offer you escape. Tom Holland speaking over CBS The Columbia Broadcasting System.