 Good evening, friends of the creaking door. This is your host to welcome you once again into the inner sanctum. Come on in and never mind looking back over your shoulder. Whatever it is that's behind you can't be half as bad as what's in front. As the man whose throat had just been made the scene of an experiment with a razor while he slept said, I'm going from bed to hers. Settle down now, it's coming and there's nothing you can do about it. Just keep a good hold on yourself and your wife if your life insurance paid off. Joe Harris, 21, wearing a cheap blue surge suit and a thin top coat. Cold and wet on a cold and rainy night decides to make a change. Kansas City's okay but there's nothing there for me. I've got to get out. My wardrobe ain't built for a hard winter so I figure it could be more comfortable on the coast, California. But I ain't paying for rail transportation this year so I head for the KC freight yards. And I pick me out a nice long freight job that happens to have an empty car and pull a sliding door over. Leave it just a crack for air and finger hole for when we reach the land of oranges. The old boiler up front's got the steamer and we're off. I relax. All I gotta do is let a couple of days slide by and sunshine. I didn't notice nobody else was in the car. Didn't you now, Pally? No, that's too bad. He leaned back into the darkness of his corner so I couldn't see him very good. He was a young guy, maybe my age, maybe a couple years older. My size too. Same color hair and eyes. Almost close enough to be brothers but there was something in his eyes that had never been in mine. I was scared. You know, some funny. You look like me. Yeah, I kinda noticed that myself in a- Why? Well, lots of guys look a little like each other, you know what I mean? Huh? Nobody looks like me. Well, okay, so I don't. You're trying to. That means you must be one of... One of what? There are ways of changing their appearance. You're one of them. You can't fool me. Look, I don't know what you're talking about. It's no use. You can't fool me. I'll have to punish you. Watch out with that knife and I'll cut the resemblance away and find out what you really look like. You're crazy. Stop it. It's your heart. The door. Slide it open. The odd book. Now they're sliding doors. Why don't they snap a private? Give me a hand, Charlie. Okay. You locked it. No, I can't get out. There I was. Locked in with him. In the dark. He was dead, so I wasn't afraid of him. At first. I... I even gave him a going over. His eyes were open, but I... I flopped him over. And I went through his pockets. Just a couple of bucks and some small change and... his draft card. Funny. He was 4F, just like me. His name was Martin Pell. That's a laugh, too. Finding out who a guy is after you kill him. Kill him? Yeah. I was a murderer. I just realized it. They'll hang me for that. No. No, it was self-defense, but... but what chance have I got a proven that? Me with a record, too. Maybe I can lose that record. Maybe. Yeah. So I switched draft cards with him. And now he's Joe Harris. And I'm Martin Pell. Martin Pell, love, that says on his card... of Wysey, Oklahoma. And the hours go by. And I'm there with him locked in a box car. And the wheels keep pounding underneath. And he's dead. I gotta get out. I gotta be away. The door. I gotta think. Think. We'll stop. Now what? We'll stop. Maybe they won't spot him. Anyways, I gotta get out. I'll yell. I'll yell and I'll pound on the door. Yeah, that's the way. They're sure. It's against the law-riding afraid. Yeah, yeah, I know. Or maybe it's a hump you remember. No. As I could, I got away from there. But he didn't spot the body under the sack. And the train started up. And it began moving away. With Martin Pell lying under a pile of dirty sack. With a knife in his heart. Funny look in his eyes. Martin Pell. There's only a water in stop where the train stopped. So I walked across the prairie. Not knowing where I was going and not caring much. Well, I... I keep walking across the dark face of the land until I spot a light. A couple of lights. The small town it looked like. The small town. Some ways. Where? Right on the edge of town. There's a lunch wagon and it's open. And there's a light shining on it. And I'm hungry. So I go into the lunch wagon. How about something to eat, huh? Sure thing, Martin. Sure thing. What did you say? I said sure you can have something to eat, Martin. What it be? Why, you ought to know, Martin. This is Wysey. Wysey, Oklahoma. Wysey, but... But that's the same place he... It can't be. Oh, that's no way to talk about your own hometown. Of course, you've been away quite a few years. You look good now. Wouldn't you say I've changed? Oh, no, Morden's not true. Of course, you're only around 16 when you left. Kind of an advanced 16, though. Yeah? Hey, many kids of that age would have stuck up the bank. Knocked off the night watchman. I... I killed him. Oh, don't get modest, fella. Sure. Old man Henshaw. Hey, hey, I was near forgetting. You said you're hungry. Not anymore. Oh, come on, have something to eat. Don't you believe in putting anything in your stomach before doing a job? Doing a job? Me? Why do you think I sent for him? Why should I promise you a grand? I... I don't remember. Oh, for Pete's sake, Martin, how many men have you killed that you don't remember a job like this? Never mind the acts. Play it straight, huh? Okay, okay, don't get nasty. It's too late to talk business anyway. Come on, I've got a room fixed up for you in back. Get a good night's sleep. We'll talk in the morning. About an old man that's lived way past his time. About how you were going to take care of that. Martin, I sent for you because I need money. I ain't got any. My uncle has. Old man Karoo. Well, get it from him. When he dies, I will. So? So I want him to die. Oh, I got a grand in cash. That's yours. For what? For my uncle, Don, a little earlier than expecting. No dies. No dies? Martin, you take care of old man Karoo. Sir, help me. I'll turn you in on that bank job. Go ahead. Turn me in. I can prove that I... And then I shut up quick. Blitz was watching me with those little pig eyes in his fat face. Sure, I could prove I wasn't Martin Pell, that I'd never been in wisy Oklahoma before in my life. Sure. But to do that, I'd have to admit I was Joe Harris. And when they found that corpse in the boxcar with my draft card on him, that'd be fine. A lot of attention the jury had paid to my plea of self-defense. No witnesses and me on the lam and me switching draft cards and panic. Sure, even the hangman had burst out laughing when he slipped a noose around my neck. I shut up quick. Blitz was watching me close. And then I said... Okay, Blitz. It's a deal. What's the layout? The trees will cover the car in case anybody happens to be out late on the highway. Can't be too careful. Ain't that so, Martin? That's so. It's only a short walk. Let's get going. Oh, uh, here. You better take this. What? Oh. A tire iron. I picked it up in a junkyard. They never trace it to me. It's for an old man crew. They bobbing? I ain't used to them. Anymore, huh? Old man crew never bleeding behind curtains for the windows. There he is. Rockin' in his chair. They watch the porch step. It's busted. I guess we knock. It's polite. What's it now? Uncle crew is to come in. Brought a visitor. An old friend of yours. And so it is. Martin Pell. Yeah, it wasn't any good. Thank you, Blitz. All right, you visited. And it cooled out. It was a chance to warm up, huh? I'll do what you do. Oh, forbidden. Go on, Martin. What? He ain't looking this way. Now's the time. All right. I ain't gonna. Here's an old man. Give me the iron. What do you give it to me? All right here. Uncle. Uncle. I've got quite a bit of dough on him. Martin, take the money. It's your payment. No. I'll put it in your pocket myself. That's very important. When they find you here, knocked out, tripping over that busted porch step, they'll know why you killed old man Karoo. What are you talking about? Karoo and knowing you're Reg and Martin, they'll never look for anybody else. Now, when they find you on the premises with the old man's dough in your pocket and your fingerprints on the tire and... No! After I... I was walking up a long flight of stairs with nothing at the top, but more stairs and more stairs and my head was hurting. And then I woke up. Woke up, lying outside of old man Karoo's house with a bloodstained tire iron in my hand. I let go of it. I pulled myself to my feet. And then I heard cars. They were coming. And there I still was. I had to get away fast. I didn't know the country, but I was hunted and a hunted animal's got an instinct to hide the run and to hide from the killers. I didn't find me that day because I fooled them. I didn't try getting out of the county, getting away from the town. Oh, no. That's where they were watching for me. So I stayed put close to town, which fooled them. And also, I had a job to do. Who is it? Me. What are you doing here? I got paid for a killing I didn't do. So I figure maybe I better do a killing now for no pay at all. Stay where you are. No, we're alone here. Uh-uh. I got this knife. No. Bliss, you got a pencil. A pencil? Yeah, sure. Then sit down and write a little note about how you killed old man Karoo. No. I got the knife against your heart. Sit down and write. All right. Well, just write, I killed. I killed. My uncle, because I wanted his money. You got it? Good. Now sign your name pretty. I... I signed it. Take that knife away. Sure. After I... Yeah. Goodbye, Mr. Bliss. Now I better put the knife in your hand like this. Too bad your nerves went back on you. You committed suicide, Mr. Bliss. That's what you did. And now they'll stop looking for me. I hold in and waited until they found Bliss. So the law was called off. There was nobody to look for. So I headed for the water and stopped in the freight because it was cold and I was heading for sunshine. There was a train getting ready to head for the coast so I sneaked close to it. And the far side, there was a couple of bulls around, chewing the rag, but they didn't see me. I spotted an open box car and I climbed in. I got away from the door. The bulls were coming along checking. One of them sounded like the guy that had thrown me off the night before. Ah, this time I didn't care. I was hoping he'd locked the door on me. So I curled up in a corner and waited. Yeah, Mike, that was quite a wreck to head up ahead. Quite a wreck. Held up the line for 24 hours. The train here had already pulled out when word came into the wreck up ahead so they backed her right back here and let her stand. Alright, she's out of her way now. One of them sliding doors is open. Come here. If this is the same train, it can't be. This car. If it's the same train, this sack would be over there. Let me see. Yeah, it's the sack. And under it. Yeah, it's him. Me and Martin. The killer. As for poor Joe who couldn't keep out of boxcars, he was a nice boy but he couldn't stay put. I guess they'll give him the order of the rolling stone. Tombstone. And to leave you with a happy... Whenever you hear a freight train whistling in the night, think of Joe and wonder, if he's still in it with Martin rattling. Well, friends, it's time once again to close that creaking door until next week at the same time when we'll be back with a little hunk of horror. You'll be sure to listen or two. Until next week then. Good night. Pleasant dreams. Inner Sanctum has come to you through the worldwide facilities of the United States Armed Forces Radio and Television Service.