Michael_Shayne_450409_Haunted_House_Old_Time_Radio699ts_podbean_video_share
Transcript
00:00The Adventures of Michael Shane, Private Detective.
00:10The people who make 76 gasoline and Triton motor oil, Union Oil Company present...
00:20The Adventures of Michael Shane, Private Detective, starring Wally Mayer and Kathy Lewis.
00:31The Adventures of Michael Shane, Private Detective, starring Wally Mayer and Kathy Lewis.
00:39As a loyal native of San Francisco, Mike Shane would like to solve all his cases right inside the city limits.
00:45However, this is not one of those times.
00:48Right now, Mike and his assistant, Phyllis Knight, are a two hours drive east of the city by the Golden Gate.
00:53Also right now, Mike is on the long distance phone talking to, you guessed it, Inspector Faraday.
00:59No, no, Faraday. Moccasin Hill. It's a little town on the highway east of Stockton.
01:05Oh, I remember it now. That's where a rich old man Kilgallen died last month.
01:09Right, right. They said his house was haunted and somebody frightened him to death.
01:13Yeah, that's what his daughter said. She tried to get us to investigate.
01:16Listen, Mike, you're not getting roped into that, are you?
01:19Inspector, right now I'm sitting in the chair where they found the corpse.
01:22Oh, Mike, you're not dizzy enough to think a ghost killed him? It was heart failure.
01:27Maybe. I've just been talking to the daughter.
01:30It looks like somebody's been trying to give her the business, too, like dropping a flowerpot on her head.
01:34So you've come a long distance to tell me that?
01:36No, no, Inspector. Look, I want you to find out if a Mr. John Himes of Boston, Mass., was in San Francisco four weeks ago.
01:42One of your boys can check the hotels, trains, and airlines.
01:45John Himes, Boston. Well, it's a waste of time, but for you, Mike, okay.
01:50And look, phone me back at Moccasin Hill 193.
01:54Got it. Oh, Mike. Yeah?
01:56Don't look now, but I think there's a ghost behind you.
01:59What?
02:01Oh, that guy.
02:03Mike, the inspector giving you the Bronx cheer, Mike?
02:06Yeah, darling. Oh, Miss Kilgallen, one thing more about your cousin John Himes.
02:11Did you two ever quarrel about your father's estate?
02:14Why, no, Mr. Shane. There's no reason for you to suspect John.
02:17He's the only other heir, but he'd never kill a father or try to remove me, I'm sure of it.
02:21Besides, Mike, he lives in Boston, 3,000 miles away.
02:24But he makes frequent visits to the coast, Miss Kilgallen just finished telling us that.
02:27I'm sorry.
02:28Well, what do you say we have a look around the house now, huh?
02:30I want to know where the ghost hangs out.
02:32Well, as I said, Mr. Shane, they found my father here in the living room, in the chair you were just using.
02:37Mm-hmm. What's this next room?
02:38Father's hobby room.
02:40Oh, he kept his photographs and guns and hunting trophies in here.
02:43Oh, jeepers. He had plenty of them.
02:46Deer heads, mountain lions, fox.
02:49Terribly old.
02:50Father wasn't strong enough to hunt in his last years.
02:53He had to contend himself with his guns.
02:55Mm-hmm. The collection covers a whole wall.
02:58You know, it's funny, but this room seems much more worn and older than the living room.
03:03It is. Granddad built the house back in the 1860s.
03:06The other rooms were added on around it.
03:08Father tried to keep the old part as it was.
03:10Mike, look.
03:11Look, here's a souvenir of early California.
03:13A poster giving the schedules of the Wells Fargo stages.
03:16Really?
03:17Benson Hill was right on the old stage route.
03:19Oh, that long pistol you see above the fireplace, that was used by Black McGale to hold up the stages.
03:24Oh?
03:25Hey.
03:26Hmm?
03:27What in heaven's name is that?
03:29Sounds like a lost soul, doesn't it?
03:31Oh.
03:32Scared me the first time I heard it.
03:33It's just an owl in the chimney up in the attic.
03:35Atmosphere, Angel. Atmosphere.
03:37Every well-run haunted house has an owl in the attic.
03:40Now, Miss Kogala and I were just noticing the odd shape of this room.
03:44Half of the ceiling is so much lower than...
03:46That's because Father tore down the partition.
03:48On the other side, it was a secret room.
03:50We had several secret rooms, just like a movie set.
03:53Last year, Father tore out all the sliding panels and made them into perfectly honest rooms.
03:58Your granddad must have been a queer old duck.
04:00Somehow, I can't picture a girl like you living in this curiosity.
04:03I don't intend to.
04:04Especially not after Father's...
04:06Well, anyway, it's too far from college.
04:09Miss Kogala, you said you were away at school when your father died, huh?
04:12Yes.
04:13I'll sell the place as soon as I get a fair bid.
04:15I don't know. Maybe Cousin John will take it.
04:18He wrote me that he'd like to if I'd sell for $20,000.
04:21Twenty... Oh, well, that's ridiculous. It's worth much more than that.
04:24Which is why I suspect Cousin John.
04:26Well, now, come on. Let's go outside again.
04:28I want to take another look at that busted flowerpot.
04:30All right. We can go through the carriage door here.
04:34Look. Look, Mike. Who's the old character in the straw hat?
04:38Hey, wait a minute. He's sweeping up the flowerpot.
04:40Hold on. Hold on, partner.
04:41Oh, he's the gardener old dick.
04:42Oh, what's she? You talking to me, young fellers?
04:44Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
04:46Just leave the pieces of the flowerpot right there, huh?
04:48We want them for sentimental reasons.
04:50Well, Miss Kilgallen always told me to keep things spruce.
04:53It's all right this time, Dick.
04:54You weren't here yesterday, and you don't understand.
04:56By the way, sir, how long have you been gardening here?
04:59Oh, three, four months, I reckon.
05:01You wanting a handyman?
05:02No, no. I was just wondering.
05:04You know anything strange about this house?
05:07I mean, like being haunted?
05:09Of course it's haunted.
05:10You don't know who by, but I vomited no place I'd hanker to live.
05:14I told Mr. Kilgallen...
05:15Did he think it was haunted?
05:17Of course he did.
05:18The hench got him, too.
05:20They'll give everybody.
05:21You just listen to Spell.
05:22You'll hear footsteps without no feet and moanings and things.
05:27That's true enough, but they're not from the spiritual world.
05:30Ah, let me see.
05:31The flowerpot fell from this balcony directly overhead.
05:35Yes. It couldn't have just happened.
05:37The pot was too big and heavy to jiggle off the railing.
05:39Yeah, but you saw no one push it.
05:41I wasn't looking up.
05:42It was warm yesterday afternoon, and I was watering the geraniums here.
05:45Just as I stooped over, it came down crash.
05:48Two seconds earlier, it would have crushed your skull.
05:51I think I'll climb these stairs and give the balcony a once-over.
05:54Hey, hey, you be careful, Mike.
05:55Don't push another pot down on us, huh?
05:57You're giving me ideas, my darling.
05:59Mike!
06:00What did I tell you?
06:01What did I tell you?
06:02Mike!
06:03Oh, Mike, are you hurt?
06:05Phew, baby, that was a close call.
06:07If I hadn't grabbed the railing...
06:08Oh, Mike, the steps just gave way under you.
06:10They're rotten.
06:11No, no, Angel, no, sir.
06:13They were meant to give way.
06:14Look at the underside of this next step.
06:16Huh?
06:17Mike, why that sod halfway through?
06:20Yes, evidently the ghost of Moccasin Hill wants company.
06:24In just a moment, we'll rejoin Mike Shane and Phyllis Knight in their adventures.
06:44As your car gets older, its bearings wear down.
06:47The bushings enlarge and the joints and fittings loosen up and rattle.
06:51This means that lubrication becomes increasingly important in relieving friction
06:56and protecting worn parts against extra shock and strain.
06:59And since even the latest cars are now almost four years old,
07:03no one can afford to take a chance on a careless grease job.
07:07That is why the Union Oil Minutemen take such pride in stop wear lubrication.
07:12Each job of stop wear lubrication is performed so carefully and accurately,
07:17it is guaranteed in writing.
07:19When your car receives stop wear lubrication,
07:22you can be sure that only the finest high-quality greases are used throughout.
07:26And you can also be sure that each fitting and bearing will be thoroughly lubricated
07:31according to the manufacturer's specifications.
07:34While your car is on the hoist, the Minutemen will inspect out-of-sight points
07:38and check them for danger signs.
07:40So, ladies and gentlemen, for smoother, safer driving,
07:45ask your Union Oil Minutemen for stop wear guaranteed lubrication.
07:50Stop wear is an exclusive process available only at Union Oil Minutemen stations.
07:56Remember, stop wear lubrication is guaranteed.
08:06Mike and Phyllis are still searching through the ancient house on Marcuson Hill,
08:10stalking the ghost who throws flower pots and designs collapsing staircases.
08:15Right now, they are interrupted by a new arrival.
08:18Why, Mr. Patton, won't you come in?
08:20Thank you, Miss Kilgallen.
08:21I happen to see your car on the driveway and I thought I'd stop in a moment.
08:24I'm glad you did.
08:25Oh, I want you to meet some friends.
08:27This is Mr. Shane and Miss Knight from San Francisco.
08:29Oh, how do you do?
08:30How do you do, sir?
08:31Mr. Patton was my father's attorney.
08:33He's handling the estate.
08:34Yes, it's in that regard, Miss Kilgallen, that I'd like to talk to you.
08:37Could we go into the living room?
08:39Yes, please do.
08:40You too, Mr. Shane and Miss Knight.
08:41All right.
08:42I thought it might be better if we talked alone.
08:43Oh, I have no secrets, Mr. Patton.
08:45And I think Mr. Shane may want to ask you some questions about father.
08:48Strictly in the line of duty, Mr. Patton.
08:50I've been retained to investigate Mr. Kilgallen's death.
08:53Oh, my dear girl, you're wasting your money.
08:55Your father died of heart disease.
08:56Perhaps, but what was it you wished to see me about?
08:59Oh, yes, oh, yes.
09:00Miss Kilgallen, I've thought it over and I'm now prepared to offer you $22,500.
09:04I think that's a generous sum indeed for this property.
09:07I'm sorry, Mr. Patton.
09:08You know that father put over twice that much money into the place and it has historic value.
09:12May I ask why you want to buy it?
09:14Why, that's obvious, sir, to live in.
09:16It won't be easy to dispose of with her father's death and certain rumors about the property.
09:21I think I'm doing her a kindness.
09:23I'll answer it.
09:24These rumors, Mr. Patton, did this girl's father tell you anything that would bear them out?
09:29Well, Mr. Kilgallen was an ill man, sir.
09:31He had a rather morbid turn of mind, of course.
09:33It's for you, Mr. Shane, San Francisco.
09:35Oh, that's Faraday.
09:36Excuse me, please.
09:40Hello, Inspector.
09:42You did?
09:44Well, well, pat on the old back, me boy.
09:47Uh-huh.
09:49Right now?
09:51Okay, hold him there.
09:52Or better still, bring him out here.
09:55Oh, I see.
09:57Then I guess he's out of reach by now.
10:00No, no, no, nothing much, Inspector,
10:03except that you almost lost your best pinnacle partner.
10:07Well, the ghost pulled a staircase out from under me.
10:10Don't worry, I'm marching out.
10:12But thanks for trying, Faraday.
10:15No hits, no runs, no ballgame, huh?
10:18Mr. John Himes was registered at the Palace Hotel at or about the time the old man died.
10:23He also registered there just two days ago.
10:25Mike, you were right.
10:27And checked out this morning.
10:28Destination, unknown.
10:29Even so, I'm sure you're wrong, Mr. Shane.
10:31Well, Miss Kilgallen, I take it you're rejecting my offer?
10:34I'm afraid I must.
10:35Well, very well.
10:36It's been a pleasure to meet you, sir.
10:37Thank you.
10:38And Miss Knight.
10:39Thank you.
10:40Oh, I almost forgot.
10:41I found you a new gardener.
10:42His name is Fred Norman.
10:44I brought him along with me.
10:45He's right outside.
10:46But I can't fire poor old Dick.
10:48You won't have to for a day or two.
10:50I'll need both men to help me on a little job.
10:52Oh, very well.
10:53You'll find Fred waiting at the back door.
10:55Good day.
10:56Mike, Mike, what are you up to?
10:58What job?
10:59Are we staying here?
11:00Not so loud, honey.
11:01I haven't any job for him, but I think Mr. Patton has.
11:04Oh, you mean this new gardener is a spy, huh?
11:07I mean.
11:08Well, we'll give him something to prick up his ears about.
11:11Okay.
11:12Miss Kilgallen, I want a tape measure, the longest you can find, please.
11:15What on earth for?
11:16Something tells me your ghost haunts a very secret room.
11:19We're going to find that room by yard, feet, and inches.
11:28Oh, darn it.
11:40I dropped it again.
11:41Well, hold on to it, honey.
11:42It's a tape measure, not a snake.
11:43Oh, quiet.
11:44I'm tired, Mike.
11:45We've spent over two hours measuring this house, every room, every hall, every closet.
11:49We haven't found a thing.
11:50Uh-huh, uh-huh.
11:51Well, the hall is 53 feet long.
11:54Now, Miss Kilgallen, what did we find in the living room?
11:57Let's see.
11:58It's on this other paper.
11:59It says here 30 feet.
12:0030 feet.
12:01And the gun room next to it?
12:0214 feet each way.
12:04That totals 44 feet plus one foot for the wall.
12:07That's it?
12:08Yeah.
12:09See?
12:10There's eight feet missing.
12:11Fine, fine.
12:12How do we get into this secret room?
12:13By pickaxe?
12:14Come on.
12:15Come on.
12:16Into the gun room.
12:17But, Mr. Shane, Father knew all our secret rooms.
12:18He had them all open.
12:19Well, he didn't know about this one, or maybe he just lost count.
12:22Okay, now, honey, you take the fire under the wall, and I'll start at this end.
12:25There's got to be a hidden spring or something.
12:27Now, pound every inch of the woodwork.
12:29All right.
12:30It doesn't sound hollow.
12:31Well, that's why nobody suspected it.
12:34Come on.
12:35Use some muscle, honey.
12:36You're just playing patty cake.
12:37Listen, Mike, Shane, I haven't got calluses on my knuckles.
12:40Mike!
12:41Huh?
12:42Mike, this panel, it moved.
12:43What?
12:44This is it, kids.
12:45It only moved an inch or so.
12:46I'll pull it open.
12:49There you are.
12:51It's dark as a coal bin inside.
12:53I'll strike a match.
12:54Good.
12:55Now, we shall see what we shall see.
12:58Look!
12:59Isn't that an old table and a chair?
13:01Well, what's more important, a candle.
13:03We can get some real light.
13:05Yeah, that's better.
13:08Oh, honey.
13:09It's dusty in here.
13:10Well, sneeze the other way.
13:11You almost blew these off the table.
13:13Blew what off?
13:14These papers here.
13:15Newspaper clippings.
13:17They're so old and brown.
13:19What on earth are they doing in here?
13:20I don't know.
13:21They're printed in old-fashioned type.
13:23Must be 60 or 70 years old.
13:25Hold on here.
13:26Hold on.
13:27Miss Kilgallen, what did you say the name was of that stage robber?
13:30You mean Black Miguel?
13:31Yeah.
13:32Here, read this.
13:33Maybe this will mean something to you.
13:35Driver Billy Pringle reported to the sheriff
13:38that on Wednesday night his stage broke down at Moccasin Hill.
13:42Pringle took the express box to the Kilgallen house.
13:45Hey, that's your grandfather.
13:47I remember hearing some sort of story.
13:48Go on reading.
13:49During the night, Black Miguel assaulted the driver.
13:53As he attempted to flee with a small fortune,
13:56Mr. Pringle shot and killed him.
13:58The express box, however, was not recovered.
14:01The authorities are now searching...
14:03You know, this sounds like something out of Treasure Island.
14:06You can say that again, honey.
14:07Here.
14:08Here's a diagram with everything on it
14:10except dig at the foot of the crooked pine tree.
14:13Yeah.
14:14Hey, Mike.
14:15That paper's almost new.
14:16Well, it would have to be.
14:17The handwriting is my father's.
14:19Well, then he did know about this room.
14:21Yes, and he must have spent plenty of time in here.
14:23Candle drippings all over the table.
14:25You know, there's something funny about them.
14:27You notice how heavy the dust and grit is on the table?
14:29Yet when I rub my finger over the wax spots...
14:31There's no dust on them.
14:32They're fresh.
14:33It's changed.
14:34Shh, shh, shh.
14:35It's the living room wall.
14:37Somebody else wants in.
14:39Blow out the candle.
14:40We're leaving.
14:44I don't see anybody.
14:45Until I push this panel back.
14:48Mike.
14:49Mike, you're not going to use your gun.
14:50Come on.
14:51Follow me into the living room, quietly.
14:54Hands in the air, mister.
14:55Huh?
14:56What?
14:57Fred Norman, the gardener.
14:58Get that gun away.
14:59You ain't got no call of...
15:00We heard you pounding that wall.
15:01Whatever it was.
15:02Felt like I knocked the ashes out of his pipe canny.
15:04Yeah, but you're a gardener.
15:05What are you doing in here?
15:06I was looking for Miss Kilgown.
15:07Wanted to know about the rose bushes.
15:09But I guess I don't want to work here at all.
15:10What was that?
15:11The front door.
15:12Hey, don't you answer the door on this house?
15:13That's Faraday.
15:14Inspector Faraday.
15:15Well, since when is Moccasin Hill your bailiwick?
15:17Oh, I guess I'm just an old maid.
15:19Got to worrying about your neck.
15:21Not that I wouldn't like to bust it myself sometimes.
15:23Well, I'll save it for you, just for you, Daddy.
15:25Here, here.
15:26No, all kidding aside, Faraday,
15:28there's something going on here which ain't done with mirrors.
15:30I'll say not.
15:31We found a secret room,
15:32papers telling of a stagecoach robbery 70 years ago,
15:35a map of where the treasure's buried.
15:37Plus rapping noises, hot and cold running spooks,
15:39anything you want, we got it.
15:40Uh-huh, yes.
15:42Has your cigarette tasted different lately?
15:44No, we mean it, Inspector.
15:46Somebody's putting on a spook act of frightening people away from here,
15:49even if it means killing people.
15:50Somebody wants the old express box,
15:52and he's willing to kill people to get it.
15:54Yeah, right out of this morning's comic strip.
15:56Ghost turns out to be an ex-pirate with a peg leg.
15:58All right, we'll take our word for it.
16:00Come on, we'll show you the secret room.
16:02Now, watch.
16:03I'll press this wall panel here and...
16:07Well, I'll be...
16:08See, Inspector?
16:10You either go in or you'll bump your noggin.
16:15Any light switch in here?
16:16No, there's a candle on the table. I'll light it.
16:20Well, you weren't kidding.
16:22Oh, not this trip.
16:23Now, here are the papers I was talking about.
16:26Mike. Hey, wait a minute.
16:27The papers.
16:28Mike, they're gone!
16:41All right, come on, now.
16:42We mean business, Fred.
16:43Come on, hand over those papers.
16:44We know you got them.
16:45I don't know nothing about any papers,
16:46and I don't know nothing about any secret room.
16:48You're lying.
16:49Patton brought you here.
16:50He hired you to steal them for him.
16:51And what's more, you ain't no gardener.
16:53Old Dick can tell you that.
16:54Don't know a shovel from a hoe.
16:56I'm leaving right now.
16:57I wouldn't work here for no kind of money.
16:59You're staying right here.
17:00You're not to leave this property.
17:01You understand?
17:02Maybe I won't, or maybe I will.
17:03Don't trust that fellow.
17:05It's all right with you folks.
17:06You'll kind of follow him around.
17:08Keep my eye on him.
17:09Good idea.
17:10But let him do anything he wants.
17:11He'll tip his hands yet.
17:12But I don't see why you didn't search him
17:14for the missing papers.
17:15It's useless, honey.
17:16He's smart.
17:17He's already hidden them somewhere.
17:18Seems to be, Mr. Shane.
17:19This is all beside the point.
17:20I wanted you to find out if my father was murdered.
17:23That's impossible for any detective, miss.
17:25No one saw him die.
17:26He's been dead for days when he was found.
17:28Karn only made a rough guess when it happened.
17:30I think we can establish the time, Faraday.
17:32We were looking at the old gentleman's diary.
17:34It's here on the desk.
17:35Father was very religious in keeping up his diary.
17:38He wrote down everything he did.
17:39The final entry was made on the 17th of last month.
17:42Here it is.
17:43Quote.
17:44Rained all day.
17:45Afternoon spent cleaning and oiling all my guns.
17:48Had to fix the pin on the Derringer.
17:50Ah, that's a pistol, isn't it, Mike?
17:52Mm-hmm, it's a short barrel, heavy caliber, darling.
17:54Just a minute.
17:55The Derringer.
17:56Oh, what about it?
17:57Well, father always kept it on top of the bookcase.
17:58It's gone.
17:59Probably forgot to put it back after he fixed it.
18:01Yes, but getting back to the diary,
18:02these are his last sentences.
18:04Heard the noises again.
18:06It laughed and moaned.
18:08Next time it happens, I'll...
18:10And there he stopped.
18:11Right in the middle of a sentence.
18:13Oh, that front door.
18:14You'd think this was a housewarming.
18:15As I see it, Faraday, the old fellow heard something again.
18:18He stopped writing, got up, went into the living room to check up.
18:21Whatever he saw or heard stopped his heart.
18:24He was found on the chair by the telephone.
18:26And I thought you were acting for me.
18:28Ah, what goes on?
18:30Well, I'm just as surprised as you are.
18:32This is John Hines, my cousin.
18:34The fellow from Boston.
18:35Well, sir, I'm very happy to meet you.
18:37My name is Mike Shane.
18:38Oh, yes.
18:39Mr. Patton said you were investigating, looking me up.
18:41I understand you were in California last month about the time Mr. Kilgallen died.
18:45Yes, I was.
18:46And you're here now. Why?
18:47On business.
18:48I came up to see Patton about buying this property.
18:50I wrote to my cousin and to him as her attorney and made an offer.
18:53Now I find Patton is trying to buy the place himself.
18:56And in case you didn't succeed, Mr. Patton,
18:59you hired Fred Norman, the fake gardener,
19:01to steal those papers from the secret room.
19:03I don't know what you're talking about.
19:05Mr. Hines, what is your interest in this property?
19:07We understand you live in Boston.
19:09Well, my firm is transferring me to San Francisco.
19:11I'd like to have a country home.
19:13Just what is your business?
19:15I can see you're suspicious.
19:17Perhaps you'd rather look at one of my cards.
19:19Well, it wouldn't hurt.
19:20Here you are.
19:21Thank you.
19:22Hmm, investment banking.
19:24Uh, Michael.
19:25Inspector, could I see you alone a moment?
19:27Can't it wait, honey?
19:28No, it'll just take a minute.
19:29Oh, all right.
19:30Excuse us, please.
19:31Uh, come on.
19:32Let's go into the living room, huh?
19:33You look as wise as a sphinx, Phil.
19:35You solved the case?
19:36Mm-hmm.
19:37Maybe.
19:38Now, this is it.
19:39I was standing right next to Himes, Mike,
19:40when he took out his wallet to give you that card.
19:42And?
19:43Well, there was an envelope tucked into a pocket of the wallet.
19:45Airline tickets.
19:46But the name written on the envelope said Gene Powers.
19:49Gene Pow...
19:50Mm-hmm.
19:51But that doesn't add up, honey.
19:52The girl introduced him as her cousin.
19:53She said John Himes.
19:54She said.
19:55Do we have to believe her?
19:57I'm gonna phone headquarters.
19:58Gene Powers may have a record.
19:59No!
20:00Oh, what's that?
20:01Good heavens!
20:02It's outside.
20:03Come on, quick.
20:06Front door's open.
20:07Yeah.
20:08Mike.
20:09Mike, look.
20:10Mike in the driveway.
20:11Yeah.
20:12Oh.
20:13Yeah.
20:14Well, cross off one suspect.
20:16Ooh.
20:17Attorney at law, Stephen Patton.
20:19And add another.
20:20I just saw somebody on the balcony.
20:21Who?
20:22Who did you see?
20:23Ellen Kilgallen.
20:31We'll rejoin Mike and Phyllis in just a moment.
20:43If you ever had a jack slip when you were changing a tire,
20:46you'd get a pretty forceful demonstration of how much a car weighs.
20:50Now, all that weight rests directly on the wheel bearings.
20:54And as you travel, those wheel bearings must revolve rapidly
20:58and still support the heavy weight of the car.
21:01Because of this concentrated pressure,
21:03and because they're also liable to damage from brake dust,
21:06grit, and water,
21:07front wheel bearings need the best possible lubrication.
21:11Failure to keep these bearings properly lubricated may result in expensive repairs,
21:16requiring parts now hard to get.
21:18Your neighborhood Union Oil minute man knows this.
21:21That's why he takes such pains to do a thorough job of lubricating front wheel bearings.
21:27He washes out all the old grease and dirt with solvent.
21:30Then the bearings and races are individually cleaned until they are dry and shiny.
21:35Finally, the clean, polished bearings are replaced in the races.
21:39Then, with special equipment,
21:41every surface is snugly packed in a thick coating of Union Oil wheel bearing grease.
21:47Then your front wheels are all set for months of well-lubricated, easy rolling.
21:52The cost for the entire service of your front wheel bearing assembly is nominal.
21:56So for safer, easier driving,
21:58just stop in wherever you see the sign of the big orange and blue 76
22:03and ask for Union Oil's front wheel bearing service.
22:06Thank you.
22:12A second man has died at the strange old house in Marcuson Hill.
22:16While Phyllis telephones for the local police,
22:18Mike and Inspector Faraday are in the gun room questioning four uneasy people.
22:23Now we know what we're talking about.
22:25One of you here in this room killed Steve Patton because he knew too much
22:28or because he was double-crossing you.
22:30Miss Kilgallen, we'll start with you.
22:32What were you doing upstairs in that balcony?
22:33Why, I heard the shot and I ran out to see what happened.
22:36Oh, that's no answer.
22:38When we left this room, you and your cousin were with Patton.
22:41Now, why did you go upstairs?
22:42To get Father's old watch for John.
22:44Father left it to him in his will. Does that satisfy you?
22:46Maybe.
22:47And you, Mr. Hines, where were you when the shot was fired?
22:50Well, I was following Ellen upstairs to get the watch.
22:52Is there anything wrong with that?
22:53No, no. I guess her cousin is entitled to the heirloom.
22:56But not a guy named Gene Powers.
22:58Oh, so that's it.
23:00Sharp eyes, Mr. Shane.
23:02The credit goes to Miss Knight.
23:04Well, that's quite innocent, really.
23:05Gene Powers is a friend of mine and he had a plane ticket for New York tonight.
23:08He couldn't get away, so I'm using his priority.
23:10We'll check on that.
23:12You, Fred Norman.
23:13I was in the kitchen eating.
23:14Can't stand the man in jail for swiping a chicken wing.
23:17You were watching him, Dick?
23:18Yes, sir.
23:19He wasn't even in the room.
23:20Oh, I was watching you through the whole door.
23:22Just waiting for you to do something.
23:24Okay, okay, okay.
23:25Now we're going to ask all of you to empty your pockets.
23:27Each one put his stuff in a pile on this table.
23:29What for?
23:30We're asking the questions.
23:32Start digging.
23:33I know what you're up to.
23:34Looking for the gun that killed him.
23:35No, the murderer saved us that trouble.
23:37He put it right back where he got it.
23:39The derringer there in the bookcase.
23:40Why, yes, it's back.
23:41All right, Mr. Hines.
23:42Now let's see what you've dished out.
23:44Handkerchief, penknife, billfold, notebook, small change.
23:47And you, Dick?
23:48Oh, I ain't got much.
23:49Old oil rag, a knife, a busted pack of seeds, and four bits.
23:54Fred?
23:55Handkerchief, knife, pencil, and some money.
23:57Yes, too much money for a gardener.
23:58Fifty dollars?
23:59Oh, that's Patton's money.
24:00He bribed him.
24:01Obviously.
24:02Uh, any pockets in your dress, Miss Kugan?
24:04No.
24:05If you tell us what you want, I'm sure...
24:07All right.
24:08Now, after the three of us ran out and found Patton,
24:10we did a quick circle around the outside of the house.
24:13We tried to come back in through this terrace door.
24:15It was locked and the key gone.
24:17That's odd.
24:18We used the door a little earlier.
24:19Yeah, so did the murderer a little later.
24:21Fired a shot from the terrace,
24:22ducked back in, locked the door, and went to another part of the house.
24:25I'm sorry to spoil the game, kiddies.
24:27What?
24:28But is this what you want?
24:29Uh-huh.
24:30I found it by the door.
24:32It had slipped under the carpet, Mike.
24:34All right, folks, you can put your stuff back in your pockets.
24:37Too bad, Mike, it almost worked.
24:39Ah, but it did work.
24:40What?
24:41In a way we hadn't counted on.
24:42Now, wait a minute.
24:43Wait a minute, Mike.
24:44You know the killer?
24:45Positively, darling.
24:46The confession is right on top of that table in the secret room.
25:04I don't get it, Mike.
25:05There's nothing on this table.
25:06Just a candle, dust, and grit, and splotches of wax.
25:09That's all, Angel, but it's enough to convict the murderer.
25:11No, folly, daughter.
25:12Nobody ain't ever hated a ghost.
25:14Kate Moore and her smart big city detective.
25:16Well, I can't believe them, Mulder.
25:18I don't think there's any buried treasure.
25:20It's quite possible, but Patton and his killer thought otherwise.
25:22They wanted no one on this property while they were hunting.
25:25So, the haunted house routine.
25:27But how could Mr. Patton be so cold-blooded?
25:29Father's friend and attorney deliberately scaring him to death.
25:32Well, he probably didn't intend to go that far, Miss Kilgallen.
25:35Hey, come on, Mike.
25:36Who gave Patton the tit-for-tat?
25:37All right, all right.
25:38Now, as you notice from these candle drippings,
25:40somebody spent plenty of time at this table
25:42going over the papers about Black Miguel and the express box.
25:45Father!
25:46We found that diagram in his handwriting.
25:48And somebody else in just the last day or so.
25:50Somebody who emptied his pockets onto this table,
25:52perhaps searching for a pencil and notepaper.
25:54Mike, there's a limit to crystal gazing.
25:56You can't do that.
25:57Can't I?
25:58Brush your hand over the tabletop.
26:00That's it.
26:01Now, what have you got in your palm?
26:03Dust and grit.
26:04All right.
26:05Now, pick out some of that grit and eat it.
26:07Go on, go on.
26:08It's not dirt.
26:10Seems to me.
26:11Yeah.
26:12Now, I'm sure I've tasted this before.
26:14Yes, in restaurants, on rolls.
26:16It's poppy seed.
26:17Oh, this is the end.
26:18And in whose pockets did we find a broken package of poppy seed?
26:22Hey, Dick's, the gardener.
26:24All right.
26:25Maybe I was in there.
26:26I used to play in this house when I was a kid.
26:28It was all busted down.
26:30I knew every inch of it.
26:31That don't spell nothing.
26:32No, it does.
26:33You were very careful not to tell us about this room,
26:35not even Mr. Patton.
26:36All right, mister.
26:37Patton hired me to watch Dick and you folks.
26:39Figured Dick was cheating.
26:40That ain't cheating.
26:41I killed him.
26:42Nobody can say that.
26:43A dead man's diary can, Dick.
26:44The day Mr. Kilgallen died, he wrote that he cleaned all his guns,
26:48including the old Derringer.
26:50You mean there are only two sets of fingerprints on the gun?
26:53Yes.
26:54Kilgallen's and the man who fired it.
26:57Yes, Dick.
26:58That's exactly what I mean.
27:08You know something?
27:10That was very sweet of you, Faraday,
27:12coming clear out to Markson Hill just to be Mike's bodyguard.
27:15Yes, sir.
27:16And driving us back home in a police car sure beats that bus trip.
27:20It was doggone nice of you, Faraday.
27:22Cut the sentiment.
27:23Maybe I just wanted to sell a couple of extra tickets to the policeman's ball.
27:26Oh, we need those.
27:28As a policeman, Mr. Inspector, and as a detective, Mr. Shane,
27:32There's one thing you did in this case which I don't understand.
27:35Only one?
27:36Miss Knight, you are improving.
27:38Smiley.
27:39You and Mike knew you could catch old Dick by his fingerprints on the Derringer,
27:42so why'd you bother to look for a missing door key
27:45and Mike act so big and brainy about the poppy seeds?
27:48Honey, never put all your money on one horse.
27:51We were both afraid Dick had already wiped his fingerprints off the gun,
27:54but we didn't tell him that.
27:56Time was of the essence.
27:58Dick had already wiped his fingerprints off the gun,
28:00but we didn't tell him that.
28:02Time was a wasting and it was a good shortcut.
28:04Uh-huh.
28:05Just as I thought.
28:06The big city boys had to crack it fast before the local hayseeds took over the case.
28:11And your glory.
28:13Why, Phyllis, how can you say such a thing?
28:29Tune in again next week at 8.30 for another adventure
28:32with Michael Shane, Private Detective,
28:34starring Wally Mayer and Kathy Lewis with Joe Forte.
28:38Tonight's story was written by Richard DeGraff
28:40and based on the character created by Brett Halliday.
28:43Music was composed and directed by Bernard Katz.
28:47This is the story of a young man named Joe Forte.
28:51He was born in a small town in New York City.
28:54Music was composed and directed by Bernard Katz.
28:57This is John Lang saying goodnight for the people who make 76 gasoline
29:02and Triton Motor Oil.
29:04Union Oil Company.
29:16This is the Mutual Don Lee Broadcasting System.
29:24www.mutual.com