WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:23.120 The Columbia Network takes pleasure in bringing you Suspense. 00:23.120 --> 00:29.920 Suspense, a new series of programs with one strict purpose in view, your entertainment. 00:29.920 --> 00:35.280 Each week at this time, CBS sets aside 30 minutes to excite you, to mystify you, and 00:35.280 --> 00:40.360 on occasion to horrify you with a catalog of the world's great thrillers. 00:40.360 --> 00:45.000 Dramas from the stage and screen, from fiction and radio. 00:45.000 --> 00:50.480 Dramas that bring you Suspense. 00:50.480 --> 00:59.480 This, the second offering of a new series, is a unique one. 00:59.480 --> 01:03.600 Certainly it is one of the very few pieces of Suspense literature that somehow manages 01:03.600 --> 01:08.960 to tickle your funny bone while busily engaged in tingling your spine. 01:08.960 --> 01:13.080 Make no mistake though, nobody's kidding. 01:13.080 --> 01:32.840 CBS presents its adaptation of John Collier's well-known short story, Wet Saturday. 01:32.840 --> 01:35.160 Yes it's a wet Saturday. 01:35.160 --> 01:37.280 Never saw it rain harder. 01:37.280 --> 01:42.880 I'm Princey, Frederick Princey, just an ordinary family man. 01:42.880 --> 01:45.960 I have a son, a daughter, and a wife. 01:45.960 --> 01:48.960 Might be out golfing now if it hadn't been for the rain. 01:48.960 --> 01:53.120 Hi Mrs. Princey, I plan to drive over to the nurseries this afternoon for some arbiters, 01:53.120 --> 01:54.120 the boarders you know, but... 01:54.120 --> 01:57.120 Oh, the whole lot of them make me sick. 01:57.120 --> 02:00.120 Yes, I'm George, sun and air. 02:00.120 --> 02:03.120 I had a date to go punting. 02:03.120 --> 02:04.120 Puntings. 02:04.120 --> 02:09.120 Couldn't find the blasted punting as weather, so I'm home too. 02:09.120 --> 02:10.120 I... 02:10.120 --> 02:11.120 I'm Millicent. 02:11.120 --> 02:14.120 I was going to play croquet. 02:14.120 --> 02:24.640 That's how I happened to have a mallet. 02:24.640 --> 02:26.600 Yes that's the Princey family. 02:26.600 --> 02:32.040 We find them at home, Mrs. Princey, Millicent, George sprawled on a couch, Mr. Princey biting 02:32.040 --> 02:34.040 on a dry pipe. 02:34.040 --> 02:36.840 Their living room is dull and overstuffed. 02:36.840 --> 02:38.880 Rain beats at the windows. 02:38.880 --> 02:46.080 They are any middle class family at home on a wet day, except for one small item. 02:46.080 --> 02:49.360 As you sit with them in the living room, you can see through the door to the sun porch 02:49.360 --> 02:53.800 a pair of men's feet encased in black boots. 02:53.800 --> 02:56.560 They look like the feet of a curate. 02:56.560 --> 02:58.560 There's a tenseness in the room. 02:58.560 --> 03:05.360 The air is charged with excitement, but the feet are very still. 03:05.360 --> 03:07.880 Don't keep staring at them. 03:07.880 --> 03:09.480 Listen to me, all of you. 03:09.480 --> 03:11.200 Don't you see? 03:11.200 --> 03:12.200 They hang her. 03:12.200 --> 03:13.200 That's what they do. 03:13.200 --> 03:14.200 They hang her. 03:14.200 --> 03:15.200 Oh Fred, it's too awful. 03:15.200 --> 03:16.200 Awful? 03:16.200 --> 03:17.200 It's catastrophic. 03:17.200 --> 03:25.320 A supposedly sweet, gentle, intelligent girl, respected, loved by the whole village, doing 03:25.320 --> 03:26.320 a thing like this. 03:26.320 --> 03:29.320 Think of the publicity, the disgrace. 03:29.320 --> 03:35.320 You think I'm going to resign from the bench, the vestry, sell out and live in some foggy 03:35.320 --> 03:36.320 hotel abroad? 03:36.320 --> 03:37.320 Oh no, no. 03:37.320 --> 03:38.320 I'll kill myself. 03:38.320 --> 03:39.320 I will. 03:39.320 --> 03:40.320 I will. 03:40.320 --> 03:41.320 Don't be a fool. 03:41.320 --> 03:45.320 Any more than you have been, the Governor means. 03:45.320 --> 03:46.320 Be quiet. 03:46.320 --> 03:49.080 It wouldn't be so bad if it were you. 03:49.080 --> 03:51.960 Everybody in the village knows you're not responsible. 03:51.960 --> 03:52.960 George. 03:52.960 --> 03:53.960 Yes? 03:53.960 --> 03:56.120 Get off that couch. 03:56.120 --> 03:57.120 Sit up on your spine. 03:57.120 --> 04:00.800 You might be of a little use here, if you could think. 04:00.800 --> 04:03.440 Listen, Governor, this isn't my funeral. 04:03.440 --> 04:05.000 Oh, shut up. 04:05.000 --> 04:11.080 As long as I can remember, George, you've been a trial and a tribulation to me. 04:11.080 --> 04:12.680 Oh, I can't stand it. 04:12.680 --> 04:13.680 I can't stand it. 04:13.680 --> 04:16.520 You've got to stand it, my dear. 04:16.520 --> 04:20.280 And keep that hysterical note out of your voice. 04:20.280 --> 04:23.280 Do you hear? 04:23.280 --> 04:24.280 Yes. 04:24.280 --> 04:27.600 We, uh, we are talking about the weather. 04:27.600 --> 04:29.280 Now, George. 04:29.280 --> 04:30.280 Yeah? 04:30.280 --> 04:38.360 George, if he fell down the old well, say, striking his head several times, what about 04:38.360 --> 04:39.360 it, eh? 04:39.360 --> 04:40.960 I really don't know, Governor. 04:40.960 --> 04:41.960 What about it? 04:41.960 --> 04:42.960 Don't be an ass. 04:42.960 --> 04:43.960 I'm asking you to think. 04:43.960 --> 04:52.880 He'd have had to hit the side several times in 30 or 40 feet and at all the correct angles. 04:52.880 --> 04:57.120 Now, now, I'm afraid not. 04:57.120 --> 05:00.120 I'm afraid not. 05:00.120 --> 05:03.760 We'll have to go over it all again, Millicent. 05:03.760 --> 05:05.760 Oh, no, Father. 05:05.760 --> 05:06.760 No, no. 05:06.760 --> 05:07.760 I couldn't. 05:07.760 --> 05:08.760 I couldn't. 05:08.760 --> 05:13.000 Millicent, we must go over it all again. 05:13.000 --> 05:15.760 Oh, Fred, you're torturing her. 05:15.760 --> 05:18.960 Oh, face facts, Mater, with him lying there. 05:18.960 --> 05:21.920 That's no use pretending it's a picnic. 05:21.920 --> 05:23.920 They might hang you, Millicent. 05:23.920 --> 05:25.920 Oh, stop that shaking. 05:25.920 --> 05:26.920 Stop it here. 05:26.920 --> 05:27.920 You must stop it. 05:27.920 --> 05:30.920 You must keep your voice quiet. 05:30.920 --> 05:38.000 Millicent, we are talking of the weather. 05:38.000 --> 05:40.800 Now, we will proceed. 05:40.800 --> 05:41.800 I can't. 05:41.800 --> 05:42.800 I can't. 05:42.800 --> 05:45.800 Not without boots there. 05:45.800 --> 05:50.440 Oh, you should have thought of those boots, Millicent. 05:50.440 --> 05:51.440 I'm not moving them. 05:51.440 --> 05:53.560 Oh, sit up, George. 05:53.560 --> 05:54.560 Stop shuffling your feet. 05:54.560 --> 05:58.960 Now, Millicent, look at me. 05:58.960 --> 06:01.520 Answer me truthfully, you hear? 06:01.520 --> 06:02.880 Answer me. 06:02.880 --> 06:05.840 You were in the croquet course. 06:05.840 --> 06:06.840 Yes. 06:06.840 --> 06:10.200 Who knew you were in love with this wretched curate? 06:10.200 --> 06:13.200 Oh, the whole village. 06:13.200 --> 06:16.320 They've been sniggering about it at the pub for three years past. 06:16.320 --> 06:19.320 What a filthy mess. 06:19.320 --> 06:22.120 Millicent, we continue. 06:22.120 --> 06:24.120 You were on the croquet course. 06:24.120 --> 06:28.120 You were putting the croquet set into its box. 06:28.120 --> 06:29.120 Yes. 06:29.120 --> 06:33.320 It was starting to rain. 06:33.320 --> 06:37.000 I was carrying the balls and mallets into the sun porch. 06:37.000 --> 06:38.800 The box was there. 06:38.800 --> 06:44.000 You heard someone enter the garden gate and come across the yard. 06:44.000 --> 06:45.000 Yes. 06:45.000 --> 06:47.000 Could you see who it was? 06:47.000 --> 06:49.040 Oh, not at first. 06:49.040 --> 06:51.680 I was going into the sun porch. 06:51.680 --> 06:56.360 I threw down all the mallets at the red one and turned around. 06:56.360 --> 06:58.360 It was Withers? 06:58.360 --> 06:59.360 Yes. 06:59.360 --> 07:02.360 So you called him? 07:02.360 --> 07:03.360 Yes. 07:03.360 --> 07:04.360 Loudly? 07:04.360 --> 07:06.280 Did you call him loudly? 07:06.280 --> 07:07.280 Could anyone have heard? 07:07.280 --> 07:09.240 No, Father, I'm sure not. 07:09.240 --> 07:11.520 I didn't really call him. 07:11.520 --> 07:12.920 I just spoke his name. 07:12.920 --> 07:15.800 He saw me as I went to the door. 07:15.800 --> 07:19.080 He just waved his hand and he came over. 07:19.080 --> 07:23.640 How can I find out from you whether there was anywhere about whether he could have been 07:23.640 --> 07:24.640 seen? 07:24.640 --> 07:26.440 I'm sure not, Father. 07:26.440 --> 07:28.000 I'm quite sure. 07:28.000 --> 07:31.680 So you both went into the sun porch. 07:31.680 --> 07:32.680 Yes. 07:32.680 --> 07:34.680 It was raining hard then. 07:34.680 --> 07:35.680 What did he say? 07:35.680 --> 07:38.680 He said, hello, Millie. 07:38.680 --> 07:43.680 And excuse his coming in the back way, but he set out to walk over to Lisbon. 07:43.680 --> 07:44.680 Yes. 07:44.680 --> 07:51.080 He said, passing the park, he'd seen the house, and suddenly thought of me. 07:51.080 --> 07:55.360 And he thought he'd just look in for a moment. 07:55.360 --> 07:58.760 He had something to tell me. 07:58.760 --> 07:59.760 Go on. 07:59.760 --> 08:02.360 He said he was so happy. 08:02.360 --> 08:04.480 He wanted me to share it. 08:04.480 --> 08:07.680 He'd heard from the bishop he was to have a vicarage. 08:07.680 --> 08:10.160 And it wasn't only that. 08:10.160 --> 08:16.960 It meant he could marry, but then he began to get all confused. 08:16.960 --> 08:21.720 And of course, I thought he meant me. 08:21.720 --> 08:23.160 Don't tell me what you thought. 08:23.160 --> 08:26.280 Tell me exactly what he said, nothing else. 08:26.280 --> 08:30.080 Well, well, oh dear. 08:30.080 --> 08:32.280 Oh, stop crying. 08:32.280 --> 08:35.080 It's a luxury you can no longer afford. 08:35.080 --> 08:39.320 Tell me what happened. 08:39.320 --> 08:41.280 He said, no. 08:41.280 --> 08:45.200 He said it wasn't me. 08:45.200 --> 08:48.560 It's Ella Bregdon Davis. 08:48.560 --> 08:50.600 And he was sorry. 08:50.600 --> 08:51.600 And all that. 08:51.600 --> 08:54.600 Then he went to go. 08:54.600 --> 08:55.600 And then? 08:55.600 --> 08:56.600 I went mad. 08:56.600 --> 08:57.600 He turned his back. 08:57.600 --> 09:04.600 I had the red mallet of the croquet fit in my hand. 09:04.600 --> 09:07.480 I forgot to drop it in the box when he came. 09:07.480 --> 09:09.680 Did you shout or scream? 09:09.680 --> 09:12.240 I mean, as you hit him? 09:12.240 --> 09:13.240 No. 09:13.240 --> 09:14.240 I'm sure I didn't. 09:14.240 --> 09:15.240 Did he? 09:15.240 --> 09:16.240 Come on, speak up. 09:16.240 --> 09:17.240 No, Father. 09:17.240 --> 09:18.240 And then? 09:18.240 --> 09:19.240 I threw it down. 09:19.240 --> 09:20.240 I came straight in here. 09:20.240 --> 09:21.240 I went to look for Mother. 09:21.240 --> 09:22.240 Oh, God. 09:22.240 --> 09:23.240 My poor baby. 09:23.240 --> 09:24.240 No. 09:24.240 --> 09:27.240 No, I don't leave the child alone, Fred. 09:27.240 --> 09:30.240 Not such a child, Mater. 09:30.240 --> 09:33.240 Milly, I had no idea you had... 09:33.240 --> 09:34.240 Keep quiet. 09:34.240 --> 09:35.240 I'm thinking. 09:35.240 --> 09:42.240 You see, George, he probably told people he was going to listen. 09:42.240 --> 09:47.240 Certainly no one knows he came here, for he didn't decide until he crossed the park. 09:47.240 --> 09:51.240 He might have been attacked in the woods. 09:51.240 --> 09:54.240 We must consider every detail. 09:54.240 --> 09:57.240 A curate with his head battered in. 09:57.240 --> 09:58.240 Don't, Father. 09:58.240 --> 09:59.240 Don't. 09:59.240 --> 10:02.240 A curate, head, battered in. 10:02.240 --> 10:06.240 Now, who would want to kill with us? 10:06.240 --> 10:07.240 Who would kill with us? 10:07.240 --> 10:08.240 Well, I would with pleasure. 10:08.240 --> 10:09.240 How do you do, Milly, Princy? 10:09.240 --> 10:10.240 Captain, Captain Smarter. 10:10.240 --> 10:11.240 Oh, sit down, pray. 10:11.240 --> 10:12.240 You mustn't get up for me, Mrs. Princy. 10:12.240 --> 10:13.240 You either, Milly. 10:13.240 --> 10:14.240 My word. 10:14.240 --> 10:15.240 Just being neighborly on a bad day. 10:15.240 --> 10:16.240 I wanted to ask you about those denier bulbs, Princy. 10:16.240 --> 10:17.240 Took a short cut on account of the rain and walked right in. 10:17.240 --> 10:18.240 Knew you wouldn't mind. 10:18.240 --> 10:19.240 Oh, you have a good eye. 10:19.240 --> 10:20.240 I'm not a doctor. 10:20.240 --> 10:21.240 I'm a doctor. 10:21.240 --> 10:22.240 I'm a doctor. 10:22.240 --> 10:23.240 I'm a doctor. 10:23.240 --> 10:24.240 I'm a doctor. 10:24.240 --> 10:25.240 I'm a doctor. 10:25.240 --> 10:26.240 I'm a doctor. 10:26.240 --> 10:27.240 I'm a doctor. 10:27.240 --> 10:28.240 I'm a doctor. 10:28.240 --> 10:29.240 I'm a doctor. 10:29.240 --> 10:32.240 I'm a doctor. 10:32.240 --> 10:37.240 I'm a doctor. 10:37.240 --> 10:39.240 My dear, we can all have our little jokes. 10:39.240 --> 10:42.240 Don't pretend to be shocked. 10:42.240 --> 10:43.240 This way, Smarter. 10:43.240 --> 10:44.240 This chair facing the fireplace. 10:44.240 --> 10:45.240 Sit down, mother. 10:45.240 --> 10:46.240 Just straightening the curtains to the sun porch, dear. 10:46.240 --> 10:47.240 It looks so gloomy out there. 10:47.240 --> 10:48.240 I might as well shut the rain out. 10:48.240 --> 10:49.240 Just talking about the little theoretical cure-it-killing, Smarter. 10:49.240 --> 10:52.240 You know, I could never have imagined it. 10:52.240 --> 10:57.240 It seems to me it's a great thing. 10:57.240 --> 11:01.640 killing Smalley. You know, young people these days like thrillers. 11:01.640 --> 11:07.600 Parsonicide. Justifiable parsonicide. If you heard about Ella Bragdon, Davis, I 11:07.600 --> 11:13.320 should be most properly laughed at. Why? Why should you be laughed at, Smalley? 11:13.320 --> 11:19.280 No, and a shot in that direction myself. She half said yes, too. 11:19.280 --> 11:25.840 Haven't you heard? She told most people. Now it'll look as if I got turned down for a 11:25.840 --> 11:37.000 white rat in a dog collar. Oh, too bad. Oh, fortune of war. Yes, fortune of war. Odd how it 11:37.000 --> 11:45.440 happens, isn't it? Sit down, Smalley. Millicent, console Captain Smalley with your best light 11:45.440 --> 11:50.280 conversation. You two mother. George and I have something to look at outside. There's this 11:50.280 --> 11:55.800 rain, you know, very bad, very bad. Come, George. Right, old Governor. Maybe we'll need raincoats, 11:55.800 --> 12:02.160 what? Oh, I don't think so. Just make yourself at home, Smalley. Make yourself at home. 12:02.160 --> 12:08.000 A cigarette, Captain Smalley? Thank you. Thank you. Nasty day to be going out. 12:08.000 --> 12:12.880 Something about the old well. Just off the Sunforged Door, you know. This terrible 12:12.880 --> 12:18.560 sudden weather seems to have loosened some of the stones. Oh, too bad. Dash too bad. Spoils the 12:18.560 --> 12:24.400 tennis and croquet, I mean, a day like this, doesn't it, Millie? Doesn't it, Millie? Oh, 12:24.400 --> 12:29.800 yes, it does. She was practicing out on the croquet court earlier, but, oh, do pull your 12:29.800 --> 12:34.080 chair nearer the fire, Captain. It was so damp, we thought it would be cozy to light it. Thank 12:34.080 --> 12:43.320 you. I'm quite comfortable. I hope you don't feel too bad about Anna Davis. Can't always win. 12:43.320 --> 12:49.440 Can't see, though, what you women see in these bloodless clerics. Oh, I always thought Mr. 12:49.440 --> 12:56.000 Witherswaas is a very charming man. Quite agree, but why should anyone want to marry him? You 12:56.000 --> 13:03.520 wouldn't want to marry him, would you, Millie? Not now. Very right. Are you? Oh, oh, no. 13:03.520 --> 13:11.640 Of course not. Smalley. Yes, yes, Prince Hymn. Good Lord, Manu, to come in all of a sudden. 13:11.640 --> 13:21.720 Yes, I did. Oh, don't mind this old double-barreled shotgun. Been working on it. Smalley, 13:21.720 --> 13:27.840 may I have your attention for a minute? There's something on the sun porch I'd like to show you. 13:27.840 --> 13:36.760 Why, yes, yes, of course. Smalley, George and I went out to see if we could shoot some rats which 13:36.760 --> 13:42.640 have been driven out of the old well by the high water. Afraid they might get into the house. Now, 13:42.640 --> 13:52.360 you must listen to me very carefully. Very carefully, or you will be shot by accident. Princey, 13:52.360 --> 14:01.420 what's got into you? You heard me ask as you came in who would kill Withers. You also heard 14:01.420 --> 14:09.920 Millicent make a comment, an unguarded comment. Well, what of it? Very little. Unless you were 14:09.920 --> 14:18.640 to hear that Withers had met a violent end this very afternoon. And that, my dear Smalley, is what 14:18.640 --> 14:31.280 you are going to hear. What? Withers? Yes. Who killed him? Millicent. Good Lord. Yes, it's a mess. 14:31.280 --> 14:39.560 And of course you would have remembered and guessed. Maybe, yes, yes, I suppose I should. 14:39.560 --> 14:46.320 Therefore you constitute a problem. Why did she kill him? Oh, it's one of those disgusting things. 14:46.320 --> 14:53.800 Pityable too. She deluded herself that he was in love with her. Good heavens, Millie. Oh, yes, 14:53.800 --> 15:02.120 of course. I see. He had told her about the Davis girl. I understand. Now, I have no wishes. You 15:02.120 --> 15:06.800 will comprehend. She should be proved either a lunatic or a murderous. I could hardly go on 15:06.800 --> 15:13.880 living here after that. I suppose not. On the other hand, you know about it. Yes, I see that. 15:13.880 --> 15:21.040 Makes me a problem. You're wondering if I could keep my mouth shut if I promise. I am wondering 15:21.040 --> 15:27.360 if I could believe you. But if I promise. If things went smoothly, yes, but not if there was any sort 15:27.360 --> 15:34.480 of suspicion, any questioning. You would be afraid of being an accessory. Why, I don't know. I do. 15:34.480 --> 15:42.360 What are we going to do? I can't see anything else. You'd never be a fool enough to do me, 15:42.360 --> 15:49.760 Ian. You can't get rid of two corpses. Oh, I regard it as a better risk than the other. It could be an 15:49.760 --> 15:59.000 accident. Or you and Withers could both disappear. There are possibilities in that. Listen, you can't. 15:59.000 --> 16:08.240 I can, but there may be a way out. There is. Smollett, you gave it to me yourself. I did what? 16:08.240 --> 16:15.520 You said you would kill Withers. You have a motive. Look here, I was joking. Of course you saw that. 16:15.520 --> 16:24.640 You are always joking. Listen, Smollett, I can't trust you. You must trust me. Else I will kill you 16:24.640 --> 16:31.680 now in the next minute. I mean that. You can choose between dying and living. Go on. Now, 16:31.680 --> 16:37.320 there's the old way just outside the Sunport store. That's where I'm going to put Withers. No one 16:37.320 --> 16:42.240 outside knows he has come up here this afternoon. No one will ever look there for him unless you 16:42.240 --> 16:48.720 tell them. You must give me evidence that you have murdered Withers. I murdered him? Why do you want 16:48.720 --> 16:56.760 that? So that I shall be dead sure that you will never open your lips on the subject. I see. What 16:56.760 --> 17:06.560 evidence? George, hit him in the face. Sure. George, don't. Keep out of this. Captain, you should be more 17:06.560 --> 17:15.880 careful. Look what your teeth did to my knuckles. Again, George. Okay. I can't stand it. Keep quiet. 17:15.880 --> 17:22.440 You women keep out of this. I'm sorry, Smollett, but there must be traces of a struggle between you 17:22.440 --> 17:29.800 and Withers. Then it will not be altogether safe for you to go to the police. But can't you take my 17:29.800 --> 17:36.720 word, man? I will when we are finished. George, get the croquet merit. Right, Governor. Take your 17:36.720 --> 17:45.720 handkerchief to it in there on the Sunport floor. Yes. Yes, I got it, Governor. There, Captain. 17:45.720 --> 17:54.120 There's the weapon. As I told you, Smollett, now you just grasp the end that mashed Withers' head. 17:54.120 --> 18:05.120 I shall shoot you if you don't. But good Lord, you can't. All right. There. That's it. Now deposit it 18:05.120 --> 18:12.640 out by the side of the house, out of the rain, of course. No. Wait, George. First, you'd better pull 18:12.640 --> 18:18.880 a few hairs out of his head and put them under the nails of Withers' right hand. Princey, have you 18:18.880 --> 18:26.360 gone mad? Do you know what you're doing? With this gun? Yes. Go ahead, George. Sorry to mush your 18:26.360 --> 18:34.240 hair up, Captain. Shut up, Smollett. There. That's all we need. Now for Withers, and we'll fix it right up. 18:34.240 --> 18:43.640 Be right with you, Governor. Smollett, you may turn around. Withers is just there in the Sunport. 18:43.640 --> 18:56.200 Draw back the curtain. Good Lord, Princey. Yes. Messy. But we'll get him fixed up. Now you, Smollett, 18:56.200 --> 19:02.600 you've just got to drag him through the door and dump him in the old well. Just beyond the door, 19:02.600 --> 19:09.520 Captain. I won't touch him. I won't. All right. Stand aside. Out of range, George. Right. Only one 19:09.520 --> 19:14.920 place I want this bullet to go. Father. Father. Keep quiet. My aim's not too good. Wait a minute. 19:14.920 --> 19:25.160 Wait a minute. That's better, Smollett. Much better. Go on now. In here. You'll have to take him 19:25.160 --> 19:34.200 outside. By the shoulders ought to do it, Captain. Keep quiet, George. Go on, Smollett. Go on. You've 19:34.200 --> 19:44.520 seen dead men before. Drag him. Drag him. I'll just hold the gun here to make sure that everything 19:44.520 --> 19:57.640 goes all right. Oh, Mother. Come away from the din, Wendoldia. Don't look. But Captain Smollett, 19:57.640 --> 20:02.960 your father is a very resourceful man, Millicent. I'm sure what he's doing is right. But the Captain, 20:02.960 --> 20:10.640 I can't, I can't stand it. You mustn't question your dear father. I say, are you two still at it? 20:10.640 --> 20:17.720 There's enough trouble around here without blubbering. I'm not blubbering, George. So you see, Smollett, 20:17.720 --> 20:27.240 everything is perfect. They never look in our well. You see how safe it is? I guess it is. Oh, 20:27.240 --> 20:34.080 good heavens, man. You're dripping wet. Why didn't you slip your raincoat on? Tea ready, my dear? 20:34.080 --> 20:40.200 In just a minute, dear. I'll bring for Bridget. Exactly what you need, Smollett. Cup of tea. Best 20:40.200 --> 20:46.040 thing in the world to ward off a cold. Sit down, won't you? Don't mind getting the chair wet. 20:46.040 --> 20:53.320 Cigarette? Help yourself. I stick to my pipe, you know. Funny how... Everything is hot, 20:53.320 --> 20:59.440 man. Oh, Bridget, yes. Put the tray in front of me here, on the table. That's it. I say, 20:59.440 --> 21:05.320 Captain, you've gone and cut your lip. I just knocked it. Oh, how dreadful. Here, Bridget, 21:05.320 --> 21:13.040 sit for Captain this cup. No, no, thank you. I rather think I'll be running along now, 21:13.040 --> 21:18.640 if you don't mind. Why, Captain Smollett, without any tea? If you don't mind, Mrs. Princey, 21:18.640 --> 21:25.120 if I could just have my raincoat. I'll get it for you, Captain. Oh, this is very distressing, 21:25.120 --> 21:31.200 Smollett, very. I'll be all right presently, I'm sure. Here we are now. Let me help you. 21:31.200 --> 21:37.320 Thank you. Thank you, young man. There. I'd better go out the front way, Smollett. The walk is dry. 21:37.320 --> 21:42.440 Oh, let me hold the door for you, Captain. Don't worry, old fellow. Don't worry at all. 21:42.440 --> 21:52.080 Oh, no, no, I... Good afternoon. Nothing serious, I imagine. He'll rest and he'll be as right as rain. 21:52.080 --> 21:58.720 By the way, Millicent, you're not looking any too well. No, not well at all. I'm sure it was 21:58.720 --> 22:03.480 that croaky court. Being outdoors in weather like this is simply foolhardy. The maid is right, 22:03.480 --> 22:09.320 Millie. You saw what happened to Captain Smollett. Come along, dear. I shall give you a hot foot bath 22:09.320 --> 22:14.800 and put you to bed. And a couple of days in bed and you'll be fine again. Get plenty of rest, 22:14.800 --> 22:22.360 Millicent, and don't worry about a thing. That's the best cure. Well, I guess I'll have a little rest, 22:22.360 --> 22:31.680 too, Governor. It's a fine afternoon for a nap. Indeed it is, son. Well, enjoy yourself. I'll see 22:31.680 --> 22:54.560 you later. I'll see you all later. Your number, please. Oh, would you get me the police station, 22:54.560 --> 23:08.840 please? Police station? Right away, sir. Police headquarters, Sergeant Yancy speaking. Oh, hello, 23:08.840 --> 23:14.600 Sergeant. This is Princey of Abbots Road. I believe you know me. Oh, indeed I do, Mr. Princey. 23:14.600 --> 23:21.280 Sergeant, a horrible thing has just happened. Quite extraordinary. Murder, in fact. Murder? I'm 23:21.280 --> 23:27.240 afraid it looks rather bad for, well, for a close friend of ours, unfortunately. We saw him do it. 23:27.240 --> 23:31.600 I think you'd better send someone over right away. Our man should be there right about now, 23:31.600 --> 23:39.960 Mr. Princey. I beg your pardon? I say, our man should be there now. Constable Martin has his post 23:39.960 --> 23:47.960 right below your house there. Just rang in. Seems Captain Smollett was with him. Captain Smollett? 23:47.960 --> 23:53.760 He reported some rather queer goings-on at your place, but I certainly didn't understand it was 23:53.760 --> 24:02.520 murder. Just don't touch anything, Mr. Princey, and don't worry. Don't worry at all. No. No, 24:02.520 --> 24:12.800 no, no. I won't, Sergeant. Thank you. Governor! Governor, where are you? I'm right here. Stop 24:12.800 --> 24:21.280 shouting. We, we have some visitors, Governor. Oh, yes. Yes, yes, I can see that. Well, Constable, 24:21.280 --> 24:28.600 good afternoon. Good afternoon, Mr. Princey. And Smollett, I see what a remarkable fellow you are, 24:28.600 --> 24:34.840 coming back like this. Here to reenact the crime? Only the one against me, Princey. The one against 24:34.840 --> 24:40.720 the curate. I'll leave to you people. Extraordinary sense of humor. Mr. Princey, I just had to look 24:40.720 --> 24:46.520 at what's in your well. Not to criticize that, not pretty at all. Yes, Captain Smollett was 24:46.520 --> 24:52.080 thorough, if nothing else. You saw him when he did it, sir, out in the back? Oh, quite. We were just 24:52.080 --> 24:56.200 returning from a walk. Smollett evidently had been laying for the curate, hiding out in those 24:56.200 --> 25:02.960 bushes by the road, I imagine. He was never inside this house? Never. And you say, Captain? I say 25:02.960 --> 25:08.160 that while I was inside this house, a guest of the family, I was coerced into dragging the curate's 25:08.160 --> 25:15.160 body outside and dumping it in the well. Well, there we are. Not entirely, Constable. I'll just 25:15.160 --> 25:21.640 remove my raincoat, there, and demonstrate how damp I got my clothes when I went outside without it. 25:21.640 --> 25:29.080 No, that's interesting, isn't it? Quite. He undoubtedly removed his coat at some point between 25:29.080 --> 25:34.640 here and your post. I might as well tell you that his weapon, a red croquemallet, is out by the side 25:34.640 --> 25:39.240 of the house. I shouldn't be at all surprised but that you'd find his fingerprints all over it. All 25:39.240 --> 25:45.280 over the end of the mallet, Constable, the end that mashed Withers's head, and not the end I'd 25:45.280 --> 25:51.720 have had to grasp in order to do the mashing. Governor, that's a decent try, Smollett, but it 25:51.720 --> 25:56.680 won't work. There must be other evidences, Constable. You'll undoubtedly find them when you examine the 25:56.680 --> 26:02.560 body. He means my hair under Withers's nails. Well, sir, if you look carefully, I believe you'll find 26:02.560 --> 26:08.520 a few of my precious hairs under his son's nails, too. Here, what are you trying at? Constable, 26:08.520 --> 26:13.280 this is an utter waste of time. So far as the violence struggle between Smollett and Withers is 26:13.280 --> 26:18.520 concerned, Smollett's face speaks for itself, quite eloquently, I believe. Oh, but no more eloquently 26:18.520 --> 26:25.280 than your son's knuckles. As you see, Constable, a fresh abrasion. He did that on my teeth. Or did 26:25.280 --> 26:38.240 he? What? I say, or did he? He might have done that on Withers's teeth. Oh, I see. I see what you mean. 26:38.240 --> 26:44.360 But, but, but I didn't. Governor, he said I... Oh, keep still, you nitwit. Let me think. Let me think. 26:44.360 --> 26:49.600 As a matter of fact, George, the more I think of it, the more I'm convinced it was your voice I 26:49.600 --> 26:55.880 heard. Quite a vigorous quarrel. Something about the curate juking your sister. Oh, don't be ridiculous, 26:55.880 --> 27:02.560 Smollett. Very well, Princey. If your son didn't do it, who did? That's what I'd like to know. How 27:02.560 --> 27:11.560 about it, Mr. Princey? Well, that, that is a sticker, all right. George, my boy, it looks like you're 27:11.560 --> 27:18.120 elected. Elected? What do you mean? I didn't do it. Why, I don't... Keep your mouth shut, will you? I won't. 27:18.120 --> 27:22.200 I'm not going to take the blame for her. Millie did it. She did it with that mallet, I saw. You could 27:22.200 --> 27:29.360 prove that? Prove it? I, I... Yes, her, her fingerprints on the mallet, the handle. Why, George, don't you 27:29.360 --> 27:33.400 remember when you made me touch the mallet, when you picked it up with your handkerchief? No, I... 27:33.400 --> 27:38.520 George, I'm sure you wiped that handle clean. Oh, well, I could hardly expect you to remember that, 27:38.520 --> 27:44.040 if you, if you can't even remember killing the curate. Governor, I... I told you to keep still. 27:44.040 --> 27:50.160 But Governor, you're not going to turn me over, you... As long as I can remember, George, you've been a 27:50.160 --> 27:57.320 trial and a tribulation to me. Governor, I... You shouldn't have done it, son. You really shouldn't. 27:57.320 --> 28:04.840 No, George, that was definitely wrong. I say, Princey, I think I'll have that cup of tea after all. 28:04.840 --> 28:15.520 Nothing like it in weather like this. Wet Saturday, from the short story by John Collier. You have 28:15.520 --> 28:20.440 just heard the second in Columbia's new series, a series designed to bring you the best in thrill 28:20.440 --> 28:27.840 entertainment. Outstanding dramas from the field of fiction and radio, stage and screen. Dramas of 28:27.840 --> 28:46.040 pure suspense. This Columbia feature is produced and directed by Charles Vanda, with script by 28:46.040 --> 28:54.760 Harold Bedford and score by Bernard Herman. Be with us again next week at the same time when we 28:54.760 --> 28:59.080 present Suspense. This is the Columbia Broadcasting System.