WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:16.000 Suspense! 00:16.000 --> 00:28.500 Produced, edited, and directed by William Spear. 00:28.500 --> 00:33.280 This is the second in a special limited series of five Friday night performances of Suspense 00:33.280 --> 00:35.240 at this hour. 00:35.240 --> 00:39.800 Suspense is compounded of mystery and suspicion and dangerous adventure. 00:39.800 --> 00:44.720 In this series, our story is calculated to intrigue you, to stir your nerves, to offer 00:44.720 --> 00:51.120 you a precarious situation, and then withhold the solution until the last possible moment. 00:51.120 --> 00:55.960 Tonight from Hollywood, we bring you Mr. Jackie Cooper as star in The Clock and the Rope, 00:55.960 --> 00:58.480 a radio play by Lewis Pollock. 00:58.480 --> 01:06.240 We trust that with this tale, we shall once again keep you in Suspense. 01:06.240 --> 01:10.880 Would you like to hear the old story about the innocent man facing execution and his 01:10.880 --> 01:16.000 last minute attempts to get a pardon and how it feels when he doesn't get it? 01:16.000 --> 01:20.280 Well, I can tell you all about it, because that's my story. 01:20.280 --> 01:24.600 There's a couple of different twists to it, of course, there always are. 01:24.600 --> 01:30.000 For one thing, it happened to me, now I keep away from people. 01:30.000 --> 01:35.720 I keep away from cities and buildings, buildings with the cells they call rooms and the doors 01:35.720 --> 01:37.880 that don't always open. 01:37.880 --> 01:41.680 I never button my collar, you'll find out why. 01:41.680 --> 01:47.940 I earned my living as a guide for hunting parties, me, who couldn't find my way across 01:47.940 --> 01:50.080 the city park. 01:50.080 --> 01:55.340 I never sleep indoors and I can't stand clocks. 01:55.340 --> 01:59.000 Most of all, I can't stand clocks. 01:59.000 --> 02:06.120 It happened so fast, I told them it wasn't murder, it was self-defense, involuntary self-defense, 02:06.120 --> 02:08.200 like putting up your arms to protect yourself. 02:08.200 --> 02:12.160 But it didn't work out that way in court. 02:12.160 --> 02:14.880 That's the other different twist I told you about. 02:14.880 --> 02:33.560 They convicted me, they sentenced me to be hanged, and they hanged me. 02:33.560 --> 02:38.400 I was night man, my job wasn't hard, and to me interesting. 02:38.400 --> 02:42.640 Sell a little gas, do the rough strip down for some repairs that had to be done the next 02:42.640 --> 02:45.560 day, take care of any tranch and overnight parking. 02:45.560 --> 02:51.120 Then this girl started dropping in for gas every other night or so, late. 02:51.120 --> 02:55.800 I liked her style, but I was too shy to say anything and I guess she figured it. 02:55.800 --> 03:00.040 She'd sit with a sort of a little smile, half turned in her seat, and watch me while I filled 03:00.040 --> 03:01.040 the tank. 03:01.040 --> 03:05.920 Then she'd pay me and pull away with a funny look in her eyes, like she was getting a kick 03:05.920 --> 03:08.560 out of the way I acted. 03:08.560 --> 03:11.640 Then one night, instead of pulling away when she paid me, she spoke. 03:11.640 --> 03:14.080 Oh, come on, come on, open up. 03:14.080 --> 03:16.040 Say something, I've been here 20 times. 03:16.040 --> 03:19.600 You can say a word or two, can't you? 03:19.600 --> 03:22.000 You know, hello, it's a nice night or it ain't. 03:22.000 --> 03:24.360 Oh, well, I didn't know that you wanted me to. 03:24.360 --> 03:25.360 You're a funny fellow. 03:25.360 --> 03:28.440 I didn't look like I didn't want you to, did I? 03:28.440 --> 03:29.920 Or don't I know my looks anymore? 03:29.920 --> 03:30.920 Oh, sure. 03:30.920 --> 03:33.520 Oh, I just, well, can I get your windshield here? 03:33.520 --> 03:36.160 Tell me, did I hear somebody call you Hank the other night? 03:36.160 --> 03:37.160 I guess you did. 03:37.160 --> 03:38.960 My name's Henry, Henry Guilford. 03:38.960 --> 03:40.600 Does your girl call you Hank? 03:40.600 --> 03:42.080 Haven't you got a girl? 03:42.080 --> 03:43.080 No, steady girl. 03:43.080 --> 03:44.080 Is that what you mean? 03:44.080 --> 03:45.080 I don't mean anything. 03:45.080 --> 03:48.480 Anyway, what would you be doing on a steady girl working here every night? 03:48.480 --> 03:51.520 Well, I get one night off, go to a dance or something. 03:51.520 --> 03:53.000 Oh, you get a night off? 03:53.000 --> 03:54.000 Oh, sure. 03:54.000 --> 03:56.160 Hey, say, you like to dance? 03:56.160 --> 03:57.160 I have, Dan. 03:57.160 --> 03:58.160 Well, I'm off tomorrow night. 03:58.160 --> 03:59.960 You ever go to the Arcadia? 03:59.960 --> 04:01.480 They got a good band there. 04:01.480 --> 04:02.640 Forget who it is this week. 04:02.640 --> 04:05.120 I'm sorry, tomorrow night isn't my night off. 04:05.120 --> 04:07.200 But I get off at midnight, though. 04:07.200 --> 04:09.560 Well, gee, the Arcadia closes at midnight. 04:09.560 --> 04:11.400 All the big dance places close at midnight. 04:11.400 --> 04:14.640 We don't have to have a big place, do we? 04:14.640 --> 04:16.840 Well, I don't know. 04:16.840 --> 04:17.840 No. 04:17.840 --> 04:19.720 There's the Owl Inn out on Tapscott Avenue. 04:19.720 --> 04:23.560 They run late, have a pretty good little band and booths and everything. 04:23.560 --> 04:24.560 That'll be fine. 04:24.560 --> 04:26.160 I'll pick you up at your job. 04:26.160 --> 04:28.480 No, I'm way at the other end of town. 04:28.480 --> 04:29.800 I have to drive my car back anyway. 04:29.800 --> 04:31.560 Suppose I meet you at the Owl. 04:31.560 --> 04:32.760 I'll be there a little after midnight. 04:32.760 --> 04:33.760 I'll be there. 04:33.760 --> 04:34.760 Okay. 04:34.760 --> 04:35.760 See you. 04:35.760 --> 04:36.760 Yeah, see you. 04:36.760 --> 04:37.760 Jose, hey, what's your name? 04:37.760 --> 04:39.760 My name's Mike, Mike. 04:39.760 --> 04:40.760 Mike, Mike. 04:40.760 --> 04:49.800 Well, that next night around 1130, I caught the trolley going out along Tapscott Avenue. 04:49.800 --> 04:51.440 The motorman was old Steve Hoffman. 04:51.440 --> 04:53.400 He'd known me since I was a kid. 04:53.400 --> 04:56.960 He'd written me about my new gray suit and especially about wanting to get off at the 04:56.960 --> 04:57.960 Owl Inn. 04:57.960 --> 05:00.840 Said I was stepping out in fast company. 05:00.840 --> 05:05.200 Well, we got there in about 20 minutes and I started up the driveway, kind of thrilled 05:05.200 --> 05:07.040 at the idea of a midnight date. 05:07.040 --> 05:11.080 I was just starting up the steps to the inn when I heard voices coming from a grove of 05:11.080 --> 05:12.920 trees to one side. 05:12.920 --> 05:16.440 Seemed to be a quarrel, so I instinctively glanced that way and saw a man and a girl 05:16.440 --> 05:17.440 talking. 05:17.440 --> 05:19.160 The girl was my girl. 05:19.160 --> 05:20.160 She was saying something. 05:20.160 --> 05:21.160 Nobody, I tell you. 05:21.160 --> 05:22.160 Don't give me that stuff. 05:22.160 --> 05:23.160 I've followed you all the way out here. 05:23.160 --> 05:24.160 Who are you meeting? 05:24.160 --> 05:25.160 Nobody. 05:25.160 --> 05:26.160 Who are you meeting? 05:26.160 --> 05:27.160 Oh, Joe, I told you nobody. 05:27.160 --> 05:28.160 Don't lie to me. 05:28.160 --> 05:29.160 Who are you meeting? 05:29.160 --> 05:30.160 Hey, come back here. 05:30.160 --> 05:31.160 Hey, what is this? 05:31.160 --> 05:32.160 Get out of my way. 05:32.160 --> 05:33.160 Look, this is... 05:33.160 --> 05:34.160 What's you, Hank? 05:34.160 --> 05:37.280 Well, here, here, I'll help you up. 05:37.280 --> 05:39.280 I'm sorry I got in your way, but I... 05:39.280 --> 05:40.280 Oh, Hank, so this is the guy, huh? 05:40.280 --> 05:41.280 Swell. 05:41.280 --> 05:42.280 Hey, now what's going on? 05:42.280 --> 05:43.280 What do you mean anybody, huh? 05:43.280 --> 05:44.280 Hey. 05:44.280 --> 05:45.280 What did you get him for? 05:45.280 --> 05:46.280 Joe, he's got nothing to do with you. 05:46.280 --> 05:47.280 Get up, Hank and Ron. 05:47.280 --> 05:48.280 This guy is just crazy. 05:48.280 --> 05:49.280 Crazy? 05:49.280 --> 05:50.280 Well, go call somebody. 05:50.280 --> 05:51.280 What? 05:51.280 --> 05:52.280 Now, wait a minute, fellow. 05:52.280 --> 05:53.280 Look, I don't know what this is. 05:53.280 --> 05:54.280 Oh, Hank, will you get out of here? 05:54.280 --> 05:55.280 Run. 05:55.280 --> 05:56.280 You want more? 05:56.280 --> 05:57.280 I got it right here for you. 05:57.280 --> 05:58.280 Hank, it's a blackjack. 05:58.280 --> 05:59.280 Will you run? 05:59.280 --> 06:00.280 Please? 06:00.280 --> 06:01.280 No, no, wait a minute. 06:01.280 --> 06:04.280 I'll get you drunk, here, put that away, now somebody's gonna get... 06:04.280 --> 06:05.280 Let go? 06:05.280 --> 06:06.280 No, you don't grab... 06:06.280 --> 06:07.280 Let go? 06:07.280 --> 06:08.280 You got him. 06:08.280 --> 06:09.280 You got him, Hank. 06:09.280 --> 06:10.280 Hit him. 06:10.280 --> 06:11.280 Hit him again. 06:11.280 --> 06:12.280 Hit him. 06:12.280 --> 06:13.280 Hit him. 06:13.280 --> 06:14.280 Hit him. 06:14.280 --> 06:15.280 Hit him. 06:15.280 --> 06:16.280 I did it, I guess. 06:16.280 --> 06:17.280 Hey, who is he? 06:17.280 --> 06:20.280 Oh, he would have done worse to you. 06:20.280 --> 06:21.280 He's... 06:21.280 --> 06:22.280 We used to go together. 06:22.280 --> 06:25.200 Oh, I didn't know you had a steady fellow. 06:25.200 --> 06:26.200 I thought we made our date. 06:26.200 --> 06:27.200 You didn't ask me. 06:27.200 --> 06:28.200 Besides, we were breaking up. 06:28.200 --> 06:29.200 He had no right to interfere. 06:29.200 --> 06:30.200 Well, what do we do now? 06:30.200 --> 06:33.200 I mean about him. 06:33.200 --> 06:34.200 You better go. 06:34.200 --> 06:36.200 I'll take care of him. 06:36.200 --> 06:37.200 No. 06:37.200 --> 06:38.200 You mean leave him here with you? 06:38.200 --> 06:39.200 Please go, will you? 06:39.200 --> 06:40.200 There'll be more trouble if you're too... 06:40.200 --> 06:41.200 Go ahead, will you, Hank? 06:41.200 --> 06:43.200 I'm gonna leave right away too. 06:43.200 --> 06:44.200 He'll be all right, honest. 06:44.200 --> 06:46.200 Well, okay, I guess. 06:46.200 --> 06:48.200 He'll be all right up. 06:48.200 --> 06:49.200 Joe. 06:49.200 --> 06:50.200 Joe? 06:50.200 --> 06:54.200 But he wasn't all right. 06:54.200 --> 06:57.280 He was dead. 06:57.280 --> 07:00.800 I knew about it hardly two hours later. 07:00.800 --> 07:02.600 She didn't come and tell me. 07:02.600 --> 07:04.200 The police came and got me. 07:04.200 --> 07:06.280 They didn't learn about me from her either. 07:06.280 --> 07:08.480 They didn't know anything about her. 07:08.480 --> 07:11.120 And they acted like they didn't want to know. 07:11.120 --> 07:13.520 Sometimes you punks aren't as smart as you think you are. 07:13.520 --> 07:16.280 I wasn't trying to cover up, I tell you. 07:16.280 --> 07:17.280 I wasn't. 07:17.280 --> 07:20.280 Why did you walk home? 07:20.280 --> 07:21.760 You rode out there on a trolley. 07:21.760 --> 07:22.760 Why didn't you ride back? 07:22.760 --> 07:25.280 I just wanted to think, that's all. 07:25.280 --> 07:26.280 Yeah, sure, sure. 07:26.280 --> 07:31.560 Of course, you weren't thinking about how maybe the motor man wouldn't remember taking 07:31.560 --> 07:33.280 you out there if you didn't ride back. 07:33.280 --> 07:34.760 No, why would I do that? 07:34.760 --> 07:37.080 I've known old Steve Hoffman all my life. 07:37.080 --> 07:38.080 That I found out. 07:38.080 --> 07:41.120 I told you, you aren't as smart as you think you are. 07:41.120 --> 07:43.280 I'm not trying to be smart. 07:43.280 --> 07:44.280 Okay, okay, okay. 07:44.280 --> 07:48.440 So you hit him in self-defense and you saved the girl. 07:48.440 --> 07:50.480 Now, what's her name? 07:50.480 --> 07:51.480 Her name? 07:51.480 --> 07:53.640 Gee, I never got it. 07:53.640 --> 07:54.640 She never told me. 07:54.640 --> 07:58.440 You mean you had a date with a girl and you didn't even know what her name was? 07:58.440 --> 08:00.240 Well, yeah, well I asked her. 08:00.240 --> 08:01.240 I seen her often. 08:01.240 --> 08:03.040 Well, she didn't tell me. 08:03.040 --> 08:05.320 Are you sure there was a girl? 08:05.320 --> 08:06.320 Of course. 08:06.320 --> 08:08.160 Now who did I have a date with? 08:08.160 --> 08:09.480 Maybe just with the guy you killed. 08:09.480 --> 08:10.920 I never met him before. 08:10.920 --> 08:11.920 I don't even know him. 08:11.920 --> 08:14.840 You just don't know anything, do you? 08:14.840 --> 08:18.920 Well, I'll ask you a very simple question. 08:18.920 --> 08:20.600 I'm sure you can answer this one. 08:20.600 --> 08:21.600 I'll try. 08:21.600 --> 08:23.800 How much money did you take off the man you murdered? 08:23.800 --> 08:24.800 How much money? 08:24.800 --> 08:25.800 Yeah, how much? 08:25.800 --> 08:26.800 Where is it? 08:26.800 --> 08:29.320 His pockets were turned inside out. 08:29.320 --> 08:39.280 You went from self-defense to help yourself. 08:39.280 --> 08:41.680 They pushed me around some after that. 08:41.680 --> 08:44.160 They'd take me to court and then back to my cell. 08:44.160 --> 08:46.880 Half the time I didn't know what was going on. 08:46.880 --> 08:50.520 They gave me a lawyer, Mr. Hall, Bailey Hall. 08:50.520 --> 08:52.240 He'd do the talking. 08:52.240 --> 08:58.320 He kept asking for things like reduced bail, time for further investigation, continuances 08:58.320 --> 09:02.000 to find witnesses, just sort of stalling all the time. 09:02.000 --> 09:03.000 I don't know why. 09:03.000 --> 09:07.040 I told him I didn't have any money for any bail and witnesses. 09:07.040 --> 09:10.920 There was only one I wanted, that girl. 09:10.920 --> 09:11.920 But he kept on. 09:11.920 --> 09:14.640 I was trying to hold up things. 09:14.640 --> 09:16.600 And one day he told me I'd been indicted. 09:16.600 --> 09:19.640 I knew what that meant all right. 09:19.640 --> 09:22.440 Then I had to go on trial for murder. 09:22.440 --> 09:24.960 That's bad, boy. 09:24.960 --> 09:29.160 I've done all I could to delay indictment and trial and hope that something would turn 09:29.160 --> 09:32.320 up, but we're in for it now. 09:32.320 --> 09:34.920 I wish you could give me something more to work on. 09:34.920 --> 09:35.920 What do you mean? 09:35.920 --> 09:37.960 Well, this girl you can't even name. 09:37.960 --> 09:40.240 I can't go into court with just that. 09:40.240 --> 09:42.640 The police feel certain there never was a girl. 09:42.640 --> 09:45.160 There's no trace of her anywhere. 09:45.160 --> 09:46.160 Maybe she'll show up. 09:46.160 --> 09:47.160 Show up? 09:47.160 --> 09:49.040 My boy, you've got a lot to learn. 09:49.040 --> 09:51.200 I hate to bet my case on a hope like this. 09:51.200 --> 09:53.640 That's all I got. 09:53.640 --> 09:55.960 Whole case smells. 09:55.960 --> 09:58.120 A man is killed and his pocket's empty. 09:58.120 --> 09:59.120 You admit hitting him. 09:59.120 --> 10:01.480 You talk about a girl who saw you hit in self-defense. 10:01.480 --> 10:02.480 You don't know her name. 10:02.480 --> 10:03.480 She doesn't show up. 10:03.480 --> 10:04.480 The police can't find her. 10:04.480 --> 10:06.840 It's a great case for the state. 10:06.840 --> 10:09.040 Mr. Hall, that's all I know. 10:09.040 --> 10:10.040 I can't help it. 10:10.040 --> 10:15.560 Why, George, if you'd never mentioned the girl and just claimed self-defense or a fight, 10:15.560 --> 10:16.920 I'd like it 10 times better. 10:16.920 --> 10:22.000 It's a girl thing that's so bad, it makes your whole defense phony. 10:22.000 --> 10:26.440 Good Lord, boy, if you made up a girl, why didn't you make up a name? 10:26.440 --> 10:27.800 I've been all through that with the police. 10:27.800 --> 10:30.640 If you're gonna talk that way to me, we'd better forget the whole thing. 10:30.640 --> 10:33.320 Maybe you'll give me another attorney or none for all I care. 10:33.320 --> 10:34.320 Easy, easy, boy. 10:34.320 --> 10:35.320 Sorry, I piped off. 10:35.320 --> 10:39.080 It isn't a new attorney you need. 10:39.080 --> 10:40.080 It's a new story. 10:40.080 --> 10:41.080 Well, I'll do my best. 10:41.080 --> 10:42.080 Do my best. 10:42.080 --> 10:53.120 Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's right. 10:53.120 --> 10:55.600 Guilford rode out to the inn that night in my trolley. 10:55.600 --> 10:56.600 On my run. 10:56.600 --> 10:57.600 Speak louder, please. 10:57.600 --> 10:58.600 Yeah, that's right. 10:58.600 --> 11:00.480 Guilford rode out to the inn that night in my trolley. 11:00.480 --> 11:01.480 On my run. 11:01.480 --> 11:03.040 Speak to the jury, please, and talk louder. 11:03.040 --> 11:04.040 Oh, louder? 11:04.040 --> 11:05.040 Oh. 11:05.040 --> 11:09.520 I, uh, I said I took Guilford to the inn that night. 11:09.520 --> 11:11.520 It was about 1210. 11:11.520 --> 11:15.400 Uh, that's 10 after midnight, you know. 11:15.400 --> 11:16.400 Card talk, doesn't it? 11:16.400 --> 11:18.400 The way we talk around the barn. 11:18.400 --> 11:20.440 He got out and started for the inn. 11:20.440 --> 11:22.560 Yes, well, just a minute. 11:22.560 --> 11:25.160 Did you notice anyone else around? 11:25.160 --> 11:27.160 Any girl, for instance? 11:27.160 --> 11:28.160 Girl? 11:28.160 --> 11:29.160 No. 11:29.160 --> 11:30.160 Nobody else. 11:30.160 --> 11:31.720 Just my friend, Fatty Cushion, that's all. 11:31.720 --> 11:32.720 That'll be all. 11:32.720 --> 11:33.720 We play Puyknuckle together, don't you? 11:33.720 --> 11:34.720 Thank you very much. 11:34.720 --> 11:35.720 Yes. 11:35.720 --> 11:42.040 And the defense may have the witness. 11:42.040 --> 11:46.640 And as soon as we started to talk to Guilford, he confessed to striking the blows. 11:46.640 --> 11:50.800 He talked about doing it in self-defense and about a girl he had a date with, a witness 11:50.800 --> 11:51.800 to fight. 11:51.800 --> 11:52.800 Yeah. 11:52.800 --> 11:58.680 Well, now, Lieutenant, has your department been able to trace this girl whose existence 11:58.680 --> 12:00.640 is claimed by the defendant? 12:00.640 --> 12:01.640 No. 12:01.640 --> 12:03.280 No trace of her at all? 12:03.280 --> 12:04.280 No, sir. 12:04.280 --> 12:09.280 No trace of her at all. 12:09.280 --> 12:13.640 Beyond the shadow of any reasonable doubt. 12:13.640 --> 12:18.720 Now then, we come to the actual evidence, ladies and gentlemen of the jury. 12:18.720 --> 12:20.240 Where do we get the evidence? 12:20.240 --> 12:22.200 From the witnesses. 12:22.200 --> 12:26.040 And who is the state's principal witness? 12:26.040 --> 12:30.640 None other than the defendant himself, Henry Guilford. 12:30.640 --> 12:32.840 But the defendant can prove his story. 12:32.840 --> 12:39.960 He has a witness, the girl who saw it all, the girl he saved from a bad beating. 12:39.960 --> 12:43.920 Would any girl be so heartless as to leave such a benefactor in the lurch when just a 12:43.920 --> 12:46.840 word would save him? 12:46.840 --> 12:47.840 Why doesn't she appear? 12:47.840 --> 12:49.640 Why hasn't she found? 12:49.640 --> 12:52.720 But no, no trace of her. 12:52.720 --> 12:56.160 Not even a small size note. 12:56.160 --> 13:02.600 In other words, she is behaving exactly as you would expect of someone who is not real, 13:02.600 --> 13:16.360 but just the figment of a desperate man's imagination. 13:16.360 --> 13:20.240 The defendant will rise. 13:20.240 --> 13:23.240 Gentlemen of the jury, have you reached a verdict? 13:23.240 --> 13:24.520 We have, your honor. 13:24.520 --> 13:26.080 What is your verdict? 13:26.080 --> 13:32.080 We the jury find the defendant, Henry Guilford, guilty as charged with murder in the first 13:32.080 --> 13:33.080 degree. 13:33.080 --> 13:36.120 Henry Guilford, you have... 13:36.120 --> 13:39.120 Yes, sir. 13:39.120 --> 13:50.840 It was crazy. 13:50.840 --> 13:53.200 Sometimes I thought it must be just a crazy nightmare. 13:53.200 --> 13:58.520 Like when you're going to wake up and everything's going to be all right. 13:58.520 --> 13:59.520 I was innocent. 13:59.520 --> 14:01.960 And they were going to hang me. 14:01.960 --> 14:02.960 For murder. 14:02.960 --> 14:05.800 Because they couldn't find a girl. 14:05.800 --> 14:09.400 One girl who knew I hadn't done it. 14:09.400 --> 14:13.640 Can you imagine how that feels? 14:13.640 --> 14:17.280 My boss at the garage and the fellows who worked there days chipped in some money. 14:17.280 --> 14:23.880 I had an uncle in West Virginia who sent Mr. Hall $50 in cash, a promissory note for another 14:23.880 --> 14:24.880 50. 14:24.880 --> 14:28.560 And I guess Mr. Hall put up some money himself for expenses. 14:28.560 --> 14:33.600 Anyway, he kept appealing the case all the way up to the state Supreme Court. 14:33.600 --> 14:35.840 But it didn't do any good. 14:35.840 --> 14:40.480 Kept coming back with the original decision sustained, Mr. Hall said. 14:40.480 --> 14:44.640 I asked him if he was going to take the case to the United States Supreme Court. 14:44.640 --> 14:46.240 But he said he couldn't. 14:46.240 --> 14:48.920 He had nothing to justify a hearing. 14:48.920 --> 14:52.880 Guess he meant everything was cut and dry. 14:52.880 --> 14:56.440 All this time the courts had kept changing the date. 14:56.440 --> 14:59.840 The date I was supposed to be hanged. 14:59.840 --> 15:04.120 Now all of a sudden I knew there weren't going to be any more changes. 15:04.120 --> 15:06.680 The last date set was it. 15:06.680 --> 15:09.440 How do you suppose that feels? 15:09.440 --> 15:11.560 I think I started to suffocate right then. 15:11.560 --> 15:16.120 There was something growing in my throat that wouldn't let me breathe. 15:16.120 --> 15:19.840 Evening of the next day, McGill, the deputy warden, came into my cell with a couple of 15:19.840 --> 15:20.840 guards. 15:20.840 --> 15:23.160 Told me I was moving. 15:23.160 --> 15:24.160 I knew where. 15:24.160 --> 15:28.720 It was down on the main floor, a row of only three cells. 15:28.720 --> 15:30.400 These were larger cells. 15:30.400 --> 15:31.680 More light. 15:31.680 --> 15:33.640 More convenient. 15:33.640 --> 15:38.400 This was the last death row. 15:38.400 --> 15:48.080 Now there's a team of two guards who live right in the cell with you the last few days. 15:48.080 --> 15:53.280 It's one time a prison breaks down and shows a human touch, I guess. 15:53.280 --> 15:54.280 Where else? 15:54.280 --> 15:58.840 I just want to make sure you don't go ahead and carry out the sentence on yourself. 15:58.840 --> 16:01.440 Anyway, whatever it was, I was grateful. 16:01.440 --> 16:04.080 Because now I was lonely. 16:04.080 --> 16:05.440 Wait deep inside myself. 16:05.440 --> 16:08.240 I ached with loneliness and fear. 16:08.240 --> 16:09.240 I was afraid. 16:09.240 --> 16:11.240 Well, not like a man. 16:11.240 --> 16:14.400 Afraid of a boy or a child. 16:14.400 --> 16:16.800 Who's gone someplace? 16:16.800 --> 16:17.800 The last place. 16:17.800 --> 16:25.360 I was going alone. 16:25.360 --> 16:29.200 The thing you feel most the last hours is the time. 16:29.200 --> 16:30.200 The clock. 16:30.200 --> 16:34.560 Remembering how often you wished it would hurry so you could get off work or go out 16:34.560 --> 16:38.400 of school or see your girl, like a fishin'. 16:38.400 --> 16:40.760 Oh, you remember a hundred hours like that one. 16:40.760 --> 16:42.760 Six hours is all you got left. 16:42.760 --> 16:45.880 Outside, you know, they're watching the clock, too. 16:45.880 --> 16:48.960 Not like you are, but they're watching it. 16:48.960 --> 16:53.320 All the usual people concerned with an execution, doing the usual things. 16:53.320 --> 17:00.600 Your lawyer in the ward, governor maybe, newspaper men, guards, the executioner. 17:00.600 --> 17:04.080 I know what every one of them was doing as they watched the clock that night. 17:04.080 --> 17:06.720 They told me afterwards. 17:06.720 --> 17:09.560 Now I'll never forget it. 17:09.560 --> 17:16.560 The clocks all over the state ticking away my life. 17:16.560 --> 17:27.760 You know, you ought to get some sleep, warden. 17:27.760 --> 17:29.960 It's only five hours away. 17:29.960 --> 17:30.960 I know. 17:30.960 --> 17:36.960 Oh, I wish I could lose this pain in my chest for a little while. 17:36.960 --> 17:38.840 I think I'll just lie down here on the couch. 17:38.840 --> 17:40.840 Why don't you do that, warden? 17:40.840 --> 17:42.840 Yeah, yeah. 17:42.840 --> 17:44.840 Oh. 17:44.840 --> 17:50.280 What time is it? 17:50.280 --> 17:51.280 It's coming up one a.m. 17:51.280 --> 17:54.280 Been feeling bad all day? 17:54.280 --> 17:56.000 Not too good. 17:56.000 --> 17:59.440 I've got this thing in my chest. 17:59.440 --> 18:01.120 I suppose it's nervous indigestion. 18:01.120 --> 18:02.120 Good day. 18:02.120 --> 18:03.120 Yeah. 18:03.120 --> 18:07.080 Had it a couple of weeks, as a matter of fact. 18:07.080 --> 18:10.320 I'm exhausted. 18:10.320 --> 18:12.880 This is a tough job, McGill. 18:12.880 --> 18:20.520 Every time it gets harder, it takes it out of me. 18:20.520 --> 18:22.760 What do you think of young Guilford? 18:22.760 --> 18:23.760 Nice kid. 18:23.760 --> 18:24.760 Yeah. 18:24.760 --> 18:26.800 Yeah, nice kid. 18:26.800 --> 18:28.840 He sounds like he's... 18:28.840 --> 18:32.960 Well, that's not up to us. 18:32.960 --> 18:36.200 It's not up to us. 18:36.200 --> 18:39.840 Well, I'll try and get some rest. 18:39.840 --> 18:40.840 Yeah. 18:40.840 --> 18:41.840 When shall I call you, warden? 18:41.840 --> 18:45.640 Oh, make it an hour beforehand. 18:45.640 --> 18:48.640 Five o'clock. 18:48.640 --> 18:52.440 Hello. 18:52.440 --> 19:00.760 This is Bailey Hall. 19:00.760 --> 19:06.120 Yes, I'm Guilford's attorney. 19:06.120 --> 19:08.320 Look, it's four o'clock in the morning. 19:08.320 --> 19:09.320 I need... 19:09.320 --> 19:10.320 You're who? 19:10.320 --> 19:11.320 You're... 19:11.320 --> 19:13.320 Well, where have you been all this time? 19:13.320 --> 19:14.320 What? 19:14.320 --> 19:18.200 Yeah, now look, you're not just some crank that's after publicity. 19:18.200 --> 19:20.280 I know, I know, I know. 19:20.280 --> 19:21.280 It's for six o'clock. 19:21.280 --> 19:22.280 Where are you? 19:22.280 --> 19:23.280 Well, wait for me. 19:23.280 --> 19:24.280 I'll be right down. 19:24.280 --> 19:25.280 We've got about two hours. 19:25.280 --> 19:26.280 I'll stake my reputation on the governor. 19:26.280 --> 19:37.520 This is a girl. 19:37.520 --> 19:40.360 At least it deserves a stay of execution. 19:40.360 --> 19:41.360 It's true, sir. 19:41.360 --> 19:42.640 Honest, I swear it's true. 19:42.640 --> 19:43.640 I've been away. 19:43.640 --> 19:44.640 I've been in Mexico. 19:44.640 --> 19:46.360 You just don't read the papers there. 19:46.360 --> 19:49.520 I just hadn't heard about it till tonight, but it's just as he said it was. 19:49.520 --> 19:50.520 Self-defense. 19:50.520 --> 19:52.600 Please, sir, it's after five o'clock now. 19:52.600 --> 19:53.600 Can't we get... 19:53.600 --> 19:56.200 What about the money that was taken out of the dead man? 19:56.200 --> 19:57.200 I took it. 19:57.200 --> 19:58.200 I took it. 19:58.200 --> 19:59.200 I needed it. 19:59.200 --> 20:00.200 I didn't know he was dead. 20:00.200 --> 20:01.200 He was drunk. 20:01.200 --> 20:02.200 He was... 20:02.200 --> 20:03.200 I had every right to the money, honest. 20:03.200 --> 20:04.200 He'd been my husband. 20:04.200 --> 20:05.200 Well, very well. 20:05.200 --> 20:06.200 Richard. 20:06.200 --> 20:07.200 Yes, governor? 20:07.200 --> 20:11.800 Type out a stay of execution on the Guilford case for three weeks. 20:11.800 --> 20:12.800 Bring it in and I'll sign it. 20:12.800 --> 20:13.800 You can take it down. 20:13.800 --> 20:14.800 All right. 20:14.800 --> 20:17.080 You'd better phone the warden to make sure, though, governor. 20:17.080 --> 20:18.640 The boy's only got about a half hour left. 20:18.640 --> 20:27.840 Oh, warden's office. 20:27.840 --> 20:41.920 Yes, this is warden Barnes. 20:41.920 --> 20:42.920 What? 20:42.920 --> 20:47.000 Well, put him on, of course. 20:47.000 --> 20:50.000 Yes, governor. 20:50.000 --> 20:51.000 Young Guilford? 20:51.000 --> 20:55.000 Oh, you don't say so. 20:55.000 --> 20:57.000 Why, that's splendid, governor. 20:57.000 --> 20:58.000 Yes. 20:58.000 --> 21:00.000 Yes, I'll let them know right away. 21:00.000 --> 21:01.000 Yes. 21:01.000 --> 21:02.000 Mr. McGill! 21:02.000 --> 21:03.000 Yes, warden. 21:03.000 --> 21:04.000 Harry, Jack, come in here quick. 21:04.000 --> 21:05.000 What's the matter? 21:05.000 --> 21:06.000 Something's happened to the warden. 21:06.000 --> 21:07.000 Let me get him up on the couch. 21:07.000 --> 21:08.000 Yes, warden. 21:08.000 --> 21:09.000 Yes, sir. 21:09.000 --> 21:10.000 Yes, sir. 21:10.000 --> 21:11.000 Yes, sir. 21:11.000 --> 21:12.000 Yes, sir. 21:12.000 --> 21:13.000 Yes, sir. 21:13.000 --> 21:14.000 Yes, sir. 21:14.000 --> 21:15.000 Yes, sir. 21:15.000 --> 21:16.000 Yes, sir. 21:16.000 --> 21:17.000 You're not going to get hurt. 21:17.000 --> 21:18.000 That's better. 21:18.000 --> 21:19.000 Looks like a stroke. 21:19.000 --> 21:20.000 Yeah, you better call the doctor, will you? 21:20.000 --> 21:21.000 Sure. 21:21.000 --> 21:22.000 Phone off the hook. 21:22.000 --> 21:23.000 Never mind that. 21:23.000 --> 21:24.000 Call the doctor. 21:24.000 --> 21:25.000 Must have been the strain on this execution. 21:25.000 --> 21:26.000 Warden. 21:26.000 --> 21:27.000 I think he's kind of like the kid. 21:27.000 --> 21:28.000 What's the matter with his phone? 21:28.000 --> 21:29.000 I'm afraid there's no hurry for the doctor. 21:29.000 --> 21:30.000 The warden's dead. 21:30.000 --> 21:31.000 Gee. 21:31.000 --> 21:32.000 Yeah. 21:32.000 --> 21:33.000 It's 5.30. 21:33.000 --> 21:34.000 I'm afraid it's time to go. 21:34.000 --> 21:35.000 Yes, sir. 21:35.000 --> 21:36.000 Yes, sir. 21:36.000 --> 21:37.000 Yes, sir. 21:37.000 --> 21:38.000 Yes, sir. 21:38.000 --> 21:39.000 Yes, sir. 21:39.000 --> 21:40.000 Yes, sir. 21:40.000 --> 21:41.000 Yes, sir. 21:41.000 --> 21:42.000 Yes, sir. 21:42.000 --> 21:43.000 Yes, sir. 21:43.000 --> 21:44.000 Yes, sir. 21:44.000 --> 21:45.000 Yes, sir. 21:45.000 --> 21:46.000 Yes, sir. 21:46.000 --> 21:47.000 Yes, sir. 21:47.000 --> 21:48.000 Yes, sir. 21:48.000 --> 21:49.000 It's 5.30. 21:49.000 --> 21:50.000 I'll have to take over for the execution. 21:50.000 --> 21:51.000 Uh, gentlemen. 21:51.000 --> 21:52.000 Gentlemen, please. 21:52.000 --> 21:53.000 It's now 10 minutes to six, gentlemen. 21:53.000 --> 22:07.960 In a few moments, you will be admitted to the ground floor of Blockhouse A, where the 22:07.960 --> 22:12.600 scaffold has been erected and where the execution, which you are to witness as newspaperman and 22:12.600 --> 22:15.240 members of the medical profession, will take place. 22:15.240 --> 22:18.360 You'll find rows of benches. 22:18.360 --> 22:22.640 Please take your seats quietly in any of the rows except the first, which has been reserved 22:22.640 --> 22:25.720 for members of the medical examining committee. 22:25.720 --> 22:31.240 We ask you to cooperate with us in our duties and to respect the solemnity of the occasion 22:31.240 --> 22:36.320 by moving quietly and refraining from any loud conversation from the moment you enter 22:36.320 --> 22:38.320 until you leave. 22:38.320 --> 22:43.320 Thank you. 22:43.320 --> 22:51.200 The minister was reading from the Bible when the outer cell-block door clanged. 22:51.200 --> 22:54.200 I knew it was time. 22:54.200 --> 22:58.000 They were coming for me. 22:58.000 --> 22:59.000 This was it then. 22:59.000 --> 23:02.000 There was a group of guards. 23:02.000 --> 23:05.520 The deputy warden was with them. 23:05.520 --> 23:08.560 They opened my cell door. 23:08.560 --> 23:10.720 One of the guards came straight up to me. 23:10.720 --> 23:14.040 He was carrying a leather strap with a big buckle on it. 23:14.040 --> 23:15.040 I stood up. 23:15.040 --> 23:18.760 I felt him strapping my arms behind me. 23:18.760 --> 23:21.960 The minister stopped reading for a moment to say something. 23:21.960 --> 23:24.280 Steady, my son. 23:24.280 --> 23:25.880 We'll go now, Guilford. 23:25.880 --> 23:29.840 I started to say something to the deputy, but he nodded his head at the man, and he started 23:29.840 --> 23:30.840 to move. 23:30.840 --> 23:39.600 The two guards who'd been with me in the cell stood back. 23:39.600 --> 23:43.280 One of them reached over and let his hand fall on my shoulder for a second. 23:43.280 --> 23:45.520 I tried to say goodbye. 23:45.520 --> 23:50.080 I walked and realized they couldn't breathe very deeply, though I wanted to. 23:50.080 --> 23:53.080 Just short breaths were all I could take. 23:53.080 --> 23:56.480 The deputy turned around once and looked at me. 23:56.480 --> 23:58.480 He seemed nervous. 23:58.480 --> 24:00.480 That bothered me. 24:00.480 --> 24:02.480 I wish he wasn't so nervous. 24:02.480 --> 24:06.200 We got to a door in the corner. 24:06.200 --> 24:10.600 Through that and another door that was already open. 24:10.600 --> 24:17.160 I walked through and I was in a room full of men, but my eyes went to something else. 24:17.160 --> 24:21.120 There were steps just ahead of me, unpainted wooden steps. 24:21.120 --> 24:30.040 They led to a platform, and from above that, there was, I saw the rope. 24:30.040 --> 24:37.040 I walked up with you, my son. 24:37.040 --> 24:39.040 Huh? 24:39.040 --> 24:41.040 What? 24:41.040 --> 24:51.800 The guard who was waiting worked fast. 24:51.800 --> 24:54.600 He moved me into position. 24:54.600 --> 24:57.000 The men in the room were going me now. 24:57.000 --> 25:01.400 There was a movement among them. 25:01.400 --> 25:03.400 One of them had fainted and his bed fell over. 25:03.400 --> 25:05.440 He landed hard. 25:05.440 --> 25:07.200 I wondered if he'd hurt himself. 25:07.200 --> 25:10.320 Then I felt something over my head. 25:10.320 --> 25:13.640 He lifted it and came down over my head. 25:13.640 --> 25:17.200 Somewhere inside of me, a scream began, but my lips were closed and I was just saying 25:17.200 --> 25:24.200 to myself, hurry, hurry, hurry. 25:24.200 --> 25:28.480 Don't put any calls through here. 25:28.480 --> 25:29.960 What, what, what? 25:29.960 --> 25:31.880 But you know better than to ring the phone now. 25:31.880 --> 25:32.880 Guilford's on the scaffold. 25:32.880 --> 25:33.880 What? 25:33.880 --> 25:36.880 Governor's messenger at the outer gate. 25:36.880 --> 25:39.880 Well, are you sure it's not? 25:39.880 --> 25:42.880 The trap is sprung. 25:42.880 --> 25:43.880 McGill! 25:43.880 --> 25:44.880 McGill, stop this apartment! 25:44.880 --> 25:45.880 Stop it! 25:45.880 --> 25:46.880 Stop it, McGill! 25:46.880 --> 26:01.000 No, a man doesn't always die right away when he's hanged. 26:01.000 --> 26:04.680 They talk about the neck being broken and death coming instantly. 26:04.680 --> 26:07.160 No, not always. 26:07.160 --> 26:09.160 Death doesn't come for a long time. 26:09.160 --> 26:12.400 For some men it's nearly 20 minutes. 26:12.400 --> 26:14.280 For others it may be less. 26:14.280 --> 26:17.080 But never under 12 minutes before the heart stops. 26:17.080 --> 26:18.560 You can check on that. 26:18.560 --> 26:19.560 Me? 26:19.560 --> 26:21.760 I was only up a few seconds. 26:21.760 --> 26:25.120 They cut me down and the doctors worked on me right on the wheel stretcher that was waiting 26:25.120 --> 26:26.800 to carry my body out. 26:26.800 --> 26:30.080 No, I didn't lose consciousness. 26:30.080 --> 26:32.240 I sometimes wish I had. 26:32.240 --> 26:36.640 I sometimes wish I had gone then instead of being brought back to remember every bit of 26:36.640 --> 26:38.000 those last hours. 26:38.000 --> 26:42.800 There was a new trial after I was on my feet again, but I don't know what was said and 26:42.800 --> 26:44.480 I was free. 26:44.480 --> 26:46.080 I saw the girl, Judy. 26:46.080 --> 26:49.920 I know her name now and I thanked her. 26:49.920 --> 26:53.400 Neither one of us knew what to say after that so she just went. 26:53.400 --> 26:58.240 Yes, I never sleep indoors. 26:58.240 --> 27:00.360 I never button my collar. 27:00.360 --> 27:03.280 I don't like buildings, any building. 27:03.280 --> 27:06.440 It's got stone and steel and holes in it. 27:06.440 --> 27:11.200 I want to be out here where I can see the sky anytime I open my eyes and I open them 27:11.200 --> 27:12.200 often. 27:12.200 --> 27:15.120 I think too much when they're closed. 27:15.120 --> 27:33.200 I hear the clock, the clock. 27:33.200 --> 27:34.200 Suspense. 27:34.200 --> 27:38.640 Produced, edited and directed by William Spear. 27:38.640 --> 27:43.920 Tonight you heard Mr. Jackie Cooper as star of The Clock and The Rope. 27:43.920 --> 27:48.320 This was the second in a limited series of five Friday night performances at this hour 27:48.320 --> 27:53.120 which will present radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense. 27:53.120 --> 27:56.360 Jackie Cooper appeared by courtesy of United Artists. 27:56.360 --> 28:01.240 Appearing with Mr. Cooper were Cathy Lewis, John McIntyre, Elliot Lewis, Joseph Kearns, 28:01.240 --> 28:06.920 Paul McVeigh, Junius Matthews, Wally Mayer, Lester Jay and Jack Crushen. 28:06.920 --> 28:11.400 The fourth Suspense is under the direction of Lud Gluskin with original music composed 28:11.400 --> 28:13.680 by Lucian Morawak. 28:13.680 --> 28:18.400 Next Friday same time we will bring you one of the most remarkable studies in Suspense 28:18.400 --> 28:20.800 ever to be presented in this series. 28:20.800 --> 28:25.960 Mr. Dan Durier will be our star in The Man Who Couldn't Lose. 28:25.960 --> 28:49.640 Don't forget next Friday same time listen to Suspense. 28:49.640 --> 29:01.520 This is CBS, The Columbia Broadcasting System.