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In just a moment, Auto Light presents, Suspense with Herbert Marshall.

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It was the night before Christmas, and in Santa Claus' sleigh, the electrical system was plenty okay.

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The ignition was perfect, worked like a dream, and the sleigh ran so smooth it made Santa beam.

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What was Santa's secret, Arnold?

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I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight. It's no secret at all. It's just Auto Light.

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Now, Arnold.

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You see, Hap, with all the kids in the world, depending on old Saint Nick, Christmas Eve,

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he plays safe by replacing old or worn out parts in his Auto Light equipped car,

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sleigh, with Auto Light original factory parts, resistor spark plugs, staple batteries, distributors,

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starting motors, coils, generators, wire, and cable.

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All famous for their Auto Light ignition engineered dependability.

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Santa does it. Why don't you?

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Harrow, Harrow, let's switch from Santa to Suspense.

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Suspense!

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Auto Light and its 60,000 dealers and service stations bring you

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Radio's outstanding theater of thrills.

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Starring tonight, Mr. Herbert Marshall in Anton Leder's production of John Collier's Holiday Story.

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A tale well calculated to keep you in Suspense.

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Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingles all the way.

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Oh, what fun, just to ride in a one horse open she.

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Oh, jingle bells.

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Wilfred! Wilfred!

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Yes, my dear.

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What on earth are you doing down here in cellar?

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Why, just doing a little digging.

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And why, may I ask, have you chosen this day of all days to dig up the cellar floor?

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Well, I thought as the weather's been so damp, this would be a good time to plant that little devil's garden I told you about.

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Devil's garden? What kind of nonsense is that?

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Oh, that was my little joke about it.

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You see, I've managed to get hold of the spores of several unclassified wild orchids.

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Oh.

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In their wild state, they bloom under damp masses of leaf mold.

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The Orukanian Indians call them devil flowers because they appear to bloom under the ground.

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Well, I'm sure the Orukanian Indians will be very interested if you succeed in growing these ridiculous flowers under the cellar floor.

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Whom else it will interest, I can't imagine. Ooh, what's that terrible smell?

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That's the leaf mold.

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Chemically identical with the earth blanket they grow under in the wild state.

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I suppose I should line the pit with concrete so as to prevent seepage from this foreign soil, but I don't suppose there'll be much time for it now, and I...

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I do want to get these started before we close the house.

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There certainly will not be time for it.

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Do you realize that we're sailing for America a week from today?

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And you've made no arrangements, whatever.

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Unless you call digging a hole in the cellar making arrangements, I certainly don't.

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Devil's garden, indeed.

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Sometimes I think you're going soft in the head, Wilfred.

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I suppose it is inconsiderate of me. You see, I've been wanting to try this experiment for a long, long time, but...

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What with my lectures and seminars at the university, there never seemed to be time.

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Well, there certainly isn't any time for it now.

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I suppose you've forgotten I made an appointment for you at the barbers this afternoon.

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Oh, no, no, no, no. But, uh...

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Must I shave off my beard, Hermione?

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I thought we'd been through all that. Of course you must. They don't wear beards in America.

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Go get your jacket on and do as I tell you.

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Yes, Hermione.

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And don't forget to take your umbrella. It looks like rain.

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Yes, Hermione.

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Oh, don't look so put-upon, Wilfred.

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No, I...

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Someone has to plan things in this house or you'll never even get to the university in time for your lectures, much less make arrangements for a trip to America.

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Oh, I know, I know. But what about my specimens?

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There'll be plenty of time to plant your precious devil's garden when we get home from America.

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We're not going to be gone forever, you know. We'll be back here for the holidays.

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Yes, of course, back for the holidays. I've forgotten.

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Well, try to remember it. And if you can't do that, just do as I tell you.

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I've been making the plans in this house for 20 years. And if there's any digging to be done, I'll manage that as well.

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You understand, Wilfred?

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Yes, Hermione.

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Good. You have just 20 minutes to clean up this mess down here and keep your appointment at the barbers.

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And when you finish there, I want you to come straight home.

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Oh, I wanted to stop and pick up some books I ordered.

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Well, all right. But don't loiter the whole afternoon browsing over those old books the way you usually do.

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Now, hurry and clear up this rubbish. Get rid of that smelly stuff. And no more digging, mind you.

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Yes, Hermione.

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Yes, Hermione.

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How many years has it been since I've been saying that? 10 years? 15, 20?

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Clear up the rubbish.

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Yes, Hermione. Don't forget your umbrella. Yes, Hermione. Do this. Do that. Yes, Hermione. Yes, yes.

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How much longer can I stand this?

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Good evening, sir.

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Good evening, Miss Malcolm.

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Why, why, it is Professor Carpenter, isn't it?

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Oh, you, you like me better this way?

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Oh, you look ever so much younger without the beard. 20 years at least.

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20 years.

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You'll be glad to know those books you ordered have finally arrived.

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Books?

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Phytotomy of phalloid gametophytes and coniferous shrubs of North America. Those are the ones you ordered, aren't they?

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Yes, thank you. You're very kind, Miss Malcolm.

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Why kind, Professor Carpenter?

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Not many young ladies in bookshops would go out of their way to look up rare books for an old professor of botany.

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Well, you're not old, Professor Carpenter. Really, you look...

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And besides, I adore botany. It's my particular hobby.

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Oh, really?

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Yes.

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You never told me that before, Miss Malcolm.

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I was afraid to. You were so imposing with the beard and all.

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And Miss Malcolm...

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Yes?

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Forgive me if this sounds foolish, but I...

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I feel that shaving off my beard is the most important thing I've done for...

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For 20 years.

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Oh, it is. I'm sure it is. I'm ashamed that I've been so distant with you all this time.

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Oh, there were times when I almost spoke up.

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Times when you came in here, tired after a day with your students at the university.

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You seemed so alone, the way I'm alone in the world.

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I'd like to have asked you to stay a while and talk with me.

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But some way or other, I wound up by giving you your change and letting you go on your way.

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You say you're all alone in the world?

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Since my father died.

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Did you never think of marrying?

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My father was a very remarkable man.

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I never found anyone who seemed to measure up to what he led me to expect of men.

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Miss Malcolm.

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It's been so long since anyone called me by my first name.

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I'd like you to, if you want to. It's Marion.

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Marion.

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And yours?

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Wilfred.

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Oh, how long have you been alone, Wilfred?

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Alone?

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Oh, I knew you were a widower, of course, the first time I saw you.

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A widower?

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I can always tell. There's a certain sadness in a man's eyes.

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A sweet sadness, I think, when he's been married and then...

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A widower. I never thought of it in quite that way.

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But perhaps I shouldn't be talking like this.

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But I've often wondered what she must have been like. Your wife, I mean.

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Hermione?

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Was that her name?

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Yes, Hermione.

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She was not an easy woman to forget. Very strong, always managing things.

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The house, my wardrobe, my friends.

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When we dined at a restaurant, she even ordered my food.

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She was always managing things. You might say she...

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Yes, she managed herself to death.

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Poor woman. She must have loved you very much.

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But she needn't have put herself out, sir.

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It's plain to see you don't need things managed for you.

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Is that so?

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You need companionship, I think. Someone sympathetic with your work.

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But the last thing on earth you need is a manager.

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How well you put it.

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The last thing on earth.

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THE LAST THING ON EARTH

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Well, at last. You certainly took long enough about it.

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What do you look so pleased about?

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I don't know, Hermione.

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Getting rid of the beard, perhaps.

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I feel 20 years younger.

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Even smaller. Your face looks triangular or something.

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I'd forgotten your chin was so weak.

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But never mind that. You can grow it back soon enough after the holidays.

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Where are you going?

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Down in the cellar. I just bought this electric lantern and I thought I'd put it away down there.

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Now, whatever possessed you to buy a thing like that?

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I don't know. I rather light this lantern.

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Might come in handy. Who knows?

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Now, Wilfred, don't start digging down there again.

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I have a hundred things to do, putting the house in order before we leave.

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I want you to carry these boxes upstairs for me.

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Yes, Hermione.

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And if you are going down to the cellar, take this along and stuff it into the furnace.

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This is my old bathrobe. I may need it.

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Nonsense. I bought you a new one. Get rid of it.

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And don't start puttering down there with that devil's garden or whatever you call it.

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I'm through digging, my dear.

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I think the pit is quite deep enough now for my devil's garden.

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It would all have to be carefully planned, of course.

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Just as carefully planned as Hermione was planning the trip to America.

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We both went about our arrangements as the days passed.

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I spent all the time I could with Marion, and finally she consented.

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And then it was the last day, the big day.

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The day we were to sail for America.

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Operator? Operator, are you there?

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I'm still waiting on that call to Salisbury.

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Well, put them on quickly.

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Hello. Is this Paul Holton, sons?

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It's Mrs. Wilfred Carpenter. Did you receive my letter?

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I would. Now remember, we'll be back for the holidays, and I want the job done without fail.

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What's that? Oh, no, I'm sure he doesn't suspect anything.

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Send the bill to me in New York as I instructed you, addressed in my name, of course.

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Oh, yes, I've already put them in the mail. You'll get them tomorrow.

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Thank you. Thank you so much.

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Oh, here you are, Wilfred. Where have you been?

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Backstairs. I dismissed the servants.

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Dismissed the servants? But I've asked some friends of mine into a farewell tea.

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Go and tell them it's a mistake.

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I'm afraid it's too late now. They've packed and gone.

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You have messed things up properly.

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How many times have I told you to leave things to me? I make the plans around here.

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Yes, Hermione.

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You'll have to do better than this when I plan the trip home, or we'll never in the world be back here for the holidays.

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Back here for the holidays, back here for the holidays. Must you keep saying that?

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Why not? We are coming back for the holidays, aren't we?

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I'm supposing I've offered a professorship in one of those wealthy American universities.

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Nonsense. Americans care nothing for botany.

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Luther Burbank was an American.

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That's different. What have you ever done except muck around in the dirt with a lot of roots and tubers?

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They asked me to lecture. That means something.

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Of course they ask you to lecture. Americans will pay to hear any foreigner deliver a lecture. Once.

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Now, there's no use getting yourself in a state about this, Wilfred.

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No doubt this extra money will come in very handy when we arrive back for the holidays.

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Precisely. And it's no good you're making a joke of it.

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Heaven knows where you'd be today if I hadn't got a sense of time.

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Yes, my dear Hermione.

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And as you've been so foolish as to dismiss the servants, you may empty the ashtrays and straighten up this room while we're waiting for the guests to arrive.

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I'm going upstairs to change. Call me when they get here.

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Yes, Hermione.

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Marion, it's Wilfred.

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No, my darling, nothing's wrong. My plans are the same. And yes, you've changed.

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No? We'll meet in New York and be married there. I'll explain why later. You'll have to trust me.

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Yes, my darling.

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Wilfred?

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Sorry, I can't talk any longer. Yes, I'll meet you in New York without fail. Until then, my darling.

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Wilfred? Were you talking on the phone just now?

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Yes, Hermione.

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Whoever was it?

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Freddy. Freddy Sinclair.

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Didn't I hear you say something about meeting somebody in New York?

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Yes. Old Freddy said he might possibly get over there before we leave. I should have caused me to meet him there if he did decide to go.

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It seems very peculiar. But then all of your friends are peculiar.

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Yes, Hermione.

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Just look at your jacket. Have you been digging in that cellar again?

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Yes, Hermione.

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Well, there's no need for it. You can't possibly get that devil's garden thing finished. Go and change your clothes before the guests arrive.

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Yes, Hermione.

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Oh, never mind. I see somebody coming up the walk now. Go and let them in.

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Yes, Hermione.

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Wilfred?

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Yes, my dear?

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Look out the window. There's Professor and Mrs. Goodenough, but who's that with them?

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Why, it's...

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Precisely. Freddy Sinclair.

234
00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:47,000
Curiously, you should have been talking to him on the phone not three minutes ago, and now here he is.

235
00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:52,000
Yes, isn't it? But then as you say, Hermione, all my friends are peculiar.

236
00:13:52,000 --> 00:14:01,000
Not half so peculiar as you. Digging in the cellar an hour before we leave for America. Just look at yourself. And now that I think of it...

237
00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:02,000
Yes, Hermione?

238
00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:04,000
Oh, never mind. Go and let them in.

239
00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:08,000
No, you were going to ask me something. The hole I'm digging in the cellar.

240
00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:14,000
Oh, good heavens, stop rolling your eyes about that way. One would think you were digging a grave down there instead of a storage bin.

241
00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:16,000
Yes, Hermione.

242
00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:18,000
What's that?

243
00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:20,000
I said yes, Hermione.

244
00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:25,000
Oh bother, open the door and stop saying yes, Hermione.

245
00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:29,000
I think, my dear, I've said it for the last time.

246
00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:47,000
For suspense, Auto Light is bringing you Mr. Herbert Marshall in Radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense.

247
00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:57,000
Well, Hap, what kind of presents are you giving your car this Christmas?

248
00:14:57,000 --> 00:14:59,000
My car? Now be sensible, Harro.

249
00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:07,000
I am being sensible, Hap, because the most sensible thing every car owner can do is treat his car to Auto Light, Preventive Service, and Auto Light factory parts now.

250
00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:12,000
Right now, like Santa does. For with an Auto Light check up now, your car won't let you down later.

251
00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:13,000
Here we go.

252
00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:20,000
Look, Hap, Auto Light parts are original factory parts on many makes of our finest cars. The same as those put in the car the day it was made.

253
00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:26,000
Resistor spark plugs, staple batteries, generators, distributors, starting motors, coils, wire, and cable.

254
00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:29,000
Your car uses them all, Auto Light makes them all.

255
00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:36,000
You know, Auto Light parts and your Auto Light equipped car go together, like Damon and Pythias, like Duncan and Fife, like Chip and Dale.

256
00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:38,000
What's one without the other?

257
00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:39,000
Chip and Dale?

258
00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:47,000
So don't accept parts that are supposed to be as good. Get Auto Light parts, for Auto Light parts are built for your car, Santa's car, everybody's car.

259
00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:51,000
Oh, you're wonderful. Well, you've got Santa and everybody switching to Auto Light.

260
00:15:51,000 --> 00:16:03,000
So friends, follow the footsteps of Dasher, Dancer, Dunder, and Blitzen and whip on down to your nearest Auto Light service station or the dealer who sells your make of car and ask for original factory parts and service.

261
00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:06,000
Okay, Harlow, right now, here's suspense.

262
00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:30,000
And now Auto Light brings back to our Hollywood soundstage, Mr. Herbert Marshall starring in a gripping tale well calculated to keep you in suspense.

263
00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:32,000
Back for the holidays.

264
00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:36,000
Hermione was so positive that we'll be back for the holidays.

265
00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:41,000
That last afternoon pouring tea for a few friends who had come in to say last minute farewells, she kept reiterating it.

266
00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:47,000
Now mind you, Hermione, don't get those Americans lure your husband with one of their fat university jobs.

267
00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:49,000
We absolutely must have you with us for the holidays.

268
00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:51,000
He will be back, I promise you.

269
00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:52,000
It's not absolutely certain, of course.

270
00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:55,000
Wilfred, what do you mean it's not certain? Of course it's certain.

271
00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:59,000
After all, Wilfred, old boy, you've contracted to lecture for only two months.

272
00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:01,000
That's right. But then, of course, anything may happen.

273
00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:04,000
Oh, Wilfred adores being unpredictable.

274
00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:12,000
Now what other man would decide the very day, mind you, before leaving for America to dig a great hole in the floor of the cellar?

275
00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:13,000
In the cellar?

276
00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:18,000
Yes, he's going to put some unclassified wild orchids down there.

277
00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:20,000
A devil's garden, if you please.

278
00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:21,000
Oh, my dear.

279
00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:22,000
Sounds so mysterious.

280
00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:27,000
That's Wilfred, though. It's really quite simple once you find out what he's up to.

281
00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:31,000
Now take that telephone call he put through to you a few minutes before you arrived, Freddie.

282
00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:32,000
To me?

283
00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:36,000
Of course. Wilfred wanted to surprise me about your plan to meet us in New York next month.

284
00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:39,000
Wasn't that why he called? To ask you not to mention it?

285
00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:44,000
But, my dear Hermione, Wilfred couldn't possibly have telephoned me within the past hour.

286
00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:46,000
I've been walking in the park since three.

287
00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:47,000
He didn't telephone you?

288
00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:50,000
How could he? And as for my going to America...

289
00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:52,000
No, no, no, come, Freddie. You may as well own up.

290
00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:53,000
Hermione has found me out again.

291
00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:56,000
But, Wilfred, old chap, I really don't.

292
00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:59,000
You see what a poor liar Wilfred makes. He's as red as a beetroot.

293
00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:03,000
Aren't you ashamed of yourself, Professor? Stringing poor Hermione along like that.

294
00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:07,000
And as for you, Freddie, I'm furious. You said nothing to us about going to America.

295
00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:10,000
But look here, old girl, I've been trying to tell everyone here...

296
00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:14,000
Oh, stuff and nonsense. The game's gone on long enough.

297
00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:16,000
Besides, we must start getting ready.

298
00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:19,000
It was marvelous of all of you to come in to say goodbye.

299
00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:22,000
And don't worry about Wilfred's little jokes.

300
00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:25,000
I will bring him back for the holidays.

301
00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:27,000
You may rely on it.

302
00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:31,000
They all believed her.

303
00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:35,000
For years she'd been promising me for dinner parties, garden parties, committees.

304
00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:37,000
And the promises had always been kept.

305
00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:40,000
This time they wouldn't be. I'd seen to that.

306
00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:44,000
The servants were gone for good. The farewells all said.

307
00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:47,000
I had time to the minute how long it would take to fill in the hole in the cellar.

308
00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:49,000
My devil's garden.

309
00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:53,000
Upstairs in the bedroom I undressed, pulled my clothes over a chair.

310
00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:57,000
Put on my old bathrobe. Then I opened the door into Hermione's room.

311
00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:00,000
Hermione, have you a moment to spare?

312
00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:02,000
Of course, dear. I'm just finished.

313
00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:05,000
Then come in here for a moment. There's something rather extraordinary here.

314
00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:10,000
Oh, good heavens, Wilfred. What are you lounging about in that filthy old bathrobe for?

315
00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:12,000
I told you to put it into the furnace.

316
00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:14,000
I'll do it today. Yes, I really will. I promise.

317
00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:17,000
Well, high time. Now, oh, what is it you want to show me?

318
00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:20,000
It is in the bathroom here. Just look.

319
00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:24,000
Who in the world would suppose dropped a gold chain down the bathtub drain?

320
00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:27,000
Nobody has, of course. Nobody wears such a thing.

321
00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:29,000
Then what's it doing there?

322
00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:31,000
Well, I don't see anything.

323
00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:34,000
Here. I'll hold this flashlight for you.

324
00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:37,000
If you lean right over, you can see it shining deep down.

325
00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:40,000
Such a lot of nonsense. Just as well.

326
00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:42,000
Well, I don't see it, Wilfred.

327
00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:45,000
Go on looking, Hermione. In just a moment...

328
00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:47,000
Wilfred, I absolutely refuse...

329
00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:49,000
Wilfred, what are you doing? Take your hands off my neck.

330
00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:52,000
I will, Hermione, just as soon as I've finished the arrangements for my trip to America.

331
00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:54,000
What are you talking about?

332
00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:57,000
You thought you were the only one who could plan things, didn't you, Hermione?

333
00:19:57,000 --> 00:20:00,000
Well, I've been making some plans on my own this past week.

334
00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:03,000
In exactly one minute and 45 seconds, you'll be dead.

335
00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:05,000
You see, I've planned it very accurately.

336
00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:07,000
You'll never get away with it.

337
00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:10,000
I thought you'd say that, Hermione, but I will get away with it.

338
00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:14,000
You won't mind the smell of the leaf mold down in the cellar when I take you down there today.

339
00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:16,000
Yes, that's where you're going, Hermione.

340
00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:19,000
Into my devil's garden that annoys you so much.

341
00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:22,000
My friends, they all expect me back for the holidays.

342
00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:25,000
And if I don't come back, they'll start asking questions.

343
00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:26,000
No, they won't.

344
00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:30,000
No, because you'll write them letters, Hermione, on the typewriters. You always do.

345
00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:33,000
They'll be signed H in that neat cryptic way.

346
00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:35,000
You always sign your notes to your friends.

347
00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:37,000
Oh, let me up now.

348
00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:38,000
No!

349
00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:41,000
It won't work, Wilfred. You were never any good at planning things.

350
00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:44,000
Ah, but I've changed. I've learned from watching you all these years.

351
00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:46,000
The lecture people in America.

352
00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:48,000
They'll be expecting you to travel with your wife.

353
00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:52,000
I will be traveling with my wife, but not my present wife, Hermione.

354
00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:53,000
What?

355
00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:55,000
Fortunately, they've never met you.

356
00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:59,000
I'll write a few letters home for you, then fewer and fewer.

357
00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:04,000
I might even come back alone in a year or two and sell the place, say you died in America.

358
00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:08,000
Nobody will ever suspect that you're lying under the floor of the cellar in this very house.

359
00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:12,000
Wilfred, it won't work, I tell you. That pit you dug in the cellar...

360
00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:15,000
I can assure you, my dear Hermione, it will serve its purpose well.

361
00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:16,000
Wilfred, you must...

362
00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:19,000
Sorry, my dear, I've got to get this done according to plan.

363
00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:22,000
You have just five seconds to say your prayers.

364
00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:25,000
Wilfred, you must listen! The cellar...

365
00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:42,000
Don't do it, Wilfred!

366
00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:43,000
Oh, Stuart.

367
00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:44,000
Yes, sir?

368
00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:47,000
My wife isn't disposed. She'll be taking her meals in our stateroom.

369
00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:48,000
For the whole voyage?

370
00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:54,000
Yes, for the whole voyage.

371
00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:57,000
Well, I trust your wife is feeling better this morning, Professor Carpenter?

372
00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:00,000
A little, yes, thank you. Not yet well enough to leave her cabin.

373
00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:05,000
Oh, I'm sorry. Oh, by the way, here's a copy of the radiogram you sent for your wife last evening.

374
00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:09,000
Oh, thank you. I'll just check it over.

375
00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:11,000
But look here.

376
00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:14,000
What is it? Did the typist make a mistake?

377
00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:22,000
No. No, nothing important. She can correct it later.

378
00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:26,000
For a moment I had a feeling that Hermione had been leaning over my shoulder again,

379
00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:29,000
correcting what I had written she always did.

380
00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:33,000
I had written the radiogram to Professor Goodenough and his wife.

381
00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:36,000
Have not been out of cabin the whole beastly trip.

382
00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:40,000
Wilfred well. Doubt will be back for the holidays.

383
00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:44,000
The copy read, no doubt will be back for the holidays.

384
00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:47,000
Exactly what Hermione would have written.

385
00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:51,000
Well, the rest of the voyage was uneventful.

386
00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:55,000
And Marion and I met in New York just as I had planned.

387
00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:58,000
Just as I had planned.

388
00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:19,000
Professor and Mrs. Carpenter, we have reservations, I believe.

389
00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:21,000
Yes, we've been expecting you, sir.

390
00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:23,000
Boy. Yes, sir.

391
00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:26,000
Take Professor and Mrs. Carpenter's luggage up to their suite.

392
00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:29,000
You know, Mrs. Carpenter, you're quite a surprise.

393
00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:33,000
The letter reserving the rooms was so thorough,

394
00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:37,000
I was expecting an older, more forbidding sort of person, frankly, ma'am.

395
00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:41,000
No, as a matter of fact, we are just married.

396
00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:43,000
But my letter reserving the room.

397
00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:48,000
I wrote the letter, my dear, and signed it. Mrs. Wilfred Carpenter just as a joke.

398
00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:50,000
What a cunning old fox you are, Wilfred.

399
00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:52,000
Well, rather I think of it, I am rather.

400
00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:54,000
Oh, I almost forgot.

401
00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:56,000
There's a letter for you, Mrs. Carpenter.

402
00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:58,000
That's peculiar. I wonder who on earth...

403
00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:01,000
Well, we'll find out in good time, darling. Come along.

404
00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:18,000
I've got the boy waiting.

405
00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:27,000
Like a cold, brisk shower to put a man to rights.

406
00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:29,000
Wilfred, this letter...

407
00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:31,000
Oh, yes, yes, the letter.

408
00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:33,000
Darling, dry my hair, will you?

409
00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:36,000
Yes, dear. It seems to be a bill of some sort

410
00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:39,000
from a building contractor in Salisbury.

411
00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:41,000
Oh, that's wonderful.

412
00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:44,000
Oh, bother, dry your own hair.

413
00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:46,000
Thank you, my dear.

414
00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:49,000
Let's see this bill or whatever it is.

415
00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:51,000
It's very puzzling, Wilfred.

416
00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:53,000
You were a widower, weren't you?

417
00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:55,000
I mean, Hermione isn't still alive.

418
00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:57,000
Oh, good heavens no.

419
00:24:57,000 --> 00:24:59,000
Let's have that.

420
00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:03,000
Dear madam, it's a good one.

421
00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:05,000
This is to acknowledge your order,

422
00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:09,000
together with the keys to your house in Launceton Place.

423
00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:12,000
Our men had no difficulty in finding the place

424
00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:17,000
where your husband had begun the excavation in the cellar,

425
00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:19,000
but apparently he changed his mind at the last moment

426
00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:21,000
and filled it in again.

427
00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:22,000
What is it, Wilfred?

428
00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:24,000
Our men will begin digging tomorrow.

429
00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:26,000
You may rest assured that it will be a professional job

430
00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:28,000
and will be completed in ample time

431
00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:31,000
for your surprise Christmas present to your husband.

432
00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:33,000
We are happy to be conspirators with you

433
00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:35,000
in this thoughtful gesture

434
00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:37,000
and hope that Professor Carpenter will be pleased

435
00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:39,000
at the results of our work

436
00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:42,000
that he so quaintly calls his devil's garden

437
00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:47,000
very truly yours, Paul Houghton's son's contractors.

438
00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:52,000
What does it mean, Wilfred?

439
00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:56,000
It means that, for my own good,

440
00:25:56,000 --> 00:26:00,000
I will be back for the holidays.

441
00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:02,000
Back for the holidays.

442
00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:04,000
Back for the holidays.

443
00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:06,000
Back for the holidays.

444
00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:32,000
MUSIC

445
00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:36,000
Thank you, Herbert Marshall, for a splendid performance.

446
00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:39,000
Mr. Marshall will return in just a moment.

447
00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:44,000
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle through the snow.

448
00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:46,000
Your car's all happy, it's full of pep,

449
00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:48,000
with Auto Light, you know.

450
00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:50,000
Right you are, and by Cornelius,

451
00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:53,000
electrical problems won't keep your car down

452
00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:57,000
when you stop at the shop that features Auto Light parts and service.

453
00:26:57,000 --> 00:26:59,000
Sure as Chris Kringle means Christmas,

454
00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:03,000
Auto Light original factory parts and service top the town.

455
00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:05,000
So, friends, stop in tomorrow

456
00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:07,000
at your friendly Auto Light service station

457
00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:09,000
or the dealer who sells your make-of car

458
00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:13,000
and ask for original factory parts and service.

459
00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:15,000
Ring, ring, ring.

460
00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:18,000
Auto Light, you will find Auto Light service stations

461
00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:20,000
listed in your classified telephone directory

462
00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:22,000
under automotive electrical equipment.

463
00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:25,000
And remember, your Auto Light ignition system

464
00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:27,000
is the lifeline of your car.

465
00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:31,000
Yes, friends, and remember, too, Auto Light means spark plugs,

466
00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:34,000
ignition-engineered resistor spark plugs,

467
00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:37,000
Auto Light means batteries, stay full batteries,

468
00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:42,000
Auto Light means ignition system, the lifeline of your car.

469
00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:52,000
And now here again is Mr. Herbert Marshall.

470
00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:55,000
It's a bit of pleasure to appear tonight on suspense,

471
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and it is my pleasure to extend to all of you

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for Auto Light, Tony Leader and his suspense cast and crew,

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and myself, best wishes for the holiday season.

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Next week on Radio's outstanding theater of thrills,

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you will hear William Bendix in another gripping study in...

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Suspense.

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Herbert Marshall will soon be seen with Margaret O'Brien

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in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production of The Secret Garden.

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Tonight's suspense play was dramatized by Robert Tallman

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from a story by John Collier.

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Music was conducted, composed by Lucian Moraweck,

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and conducted by Lud Bluskin.

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The entire production was under the direction of Anton M. Leader.

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In the coming weeks, suspense will present such stars

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as Ethel Barrymore, Dana Andrews, Robert Montgomery,

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Danny Kaye, and many others.

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So make it a point to listen each Thursday to Suspense,

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Radio's outstanding theater of thrills.

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Next Thursday, same time, hear William Bendix.

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This is the Auto Light Suspense Show.

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While we in North America are enjoying an abundant Christmas,

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millions of people in Europe are still hungry.

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Your ten dollars sent to K.A.R.E.

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will go a long way toward putting some less fortunate European family

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back on the road to health, happiness, and freedom.

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Good night. Merry Christmas from Auto Light.

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This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.