And now, Auto Light and its 60,000 dealers and service stations present...
Suspense!
Tonight, Auto Light brings you Charles Lawton in Day Mortuis, a suspense play produced and
directed by Anton M. Leder.
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And now, Auto Light presents Charles Lawton in a tale well calculated to keep you in suspense.
Now, a bit more there.
A touch of smoothing here.
And that's a job well done.
It's not a bad job for the village medic-o.
I don't think a mason could have done better.
Until the concrete hardens, I'd better...
Doc?
Dr. Rankin?
Hello?
Dr. Rankin?
Looks like there's no one home.
Must be someone here.
Nobody goes out and leaves the house open.
Oh, Dr. Wood, he trusts people.
We'd better give it up, George.
You'd think Irene would be about it.
Ah, she ought to be, by the looks of things.
But she's a bad'un.
I saw her again only last night with that commercial traveler.
George.
Dr. Mike would be downstairs.
The cellar door is open.
He'd think it rude.
Dr.?
Oh, there you are.
Didn't you hear us?
I thought I had someone.
I wasn't sure.
Well, we were going out after some partridge and I thought you'd like to come with us.
We wouldn't have come in the house, only George thought that seeing as the door was open and
all that someone was home.
Aye.
So we walked in and then I saw the cellar door open and down we came.
Where's Irene?
Irene?
Oh, she's gone visiting.
Oh, well then let's go shooting.
Oh, wet concrete.
Going in for a bit of masonry, Doc.
There's been some water spilling out.
It's an underground spring perhaps.
Underground spring?
Why, Doc, I sold you this house but I never heard of a spring beneath it.
Doc, it looks as though Greg built you.
It did.
Not Doc, I didn't.
You know when he came up from London a year ago I could tell right away that he was a
fine fellow.
When he and Irene wanted to get married I sold him the best house in the village.
Maybe it was only the rains, Greg.
Well, I don't know.
You certainly went deep enough, Doc.
You see, you've got a bit of clay on your shovel.
That's four feet down the clay.
Eighteen inches, George.
Not according to the maps.
Four feet it says on the Sudbury maps.
Well, there's no need to argue the toss.
Let's get on with our fouling before the partridge gets tired of waiting, eh, Doc?
Not today, boys.
I've got things to do.
Oh, well, we might as well get along.
How's Irene?
Oh, she's never been better.
She took the afternoon train to North Welsham.
To North Welsham?
Well, there's no afternoon train to North Welsham.
No more than the clay is only eighteen feet.
Did I, did I, did I say North Welsham?
I meant Norwich.
Oh, are you friends in Norwich, Doc?
Mrs. Slater, she lived next door when Irene was just a child over on Victoria Cross.
Slater, next door to Irene?
No.
Oh, that was a long time ago, Greg.
Oh, I see.
Oh, I've been in Sudbury all my life and I've known Irene all my life.
Never any Slaters on Victoria Cross, right, George?
Aye, I lived on Victoria Cross myself.
Clay's four feet down there, same as Eva.
Now, let's drop the whole thing.
Maybe the woman married again and that's why you don't recognize the name.
Oh, well, maybe.
Well, you'd better change your mind about the hunting, Doc.
Your wife's away on a visit.
You just finished filling a hole in the cellar and...
and... oh, good heavens, Doc.
You... you didn't.
Four feet down to the clay, that's what it is.
What are you two fools talking about?
Oh, it's not that you didn't have provocation, Doc.
We know that.
Provocation?
Are you suggesting that I... that I...
You stupid fools, you go get the constable and let him start digging.
Oh, now, hold on, Doc.
It's not as if we mind that it could ever be called justified.
This is it. Aye.
We could have told you.
I warned you about the bad houses to buy, not half I did.
But when it comes to marriage, well, we all knew Irene.
The Sudbury baggage. That's what we used to call her.
When a fine chap like you comes along and fixes to marry her,
well, you want to say something, but... but what?
But what, I ask you.
It's not like buying a house, it ain't.
I suppose I am rather old for Irene.
Well, you could be a young'un and it'll be just the same thing, Doc.
Not everyone wants the same thing.
I'm a sort of a dry chap and I don't open up easily.
And Irene, well, you could call her kind of gay.
Aye, that's one word.
She's no housekeeper, I know that, and that's not the only thing a man wants.
She enjoys herself.
That she did.
And that's what I love about her. She's not very deep mentally.
Well, all right, you can say she's stupid, I don't care.
She's lazy, no system.
Well, I've got plenty of system, enough for both of us.
She's enjoyed herself and it's beautiful and innocent like a woman.
She's beautiful and innocent like a child.
If that was all...
But you two seem to know that there was more.
Why, everyone knows it.
George, you just tell him what you saw at the pub.
Aye, you know me, Doc.
I'm no pub crawler.
I'm a single potter.
But every night the past week, when I've gone in for my potter veil,
she's been there and with that Ari Manning, the commercial traveler,
who's been at the Lion, everybody's seen her.
The village will be on your side, Doc.
Why?
Not that it'll mean much if it comes to a trial.
What shall I do?
Well, we all make mistakes, Doc.
You know, in a way, we got you into it by not saying anything before you married her.
And the way I see it, well, it's sort of up to us to help get you out of it.
That right, George?
Aye, still, there's such a thing as being an accomplice.
No, not the way we'll do it.
When we came in here, the street was empty, wasn't it?
Aye.
We came down in the cellar.
You get that, Doc?
We shouted upstairs, but when you didn't answer, we went on after Partridge.
We never came down in this cellar.
I wish you hadn't.
Now, all you have to do, Doc, is say that Irene went for a walk and never come back.
And George and I will say it, we saw her driving away with this commercial traveler.
What's his name, George?
Ari Manning.
He was paying his score at the Lion this morning, so I guess he's moving on.
The whole village knows about him and Irene.
What?
I believe that she might leave with him.
Well, we'd better nip off now.
We'll go out the back way.
I'd cover up that fresh cement if I were you, Doc.
Aye, and don't be telling folks the clay is only 18 inches down.
The whole village knows about this?
Oh, no, no.
Why did they have to come down here?
Why can't they keep their mouths shut?
Why tell the patient he has a cancer?
Why?
You!
I'm back!
I'm down here, Irene.
I'm down here.
I'm down here, Irene.
Oh, can you beat it?
I missed the train.
Oh?
Which way did you come back?
I walked across the field, how do you think?
It's twice as fast as the village.
If you'll drive me to Cornshast, maybe I can catch the train there.
Maybe.
Did you meet anyone coming back?
Oh, no, sir.
Aren't you finished with that dirty job yet?
No.
No, I'm afraid that I shall have to take up this floor again.
Come on down here, dear, I'll show you.
For suspense, Autolite is bringing you Charles Lawton
in Radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspend.
You know, Hap, during that bitter cold spell...
I don't know, cold spell?
Why, this is Southern California.
I was in Montana, where zero is another name for prickly heat.
Well, I was telling a fellow about how to get summertime operation out of his car.
By Cornelius, I said, get one of those Autolite stay-full batteries with the extra liquid reserve.
Friend, there's enough extra water in an Autolite stay-full battery
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Oh, not that much, huh?
Grabbing his arm, I said, those Autolite stay-full batteries need water only three times a year.
Yes, sir, only three times a year in normal car use.
And hanging onto his muffler...
Muffler? Well, what kind?
The double-chested kind in Montana.
Oh.
And then I told him the extra plates in an Autolite stay-full battery mean this rugged receptacle
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And then I said, as the button pulled off his coat, Autolite stay-full battery...
Hello, that's my coat.
Oh, sorry, Hap, here's your button.
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And now, Autolite brings back to our Hollywood sound stage
Charles Lotton in Daymortuis,
a tale well calculated to keep you in suspense.
There you are, Mrs. Green.
I'm sure you'll come back next week for another injection.
We'll have you feeling fit in no time.
Well, how much will they be, these injections, Doctor?
Three shillings apiece, Mrs. Green.
Now, there's no need to pay it right away.
We'll see about that later.
Oh, now, that's just like you, always doing something for others
and never a thought to yourself.
You know, Doctor, I was talking to Mrs. Parks about you only the other day.
Oh, yes?
It's no good, I says, for a man to be living alone.
Say what you will about it.
A year it is now since that, uh, she left you.
Good riddance it was.
And it's time you was looking about.
You mean to say it's really a year since Irene left?
You know, the time seems much shorter than that.
You know, it's not that we yelled we'd divorce, Doctor,
but if there was ever a man justified, you're that man.
You know, it's very odd how a word like that keeps being mentioned.
Mrs. Green, I know that you mean well,
I'd rather not talk about it if you don't mind.
Well, a body can't help thinking...
Yes, I'm sure of that.
Now, you come in again next week for your injection,
and don't you forget...
I won't do this, Doctor, and you think I will...
Good day, Mrs. Green.
Yes?
You the Doc?
Yes, I'm Dr. Rankin.
Won't you come in?
I don't mind if I do.
Now, what seems the trouble, Mr...
Manning, Manning, Harry Manning.
Harry Manning, your name seems familiar.
Yeah, dare say it. I'm a commercial traveler.
Most of the boys around the villages know me.
And a few of the women, I suppose.
Well, I wouldn't say no, Doc, as you know how it is.
I suppose I do.
Now, what did you say was wrong, Mr. Manning?
Well, I don't rightly know, Doc.
Just feeling a bit under the weather,
it hit me just as I was driving into Sudbury.
So I looked for the nearest doctor in your eye.
So I see.
Well, I think I'd better examine you, Mr. Manning.
Would you remove your shirt, please?
Yeah.
Have you been in Sudbury before, Mr. Manning?
Once a year, Doc, as regular as the calendar.
It's a fine little place.
Did you say that you'd just arrived?
You haven't checked in at the inn yet?
You're my first stop, Doc.
Like I said, I was feeling a bit under the weather
and I wanted to check up on it.
You see, I wanted to look up an old friend here.
I felt I'd better be feeling just right.
Sorry, maybe you know a Doc, a downy bit by the name of Irene Harkin.
Irene?
I don't believe I know her.
What was her last name?
Would you breathe a little deeper, please?
You know, she never did tell me her last name.
I got the idea she was amoured for proper.
Hammered?
Yeah, married.
Didn't want her old man to know she was out seeing life.
Oh, she was a real live chicken and neat once she was.
I'm afraid that I never knew.
Uh, your Irene?
Well, I can probably find her by asking down at the pub.
They'll know her.
No doubt. I imagine you're anxious to find her.
You said it, Doc.
As soon as you put me to rights, I'll sign in at the lion
and I'll pop her out the pub.
Of course.
How long has it been since you've seen a doctor?
Oh, four or five years.
Why, what you trying to tell me, Doc?
I'm afraid, Mr. Manning, that your heart is not in the best of condition.
Are you trying to tell me that I'm going to pop off?
You might live many years, Mr. Manning, but if I were you,
I would avoid any sort of excitement.
In the meantime, I'll give you something that'll give you temporary relief.
You wouldn't be kidding me, would you, Doc?
Kidding, Mr. Manning?
You know, pulling me leg.
Not at all.
You may put your shirt on, Mr. Manning.
How long have I got, Doc?
Give it to me straight.
Well, that might be difficult to say, Mr. Manning.
So many things must be considered in a case like yours.
I would say that how long you live depends on the way that you follow my advice.
I'll do anything you say, Doc.
Fine.
First of all, I want you to take this capsule.
Here's some water.
All right.
How often do I take him, Doc?
I think that one will fix you up for the time.
If it doesn't just come back, I'll give you another one.
You mean that just one will do the trick?
Say, that's great, Doc. How much do I owe you?
Two shillings.
Two shillings? Certainly reasonable enough.
I thought it would be at least a quid.
Here you are.
Thank you.
With that medicine to fix you up, Mr. Manning, you should have no trouble at all...
finding your Irene.
Are you busy, Doc?
Hello, George. Come on in.
Who was the bloke leaving your office before, Doc?
He looked familiar.
He was a commercial traveler.
He said his name was Harry Manning.
I could have...
Harry Manning is the one.
I believe that he is the gentleman that you and Greg have mentioned several times.
What did he want?
A doctor, strangely enough. He wasn't feeling very well.
Did he know who you were?
That I was a doctor, yes.
No more?
No.
He'll be going straight to the pub, won't he?
I imagine he will.
Although I told him to avoid excitement, he has a bit of a bad heart.
Aye.
Now, what's wrong with you, George?
Or is this a social call?
A bit of both, Doc.
We've been friends for a long time.
Ever since I arrived in Sudbury, I suppose in a way you and Greg are the only friends I've had.
That's what I've had in mind, I did.
You see, Doc, I'm in a spot of trouble and I thought you might want to give me a hand.
Gladly, if I can. What's the trouble, George?
Well, money troubles, Doc.
I have a lot of bills that must be paid.
If you're talking about my bill, George, you should know that I won't press you.
Oh, I wasn't worrying about that.
The truth is, Doctor, I need about 100 quid.
Yikes. 100 pounds.
And I was thinking maybe you might loan it to me.
I would if I had it, George, but you know that I'm not one of those Harley Street-tossed-my-patients-pay-two-or-three-shillings.
When they can pay.
You could raise it, maybe.
Perhaps, but I think that you could find a loan easier than I could, George.
You've lived around here all your life.
Aye, and I know what I know.
It's four feet down to the clay. That's what it is.
I see. You, um...
PHONE RINGING
Doctor Rankin?
Gregory here, Doc. Thought maybe you'd like to go out after some partridge this afternoon.
No, Greg, I don't think that...
Oh, why, yes.
Yes, I might. I might at that.
It'll do me good to get away from the office.
And George is here now. Perhaps he'll go with us. Would you hold on?
It's Greg, George. He wants to go hunting. What do you say?
What about my 100 quid?
Oh, I think I can help you, George. What about the hunting?
I don't care if I do.
Fine.
Uh, uh, George will go with us, too. It'll be like old times, huh?
Good. All right. Meet at my place.
I know. There's nothing like old friends getting together, is there, George?
Aye.
Especially when they can help each other.
I'll get the money for you.
Somewhere, rather, considering the cause,
I guess we might say that almost any method is justified.
Heel boy. Well, there's a bit of a chill today.
Could mean a good bag. You and George must have gotten chilled waiting for me.
I'm sorry I was a bit late. Oh, well, it couldn't be helped.
Yeah, what was the call?
A commercial traveler. He had a heart attack on the street.
That wouldn't be the same one that was coming out of your office today, would it, Doc?
Yes, it was the same man.
Well, fancy that. It'd be funny, Doc, if it turned out you gave him the wrong medicine by mistake.
I never prescribe mistakes, George.
You, um, might as well let the dog go, Greg. We're coming to a good spot.
I'll bear off to the left. You two can keep to the right.
All right, boy. Flesh him.
I'll lay you a critter bag more than a you.
Done, George.
Hey, Doctor, George seems a little nervy today, like he had the wind up about something.
He got an idea what's wrong?
No, he seemed all right when he was at my office earlier.
Hey, look, the dog struck a point.
Ah, that he has.
I'll swing to the right, Greg. That way we'll have them between George and myself, and you'll have them in front.
All right, Greg.
Flesh him, boy.
Hey, Doc, George!
Ow!
I got two of them.
Doc, that first shot, I think it hit George.
What?
Good heavens.
George.
Oh, only a hundred quid. That's no cause to...
I... I tried to stop you, Doc. I could see your gun wasn't swinging high enough.
I thought I was aiming high, but I wanted to hit the birds before they scattered. God help me.
Oh, Lord, look at the blood on him.
Can't you do something for him, Doc?
I'm afraid I can't help him now, Jook, Greg. He's dead.
Sit down, Greg. I'll fix some drinks.
He was no more than 30 feet away, just standing there waiting for the birds to flush.
I'll go get him.
I'll go get him. Just standing there waiting for the birds to flush.
I should have seen him.
Was that what you meant, George?
No, no, I didn't say that, Doc. No, I was just thinking.
Yes, I know how it is. Here's your drink.
Thanks. No, I just couldn't drink. Not yet.
Doc, I want to ask you something.
Of course. What is it, Greg?
That commercial traveler who had the heart attack, the one that George mentioned, was his name Harry Manning?
I believe it was, now that you mention it. It was something like that.
I see. Doc, why don't you leave Sudbury? Go to some other village.
England's full of quiet little villages where a doctor can build up a good practice.
But I already live in such a village, Greg. I like Sudbury and I have certain plans.
But, Doc, it may be dangerous for you if you stay.
Are you threatening me, Greg?
No, no, of course not. Only I...
A man, especially at my age, can't simply pick himself up and start all over again.
I've spent a great deal here, not only of money, but of myself.
I like this place and its people, most of them.
I know, Doc. I understand. But even so...
As for the danger, I believe that I can take care of that.
Do you remember my cellar, Greg?
Your cellar? What about it?
It's hardly a cellar now. I've turned it into a research laboratory.
It's full of the best equipment. Come on, I'll show you.
No, not now, Doc. Some other time.
Greg, you're my friend, my only friend now that George is going to want you to see it.
No, Doc, I...
Now, come on, Greg.
Go ahead, go ahead, Greg.
What are you talking about?
You haven't done anything to the cellar. It's just the same as it was that day.
Here, I'm going to...
You're going to what, Greg?
What did you do? What did you stick with me with?
A hypodermic needle, Greg. It's an honorable symbol of my profession.
And don't try to leave, Greg. You'll never make the stairway.
Now, you see...
Have you killed me?
Not yet, Greg. Do you feel that I have to kill you, that you know too much and you suspect even more?
You've got too many secrets to keep to yourself. Is that it, Greg?
You did kill that commercial traveler and then you got to worrying about what George and I knew.
And that's how you killed George and now you're going to kill me.
I should have turned you in a year ago.
Yes, yes, you should have, Greg. You see, there was water seeping through the floor.
I did find clay only 18 inches down. When you came in that day, I didn't know anything about Irene except that I loved her and was happy.
What do you mean? You mean that Irene wasn't...
No, no, no, no, no. Irene was not dead then. You see, Greg, if anyone is guilty of murder, it is you and George.
You killed my happiness. It was you who killed Irene through my hand and it was you who brought up the commercial traveler.
Although it was my medicine, it was you who killed him as surely as if you'd struck him down in the street.
It was George.
Now, George wanted to transfer his secret to his wallet.
And you, Greg, when the secret became three secrets, you found it too heavy for you.
Oh, you're mad, Doctor. You'll never get away with it, with all of us.
I came to Sudbury wanting to serve it, to share the sickness and the poverty as well as the simple day-to-day existence of all of you.
I asked no more than that. I wanted...
Help.
Are you quite quiet, you fellow?
Help.
I won't have you spoil things now.
Dr. Rankin?
Well, he's here. There's no doubt about it. The door was open.
Unless he went out on a hurry call.
Dr. Rankin, it's Constable Saunders.
I guess he is out. There's no great hurry on this anyway, trust me.
Why don't I come back in the morning?
All right, then. Come along.
Phew. Well, that's all right, indeed.
By tomorrow morning when they return, there won't be a trace of you left, and I'll be free and safe, and no one will ever be the wise man.
What on earth's that?
I tell you, Jones, I saw the cellar light on just as we turned the corner.
There. You see? The light under the door there.
Oh, what you ask, sir. Must be down in the cellar. Didn't hear it.
Phew.
Dr. Rankin?
Oh, glad I raised you, doctor.
You forgot to sign the death certificate on that commercial traveler today.
I say, what are you doing down there, doctor?
I'm... Well, you might as well come down the rest of the way, Constable, and I'll show you.
Thank you, Charles Lawton, for a splendid performance.
Say, uh, Harrow, before Charles Lawton returns, won't you tell everyone the advice you have for them?
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Well, you forgot another S, Harlow. Service.
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And now here again is Mr. Charles Lawton.
I am very happy to have had this opportunity of working again with Tony Leder on Suspense Again.
It has meant working in a story which has been a favorite of mine.
Day More to Us has long been a well-loved story, but next week you will be hearing the story of a current novel,
when radio's outstanding theater of thrills will bring you Miss Jane Wyman.
Wonderful. And a special adaptation of Pat McGurr's Catch Me If You Can.
Another gripping study in Suspense.
Charles Lawton will soon be seen in the A&T film production The Man in the Eiffel Tower.
Tonight's Suspense play was by John Collier and was adapted for radio by Ken Crossen.
Music was composed by Lucian Morrowek and conducted by Lud Bluskin.
The entire production was under the direction of Anton M. Leder.
In the coming weeks, Suspense will present such stars as James Mason, Van Heflin, Jimmy Stewart, and many others.
Make it a point to listen each Thursday to Suspense, radio's outstanding theater of thrills.
And remember next Thursday, hear Miss Jane Wyman in Catch Me If You Can.
You will find Auto Light battery dealers listed in your classified telephone directory under batteries.
You're right with Auto Light.
This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.