Now, Auto Light and its 60,000 dealers and service stations present Suspense.
Tonight, Auto Light brings you John Lund in Lunch Kit, a suspense play produced and directed
by Anton M. Leader.
Friends, now that the weather's getting hot, you're getting thirsty.
Everybody's getting thirsty, but not those dandy, dynamic, dependable Auto Light stay-full
batteries.
No, sir, an Auto Light stay-full battery needs water only three times a year in normal car
use.
Yes, only three times a year in normal car use.
And it's got extra plates for extra power, protected by fiberglass insulation for stronger
life and longer life.
Why, in recent tests conducted according to SAE life cycle standards, Auto Light stay-full
batteries gave 70% longer average life than batteries without the stay-full features.
So remember, you're right with Auto Light.
Oh, and also remember, the Auto Light Suspense show is now on television in many parts of
the country every Tuesday night.
And now, Auto Light presents John Lund in a tale well calculated to keep you in suspense.
Why didn't he stop it?
The weather was getting angry, and Gus, he was so sensitive, especially at a time like
this.
I'll tell him to stop honking that horn, Dad.
Please do, Jonathan.
Yes, please, please do.
I'll call down to him.
I'll tell him to stop.
Hey, hey, Mike, Mike.
So there you are, Jonathan.
Cut off that horn.
Didn't I tell you this guy was sick?
But we're going to be late for work.
I'll be down in a few minutes.
Take it easy.
You better hurry up.
I wouldn't want to be late, Jonathan.
I'm going to be late for work.
I'll be down in a few minutes.
Take it easy.
You better hurry up.
I wouldn't want to be late, Jonathan.
I'll be down in a few minutes.
I wouldn't want to be late, Jonathan.
Yeah, yeah.
I wouldn't want to be late, Jonathan.
Who is this Mike?
Did he cause any trouble?
Oh, no, Father.
He won't cause any trouble.
Well, you've got to be careful, son.
He wouldn't understand.
There aren't many who would understand.
You've got to be careful.
I only did as you said, Dad.
I made friends with one of the old timers down at the plant.
I drive him to work every night.
He works in the same unit with me.
Now I can't get rid of him.
Are you sure about him, kid?
Sure, sure.
I'm sure about him.
What the hell is he doing up here?
Well, I told him a friend of mine lives here.
Sick friend.
It's all right, Dad.
Very well.
How's it coming, Gus?
Almost finished.
Gus was a mechanic, an old timer.
My father had real respect for his ability.
Gus had chipped out the inside of the thermos bottle.
Now he was working on the detonator.
Looked like the old fashioned pocket watch my dad wore.
Now Gus started winding it.
Somehow, that kind of got me.
I wish my father had never started this thing.
I wish he didn't believe the way he did about atomic fission, destroying the world.
I wish he was like everybody else.
That I wasn't his son.
Hey, Jonathan, what time you got?
Huh?
What time do you have?
What's the matter with you?
Are you getting too nervous for me, son?
Nervous?
Oh, don't worry about me being nervous.
It's 829.
829.
Okay, kid.
What are you sweating about?
Who, me?
Your dad ain't sweating.
This is no time to be nervous, Jonathan.
She'll go off at 630 tomorrow morning.
Is that okay?
Fine, Gus.
Fine.
Okay, kid?
Sure.
Okay.
Now Gus cleared a little space on the table and went to a steel cupboard.
He came back with a metal jug cradled in his arm.
My father leaned forward.
I felt myself tightening up inside.
Without thinking about it, I pulled a pack of cigarettes out of my jacket, put one in
my mouth.
Then as I was about to strike the match, Gus looked up.
My father started coming toward me, the veins throbbing in his neck.
Put that match away, you fool!
What?
What's wrong with you?
Haven't you any sense at all?
What do you mean?
You tell him, Gus.
Kid, if one spark gets into this nitro, they won't find enough of us here to fill that
match box.
The unlit cigarette turned to garbage in my mouth.
I spit it out and stamped it to pieces on the cement floor.
My father and Gus looked at each other.
Gus grinned.
My father's face stoned hard, didn't change.
He looked at me like I was still a little boy.
Okay, okay.
They'd find out.
When the night time came at the plant, it'd be up to me.
Your lunch kit.
Here it is.
I just bought it this afternoon.
Oh, look how pretty it is.
It's a shame to spoil it.
All right, finish with it, Gus.
This is not a time for jokes.
Funny about Gus and his jokes.
He didn't believe in this thing at all.
He'd sell out to anybody.
Money.
Just give him money.
But you had to admire what he could do.
He opened the lunch kit, took the bottle out.
He screwed the detonator into the cap, and when it fitted right, he laid it aside.
Then he put a siphon into the thermos bottle and opened a jug of nitroglycerin.
He poured out a thick yellowish liquid, and when the thermos bottle was full, he put the
top on the jug and carried it back to the cupboard.
You better be far away when this goes off, kid.
I'll be far away all right.
Jonathan is a bright boy, Gus.
I've taught him well.
Gus didn't say anything after that.
He bent down over his table and his eyes tightened up to it.
You could barely see him.
He worked quick.
You could see he knew what he was doing.
And watching him, I began to feel better.
Then he was finished.
He put the thermos bottle of nitro back inside the lunch kit and the sandwich and the orange.
And he closed the lunch kit and handed it to me.
Here you are, kid.
Don't drop it.
I won't.
Now, son.
Yes, Dad?
Look at me.
Dad, look at me.
Yes.
It will all work out all right, won't it, son?
Yes, Dad.
It'll be all right.
You will make no mistakes.
I'll be careful.
And you'll be here tomorrow morning?
I'll be here.
Good.
And then perhaps we'll go away together, you and I.
That'll be fine.
Oh, there's your friend again.
All right, Jonathan, get on with it before the old fool gets us all into trouble.
That you, Jonathan?
Yes.
I fear it's about time.
What kept you?
We got to talking.
He's pretty sick.
We're going to be late for work.
Well, you should have taken a bus.
What about you?
I've been late.
So what?
That ain't no attitude, Jonathan.
All right, all right.
Here.
Open up the dashboard compartment.
I want to put this lunch kit in.
Okay.
Be careful.
It's a nice new one.
The drives of the plant was something I'd never forget.
What if I ran into something?
A tire blew.
A speck of dust got into my eye and I ran off the road.
I stayed off the main highway.
Too much traffic.
This ain't the right road, Jonathan.
I drove under 25 miles an hour all the way.
Can't you go any faster?
We're going to be late, Jonathan.
And all the time the old man kept talking, talking.
You young fellows of today, you're a strange, disturbing lot.
Talk, talk, talk.
You've a fever in your blood.
You're restless and you don't know why.
You're a strange lot.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, a strange lot.
You've a fever in your blood.
Keep quiet.
What's that?
What?
The noise, that rattling.
I don't know, Jonathan.
Sounds like your lunch kit.
Let me at it.
What are you worrying about that for?
We're going to be late.
Stop telling me we're going to be late.
Stop that jabber.
Yes, Jonathan.
You think the lunch kit will...
You think the lunch kit will be on the way?
Yeah.
I don't know.
You think the lunch kit will be on the way?
Yeah.
You think the lunch kit will...
You all right now?
You packed it in pretty well.
Okay.
If you hear it rattling again, let me know right away.
You hear, Mike?
At last we came to the plant.
The night shift guys were already at work.
The parking lot was jammed with their cars.
We were late, but I was glad of that.
Now I'd be able to park near the entrance.
Later on I'd be able to get out in a hurry.
Okay, Mike, this is it.
I'm sorry I made you late.
Oh, that's all right, Jonathan.
Mind if I go back with you in the morning?
Okay.
Just be here prompt.
I won't wait for you.
I took the lunch kit and started for the main gate.
The guard was standing there,
expecting everybody with a flashlight.
I grinned at him and snapped the lunch kit open.
How are you tonight?
Okay.
Not ate much, are you?
No, not much.
Ought to.
Put some weight on you.
Pass.
I changed my clothes quickly and left the lunch kit in my locker.
I figured I must look pretty haggard.
So before going into the plant,
I went into the washroom and washed my face
and let cold water run down my wrists.
Then I saw I left my wristwatch and my street clothes.
It was against the rules to go back into the locker room
until the shift was over.
Now all night long I wouldn't know what time it was.
I'd have to ask, have to guess.
Oh, Father wouldn't like that at all.
He was so careless.
I began noticing kind of an ache in the bit of my stomach.
Oh, I mustn't get sick tonight.
I drank a lot of water and the pain left me.
Then I went back into my unit.
Oh, this was going to be a bad night.
I was all raw nerves.
It was like being in the middle of a nightmare.
A nightmare that wouldn't end.
My hands were all thumbs.
I couldn't seem to make them do anything right.
Oh, Father wouldn't like the way I was doing things.
I couldn't stand it much longer.
Hey, Jonathan!
Huh?
What are you doing?
Cut your switch.
What?
What's wrong, Mr. Davis?
What's wrong?
Is that the way you handle that modifier?
Where's your apron?
Oh, oh yeah.
Oh gee, I'm sorry, Mr. Davis.
Don't be sorry. Do it right.
Get on the ball, Jonathan. Get on the ball.
Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
On the ball.
What time was it getting to me?
I couldn't concentrate. I couldn't think.
All I could remember was what was in my locker.
All I could remember was that thermos bottle
filled at the top with nitro.
All I could remember was that detonator set for 630.
Hey, Mike, what time is it?
1230.
Hey, Mike, what time is it?
Ten minutes after one.
Hey, Mike, what time is it?
Five minutes to two.
Hey, Mike, what time is it?
Almost time for lunch.
Lunch?
And am I hungry?
I could eat them.
Hey, what's wrong with you?
Well, you're white as a...
My stomach. My stomach.
Hey, you guys, come over here, quick.
How do you feel now, son?
Better.
What time is it?
Where am I?
In the plant dispensary.
You, uh, you ever had a spell like that before?
No, no, I never did, Doc. What time is it?
You see, you're pretty nervous, aren't you?
No, no, no, I'm all right.
I don't know.
I'm not sure.
You're not sure.
I'm not sure.
Your pulse was extremely high when they brought you in here.
But I'm all right now, Doc.
I want to go back to my job.
You want to what?
I can't allow you to go back to your job, son.
Now just relax.
But I'm all right now.
What time is it?
Take it easy now. Take it easy.
It's, uh, it's 2.30.
2.30?
When have they all gone back to work?
I won't be able to go to my locker.
Oh, I know what you're thinking.
Your lunch. Isn't that what's on your mind?
But lunch is over.
I won't be able to go back.
Well, never mind.
I'll send somebody to get your lunch kit.
Oh, no.
No, don't do that.
Huh?
No, no.
No, really, Doctor.
I'm not hungry.
Sure, I know.
But you've got to have something.
Just sit there.
He went into the next room.
I wanted to jump up and start running.
But that was no good either.
Why'd I make such a fuss about the lunch kit?
What's he doing in there?
And he came back.
And he was carrying a glass of milk.
There you are.
You're going to miss lunch.
At least drink this.
Milk?
Go on.
Drink it down.
Okay.
Finish it all.
That's it.
There.
Feel better?
Yeah.
I think I better go back to work.
No, you don't want to do that.
Just take it easy.
Oh, I feel fine now.
Really.
You couldn't go back to work even if I let you.
What do you mean?
You'll lie down on the cot there in the next room and take it easy.
You're going to take a nice long sleep.
Sleep?
Why, sure?
Oh, no, no.
I've got to get back to work.
Oh, no.
Not tonight anymore.
But I couldn't sleep.
You all sleep all right.
I put a couple of grains of barbatoil in that milk you drank.
Sleeping powder!
Hey, what's the matter with you breaking the glass like that?
I don't want to go to sleep.
I'm all right.
You're all right.
Can't even hold a glass.
Well, you're in fine shape.
At least you drank the milk.
I don't like taking dope.
Now, look, son, it'll slow you down.
You'll wake up feeling like a new man.
You little fellas, you don't know how to relax.
It's a wonder you live as long as you do.
Now, come along with me.
Just lie there now and behave yourself.
That's right.
Crawl under the blankets.
Now, in a few minutes, you'll be sleeping like a baby.
And you won't need the lights.
Good night, young fellow.
Present dreams.
For suspense, Auto Light is bringing you Mr. John Lund
in Radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense.
Hello, Harlow.
What's cooking?
Don't say those words.
Half they're poison.
Look at this letter.
Oh, from June Bride.
Dear Uncle Harlow, I'm just dying to learn how to use
that lovely pressure cooker you sent me.
Wasn't a pressure cooker.
I sent her a dandy dynamic Auto Light Stay Full battery
that needs water only three times a year in normal car use.
She says, I know it must be a wonderful pressure cooker
because the instructions say it needs water only three times a year
in normal car use.
June Brides, they're dumb.
She should know that an Auto Light Stay Full battery has extra plates
for extra power, protected by fiberglass insulation
for stronger life and longer life than batteries without these features.
And she says here, Bob keeps telling me the pressure cooker
is really an Auto Light Stay Full battery
that needs water only three times a year in normal car use.
Uncle Harlow, you're wonderful.
Now we can cook as we travel.
June Brides, now if they'd listen to me...
They can't.
We're going to listen to Suspense.
And now, Auto Light brings back to our Hollywood sound stage
John Lund as Jonathan in Lunch Kit.
A tale well calculated to keep you in suspense.
Sleeping powder.
He put sleeping powder in the milk.
And like an idiot, I drank it all down, every bit of it.
And then, then I started to get drowsy.
With a time bomb in my lunch kit set to go off in just a few hours,
I started getting drowsy.
No, no, I had to get up to get out.
I couldn't stay there, couldn't sleep through.
Had to do something, something.
My eyes are getting heavy, so heavy.
Couldn't keep them open.
Kind of pure nitro.
And all the chemicals and the flammable stockpiles here.
The place would go up like an ammunition dump.
I had to get out.
Couldn't keep my eyes open.
So easy.
It's so easy.
Let my eyes close.
Go to sleep.
No, no, I couldn't go to sleep.
I couldn't, I couldn't.
I crawled off the cot.
Window in the room.
Had to get through the window.
Couldn't go through the doctor's office.
Get out through the window.
I started over.
But then, then I, I had to stop.
I had to sit down.
So tired.
So good.
Sit there.
So good.
Sit there.
So good.
Close.
What's that?
The nitro.
The whistle.
Time to go home.
Six o'clock.
I slept right through and then the whistle woke me up.
Oh, well, lucky.
I'm lucky.
Six o'clock.
The lunch kit goes off at six thirty.
Have to act fast.
This time no mistake.
Now, now I have to do everything right.
Getting out of the dispensary was easy.
There was a shed right below the window.
I dropped to the roof.
And then to the ground.
Didn't feel any too good.
Still groggy from the barbatoil.
There was no time to think about that now.
When I got back to the locker room,
the boys are climbing out of their work clothes.
Getting ready for the shower room.
Hey, Jonathan, you OK now?
Oh, yeah. Yeah, I feel fine.
Hey, you better stop drinking at turpentine, Jonathan.
Boy, you sure had me worried, Jonathan.
Oh, I'm all right now, Mike.
Do I still get the ride?
Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah.
Well, see you later then.
Gonna take a shower.
I changed into my street clothes and nothing flat.
Not caring how I looked.
I was kind of worried the doctor would look in on me
and find me gone.
When I was ready to go,
all the other fellas were in the shower room.
Oh, that was the break I wanted.
I took the lunch kit out of my locker
and slid it underneath.
Then I looked at my wristwatch.
Four minutes after six.
I had 25 minutes to get away.
It was working out fine.
Now I knew Father would be pleased.
I walked past the front offices.
No one else around yet.
Couldn't walk too fast, though.
Not too fast, not too slow.
That natural.
Not too fast, not too slow.
Oh, Jonathan.
Huh?
That was Mr. Davis, the foreman.
How are you feeling now, Jonathan?
Oh, I'm all right, Mr. Davis.
Anyhow, I want to talk to you. Come into the office.
Now?
Sure, now.
Oh, I'm in kind of a hurry, Mr. Davis.
At six o'clock in the morning, nobody's in a hurry.
Come on, come in.
All right, but just for a minute.
Close it on.
Sit down.
Ah, nothing like sitting down and relaxing after a long night.
This chair could use a little oil.
I really can't stay long, Mr. Davis.
I'm supposed to meet someone.
At six o'clock in the morning?
You still look pale.
You still look pale, Jonathan.
You sure you feel all right?
Yes, yes. Mr. Davis, if it's about the mistake I made tonight...
Oh, it's not that so much.
I'm just a little worried about your health.
No worry about it, Mr. Davis.
It's just that sometimes I get a little nervous.
A little nervous?
Look at you, squirming on that chair.
You're a bundle of nerves.
Something bothering you?
I mean, something really bothering you?
You can't relax.
Nothing's bothering me.
Well, just make sure I'm gonna call the dispensary.
I'm gonna hunch you're not telling me everything.
I tell you, I'm all right.
Add dispensary, please.
Jonathan!
Jonathan, come back here!
What's wrong with that guy?
He wasn't chasing me.
I looked at my watch. 614.
Still plenty of time to get away.
I left the main building.
It started across the yard to the gate.
It was still dark.
I was one of the first out.
Don't look back.
Keep going. Don't let him stop you.
Slow down! Slow down!
I've gotta chase you.
I'm out of breath.
What do you want?
You know as well as I what I want.
You forgot something.
What did I forget?
You forgot to punch the time clock.
I'll do it tomorrow.
Tomorrow? That'll be my neck.
You're not leaving this plant until you punch out, mister.
All right, all right. I'll go back and punch out.
Where's the fire?
You gotta work out that energy at your job, young fella.
Yeah, yeah.
I went back into the main building.
And there was at least 20 other guys waiting in line before the clock.
Say, hey, look.
I gotta get to town early.
How about let me punch out now, huh?
End of the line, bud.
But it'll only take a second.
End of the line.
We all wanna get to town early, bud.
Okay, okay.
I'm still at time.
Hi there, Jonathan.
Hello.
Say, I think Mike's looking for you.
Yeah?
The old guy sort of adopted you, ain't he?
Yeah.
Sure a good long line tonight, ain't it?
Yeah.
Well, not so much to do at 6 o'clock in the morning.
My missus will be asleep when I get home.
How are you feeling now?
Huh?
Oh, okay.
I got 621.
Yeah.
Yeah, 620 I got.
You sure figure it out to the minute.
Right to the minute.
Here's my card.
Okay.
Finally I got to the parking lot.
Whole flock of guys were out by now.
It was kind of cold.
Took a couple of seconds for the motor to turn over.
It was 627.
I had three minutes.
Three minutes.
Couldn't waste any time. I was fighting for my life.
Finally caught.
Started backing out quick.
Had to get out of here in a hurry.
Three minutes. Less than that now.
Hey!
Hey, look out!
Oh, my headlights.
What's the matter with you?
I'm sorry. I'll pay for them.
Oh, that ain't the idea.
Why don't you watch where you're going?
All right, here's my driver's license.
I work in unit five.
I'll see you tonight and we'll work something out.
My name is Jonathan Peters.
Hey, not so fast. Not so fast.
I got to write this down.
You got a pencil?
Here's my pen. Well, start writing.
Jonathan Peters.
Unit five. Yes!
Okay, here's your pen.
I'm going to work on this time in the morning.
Back up and let me out. I'm in a hurry.
Always in a hurry.
That's how trouble starts.
All right. It's clear now.
Thanks. No more than two minutes.
I got to hurry. Hurry.
Clear now. All clear.
Hurry! Hurry!
Hey, Jonathan. Wait for me.
Wait! Wait, Jonathan!
Oh, he got away.
Now why'd he do that? These young fellas.
Don't know what the end will be.
That kid sure is wacky.
In a hurry. Always in a hurry.
What's the matter with him?
No sense of responsibility.
Last night he drives like a turtle.
This morning he races out of here like a demon and leaves me standing.
Too bad, Mike. Well, maybe somebody else will give you a ride home.
I can get a bus, but this will teach me to do God a favor.
What do you mean?
Well, that Jonathan.
I didn't want to keep him waiting, so I came out and looked for him.
And he's not in the car.
So I go back in the plant to look.
And I miss him.
When I get back, he's driving off.
Yeah? So what's the favia to him?
He was so darn particular about it.
Then he goes off and leaves it under his locker.
But I found it and put it in his car for him.
What? His lunch kit.
I put it in his car.
Hey, what was that?
Funny.
It sounded like thunder.
Thunder?
Look at the sky.
Yeah, beautiful.
No, it couldn't have been thunder.
It's gonna be a real nice day.
Thank you, John Lund, for a splendid performance.
So people see suspense on television too, Harlow?
Yes, Hap, and on television too they learn that an Autolite stay full battery needs water only three times a year in normal car use.
Just like they learn that Autolite stay full batteries are made by Autolite.
Makers of more than 400 products for cars, trucks, airplanes and boats in 28 Autolite plants from coast to coast.
Yes, sir, and Autolite makes complete electrical systems for many makes of America's finest cars.
Batteries, spark plugs, generators, starting motors, coils and distributors.
All engineered to fit together perfectly, work together perfectly because they're our perfect team.
The lifeline of your car.
So folks, don't accept electrical parts that are supposed to be as good.
Remember, you're always right with Autolite.
And now here again is John Lund.
It's been a pleasure to be here tonight with Tony Leeder and his great cast of actors.
And as an old Suspense fan, I'm looking forward, as I'm sure you all are, to next week when radio's outstanding theater of thrills brings you Agnes Moorhead in The Trap.
Another gripping study in Suspense.
John Lund is currently being seen in the Paramount picture Bride of Vengeance.
Tonight's Suspense play was written by Larry Marcus with music composed by Lucian Moorowek and conducted by Leith Stevens.
The entire production was under the direction of Anton M. Leeder.
In the coming weeks, Suspense will present such stars as Ralph Edwards and Joseph Cotton.
Make it a point to listen each Thursday to Suspense, radio's outstanding theater of thrills.
And next Thursday same time, hear Agnes Moorhead in The Trap.
You can buy auto light staple batteries, auto light resistor spark plugs, auto light electrical parts at your neighborhood auto light dealers.
Switch to auto light. Good night.
Put more opportunity in your future. Invest in U.S. savings bonds.
This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.