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Suspense.

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Tonight, Auto Light and its 96,000 dealers present Mr. Ray Meland in Chicken.

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A suspense play produced and edited by William Spear.

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Hey, Hap, what happened?

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Get me a doctor. Rushed so fast, getting here, run my battery dry.

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Why, you don't need a doctor. You need an Auto Light stay full battery.

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Why, these brilliant, beautiful, bouncy babies want water only three times a year.

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Yes, only three times a year in normal car use.

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Their larger liquid load is like a lake compared to ordinary batteries.

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And Auto Light stay full batteries have extra protection with fiberglass,

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retaining mats for longer life.

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Why, in tests conducted according to life cycle standards of the Society of Automotive Engineers,

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Auto Light stay full batteries gave 70% longer average life than batteries without the stay full

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features. So folks, get an Auto Light stay full battery. Remember, you're always right with Auto

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Light. Oh, and friends, a reminder, suspense may be seen on television in many parts of the country

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every Tuesday night. And now with Chicken Feed and with the performance of Ray Meland,

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Auto Light hopes once again to keep you in suspense.

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All right, it was a silly thing to fight over, I admit it, but there it was, a nickel,

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a measly, worthless nickel, Chicken Feed. But of course, that was the only the beginning.

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Junior had asked for a nickel and I flipped it over to him. After he left the room, Mary said,

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I shouldn't spoil the kid. It was time he learned the value of money. And I said,

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great Scott, if I couldn't give my own child a nickel without her jumping down my throat,

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I said, after all, what's a nickel good for? Cup of coffee? Oh, you know, you know how these

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things get going. You keep saying things you shouldn't and she lashes out with an answer.

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And before you know it, you've stormed out of the house and you're taking it out on the car.

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Fifty miles cool me down a little, but not much. I automatically slowed up when I came

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with the sign, you are now entering Lansing, California. Go slow and see our town,

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go fast and see our jail. Everybody knew Lansing, speed trap, tough town. Driving at a normal speed

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through the quiet Sunday street gave me time to think of something besides the biting words Mary

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and I had slugged at each other. I pulled up in a little cafe next to the police station,

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had a whitewash sign on the window, best cup of coffee in town for five cents.

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And I resent that officer Brady. Too over easy, Sam, and heavy on the pride. What's yours, Mr.?

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Coffee, please. Coming up. Here you are. Hey, officer Brady, how's your starboarder?

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Phillips? Ah, they're coming for him in the morning. They could be able to hold him until then.

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He got out of that Bennington jail like a paper bag. But don't worry sister,

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Mr. Phillips won't get out of this room. Well, I listened to him half an ear while I sip my coffee.

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Best cup in town for five cents. That reminded me of our argument over a nickel. That's about all a

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nickel's good for, a cup of coffee some places, a newspaper, a phone call. There was a stack of

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local papers nearby and I poked it over to look at. This Phillips is on the front page, bank robber,

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killed a teller. He had a face I wouldn't want to run into. Close. After a while, the hot coffee

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made me feel a little better. Maybe, well, maybe I'd been at fault as much as Mary. She wasn't the

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only one who had a bad temper. On a sudden impulse, I left my coffee, went over to the phone on the

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far wall. I heard the dial tone and then I fished in my pocket for change. It was empty. Say miss,

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could you change the dollar for me? I want to use the phone. Oh yes, sir.

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What's the matter, mister? Well, my wallet, I seem to have... Look, I'll be back in a minute.

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No, Mary wasn't the only one with a temper. I'd stormed out of the house without changing the

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contents of my pockets to clean my suit. Didn't have a dime on me, not a nickel. I rummaged in

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the glove compartment. Mary sometimes left the coin first, but this time, naturally, it wasn't

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there. I felt like a fool. What seems to be the trouble, mister? Oh, hello officer. I seem to

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have come out without any money. It's embarrassing. Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

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I didn't realize it. I tried to phone, but I... Oh, wait a minute. Just a minute.

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Huh? Where's your driver's license? Oh, it's in my wallet. San Francisco. Got any other

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identification? Well, the registration slip on the car. Oh yeah, that's the car. What about you?

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Look officer, I'm Ralph Clark. Clark and Jacobs in the Hatfield building. We're attorneys.

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Attorneys. I should have a card somewhere. Kind of far from home to be without any dough,

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ain't you? Well, I came out of the house without changing the stuff into this suit. You know how.

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Yeah. How do you happen to have the keys to the car? Well, I don't take them out and it's in the

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garage. Yeah. Say, you don't think... Where are you headed for? Well, I know it sounds funny, but

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nowhere really. You see, I had a fight with my wife and I just batted out of the house to cool off.

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I'll tell you what, Mr. Clark, suppose we just mosey over to the station house. The station house?

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Say, what is this? Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. It's right next door and you can call your wife

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from there. But I don't see why that's necessary. If you'd just lend me a nickel, I could call here

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and reverse the charges. Come on, we'll go. You can leave the car here. I'll take the keys.

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And look here, officer, I don't bet this is... Come on, move on. Move on. All the stupid situations today.

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Hi, Jim. What you got this time? I'll tell you better after he makes his call. Give me the phone,

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will you, Ross? That's out of order. Went dead half hour ago. Yeah? I reported it. They said they

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can't have a man here before tomorrow. But did you tell them this is a police station for Pete Sanks?

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Oh, sure I told them. It ain't that, though. We get incoming calls and we still got the nickel

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snatcher over there. Oh, yeah. Well, there's a pay phone, Mr. Clark. You can make your call from there.

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I don't have any money, remember? Oh, yeah, okay. Here's a nickel. Gee, thanks. Let me speak to your

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wife when you get her. This is gonna sound fine, just fine. She'll think I really tied one on.

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Operator. I want to call San Francisco. Fillmo 60098. Reverse the charges, please. Thank you.

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Your number, please. This is 460.

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6-0.

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Hello? I have a collect call from Lansing, California for Fillmore 60098. Will you accept it?

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Lansing? Well, I don't know anyone in Lansing. It's me, Mary. Take the call. Oh, it's you, is it?

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What do you think you're doing, 50-month-old? Will you accept the call, madam? I should say not.

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A very idea. Hey, Mary, wait! I'm sorry. The party will not accept the call. Look,

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operator, get her back, will you? This is important. I will ring them again.

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Swell, that's a sweetheart.

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She's there, the little... Why doesn't she pick up that phone? Your party does not answer. Oh.

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Now, it's out of time. Well, that's your nickel. Let me have another one, will you?

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I'll get hold of my partner. He'll identify me. Look, we've wasted enough time. Come on in here.

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But those are the cells. Right. You're locking me up? Right again. But what's the big idea? I

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didn't do anything. What are you charging me with? You don't have to charge me with anything. I'm

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holding you on suspicion. Suspicion? Suspicion of what? Defroting the cafe, for one thing.

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I want to check that car. You think I stole it? Well, it's been done. Now, wait a minute. If you'll

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just let me fall... You're entitled to one call. You've had it. But look here, officer... Come on inside.

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In jail? All on account of a measly nickel, a lousy, stinking nickel.

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Hey, welcome to our jail. Stink pot of the Santa Nueva Valley. That's slim. Yeah, you said it.

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What's your beef, chum? Suspicion. Can you feature that suspicion? They won't even give me a nickel

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to phone. You mean you ain't even got a nickel? No, you see... That's too bad, ain't it, Pete? Oh,

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yeah, sure is. I wish we could help you out. Yeah, maybe we can at that. You got a nickel?

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Sure. I got three of them. Well, let me one. Well, just one. I'll pay you back. I'll send you

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ten dollars as soon as I get out of here. What's it worth to you, chum? What? I just told you ten

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dollars. Yeah, yeah, I know. Pie in the sky. Hey, my wristwatch. Why didn't I think of that before?

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What's the matter with it? Oh, nothing. Nothing's the matter with it. It's worth fifty dollars.

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Yeah, you fool, look at it. It's yours for five cents for one measly nickel. What can you lose?

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Must be something wrong with it. Is it hot? Hot? You mean stolen? Yeah. Of course not.

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What are you offering it for nickel for? Because I want to get out of this filthy place.

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Oh, so you don't like our company, is that it? Well, if you want to put it that way, no, I don't.

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All right, a man don't like our company. Now, why ain't that just too bad? Hey, what do you think

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of that, Mr. Phillips? He don't like us. You got any nickels, Mr. Phillips?

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I followed his glance. For the first time I saw deep in the gloom of the locked cubicle,

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the face I'd seen on the front page of the newspaper, the face I'd said I wouldn't want

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to run into, close. Well, it was close, and I was glad there were bars between us.

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Of course, us guys ain't much, but Mr. Phillips here, he's a big shot. Robbed four banks and

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broke into two jails. He killed a man, too. Yeah, sure. We're just bags, but Mr. Phillips,

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he's going to the hot seat. Yeah, they're coming to get him, take him back to Utah and burn him.

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They don't burn him in Utah. They shoot him. Oh. Ain't that right, Mr. Phillips? Hey, Mr. Phillips

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don't want to talk about it. Yeah, Mr. Phillips, he don't want to talk about nothing. Mr. Phillips,

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he ain't very sociable. Just like this. Oh, now look, fellas, I didn't mean, I just meant I want

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to get out of this jail. Here, take the watch and give me the nickel, huh? Tell you what I'll do,

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I'll match you for it. Match me? Yeah, nickel against the watch. Well, then... Take it or leave it.

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All right. Leave Pete Hall to watch here, huh? I'll flip a nickel on the floor and you call it, huh?

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Heads. Tails, I win. Hey, wait a minute, wait a minute, get your foot over it. How do you know

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it's tails? It's tails. I ain't a fish. Sure, it's tails, all right. Here's the watch, Slim.

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Say, what is this? Watch it, brother. You're not going to get away with this. Get him, Pete.

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Yeah.

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I had to learn you. This is for me and me. Oh, don't kick me. Hey, what's going on in there?

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Officer, these men... It ain't nothing, officer. This new guy is acting up, that's all. Well, quiet

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down in there. Now, get up. I can't, he kicked me. Trying to get us in trouble, huh? No, no, I...

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Look, fella, for heaven's sake... Shut up. Okay. Kangaroo. I'll be the judge and you'll be the

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prosecutor, huh? Right. Maybe Mr. Phillips will be the defense attorney. You want to, Mr. Phillips?

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He don't want to. Prisoner at the bar, stand up.

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I said, stand up. Cut it out, Willie. Shut up. All right, consular, what is the prisoner charged

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with? Your honor, this man's a desperate criminal. He's charged with breaking into jail, insulting his

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fellow boarders, poor sportsmanship and fighting a very dangerous character, your honor. Oh, yeah,

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yeah. Guilty on all counts. Prisoner, have you anything to say before I pronounce sentence?

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No? Well, I fine you five cents. Hand it over. You know I haven't got it. Can't pay, huh?

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Well, then you can work it out. A rate of one cent a day. Your first job will be to shine

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the court's shoes. Shine your own shoes. Oh, he's going to be like that, huh? Hold him, Slim.

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Yeah. Officer, officer. Put your damn hand in there. Yes, sir. All right.

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Now get on them shoes. I don't have anything to shine them with. You got a code, ain't you? Now get going.

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The next hours were unadulterated agony. It was unbelievable, the filthy, inhuman things they could

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think up for me to do. It was just frightful. With every move I made, I could feel the glittering,

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steely eyes of the silent man in the locked cage on me, following me, weighing me. And finally,

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when they couldn't think of anything more, they forced me to stand at attention, looking right

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into Phillips's cage. They couldn't see his face. It was too close to mine. But he winked at me,

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and he nodded his head as though it were a signal. And then his two huge arms came through the bars

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and thrust me, reeling across the cell. And I fell and hit my head. And that's all I remember.

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Auto Light is bringing you Mr. Ray Milan in Chicken Feet,

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tonight's production in Radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense.

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Hey, Hap, get a load of this picture. What the? A herd of camels picketing the Auto Light battery

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plane. Yeah, look at the signs. Auto Light Stay Full Batteries, unfair to camels. Now,

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how do you figure that? Well, it's easy. Those thirstless Auto Light Stay Full Batteries have

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kicked camel's water reserve reputation into a cocked hat. You mean because an Auto Light

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Stay Full needs water only three times a year? Yay, and verily, and also correct. Auto Light

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Stay Full Batteries need water only three times a year in normal car use. This extra liquid reserve

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expels one of the major causes of battery failure, means exceedingly excellent performance and

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extremely long life. You'd say it's expedient to own an Auto Light Stay Full Battery. Exactly.

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And for a few more Auto Light Stay Full extras, get this, extra protection with fiberglass retaining

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mats, extra long life as compared to batteries without Stay Full features. In fact, 70 percent

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longer average life as established by tests conducted according to life cycle standards

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of the Society of Automotive Engineers. Why, with an Auto Light Stay Full Battery, you can tell the

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difference in your car. You're right with Auto Light. And now, Auto Light brings back to our

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Hollywood sound stage, Ray Milan in Chicken Feet, a tale well calculated to keep you in suspense.

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I don't know what time it was, two or three in the morning, I guess, when I felt a stealthy

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touch on my shoulder. I opened my eyes, I was still on the stone floor and Phillips was bending over

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me holding a revolver. My mouth opened for an involuntary cry and he clapped a hand over.

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Shut up, you fool. You want to wake them punks? Get up quick and be quiet about it. I glanced quickly

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at Phillips' cell. It was open. So was the door to the corridor. He pushed me on and locked the door

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behind us. In his office, spowned and gagged securely to his desk chair, Sergeant Ross glared

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at us. The empty holster at his side told where Phillips had got his gun.

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Here, which is the key to your car? This one. Okay, take it and let's move.

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Where's the car? Over there. You drive.

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Okay. Well, we made it.

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Them hick bulls, they panicked me. Guy could spring that crock with a hairpin. But you,

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you nearly done a fine job of lousing things up. What happened to you? Getting

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thrown in the can in the middle of the day. Well, they picked me up on suspicion. Well,

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I wasn't supposed to be till midnight tonight. And all that phony kid stuff about the nickel.

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The nickel? Yeah, all that double talk when all you had to do was slip me the word that

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Jerry Nichols sent you. Served you right the way them luscious treated you. Acting like a diet

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in a world square. Jerry Nichols? Nichols? My numbed brain slowly put the meaning of his words

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into shape. He thought, he thought I was an accomplice. Sent by a partner to help him break

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jail. Then all my screams about a nickel but nothing but a signal to him. A signal that I

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came from Jerry Nichols. Jerry got the hideout set up? Uh, yes. Oh, where is it? Uh, the hideout?

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The hideout. Going to Jerry's place first, ain't we? Then what? Well, I, uh, I'll take you to Jerry's.

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Then I guess he'll take you, take over from there. How far is it to Jerry's? Can't be any more than

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about five miles, is it? Well, it's, uh, look behind you. What's the matter? There's a car

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following us, dark lights. Well, I don't see... Hey, what's the big idea? You're trying to cross me.

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I couldn't help it. My foot slammed on the brake. That car, we've got to get out of here. Go ahead,

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get it started. Come on, come on. It's flooded. I'm getting out till that car passes. You make for

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the other side, no tricks. Just to make sure I'll take this key. I made myself a chance and I took it.

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I slipped out of the car on the other side and ran. Ran across the fields until I could run no more.

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After an interminable two miles, I found a road and after a while of tramping along the road,

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a dark shape loomed up before me. A gas station. And through the glass, I could make out the outline

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of a telephone. I tried the door. It was locked, of course, but I found a tire line and sprang the latch.

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I'd run to the phone, almost thrown myself on it before I saw it was a payphone. In a rage, I shook

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the black box. I could hear the nickels inside, of course, a sheet of metal no thicker than a

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playing card, yet as inaccessible as the moon. But there must be some money in this room. My eyes

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focused on a battered desk. There were some change in it and a couple of dollar bills. The kind of

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money a man leaves as a sup to possible burglars. Burglars? That meant me. Carefully, I abstracted

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a single nickel. Number, please. Get me San Francisco. Sutter 15994. It's Morris Jacobs.

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Tell him that this is his partner, Ralph Clark, and ask him to accept the charges. Thank you.

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There's an interruption on the line and there may be a slight delay, sir. Will you hold on or shall

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I call you? I'll hold on, but hurry, Operati. It's important. One moment, please.

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As I waited, a glint of light came through the window.

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One moment, please. As I waited, a glint of light pulled my eyes away from the phone.

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Far down the road, headlights of a car juggled over the rise and aimed towards me.

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It was the first car to come by since I'd hit the road. It might be a stray, a farmer starting out

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before sunup, but I couldn't take the chance. Hastee hung up the receiver, closed the cash drawer,

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snapped a lock on the door, then I crouched beneath the desk. Open up! Hey! Hey! I've tried to wake

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that geezer before he sleeps like a dead man. He may be back on the bottle again. I will get him up.

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Hey, Jerry! Jerry! To my horror, I heard the creak of bed springs from the rear of the station.

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A light appeared under the door I'd thought was just a rear door to the outside. It opened,

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and two hairy barefoot legs under a fan of light gun came through and made for the front.

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Who, who is it? Ready and lost. Open up.

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Well, you're a fine bunch of cops running out of gas in the middle of the night.

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Come on in, come on in. Chill here with your door open.

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That ain't gas, pal. Phillips broke jail.

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What? Oh, oh, you don't tell me. Well, how did he do that?

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Well, you see, there was two of them. He hadn't accomplished. Said he was a lawyer.

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He found their car abandoned on the road back at Ferris' Hopperville,

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ran out of gas, so they can't be far away. Say, there was a big reward for Phillips

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after he broke jail at Bennington, wasn't there? Yeah, a thousand dollars.

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Hey! You know him, don't you? Yeah! You was in the Bennington Polk when he done that break.

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What was it? A drunk and disorderly or something.

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Yeah, he had me a little too much and broke a wind in the general store.

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We was roommates for the night. I was pretty scared.

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How'd he do it, the break? Oh, I don't know. I was sleeping it off.

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Thousand dollars reward, huh? Man can do a lot with a thousand dollars.

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Not that he couldn't. Don't you get any ideas now?

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That Phillips is a killer and so is his partner most likely.

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Well, I ain't exactly helpless myself. Get a nice little fella on my side.

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You take my advice, chum, and put that gun away. They show up here, you talk soft,

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let us do the capture. Oh, sure, sure. I'll play safe.

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Well, we'll be going. Just wanted to alert you, Jerry.

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Yes, thanks. Thanks, and so long, boys.

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All right, you, come out from under that desk. Come on out, I say, this gun's mighty nervous.

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Now, get your hands up and stand over there. Look, Mr.

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I'll do the talking. Who are you?

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Look, you've got to believe me. I'm not a criminal. I'm a lawyer.

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Oh, you must be the other one, huh? Keep them hands up.

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But I got into this by accident. I don't know. He helped me escape.

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Where is Phillips? Well, I left him in the car.

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And that's another thing. You can get the reward. I know who he's going to meet.

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And they're going to a hideout and... Oh, I see. Who is he going to meet?

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Well, somebody named Jerry Nichols. There you are.

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If you let me get to that phone, I can clear everything up.

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No, you don't. Stay right where you are, I'll plug you.

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But that's my partner, my law partner in San Francisco. I only broke in.

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Here's where I could phone him. He let Dan to fire me.

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You don't believe me? Oh, I believe you all right.

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Then what? Answer it yourself. You'll see. Not on your life, Mr.

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You think I'm out of my mind? But you've got to answer it, Jerry.

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You don't know what I went through to place that call. You just can't stand...

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Jerry. You're Jerry Nichols.

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That's right. So you see...

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Jerry. Jerry. Sam. Turn off that light, you.

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It's Phillips. Stand over there by the window, where he can see you.

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Go on. Jerry.

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Uh, come on in, Phillips. I ran out of gas.

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Jerry, I...

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It happened so fast that for a moment I had no reaction at all.

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None. I just watched it. Watched Phillips holding his chest with both hands.

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Watched that giant body twist convulsively on the floor and then...

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Lie still. Watched Jerry bend over him. Then straighten up.

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Then as he turned, grinning to me, emotion, feeling came back.

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What I felt was seething, overpowering, rage,

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fury. Everything I'd been through this night. It was like a boiler that had to

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burst. Well, dead or alive, I just made me a

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thousand bucks. You foul, stinking scum.

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What? You're worse than he is. Shut up.

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Maybe I'll get a reward for you, too. A small one.

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I could feel the bullet land in my side, just below the belt,

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and the avenues of pain spread out like the cracks in a hammered window glass.

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But somehow, strangely, it didn't stop me. I kept moving toward him. He backed

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away, surprised. He was aiming for another shot when we grabbed him.

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I got the gun, he got me by the throat. I'm kidding you. He stumbled.

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I fell onto his hand that was holding the gun. I wouldn't let go, and then as he fell

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backwards over the chair, I was on top of him.

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He wouldn't let go of that gun. As we thrashed him on there on the floor, I

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brought his hand up suddenly and smashed his own gun into his face.

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Then he lay still.

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I listened. I listened to his heart. He was all right.

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He was all right. I got up gasping for breath,

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and then I realized that I was all right. Yet he'd shot me, hit me.

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I should be lying there on the plank floor instead of that grotesque heap in

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the shapeless flannel nightgown. I felt my side with the bullet it struck,

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brought my hand away. There was no blood on it.

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Yet there should be blood. I touched the spot again. I

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fingered the contour of something small and hard and round.

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I pulled it out of my watch pocket, battered with a slug that struck it, bent

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almost double. A nickel, a nickel.

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The twentieth part of a dollar. All a man needed to buy a cup of coffee,

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to make a phone call, to buy a fine in a kangaroo court, to save his life.

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And I'd had it all the time. I'd had it all the time. I'd had it all the time.

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Huh? Huh?

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Hello. I have your party now in San Francisco. Shall I connect you, sir?

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Huh? Yeah. But first, first get the Lansing police station.

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Will you, operator? Lansing police.

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Yeah. Shut up, Jerry. You're gonna live. And I'm gonna be in court with you.

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Yeah. But I wouldn't give a plugged nickel for your chances.

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Suspense presented by Auto Light. Tonight's star, Ray Meland in Chicken Feed.

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Say, uh, Mr. Meland, in a recent movie, I saw you as a baseball pitcher.

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Yes, that's right. You as a pitcher and Paul Douglas as a catcher made a wonderful

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battery. That sounds like a lead-in for me to say that Auto Light makes a wonderful battery, too.

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You can say that again. All right, I will. Auto Light makes a

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wonderful battery. Right you are, Ray. It's the Auto Light

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00:27:42,320 --> 00:27:47,360
Stay Full that needs water only three times a year in normal car use. Made by Auto Light,

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00:27:47,360 --> 00:27:52,720
makers of over 400 products for cars, trucks, airplanes, and boats in 28 Auto Light plants

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00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:56,960
from coast to coast. Auto Light also makes complete electrical systems for many makes

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00:27:56,960 --> 00:28:02,640
of America's finest cars. Batteries, spark plugs, generators, starting motors, coils, distributors.

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00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:08,720
All engineered to fit together perfectly, work together perfectly, because they're a perfect team.

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00:28:09,440 --> 00:28:13,280
So folks, don't accept electrical parts that are supposed to be as good.

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00:28:13,280 --> 00:28:18,240
Ask for and insist on Auto Light Original Factory Parts at your neighborhood service station,

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00:28:18,240 --> 00:28:31,680
car dealer, garage, or repair shop. Remember, you're always right with Auto Light.

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00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:37,440
Next Thursday for Suspense, Dorothy Maguire will be our star. The play is called Last Confession,

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and it is, as we say, a tale well calculated to keep you in suspense.

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Tonight's Suspense play was produced and edited by William Spear and directed by Norman MacDonald.

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Music for Suspense is composed by Lucian Morawek and conducted by Lud Gluskin.

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Chicken Seed was a radio play by Lawrence Goldman. Ray Milan appeared through the

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courtesy of Paramount Pictures, whose current release is Top of the Morning,

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starring Bing Crosby, Anne Blythe, and Barry Fitzgerald. Don't forget, next Thursday, same time,

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00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:24,560
Auto Light will present Suspense, starring Dorothy Maguire.

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00:29:24,560 --> 00:29:37,600
You can buy Auto Light staple batteries, Auto Light resistor spark plugs, Auto Light electrical

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00:29:37,600 --> 00:29:42,000
parts at your neighborhood Auto Light dealers. Switch to Auto Light. Good night.

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00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:55,280
This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.