1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:13,360 Auto Light and its 98,000 dealers bring you Mr. Joseph Cotton in tonight's presentation 2 00:00:13,360 --> 00:00:20,920 of Suspense. 3 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:25,540 One hundred years ago this week, a group of brave men risked their lives in a desperate 4 00:00:25,540 --> 00:00:27,560 effort to save their fellow men. 5 00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:32,640 Tonight, Auto Light honors this centennial with a dramatic recreation of their attempted 6 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:33,640 Arctic rescue. 7 00:00:33,640 --> 00:00:38,480 Our star, Mr. Joseph Cotton. 8 00:00:38,480 --> 00:00:44,120 Hey Harlow, what's in the packet? 9 00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:46,880 Ah, the world's best Christmas present, Hap. 10 00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:47,880 Who for who? 11 00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:48,880 My car. 12 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:52,600 It's an Auto Light stay full battery, the famous battery that needs water only three 13 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:54,480 times a year in normal car use. 14 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:56,280 That sure is a real present. 15 00:00:56,280 --> 00:01:01,000 Right you are Hap, the Auto Light stay full is always a real present for every car and 16 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:05,360 every car owner because money just can't buy a better battery. 17 00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:10,240 Why the Auto Light stay full has fiberglass retaining mats protecting every positive plate 18 00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:15,240 to reduce shedding and flaking and give longer life as proved by tests conducted according 19 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:17,360 to accepted life cycle standards. 20 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:19,680 Where can I find this famous battery, Harlow? 21 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:24,720 Under the hoods of millions of cars and at your Auto Light battery dealer. 22 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:29,320 He services all makes of batteries and you can quickly locate him by looking for the 23 00:01:29,320 --> 00:01:33,280 Auto Light battery sign or just call Western Union by number. 24 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:35,280 And ask for operator 25. 25 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:39,320 I'll gladly tell you the name of your nearest Auto Light battery dealer where you can get 26 00:01:39,320 --> 00:01:40,720 an Auto Light stay full. 27 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:45,200 The battery that needs water only three times a year in normal car use. 28 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:50,560 And remember from bumper to tail light, you're always right with Auto Light. 29 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:57,680 And now Auto Light presents a dramatic recreation of Arctic Rescue starring Joseph Cotton hoping 30 00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:07,240 once again to keep you in suspense. 31 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:13,720 Picture this if you can, Christmas night, miles and miles of endless empty broken white 32 00:02:13,720 --> 00:02:19,840 ice and ice flow drifting somewhere in the vicinity of the 73rd parallel north of the 33 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:21,800 Arctic Circle. 34 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:23,680 Nothing but ice. 35 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:24,960 That is nearly nothing. 36 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:30,760 If you look carefully through the winter night, you'll see two tiny dark blemishes. 37 00:02:30,760 --> 00:02:38,840 The figures of two men, one twisted in an unconscious heap is our skipper Jonathan Blake. 38 00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:44,720 The other figure, Gerald Stewart first mate, me. 39 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:51,120 And it makes a good sorry picture, civilized man in a primitive wilderness of ice waiting 40 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:54,120 helplessly for death. 41 00:02:54,120 --> 00:03:07,200 I, a sorry picture. 42 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:11,920 It's a far different picture you'd have seen if you'd been a part of the excited crowd 43 00:03:11,920 --> 00:03:23,000 standing at the battery on the New York waterfront on a June morning the year 1852. 44 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:24,000 The moment of departure. 45 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:27,280 Aye, Lady Franklin, we must take the high tide. 46 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:31,800 May God and his great mercy protect you and your men from the peril that awaits you. 47 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:34,080 The men are prepared for hardships, Lady Franklin. 48 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:38,560 We shall succeed where the others have failed in ending the mystery of the Erebusan Terror. 49 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:39,560 Aye. 50 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:42,640 We'll be in Aberdeen in time for a Christmas feast. 51 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:47,000 And we'll prepare a Christmas celebration your men will never forget, Captain. 52 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:49,280 We're leaving for England next week. 53 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:51,880 I shall pray for you, Mr. Stewart. 54 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:52,880 For all of you. 55 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:54,680 Thank you, Miss Cracow. 56 00:03:54,680 --> 00:04:03,120 I'll stand many a watch out at sea thinking of last night, the ball, dancing and you. 57 00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:05,320 That is, all of us will, I mean. 58 00:04:05,320 --> 00:04:09,400 What my first mate is trying to tell your niece, Lady Franklin, is how grateful the officers 59 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:13,680 and crew are for the farewell ball you held in their honor last night. 60 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:15,960 I'm the grateful one, Captain Blake. 61 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:17,840 Please bring them all home safely. 62 00:04:17,840 --> 00:04:20,040 Well, come now, Lady Franklin, no need for worry. 63 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:23,440 With Jessica's astutorship and the men are in good health and lofty spirits. 64 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:26,240 We'll be back by Christmas, you'll see. 65 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:29,440 Tide will change. 66 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:30,440 We must be on our way. 67 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:32,440 Then goodbye and good luck, Captain. 68 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:33,440 Goodbye, Lady Franklin. 69 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:34,440 Miss Cracow. 70 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:35,440 Goodbye, Captain Blake. 71 00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:36,440 Goodbye, Mr. Stewart. 72 00:04:36,440 --> 00:04:37,440 Godspeed. 73 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:38,440 Thank you. 74 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:42,760 We shall see you in Aberdeen Christmas week. 75 00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:43,960 Let's get aboard, Mr. Stewart. 76 00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:44,960 Yes, sir. 77 00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:47,960 Bye, Lady Franklin. 78 00:04:47,960 --> 00:04:48,960 Starkey. 79 00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:51,420 Yes, sir. 80 00:04:51,420 --> 00:04:52,420 Drop the gangway. 81 00:04:52,420 --> 00:04:53,420 Yes, sir. 82 00:04:53,420 --> 00:04:54,420 All hands at their morning station, Mr. Stewart. 83 00:04:54,420 --> 00:04:55,420 Yes, sir. 84 00:04:55,420 --> 00:04:57,420 Then pass the orders to cast off. 85 00:04:57,420 --> 00:04:58,420 Aye, sir. 86 00:04:58,420 --> 00:04:59,420 All hands. 87 00:04:59,420 --> 00:05:00,420 Prepare to cast off. 88 00:05:00,420 --> 00:05:01,420 All hands. 89 00:05:01,420 --> 00:05:02,420 Prepare to cast off. 90 00:05:02,420 --> 00:05:03,440 Let go, one and two. 91 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:04,440 Let go, one and two. 92 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:05,440 Let go, one and two. 93 00:05:05,440 --> 00:05:06,440 Let go, one and two. 94 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:07,440 You may all cast off. 95 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:09,440 Let go three and four. 96 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:11,440 Let go three and four. 97 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:19,440 Ship's underway, sir. 98 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:24,440 Aye. Well, Mr. Stewart, fill your eyes with the sight of New York. 99 00:05:24,440 --> 00:05:27,440 The last of it you'll be seeing will some time to come. 100 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:29,440 Aye, good long time. 101 00:05:29,440 --> 00:05:31,440 Aye, am, sir. 102 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:40,440 As the Jessica moved slowly to the outer harbor, I watched a tiny delicate white dot in the crowd at the wharf. 103 00:05:40,440 --> 00:05:43,440 She stood there beside Lady Franklin, waiting. 104 00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:49,440 And I watched until the morning fog erased the sight of the New York waterfront. 105 00:05:49,440 --> 00:05:53,440 Aside from the ship's log, I have decided to keep a running account of this voyage. 106 00:05:53,440 --> 00:06:00,440 This account will be transferred to a watertight jar and thrown into the currents, should any sudden disaster occur. 107 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:08,440 The first three weeks of navigating North were merely a matter of settling down to ship's routine on June 30th, 108 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:23,440 after Officer's Mess, we sighted Point Farewell on the Greenland coast. 109 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:28,440 The time had come for the captain to read a letter of instruction given to him by Lady Franklin. 110 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:36,440 Captain Blake, I am sure you will do all that any man can in discovering the fate of my husband, Sir John Franklin, 111 00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:39,440 and his two ships, the Erebus and Terra. 112 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:45,440 But my only fear is that you might sacrifice your lives in the unknown regions of the Arctic. 113 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:51,440 Therefore, let me state that above all else, the preservation of the lives of you and your heroic companions 114 00:06:51,440 --> 00:06:55,440 is more important to me than the purpose of your journey. 115 00:06:55,440 --> 00:07:00,440 May God and his great mercy preserve you all from harm amidst the perils which await, 116 00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:04,440 and restore you to us safely and in health, as well as honor. 117 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:08,440 Your sincere and attached friend, Jane Franklin. 118 00:07:08,440 --> 00:07:12,440 Well, these are the only written instructions I have, gentlemen. 119 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:15,440 Now then, Mr. Stewart, the map, please. 120 00:07:15,440 --> 00:07:17,440 Yes, sir. 121 00:07:17,440 --> 00:07:24,440 Well, there it is, gentlemen, the most recent admiralty map of the Arctic regions that we are approaching. 122 00:07:24,440 --> 00:07:26,440 Ah, it's almost completely blank. 123 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:30,440 Aye, Mr. Halliday, thousands of miles of uncharted wilderness. 124 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:35,440 And somewhere in that frozen tundra Sir John Franklin and his men vanished. 125 00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:40,440 Aye. Our search will begin tomorrow when we drop anchor in Godhabla. 126 00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:45,440 We'll pick up our ice pilot, Mr. Patrick Hanson, some additional supplies, and then make for the Arctic Circle. 127 00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:49,440 Arctic Circle? Sounds like the edge of the world, eh, Stewart? 128 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:51,440 Eh, a little frightening, too. 129 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:52,440 You frightened? 130 00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:56,440 Mr. Halliday, if I were you, I'd respect Mr. Stewart's fear of what lies before. 131 00:07:56,440 --> 00:08:01,440 Captain, I was just thinking, if Franklin was looking for the Northwest Passage, 132 00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:06,440 he'd probably make an approach through, uh, here, through Lancaster Sound. 133 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:07,440 Ah. 134 00:08:07,440 --> 00:08:14,440 Then he must have passed Ponce, here, and according to our information, their Eskimos are Ponce. 135 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:17,440 They might have seen his ship sent to Lancaster Sound. 136 00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:19,440 If they did, then we'll have something to go by. 137 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:23,440 I hope Mr. Hanson understands the Eskimo dialects. They can tell us much. 138 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:28,440 I don't see how we can cover all this territory and get back by Christmas, Captain. 139 00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:35,440 We have no choice, Mr. Stewart. If we get caught beyond the Arctic Circle after the summer months, we may never get back. 140 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:40,440 Never? Aye. In the winter, the seas are covered with great ice floes. 141 00:08:40,440 --> 00:08:45,440 Once a ship is frozen in those latitudes, it'll stay there until the summer thaw. 142 00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:49,440 You can't imagine the horrors we'd endure in an arctic winter, Mr. Halliday. 143 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:51,440 Are you? I suppose not. 144 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:54,440 Franklin and his men were probably frozen in for the winter. 145 00:08:54,440 --> 00:08:56,440 And they were never hit from again. 146 00:08:56,440 --> 00:09:01,440 Exactly. Well, that'll give you a brief idea of what went for gentlemen. 147 00:09:01,440 --> 00:09:05,440 We'll know more after Mr. Hanson comes aboard. Any questions? 148 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:08,440 I have nothing but questions, Captain. 149 00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:10,440 I wish I had the answers, Stewart. 150 00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:18,440 Noon the next day, we dropped anchor in the harbor at Goddard. 151 00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:24,440 Here we would take on coal, additional winter clothing, dogs and Eskimo drivers, and Mr. Hanson, our ice pilot. 152 00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:32,440 Goddard was nothing more than a few huts of the Daffin Bay Trading Company, and as we prepared to go ashore, longboats suddenly appeared alongside. 153 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:36,440 Captain Blake? Aye. 154 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:39,440 I'm Patrick Hanson, your ice pilot, sir. 155 00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:41,440 We were about to send a boat ashore for you, Mr. Hanson. 156 00:09:41,440 --> 00:09:42,440 No time for that, Captain. 157 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:45,440 But we planned on picking up supplies and dogs. 158 00:09:45,440 --> 00:09:47,440 I brought them. They're in the boat. 159 00:09:47,440 --> 00:09:48,440 Well, what's the rush, Mr. Hanson? 160 00:09:48,440 --> 00:09:50,440 Oh, this is Gerald Stewart, my first mate. 161 00:09:50,440 --> 00:09:53,440 You've never been in the Arctic before, Mr. Stewart? 162 00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:54,440 No. 163 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:58,440 Take my word for it. You'd better get up there while they've got the summer weather, you bet. 164 00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:02,440 All right, so we run into a little summer ice. The Jessica's prepared for that. 165 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:05,440 Yeah. She looks like a good, strong ship. 166 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:06,440 Hey. 167 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:10,440 You've never seen iron ship up here before, and steam engine, too. 168 00:10:10,440 --> 00:10:18,440 That's not all that Jessica has. There's additional iron plates across the hull, as well as added bracing for a chip in the floor at ten feet of the bowels. 169 00:10:18,440 --> 00:10:24,440 Solid iron, and razor sharp at the edge. What do you think that'll do to your ice, Mr. Hanson? 170 00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:29,440 You wait and you see what the ice can do to a ship, even an iron ship, Mr. Stewart. 171 00:10:29,440 --> 00:10:32,440 Mr. Hanson, you received my letters. 172 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:33,440 Yeah. 173 00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:35,440 And you made inquiries about the Erebus and Terra. 174 00:10:35,440 --> 00:10:39,440 Yeah, they're both here. They couldn't get dogs, so they headed for Ponds Bay. 175 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:41,440 Across Baffin Bay? 176 00:10:41,440 --> 00:10:42,440 That's right. 177 00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:44,440 Ah, just as we thought. Mr. Halliday. 178 00:10:44,440 --> 00:10:45,440 Aye, sir. 179 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:47,440 Get those supplies aboard, then prepare the ship for sea. 180 00:10:47,440 --> 00:10:48,440 Right away, sir. 181 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:49,440 At once. Stuart. 182 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:50,440 Yes, sir. 183 00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:55,440 You can chart a course for us. We'll cross the Arctic Circle next, and on to Ponds Bay. 184 00:10:55,440 --> 00:11:02,440 We set a north by northwest course, leaving the last outpost of civilization behind us, and crossed the Great Baffin Bay. 185 00:11:02,440 --> 00:11:06,440 On July 4th, we crossed the Arctic Circle without ceremony. 186 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:10,440 Then we had ice freezing on deck in the rigging. 187 00:11:10,440 --> 00:11:14,440 A day later, we saw our first floating iceberg. 188 00:11:14,440 --> 00:11:18,440 For this time of year, we should not have seen either one. 189 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:25,440 From Goddard to Ponds Bay, six and a half days. Perfect calm. 190 00:11:25,440 --> 00:11:29,440 Upon landing, we found a small contingent of Veskimos, but nothing else. 191 00:11:29,440 --> 00:11:32,440 They seemed hostile and would give us no information. 192 00:11:32,440 --> 00:11:40,440 Then, as we were preparing to return to the Jessica, one of the natives, a girl, rushed from one of the huts and down to the beach. 193 00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:48,440 Ose? Ose? 194 00:11:48,440 --> 00:11:52,440 What's she saying, Mr. 195 00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:53,440 I'm not sure. 196 00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:57,440 Captain, look. She has something in her hand. She wants us to look at it. 197 00:11:57,440 --> 00:12:00,440 Small brass button from a naval uniform. 198 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:04,440 Ah. She should trade it for some sewing needle. 199 00:12:04,440 --> 00:12:07,440 Ose? Galaga? 200 00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:10,440 What does she mean by that? 201 00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:11,440 Ose? 202 00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:14,440 Ose. She can't just say a man's name. 203 00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:17,440 Ose Galaga? 204 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:22,440 Joseph Galaga? Stuart, is that name on Sir John's crew list? 205 00:12:22,440 --> 00:12:24,440 I'm looking, sir. 206 00:12:24,440 --> 00:12:29,440 Yes, sir. Yes, it's here. Quatermaster, Joseph Galaga. They've been here. 207 00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:33,440 I'd better get back to the ship, man. Looks like a gale brewing. 208 00:12:33,440 --> 00:12:34,440 Ose? 209 00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:37,440 Oh, let her keep the button, Stuart. Give her the needles, too. 210 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:38,440 Yes, sir. 211 00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:48,440 Ose? 212 00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:52,440 After leaving Ponds Bay, two months passed without incident. 213 00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:58,440 Then we entered Lancaster Sound and approached the scarcely charted island along Barrow Strait. 214 00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:02,440 There we re-encountered great mountains of floating ice. 215 00:13:02,440 --> 00:13:06,440 And we had only a few hours of twilight each day. 216 00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:12,440 We crossed the 75th parallel and north into Wellington Channel to Bathurst Island, 217 00:13:12,440 --> 00:13:15,440 the last of the charted islands on my maps. 218 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:18,440 Then on September 10th, weather changed. 219 00:13:18,440 --> 00:13:23,440 Northwest gales, sleet, and heavy fogs that forced us to a bare crawl. 220 00:13:23,440 --> 00:13:28,440 And even worse, mammoth ice floes that closed in all around us. 221 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:29,440 Mr. Stuart. 222 00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:30,440 Yes, sir. 223 00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:33,440 I am, sir. 224 00:13:33,440 --> 00:13:35,440 Quatermaster, starboard six degrees. 225 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:37,440 This lead should be getting smaller all the time. 226 00:13:37,440 --> 00:13:41,440 Captain, the temperature is still dropping. Ten above zero. 227 00:13:41,440 --> 00:13:43,440 What do you think of this lead, Hanson? 228 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:45,440 I think maybe we'd better back out of here. 229 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:48,440 Back out? Take a look at stern, Hanson. Back out where? 230 00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:49,440 Captain. 231 00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:50,440 What is it, Hounder? 232 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:51,440 The rudder will not respond. 233 00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:52,440 Six below, sir. 234 00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:53,440 I say ahead! 235 00:13:53,440 --> 00:13:55,440 The lead is getting smaller, Captain. 236 00:13:55,440 --> 00:14:02,440 Aye, aye. Well, the Arctic seems to be closing down on us on all counts. 237 00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:16,440 The walls of the lead moved in closer until a man could jump to the ice from either side of the ship. 238 00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:21,440 And then the Jessica was cutting through the ice, making her own lead. 239 00:14:21,440 --> 00:14:25,440 But slowly we lost the lead. 240 00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:34,440 Finally, the ship gave up to the ice. 241 00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:37,440 He... he's frozen in, though. 242 00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:40,440 Aye. Stop engines, Mr. Stuart. 243 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:42,440 Yes, sir. 244 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:49,440 Well, Captain Blake, looks like they can forget about looking for Sir John Franklin in his ships. 245 00:14:49,440 --> 00:15:12,440 Now that we've frozen in, we're going to have to look out for our own lives, you bet. 246 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:24,440 Auto Light is bringing you Mr. Joseph Cotton in Arctic Rescue, tonight's presentation in radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense. 247 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:38,440 It was the night before Christmas, and outside the door a man was trying his starter once more. 248 00:15:38,440 --> 00:15:44,440 But try as he would, the car wouldn't go, for the battery was dead. Out of water, you know. 249 00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:48,440 That man should have had an Auto Light stay-full battery, Harlow. 250 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:54,440 Right you are, Hap. There's the battery that needs water only three times a year in normal car use. 251 00:15:54,440 --> 00:16:01,440 Because the Auto Light stay-full has over three times the liquid reserve of batteries without stay-full features. 252 00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:08,440 And, in addition, it has fiberglass retaining mats protecting every positive plate to reduce shedding and flaking, 253 00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:14,440 and give longer life, as proved by tests conducted according to accepted life-cycle standards. 254 00:16:14,440 --> 00:16:21,440 Money just can't buy a better battery. So, friends, see your nearest Auto Light battery dealer. 255 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:28,440 He services all makes of batteries, and he has an Auto Light stay-full for your car if a replacement is needed. 256 00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:33,440 Just call Western Union by number and ask for operator 25. 257 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:40,440 And I'll tell you where you can get an Auto Light stay-full battery, the battery that needs water only three times a year in normal car use. 258 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:45,440 And remember, from bumper to tail light, you're always right with Auto Light. 259 00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:54,440 And now, Auto Light brings back to our Hollywood soundstage, Mr. Joseph Cotton, in Elliot Lewis's production of Arctic Rescue. 260 00:16:54,440 --> 00:17:00,440 A true story, well calculated to keep you in suspense. 261 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:12,440 September 10, 1852. Unless a miracle occurred, we were frozen in the Arctic for the rest of the winter months. 262 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:18,440 A sea of ice surrounded us, and the ship took on a starboard list from the pressure of the flow. 263 00:17:18,440 --> 00:17:23,440 Rations were cut in food, water, and coal consumption. Furious gales came and went, 264 00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:28,440 and there were more freezing temperatures, often as low as 35 below. 265 00:17:28,440 --> 00:17:33,440 The doctor was a busy man. Nearly all hands suffered from frostbite, many from gangrens. 266 00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:40,440 Conditions aboard the Jessica were deplorable. I thought they couldn't get worse. October came, November. 267 00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:51,440 December, and we thought of home and the holidays and of Lady Franklin and Miss Kraycroft sitting alone at the Christmas feast that was to be held in our honor. 268 00:17:51,440 --> 00:17:59,440 On Christmas Day, the cook outdid himself. We had a feast aboard the Jessica on the last of the salt, pork, and beef. 269 00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:03,440 And with the last of the also failed and minced meat, the cook made pies. 270 00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:08,440 And we had us a celebration, Christmas Day, 1852. 271 00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:12,440 Men, men, the captain has a word to say. 272 00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:22,440 I, uh, drop below to offer you my greetings on this holiday, and I wish you a much happier Christmas next year. 273 00:18:22,440 --> 00:18:24,440 Thank you. 274 00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:46,440 Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright. 275 00:18:46,440 --> 00:18:58,440 Christmas Eve, 1853, one year later. We're still frozen in. Summer came and passed without an appreciable rise in temperature, and the ice failed to break up. 276 00:18:58,440 --> 00:19:06,440 Men living on Pamikon occasionally bare meat and sealed blubber. No more lime juice. This means scurvy. 277 00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:18,440 The year also saw the loss of 11 men, the doctor and the ice pilot Hanson among them. Two in a chase for the polar bear, three from scurvy, and the rest from gangren. 278 00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:26,440 Most of the men have frostbite. 279 00:19:26,440 --> 00:19:41,440 Our second Christmas in the Arctic. The flow that holds the ship is drifting south down Peel Sound. We saw the shores of King Williams Island. The captain sent Halliday and three men on sledge to look for food depots or rock cairn, anything. 280 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:43,440 They returned today. 281 00:19:43,440 --> 00:19:44,440 Where'd you find it, Halliday? 282 00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:50,440 In a cairn. We also found empty Pamikon cans and bits of ship's timber. 283 00:19:50,440 --> 00:20:05,440 Sure. Listen to this. It was written by Franklin himself. 1851, latitude 69 degrees, longitude 98 degrees west. HMS Terra sank when ice broke. Erebus still frozen in. 284 00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:27,440 Be set since April 12th, 1850. We are deserting the Erebus, attempting overland march to Back's Fish River, to Addison's Bay. If unheard from, when this found, we must be considered lost. Sir John Franklin, Captain HMS Erebus. 285 00:20:27,440 --> 00:20:29,440 So we've found what we came for. 286 00:20:29,440 --> 00:20:31,440 Aye. 287 00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:32,440 They're all dead. 288 00:20:32,440 --> 00:20:34,440 Aye. 289 00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:38,440 If something doesn't happen pretty soon, we'll be dead too. 290 00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:41,440 Makes for a very merry Christmas, Captain. 291 00:20:41,440 --> 00:20:42,440 Captain. 292 00:20:42,440 --> 00:20:45,440 I hear it. The ice breaking. 293 00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:49,440 How long do you think our iron plates will last against this, Captain? 294 00:20:49,440 --> 00:21:07,440 Great cracks opened in the ice, then out of the water through the openings another great mountain of ice would rise, great slabs would lift, and hundred yards wide, shattered, upended, and sank into the churning water. All around us great jagged fingers of ice crashed them. 295 00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:13,440 Fall hands up and into the ice! Fall hands up and into the ice! Fall hands up and into the ice! 296 00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:16,440 Do it! Get your tops! We're going out on the ice too. 297 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:17,440 Yes, sir. 298 00:21:17,440 --> 00:21:24,440 I could feel the ship jarring loose under me, and suddenly the Jessica red sharp lit right there across the deck. 299 00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:38,440 The last sound in my ears was that of the Jessica tearing loose from the ice. 300 00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:48,440 Slowly I became aware of pain in my leg, then of movement. I opened my eyes, the Captain was helping me to walk. 301 00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:58,440 I looked into the winter darkness for the familiar sight of the Jessica. I saw nothing. Nothing but ice. 302 00:21:58,440 --> 00:22:00,440 Skipper. 303 00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:03,440 Huh? You're feeling better, lad? 304 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:05,440 What about the ship? 305 00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:06,440 Gone down. 306 00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:08,440 And they? The rest of the men? 307 00:22:08,440 --> 00:22:15,440 I don't know. Gone. The flow separated. Most of them were on the other side. 308 00:22:15,440 --> 00:22:19,440 Where? Where are we walking to? 309 00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:26,440 I don't know. I don't know. 310 00:22:26,440 --> 00:22:36,440 We walked on and on, climbing jagged hubbocks of ice, falling through thin spots, legs got wet, froze. 311 00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:47,440 We beat the ice off and we kept walking, walking in circles through the arctic night, endless circles. 312 00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:57,440 We'll rest a bit. Rest. Sleep. Up in the ice. Warm, comforting ice. 313 00:22:57,440 --> 00:23:02,440 No, no, don't sleep. 314 00:23:02,440 --> 00:23:16,440 My eyes grew heavy. I craved sleep. But the sleep was to die. I was ready. 315 00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:22,440 In the sky over the horizon. A star. 316 00:23:22,440 --> 00:23:32,440 The night was overcast. There were no other stars. Just, just one. Bright in the distance. I could see it. 317 00:23:32,440 --> 00:23:45,440 I, I, I stood. It was still there. A bright star over the horizon. 318 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:55,440 Captain! Up on your feet, Captain! We're going to keep walking. Walking. Where? 319 00:23:55,440 --> 00:24:00,440 That way toward that, that star. 320 00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:08,440 We walked on, slowly. I carried the skipper, unconscious now. What, oh what could it be? 321 00:24:08,440 --> 00:24:25,440 There were no lights in the arctic, no stars through the overcast. But we kept moving. And the star came closer. 322 00:24:25,440 --> 00:24:36,440 I couldn't believe what suddenly appeared. Through the darkness, directly beneath the star, with the vague outline of a ship. 323 00:24:36,440 --> 00:24:53,440 A ship. Mates! Mates, help! Help me! 324 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:57,440 He's coming out of it. Stuart. Stuart. 325 00:24:57,440 --> 00:25:10,440 A ship. I saw. Darky. Halliday. I, in the flesh. I, I saw a ship. I know. You're on it. 326 00:25:10,440 --> 00:25:21,440 See? But, where did, did it come from? Not the Jessica. I know. At the Erebus. One of Franklin's ships. The one they deserted. 327 00:25:21,440 --> 00:25:31,440 Erebus. Where did it come from? Well, there we were. All of us. Except you and the captain lying on that flu. 328 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:37,440 After the Jessica went down, ready to die just as we thought you had. And then just as graceful as you please, 329 00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:43,440 I see a ship drifting slowly out of the fog through the broken ice, right to us. But the captain, I left him out on the ice. 330 00:25:43,440 --> 00:25:51,440 He's all right. We brought him aboard. And pretty soon we'll be on our way home. The ice is open. We can get out. 331 00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:58,440 The Erebus will take us back. Now, how's that for a Christmas surprise? I followed the star. 332 00:25:58,440 --> 00:26:07,440 What? He's sleeping. What was that he said? He followed the star? 333 00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:14,440 They must have seen that lantern we hung from the main mast. We stuck it for a star. Oh. 334 00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:25,440 Saved his life. Come, the captain. Being that it's still Christmas, I guess you could call it a miracle, eh, Starkey? 335 00:26:25,440 --> 00:26:53,440 I... I guess you could at that, sir. 336 00:26:53,440 --> 00:26:59,440 Suspense presented by Auto Light, tonight's star, Mr. Joseph Cotton. 337 00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:07,440 This is Harlow Wilcox speaking for Auto Light, world's largest independent manufacturer of automotive electrical equipment. 338 00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:13,440 Auto Light is proud to serve the greatest names in the industry. They are members of the Auto Light family, 339 00:27:13,440 --> 00:27:22,440 as well as are the 98,000 Auto Light distributors and dealers in the United States and thousands more in Canada and throughout the world. 340 00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:31,440 Our family also includes the nearly 30,000 men and women in 28 great Auto Light plants from coast to coast and Auto Light plants in many foreign countries, 341 00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:37,440 as well as the 18,000 people who have invested a portion of their savings in Auto Light. 342 00:27:37,440 --> 00:27:45,440 Every Auto Light product is backed by constant research and precision built to the highest standards of quality and performance. 343 00:27:45,440 --> 00:27:58,440 So remember, from bumper to taillight, you're always right with Auto Light. 344 00:27:58,440 --> 00:28:08,440 Next week, a story from your morning newspaper. The dramatic expose of narcotics peddling among teenagers, as reported in Melody in Dreams. 345 00:28:08,440 --> 00:28:17,440 Our star, Mr. John Lund. That's next week on Suspense. 346 00:28:17,440 --> 00:28:24,440 Suspense is produced and directed by Elliot Lewis, with music composed by Lucian Morawick and conducted by Lud Bluskin. 347 00:28:24,440 --> 00:28:29,440 Arctic Rescue was written for Suspense by Gus C. Baze. 348 00:28:29,440 --> 00:28:38,440 Featured in tonight's cast were Joseph Kearns, Norma Varden, Lillian Bajoff, Fred McKay, Barney Phillips, Clayton Post, and Ben Wright. 349 00:28:38,440 --> 00:28:45,440 Joseph Cotton can currently be seen in the Burt Free Globe production, The Steel Cramp, a 20th Century Fox release. 350 00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:55,440 Remember next week, John Lund in Melody in Dreams. 351 00:28:55,440 --> 00:29:00,440 Eight million Americans are suffering from arthritis or rheumatism. 352 00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:05,440 Recent medical discoveries have given these people hope of cure from this crippling disease. 353 00:29:05,440 --> 00:29:13,440 You can help make this hope a reality by mailing a contribution to Arthritis Care of Your Local Postmasters. 354 00:29:13,440 --> 00:29:22,440 Friends, on behalf of the entire Auto Light family and all of us on Suspense, this is Harlow Wilcox wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas. 355 00:29:22,440 --> 00:29:26,440 Tonight, this is the CBS Radio Network.