WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:12.400 Auto Light and its 98,000 dealers bring you Mr. Herbert Marshall in tonight's presentation 00:12.400 --> 00:15.400 of Suspense. 00:15.400 --> 00:25.400 Tonight, Auto Light presents the story of a man who having no fear, attempted his own 00:25.400 --> 00:30.520 death, a new dramatization of C.E. Montague's Action. 00:30.520 --> 00:33.400 Our star, Mr. Herbert Marshall. 00:33.400 --> 00:37.400 Hello, Mr. Wilcox. 00:37.400 --> 00:40.040 What? 00:40.040 --> 00:41.040 You here already? 00:41.040 --> 00:42.440 Yes, sir, Mr. Wilcox. 00:42.440 --> 00:44.640 It's Johnny plug check time again. 00:44.640 --> 00:45.640 Well, so it is. 00:45.640 --> 00:50.040 Cold weather's coming and that means Johnny's around to remind you motorists to get that 00:50.040 --> 00:54.480 car prepared for winter now with a tune-up, change of oil and grease, antifreeze. 00:54.480 --> 00:57.160 Don't forget to check those important spark plugs, too. 00:57.160 --> 01:01.160 Yes, sir, Johnny, because the spark plugs are the very heart of a car's ignition system. 01:01.160 --> 01:06.120 When they're right, you'll start quicker and surer every time, even in coldest weather. 01:06.120 --> 01:08.360 So visit your Auto Light spark plug dealer. 01:08.360 --> 01:09.360 Right, Johnny. 01:09.360 --> 01:14.000 He's a tune-up expert and a specialist on spark plug cleaning and adjustment. 01:14.000 --> 01:18.640 And if replacements are needed, he'll recommend a new set of ignition-engineered Auto Light 01:18.640 --> 01:23.040 spark plugs, like the amazing Double Life Resistor spark plug. 01:23.040 --> 01:27.280 To quickly learn the location of your nearest Auto Light spark plug dealer, phone Western 01:27.280 --> 01:31.400 Union by number and ask for operator 25. 01:31.400 --> 01:36.760 And remember, from bumper to tail light, you're always right with Auto Light. 01:36.760 --> 01:43.760 And now, Auto Light presents Action, starring Mr. Herbert Marshall, hoping once again to 01:43.760 --> 01:57.280 keep you in suspense. 01:57.280 --> 02:01.200 It happened very simply one Monday morning. 02:01.200 --> 02:05.960 I woke up and there was a slight numbness all down my right side. 02:05.960 --> 02:13.000 The arm, fingers, a good deal along the leg, rather less in my foot and just a little in 02:13.000 --> 02:14.000 the head. 02:14.000 --> 02:18.800 I lay still for a moment to let it pass off, but it didn't. 02:18.800 --> 02:22.720 And I suddenly knew that it wasn't going to. 02:22.720 --> 02:27.960 I'd heard about such things, other chaps at the club, the office. 02:27.960 --> 02:30.960 Now it had happened to me. 02:30.960 --> 02:32.760 I remember getting up. 02:32.760 --> 02:37.600 I could still stand, walk, dress and shave. 02:37.600 --> 02:41.040 But the numbness went on. 02:41.040 --> 02:43.800 That morning, instead of walking, I took the tram to the office. 02:43.800 --> 02:45.800 It was a pleasant autumn day. 02:45.800 --> 02:52.200 And there were a lot of young people aboard, healthy young people. 02:52.200 --> 02:55.280 The conductor moved down the passageway, collecting fares. 02:55.280 --> 02:56.280 Here's a piece. 02:56.280 --> 02:57.280 Here's a piece. 02:57.280 --> 02:58.280 Here's a piece, sir. 02:58.280 --> 02:59.280 Well, Wellington Avenue, please. 02:59.280 --> 03:00.280 That's a threatening, sir. 03:00.280 --> 03:01.280 Thank you, sir. 03:01.280 --> 03:02.280 Oh, now we don't take buttons, sir. 03:02.280 --> 03:03.280 I am sorry. 03:03.280 --> 03:04.280 I thought I... 03:04.280 --> 03:05.280 That's quite all right, sir. 03:05.280 --> 03:06.280 It does rather look like silver. 03:06.280 --> 03:11.280 And let's see. 03:11.280 --> 03:13.960 Here's a threatening bit, sir. 03:13.960 --> 03:14.960 Thank you. 03:14.960 --> 03:15.960 In of his feet. 03:15.960 --> 03:16.960 Your best. 03:16.960 --> 03:20.800 His tact and simple, they were perfect. 03:20.800 --> 03:22.920 And I had a new care now. 03:22.920 --> 03:23.920 Sight two. 03:23.920 --> 03:24.920 Was that going? 03:24.920 --> 03:32.680 Sight, touch, the whole sensory business, losing precision, entering on the long slope 03:32.680 --> 03:35.120 to decay. 03:35.120 --> 03:39.240 I don't think I got much work done that morning, though in a way what I did was good for me. 03:39.240 --> 03:42.080 Kept my mind off things. 03:42.080 --> 03:45.640 I had a call of the one appointment with an old friend, Adrian Tillett, whom I hadn't 03:45.640 --> 03:47.640 seen for a month or two. 03:47.640 --> 03:50.160 We'd arranged to meet at my club. 03:50.160 --> 03:53.800 I was a little early and sat in my usual place to wait for him. 03:53.800 --> 03:55.800 I say, Bill. 03:55.800 --> 03:56.800 Yes? 03:56.800 --> 03:57.800 Did you hear about Chitterhouse? 03:57.800 --> 04:00.120 They brought his birdie back to England yesterday. 04:00.120 --> 04:01.560 Yes, I know, yes. 04:01.560 --> 04:03.720 You've done some mountaineering yourself, haven't you? 04:03.720 --> 04:04.720 A bit. 04:04.720 --> 04:06.760 It's a bit of a shock to ask if I know what you fellows see in it. 04:06.760 --> 04:10.000 Bloody awful way to die, if you ask me, falling off a mountain. 04:10.000 --> 04:11.960 I suppose there are worse ways. 04:11.960 --> 04:13.560 Try to tell that to his wife. 04:13.560 --> 04:15.440 Well, I'm feeling a bit peckish. 04:15.440 --> 04:16.440 Will you join me for lunch? 04:16.440 --> 04:17.440 Thanks very much. 04:17.440 --> 04:18.440 I'm waiting for someone. 04:18.440 --> 04:19.440 All right, sure. 04:19.440 --> 04:20.440 Hello, Bill. 04:20.440 --> 04:21.440 I'm sorry to keep you waiting. 04:21.440 --> 04:22.440 No, you haven't. 04:22.440 --> 04:23.440 I just got here myself. 04:23.440 --> 04:24.440 Hold on. 04:24.440 --> 04:25.440 Teddy. 04:25.440 --> 04:26.440 I say, you look seedy. 04:26.440 --> 04:27.440 You look like a good boy. 04:27.440 --> 04:28.440 I'm not a good boy. 04:28.440 --> 04:29.440 I'm a good boy. 04:29.440 --> 04:30.440 I'm a good boy. 04:30.440 --> 04:31.440 I'm a good boy. 04:31.440 --> 04:32.440 I'm a good boy. 04:32.440 --> 04:33.440 I'm a good boy. 04:33.440 --> 04:34.440 I'm a good boy. 04:34.440 --> 04:35.440 Feeling all right? 04:35.440 --> 04:36.440 Yes, splendid. 04:36.440 --> 04:37.440 Come along. 04:37.440 --> 04:38.440 We'll have a bite to eat. 04:38.440 --> 04:39.440 Good. 04:39.440 --> 04:40.440 I'm famished. 04:40.440 --> 04:41.440 That's better. 04:41.440 --> 04:42.440 Cigar? 04:42.440 --> 04:43.440 Thanks. 04:43.440 --> 04:44.440 What about you? 04:44.440 --> 04:45.440 I don't think so. 04:45.440 --> 04:50.440 Look here, well, is anything wrong? 04:50.440 --> 04:55.440 I mean, well, you look very pale. 04:55.440 --> 05:07.440 You look like a dying duck in a thunderstorm. 05:07.440 --> 05:08.440 Something I can do. 05:08.440 --> 05:09.440 I'm afraid not. 05:09.440 --> 05:10.440 Serious? 05:10.440 --> 05:13.280 I suppose it is, in a way. 05:13.280 --> 05:15.680 If you want to talk about it. 05:15.680 --> 05:18.400 I might as well. 05:18.400 --> 05:22.360 I woke up this morning and I felt numb. 05:22.360 --> 05:26.160 I must have had some sort of a stroke during the night. 05:26.160 --> 05:27.160 Have you been to the doctor? 05:27.160 --> 05:28.160 No. 05:28.160 --> 05:29.160 I don't think I shall. 05:29.160 --> 05:31.680 You know as well as I do what he'd say. 05:31.680 --> 05:36.600 My dear old boy, you can't let a thing like that just go. 05:36.600 --> 05:40.440 I don't intend to be an invalid for the rest of my life till it. 05:40.440 --> 05:42.160 I've seen this happen to people. 05:42.160 --> 05:43.160 So have you. 05:43.160 --> 05:47.920 End up in a bath chair being fed by some harridan nurse who won't even let you wipe her own 05:47.920 --> 05:48.920 nose. 05:48.920 --> 05:49.920 No thanks. 05:49.920 --> 05:50.920 What are you going to do? 05:50.920 --> 05:54.680 I don't know yet. 05:54.680 --> 05:59.320 The big thing seems to be, how long? 05:59.320 --> 06:01.360 How long does a thing like this take? 06:01.360 --> 06:03.800 Men like you, you live to be a hundred. 06:03.800 --> 06:04.800 You're an active chap. 06:04.800 --> 06:06.600 There's no reason on earth why you. 06:06.600 --> 06:07.600 No, that's just it. 06:07.600 --> 06:08.600 Why don't follow? 06:08.600 --> 06:12.040 I don't want to live to any age like this. 06:12.040 --> 06:18.920 Say, why not come up to my place on Friday, spend the weekend, change of air will do you 06:18.920 --> 06:19.920 good. 06:19.920 --> 06:21.880 Don't be an idiot. 06:21.880 --> 06:23.360 Marjorie's dying to see you. 06:23.360 --> 06:26.400 She always complains that you've given us up. 06:26.400 --> 06:28.280 Now I'm going to expect you. 06:28.280 --> 06:30.560 The stream's awfully good this year. 06:30.560 --> 06:33.480 We'll do some fishing, right? 06:33.480 --> 06:34.480 Right thanks. 06:34.480 --> 06:42.160 Thanks to it. 06:42.160 --> 06:47.560 The rest of the week passed and the sensation of numbness remained with me. 06:47.560 --> 06:51.600 Sometimes a bit more or less. 06:51.600 --> 06:53.000 At nights I thought. 06:53.000 --> 06:56.600 I thought a great deal. 06:56.600 --> 06:59.800 On Friday I drove down to Weybridge. 06:59.800 --> 07:02.000 It was obvious that Tillett had told his wife about me. 07:02.000 --> 07:06.120 It didn't matter much except I found myself annoyed at her solicitude. 07:06.120 --> 07:10.520 I suppose she couldn't help it. 07:10.520 --> 07:13.440 But it was one of the things that definitely made up my mind. 07:13.440 --> 07:16.320 I knew what I was going to do. 07:16.320 --> 07:18.760 And I told my old friend. 07:18.760 --> 07:21.520 We were on the bank of the stream. 07:21.520 --> 07:24.640 He'd just landed a nice trout. 07:24.640 --> 07:27.960 And we sat down for a smoke. 07:27.960 --> 07:30.680 I've made up my mind what to do, Tillett. 07:30.680 --> 07:31.680 Oh? 07:31.680 --> 07:32.680 Yes. 07:32.680 --> 07:33.680 I wondered. 07:33.680 --> 07:36.080 I had an idea you were up to something. 07:36.080 --> 07:39.520 You've been rather quiet, you know. 07:39.520 --> 07:40.520 I'm sorry. 07:40.520 --> 07:41.520 Is it any better? 07:41.520 --> 07:44.520 No, no, it's not the same. 07:44.520 --> 07:47.680 I had a dream just before I came down here. 07:47.680 --> 07:48.680 I was climbing. 07:48.680 --> 07:53.000 It was on a crag that became steeper and steeper as I went up. 07:53.000 --> 08:00.200 First it was vertical and then it overhung more and more until I was actually climbing 08:00.200 --> 08:01.200 a reverse slope. 08:01.200 --> 08:02.200 It must have been awkward. 08:02.200 --> 08:03.200 It's been done, you know. 08:03.200 --> 08:04.200 Has it? 08:04.200 --> 08:06.480 Yes, I've heard about it but I've never done it myself. 08:06.480 --> 08:09.040 What happened in your dream? 08:09.040 --> 08:10.040 I fell. 08:10.040 --> 08:11.920 Woke up. 08:11.920 --> 08:13.640 I thought a lot about it. 08:13.640 --> 08:16.720 It's that margin of safety, you know. 08:16.720 --> 08:20.440 One does a lot of climbing and if you're any good at all you don't slip in the really difficult 08:20.440 --> 08:21.440 places. 08:21.440 --> 08:28.600 But supposing you, you pair away at the margin of safety and experiment. 08:28.600 --> 08:32.600 What could you do before all the margin was gone if you didn't care? 08:32.600 --> 08:33.600 I don't know. 08:33.600 --> 08:35.080 I haven't tried climbing. 08:35.080 --> 08:40.160 If one cut out the old fear of death, one could do some amazing things. 08:40.160 --> 08:41.760 Is that what you're going to do? 08:41.760 --> 08:42.760 I think so. 08:42.760 --> 08:43.760 Yes. 08:43.760 --> 08:46.000 Look for one of those crags. 08:46.000 --> 08:48.920 Yes, I've never done that. 08:48.920 --> 08:50.520 I know of one I'd like to try. 08:50.520 --> 08:51.520 The now. 08:51.520 --> 08:52.520 The Charlie Hawk. 08:52.520 --> 08:54.240 It's a ridge of the Weisshorn. 08:54.240 --> 08:55.240 Sounds impressive. 08:55.240 --> 08:57.480 There are higher mountains but not many more interesting. 08:57.480 --> 09:02.160 If you want to be a human fly why not try the chalk pit down the road? 09:02.160 --> 09:03.160 Straight up and down. 09:03.160 --> 09:04.160 Not so far to fall. 09:04.160 --> 09:06.160 I wouldn't do it. 09:06.160 --> 09:10.480 No, it wouldn't, would it? 09:10.480 --> 09:12.880 I'm not going to say anything, Bell. 09:12.880 --> 09:16.120 There's nothing one can say, really. 09:16.120 --> 09:20.520 I wish you wouldn't do it and I understand why you think you must. 09:20.520 --> 09:23.160 When will you leave? 09:23.160 --> 09:24.160 Next week. 09:24.160 --> 09:25.920 The snows will be coming at the end of the month. 09:25.920 --> 09:29.160 Not much sense in making it too dangerous, is there? 09:29.160 --> 09:38.320 No, not much sense in that. 09:38.320 --> 09:42.600 Ten days later I arrived at Zanowel and met an old guide I'd known for many years. 09:42.600 --> 09:49.000 His name was Gaspar and he knew the mountains of the Alps as very few men know them. 09:49.000 --> 09:54.800 He and his wife ran the hotel and after dinner, it was my first night there, we talked over 09:54.800 --> 09:55.800 a cognac. 09:55.800 --> 09:58.120 Ah, it is good to see you again, my friend. 09:58.120 --> 10:01.840 I repeat, what a surprise and so late in the year. 10:01.840 --> 10:04.320 I remember July was my month, wasn't it? 10:04.320 --> 10:08.920 Ah, those days, we did some fine climbing here and I find. 10:08.920 --> 10:10.520 And where shall we go this time? 10:10.520 --> 10:13.400 My time is my own and now yours. 10:13.400 --> 10:14.880 The amateurs have gone. 10:14.880 --> 10:17.240 We shall climb for sport, huh? 10:17.240 --> 10:18.240 Perhaps so. 10:18.240 --> 10:21.160 I, uh, I want to try the west side of the Charlie Hook. 10:21.160 --> 10:22.160 Good, good. 10:22.160 --> 10:24.880 Hope you won't be upset, Gaspar. 10:24.880 --> 10:28.320 First time I go up, I mean to do it alone. 10:28.320 --> 10:29.320 Alone? 10:29.320 --> 10:30.320 Yes. 10:30.320 --> 10:32.720 Did you say the west side? 10:32.720 --> 10:37.800 May I speak of something I've noticed? 10:37.800 --> 10:39.800 Of course. 10:39.800 --> 10:45.200 When I saw you today, I noticed something, a slight limp. 10:45.200 --> 10:47.120 You have been in an accident? 10:47.120 --> 10:49.160 No, just a little stiffness. 10:49.160 --> 10:52.420 You have done some climbing since we last were together? 10:52.420 --> 10:53.420 Not much. 10:53.420 --> 10:58.960 But the west side of the ridge for a man out of condition, is that wise? 10:58.960 --> 11:00.280 I don't see why not. 11:00.280 --> 11:03.520 When do you plan to start? 11:03.520 --> 11:04.520 Tomorrow. 11:04.520 --> 11:08.920 I have never tried it myself. 11:08.920 --> 11:10.640 I'll give you a full report. 11:10.640 --> 11:13.480 Yes, I hope you will. 11:13.480 --> 11:16.440 The last man who tried it never came back. 11:16.440 --> 11:35.440 He fell and we still have not found the body. 11:35.440 --> 11:40.520 Auto Light is bringing you Mr. Herbert Marshall in action. 11:40.520 --> 11:56.920 Tonight's presentation in radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense. 11:56.920 --> 11:58.840 The frost is coming, so be wise. 11:58.840 --> 12:01.280 Now is the time to winterize. 12:01.280 --> 12:02.880 Right, Johnny Plug Check. 12:02.880 --> 12:04.080 Time for that winter tune up. 12:04.080 --> 12:06.680 Change of oil, grease and some antifreeze. 12:06.680 --> 12:08.920 And check those important spark plugs too. 12:08.920 --> 12:12.680 I.S. spark plugs are the very heart of your car's ignition system. 12:12.680 --> 12:18.060 And when they're right, you'll start quicker and surer every time, even in coldest weather. 12:18.060 --> 12:22.280 If replacements are needed, your Auto Light spark plug dealer will recommend a brand new 12:22.280 --> 12:26.160 set of ignition engineered Auto Light spark plugs. 12:26.160 --> 12:30.600 Like the Double Life Resistor spark plug, the greatest spark plug advance for automotive 12:30.600 --> 12:33.100 use in the past 25 years. 12:33.100 --> 12:38.520 It gives smoother engine performance and quick starts for twice as long as spark plugs without 12:38.520 --> 12:40.480 a built in resistor. 12:40.480 --> 12:44.920 And the resistor spark plug is only one of a complete line of Auto Light spark plugs 12:44.920 --> 12:47.960 ignition engineered for every use. 12:47.960 --> 12:51.600 So when you're getting your car winterized, make sure. 12:51.600 --> 12:53.580 To check the spark plugs too. 12:53.580 --> 12:56.640 See your nearest Auto Light spark plug dealer this week. 12:56.640 --> 13:02.320 And remember, from bumper to tail light, you're always right with Auto Light. 13:02.320 --> 13:07.960 And now, Auto Light brings back to our Hollywood sound stage, Mr. Herbert Marshall in Elliot 13:07.960 --> 13:28.680 Lewis's production of Action, a tale well calculated to keep you in suspense. 13:28.680 --> 13:33.960 That night before I went to bed, I sat for a little while alone in the smoking room. 13:33.960 --> 13:41.000 I had nothing to do, no goodbyes, no last letter to write, no will to be made. 13:41.000 --> 13:43.360 That was done and accounted for. 13:43.360 --> 13:49.400 I felt my right arm and leg with the fingers of my left hand, still numb. 13:49.400 --> 13:54.000 That strange, unfeeling feeling. 13:54.000 --> 13:55.960 After that, I read for a bit. 13:55.960 --> 14:07.800 Then turning out the lamp, went to my room. 14:07.800 --> 14:08.800 The next morning was dazzling. 14:08.800 --> 14:12.400 The soft Green Valley meadowland, sparkling. 14:12.400 --> 14:18.120 And above, against the bluest of skies, the mountains. 14:18.120 --> 14:19.680 The autumn sun was warm. 14:19.680 --> 14:24.880 And as I decided to travel as lightly as possible, I was glad for that. 14:24.880 --> 14:30.360 Late in the hotel, I made my way past the cow barn, the tiny post office, and on toward 14:30.360 --> 14:33.360 the path which led gently upward. 14:33.360 --> 14:36.960 I must have been walking for about five minutes when he caught up with me. 14:36.960 --> 14:37.960 Herbert. 14:37.960 --> 14:40.400 Oh, I nearly missed you. 14:40.400 --> 14:41.720 You were gone before I knew. 14:41.720 --> 14:42.720 Oh, good morning, Gaspar. 14:42.720 --> 14:46.840 Ah, a beautiful morning for your climb. 14:46.840 --> 14:50.640 I thought, if you did not mind, that I would walk with you to the bridge. 14:50.640 --> 14:53.080 I don't mind in the least. 14:53.080 --> 14:54.360 My wife was worried. 14:54.360 --> 14:55.840 I'm sorry to hear that. 14:55.840 --> 14:57.000 About you. 14:57.000 --> 15:01.400 My wife is a woman who has premonitions. 15:01.400 --> 15:02.400 You know women. 15:02.400 --> 15:04.640 Yes, she needn't worry, do you know? 15:04.640 --> 15:07.800 As I told her, you are one of the best. 15:07.800 --> 15:13.320 Still, she could not understand why you would suddenly appear and decide to climb the most 15:13.320 --> 15:14.960 difficult place on the mountain. 15:14.960 --> 15:17.200 Surely she knows mountaineers. 15:17.200 --> 15:19.940 Yes, she knows them. 15:19.940 --> 15:24.880 And she knows they do not attempt such things without a little practice of flexing of unused 15:24.880 --> 15:25.880 muscles. 15:25.880 --> 15:28.560 I'm in splendid form, Gaspar. 15:28.560 --> 15:31.740 Up there, that is where you go, huh? 15:31.740 --> 15:32.740 The bulge. 15:32.740 --> 15:33.740 Yes. 15:33.740 --> 15:38.880 And when you have conquered that, you will come back? 15:38.880 --> 15:41.480 What an odd question. 15:41.480 --> 15:43.780 Exactly what I told my wife. 15:43.780 --> 15:47.560 She had a premonition that all was not well with you. 15:47.560 --> 15:50.240 You'll have to reassure her, won't you, Gaspar? 15:50.240 --> 15:52.880 Yes, I shall, my friend. 15:52.880 --> 15:54.960 I'll say goodbye here. 15:54.960 --> 15:57.880 Yes, I wish... 15:57.880 --> 16:02.800 You will be all right, herbelle. 16:02.800 --> 16:10.040 Remember to conserve your energy and when you reach the top, come back to us. 16:10.040 --> 16:11.040 You will come back. 16:11.040 --> 16:12.040 Yes. 16:12.040 --> 16:13.040 Good luck. 16:13.040 --> 16:28.560 I left the old guide of the wooden bridge and walked on. 16:28.560 --> 16:32.040 The place I'd picked to climb is on the west side of the Charley Hawk. 16:32.040 --> 16:36.040 It's a dip in the ridge that joins the Weisshorn to the Charley Horn. 16:36.040 --> 16:39.680 The lowest point of the dip is over 12,000 feet. 16:39.680 --> 16:43.560 The last part of the rise to the ridge is a wall of ice that undulates like a sheet of 16:43.560 --> 16:49.120 hammered copper, concave at one point, convex at another, and the two or three parts it 16:49.120 --> 16:50.120 overhangs. 16:50.120 --> 16:53.240 How much I did not know, but you could see it. 16:53.240 --> 16:58.080 And it was the underside of that overhang I was going to climb. 16:58.080 --> 17:02.360 I would try to do it honestly, get to the ridge and prove that in this small matter, 17:02.360 --> 17:08.040 where there is no fear of death, a man can do more than he knows. 17:08.040 --> 17:11.520 My timetable began quite on schedule. 17:11.520 --> 17:17.120 Three hours work up to the Arpita to Alp from Zinal. 17:17.120 --> 17:21.840 Three more up from the Alp to the foot of the ice wall. 17:21.840 --> 17:27.440 Half an hour for food, another half an hour for final preparations. 17:27.440 --> 17:36.800 Then I was at that point, the wall of ice and above the great overhanging bulge. 17:36.800 --> 17:42.760 It stood out above me like a gigantic blister on the face of the ice. 17:42.760 --> 17:45.400 Must have been 40 feet in diameter. 17:45.400 --> 17:50.040 And it jutted so much that a stone dropped from its outermost point would only have touched 17:50.040 --> 17:54.600 the slope again some hundred feet lower. 17:54.600 --> 17:59.400 To reach that outermost point, I knew I would have to climb for about 20 feet as you climb 17:59.400 --> 18:02.800 up the underside of a ladder that leans against the wall. 18:02.800 --> 18:10.840 And I would have to make the ladder rung by rung, fashion each one out of ice with my 18:10.840 --> 18:15.320 axe held in one hand while with the other hand on both feet I'd cling to the three rungs 18:15.320 --> 18:17.640 already made. 18:17.640 --> 18:24.520 Each rung would have to be like a letter box in a door, big enough for the toe of my boot 18:24.520 --> 18:30.280 to go into but shaped so that when my hand entered the fingers could bend down inside 18:30.280 --> 18:34.280 and grip as you gripped the top of a fence. 18:34.280 --> 18:38.880 Then I was there and the overhang was before me. 18:38.880 --> 18:41.520 The work was amazingly hard. 18:41.520 --> 18:47.600 I'd only carved five letter boxes and used them and an hour had gone. 18:47.600 --> 18:50.680 Five more and daylight was failing. 18:50.680 --> 18:56.160 My left hand was chilled, almost dead with the ice it had gripped and my right hand swollen 18:56.160 --> 19:01.200 and sore from the constant use of the axe. 19:01.200 --> 19:08.400 My right knee began to shake uncontrollably and I almost laughed, chattering teeth. 19:08.400 --> 19:13.880 I looked up and some eight feet above was the goal. 19:13.880 --> 19:18.000 Beyond it I could see nothing but a tranquil sky with a rose-colored flush dying out of 19:18.000 --> 19:19.000 it. 19:19.000 --> 19:28.320 And suddenly, very clearly, as a complete matter of fact, I knew I couldn't get up those 19:28.320 --> 19:30.840 eight feet. 19:30.840 --> 19:33.320 My strength was going. 19:33.320 --> 19:35.320 I was about finished. 19:35.320 --> 19:45.960 And then, because the will is there until the end, I tried again, tried, but the axe 19:45.960 --> 19:48.840 barely scratched the ice. 19:48.840 --> 19:52.520 My left hand was frostbitten, fast feeling. 19:52.520 --> 19:59.240 Only five more feet to go, but five more than I could drive myself to. 19:59.240 --> 20:01.780 This was the finish then. 20:01.780 --> 20:07.840 What I'd set out to do, you know, it was the end. 20:07.840 --> 20:10.840 I'm done. 20:10.840 --> 20:13.360 I didn't know why. 20:13.360 --> 20:15.360 I was still holding on. 20:15.360 --> 20:16.360 Holding. 20:16.360 --> 20:19.880 And it was queer. 20:19.880 --> 20:22.280 Something was very queer. 20:22.280 --> 20:27.560 I felt little chips of ice stinging my cheeks as they slid down from above. 20:27.560 --> 20:29.560 Was an ice avalanche coming? 20:29.560 --> 20:32.680 What did it matter? 20:32.680 --> 20:35.160 Let the ice do what it wanted. 20:35.160 --> 20:37.160 My business with it was done. 20:37.160 --> 20:42.480 Then, then there was a sound. 20:42.480 --> 20:43.480 Annoying. 20:43.480 --> 20:45.480 A hissing sound. 20:45.480 --> 20:57.000 I saw the ice axe slide over the bulge overhead and move out over my head to drop far below. 20:57.000 --> 20:58.000 Someone was above me. 20:58.000 --> 21:03.080 And suddenly, I don't know why, there was, there was a lightness in me. 21:03.080 --> 21:05.280 No more dream. 21:05.280 --> 21:06.280 No more dying. 21:06.280 --> 21:07.280 I had to go up. 21:07.280 --> 21:08.280 Up quickly. 21:08.280 --> 21:12.400 No longer the care in cutting the steps. 21:12.400 --> 21:14.960 Now they were marvels of inadequacy. 21:14.960 --> 21:16.080 I didn't think about it. 21:16.080 --> 21:20.240 Just ice cuts deep enough for a footing to raise up to cut the next. 21:20.240 --> 21:21.240 And the next. 21:21.240 --> 21:24.160 And it must have been three minutes. 21:24.160 --> 21:29.200 Perhaps less when my chest came up to the dead center of the bulge and I, I saw what 21:29.200 --> 21:30.200 I had come for. 21:30.200 --> 21:36.200 It was a woman dangling at a long rope's end. 21:36.200 --> 21:40.320 Her body revolving a little as it hung against the steep ice and holding the rope. 21:40.320 --> 21:43.120 Perhaps 80 feet above her, the man. 21:43.120 --> 21:47.440 His ice axe driven well into the slope behind, holding well with one hand. 21:47.440 --> 21:48.440 The other gripping the rope. 21:48.440 --> 21:49.440 Cut the rope, Teddy, cut it. 21:49.440 --> 21:50.440 I'm done. 21:50.440 --> 21:51.440 It's killing me, cut it. 21:51.440 --> 21:52.440 You must, you, you can get down. 21:52.440 --> 21:53.440 The children think of, you must, it's killing me. 21:53.440 --> 21:54.440 Well, here's a, hold on. 21:54.440 --> 21:55.440 Sorry. 21:55.440 --> 21:56.440 I'm coming. 21:56.440 --> 21:57.440 Hold on. 21:57.440 --> 21:58.440 I felt like a fool. 21:58.440 --> 21:59.440 Absolute freedom. 21:59.440 --> 22:00.440 I'm coming. 22:00.440 --> 22:01.440 I'm coming. 22:01.440 --> 22:02.440 I'm coming. 22:02.440 --> 22:03.440 I'm coming. 22:03.440 --> 22:04.440 I'm coming. 22:04.440 --> 22:05.440 I'm coming. 22:05.440 --> 22:06.440 I'm coming. 22:06.440 --> 22:07.440 I'm coming. 22:07.440 --> 22:08.440 I'm coming. 22:08.440 --> 22:09.440 I'm coming. 22:09.440 --> 22:10.440 I'm coming. 22:10.440 --> 22:11.440 I'm coming. 22:11.440 --> 22:12.440 I'm coming. 22:12.440 --> 22:13.440 I'm coming. 22:13.440 --> 22:14.440 I'm coming. 22:14.440 --> 22:15.440 I'm coming. 22:15.440 --> 22:16.440 I'm coming. 22:16.440 --> 22:17.440 I'm coming. 22:17.440 --> 22:18.640 I'm coming. 22:18.640 --> 22:19.920 I'm coming. 22:19.920 --> 22:21.300 I'm coming. 22:21.300 --> 22:22.720 I'm coming. 22:22.720 --> 22:24.080 I'm coming. 22:24.080 --> 22:25.400 I'm coming. 22:25.400 --> 22:26.520 I'm coming. 22:26.520 --> 22:27.520 I'm coming. 22:27.520 --> 22:28.520 I'm coming. 22:28.520 --> 22:29.720 And I didn't stop. 22:29.720 --> 22:30.880 I didn't stop. 22:30.880 --> 22:33.720 I was, I was in an absolute freedom from uneasiness, concerning my own plight, for I still wasn't 22:33.720 --> 22:34.720 up myself. 22:34.720 --> 22:35.900 But I never liked heroics. 22:35.900 --> 22:36.900 And this sounded horribly disgustingly heroic. 22:36.900 --> 22:37.900 And I kept it up. 22:37.900 --> 22:38.900 And I have to. 22:38.900 --> 22:39.900 There are two minutes. 22:39.900 --> 22:40.900 Hold on. 22:40.900 --> 22:41.900 One minute more. 22:41.900 --> 22:44.900 A foothold on an upward slope. 22:44.900 --> 22:48.900 I cut a big step close to where her feet hung. 22:48.900 --> 22:52.900 Planted my own firmly in it and took her weight on my shoulder. 22:52.900 --> 22:56.900 Slowly the man above paid out the rope, 22:56.900 --> 23:00.900 till she was by my side, standing safe. 23:00.900 --> 23:04.900 You're... you're quite a happy sight. 23:04.900 --> 23:07.900 Have you got her? 23:07.900 --> 23:11.900 All right? Yes, right his way. 23:11.900 --> 23:16.900 Give us a moment or two, then dig in and we'll come up. 23:16.900 --> 23:20.900 Yes. Yes, all right. 23:28.900 --> 23:33.900 The last daylight was gone when the three of us stood on the level roof of the ridge. 23:33.900 --> 23:37.900 I tried my best not to look at him or at her. 23:37.900 --> 23:41.900 These are things best not observed. 23:41.900 --> 23:45.900 I think she stayed in his arms for a long moment. 23:45.900 --> 23:50.900 I... are we... 23:50.900 --> 23:52.900 How will you understand? 23:52.900 --> 23:55.900 Thanks. Thanks for our lives. 23:55.900 --> 23:59.900 Oh, Lord, I just happened to be there. Luck, that's all. 23:59.900 --> 24:02.900 Yes. Luck. 24:02.900 --> 24:06.900 I suppose we'd better push off, getting a little chilly. 24:16.900 --> 24:18.900 It was luck. 24:18.900 --> 24:23.900 There was a full moon and the downward trail was something else from the way I'd come up. 24:23.900 --> 24:28.900 We none of us spoke, I don't think a single word, all the way back. 24:28.900 --> 24:39.900 And then the village, the hotel, and she was put to bed, alive, tired. 24:39.900 --> 24:43.900 It was only after that in the smoking room that I learned their names. 24:43.900 --> 24:46.900 His name was Gollum, Theodore Gollum. 24:46.900 --> 24:49.900 The woman upstairs, his wife, Hillary. 24:49.900 --> 24:54.900 And because he seemed to feel himself under some sort of obligation to me, 24:54.900 --> 25:01.900 I told him about myself, my climb, why. 25:01.900 --> 25:03.900 And when I finished, he said... 25:03.900 --> 25:06.900 Look here, I'm a doctor and I know about such things. 25:06.900 --> 25:10.900 Tell me, when you were making that last climb over the bough, 25:10.900 --> 25:14.900 did that numbness cramp you? Did you notice it? 25:14.900 --> 25:18.900 No. It had been there, but not the last ten minutes. 25:18.900 --> 25:20.900 And you were in action? 25:20.900 --> 25:21.900 Action? 25:21.900 --> 25:25.900 Yes, I mean doing something, something you're absorbed in, lost in. 25:25.900 --> 25:28.900 Yes, I see. 25:28.900 --> 25:31.900 That's the way it should be, you know. 25:31.900 --> 25:34.900 What you've got, numbness, that will stay with you, 25:34.900 --> 25:38.900 but does it matter quite as much as you thought? 25:38.900 --> 25:42.900 No, I don't think so. 25:42.900 --> 25:45.900 You won't try that sort of thing again? 25:45.900 --> 25:47.900 No. 25:47.900 --> 25:49.900 Then it's going to be all right? 25:49.900 --> 25:53.900 Yes. It's going to be all right. 25:53.900 --> 25:55.900 Suspense. 26:17.900 --> 26:19.900 Suspense. 26:19.900 --> 26:24.900 Presented by Auto Light, tonight's star, Mr. Herbert Marshall. 26:24.900 --> 26:27.900 This is Harlow Wilcox again, speaking for Auto Light. 26:27.900 --> 26:32.900 It's always good to welcome back our long-time friend, Herbert Marshall. 26:32.900 --> 26:34.900 But we enjoyed every minute of tonight's story. 26:34.900 --> 26:36.900 Thanks, Harlow. 26:36.900 --> 26:39.900 And may I compliment Auto Light for the excellent programs to come. 26:39.900 --> 26:42.900 Next week, Van Hefton in The Shot. 26:42.900 --> 26:46.900 And the following week, Jeff Chandler in an exciting story, 26:46.900 --> 26:48.900 My True Love's Hair. 26:48.900 --> 26:51.900 We can certainly depend on Auto Light for wonderful entertainment. 26:51.900 --> 26:54.900 And friends, the greatest names in industry depend on Auto Light 26:54.900 --> 27:00.900 for over 400 products for cars, trucks, tractors, planes and boats. 27:00.900 --> 27:04.900 In 28 plants from coast to coast, Auto Light makes such products 27:04.900 --> 27:06.900 as the famous Auto Light Staple batteries, 27:06.900 --> 27:09.900 ignition engineered Auto Light spark plugs, 27:09.900 --> 27:11.900 both standard and resistor types, 27:11.900 --> 27:14.900 Auto Light starting motors, generators, coils, distributors, 27:14.900 --> 27:17.900 voltage regulators, wire and battery cable, 27:17.900 --> 27:23.900 and Auto Light original service parts for all Auto Light electrical systems. 27:23.900 --> 27:28.900 So, from bumper to tail light, you're always right with Auto Light. 27:28.900 --> 27:36.900 Music 27:36.900 --> 27:40.900 Next week, the story of a duel, an incomplete duel, 27:40.900 --> 27:43.900 since one of its participants chose to wait 27:43.900 --> 27:47.900 and owe his adversary the shot. 27:47.900 --> 27:53.900 Our star, Mr. Van Hefton, that's next week on Suspense. 27:53.900 --> 28:02.900 Suspense 28:02.900 --> 28:06.900 C.E. Montague's action was adapted for Suspense by Anthony Ellis. 28:06.900 --> 28:09.900 Suspense is produced and directed by Elliot Lewis 28:09.900 --> 28:13.900 with music composed by Lucian Morawick and conducted by Lut Bluskin. 28:13.900 --> 28:18.900 Featured in the cast were Ellen Morgan, Marley Bear, Herb Butterfield, 28:18.900 --> 28:22.900 Richard Peel and Ben Wright. 28:22.900 --> 28:26.900 Herbert Marshall will soon be seen in Writers to the Stars, 28:26.900 --> 28:31.900 Ivan Tore's technical production for United Artists. 28:31.900 --> 28:37.900 And remember, next week, Mr. Van Hefton in The Shot. 28:37.900 --> 28:41.900 Music 28:41.900 --> 28:46.900 You can buy Auto Light resistor or standard type spark plugs, 28:46.900 --> 28:49.900 Auto Light electrical parts and Auto Light stay full batteries 28:49.900 --> 28:51.900 at your neighborhood Auto Light dealers. 28:51.900 --> 28:54.900 Switch to Auto Light. Good night. 28:54.900 --> 28:58.900 This week and every week is a good time to hire the handicapped. 28:58.900 --> 29:04.900 Surveys have proved that properly placed handicapped workers are steady and reliable. 29:04.900 --> 29:10.900 Consult your state employment service and hire the handicapped. 29:10.900 --> 29:13.900 This is the CBS Radio Network. 29:13.900 --> 29:38.900 Music