And now, tonight's presentation of radio's outstanding theater of thrills, The Spence.
Tonight, the story of two small boys who carry death in their pockets.
We call it two platinum capsules.
So now, here is tonight's The Spence play, Two Platinum Capsules.
The story you are about to hear is based on fact.
It happened.
It involved the lives of six people.
That sound is being made by a Geiger counter, a device for detecting radioactivity.
It plays an important part in the following events.
Place, a city in northern California, population, 41,300.
For Johnny Murphy, age 11, the day started like any other day.
The time, 8.36 a.m.
Apple car!
Baltimore!
Who are your friends?
The mailman.
Careful!
Hey!
Hey, you boys!
You stop that!
You weren't even close.
I could have hit him if I wanted to.
Johnny!
Yeah, Mom!
Come here.
I'll be right back, please.
What do you want?
Come up here.
I saw you throw that apple car at the mailman.
I didn't hit him, Mom.
I didn't even try.
So, ever let me catch you doing a thing like that again.
Now, come inside.
The father's home.
Can you?
When do you get back?
Just a minute ago.
Hi, boy.
Did you find some uranium, Pop?
No, I'm not doing it.
We didn't expect you on until tonight, George.
Well, I woke up with a lousy cold yesterday.
And on top of that, the water can sprung a leak.
Didn't even have enough to make coffee before I left camp last night.
There's some on the stove.
Hey, Pop, let me listen to the guy you're telling us.
Not now, Johnny.
Your father's tired from driving all night.
Please, Pop, just for a second.
Sure.
Okay.
Now.
Oh, he's eating.
Is that how it sounds when it's near uranium?
No, it clicks a lot faster.
So they tell me.
I'll fix your breakfast, George.
Scramble them, huh, man?
Hey, Johnny, come on.
Hey, Pete's waiting for me, Pop.
Okay, boy, you run along.
Johnny, you'll be home for lunch.
Okay, Mom.
I'll be home.
Where are we going?
I don't know.
Where do you want to go?
I don't know.
Hey, how about to my house?
Nah, nothing to do over there.
Well, what do you want to do?
I don't know.
Something.
Hey, I listen to my Pop's guy you're telling us.
Yeah?
What did you hear?
Uranium?
No, I don't know.
What did you hear?
Uranium.
Come on.
Where are we going?
I don't know.
Why don't we go down to that new dump?
Where?
The new dump the city opened.
They're filling in that old gravel pit over near Afton High.
What do we do down there?
I don't know.
Look around.
See if we can find something, maybe.
Okay.
But I gotta be home for lunch.
At 850, George Murphy, the Pot-Tower, is on the run.
Five miles away, Ms. Helen Webster, a registered nurse employed at the Middle Branch Hospital,
entered the staff cafeteria.
A few moments later, the administrator, Dr. Carl Hudders, stopped at her table.
Well, how did you like working up in 222 yesterday, Ms. Webster?
Fine, doctor.
Burton didn't give you any trouble, did she?
Well, no.
Get along with her all right?
Yes, I think so.
I think she probably hates your gut.
But why?
She's leaving next week.
We've asked her to retire.
She knows you're taking her place.
Oh, I see.
Did she explain why she's leaving?
No, she didn't.
She's not leaving.
Oh, I see.
Did she explain everything to you carefully?
Very carefully, doctor.
Well, we want you to take charge as soon as she's gone.
Is that all right with you?
Yes, sir.
It's very interesting work.
It could be dangerous.
But if you're careful, there's no risk involved.
Did Burton have you working with the real thing or the dummies?
Well, the dummies at first.
And then she opened the safe.
Those capsules certainly don't look dangerous.
They're killers, Ms. Webster.
Don't ever forget it.
Every large hospital has a room, 222.
And in it, in bold letters across the lead line door are the words, danger, radioactive.
We're not occupied.
The room is padlocked.
At 914, Ms. Elsie Burton, registered nurse, inserted the key in the padlock and entered
the room.
She opened the heavy safe, and using a pair of forceps, looked at a small metal box from
it.
She quickly placed the box on the table.
Then, stepping behind a lead shield designed to protect her body from the contents of the
box, she opened it.
Inside the box were several platinum capsules, and each capsule was filled with radium.
It was 927 when she picked up the phone to report two of the platinum capsules missing.
Nine twenty-eight, George Murphy had finished his second cup of coffee, glanced through
the morning paper, and was watching his wife at the kitchen sink.
More coffee, George?
No, thanks.
You look coffee-tired.
I am.
We got a notice from the bank today.
The payment's overdue again.
I know, Mae.
On that Geiger counter, you had to buy $160, when I think what I could have done without
your help.
All right, all right.
George, we can get along on your salary.
You don't need a million dollars.
We can get along just fine on what you make at the gas station, if you'd only work instead
of taking three days a week away, traits enough, goodness knows where.
Let's talk about it some other time, huh?
I'm going in and lie down.
You close the bedroom door.
I want the radio on while I do the ironing.
Nine thirty, the two boys, Johnny Murphy and Peter Kahn, were approaching the city dump.
Hey, Peter, wait up.
Come on, we're almost there.
Look, see it?
Huh?
Doesn't look like nothing but a big hole in the ground.
That's where they took all the gravel from.
They're dumping all kinds of stuff in that old pit now.
Hey, who's that?
What?
What about the shop?
Oh, I don't know.
Maybe he's a watchman.
He's crazy.
What does he have a watchman at a dump for?
Who'd steal junk?
Morning, boys.
You can answer him.
Are you the watchman?
That's right.
You boys out exploring?
Well, kind of, if it's all right.
Oh, it's all right, providing you look out for the trucks.
Yes, sir.
We'll be careful.
By ten fifteen, Dr. Hutter and Miss Burton and Miss Webster had made a preliminary search for the missing radium.
It was not in room 222.
A further check revealed that only one patient in the hospital was receiving radium therapy.
According to the day chart, the radium used on the patient the day before had been returned to the safe.
Nevertheless, the patient was examined, and the immediate area surrounding her bed carefully searched.
The radium was not found.
At ten thirty-five, Dr. Hutter and the two nurses reentered room 222.
I don't understand how it could have happened, Doctor.
Could someone have taken it during the night?
No, even if they had a key to fit the padlock, Miss Burton is the only person in the hospital who has the combination to the safe.
You'll have all this responsibility next week, Miss Webster.
Burton, what time did you show the capsules to Miss Webster yesterday?
Just before lunch, Doctor.
Did you count the capsules before returning them to the safe?
Well, they weren't away from this table. I didn't think it was necessary to count them.
Well, we've done all we can.
I'll notify the insurance company.
Let them send a radium hound up from San Francisco.
A radium hound?
Yes, a man who specializes in finding lost radiums by using a scintillator or a guide to a counter.
You go through the hospital carefully and the counter will locate the radium.
Doctor, before you go, may I speak to you alone?
Certainly.
I'll be in the hall, Doctor.
Doctor, you know I've never been one for carrying tales, but I refuse to take the responsibility for losing those capsules.
No one is blaming you, Burton. Accidents happen.
This was no accident.
Go on.
Doctor, I just happen to know that Miss Webster is engaged to a young doctor.
I don't see that that has any bearing on the lost radium.
I'll finish. This doctor is setting up his own office, and I'm sure he'd be mighty grateful for a gift of 200 milligrams of radium.
Burton, you've been around here too long. You've soured.
Doctor, I just remembered something.
Yes, Miss Webster?
All the night, Leonard, Dr. Perry, told me that one of his patients goes away every weekend to hunt uranium.
Would he own a Geiger counter?
He might. Yes, see if you can reach him.
Yes, sir.
We'll take this building apart if we have to.
Oh, Miss Webster?
Yes, sir?
Notify all hospital personnel of the loss immediately.
If someone's picked up those capsules without realizing what they are, they're in trouble.
May Murphy had just tuned in the 11 a.m. news broadcast when the phone rang.
Recognizing the urgency in Miss Webster's voice, she promised to wake her husband immediately.
George? George, you've got to wake up. George.
Hmm?
George, they want you down at the hospital.
What's the matter, Johnny? Something happened to Johnny?
Oh, no, not Johnny. They've lost some radium at Middle Branch Hospital.
The nurse that called thought you might be able to find it.
Hand me the cigarette, will you?
Thank you.
You got any hot coffee out there?
I'll heat it. Here.
Thanks.
Do you think you could find it, George?
I don't know. Maybe, if it's still in the hospital.
What does radium look like? You ever see any of it?
I wouldn't know radium if I tripped over it.
Atomic number 88. Atomic weight, 226.05.
Radium is an intensely radioactive element emitting strong gamma rays.
It is used principally in the treatment of cancer to destroy malignant tissue.
Unfortunately, the gamma rays cannot tell the difference between healthy and unhealthy tissue,
making it extremely dangerous to handle.
Unless caught in time, there is no cure for radium poisoning.
Only a slow, lingering death.
Hey, mister. You know what time it is?
What time? Well, let's see now. It's eleven-thirty.
You see? I told you it wasn't more than that.
You boys are too young to be worrying about time.
He's always worried about something.
I gotta be home for lunch.
Well, did you find anything valuable down in the dump?
No. Nothing there I wanted.
I don't know if what I found is valuable or not.
Well, that's it. Can't judge what it's worth if you don't let me take a look at it.
I've got them in my pocket.
Them?
Yeah. Two little pieces of metal. See?
Oh, yeah. Mighty nice.
Looks like they might have been used for counterweights of some sort.
Excuse me, boys. Gotta tell that fellow where to unload.
We'll see you, mister.
You be careful crossing the street, you boys. Don't want to get hurt.
It was twelve-thirty when George Murphy arrived at the hospital.
He was quickly briefed by Dr. Hutter and the search started.
Slowly, carefully, they walked through the sterile corridors,
listening for any change in the normal count of the Geiger counter.
I understand you do quite a bit of uranium protecting, Mr. Murphy.
Yeah, I guess I do. I usually take off and work at the gas station on Thursdays and come back Sunday.
You ever find any?
Not yet.
I'm still hoping.
Oh, my. You find this radium, I mean.
Is that valuable?
That deadly.
There's always a chance someone has picked it up without realizing what it is.
Something?
The background count was a little high, but it's gone down.
Oh.
Say, just what do those capsules look like, Doctor?
Oh, they're about two inches long, metal, approximately as big around as those thick lead pencils.
Well, doesn't look like it's up here. Come on, I'll buy you a cup of coffee.
Hey, Doctor, wait a minute.
I'm thinking of some response on this thing.
Oh, that's from 222.
What?
We keep our regular supply of radium in 222 just to hit.
Oh. Well, I'm glad to know this thing works.
Sure like to see it act up like that out in the desert.
Time, 1.40.
After having a cup of coffee, the men continued their search.
Drain pipes were examined.
Trash and waste was put into the incinerator.
The incinerator itself and finally the ground surrounding the entire hospital were checked.
At 4.15, as far as they were supposed to determine, they agreed the radium was not in or near the hospital.
Doctor Hunter then contacted the trucking service that removed the non-combustible radium.
That's pretty good.
Previous act, we thought for sure the watchman of the yard would remember where he had unloaded.
Time, 4.59.
There's the watchman's shack.
Doesn't look like anybody's here.
He's probably gone for the day.
Well, anyone want to look around? Might get lucky.
Yep, you bet I.
Funny.
What's that?
Oh, and I'm shaving in the morning. I can usually see myself later in the day at the gas station working, you know what I mean?
Sure, I think so.
I sure did see myself down here looking for a needle in a haystack.
I hate saying this, but I'm beginning to think Burton might be right.
Burton?
She's in this, in charge of 222. She believes the radium was stolen.
Could be. I'd sure give ten bucks to know where it is.
I'd give a lot more just to know those capsules aren't poisoning someone.
Hey, howdy. Help you, fellas?
Oh, are you the watchman?
That's right.
We were looking for you about an hour ago.
I quit at five, went to eat. Oh, I live out here. What do you want to see me about?
Do you remember a consolidated truck here yesterday afternoon?
Yes, I do. I had them dump out in Area 4.
Where's that?
Right where you fellas were standing when I first spotted you.
Oh, well, thanks.
Hey, hey, wait a minute. You still ain't said what you wanted to see me about.
Do you know what radium looks like?
No, can't say I do.
A couple of capsules containing radium were lost from the hospital. We thought they might have been carried out here.
Well, how would I know them if I didn't see them?
About two inches long, little capsules of metal.
Oh, mm-hmm.
Where to now? Would you mind dropping me off at the hospital?
Okay.
Hey, here. Hey, hey, hold on a minute.
Yes?
Two boys down here this morning. Should be something like that.
Two boys?
Yeah, sure. I remember what they found. Looked like little counterweights.
Well, do you know the boys, either one of them?
No, never saw them before in my life.
Did they mention their names? Can you describe them?
No names, but I reckon I could give you an idea of what they looked like.
Get in.
What for?
They're taking you down to the police station. We've got to find those boys fast.
By 7.30, the two radio stations in the city were broadcasting a description of the boys every half hour.
And all points full of them had been relayed to the police substations and all patrol cars.
The morning newspaper was setting up a story on the front page.
There is nothing to do now but wait.
Hey, Mom.
Yes, Johnny?
Take a look at my leg, huh?
Your leg? What's the matter with it?
I don't know. Sort of burns.
You probably skinned it, let's see.
Well, there's nothing there. Just a little red is all.
Feels like it's burned.
There's your father. Now you go get ready for bed.
Okay.
Hi, boy.
Hi, Pa.
George, I kept your dinner warm. It's in the oven.
I didn't get a chance to call you.
I know. I heard all about it on the news.
My poor kid.
Now you sit down.
What'd you fix?
Lamb chop. I heated up some of those frozen biscuits.
Is that boy going to die from the radium?
I don't know.
Dr. Hudders said something about the rays burning deeper and deeper as time went on.
Something to do with the square road and I don't know.
Hand me the butterwhip.
The description they gave on the radio.
That boy must be about Johnny's age.
Yeah.
Johnny, I told you to get ready for bed.
Oh, golly, Mom. I haven't hardly seen Pop in three days.
That's right.
Well, boy, what have you been doing?
Nothing. Just taking it easy.
Taking it easy. You just wait, boy. You just wait a few years.
Can I put your guide, your counter, away for you?
Look, how many times do I have to tell you that it isn't a toy? It costs a lot of money.
That's the truth.
Can I listen to it, Pop, please?
Johnny, leave your father alone. He's dead tired.
Go on. Get ready for bed.
Oh, Mom.
Mind your mother, boy.
Yes, sir.
All right. Come back here.
Yes, sir.
Come here.
Now, wait a minute.
What's wrong with it?
Oh, the switch is stuck.
Okay, now.
What the devil?
What the hell? Wait a minute.
Where did you go today, boy?
Huh?
You went to the city dump, didn't you?
George, no. Pop, what are you looking at?
Answer me, Johnny. You went to the city dump, didn't you?
What?
Give me the radium, son.
I didn't do nothing wrong.
Give me the radium.
I didn't do anything wrong, Johnny.
I was messing with these little fools with the sections. I thought it was these little directions.
The search was over.
Fortunately, because of Johnny's normal activity, the radium capsules had bounced around in his pocket.
The burns covered a wide area, but the rays had not penetrated as deeply as they could have done.
The Murphys were told to consider themselves lucky.
If the boy had carried the capsules another few hours, it would have been impossible to save him.
On being informed of the boy's condition, Ms. Burton, the nurse in charge of room 222,
admitted to throwing the two capsules in with the non-combustible rubbish, hoping a replacement would receive the blame.
She was immediately discharged and barred from any further practice in the nursing profession.
Suspense, in which we brought you tonight's presentation of two platinum capsules.
Be sure to listen next week when we again bring you radio's outstanding theater of thrill, Suspense.