WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:20.000 And now, tonight's presentation of radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense. 00:20.000 --> 00:25.000 Tonight, we bring you a transcribed story of a man who thought the best way to commit 00:25.000 --> 00:27.640 murder was to plan it first. 00:27.640 --> 00:30.640 We call it Variations on a Theme. 00:30.640 --> 00:58.640 So now, starring Parley Bear, here is tonight's Suspense play, Variations on a Theme. 00:58.640 --> 01:14.640 Dear old girl, your head, your head is bleeding. 01:14.640 --> 01:29.640 Hello? 01:29.640 --> 01:30.640 Who? 01:30.640 --> 01:34.640 Oh, no, no, she isn't here. 01:34.640 --> 01:36.640 Well, this is Mr. Milford. 01:36.640 --> 01:40.640 Oh, oh, Mrs. Wadwood, how are you? 01:40.640 --> 01:43.640 Fine, just fine. 01:43.640 --> 01:46.640 No, she left this morning. 01:46.640 --> 01:48.640 I'm taking the train this afternoon. 01:48.640 --> 01:53.640 No, the kids aren't going till Thursday. 01:53.640 --> 01:56.640 I imagine so. 01:56.640 --> 01:59.640 All right, I'll tell you a call. 01:59.640 --> 02:02.640 Oh, I'm sure she'll write. 02:02.640 --> 02:09.640 Goodbye. 02:09.640 --> 02:10.640 Joe? 02:10.640 --> 02:12.640 Joe, can you hear me? 02:12.640 --> 02:15.640 That was Mrs. Wadwood. 02:15.640 --> 02:18.640 I told her you left this morning. 02:18.640 --> 02:23.640 I'll bet that old parodin is going to miss you. 02:23.640 --> 02:24.640 But I won't. 02:24.640 --> 02:28.640 Come to think of it, not many people are going to care one way or the other. 02:28.640 --> 02:33.640 You're just a habit, Joe, a bad habit. 02:33.640 --> 02:37.640 There. 02:37.640 --> 02:39.640 That hurt your ears, Joe? 02:39.640 --> 02:44.640 Well, that's what I've had to put up with from you yapping at me for the past 20 years, 02:44.640 --> 02:47.640 just banging on my ears. 02:47.640 --> 02:50.640 Bang, bang, bang. 02:50.640 --> 02:52.640 I hope you're comfortable in there, dear. 02:52.640 --> 03:00.640 You've got a long trip to take. 03:00.640 --> 03:06.640 It had taken me five years to work it out and a couple of minutes to do the thing. 03:06.640 --> 03:10.640 It was the morning we were to go up to the cabin for a month. 03:10.640 --> 03:15.640 Beautiful Tuesday morning, July, warm, sunny. 03:15.640 --> 03:18.640 I had the trunk all ready for her. 03:18.640 --> 03:23.640 She was finishing packing in the bedroom and as usual nagging, griping. 03:23.640 --> 03:24.640 Herman? 03:24.640 --> 03:25.640 Herman! 03:25.640 --> 03:27.640 Did you pack your hairbrush? 03:27.640 --> 03:28.640 Yes, dear. 03:28.640 --> 03:31.640 Oh, I don't know why you want to take all that fishing tackle. 03:31.640 --> 03:33.640 You never catch any fish anyway. 03:33.640 --> 03:35.640 What time are they coming for the luggage? 03:35.640 --> 03:37.640 One o'clock. I told you. 03:37.640 --> 03:41.640 Oh, I don't feel right taking off and leaving the children to follow. 03:41.640 --> 03:42.640 If anything... 03:42.640 --> 03:45.640 Herman, for heaven's sake, what are you doing with that trunk? 03:45.640 --> 03:46.640 We don't need a trunk. 03:46.640 --> 03:49.640 Now you get that thing put away. 03:49.640 --> 03:51.640 Oh, it's all dusty. 03:51.640 --> 03:53.640 Look at my nice clean room. 03:53.640 --> 03:55.640 What are you doing with that trunk, Herman? 03:55.640 --> 03:56.640 I need it to pack, dear. 03:56.640 --> 03:59.640 Have you gone out of your mind? We are packed. 03:59.640 --> 04:02.640 No, not quite, Joe. I forgot something. 04:02.640 --> 04:04.640 Now you're not taking another thing. 04:04.640 --> 04:06.640 Oh, yes, I am. 04:10.640 --> 04:15.640 Oh, I...I've wanted to do that for a long time. 04:18.640 --> 04:19.640 She wasn't dead. 04:19.640 --> 04:21.640 I didn't hit her hard enough for that. 04:21.640 --> 04:23.640 Just out like I liked. 04:23.640 --> 04:29.640 I taped her hands behind her back, folded her up nicely and taped her ankles. 04:29.640 --> 04:33.640 Particularly...oh, particularly. 04:33.640 --> 04:38.640 I enjoyed putting two yards of electrical tape over her mouth. 04:38.640 --> 04:41.640 She came to just as I got her in the trunk. 04:41.640 --> 04:43.640 You should have seen her eyes. 04:43.640 --> 04:48.640 Just before I put the lid down, I told her what was going to happen. 04:48.640 --> 04:51.640 You've never looked better, dear. 04:51.640 --> 04:56.640 Now, don't you worry about a thing because I have taken care of everything. 04:56.640 --> 04:59.640 You're going on the train with the rest of the baggage. 04:59.640 --> 05:04.640 And when we get to Pinecrest, old man Butterfield will haul you out to the cabin. 05:04.640 --> 05:09.640 And then tonight, when it's nice and dark, I'm going fishing, dear. 05:09.640 --> 05:15.640 And I'm going to put you in the boat, take you out of the middle of the lake, and drop you down. 05:15.640 --> 05:19.640 It's a metal trunk. It'll sink. 05:19.640 --> 05:22.640 If you'd ever listened long enough to hear what anybody else was saying, 05:22.640 --> 05:26.640 you might remember that they have never found the bottom in that lake. 05:26.640 --> 05:31.640 Oh, you're thinking that Mr. Butterfield will wonder where you are or why you haven't showed up. 05:31.640 --> 05:33.640 That's what you're thinking, isn't it? 05:33.640 --> 05:35.640 Well, I'm going to be worried, see. 05:35.640 --> 05:39.640 I put you on the train this morning and had some work cleaned up in the office, 05:39.640 --> 05:41.640 so I had to take the next one. 05:41.640 --> 05:44.640 But I'll figure you stopped off to see your mother in Greenwood. 05:44.640 --> 05:46.640 You said that you might, remember? 05:46.640 --> 05:49.640 You talked to her the other night and said you might. 05:49.640 --> 05:51.640 There were two witnesses. 05:51.640 --> 05:56.640 That sick name Mrs. Dolman and your dear girlhood friend Louise. 05:56.640 --> 05:59.640 If their husbands had any sense, they'd murder them, too. 05:59.640 --> 06:02.640 And besides, even if anybody does suspect anything, 06:02.640 --> 06:06.640 Corpus Delecti, you know, is just find the body. 06:06.640 --> 06:09.640 And nobody's going to. 06:09.640 --> 06:11.640 It's worth taking the chance, dear. 06:11.640 --> 06:13.640 Have a nice trip. 06:13.640 --> 06:20.640 Oh, incidentally, in case you're wondering why I didn't kill you just now, 06:20.640 --> 06:23.640 I want you to have time to think for the next three hours. 06:23.640 --> 06:28.640 Go through a little of what you've put me through for the last 20 years 06:28.640 --> 06:32.640 and keep your big mouth shut! 06:32.640 --> 06:43.640 I made some coffee and waited for the expressman. 06:43.640 --> 06:47.640 Every once in a while I'd creep up quiet as a mouse, 06:47.640 --> 06:52.640 go over to the trunk and give it a kick right where her ear was. 06:52.640 --> 06:56.640 And every time I did it, I felt a year younger. 06:56.640 --> 07:03.640 At one o'clock, right on the nose. 07:03.640 --> 07:04.640 Mr. Milford? 07:04.640 --> 07:05.640 That's right. 07:05.640 --> 07:06.640 You've come for the luggage? 07:06.640 --> 07:07.640 Yes, sir. 07:07.640 --> 07:08.640 Well, it's all there. 07:08.640 --> 07:11.640 Suitcases, trunk, fishing tackle. 07:11.640 --> 07:13.640 Oh, going to do a little fishing, huh? 07:13.640 --> 07:18.640 I sure am. 07:18.640 --> 07:19.640 The trunk's pretty heavy. 07:19.640 --> 07:21.640 Oh, would you like me to give you a hand? 07:21.640 --> 07:22.640 Oh, no, no, that's all right. 07:22.640 --> 07:35.640 I've got the dolly right outside. 07:35.640 --> 07:43.640 Okay, here we go. 07:43.640 --> 07:46.640 Oh, boy, that thing really weighs. 07:46.640 --> 07:47.640 Well, it's all right. 07:47.640 --> 07:49.640 There's nothing breakable in there. 07:49.640 --> 07:51.640 It is a good solid trunk. 07:51.640 --> 07:53.640 They don't make them like that anymore. 07:53.640 --> 07:54.640 I guess not. 07:54.640 --> 07:57.640 Well, I'll put the rest of the stuff on top of the trunk. 07:57.640 --> 07:59.640 All right. 07:59.640 --> 08:02.640 Oh, be careful of my tackle, that's all. 08:02.640 --> 08:06.640 I know what you mean. 08:06.640 --> 08:09.640 Okay, is that it? 08:09.640 --> 08:11.640 Yep, that's it. 08:11.640 --> 08:15.640 One trunk, three suitcases, fishing tackle. 08:15.640 --> 08:17.640 Will you sign here, please? 08:17.640 --> 08:20.640 Sure. 08:20.640 --> 08:21.640 There you are. 08:21.640 --> 08:22.640 Thank you. 08:22.640 --> 08:24.640 What time will they be at the station? 08:24.640 --> 08:25.640 Oh, about 20 minutes. 08:25.640 --> 08:27.640 Oh, fine, I'm catching at 2 o'clock. 08:27.640 --> 08:28.640 Oh, they'll be there. 08:28.640 --> 08:29.640 That's fine. 08:29.640 --> 08:30.640 Thanks a lot. 08:30.640 --> 08:34.640 You're welcome. 08:34.640 --> 08:35.640 Thanks again. 08:35.640 --> 08:36.640 Well, have a good trip. 08:36.640 --> 08:37.640 Catch a fish for me. 08:37.640 --> 08:42.640 Yeah, I will. 08:42.640 --> 08:52.640 Well, that's that. 08:52.640 --> 08:55.640 I went in the kitchen, had another cup of coffee, 08:55.640 --> 08:58.640 and didn't wash the cup and saucer or the coffee pot. 08:58.640 --> 09:00.640 I didn't have to when there wasn't anybody to tell me 09:00.640 --> 09:02.640 I was messing up the kitchen. 09:02.640 --> 09:09.640 It was about 10 after 1 when the doorbell rang again. 09:09.640 --> 09:12.640 Mr. Milford, can I use your phone? 09:12.640 --> 09:13.640 What's the matter? 09:13.640 --> 09:15.640 Oh, I can't get the pickup started. 09:15.640 --> 09:17.640 It's that distributor again. 09:17.640 --> 09:19.640 I told them at the garage. 09:19.640 --> 09:20.640 See here, I've got a train to catch. 09:20.640 --> 09:22.640 You've got to get the luggage to the station. 09:22.640 --> 09:24.640 Oh, I'll have them send out another pickup. 09:24.640 --> 09:26.640 It shouldn't take more than 15 minutes. 09:26.640 --> 09:27.640 I'm awful sorry. 09:27.640 --> 09:30.640 Well, couldn't you fix it? 09:30.640 --> 09:31.640 Try again. 09:31.640 --> 09:33.640 I just can't miss that train. 09:33.640 --> 09:34.640 I've tried, Mr. Milford. 09:34.640 --> 09:35.640 Believe me. 09:35.640 --> 09:36.640 All right. 09:36.640 --> 09:39.640 I suppose you'll have to. 09:39.640 --> 09:41.640 But please, tell them to hurry, will you? 09:41.640 --> 09:53.640 Sure. 09:53.640 --> 09:55.640 Tug on distributor. 09:55.640 --> 09:57.640 I told them, I told them. 09:57.640 --> 09:59.640 Sure hate to put you out, Mr. Milford. 09:59.640 --> 10:00.640 Hello? 10:00.640 --> 10:03.640 Let me have the routing desk. 10:03.640 --> 10:05.640 Okay, I'll wait. 10:05.640 --> 10:07.640 Oh, Mr. Milford, it never fails. 10:07.640 --> 10:09.640 When you're in a hurry, it never fails. 10:09.640 --> 10:12.640 Do you think it's safe leaving the things out there? 10:12.640 --> 10:14.640 Maybe you ought to bring them in. 10:14.640 --> 10:15.640 Oh, no, no, no. 10:15.640 --> 10:16.640 It's all right. 10:16.640 --> 10:18.640 As soon as I'm through, I'll go out and sit in the pickup. 10:18.640 --> 10:21.640 Say, look, it's almost 1.15. 10:21.640 --> 10:22.640 Don't you worry. 10:22.640 --> 10:24.640 We'll get your stuff there on time. 10:24.640 --> 10:26.640 Come on, come on. 10:26.640 --> 10:27.640 Hello. 10:27.640 --> 10:30.640 What's happening, honey? 10:30.640 --> 10:32.640 Well, I got a customer here. 10:32.640 --> 10:33.640 He's got to catch a train. 10:33.640 --> 10:34.640 My truck's walking down. 10:34.640 --> 10:35.640 In 45 minutes. 10:35.640 --> 10:37.640 Well, he says in 45 minutes. 10:37.640 --> 10:39.640 Okay, okay. 10:39.640 --> 10:41.640 Oh, boy, it's some service. 10:41.640 --> 10:43.640 I work for the mister, and it's a good job, 10:43.640 --> 10:46.640 but I tell you, sometimes, boy. 10:46.640 --> 10:50.640 Oh, for heaven's sake. 10:50.640 --> 10:51.640 Hello, Herman. 10:51.640 --> 10:52.640 Joe's still here. 10:52.640 --> 10:54.640 No, no, she's gone, Louise. 10:54.640 --> 10:56.640 She caught the 11 o'clock train. 10:56.640 --> 10:57.640 Oh, that's funny. 10:57.640 --> 10:59.640 She said she was going to stop by for a minute. 10:59.640 --> 11:00.640 Well, she was late. 11:00.640 --> 11:01.640 Listen, I can't talk now. 11:01.640 --> 11:03.640 The expressman's here, and I've got to... 11:03.640 --> 11:05.640 My, is that all your luggage on the truck? 11:05.640 --> 11:06.640 Yes, yes, it is. 11:06.640 --> 11:08.640 Oh, I think that's very sensible, taking the trunk. 11:08.640 --> 11:10.640 I told Joe she ought to. 11:10.640 --> 11:11.640 Things don't crease so much. 11:11.640 --> 11:14.640 Nothing annoys me more than having all my nice summer things 11:14.640 --> 11:17.640 all creased when I take them out of the suitcase. 11:17.640 --> 11:19.640 You're going to have to excuse me, Louise. 11:19.640 --> 11:20.640 I'm trying to get this express... 11:20.640 --> 11:22.640 You're going to be so nervous, Herman. 11:22.640 --> 11:25.640 Goodness, you make a body nervous, being so nervous. 11:25.640 --> 11:28.640 You men, you and Jack. 11:28.640 --> 11:30.640 I'll bet Joe did all the packing, 11:30.640 --> 11:32.640 and all you have to do is see it gets to the station. 11:32.640 --> 11:35.640 You men, honestly, talk about nervous. 11:35.640 --> 11:37.640 When are Julie and William going up? 11:37.640 --> 11:38.640 The day after tomorrow, Louise. 11:38.640 --> 11:39.640 Oh, yeah, that's right. 11:39.640 --> 11:41.640 They're spending a couple of days at the beach 11:41.640 --> 11:42.640 with the Buford kids, huh? 11:42.640 --> 11:43.640 Yeah. 11:43.640 --> 11:46.640 Honestly, I don't know how you let them go there alone. 11:46.640 --> 11:47.640 I've heard. 11:47.640 --> 11:50.640 Well, there's been talk of pretty wild parties. 11:50.640 --> 11:52.640 Of course, it's none of my business, but... 11:52.640 --> 11:54.640 Thanks for stopping by, Louise. 11:54.640 --> 11:55.640 Goodbye. 11:55.640 --> 11:57.640 Well, I think you're being very rude, Herman. 11:57.640 --> 11:59.640 I think you're being very rude. 12:01.640 --> 12:02.640 What did they say? 12:02.640 --> 12:04.640 Well, it's nothing to worry about, Mr. Milford. 12:04.640 --> 12:06.640 The other pickup will be on its way in a couple of minutes. 12:06.640 --> 12:09.640 Oh, my, look, it's 20 past 1. 12:09.640 --> 12:10.640 Now, you just take it easy. 12:10.640 --> 12:13.640 I'll go out and see if I can't get that pile of junk started. 12:13.640 --> 12:14.640 You just take it easy. 12:14.640 --> 12:17.640 You'll make it all right. 12:17.640 --> 12:19.640 Now, remember, take it easy. 12:22.640 --> 12:24.640 Don't worry, Louise, I could have killed her. 12:24.640 --> 12:25.640 No, let Jack kill her. 12:25.640 --> 12:27.640 I had my own problems. 12:27.640 --> 12:31.640 I tell you, those women, she would notice the trunk. 12:31.640 --> 12:33.640 Oh, well, that wouldn't mean too much. 12:33.640 --> 12:35.640 I had the other one, a duplicate, 12:35.640 --> 12:37.640 already up at the cabin to bring back. 12:37.640 --> 12:38.640 Nobody'd see me take it there. 12:38.640 --> 12:40.640 I was safe on that. 12:40.640 --> 12:41.640 I don't mind telling you, I was a little nervous 12:41.640 --> 12:43.640 waiting for that truck to come. 12:43.640 --> 12:46.640 Of course, there was some consolation. 12:46.640 --> 12:52.640 The sun was nice and hot, shining right on the trunk outside. 12:52.640 --> 12:55.640 Joe must have been roasting nicely. 12:55.640 --> 12:58.640 It was like that lamb she was always cooking. 12:58.640 --> 13:02.640 Every Saturday for 20 years, roast lamb. 13:02.640 --> 13:04.640 She knew I hated it. 13:04.640 --> 13:05.640 That's why she made it. 13:05.640 --> 13:08.640 No more roast lamb ever. 13:08.640 --> 13:13.640 Oh, the truck. 13:13.640 --> 13:14.640 Hi, Dad. 13:14.640 --> 13:15.640 Hi, Pop. 13:15.640 --> 13:21.640 Julie, William, what are you doing home? 13:21.640 --> 13:24.640 Oh, Mac Buford got sick, appendix or something. 13:24.640 --> 13:25.640 Real square. 13:25.640 --> 13:26.640 We all got thrown out. 13:26.640 --> 13:27.640 No beach party, nothing. 13:27.640 --> 13:29.640 So we decided to go up to the cabin with you. 13:29.640 --> 13:31.640 Yeah, we put our suitcases on the truck outside 13:31.640 --> 13:33.640 and we're all set. 13:33.640 --> 13:51.640 Let's go, Pop. 13:51.640 --> 13:54.640 You are listening to Variations on a Theme, 13:54.640 --> 13:57.640 tonight's presentation in radio's outstanding 13:57.640 --> 14:09.640 Theatre of Thrills, Suspense. 14:09.640 --> 14:11.640 You can't expect the rest of the world to know how strongly 14:11.640 --> 14:14.640 you favor our democratic way of life unless you tell them, 14:14.640 --> 14:17.640 and you can tell them, the resounding truths about freedom 14:17.640 --> 14:20.640 by lending your support to the Crusade for Freedom. 14:20.640 --> 14:23.640 Yes, one dollar sent to Crusade for Freedom 14:23.640 --> 14:26.640 will pay for a minute of truth on Radio Free Europe. 14:26.640 --> 14:29.640 Send your truth dollars to Crusade for Freedom, 14:29.640 --> 14:31.640 care of your local postmaster. 14:31.640 --> 14:34.640 That's Crusade for Freedom, care of your local postmaster. 14:34.640 --> 14:39.640 This has been a public service message from CBS Radio. 14:39.640 --> 14:42.640 And now we bring back to our Hollywood soundstage 14:42.640 --> 14:45.640 Parley Bear, starring in tonight's production, 14:45.640 --> 14:49.640 Variations on a Theme, a tale well calculated 14:49.640 --> 15:11.640 to keep you in suspense. 15:11.640 --> 15:15.640 I knew they'd be better off without her, but what could I say? 15:15.640 --> 15:17.640 Kids, I got your mother outside in the trunk, 15:17.640 --> 15:20.640 I'm going to drop her in the lake when we get up to the cabin. 15:20.640 --> 15:22.640 They liked me, maybe they liked me better than her, 15:22.640 --> 15:25.640 but she was their mother. 15:25.640 --> 15:28.640 They might be sympathetic, because she nagged them 15:28.640 --> 15:29.640 almost as much as she did me. 15:29.640 --> 15:32.640 Still, murder, I didn't think they'd go for that, 15:32.640 --> 15:35.640 so of course I didn't tell them. 15:35.640 --> 15:37.640 But I was in a mess. 15:37.640 --> 15:40.640 How was I going to get rid of her with the kids around? 15:40.640 --> 15:43.640 Well, they were all excited to get going and called a taxi, 15:43.640 --> 15:46.640 and by the time it got to the house, the other express truck had arrived 15:46.640 --> 15:48.640 and taken off at the trunk and the cases. 15:48.640 --> 15:52.640 We made it to the station with five minutes to spare. 15:52.640 --> 15:58.640 I guess I'm a fatalist, what's done is done, what's to be is to be. 15:58.640 --> 16:02.640 I figured I'd get rid of the kids long enough when we got to the cabin 16:02.640 --> 16:04.640 to take care of Joe. 16:04.640 --> 16:07.640 As we walked along the platform past the baggage car, 16:07.640 --> 16:10.640 I saw them loading the trunk. 16:10.640 --> 16:15.640 I must admit, I got a kick out of the way they banged it around. 16:15.640 --> 16:19.640 It's funny how you get a kick out of something like that. 16:30.640 --> 16:32.640 You want the sports section, Pop? 16:32.640 --> 16:35.640 Oh, no thanks, I read it. 16:35.640 --> 16:37.640 You look tired. 16:37.640 --> 16:38.640 I do. 16:38.640 --> 16:39.640 You need a good rest. 16:39.640 --> 16:40.640 Right. 16:40.640 --> 16:42.640 You and me will do some fishing. 16:42.640 --> 16:44.640 Maybe this evening, huh, Pop? 16:44.640 --> 16:46.640 No, I don't know, maybe. 16:46.640 --> 16:50.640 You know Mother, she'll have a million things for us to do when we get there. 16:50.640 --> 16:52.640 I can hear her now. 16:52.640 --> 16:53.640 Let her stew. 16:53.640 --> 16:55.640 It's vacation time. 16:55.640 --> 16:57.640 How was she this morning, Dad? 16:57.640 --> 17:00.640 Oh, all right, her usual self. 17:00.640 --> 17:03.640 Your mother's a rather nervous woman, you know. 17:03.640 --> 17:05.640 Nervous? 17:05.640 --> 17:09.640 Pop, you know, this year I've been studying some psychology, 17:09.640 --> 17:14.640 and, well, Pop, she's your wife and our mother. 17:14.640 --> 17:18.640 But boy, if I've ever seen a psychotic, that's it. 17:18.640 --> 17:22.640 No, no, no, no, you really shouldn't talk about your mother that way. 17:22.640 --> 17:25.640 Oh, Dad, sometimes I wonder how you put up with it. 17:25.640 --> 17:27.640 I'll bet right now she's complaining. 17:27.640 --> 17:28.640 All to herself. 17:28.640 --> 17:30.640 It's either too hot or too cold. 17:30.640 --> 17:34.640 I imagine it's the heat more than the cold right now. 17:34.640 --> 17:37.640 You know, I hope I find a man like you to marry. 17:37.640 --> 17:39.640 The patience of a saint. 17:39.640 --> 17:41.640 He'd need to be if he married you. 17:41.640 --> 17:43.640 Oh, hearty, hearty. 17:43.640 --> 17:46.640 No, no, no, don't quarrel, children. 17:46.640 --> 17:50.640 Hey, Julie, you remember last year that fellow, what was his name? 17:50.640 --> 17:52.640 Well, you remember, he was at the dance. 17:52.640 --> 17:53.640 Something was bothering me. 17:53.640 --> 17:57.640 I mean, aside from the fact that my wife was doubled up in a trunk 17:57.640 --> 17:59.640 a few cars away from where we were sitting. 17:59.640 --> 18:01.640 It had been bothering me ever since we left the house, 18:01.640 --> 18:06.640 and suddenly I knew what it was, the heat, the heat. 18:06.640 --> 18:09.640 You know what happens to tape when it gets warm, wet, 18:09.640 --> 18:11.640 particularly if it's in contact with flesh. 18:11.640 --> 18:14.640 Well, I can tell you, it gets loose. 18:14.640 --> 18:19.640 And I had a horrible vision of that electrical tape over Joe's mouth slipping. 18:19.640 --> 18:21.640 Oh, I got almost here. 18:21.640 --> 18:22.640 Dad? 18:22.640 --> 18:23.640 I felt pretty warm myself. 18:23.640 --> 18:26.640 Dad? Dad, are you all right? 18:26.640 --> 18:31.640 Oh, I was daydreaming. 18:31.640 --> 18:32.640 Very Freudian, Pop. 18:32.640 --> 18:33.640 Very Freudian. 18:33.640 --> 18:37.640 Yes, look, I feel a little restless. 18:37.640 --> 18:39.640 I'm going to walk up to the smoker. 18:39.640 --> 18:40.640 Hey, swell, we'll all go. 18:40.640 --> 18:43.640 Well, I'd kind of like to go alone. 18:43.640 --> 18:44.640 Go ahead, Dad. 18:44.640 --> 18:50.640 I won't be long. 18:50.640 --> 18:53.640 We had about ten minutes before the train pulled into Pinecrest. 18:53.640 --> 18:58.640 I thought that if she had made a sound, and when she made it, she made a lot of it. 18:58.640 --> 19:00.640 Somebody would have heard her by now. 19:00.640 --> 19:04.640 There'd have to be some kind of a commotion at the baggage car. 19:04.640 --> 19:08.640 When I got to the connecting door to the baggage car, there wasn't a soul. 19:08.640 --> 19:10.640 Still, I wanted to be sure. 19:10.640 --> 19:13.640 If I was going to be caught, I might as well be caught right then. 19:13.640 --> 19:14.640 It really wouldn't make any difference. 19:14.640 --> 19:24.640 So I pounded on the door. 19:24.640 --> 19:25.640 Yes, sir? 19:25.640 --> 19:29.640 Oh, I was a little worried about my fishing tackle. 19:29.640 --> 19:31.640 I wanted to be sure it was on the car. 19:31.640 --> 19:34.640 I'm sorry, no, no admittance. 19:34.640 --> 19:37.640 Oh, yes, well, I suppose it's there. 19:37.640 --> 19:38.640 Where are you getting off? 19:38.640 --> 19:40.640 Pinecrest. 19:40.640 --> 19:43.640 There's a metal trunk, some suitcases, and tackle to be put off there. 19:43.640 --> 19:45.640 Yes, that's mine. 19:45.640 --> 19:46.640 Thank you very much. 19:46.640 --> 19:52.640 Okay. 19:52.640 --> 19:55.640 Just before he closed the door, I caught a glimpse of the trunk. 19:55.640 --> 19:57.640 It was standing on end. 19:57.640 --> 20:00.640 Her head down, I hope. 20:00.640 --> 20:09.640 I felt better. 20:09.640 --> 20:13.640 Twenty minutes later, we were loading the suitcases on Old Man Butterfield's pickup truck. 20:13.640 --> 20:17.640 He was mighty glad to see us and mighty worried about Joe not having arrived yet. 20:17.640 --> 20:20.640 I explained about her visit to her mother. 20:20.640 --> 20:24.640 Well, sir, mighty glad to see you folks anyway. 20:24.640 --> 20:27.640 My stars, Mr. William, you've grown a lot. 20:27.640 --> 20:29.640 We'd better get the trunk on. 20:29.640 --> 20:32.640 William, you take this corner and I'll get on the other side. 20:32.640 --> 20:34.640 And you push in the middle, Mr. Butterfield. 20:34.640 --> 20:36.640 Okay, Pop. 20:36.640 --> 20:43.640 Now, all together, one, two, three, four. 20:43.640 --> 20:46.640 Oh, that's a mighty heavy trunk, Mr. Milford. 20:46.640 --> 20:50.640 Oh, we're going to be up here for a month. 20:50.640 --> 20:57.640 Well, folks, fishing has been a mite slow, just a mite, but it should be picking up any day now. 20:57.640 --> 21:00.640 Fellas have been getting some nice strikes with bug-eyed poppers. 21:00.640 --> 21:02.640 Mighty nice strikes. 21:02.640 --> 21:05.640 Oh, that's fine. 21:05.640 --> 21:06.640 How's your wife, Mr. Milford? 21:06.640 --> 21:08.640 Just fine, just fine. 21:08.640 --> 21:12.640 Oh, proud piece of woman that, Mr. Milford, proud piece. 21:12.640 --> 21:14.640 Miss Julie, you favor her. 21:14.640 --> 21:15.640 Thank you, Mr. Butterfield. 21:15.640 --> 21:18.640 You say she'll be up around seven, eh? 21:18.640 --> 21:22.640 It depends on how long she stays where she is. 21:22.640 --> 21:35.640 It was a pretty narrow washboard road from the station to our cabin, about eight miles. 21:35.640 --> 21:38.640 I could hear the luggage bouncing around in the back. 21:38.640 --> 21:45.640 The kids talked about everything the kids talked about when they started vacation, and it made me feel good listening to them. 21:45.640 --> 21:48.640 Well, we got to the cabin and loaded. 21:48.640 --> 21:56.640 Mr. Butterfield took off, and there we were, the four of us, including Joe in the trunk. 21:56.640 --> 22:00.640 My, it was a beautiful afternoon. 22:00.640 --> 22:03.640 Boy, the old place hasn't changed. 22:03.640 --> 22:06.640 Pop, let you and me go down to the lake. What do you say? 22:06.640 --> 22:08.640 That's a good idea. I'll get things done. 22:08.640 --> 22:14.640 No, no, you kids go on down. I'd feel better putting everything away myself. It'll make your mother happier. 22:14.640 --> 22:15.640 Oh, Pop. 22:15.640 --> 22:20.640 We'll all do it together. Might as well start with the trunk. Yours and mother's clothes in that, Dad? 22:20.640 --> 22:25.640 Well, you kids take your suitcases up to your rooms. I'll take care of the trunk. 22:25.640 --> 22:26.640 Okay. 22:26.640 --> 22:30.640 We'll still have time to fish before dark, Dad. 22:30.640 --> 22:33.640 They went upstairs. I had to be very fast now. 22:33.640 --> 22:42.640 I dragged the trunk into the storage room, left it there in a corner, draped an old sheet over it, and brought out the empty duplicate trunk, which I'd driven up to the cabin six months earlier. 22:42.640 --> 22:46.640 I was afraid they'd hear me, but they were too busy chattering to each other as they unpacked. 22:46.640 --> 22:52.640 The old Joe would have been proud of me if she'd seen how quickly I got the clothes out of the suitcases and put away. 22:52.640 --> 22:59.640 When the kids came back downstairs, the trunk stood open and empty in the middle of the floor. 22:59.640 --> 23:01.640 Hey, that was quick work. 23:01.640 --> 23:04.640 Here, I'll help you put the trunk in the store room. 23:04.640 --> 23:09.640 All right, son. 23:09.640 --> 23:14.640 I'm going to lift it. 23:14.640 --> 23:15.640 Careful. 23:15.640 --> 23:19.640 Very careful. 23:19.640 --> 23:21.640 Look out for your foot. 23:21.640 --> 23:24.640 All right. 23:24.640 --> 23:30.640 Pop, can I use your spinning outfit? I'd like to feel a bass on it. 23:30.640 --> 23:34.640 Oh, of course, I'm not saying it'd be as much fun as the old fly rod, but can I try? 23:34.640 --> 23:35.640 Sure you can. 23:35.640 --> 23:39.640 Thanks. Gee, this is going to be a swell vacation, Pop. 23:39.640 --> 23:40.640 I hope so. 23:40.640 --> 23:42.640 What time do you think Mother will be here? 23:42.640 --> 23:46.640 Well, she must have stopped off at Greenwood to see Grandma, so I imagine it ought to be around seven. 23:46.640 --> 23:48.640 She said it'd be about then. 23:48.640 --> 23:52.640 All right. Why don't you two do some fishing for an hour, and I'll start dinner. 23:52.640 --> 23:54.640 Fine, dear, fine. 23:54.640 --> 24:12.640 This is a wonderful steak, Julie. 24:12.640 --> 24:13.640 Thank you, Dad. 24:13.640 --> 24:14.640 Great. 24:14.640 --> 24:17.640 Don't talk with your mouth full. 24:17.640 --> 24:21.640 You know, I'm getting worried about Mother. It's almost half past seven. 24:21.640 --> 24:28.640 Oh, I wouldn't worry, dear. She's probably... 24:28.640 --> 24:30.640 What was that? 24:30.640 --> 24:32.640 What was what? 24:32.640 --> 24:35.640 I heard it. Like a knocking. 24:35.640 --> 24:40.640 Oh, woodpecker, probably. 24:40.640 --> 24:43.640 Hey, that's no woodpecker. 24:43.640 --> 24:44.640 What is it? 24:44.640 --> 24:46.640 I don't know. 24:46.640 --> 24:47.640 Oh, dear. 24:47.640 --> 24:51.640 Where's it coming from? 24:51.640 --> 24:53.640 It's not outside. It's... 24:53.640 --> 24:56.640 Pop, a rat, maybe? 24:56.640 --> 25:01.640 I think it's coming from the storeroom. 25:01.640 --> 25:06.640 Sounds like a woman. Listen. 25:06.640 --> 25:08.640 It is in the storeroom. 25:08.640 --> 25:09.640 I'm scared. 25:09.640 --> 25:10.640 You stay here. Come on, Pop. 25:10.640 --> 25:19.640 Be careful. 25:19.640 --> 25:24.640 Pop, it's coming from over there, under the sheet. 25:24.640 --> 25:26.640 It's... 25:26.640 --> 25:31.640 It's your mother, William. The tape slipped. I was afraid it would. 25:31.640 --> 25:32.640 Pop? 25:32.640 --> 25:40.640 Come on. 25:40.640 --> 25:43.640 Mother's in there? 25:43.640 --> 25:45.640 Mother? 25:45.640 --> 25:49.640 Help me unstrap it, William. Don't just stand there. 25:49.640 --> 25:51.640 What's she doing in there? 25:51.640 --> 25:54.640 That's a pretty stupid question. She'll answer. 25:54.640 --> 25:57.640 Oh, my house, she'll answer. 25:57.640 --> 26:00.640 Pop. Oh, stop saying Pop. 26:00.640 --> 26:04.640 All right. Stand back. 26:04.640 --> 26:06.640 Mother. 26:06.640 --> 26:07.640 Mother. 26:07.640 --> 26:13.640 Ma, here, I'll get the tape off. 26:13.640 --> 26:14.640 Ma. 26:14.640 --> 26:16.640 I'll have to think of something else. 26:16.640 --> 26:18.640 This won't work again. That's for sure. 26:18.640 --> 26:21.640 He tried to murder me. He tried to murder me. 26:21.640 --> 26:32.640 He tried to murder me. 26:32.640 --> 26:35.640 Herman? Herman, did you pack that hairbrush? 26:35.640 --> 26:37.640 Yes, dear. 26:37.640 --> 26:40.640 I don't know why you want to take all that fishing tackle. 26:40.640 --> 26:41.640 You never catch any fish anyway. 26:41.640 --> 26:43.640 What time are they coming for the luggage? 26:43.640 --> 26:45.640 One o'clock, I told you. 26:45.640 --> 26:49.640 Oh, I don't feel right taking off and leaving the children to follow. 26:49.640 --> 26:53.640 If anything, for heaven's sake, what are you doing with that trunk? 26:53.640 --> 26:57.640 We don't need a trunk. You get that thing put away. 26:57.640 --> 27:00.640 Oh, phew. Oh, it's all dusty. 27:00.640 --> 27:02.640 Look at my nice clean room. 27:02.640 --> 27:04.640 What are you doing with that trunk, Herman? 27:04.640 --> 27:07.640 Nothing, dear. I decided not to. 27:07.640 --> 27:10.640 Not to? Not to what? 27:10.640 --> 27:12.640 What's the matter with you, Herman? 27:12.640 --> 27:16.640 Nothing. Just a little idea I had. 27:16.640 --> 27:42.640 I'll think of something else. 27:42.640 --> 27:50.640 Suspense, in which Parley Bear starred in tonight's presentation of Variations on a Theme. 27:50.640 --> 27:56.640 Next week, the true story of a daring escape through the Iron Curtain of Czechoslovakia. 27:56.640 --> 27:59.640 We call it Listen Young Lovers. 27:59.640 --> 28:16.640 That's next week on Suspense. 28:16.640 --> 28:21.640 Suspense is transcribed in Hollywood by Anthony Ellis, who also wrote tonight's script. 28:21.640 --> 28:26.640 The music was composed by Rene Gerrigan and conducted by Wilbur Hatch. 28:26.640 --> 28:33.640 Featured in the cast were Paula Winslow, Helen Quibb, Sam Edwards, Barbara Fuller, George Walsh, and Peter Leeds. 28:33.640 --> 28:38.640 Joan Loring, Young Broadway star and winner of both the Donaldson and the Critics Circle Awards, 28:38.640 --> 28:44.640 will be adding to her prestige as a dramatic actress tomorrow night when she stars in The Payoff Girl, 28:44.640 --> 28:49.640 tomorrow night on The FBI in Peace and War. 28:49.640 --> 29:07.640 Stay tuned for five minutes of CBS News to be followed on most of these stations by The Jack Carson Show. 29:07.640 --> 29:28.640 The Radio Workshop presents the new and unusual Friday nights on the CBS Radio Network. 30:07.640 --> 30:14.640 Thank you.