And now, tonight's presentation of radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense.
Tonight the story of a duel, an incomplete duel, since one of its participants chooses
to wait and owe his adversary.
So now, starring William Conrad with John Danaer, here is tonight's Suspense play, The
Shot.
Everyone's here, I see.
You're late, Rose.
I stopped to pick these.
Cherry anyone?
No?
They're delicious.
For a man who's about to die, you don't seem too concerned.
Well, I am concerned, Peyton.
I have a whole hat full of delicious cherries that certainly have to be eaten.
And on the other hand, Peyton, I'm not certain that I have to die.
You will draw lots, gentlemen.
The papers in this hat are numbered from one to ten.
You will each draw a paper.
The man who receives the highest number will fire the first shot.
And well, after you, Lieutenant Peyton.
And good, good luck.
Your draw, sir.
Mr. Peyton.
I draw eight.
Now, now, I have drawn a ten.
Mr. Roles wins the first shot, back to back.
You will pace away until the count of eight is completed.
Mr. Roles has the first shot.
You, Mr. Peyton, will return a shot.
Understood?
Yes, understood.
Is anyone present here who finds this not an honorable way to settle the dispute between
these two men?
You ready, gentlemen?
All ready.
Ready.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
Mr. Peyton, are you all right?
Are you hit?
No, I'm all right.
Bullet went through my hat.
Your shot, Lieutenant Peyton.
Yes, I know.
Cherry, wonderful.
You seem so anxious to kill me, sir.
Do I have to remind you that you have a shot at me?
Go ahead.
Take it.
No, not now.
Zachary, he's taking a shot at you.
You have to take your shot at him.
Shut up.
I don't have to do anything for you yet.
You challenged him to a duel, Zachary.
Quiet.
Would you like to take your shot from here, Peyton?
No.
You don't seem ready for death this morning, Rose.
You're wrong again, sir.
I'm always ready for death or life.
You've disappointed me, Peyton.
Have I?
Or perhaps I've disappointed you.
At any rate, all these gentlemen witnessed that I went through my part of the challenge.
Now, witness this.
You still have your shot, Peyton.
And if you aren't afraid to use it, I'll always be ready for you, any day, any place.
I'll remember that, Rose.
Please do, sir.
Good day, gentlemen.
It's a lovely morning.
Zachary, he'll tell everyone about this.
You'll be ruined.
You can't expect to stay in the regiment now.
Why deprive him of life when he attaches no value to it?
You ended the duel your way, and it's not an honorable way, Zachary.
The duel has not ended.
You heard him.
All of you heard him.
I still have my shot coming.
Then I'll take it.
I'll choose the day.
Then I'll choose the place.
Then I'll see if he still wants to eat cherries and laugh down the barrel of my gun.
Yes?
What do you want?
I brought your mail.
Open the door.
Set it there on the table, Mr. Temple.
Thank you.
Yes, sir.
Oh, I didn't know you had a visitor.
Mr. Stockwell, this is Mr. Temple, my landlord.
How do you do, Mr. Temple?
Colonel Stockwell, Virginia volunteer.
Mr. Stockwell now, Mr. Temple.
There's no longer a Confederate army or a Confederacy.
I forget sometimes, sir.
I served under you in the third volunteers, and I-
Mr. Temple had quite a career as a soldier, Jim.
He's told me about it every day since I took this room.
Only thing left to talk about now, Colonel.
There's nothing but carpet baggers and Yankees.
We all know how it is, Mr. Temple.
Was there anything else?
Oh, yes.
Those are fine dueling pistols, Mr. Payton.
I have already admired Mr. Payton's fire on them.
Would you believe how good Mr. Payton is with it, Colonel?
He lies right here on his bed and fires away at a little old playing card stuck on the
fence post out there in the back.
Hits it every time.
Some shooting, I declare, Mr. Payton practices all the time.
Is that all, Mr. Temple?
What?
I ask if that was all.
Is there something else you have to say?
I...
Well, it's my wife, Mr. Payton.
I mean, Libby don't like it.
She don't understand how it is with a man and a gun.
Women are like that.
I keep telling her these are hard times and we surely appreciate getting a man in here
who can pay us a little rent, but then she just don't know...
Then tell her.
Tell her, Mr. Temple, I practice shooting and all kinds of light from all positions
and I'll continue to do it.
Good day, Mr. Temple.
Yes.
Good day to you both.
Yeah.
Jim.
No thanks.
Yeah.
Thank you.
Well, you haven't changed too much, Zachary.
A little gray.
It's been seven years now.
Now, Zach, maybe you have changed.
The man who was just here was afraid I'd be...
Scared, shrinking little man.
If I might comment, Zach, you didn't do anything to alleviate his fright.
He uses his wife as an excuse.
It's not his wife, it's him.
He's frightened of my gun.
He knows what I can do with it.
But that means nothing to you.
He has no bearing on your life.
True.
But it comes to him that a gun pointed at a card stuck on a fence
can just as easily be pointed at a heart stuck in a man's chest.
Would you mind putting those pistols back in the case?
You afraid too, Jim.
I'm not a Willis Temple.
Don't treat me like that, Zachary.
I'm your friend.
I came here to meet you because you asked me.
Oh.
There.
Better.
Why am I here, Zachary?
What do you want of me?
A week ago I received a letter from Norfolk.
It mentioned that an old acquaintance of mine is living here.
A man who was in office in my regiment.
His name is Benjamin Rawls.
Do you know him, Jim?
Slightly.
I've seen him around town and spoken to him once or twice.
How does he look these days?
Not knowing how he looked when you knew him,
I'd say he looks mighty fine, Zach.
He's in good health, I think.
And he's done better than most of us.
I understand his family lost all they had at Savannah,
but there's an English branch that died off and filled in the inheritance.
He's very well off.
Marsha Pemberton's considered to be a very, very lucky young lady in these parts.
Marsha Pemberton?
The girl he married last week.
Does he love her?
What?
Do you know if he loves this girl he married?
Well, it's apparent to everybody in town that he loves her very much.
When he was courting her, folks in town saw him together.
Often I saw him.
I would say Ben Rawls is in love.
The way a man loves only once in his life.
Is that what you want to know?
Yes.
Why?
It's important for me to know.
Because I'm your friend, Zachary, I'm talking to you about Ben Rawls,
but I'm uncomfortable.
I don't like talking about a man.
You see over there, that large white house on the hill?
Yes, I see it.
That's where Ben lives.
He's right there, Zachary.
You can talk to him instead of me.
I won't answer any more questions, Zachary.
Zachary, why do you want to know these things about Ben Rawls?
I want to satisfy myself that he's at last found something to live for.
I want to know if he can still laugh down a gun barrel.
I heard about that, dude.
I won't let you do this thing, Zachary.
There's been enough killing.
Jim!
Yes?
Jim.
I'd hate to kill you, too.
You are listening to The Shot,
tonight's presentation in radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense.
To keep the United States Air Force at full strength around the clock,
around the year, America's youth must respond in greater numbers than ever.
An Air Force career offers travel, education, adventure, and high pay.
More than that, it offers a personal opportunity to help America lead the world in the cause of freedom.
For further information, see your local recruiter.
And now we bring back to our Hollywood soundstage, William Conrad,
starring in tonight's production of The Shot,
a tale well calculated to keep you in suspense.
Zachary.
Jim Stockwell?
Yes.
Who are your friends?
This is Palk Gager and Quincy Talbott.
We were in the Army together, Zach.
How do, Miss Payton?
Palk and Quincy were executive officers, forming the Third Cavalry.
We served together at Apulia's.
We were in the Army together, Zach.
How do, Miss Payton?
Palk and Quincy were executive officers, forming the Third Cavalry.
We served together at Appomattox.
What do you and your friends want, Jim?
I want to talk to you about Ben Rose some more, Zach.
I've told Palk and Quincy all you told me.
They're close friends to me now, and I've asked them to assist me.
That's right, Captain.
Mr. Stockwell's told us everything.
Zach, the war did many things to all of us.
Everything we thought and lived for is gone now, but we are still human beings.
You want to kill Ben Rose tonight.
This is what the war has done to you, Zach.
And this is what I want to talk about.
Wanting to kill a man in cold blood, a man you haven't seen for seven years,
I bet it doesn't make sense.
I'm your friend, Zachary, and I want to help you.
Go home, Jim.
Palk, Quincy, this is none of your business.
We can't do that, Zachary.
We can't let you go in and shoot Ben Rose in cold blood.
Let Saul go upstairs to your room and talk a bit, Captain.
Quincy's got some fine whiskey that's coming from Ireland, haven't you, Quincy?
I sure have, Captain. It's Jameson's.
You're a man I'd be proud to share it with.
Captain, Mr. Stockwell is your friend, and he's thinking of you.
Is Ben Rose your friend, too, Jim? Are you trying to protect him?
But I know of Ben Rose. I told you this afternoon.
Get out of my way.
You'll have to kill me first, Zachary. Kill these two boys who've never done you any harm.
But I won't let you go over there.
Come on, Quincy.
I think they got fooled, Zachary. Stop.
All right, Palk, it's the only way.
All right, let me down there.
Quincy, hand me that whiskey.
Yes, sir. I'll get his head, Mr. Stockwell.
Right here. Here.
I'm sorry, Zachary. Sometimes we all go about things the wrong way.
I'm noted for my poor judgment in many matters.
Jim, ask him to wait over there.
All right, Palk. Quincy, over there.
Sure, it's all right, Mr. Stockwell.
Captain Peyton is a man of honor.
Come on, Quincy. Be right over by the tree, you said.
Jim, Jim, I have to kill him. I have to before I can ever live again.
I hate him, Jim. When you've lived with it, I hate as long as I've lived with it.
There's nothing else you can do.
Zach, Zach, it would solve nothing, killing Ben Rose.
Why do you think I resigned my commission before the war was over?
Why do you think I disappeared from the Confederacy?
Why do you think I never returned to my home?
I heard you had done all those things.
I didn't ask any questions because you're my friend.
Ben, Ben Rose, the cause of everything.
One night, in front of the whole regiment, he slapped me.
Over what? Why?
Her girl, just a girl we both liked. I don't even remember her name.
No, everybody had seen it come.
Until Rose joined the regiment, I was the most popular officer with my fellow officers and the ladies.
Zachary, that was then.
And this is now. But my life stopped then, Jim.
Jim, try to remember how it was then in the early stages when the North was dying and not the South.
It was so fashionable to be young and reckless and brave and an officer in the Confederate Army.
And then to be slapped by a man more brave, more reckless, more, more everything.
It was too much, Jim.
Those days are gone. Forget them. The whole way of life is different now.
It's no different for him.
Exactly.
And it's no different for me, Jim.
Can you kill a man for something that happened then?
He shot at me once. Now I owe him a shot. You know that, Jim.
Yes, exactly. You owe him a shot. Go ahead.
You are letting him go, Mr. Stockwell?
Yes. I can't stop him. It's between him and Ben Rose now.
I understand you have some business with me, sir.
I don't usually receive people who refuse to give their names to my servants.
Hello, Rose.
Jim.
What?
Don't you recognize me?
Zachary Payton. What are you doing here?
I owe you a shot, Rose. And I've come to pay off.
I see. Are you ready?
I'm ready. I told you I always would be.
Yes, you did. And you asked me to remember it.
You don't seem quite as certain as you were the last time we met. Is there something wrong?
I... I believe we were at eight paces before.
Yes. Do you mind if I count?
I'll count.
As you will, Rose. Back to back.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
Shoot, man. Shoot! Do it quickly.
You seem in a hurry to die, Mr. Rose.
It's Marshal, my wife. She'll be coming home any minute.
Ah, well, in that case, we'd better get on with it, then.
Shoot!
You know, I apologize, Mr. Rose, that this pistol isn't loaded with cherry stones.
You have no idea how often I've dreamed of cherry stone bullets since last we met.
I think they would be somewhat lighter than lead.
Shoot!
Rose, this doesn't seem to me like a duel anymore. It's just plain murder.
And if I'm anything, I will not be called a murderer.
You must understand that I've had quite a long lecture on why I shouldn't be doing this.
I don't like shooting an unarmed man.
Well, there's another pistol in my case, all loaded. Take it, and then we can start over.
You hesitate, Mr. Rose.
I do not hesitate, sir.
I'm ready now.
Well, go ahead, Mr. Rose. Your shot.
What?
You may have the first shot. I'm ready.
Well, sir, you have broken a candle holder and ruined a picture.
Now I truly owe you a shot.
Ben? Ben, dear, what is this? What's the matter? Oh, Ben, are you all right?
Oh, I'm fine, Marsha, fine. But truly I am. Didn't you see we were just joking?
Joking?
Oh, don't be so frightened. Now, I'll tell you what. Find Abrams and ask him to bring up some nice wine.
And then I'll introduce you to my old friend here.
Tell me, sir, is my husband telling the truth? Ben, is it true you're just joking?
He's always joking, Mrs. Rose. Once he slapped me in the face for a joke.
Another time he put a bullet through my cap for a joke.
Just now he fired a gun at me and missed. Another joke.
Now I think I'll have my little joke and end this joking.
Ben, this is the man Peyton you told me about.
Leave the room, Marsha. This is between us.
This man has a right to shoot at me. I wouldn't have any honor if I didn't allow.
Oh, no.
Shoot, Peyton. Shoot, man, and stop making her suffer for me.
Will you fire or not?
No. No, sir, I will not fire.
I'm satisfied. I've seen you afraid.
I forced you to fire at me. That's enough.
You'll remember me all your life, Rose. I'll leave you to your conscience.
Now, as for that shot, here it is. Goodbye, Mr. Rose.
You back again? You did it. You took your shot.
Yes, I put it in the picture right next to his shot.
Zack, Zack, he's still alive. You could have killed him, but he's alive.
He's fine, Jim, and still the bravest man I ever met. Let's go, Jim.
Suspense, in which William Conrad starred as Peyton with John Danaer as Rose.
Next week, the terrifying story of a young couple and a madwoman and what happened to them.
We call it On a Country Road. That's next week on Suspense.
Suspense is produced and directed by Norman MacDonald with music composed by Lucian Morawek and conducted by Lud Bluskin.
The shot by Alexander Pushkin was specially adapted for Suspense by E. Jack Newman, featured in the cast were Parley Bear, Edgar Barrier, Lynn Allen, Vic Perrin, Marvin Bryan, and Frank Gerstel.
Friday nights, enjoy the Arthur Godfrey Digest on the CBS Radio Network.