And now, tonight's presentation of radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense.
Tonight the story of a handicapped man and the woman who holds the key to his freedom.
We call it, Give Me Liberty.
So now, starring Mr. Tony Barrett, here is tonight's Suspense play, Give Me Liberty.
I embezzled a quarter of a million dollars.
I want you to know that needed brains, planning, patience.
I devoted three years of my life to the trick and I got away with it.
Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
Of course they caught me, very easily.
But they couldn't find the money.
I wouldn't tell them where it was.
I got seven years for it.
My right wrist was handcuffed to the left wrist of a detective and they put me aboard
a train bound for the penitentiary.
I could see that the detective had had instructions to soften me up.
He was much, much too kind.
You comfortable Mr. French?
You want a magazine?
Any anything?
I'd like to be able to lift my hand without raising yours into the air.
Can't you guard me without being quite so attached to me?
Why sure, I guess we can work that out.
Tell you what, you sit next to the window, I'll kind of box you in and that way you can
wear the cuffs all by yourself and nobody loses.
Now, thank you.
Let me get my keys.
There.
Funny thing, most guys say the biggest trouble is when you read a paper.
Five inches of chain don't give you much room to turn a page.
I'm not worrying.
I'll have seven years for reading.
Seven years and a quarter of a minute.
Hey, how smart does a guy have to be to get his hooks on so much lettuce?
Would you like some of it?
Are you kidding?
Well, all right, let's make a deal.
You drop the key to these things on the floor and then go have yourself a nice lunch.
Oh, sure.
And when do I see Mr. French again?
When I meet you to pay off.
I wouldn't be taking kind of a chance there, would I?
You know, to tell the truth, you wouldn't be taking a chance at all.
How come?
Oh, why should I escape, be on the run the rest of my life?
No.
No, this has to go according to plan.
Planning.
That's what gives a man his future.
But you've got a long stretch ahead.
How do you know that whoever's holding the stuff on the gun...
Was a stupid conversation and I was only making words.
I looked out at the fields and brooks and houses rushing past.
I wouldn't see these things for seven years, not counting time off or good behavior.
But then I'd be free again and I'd have my quarter million.
Not a bad salary, huh?
Oh, I'd use my brains for myself this time.
Some guys will do anything for dough.
Now, take you seven years...
Everybody, hold on!
There's another train on the track!
Our car lay on its side in flames and most passengers who could move got through the
broken window.
French, give me your hand.
It was the detective, his legs pinned by the wreckage.
Move, will you?
You want to see me roasted?
What can I do with my hands like this?
Where do you carry the key?
What do you want with a key?
You can pull me out by an arm, can't you?
Crap me by the hand.
Get out of me!
We'll both die here if I can't use my hands.
You can use them good enough.
Where's that key?
I can't find it.
French and Eden, my pockets were on the floor.
You're a liar, French.
The fire, get me out of here, please.
The only weapon was a suitcase.
I kicked him in the face.
I smashed the suitcase down in his head.
And he didn't have the key.
I emptied his pockets down to the last crumb of tobacco while the fire crept closer.
He hadn't the key to the handcuffs.
And I wanted it.
Because this wouldn't be an escape.
This would be a disappearance.
What a chance.
What a chance.
I would have my liberty and I'd have my money.
Is somebody in that car?
There's somebody moving there.
Is there anybody in that car?
Is there anybody?
Hey Pete, hey Pete, put that extinguisher over this way.
I threw away his pistol.
I wouldn't need a gun.
I used my head.
I squeezed my college ring on his finger.
I switched wallets.
Is there anybody in that car?
Hey Pete, this way.
Over here.
Over here.
There was a conductor out there, a crowd of passengers.
I got to the opposite side of the car.
No one.
Not a soul.
And there wasn't a splinter of glass left in the window.
I slid down the side of the car.
I cleared the wheels.
I struck the ground running.
A few moments, a few hundred steps and I was safe in the darkness.
I was free.
They'd think I was dead.
But I had a quarter of a million dollars.
You are listening to Give Me Liberty, tonight's presentation in radio's outstanding theater
of thrills, Suspense.
Tomorrow night, CBS radio's FBI in Peace and War goes into a car stealing racket that
involves a youth from one of the community's most respected families.
Don't miss the facts about the neighborhood boy on the FBI in Peace and War tomorrow night
on most of these same stations.
And now we bring back to our Hollywood soundstage, Mr. Tony Barrett, starring in tonight's production
of Give Me Liberty, a tale well calculated to keep you in suspense.
My first job after escaping was to break out of those manacles.
I sat in a wheat field holding my arms overhead so the blood would run from my hands and wrists
and leave them slim.
Then I tried to pull them off.
Didn't work.
And I couldn't snap the chain.
I twisted it, I pulled at it, I tried to fling my hands apart and it wouldn't break.
I rubbed it against stones until my skin was torn and bleeding and it wouldn't break.
By this time it was morning.
It wasn't until then that I knew I had to have help.
I pushed through the wheat and the corn beyond it.
I stumbled down a slope in an old barnyard.
A woman was standing near one of the hen houses, a pan of chicken feed in her hand.
What do you want?
There was nothing I could say.
She had seen the handcuffs.
Come on, what do you want?
I'm hungry.
Where are you from?
How'd you get away?
We were going up to the prison.
There was an accident.
Well, what do you want from me?
Look, you'll lend me a file and if you could spare some food, I'll be glad to pay you.
You don't have to pay me for anything.
Wait here.
Jack, you're watching.
She went into the house and the dog got down on its belly and put its nose between its
paws and its eyes never left my face for a minute.
Then through the stillness, I heard the cranking of an old fashioned wall telephone and I knew
what she was doing.
I couldn't get them off.
I couldn't get the handcuffs off.
I couldn't get anything to eat.
I couldn't show myself.
You know what it means to see food all about you and not be able to buy it.
Don't tell me I could have eaten corn, fruit and roots.
I can tell you the nature of every dog in that area, the feel of every barbed wire fence
and the sound of every rifle and shotgun.
That was him, Harry.
That was him down on the brush.
Get around to the other side.
I crept into a village one night.
I forced up the window of a hardware store.
I wanted a file, just a file.
You know what they carry in hardware stores these days?
Glassware, kitchen gadgets, garden tools, seeds, ovens, rat poison, dresses.
Then I moved behind a counter.
A hardware store has to have a file somewhere.
My foot struck a wire stretched across the floor.
How tired have you been?
Have you ever been so tired that you thought you'd die if you wanted to die?
On the evening of the fourth day of my liberty, I crawled quietly to the garbage can back
of a roadside diner.
I began to pull about for something I could ease.
There was a step behind me.
I turned and it was a boy.
We looked at each other for a long moment.
He was waiting for me to speak.
I said, hello, Sonny.
Hello.
You, you live in this neighborhood?
Yeah.
I, I don't.
I'm traveling.
With handcuffs on?
Oh, these, yeah.
Well, a friend put them on me for a joke.
Say, that gives me an idea.
Sonny, look, would you do me a big favor?
Depends on how big.
I'll say it's worth $10.
You, you'll get me a file or chop them off with an axe or something like that, huh?
No.
I'll let you keep them there.
They're fun.
No.
Well, then would you do something else for me?
Depends.
Well, you know, I'm a little embarrassed about going in a lunch wagon like this.
Would you step in there and buy a few hamburgers for me?
How much?
It's the same $10.
Let's see the money.
I got it right here in my pocket, ready to jump into your hand.
A lot of things a boy can buy with $10.
There we are.
How do I know it's good?
Don't, don't you trust me?
Drop it on the ground.
Drop it?
Why?
You drop it and back away, then I'll pick it up.
Oh, say that's very smart.
All right, how's that?
Far enough?
I guess.
He picked it up, began to walk around the diner.
When he was out of reach, he started to run.
I got away and I couldn't tear them off.
I couldn't.
I had $250,000 buried away and it was worthless to me.
Do you know what can be bought with a quarter of a million?
A man's soul can be bought for less, but I couldn't buy a $0.10 file.
I spent that night in a nest of cast off railroad ties, stacked at a siding.
When I opened my eyes in the morning, I had company.
A very tough looking hobo in blue jeans and a navy coat.
She was counting my money, smoothing each bill with loving care.
She grinned when she saw that I was awake.
Good morning, chum.
You sleep like an honest man.
What's the matter, chum?
Never speak till they bring your orange juice?
Look, I'm in trouble.
I want you to help me.
To get the bracelets off?
Yes, yes.
Now, chum, wouldn't that be kind of silly?
I might lose all this harder and dull.
Look, there's more where that came from.
A lot more.
I'll make it richer.
Yeah, yeah, I've heard that one before.
So long, chum.
Listen, listen.
I've got a quarter of a million dollars.
Yeah, I know.
I get feelings like that.
Look, come back, will you?
It's true.
Don't you read the papers?
I'm Earl French.
I never heard of you.
Look, look, just go into town and buy one of the newspapers.
It's six days ago.
I stole $250,000.
And you're wearing those things so they won't pick your own pockets.
Oh, please, don't try to be clever.
Don't you understand?
I died in the train wreck near Scottsville.
You, uh, you're sure about that, chum?
You died only a few days ago?
No, no, they only think I did.
Get those newspapers and come back here with a file and some food.
Ah, chum, don't order me around.
Just take it easy.
Maybe I'll be back.
I waited for all through the long, blistering day, crouching within the four walls of railroad
ties.
I knew she'd be back.
She couldn't resist it.
I knew she'd be back.
Chum, it seems you were a very important guy in your time.
You, you saw the papers?
Yeah.
Yeah, and I got news for you.
Mr. French, you are now burned to a crisp.
That's the way they found you in the train.
Recognize me by the ring on my finger?
Yeah.
Yeah, you're dead all right.
You and 250 grand.
All right, all right.
We'll come to that later.
Look, get to work with a file.
Now, look, you're giving me orders again.
I told you I don't like that.
Please give me the file.
It's right here in my jeans.
That's where it's going to stay until you lead me to my share of that dough.
You'll get it.
You'll get it.
Chum, you listen.
I can pick up 500 fish by turning in an escaped prisoner, or you can dig up that treasure
chest and buy this file for half the dough.
It's over 100 miles away.
I can't ride a train or a bus with these on my wrist.
It's okay, chum.
We'll walk.
I've done it before.
But we'll be seen.
Not at night.
Oh, how will I eat?
Where will we sleep?
You'll sleep in the woods and I'll bring your grub to you.
Me, I'll sleep in town where I'll be snug and safe.
You don't take this file from me, chum.
Not till I see my half of the dough.
And that's how it was.
That same evening we started to walk.
At first it wasn't as bad as I made it sound.
It gave me time to think.
And I knew I'd think of something.
Don't start thinking I trust you, chum.
I don't.
A lot of things can happen before we get there.
I'll do what's fair.
We'll split.
If we don't, I'll split your skull.
Don't kid yourself that I won't.
I've been waiting a long time for a break like this.
We walked.
For the handcuffs digging so deep into my flesh that I began to believe they were part
of me.
Yeah, yeah, she brought me food.
But she wouldn't come close enough to hand it to me.
And every time I reached for anything it was torture.
My hands and wrists, they were a mass of misery.
As though I were a pet animal on a leash.
My friend always walked six paces behind me.
Oh, she was smart.
I realized I had to get away from her and soon.
The morning I decided to do it, she found me a shack to hole up in.
I could hardly wait for her to leave going to town.
This place looks good.
I'll meet you back here tonight.
All right.
All right.
See you tonight.
That's the way I like you, chum.
Nice and agreeable.
Well, why not?
Why shouldn't I be?
I'll see you tonight, as usual.
Sure.
Is there anything special you'd like me to bring you to eat?
No, nothing special.
Chum, I think you better turn around.
Why?
Because!
When I awoke with a dull ache filling my head, I found myself neatly trussed up.
I could move a little, but not enough to get free.
You talk about female intuition.
She had guessed that I was going to try to get away from her, and she just beat me to
it.
I didn't give up, though.
She would have to make one mistake.
The next night, we'd stop for a rest.
How can you be sure this stuff is still there?
Look, it's safe.
How do you know?
What kind of a place did you hide it in?
You'll see.
Now, get out that file.
When I see the dough, little Chum...
Take them off, will you?
How long do you think...
Shut up!
Now, wake up the neighbors.
Now, move.
No!
I said move!
No!
That money is mine.
You'll never see it unless I want you to, and we'll go to it the way I say.
Chum, you're making me mad.
You get out that file and take these off.
Now, go on, get it out!
I can give orders, too.
What do you think you are, an animal trainer?
Now, that's not a bad idea.
Is it?
But it happens I'm not an animal, and it also hap...
What's that for?
You can't frighten me with a knife.
You use that on me, and we both lose out.
You gonna get up?
No.
This will hurt.
I'll get you out.
I'll kill you someday.
I swear I'll kill you.
I had a husband like you.
Brave enough outside, but once anybody put on the pressure...
You talk too much.
Go on, I'm calling your bluff.
I'm sick of hearing you talk.
All right.
Keep away from me.
Keep away.
We walked.
Oh, I hated her.
And she... she was sure she'd beat me down altogether because she didn't even bother
now to make lousy jokes at me anymore.
Oh, she was very quiet after that.
And a little careless.
I stopped now and then she'd bump into me in the darkness, but I just never had a chance
to get my hands on her.
Then a couple of mornings later I said, here it is.
What?
The money.
Where?
We're standing over it.
Are you trying to kid me?
We're standing in the middle of the highway.
You didn't do any digging here, chum.
Look, there's a culvert running under the road here, a 24-inch pipe.
Come on into the ditch, I'll show you.
You didn't stick that dough in the pipe.
It had washed away.
It's not in the pipe.
It's in a deep crevice between the pipe and the concrete.
Pull out some of those stones.
You pull them out.
With these hands, I can't touch anything without screaming, pull them out.
Prince, help me.
If this is a gag...
She believed me.
She had to.
She saw the truth in my eyes.
The money was there in my quarter of a million.
She bent over to tug at the stones.
She turned her back to me for the first time.
That was it.
That was a mistake I was waiting for.
I sprang forward and I...
Christ, a hand comes down on her head.
The back of her head.
Her head and her neck.
I can't...
All the pain, the pain of my wrist.
But I didn't care.
I just didn't care.
I just didn't care.
I just didn't care.
I just didn't care.
I just didn't care.
I just didn't care.
I just didn't care.
She was dead.
I couldn't move.
My hands...
My poor hands.
I had to wait till the shark drained all of them.
I reached into her pockets for the file.
It isn't there.
Must be in this one.
No.
No, no file.
She hasn't got a file.
She never had one.
The cheat.
The dirty little cheat.
Come on, little children.
Come on, babies.
Two hundred and fifty thousand beautiful babies.
Come on.
I can't get a hold on it.
I need another few inches.
I can't.
I can't with these handcuffs on.
I need one arm free.
You handcuffs.
You doubt-breakers.
I'll have to rip my hands off.
I've got the money.
That's the way I found him, Chief.
Sitting in a ditch beside the dead girl.
He hasn't stopped babbling since.
All right.
Lock him up.
I'll notify the city authorities.
Tell them we got Earl French here.
Suspense in which Mr. Tony Barrett starred in tonight's presentation of Give Me Liberty.
Next week, Suspense will bring you a repeat performance of one of the most controversial
stories ever heard over your radio.
It's called Zero Hour, written by Mr. Ray Bradbury.
Be sure to listen to Zero Hour.
It's next week on Suspense.
Suspense is produced and directed by Anthony Ellis.
Tonight's script was written by Herb Meadows.
It was composed by Lucian Morwick and conducted by Wilbur Hatch.
Featured in the cast were Michael Ann Barrett, Lou Merrill, Helen Klebe, Richard Beals, and
Jack Carroll.
Get a real squad car with Nightwatch Thursdays on the CBS Radio Network.