And now, tonight's presentation of radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense.
Tonight, the transcribed story of life and death in an African colony.
We call it, Lily and the Colonel.
So now, starring Ramsey Hill and John Alderson with Paula Winslow, here is tonight's Suspense
play, Lily and the Colonel.
I first met Colonel M.O.V. Abinathy at the Rift Valley Club, Kenya colony, East Africa.
Possibly being a sandhurst man, a lieutenant with a Lancashire fuseliers had something
to do with my invitation into the Hallet Circle.
At all events, I was invited and I went.
Sandhurst, eh?
That's right, sir.
Sandhurst.
I was sandhurst myself, 1917.
That's all, sir.
Well.
Still turning them out the way they used to.
Not knowing how they used to turn them out, I couldn't say, sir.
Capital.
At least they turn them out with humor.
The only thing that's kept me alive, you know, is sense of humor.
Yes, I can see that.
And now you are here to save us from the Mau Mau.
I'm quite sure you can save yourselves, Colonel.
But of course we could if it weren't for the bunglers and their, well, their infernal
bungling.
The second time I met Colonel Abinathy was under quite different circumstances.
My patrol had been called to the farm of one James C. Curry to investigate a murder.
On the way, I stopped by Colonel Abinathy's house and brought him along in case identification
was needed.
On viewing the remains, the Colonel decided it was the body of James C. Curry himself
lying under the rose bush.
None of us said a word until we reached his house.
You need a drink.
I could use one, sir.
Good.
Mingumbe.
Good morning, daddy.
You back for now?
Tell your mistress.
She have blast a headache.
I tell her you'll come back.
Headache.
All the girls in the house are going to be in trouble.
I'll tell her to go to the doctor.
I'll tell her to go to the doctor.
I'll tell her to go to the doctor.
I'll tell her to go to the doctor.
I'll tell her to go to the doctor.
I'll tell her to go to the doctor.
All is having a headache.
Oh, oh, sit down, Lieutenant.
You'll have your drink in a moment.
Thank you, sir.
Incidentally, while your boy is out, may I ask, sir, is he Chikuyu?
Ingumbe?
No.
He's a Jolou'o.
I think his tribe is Jolou'o.
Yes, I'm almost positive.
You're not sure he is Jolou'o?
Well, one can't be certain with these boys you know, but I'll ask him when he comes back.
Mr Abinathy, it's a headache much better.
She will come in a moment.
Good.
Ingumbe.
Yes, Moana. I will fix it.
Tell you, Temple, that I'm ab...
I beg your pardon, Colonel. Will you ask...
Oh, yes, yes, yes. In Gumby.
Moana?
What are you?
Moana?
Tribe. What tribe you belong to?
I am Jaloo.
Do the Jaloo have Ma-Mao?
What the devil you do that for?
Don't stand there quaking like an idiot.
What do you say?
Ma-Mao is only Kip-Sige and Kikuyu.
I am Jaloo.
Jaloo?
Very well.
Now give Lieutenant Temple his drink and then get out.
Yes, Moana.
Your drink, Moana.
Blast, you idiot.
I don't believe him.
You think he's Kikuyu?
I do.
And the sooner you rid of him, the better.
Hmm. Every head boy a Ma-Mao. Is that it?
Hmm. Weak, sir. Weak.
It happened to Curry.
Could happen to others.
So you still want to save me?
I'm only here to do what I can, sir. It's my job.
Young man, what happened to Curry didn't happen to me.
There are still those who know how to handle this thing.
And alone, if necessary.
In my day, we knew how to keep the Wog in his place.
Full justice, mind you, but uh...
Also this.
That pistol of yours may have seen its day, sir.
Times are changing.
Only because men have become too weak to prevent it, sir.
Oh, Julian. Julian.
Have you seen Tabakin?
I don't know where that cat can be.
It was the Colonel's lady.
She stood half in shadow in the doorway.
With something of a smile on her lips.
An attractive woman, I thought, in her forties, but...
When she came towards us and the light fell on her...
I could see that what might have been attractive was only an illusion of powder and rouge.
Heavily proportioned and badly applied to an aging, unhappy face.
My dear, may I present Mr. Charles Temple?
How do you do?
How do you do?
Please sit down.
As a matter of fact, I was just leaving.
Oh, no. No, please.
It isn't often that I have an opportunity to talk to a handsome young man.
And from the outside world, too.
What happened today, dear?
Why did you run out so quickly?
Well, you...
Oh, Julian never tells me anything. I'm always in the dark.
I'm afraid that I'm responsible today, Mrs. Abbott.
I needed his help.
Help?
Mr. Temple will tell you. I'm off to bed.
Good night.
Good night, sir.
And...
Please think over what I said.
Get rid of your boy.
Young man, I like you.
But as for your advice, I shall handle my affairs my way.
Good night.
Well, Mr. Temple, what was it Julian said you'd tell me?
One of your neighbors was killed today.
Killed? Who?
James Curry.
Jim Curry.
Jim Curry?
Who'd want to kill Jim Curry?
Oh, why? Why?
Mrs. Abinanti, please.
No.
You know, I...
I'm quite all right.
How did it happen?
Mow, mow.
Mow, mow.
The...
The...
The...
There must be a way out.
There must be.
Let me get you something.
Oh, yes.
Here. Drink this.
Oh, thank you.
Oh, it's better.
Oh, that's better. Much better.
I had to, but I must go now, Mrs. Abinanti.
Oh, please don't.
Sit beside me.
Let me call the colonel. He can be with you.
But he can't help me.
More than I can, I'm sure.
Now, please, let me...
It lay broken at our feet.
A cat strung up by the neck to a willow branch.
Mrs. Abinanti's cat.
And outside, somewhere in the dark,
beyond the shattered window,
were those who had done the thing.
It was the mow, mow.
Probably miles away by now.
I'm afraid so.
Wait.
No, no, no.
No, no, no.
No, no, no, no.
Give me a hand.
There.
Recognise him?
Never seen this one before.
Got him in the stomach.
Said get him to a hospital right away.
Take him under the shoulder.
Recognize him?
Never seen this one before.
Got him in the stomach.
Said get him to a hospital right away.
Take him under the shoulder.
We'll carry him to the car.
Took him to the nearest clinic at Thompson Falls.
And all night he hovered between life and death.
All night I questioned him vainly and much of the next day.
Toward the end, I asked him if he knew he was dying.
He rolled his head toward me.
And the look in his eyes showed that he knew he was.
It was then that all my questions were answered.
Name, September.
Tribe, Kikuyu.
Maomao?
Yes.
Family, one brother.
And this brother was Colonel Abernethy's head boy in Gumby.
I went back to the Colonel's house.
Who's there?
Left in the temple, ma'am.
Oh, thank goodness you're coming.
Oh, I'm all alone.
Where's the Colonel and the Gumby?
They've been gone all day.
They left me alone.
I've never been so terrified in my life.
Will he be back soon?
My tabacons and the shooting.
Oh, yes, they'll be back soon.
I'll wait for him then.
He gave me a pistol and said I must carry it with me until he comes back.
That's very wise.
I hate them.
They're for killing.
Sit down, Mr. Temple.
Oh, I must look a fright.
No make-up and this old gown.
You must think I look a fright.
Not at all. You look very well indeed.
Well, thank you, kind sir, she said.
May I make you a drink?
No, thank you, Mrs. Abernethy.
Well, I think I shall have one.
If I don't look out, I shall become a drunkard.
A solitary drunkard.
I'm sure you're much too sensible for that.
Well, Julian doesn't think I'm sensible.
He calls me silly.
Oh, that'll make me feel much better.
You know, you're awfully nice.
You're not like the other men.
You seem very kind.
I'm not really.
Quite the opposite.
I beat children the second Tuesday of every month.
Oh, I gather you're married then.
Somebody in England?
No, I'm not married.
Mrs. Abernethy.
I have something to tell you. I thought of waiting for the Colonel,
but since you should know about it too, I...
If it's anything unpleasant, I won't hear it.
It concerns you very directly. You should listen.
No, no, no, no.
We shall talk of everything, but not about Kenya or Africa
and Colonel's and poor unhappy natives and everything.
Very well, I'll wait for the Colonel.
Oh, now you've been wounded.
The handsome soldier has been wounded on the battlefield of the sexes.
Now here, drink from my glass.
Here.
Oh, now not just a sip.
All right, just a sip.
There.
Jim Currie thought I was attractive.
Am I attractive?
Am I attractive, Charles?
Why, yes, yes, of course.
No, I mean to you.
Well, after all, you're a married woman and well, you know.
No, no, no, sit quietly and listen.
If I told you that you're the handsomest man I know
and if I told you that I was in love with you...
Mrs. Abernethy.
Would you take me away with you?
Would you put me in your pocket and take me?
Of course, right in my pocket.
Well, I...
I don't feel very well.
I think I shall lie down.
Poor old...
Oh, Temple, I thought I couldn't be here when you came.
Where is Lily?
She's not well.
I think last night was a bit too much for her.
She's resting.
Tell me, what happened to that beggar you shot?
The man died early this afternoon.
I was right about Ingambuy.
What do you mean?
We questioned the native all night.
Since before he died, he confessed that he belonged to the Mau Mau.
What does that to do with Ingambuy?
They're brothers.
Then he is a Kikuyu after all.
Get rid of him, but quietly.
I want to aggravate the situation.
A lying devil.
Don't worry, I know what to do.
One more thing.
I want you to place a light in your front window.
What for?
We shall be patrolling the valley tonight.
We'll have a clear view of your house most of the time.
In the event something happens, turn out the light.
We'll know then that you're in trouble and we'll be along in a jiffy.
Right you are.
Well, I must be off now.
Goodbye, Colonel.
Please be careful with Ingambuy.
Goodbye, Teppel.
That's the last I saw of Colonel Abernathy.
Now I must piece together the remainder of the story
from details related to me by Ingambuy himself.
I've thought of it many times.
And although Ingambuy was punished for what he did,
I cannot in good conscience hold him totally responsible for what went wrong.
Ingambuy!
Yes, why not?
Come here.
Why not?
Ingambuy, you're a liar.
Why not?
What do you mean?
You know very well what I mean.
There was a man shot here last night and he was your brother.
No, no.
My brother is on the reserve.
He died here this morning and he said he was your brother.
My brother died?
Moreover, you belong to the Kikuyu tribe.
No.
You would lie to my face, you dog.
No, no.
Maybe some Kikuyu, but I good head boy.
I do not tolerate lying by anyone.
Oh, no. Please.
You shall be punished for this.
I hope at least you can stand up your medicine.
Medicine?
Put your hands to your side.
To your side, I said.
Stand straight.
That will teach you to lie.
Now get your things together and get out.
I shall pay you when you leave.
I said go.
Buona.
If you hit me with hand closed, it is good.
And I am a man too.
But you hit me with open hand.
That make me not a man.
Get out and tell your maumau dogs
if they want the same medicine to come to me.
And I'll give it to them.
Get out.
Dogs, filthy dogs.
I'll shoot all of them, every one of them.
What are you doing, Julian?
Moving the lamp over to the window, obviously.
Oh? What for?
Mr. Temple wants it to remain on all night.
Ah. Such a lovely young man.
Will you listen to what I'm telling you?
Mr. Temple wants it to remain on all night, I heard.
Why?
If for any reason you need Mr. Temple's help, you're to turn it off.
He will see it and he will come to you at once.
How nice.
Turn it off and he'll come to me at once.
Did he really say that?
Yes, yes, yes. Now, another thing.
I have dismissed in Gumby.
I know.
I was watching through the door.
I saw you strike him bravely, Colonel.
Don't say it that way.
It was the only way to make him understand.
It's the only way they'd understand who's the master.
There's too much molly coddling with these people.
Oh, is there?
Oh, no matter, no matter.
Now, where's your pistol?
I don't know and I don't care.
Oh, in the name of heaven,
I told you to carry it with you at all times.
Can't you understand this for your own good?
Here, take mine.
And I expect you to keep it with you all the time.
Do you understand?
I don't want it.
It's hateful.
Everything here is hateful.
Lily.
I'm leaving.
I'm going away, far away,
from this house, from Kenya, from you.
You're drunk.
Yes, I am.
And I'll have some more.
Stop it, Lily.
Give me that bottle.
Give it to me.
I'm sorry.
Sorry?
You're sorry.
You don't know what it is to be sorry.
I've been sorry for 25 years.
I'm sick.
I'm sick for living with you.
The way you stand, the way you walk,
parade grounds, always on parade.
Oh, that's right.
Run away.
Go off.
You never talked to me.
You never did.
You never gave me anything, anything kind, anything nice.
I don't think I want it now because I don't.
I don't want it.
Do you hear me?
Go on, run away.
Go on.
I don't care.
I don't care.
I don't care anymore.
I don't care.
I don't care.
You're right.
I don't care.
I'm not crying.
I don't care.
You're not crying.
This means one night.
What?
Who's there?
Who's there?
Do you hear me?
Blast you.
Do you hear me?
Blast you.
Do you hear me?
Where?
Where are you?
Ingunby?
Is that you?
Ingunby?
Is that me?
I'm armed.
Come closer and I'll shoot.
I can see all of you.
I can see you better.
You're not armed.
Look, you forgot this one.
Blast.
Ingunby, now listen to me.
I forbid you to do this.
Do you hear?
Now, stand out in the open where I can see you.
You're a coward, Ingunby.
And I don't deal with cowards.
If you have grievances, we shall talk them over as men.
Do you hear me?
Today, you hit me.
You make me not a man.
You deserved it.
Now, now, now stand out in the open where I can see you.
Be a man, blast you.
Ingunby.
Ingunby.
I say, come out here.
You, you cowardly devil.
Julian?
Julian?
I, I know you're out there.
I mean what I said.
I'm going away.
Julian?
Julian?
Oh, very well.
Don't answer me then.
I'm going away.
Julian?
Julian?
Julian?
Oh, you're a fool.
You could have kept me if you were kind.
I only want kindness.
Lieutenant Temple is kind.
Oh, oh, yes.
How stupid of me.
The lights.
Julian said that Mr. Temple would come to me if I turned off the lights.
Now, now he'll come to me.
Charles Temple?
Is that you?
You must have been waiting just outside.
Oh, it is you.
It is.
Oh, oh, you've come for me.
Did you come to take me away in your pocket?
Oh, oh, no, no, no.
No!
When I arrived with the patrol, the house was dark.
Our men found the colonel lying dead in a thorn bush.
I found the colonel's lady, poor unhappy woman, at the screen door to the veranda.
There was a strong smell of whiskey about it.
Turned my head away.
Suspense, in which Ramsey Hill and John Alderson with Paula Winslow starred in tonight's transcribed
presentation of Lily and the Colonel.
Be sure to listen next week to Suspense.
Suspense is produced and directed by Anthony Ellis.
Tonight's script was written by Mr. John Danaer.
The music was composed by Lucian Morwick and conducted by Wilbur Hatch.
Directed in the cast were Dave Young and Joe Duvall.