Suspense.
And the producer of radio's outstanding theater of thrills, the master of mystery and adventure,
William M. Robeson.
Mardi Gras from the French, meaning Fat Tuesday, the day before Lent begins.
Carnival from the Latin, meaning Goodbye to Meat.
And Bible from the Greek, meaning Book.
Put them together and they spell terror.
Terror for John Lund as he plays The Man Who Stole the Bible, a tale well calculated to
keep you in suspense.
I didn't mean to steal the Bible.
That wasn't my intention.
I have never taken as much as a towel or an ashtray out of a hotel room.
And if I'd known the night of terror would lead me into, I'd never have taken it at all.
Mardi Gras in New Orleans, a gay time, a lot of laughs if you're in on it.
But me, I was stuck in a stuffy hotel room waiting for a call from the boss.
And the sound of all those people out in the street having fun got on my nerves.
Operator.
Oh, come on, operator.
This is operator.
This is Mr. Cummings, room 302.
What happened to that bellhop I sent for?
Would you speak a little louder, please?
I can't hear you, sir.
I said this is Mr. Cummings.
One moment, please.
Operator.
Excuse me, please.
What is it you wanted?
A bellhop.
I want him to bring me something to read.
Anything.
He said half an hour ago he was on his way up.
Hasn't he answered your call yet, Mr. Cummings?
He has not.
I'm sorry, sir.
The hotel is so crowded.
The Mardi Gras, you know, it's almost impossible to...
Just a moment.
Operator.
Oh, nuts.
I paced back and forth, wishing the boss would call me so I could get out of that room.
I didn't dare leave, even to go down and get a paper.
He's that kind of a guy.
He expects you to be on tap all the time.
There was no radio in the room and nothing to read.
I went through all the drawers, hoping somebody had left behind a magazine or seed catalog,
anything.
And then I found it.
The Bible.
The Gideon Bible.
For years I've seen them in hotel rooms, but I never paid any attention to them.
But now I opened the book.
First Samuel, chapter 19.
I lay down on the bed and started to read.
The knock surprised me.
I'd forgotten about the bellhop.
I got up to go to the door and I realized that I had the Bible in my hand.
It's a fine thing when a man feels embarrassed caught reading the Bible, but that's how I
felt, embarrassed.
I stuffed it under the pillow and went to the door.
Well, you sure took your time.
Oh, I thought it was the bellhop.
I'm the house detective.
Sorry to disturb you.
That's all right.
What's the matter?
Well, it seems that the woman who had this room before you lost her pocketbook.
She thinks she left it here.
I'm sorry.
There's no pocketbook here.
Well, I'd better take a look.
I'd have seen it if it was here, but come on in if you want.
Thanks.
See, there's no pocketbook here.
Yeah, but she's sure she left it here.
I'll have to go through everything.
There's nothing in there but my stuff.
Do you have to go through...
What's the matter?
Don't you want me to look for it?
No, no, it isn't that, but I've been through all those drawers already.
You'd be surprised at things people leave behind in hotels.
Yeah, yeah, I guess I would be.
Nobody else has been in here, have they?
No, nobody.
I can't even get a bellhop in here.
You've been out of the room?
No, and look, I'm not responsible for anything that was left here.
Oh, of course you're not.
Well, I'm sorry to have bothered you.
That's all right.
Say, tell that bellhop to get up here, will you?
Yeah, I'll tell him.
Good night.
Yeah, he was a strange guy, but then all house sticks are.
I lay down again and went back to reading the Bible.
Once I got used to the old-fashioned language, I found it pretty interesting.
The story of David, anyway, a guy being chased by everybody and not knowing who his enemies
were, every minute expecting to get killed.
I was down to the part where David's wife puts a dummy in his bed as a decoy to save
his life, and I was interrupted again.
This time I automatically stuck the Bible under the pillow and went to the door.
Hello.
Oh, hello.
I wonder if you could help me.
Well, I.
I'm having the most awful time.
I tried and tried and it just won't work.
The room's so stuffy.
How's that?
The window in my room, it won't open.
Would you open it for me?
Oh, I sure.
Which room is it?
Right next to yours, just around this corner, room 300.
You know, I have the same trouble on buses.
The windows never open.
It drives me mad.
You can see how stuffy the room is.
This window?
Mm-hmm.
Isn't that odd?
It opens the unit.
Yes, it does.
And easy, too.
And so does this one.
I can't understand.
Are you sure you tried?
Well, you don't think I'd come to your door and ask you to come over here if I didn't
eat something, do you?
It's been done.
Maybe, but I wouldn't know.
Now that you're here, wouldn't you like to have a drink?
Be a trouble, I mean.
No, I don't think I can.
You can watch the parade much better here than on your side of the building.
Oh, no, I can't.
What's the matter?
I'm sorry, I have to go.
That's my phone.
Wait, wait.
Don't go.
You can have the call transferred here.
But it's silly to go all the way back to your room.
Hello, Cummings here.
Oh, yes, sir.
I've been waiting for your call.
Now, listen, I covered the whole territory down here, and things look pretty healthy.
You see, the main difficulty has been...
I stared at my briefcase.
I'd left it on the dresser.
Now it was on the bed, and everything had been pulled out of it.
The closet door was ajar, and the drawers in the bureau were open.
My Gladstone apparently hadn't been touched, but everything else had.
I heard the boss talking trends and business conditions, but my mind was on a girl who
wanted a window open, a window that wasn't stuck while somebody searched my room.
Calmly, I finished my conversation and hung up.
There was no reason now for me to stay in the room.
I gathered up my stuff, and I took the Bible from under the pillow.
Funny, I'd gotten interested in it.
I wanted to go on reading it, so I stuck it in my top coat and walked out of the room.
On my way to the elevator, I got a sudden impulse.
I stopped in front of room 300 and knocked.
Who you looking for, mister?
Oh, where's the lady?
Nobody in there now.
The lady just checked out.
Well, that's impossible.
I was just here.
I know anything about that, but she checked out a couple of minutes ago.
See, gotta clean it up after right now.
I'm gonna be glad when this Mardi Gras over.
Everybody go crazy.
Hotel go crazy, people check in, check out.
Steel, everything that ain't tied down.
Steel?
I said steel.
Last grade's bath towel soap.
How would this prize that take the beds next?
The Bible in my pocket suddenly felt like a pound of uranium.
I wondered if the cleaning woman could read the guilt on my face, but she put her waste
basket down in the hall and went back in to clean the room.
For a second, I considered taking the Bible back to room 302.
Maybe I would have if it hadn't been for the discarded book jacket and the waste basket.
It was gaudy, red and yellow.
I grabbed it up, put it around the Bible.
The title read, you will die tonight.
Call for Dr. McManus.
Dr. McManus, please.
Group four.
Show this gentleman to 506, please.
Oh, are you checking out Mr. Cummins?
Let me see, you in room...
302.
302, oh my.
What's the matter?
I've had so much trouble over that room.
I was supposed to hold it for a lady, but you can't keep rooms vacant during Mardi Gras.
I gave her the room next to yours, but she kicked like crazy the manager.
Next to me?
Yes, room number 300.
She just checked out a few minutes ago.
I don't know what this is all about, but there's something peculiar going on in room 302.
Peculiar?
I didn't mind the house detective coming in to look for the purse, but I didn't like having
my stuff searched while I was out of the room.
Searched?
Yeah, I said searched.
Now, you say the house detective did this?
He said the woman who had the room before me left her purse and that he...
Oh, but that's impossible.
What do you mean?
A man had the room ahead of you.
Oh yeah, I'm positive of it.
Just a minute, I got the register right here.
Oh yeah, yeah, a man, Mr. Gregory.
Now, the house detective isn't on duty today, but when he comes in tomorrow...
Not on duty?
Well, then what was he doing in my room?
Today?
Of course, today, tonight.
A tall guy with black hair.
Oh, there's some mistake, Mr. Cummins.
Our house detective, Mr. St. Clair, is short and bald, and he hadn't been in the hotel
all day.
He's home sick.
Well, it had all the makings of an interesting little intrigue, but I left the mystery of
room 302 with the room clerk and went to the cigar stand.
It was eight o'clock.
My train wouldn't leave until midnight.
Yes, sir, what'll it be?
Cigarettes or cigars?
Cigars, three caroms.
No, make it six.
I always liked to sell cigars.
Men don't smoke cigars like they used to.
Cigarettes, that's the fashion today.
They give you a good cigar every time.
Somebody's having a good time?
Ooh, they all have a good time during the carnival.
Say, I wonder where I could check my bag and briefcase for a little while.
You wanna see the parade?
Yeah, I thought I would, and mill around a little bit.
I got a couple hours to kill.
Well, I'd be glad to keep it for you.
I'm on duty till midnight.
Oh, would you?
Say, that's mighty nice of you.
Don't mind at all.
Mardi Gras is something to see.
You shouldn't miss it.
But you'll have more fun if you rent a costume.
Hotels got them for rent, you know.
No, no, thanks.
I'll go as I am.
He stuck my stuff under his counter, and I elbowed my way across the crowded lobby to
the street door.
Through the glass, my eyes met the eyes of another man, the tall man with black hair,
the man who had said he was the house detective.
I swung the hotel door open.
I had a few questions I wanted to ask that boy, but he was swallowed up in the crowd.
And then a big hand clapped me on the shoulder and a voice boomed in my ear.
There you are, sinner.
I hurled around and looked into the mask of a laughing red-faced devil.
Don't try to evade me, sinner.
I've come to collect you with my nice shiny peach hork.
And when the devil comes for you, your time is up.
All I could see in the mask was a pair of eyes.
They were green eyes, and they were laughing.
And the devil threw his arm around my shoulder and urged me along the street.
I balked a little.
I hadn't had anything to drink.
The whole thing seemed kind of silly, but before I knew it, what happened, a clown grabbed
my other arm.
Let's take the sinner to the fiery furnace.
The two of them, the devil and the clown, were propelling me down the street toward
a parked car.
Come along, sinner.
Hey, hey, now, wait a minute.
The sinners were not to push me in the crowd.
Get in, sinner.
Hey, hey, you guys.
Hey, hey, let me out of here.
Look, where are you going?
All right.
I'm going to the fire.
All right, let's have it.
Have what?
The Bible.
The Bible you took out of room 302.
The Bible?
Say, you're not drunk?
No waste time on him.
Frisk him.
Look, I don't know who you are, but...
He hasn't got it on him.
What did you do with it?
Where is it?
I told you, I haven't got it.
Just to let you know we're not playing.
Now, let's take it again.
Where's the Bible?
I tell you, I haven't got it.
I had it, but I...
Well, I had it.
I had it.
Well, I guess I lost it.
Lost it?
Where did you lose it?
I don't know.
Why you...
Don't do that, sinner.
It's just as easy for me to pull this trigger as to look at you.
But I'm telling you the truth.
I haven't got it anymore.
All right, you haven't got it.
But you'll tell me where it is.
You understand it, but I have to kill you to find out.
What are you stopping for?
A crowd!
I can't get through.
Come on, let's get the movement.
Get out of here.
What do you want me to do?
Drive over them?
Come on, get out of here.
A bunch of rebels.
Drunk and out for bear, opened the back door of the car and started climbing over us.
Nothing would stop them from weaving through.
They thought it was fun pushing and showing each other.
One of them fell, sprawled across the devil's lap, and they began to pile up.
And suddenly, I knew that this was escape.
I climbed out of the car.
I ran blindly away from them.
I saw a cab at an intersection.
I ran out, opened the door, and there he was, in the back seat, the phony house detective.
I slammed the cab door and bolted across the street.
There was a policeman on the corner, directing traffic.
I ran up to him.
Hey, where do you think you're going?
They're trying to kill me.
You've got to help me.
Kill you?
Who's trying to kill you?
The devil.
He's after me.
The devil?
Yes, and the clown too.
And Mickey Mouse?
I mean it.
I'm serious.
You're drunker than you look.
I haven't had a drink, I tell you.
They're trying to kill me.
And why would they be doing that?
Because they want the Bible.
The Bible?
Yes, you see, I stole the Bible and here they come now.
Who?
The clown across the street.
Look, you've got to get me out of it.
You've got to stop them.
They'll kill me.
Sure, sure.
Now, now, take it easy, young fella.
There you are.
Sit here.
Come on.
What are you trying to do?
Guessing trouble?
Trouble?
Sure, he's trying to miss the party.
Call a trick.
Don't listen to him.
This young fella claims you're trying to kill him.
Me?
Oh, not me.
But if he doesn't get to the party pretty soon, his wife is going to kill him.
I haven't got a wife.
There isn't any party.
They're lying.
I'll be good, boys.
Move on.
I've got to keep this traffic moving.
All right, come on.
You heard what the police said.
Come on, sir.
Please, officer.
Come on, sir.
You called me, officer.
Beat it now.
Go on with it.
I demand to be arrested.
Go on.
I demand to be arrested.
Now, go on.
Oh, officer, you're a fool.
I'm a what?
A wound from out of God run you in.
And you want to arrest me, huh?
Okay.
But remember, I didn't want to do this.
Dirty Yankee trick.
Strike an officer.
All right, young fella, that does it.
You're under arrest.
In just a moment, we will return to tonight's story of Suspense.
Henny Youngman, Orson Bean, and Myron McCormick of Broadway fame, and the internationally
popular singer, Caterina Valenti, will all be with you this evening when you hear the
Mitch Miller Show.
For star-studded variety entertainment at its sparkling best, join us every Sunday
night when the Mitch Miller Show is on the air over most of these same stations.
And now, we continue with John Lund and the Man Who Stole the Bible, a tale well calculated
to keep you in suspense.
I sat in the drunk tank in the New Orleans jail and tried to figure it out.
Who were the devil and the clown and the phony house detective?
Why was the Bible so important that they would even kill me to get it?
My bags were back at the cigar counter in the hotel.
My train was scheduled to leave at midnight.
How was I going to get out of New Orleans?
Already it was 10 o'clock, and as long as I stayed in jail, I'd be safe.
But that didn't last long.
I hadn't been there a half hour when a cop came for me and took me to the desk, Sergeant.
Here's your personal belongings, Common.
You're leased, you can go.
But try to behave yourself.
We were pretty busy tonight.
Released?
You know, you're a lucky guy.
Culpepper decided not to press charges against you.
You know what you could get for striking an officer.
But aren't you going to hold me?
Your fine's been paid, now go on, get out of here.
Keep out of trouble, will you?
But I am in trouble.
That's what I tried to tell the cop, but he wouldn't listen to me.
I had to hit him.
My fine?
Somebody paid my fine?
Yeah, it's been paid.
And who?
Who paid it?
I don't know who it was.
He didn't give me a name, he just paid it.
Was it a man in a devil's costume?
Huh?
Or a clown?
Now look.
What did he look like?
How do I know what he looked like?
He was an ordinary looking guy, tall, big, he had black hair.
The house detective.
The who?
They'll kill me, I tell you.
They'll kill me.
Pardon me, sir.
I'm lost.
I haven't heard her come into the station, she moves so quietly.
She was a nun and she was talking excitedly in French.
I wasn't paying much attention to her, I was thinking instead of my own problem.
The house detective had paid my fine.
He wanted me out of jail, he wanted me loose on the street.
Why?
And the devil and the clown.
Were they with him?
Were all of them waiting outside that door for me?
Please, sister, I wish I could help you, but I can't understand a word you're saying.
Sir, the people in the street are trying to find my way.
They're taking me for a clown.
English.
Can you speak English, sister?
Pardon me, sir.
A masquerade costume.
People think masquerade.
No masquerade.
Huh?
She's trying to say the people on the streets think she's wearing a masquerade costume.
Merci.
Merci bien, monsieur.
I am lose.
You mean lost?
Oui, monsieur, lost.
I am expect at convainc.
The Vieux Carré.
The Vieux Carré, that's the French quarter.
Exactement, oui.
I drive for Taxi Cab.
The crowd, oh, you see, push me around.
And you send a gendarme to assist me.
Why?
The gendarme, she wants you to send a policeman to help her get to the convent.
Oui, monsieur.
Oh, well, I'm sorry, sister.
I'd be glad to, but I don't have anybody in right now.
If you don't mind sticking around here for a while, I'll be very...
Speaking around?
The sergeant says he's sorry.
If you'll wait, there's no one available right now to help you.
Wait a minute.
The nuns stood there frightened and bewildered, out of place in the police station.
But for me, it was a miraculous break.
Why, sure, I could walk out of that police station with her,
and if they were waiting outside, waiting to get me, why, I could walk right by them.
They wouldn't dare touch me as long as I was with a nun.
I could take her to the convent, and once there, I'd be safe.
Je suis déçueillée. Je ne sais que faire.
I'll take the sister to the convent, sergeant.
It's okay with me if it's okay with her.
Merci, monsieur. Merci mille fois.
As she walked out of the police station, I took her arm.
To help her, yes, but also to steady my own fear.
Any minute, I expected to see one or all of them.
The devil, the clown, the house detective.
But they weren't in sight.
There were people milling about in the street, but not the three I feared.
And strangely, not finding them there frightened me more than ever.
I found a cab and gave the driver the address of the convent.
The nun and I didn't try to talk.
I realized this whole thing was difficult for her, and I didn't feel like talking.
Too much had happened to me for one night.
The cab pulled up in front of an ancient building in the French Quarter,
crumbling cement and wrought iron work.
We got out and I walked with her to the big front door.
The nun raised her hand to the knocker,
and I knew I'd been had.
Qu'est-ce qu'il y a?
Fingernails. Red, polished fingernails.
You're not a nun.
Hey, where you been?
Hurry, boys, he's wise.
Come on, you old gayside.
It was the devil and the clown. They yanked me into the house.
And the girl, I stared at her.
Back in the police station, I hadn't really looked at her face.
Her black robes had spelled freedom to me.
That's as far as I'd thought.
But now I knew I'd seen her before.
Only before she'd worn a green dress
and a scarlet mouth to match her fingernails.
And her hair had been blonde and long, and she wanted a window open.
A window that wasn't stuck.
You've given us a lot of trouble.
I'm sorry, I don't know what...
We've been very patient.
Now we want the Bible.
I told you before, I don't have it.
You had it.
I had it, yes, I had it. I took it.
I don't know why I took it, but I lost it.
Who sent you to get it?
I'll handle him.
All right, who you working for, Poloni?
Look, there's some mistake.
I'm a salesman.
I sell washing machines.
You're lying.
Look, look, I tell you that...
Where's the stuff?
Has Polona got it?
What stuff? I don't know any Poloni.
Hey.
What are you slapping me around for?
That won't get you any place.
I'll want it.
Let me talk to him.
Look, if you're covering up for Poloni...
Who's... who's Poloni?
I don't know any Poloni.
Poloni wouldn't take a beating for you.
But I tell you, I don't know...
Whatever he's paying you, we'll pay you more.
We'll pay him nothing.
He'll hand over that Bible or tell us where the junk is stashed
or shall help him or I'll kill him.
Don't.
So that's what it is. Dope.
Yeah, Mr. Innocent.
That's what it is. Dope.
Heroin, cocaine, a hundred grand a word.
Oh, stop it.
You kill him, we'll never find it.
Listen to me. What's your name?
Cummings.
You work for Poloni Cummings.
Nobody but Poloni knows about that Bible.
You came to hijack the stuff.
I tell you, I don't know Poloni.
Ah, stop lying.
Poloni knew our carrier was hot
that he had to drop the stuff somewhere in New Orleans.
You're wasting your time, baby. I'll make him talk.
Oh, don't.
You gonna talk?
I don't know.
You want to butter this gun right across your face?
Look, look, you gotta believe me, I...
He hit me with a gun.
I tried to keep my eyes open to hang out of consciousness.
Across the room, I saw the door open.
And in it stood a man with another gun,
a big man with black hair,
the phony house detective.
Was his name Poloni?
I didn't know how long I was out.
When I came to, I was lying on a bed.
My head was throbbing.
My cheeks, my nose, every bone in my face seemed on fire.
There was a cold cloth on my eyes.
I tried to think.
Why did I hurt so?
Oh, oh, yes.
The Bible.
They wanted the Bible.
But I didn't have it.
It was a good thing, too.
If I had it, they'd kill me.
And I...and I smelled something.
A strong cigar.
It burned the inside of my nose.
I rolled over to get away from it and opened my eyes.
The devil and the clown were gone.
And so was the girl.
I was alone.
With the phony house detective.
All right, let's not waste any more time.
What did you do with the Bible?
Where are the others?
They've been taken care of.
You took the Bible that belongs in this room.
Now, what did you do with it?
This room?
Oh, yeah.
Room 302.
You had no right to touch that Bible.
Now, think. What did you do with it?
Where is it?
Look, look, I told them.
I must have lost it. I don't know.
I'll get it.
Yeah?
The gentleman who left his suitcases with me.
Mr. Cummins?
Suitcases? Come in.
Who are you?
I run the cigar stand in the lobby.
I saw you bring Mr. Cummins in.
If you don't mind my saying so quite tight.
Yeah.
I'm going off duty in a little while.
I thought he'd need his things.
See, he checked them with me.
Thanks.
Oh, I almost forgot. Here's his book, too.
Oh, no, don't leave the book.
But you forgot it on the counter.
I don't want the book. You can have it.
I'll take the book.
No, no, don't give it to him.
Thanks for your trouble.
Don't mention it. Hope he feels better tomorrow.
I'll ask. The Bible.
You will die tonight.
Look, Poloni, I didn't know.
I swear, I just took it.
Poloni? I'm not Poloni.
You know, that's a pretty clever stunt covering the Bible
with a whodunit jacket.
Let's see, third book, second chapter, Genesis, Exodus,
Leviticus, chapter one, two. Yeah, yeah.
Here's the address of the warehouse
where the stuff is.
I don't understand. If you're not Poloni,
who are you? John Stang, United States
Treasury Department, narcotics division.
A tea man, but I thought you...
You made my job very difficult tonight, Mr. Cummings.
We traced the narcotics carrier
all the way from Hong Kong to New Orleans
to room 302. But when we arrested him,
he was clean. He didn't have the evidence.
Room 302 was the link.
The girlfriend she was to take this room,
and I would have followed her to where the evidence was stashed.
It was as simple as that.
But you stepped in and threw us all off.
Why didn't you tell me you were a government man
when you came in tonight to look for the pocketbook?
How did I know that you weren't a new member of the mob?
Now, take my advice, Mr. Cummings.
Quit stealing things out of hotels.
Look, I never stole a thing in my life before.
This is the first time.
There's one thing I can't figure out.
Why did you steal a Bible?
Well, you're not gonna believe this, but...
honest, I...I just wanted to finish the story.
Suspense.
In which John Lund starred as the man who stole the Bible
by John Bagney and Gwen Bagney-Gilgud.
Listen.
Listen again next week when Radio's Outstanding Theatre of Thrills
brings you The Rim of Terror starring Miss Barbara Whiting,
a tale well calculated to keep you in...
Suspense.
Suspense produced and directed in Hollywood by William N. Robeson.
Included in the cast of The Man Who Stole the Bible
by June Foray, Joe DeSantis, Jay Novello, Joe Kearns,
Larry Thor, Harry Bartel, and Jack Moyles.
The original musical score was composed and conducted by
Leith Stevens.
Sound patterns by Tom Hanley and Bill James.
Even a cynic will have to admit that however bumbling a man may be,
he has struggled valiantly to better his world.
Our faults notwithstanding, our civilization is a vast improvement
over primitive social arrangements.
And perhaps most impressive of all of man's labors
has been his consistent effort to protect the principles of justice
as he has come to understand them over the years.
How justice is served may vary from place to place and time to time,
but always it is a thrilling demonstration of man's love of fair play.
For examples of modern day efforts on behalf of justice,
be sure to hear indictment over most of these same stations today.
It's yours for the listening right after the news,
which follows immediately on most of these same stations.
Music