Suspense. And the producer of radios outstanding theater of thrills, the master of mystery
and adventure, William N. Robson.
The radio actor is a very special kind of thespian. He has no assistance in creating
illusion. He cannot call upon the magic of makeup nor the protective coloring of costume.
He has only his voice and your ears. Yet this is enough for the superb radio artist and
such a one we present tonight.
See how he runs. Starring Mr. Jim Backus. A tale well calculated to keep you in suspense.
Late evening paper. Read all about it.
Hey, puppy.
Evening paper.
A dime.
Hi, Mr. Barker. That's a half rock. You got 40 cents change coming.
Puppy, I'll bet you can hear the difference between a 10 and a 20 dollar bill hitting
the ground.
To run a newsstand this time you have to. People just as soon cheat me as anybody else.
Being blind don't make me an exception. Here you are, Mr. Barker. That's a 40 cents change.
Keep it.
No, I can't do that.
Go on, keep it.
Maybe I could put it on a number for you, Mr. Barker.
You know me, puppy. Never play the numbers. My sainted mother used to say to me, Ed, you're
going to break the law. Never play for pennies. Make it pay. See you tomorrow night.
Mr. Barker.
Yeah.
You left your umbrella, Mr. Barker.
What?
Here's your umbrella, Mr. Barker.
What are you talking about? You know I never carry an umbrella.
Here you are, Mr. Barker.
I'm not playing with that.
Mr. Barker, are you all right, Mr. Barker? Who's that? Answer me. Who's there? Hey, you.
You with the taps on your shoes. Come back here. You got the wrong idea. Come back here.
Come back.
Give us some names.
You can be a big help to us, Poppy.
Boy, boy. Poppy's been blind since he was 14. How am I supposed to tell you who rubs
out Big Ed Barker when I can't see them? You're nice, young fellas. They're the poor old
man go home and get his rest.
All right, Poppy. Knock it off.
This isn't a couple of house fires you're trying to set up for a touch. We got your
record laying right here on the desk in front of us.
1938. Arrested and convicted for petty theft.
1943. Arrested and convicted for an attempt to defraud. That was the year you posed as
a blind at war veteran.
1949. Arrested and convicted.
All right, all right. So I got a record. You want to hang me on it? I served my time. Ain't
you guys happy? That's one thing about you cops. A guy tries to go straight. You don't
care, but let him make one little mistake and you hound him until the day he dies.
Don't try to paint any pretty pictures for me, Poppy. I know you. People called you the
only man born without a conscience. Is that right?
What's the price for fingering a man as big as Barker, Poppy?
Who contacted you, Poppy? Give us a name.
Now what is all this? All of a sudden the poor newsie's in charge of who gets rubbed
out on his corner. You're the police department. This is your town. You're in charge. It's
getting so an honest man is afraid to walk the streets anymore.
Oh, cut it out.
Look, Poppy, Barker was the second syndicate boy to get knocked off in the last month.
That means new talent is trying to move in. Carl and I have to know who, Poppy. We have
to have names to fit faces. You can help. Well, now if I knew, I'd tell you. Ed Barker
was my friend.
Oh, don't make me laugh. You'd set up your mother for a price. What did you get for Barker?
Somebody contacted you, Poppy. Who?
Come on, come on. You ain't deaf and dumb, too. Give some names, Poppy. Some names.
Now you look, cop. This ain't your old citizen you're trying to punch in the back. This is
Poppy. I've been in this crummy police station before and I know my way around. You try to
hang anything on me, I'll have my lawyer slap a false arrest on you so fast it'll make your
head swim because you and I both know you don't have enough evidence to make it stick.
You ain't gonna charge me. I'm gonna go home.
You listen to me, you small time loss. You don't give orders to me at my police station.
You take them. For your information, we shook down that little rat hole you call a new stand
upon a fistful of number slips.
That stand was clean.
You only thought it was clean.
Blousy freak, you planted them there.
That's your story.
No. Find him a policeman dead. He'll testify in court.
That stand was clean.
Why?
Were you expecting the place to be crawling with cops before the night was over?
I don't touch your numbers. Not since the last time I got busted. I learned my lesson.
That's why you sent me to jail, ain't it? To learn a lesson.
Well, yeah.
Come here a minute.
Okay, Poppy. You can go home now.
What is this?
Take a good look at our little friend here, Al. This is probably the last time we'll see
him alive.
What are you talking about?
Word just came over the phone, Poppy. Somebody must have seen you, Fingerbarker. People on
the street say that the syndicates passed a death sentence, and they passed it on you.
No, that's a lie.
Okay, it's a lie.
You guys made it up.
If we made it up, what are your hands shaking for?
That's a straight scoop, Poppy. If you go back out on the street now, you're dead.
On the other hand, if you turn state's evidence, we can place you in protective custody.
And send me up the river when you're through with me.
That's better than being dead.
Well, is it?
Okay, Poppy, that's all. Get out of here.
Ain't you got no more questions?
Not me.
Ain't you gonna hold me for your numbers?
Poppy, you could throw rocks at City Hall right in front of me and I wouldn't touch
you.
You're going right back where you wanted to be all along, back on the streets.
In a couple of days, you'll be out of my hair forever.
Well, what are you waiting for?
Ain't nobody gonna take me home?
You know the way.
Well, at least lead me to the front door. I can't find it by myself.
You know your way around this crummy station, you said, so yourself.
So find the door yourself.
Poppy, Poppy, are you in there?
Answer me!
You go away!
Telephone for you!
Telephone?
I'm not home. Tell them I don't live here anymore.
All right, suit yourself.
No, no, wait, wait. I'll answer it.
Maybe the cops changed their mind.
I'll answer it. I'll answer it.
Well, it's all the same to me.
Now just turn off this light. You don't need it anyway.
I keep forgetting that.
I have to save every penny I can.
Well, turn it off. Turn it off. Just leave me alone.
Hello?
Is that you, Poppy?
Yes. Who is this?
You didn't short your newsstand all day today.
Who is this?
Tonight, Poppy.
Who are you?
You'll get yours tonight.
Who is this?
Hello?
Hello? Who is this?
Hello?
It wasn't a lie.
I've marked.
I called to find out where I am.
He'll be here in a minute.
I've got to get out of here.
I could have called...
It's falling down, it's falling down, it's falling down.
Bobby? Bobby?
Is that you, Bobby?
Poppy?
Yeah. Come here a minute, boy.
Why are you hiding here by the phone?
You come here, Poppy boy.
I want you to do me a favor.
What?
Come here and I'll tell you.
Tell me here, why don't you?
Here's a whole quarter for you.
I want you to run to the store.
Can I keep the quarter?
Yes. Bless your little heart.
All for yourself.
You come here so blind, old Poppy can put it in your hand, son.
Here, give me your hand.
Oh, my leg!
Shut up, shut up, shut up!
Or I'll kill you.
Feel that?
That's a switchblade knife and one more peep out of you, and I'll cut your little head off with it.
Now, now, you listen to me.
Just do as I say and you won't get hurt.
One word or you try anything funny and I'll cut your little pieces.
You understand, Bobby?
Yes.
You know where that old Morton warehouse is down by the river?
Here?
We're going there.
Why?
Never mind why.
You just come with me.
You hurt my arm.
I'll hurt you a lot more or not if you don't do as I say.
There's a car in the street beside us moving very slowly.
Who's in it?
Two men.
What are they doing?
I don't know.
Answer me.
I don't know.
Looking for house numbers, I guess.
You're driving away now, I think.
Yes.
Let me go, old Bobby, please.
You don't need me.
You walk around all the time by yourself.
Shut up.
Please, Bobby.
Why don't you stop crying now?
Can you ride here on the street?
I swear.
Now look, Bobby.
I don't want to hurt you.
I need you to help me.
There's some bad guys after me, Bobby, and they'll kill me if they catch me.
I can get around town all right because I use my ears and I memorize things,
but I still can't see.
Those two men in that car could have had a gun on me and I never have known it.
That's why I need you, Bobby.
I need your eyes to see with.
Are they like the bad guys on television?
Yeah.
Yeah, that's right.
Have you got a gun in the warehouse?
No, Bobby, but I can hide there.
I own that warehouse, Bobby.
Lots of people think I'm just a poor old blind man,
but I've got lots of property in this town.
More than people who drive big cars.
It's to save my money, Bobby, and that's the difference.
Why are the bad guys after you?
Because I'm a good guy.
If they don't get us on the way, we'll be safe,
and I need you to see who's behind us and things like that.
Okay?
Okay.
Listen.
There's someone walking behind us with taps on his shoes.
What does he look like?
He's not a bad guy.
What does he look like?
He's just one of the big kids with a black leather jacket.
That's the idea, Bobby.
You keep your eyes open and we'll make it.
Okay.
We're... we're getting there.
The warehouse is at the end of the block.
Can you see anybody hanging around down there?
No.
Well, look careful, boy.
I am. It's too dark.
Just the streetlights are on.
I don't see anybody there.
Good, Bobby.
We'll make it.
Listen.
What?
Two men are walking behind us.
What do they look like?
They're so far back it's hard to see.
And now they're under the streetlights.
What do they look like?
They look like bad guys.
Well, we'll walk faster, and you tell me if they walk faster.
They're walking faster, aren't they?
Yes.
We've got to hurry.
I heard...
You keep up with me.
I can't.
Two warehouse.
There's a few more steps.
I want to go home.
Now, here's the door.
You stand still while I get this tea and skin along.
Hey, Bobby!
I want to go home!
I want to go home!
You come back here!
You're double-crossing you!
You got any buckets?
We want to talk to you.
Oh, you dropped dead punks.
They're in my territory now.
I want buckets.
A blast it.
Go ahead and blast it.
You'll never find me in the back here in this empty crate.
We know you're in here, Poppy.
Yeah, try and find me.
Get those lights.
I tried, Dave.
They don't turn on.
There ain't any electricity.
Bobby?
Gee, baby, you can't see your head in front of your face.
We got them trapped in here.
We'll search till we find them.
You go along that wall.
Gee, baby, this place gives me the creeps.
But, Maddie, you're scared of a blind old man?
No, I just can't see.
Have you got any matches?
Yeah, yeah, I might have.
Go ahead.
Go ahead for all the good it'll do you.
What's that?
A rat.
A big furry rat.
Oh, God.
Let it run over me again.
I can't stand them.
I can't stand them.
I can't stand them.
I heard him.
He's moving around.
Over there.
Hold it.
I'll show you.
See him.
Listen.
He's over there someplace.
Strike another match.
He's gone.
No, listen.
He's still here moving around.
Look, look.
Headway up that ladder.
Light another match.
I ain't got no more.
Come on.
Come on.
Move till we see that ladder.
We can get it easy now we know where he is.
He is gone.
He's gone.
He's gone.
He's gone.
He's gone.
He's gone.
He's gone.
He's gone.
He's gone.
He's gone.
He's gone.
He's gone.
He's gone.
He is climbing up that catwalk up there.
We'll nail him up there.
He's got no place else to go.
Harvey.
You mind if we give up?
You're a dead man.
He's... he's coming in the door up there.
Yeah, must go around the roof.
Shoot!
Go on.
Shoot!
He never tried to kill a fox in his own world.
It's not over yet.
What?
He's got only three.
What?
It's not over yet.
No.
No.
It's not over yet.
a fox in his own hole.
By the time you dumb punks figure out how to get me out,
I'll be over on the roof of the building next door
and down through that condemned tenement and out the back way.
The parapet between the two should be right about here.
Yes, that's right.
That's funny.
You can't feel anything on the other side of the parapet.
Did I get turned around?
No, it should be right here.
You can feel it on the edge.
Here's some place now.
What was that?
Somebody's up here.
I hear you.
Who are you?
Answer me.
No, no, stay away.
Look, look, look.
I'll pay you. Give me a chance.
I got money.
And I'll pay you.
Tell me what they paid you.
And then I'll pay you double.
No, stay away from me.
Stay away from me.
But we never laid a hand on him.
You mean to stand in front of Poppy's poor mango body
and tell me I caught you guys down here taking the air?
Yeah, yeah, something like that.
Oh, look, you little...
Yeah?
What is it?
Looks like they're leveling.
They couldn't have pushed him off.
The only way onto that roof is the door from the catwalk.
Poppy had barred it from his side.
He was all alone up there.
You ain't trying to tell me he jumped.
Poppy wasn't the type.
I don't know.
Either that or he ran to the edge
and not knowing that they tore down the old tenement next door
because there wasn't anything else up there
but him and an empty tin can blowing around in the wind.
Suspense.
In which Jim Bakkis starred in
William and Robeson's production of See How He Runs,
written by George Bamber.
Supporting Jim Bakkis in See How He Runs
were Gail Bonney, Norm Olden, Lou Krugman,
Barney Phillips, Dick Beals, and Sam Pearce.
Listen.
Listen again next week
when we return with another tale
well calculated to keep you in.
Suspense.