Suspense. And the producer of CBS Radio's outstanding theater of thrills, the master
of mystery and adventure, William N. Robeson.
What you're about to hear is more than the lurid figments of this writer's imagination.
It has happened in the prisons of Michigan and New Jersey, of Massachusetts and Colorado,
and most recently in the prisons of Montana and Tennessee, when desperate men, oppressed
beyond endurance, turn on their tormentors. Not a prison break, not a prison riot, but
a prison mutiny. Listen, listen then as John Lund stars in I Witness, which begins in just
a moment.
And now, I Witness, starring Mr. John Lund, a tale well calculated to keep you in suspense.
You got the assignment because you've never been in jail. A fresh point of view on the
state prison, the editor said. Not an exposition, nothing sensational. Just a Sunday feature
story of the average citizen's reaction to the stone walls and iron bars of a big penitentiary.
Oh, it's a depressing tour and you've had enough. But the captain of the guard has one more
point of interest for you.
Here's something you ought to see before you go, Mr. Kelly.
Yeah, what's that?
Your old block, built more than a hundred years ago. This is where we keep the bad ones.
Yeah, in solitary. The tough guys, the deviants, softens them up fast, most of them.
You stop in front of the heavy steel door, but no guard peers through the bulletproof
glass peephole. The door is not instantly unlocked as the others have been.
That's funny. Should be a man on the door at all times. Oh, there he is. Go ahead, on
in, Mr. Kelly. You walk in, the door clangs behind you and then you feel something sharp
grab your back.
All right, brother, stay where you are.
Hey, what is this?
If you make one move, Wolf, I'll drive this ship straight through your gut.
Where's him, Joe?
You know, here's a sap.
Good.
Here's his gun.
Good, we can use him.
This one's clean, he's an outsider.
You can't get away with this.
We can't, huh? We have. I'm happy to report, Captain Wolf, that the old cell block is completely
in control of its 32 inmates.
Listen, you're asking for trouble, Mr. Kelly. He is from the Capital News Telegram.
Oh, a journalist. Oh, the name, Mr. Kelly, is Jake Conrad Allen. That's spelled with
one L, Mr. Kelly. Whether I end up a live lifer or a dead hero, be sure, Mr. Kelly,
to spell it with one L.
I'll try to remember that.
Hey, Conrad, what do you want me to do with these two? Lock them up with a guard?
Not yet. I'll need Captain Wolf's cooperation.
You won't get it.
I'll just have to bet on that. How about you, Mr. Kelly? Are you going to cooperate?
Well, I don't know.
I will see. All right, men, listen to me.
Now, here's where we stand. We got Limpy to thank for this. He pretended to be sick and
got that greenhorn guard to open his cell. He called the guard, locked him in his cell
and let Big Joe and me out. We took care of the rest of the guards. They're all locked
up in cell number three.
I hear it. Wait a minute. That's not all. Just after we got them locked up, who should
walk in but our old friend, the captain of the yard, Lord Tub Wolf?
Now, now, wait a minute. We also have another guest, Mr. Kelly of the Capitol News Telegram.
He ain't no good to us.
I'll be just sure about that. We're going to get plenty out of this. Stick with me.
I'll show you. First, they don't know anything's happened yet. Well, let's tell them. Get on
the telephone, Captain Wolf, and call the warden.
I will.
What did you say? It is sharp, isn't it, Lord?
Now, get on the phone. Tell the warden where you are and what's happened. Tell him to send
over our supper just the same and to wait for further instructions. Here I'll dial it.
I'll talk.
Warden speaking.
This is Captain Wolf, warden.
Yes, yes, Wolf.
Warden, I'm talking from the old cell block. The cons have taken it over.
What?
They got me and McGuire and that new kid and Feeny. Oh, yeah, and Mr. Kelly. Now, warden,
if I was you, I'd...
I'm giving the advice around here. Give me that phone. Stop whimpering. It only stuck
you a little bit. I'll come up at cell three, Joe.
Okay, Conrad. Come on, you.
Hello, warden.
What have you done to Captain Wolf?
Don't worry, warden. We just threw a little blood. Now, get this.
Who is this speaking?
Jake Conrad Allen.
Allen, huh? Number 6720.
No, warden. Jake Conrad Allen is the name.
What do you want?
Plenty. We don't want any funny business from you.
Now, look here.
No, you look here, warden. Just sit tight until you hear from me again. But don't forget
to send supper over as usual.
I will not.
Okay, warden, okay. Don't send the supper then. But you'd better send a stretcher because
we're just about to beat up a guard.
John Lund, starring Mr. John Lund, act two of Eye Witness.
Did you have to do it?
What?
Beat up that guard.
Of course.
But why?
Of course. That's the only thing they understand. The guards, the warden. That's the way they
treat us. You don't have to do anything. You just have to have a guard down on you, and
it can mean three days in a straight jacket. Get in a real room, Bob, and you can go to
the dungeon for anywhere from a week to a month.
The dungeon?
Yeah. Down in the cellar of this block. The cells are five foot long, five feet high,
and three foot wide. You can't lie down and you can't stand up. There's no light. It's
not a pretty place, Mr. Kelly. See what I mean?
I'm beginning to.
Okay, Mr. Kelly, it's your story.
What do you mean?
Mr. Kelly, for a newspaper man you amazed me. It's your story. Eye Witness.
You're gonna, you're gonna let me out?
No, no, indeed. We need you.
Well, then how can I...
Phone it in. When's the morning edition go to press?
The Bulldog is put to bed at 8.15.
Right. You got a little more than an hour. Can you make it?
Why, sure. If I can get a call through.
You'll get a call through.
Hello?
Outside line, please.
What?
You heard me, Warden. Tell the operator to give us an outside line.
What are you trying...
Mr. Kelly wants to file a story.
Oh, no, no. No story goes out of here without my okay.
Now, I bet you're holding a press conference in your office right now, aren't you?
Well, so am I. Mr. Kelly wants to file a story.
I will not be...
How's Feeney, Warden, resting easy? Who do you want next?
McGuire or the green kid who opened the first cell?
Name him. We'll deliver him to you in pieces.
Look, look, look, Alan. Don't you realize if you don't give up,
you'll spend the rest of your lives right where you are, in the old block.
Okay, Big Joe, go to work on the next goon.
Oh, wait a minute, wait a minute. You can't. It's inhuman.
I suppose the dungeon isn't...
No, but you can't...
Get me that outside line, Warden.
You give me your word, you won't harm that man.
I give you my word. For now. Get me the line.
What number do you want?
Get me the Capital News Telegram.
The managing editor.
Person to person to the managing editor, Mr. Wiley Brooks.
How did you know?
An Omega Snappy.
How did you know the ME's name?
I've been around some, Mr. Kelly.
Now, I needn't warn you, I suppose, not to double-cross us.
How could I?
I don't know. Or just don't.
You saw what happened to Feeney.
Yeah, I saw. But I have to include that in my story.
I want you to. It happened. We're not ashamed of it.
And here, you'll want to include this.
What is it?
A list of demands. I want to get that in.
I want the Warden to see that in print.
And the prison board. And the governor.
News Telegram, Brooks speaking.
Hello, Wiley. This is Conrad Allen.
Conrad. I thought you were in prison.
I am.
What's going on up there? We got a flash. There was some trouble up there.
There is.
We got a man up there, but we haven't heard from him.
You will.
What are you talking about?
Wiley, I've never forgotten what you did for me during my trial.
Well, I knew you were framed, and after all, you were the best city hall reporter I ever had.
Well, thank you. I told you I'd return the favor someday.
I got an eyewitness story for you on the mutiny in the old cell block.
On a cabin?
Well, you know me, Wiley. I never was very good phoning a story in.
I think better at a typewriter.
So I'll turn you over to your Mr. Kelly.
Is Bob there?
Yeah, he's one of our hostages.
What do you want?
Take it from here, Mr. Kelly.
Hello, Wiley.
What are you doing up there, Bob?
I'll fill you in when I get out of here. If I get out.
Right now, here's the story. You ready?
Yeah, ready.
At 3.43 this afternoon in the old cell block at State's Prison, Jones v. Key...
You dictate the story as fast as you can, including the mutineer's list of demands.
Well, that winds it up as of this minute, Wiley.
Wait a minute. I got something to add.
Oh, just a minute. Conrad Allen. That's spelled with one L.
I know.
He wants to add something.
Hello, Wiley.
Yeah, Conrad.
I got three guards left.
Your bulldog still hits the streets at 10 p.m., doesn't it?
That's right.
If they don't meet our demands by midnight, we beat up a guard.
The next one goes at 4 a.m.
The last one at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning.
You can print that.
Yeah, okay, Conrad. But listen, let Bob Kelly out of there, will you?
I need him on this story.
Uh-huh, Wiley. He's on this story. And we need him.
If they don't give in by 8 a.m. when I run out of guards,
I'll need your Mr. Kelly very badly.
And now, starring Mr. John Blund, act three of Eye Witness.
11 o'clock. The tension mounts.
Slowly, Conrad's midnight deadline approaches.
The hands creep toward 12.
They meet, point upward.
Ten seconds pass.
15.
Nothing happens.
Then Conrad reaches for the phone.
Okay, boys.
Who's next?
How about McGuire, the blackjack specialist?
Use his own on him.
Okay.
Warden speaking.
Send a stretcher, Warden.
McGuire will be ready for you in five minutes.
Here's your answer, Allen.
Hey, the lights!
Somebody turned off the lights!
That's the way he wants it.
What word do you want to use?
Pandemonium, chaos, anarchy. They all fit.
While the screaming guard is beaten into unconsciousness,
the roaring men break apart the wooden furniture,
dump the cots over the balconies,
rip open the mattresses and build a fire
in the middle of the cell blocks.
And at last, after the guard has been dumped into the yard
and carried away, their anger subsides into sullen silence.
Four more hours drag by,
and at last Conrad's next deadline arrives.
Ready to give in, Warden?
You thirsty, Allen?
What do you mean?
You will be.
Crummy.
Hey, Lippy.
Yeah?
Turn on the water tap of your cell.
Turn it on.
It's just a trickle. It stopped.
Figures.
Hey, Conrad, something's going on outside.
What is it?
Oh, I can't tell. It sounds like digging out and back.
Can't you see?
You kid, we ain't got no lights for nobody.
Yard lights are out.
Time to throw them another bone.
Yeah, which one is time?
How about the greenhorn kid?
Hey, he's the one who let me out.
He's a guard, isn't he?
Gotta work on him.
So the greenhorn kid gets his
and is dumped into the yard
and he sits and waits in the darkness
until gray light spreads over the gray walls
and through the tiny windows,
turning the blackness of the block into a lighter black.
And at last it's eight o'clock in the morning.
Okay, boys, this is our deadline.
Wait out in the water.
What the?
What's the matter, Conrad?
They're gone, kid. They cut off the phone.
Gee, Conrad, we got no lights, no water, no food.
What are we gonna do?
Well, boys, how'd you like a little exercise?
Huh? Big Joe?
Yeah.
I'm not gonna give them to me.
I owe him plenty of money.
Now, boys, with lots of warmth, it's gonna be different.
Everybody gets a crack.
Because everybody's got unfinished business.
But the tough isn't that right?
Yeah, right.
Good old Lord Tub.
I got a idea he might quit his job.
After he's able to walk again.
Hey, Conrad, I just thought of something.
What's that?
What are we gonna do next?
Nothing. It's their move.
Yeah?
We ain't got any more guards to beat up.
That's right.
But we still got Mr. Kelly.
Your heart stops beating for a long instant.
As the wild bloodshot eyes of 32 desperate men
center on you.
You don't know how long you sit there
across the table from Conrad.
Time has stopped.
You wait. Conrad waits.
The men wait in silent little groups.
You wait for the next move.
The warden's move.
And at last it comes.
You men in the old cell block...
What's that?
They just pulled a loud speaker truck into the yard.
Where?
Oh, yeah.
I'll bring out this window.
Yeah, warden, I hear you.
I'm not talking to you, Alan.
I'm doing the talking for the guys.
I'm talking to all of you men.
I have just come from a meeting with the counter.
We are in agreement.
We will not permit the authority of this state
to be bullied by a tiny group of men
who have even the rights of children.
Make it simple, warden.
You're turning us down?
I'm willing to discuss your grievances with you.
But I will not be forced to give in to your demands.
That's final.
Now, men, I urge you.
Come out of that piece of wheat,
and we'll see what can be done for you.
Thanks a lot for nothing, warden.
We'll sit tight.
Men, don't listen to Alan.
He must be crazy to keep you there.
And I think he is keeping you there.
You listen to me.
I've cut off your lights, your water, your food.
I could let you rot in there.
But I don't want to do that, men.
Come out piece of wheat.
Ah, go blow it.
All right.
I will.
My watch says 17 minutes after nine.
At exactly 9.30, I will blow up the cell block.
You're bluffing.
If they so aren't,
during the night we plant a dynamite all around the building.
Hey, Conrad, you remember I said I heard noises out there during the night?
You listen.
Don't listen to Alan.
Listen to me.
You've got 12 and a half minutes to take up your minds.
You're forgetting something, warden.
We've still got the newspaper reporter in here.
Mr. Kelly.
I can be responsible for him.
I've got all my guards out.
I won't bargain any further.
There's just a little bit more than 12 minutes.
So you can go, boys.
Well, Kelly,
looks like you aren't as valuable as I thought you would be.
Yeah, I'm sorry about that.
Well, we're licked. We've got to give in.
Give in and lose everything?
Do you realize that in this state they can give us all life for what we've done?
Me, I'd rather get blown up than spend the rest of my life in this hole.
No, Conrad, no.
Please, you've got to get us out.
It's all your fault, you little punk.
What do you mean, my fault?
If you hadn't conked that Greenhorn guard yesterday
just because you wanted to make up the Conrad, we wouldn't be in this picture.
Lay off the kid.
Why, you little jerk, are you on a bike ride?
Lay off the kid!
You've made a lot of mistakes, Conrad.
But this is one too many.
You had a ball of order to surround,
promising us you'd mastermind us out of here.
Well, you got us.
Five minutes from Kingdom Come.
The warden's only bluffing he wouldn't dare blow us up.
I'll get you all out of this.
No, Con, I'm not waiting five minutes to find out if he's bluffing.
I said you made a lot of mistakes.
And the biggest one was passing out the guard's guns, remember?
No, no.
Stand where you are.
I'm taking over now.
Why, you...
Don't move, Con.
Are you sticking around?
Less than five minutes, boys.
I'm going out.
Anybody joining me?
Now, Mr. Kelly, I feel that I must apologize to you
for the inconvenience and the discomfort you've suffered.
That, warden, is the understatement of the year.
Now, of course, you clear any stories you write about this situation through me.
I doubt it.
Oh, he can't permit you a free hat.
Look, warden, I'm going to report it just as it happened.
And when I get through, I don't think that J. Conrad Allen,
as spelled with one L, mixed up and twisted though his values may have been,
well, I don't think he'll have died in vain.
Suspense, in which John Lund starred in High Witness,
written, produced, and directed by William N. Robeson.
Supporting John Lund in tonight's story were Joe DeSantis, Barney Phillips,
Norm Alden, Sam Pierce, Lou Krugman, and Lawrence Dobkin.
Listen. Listen again next week when we return with Vincent Price starring in
Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, another tale well calculated to keep you in
suspense.