Announcer:

The Signal Oil Program, The Whistler....

MFX:

Whistling intro up, hold end (2 tympani notes)

Announcer:

That whistle is your signal for the Signal Oil Program, The Whistler....

MFX:

Whistling intro up, hold to finish

MFX:

Spooky flute interlude UNDER the following

Whistler:

I am The Whistler. And I know many things, for I walk by night. I know man strange tales hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. Yes, I KNOW the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak.

MFX:

Interlude out

Announcer:

Yes, friends, it's time for The Whistler. And remember: Let every traffic signal remind you, with new Signal Gasoline, you DO go farther than ever. Look for the familiar big yellow and black circle sign that identifies those popular Signal Service Stations in seven Western states from Canada to Mexico. (pause)

MFX:

Spooky flute interlude under following

Announcer:

And now, The Whistler's strange story, (pause then slowly) THE STRANGE SISTERS...

MFX:

Interlude UP, hold, then under following

Whistler:

The three Randall girls were as different from each other as day and night. Even the people of Newton, who had watched them grow up, found it hard to accept the fact that they were sisters. Pamela, the eldest, was forceful and overbearing. Kathy, the youngest, was a weakling. Life was a little too complicated for her. And she found the easiest solution was to let Pamela face it...used to bring her problems to Pamela, who listened meekly to Pamela's instructions, and then, to quietly obey. Yes, Pamela and Kathy were two extremes. And Sally, the third sister, was in the middle, both in age and temperament. The combination of Pamela's strength, and Kathy's frailty had produced in Sally a kind of radiance that had made life easy for her. That had made her sure of success where her sisters had failed. And the more she succeeded, the harder it became for Pamela and Kathy to face it. Until one morning Mrs. Stokes, the housekeeper called Kathy for breakfast. (pause) There was NO answer...

MFX:

Interlude out

Mrs. Stokes:

(sternly) Miss Kathy, your breakfast is on the table! (pause) (to herself) Oh, that girl! Takes a team of horses to get her out of bed!

SFX:

KNOCK ON DOOR

Mrs. Stokes:

(loudly) MISS KATHY! (pause)

SFX:

KNOCK ON DOOR

Mrs. Stokes:

(annoyed) Your breakfast is ready, young lady, and I ain't gonna keep it warm for you another moment!

SFX:

KNOCK ON DOOR

Mrs. Stokes:

(demanding) Miss Kathy, answer me! I know you're..... (sniffs as if smelling something) Good Lord!

SFX:

DOOR HANDLE RATTLE

Mrs. Stokes:

Locked! (a bit flustered) Now...err...my key... Oh! There it is...

SFX:

SCRATCH OF KEY IN LOCK

SFX:

DOOR OPENING

Mrs. Stokes:

Miss Kathy, what are you (gasps, then coughs) GAS! The heater! (upset) Oh, where's the handle? (coughs again) There, it's off. (horrified) MISS PAMELA! MISS PAMELA! COME UP QUICK! (coughs again) THE WINDOW!

SFX:

WINDOW BEING OPENED

Mrs. Stokes:

(shouting) MISS PAM???

Pamela:

(off mic) (concerned) What's the matter? (pause) (ON mic) What's the matter??

Mrs. Stokes:

(gasping) It's Kathy! She's ...she's...Oh! Miss Pamela! Miss Kathy! ...

Pamela:

(interrupting) Here! Let me! (to Kathy) Kathy! Kathy, dear! Let me see... her pulse... well, she's alive! (demanding) CALL DOCTOR JOHNSON, QUICKLY!

Mrs. Stokes:

(frantic) Well, do you think she...

Pamela:

(interrupting and demanding) DON'T STAND THERE LIKE AN IDIOT! CALL THE DOCTOR!

Mrs. Stokes:

(still frantic) YES, miss Pamela, right away!

MFX:

TRANSITION

SFX:

DOOR CLOSE

SFX:

4 WOMAN'S QUICK FOOTSTEPS

Sally:

(VERY concerned) Hello, Pamela...

Pamela:

(snidely) Well, it's nice of you to leave your work, Sally!

Sally:

That's a peculiar remark to make!

Pamela:

I think it's apropos at the moment...

Sally:

I don't.

Pamela:

As usual, I suppose we disagree...

Sally:

(annoyed) Well, where is she?

Pamela:

In there, with Doctor Johnson.

Sally:

(really concerned) Will she be all right?

Pamela:

I don't know yet.

Sally:

(defiantly) Well, I'm going in and...

Pamela:

(interrupting) WAIT A MINUTE! You're NOT going in there.

Sally:

You can't stop me, Pamela! I've got a right to know. And since you didn't chose to tell me over the phone, I'll find out for myself!

Pamlea:

(demanding) I SAID WAIT!

Sally:

Kathy is MY sister, too, Pamela! She doesn't belong to you! You've had her under your thumb for so long, the poor girl can't even think for herself!

Pamela:

All right, go on in, if you want to kill her!

Sally:

(startled) What do you mean by that?

Pamela:

I've managed to convince Doctor Johnson it was an accident.

Sally:

It WAS an accident! She left the gas heater on...

Pamela:

(interrupting) You've never been very clever, Sally. Kathy tried to kill herself.

Sally:

YOU'RE WRONG! You're making it up! She didn't have a reason.

Pamela:

I admit it wasn't a very good reason. But it's been used a thousand times.

Sally:

Go on.

Pamela:

It's a man, Sally. And a rather shabby specimen at that.

Sally:

(disbelief) She was in love?

Pamela:

(emphatically) YES.

Sally:

How long has it been going on?

Pamela:

Six months or more.

Sally:

You're sure?

Pamela:

Of COURSE I'm sure!

Sally:

Who is it, Pamela?

Pamela:

YOUR fiancée.

Sally:

(disbelief) HENRY?? Why......why you're WRONG! You must be wrong! He never gave her any reason! He's.. he's hardly even spoken to her!

Pamela:

(flippantly) You asked me, and I told you.

Sally:

Pamela...where did Kathy get the idea that Henry French was in love with her? (pause) (demanding) Tell me, Pamela? WHERE did it come from?

Pamela:

I don't know.

Sally:

(angry) You stepped into that part of her life too, didn't you? ANSWER ME!!

Pamela:

(dismissive) Oh, come now, Sally! Don't distort that pretty finishing school face of yours! It's your biggest asset, you know! It's gotten you everything you ever wanted. There's no end to what it can do.

Sally:

How can you be so contemptuous...

Pamela:

(interrupting) Maybe I was wrong. Maybe you ARE clever. Insinuating your way into father's confidence. Bowing and scraping. Playing the faithful daughter when he was ill. THAT'S why father left everything to YOU when he died! Fifty thousand dollars, and two sister to provide for. If and when you felt like it. We're your favorite charity, aren't we? THAT'S part of the act, too! LADY BOUNTIFUL!

Sally:

(trying to control herself) I've heard all I want to hear, Pamela.

Pamela:

(dismissive) Very well! Perhaps you'd better go.

Sally:

(insistent) I'm going to see Kathy, whether you like it or not! You see, I WAS wrong. I'm ADMITTING it!

Pamela:

Oh?

Sally:

I was wrong leaving you and Kathy under the same roof. I Just hope it isn't too late to anything about it!

Pamela:

Perhaps you're forgetting it's MY roof, too!

Sally:

(snidely) As long as I chose to let you stay here, Pamela. (pause then more softly) It's funny, isn't it, Pamela? Try to be fair...you try to do the right thing, and it all blows up in your face.

SFX:

DOOR OPENING

SFX:

4 MAN'S FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING

Sally:

Well, Doctor Johnson?

Dr. Johnson:

(calmly) I think she's going to be all right.

Sally:

(concerned) May I see her, Doctor?

Dr. Johnson:

(halting) Errr...she....ahh asked for Pamela.

Sally:

Well, I'm sure if she knows I'm here...

Dr. Johnson:

(interrupting) Ahhh, perhaps you'd better wait, Sally. She was rather specific.

Sally:

(puzzled) What do you mean? 'Specific'?

Dr. Johnson:

She...err... DOESN'T want to see you, Sally.

Sally:

(crushed) Ohhh!

Pamela:

I'll go in, Doctor. (pause) Are you going to wait, Sally?

Sally:

(near tears) No... I'll go...

Dr. Johnson:

I left her a prescription on the dresser, Pamela. Three drops in half a glass of water every four hours. (pause) May I drop you off somewhere, Sally?

Sally:

(still distressed) Oh, thank you, Doctor.

SFX:

6 MAN'S AND WOMAN'S FOOTSTEPS DEPARTING

SFX:

DOOR OPEN pause THEN CLOSE

SFX:

6 QUICK WOMAN'S FOOTSTEPS

SFX:

DOOR OPEN pause THEN CLOSE

Pamela:

Kathy? Kathy, are you all right?

Kathy:

(groggy and despondent) No...(long pause) No, I'm not all right. (pause) I'll never be all right anymore.

Pamela:

You mustn't feel that way, dear.

Kathy:

(whining) I made a mess of this, too! I never do things right, do I, Pam? What.....what will Henry think of me now?

Pamela:

(forcefully) They only know what I told them, Kathy. They think it was an accident. Don't worry about Henry, dear.
Kathy: (weakly) You must have been wrong, Pam. He doesn't love me. He couldn't. He would have told me. He wouldn't have just gone off with Sally...

Pamela:

(interrupting) Now maybe you'll believe me now, Kathy. She's capable of anything! She owns it all now. The house, the money, and now Henry French. (spitefully) Don't you see, Kathy? He was the ONLY thing she didn't have! He was yours. And she made up her mind she wanted him, too...

Kathy:

(interrupting tearfully) He never told me!!

Pamela:

Of COURSE he didn't! Sally never gave him a chance!

Kathy:

(VERY slowly and weakly) I.....hate.....her. (pause)

Kathy:

(sobbing) It's awful, Pam! But I can't help it! I hate her!

Pamela:

(meanly) SO DO I!

Kathy:

(still sobbing) What can we do?

Pamela:

Well............maybe you'd better rest a while now.

Kathy:

NO! (gasping) Now...now tell me, Pam, what are we going to do?

Pamela:

(forcefully) There's a way! (pause) YES! There IS a way!

Kathy:

What?

Pamela:

Kathy (long pause) Kathy, we're going to KILL her!

MFX:

STING INTO FINALE

Announcer:

We'll be back to "The Strange Sisters" in just a moment. (pause) You've no doubt noticed those big red and yellow billboards that tell you, 'you now go farther than ever with new Signal Gasoline'. Well, that's important! But unfortunately, there isn't room on those billboards to tell the equally important part of the story: the finer performance in Signal Gasoline that makes this good mileage possible. Here's what I mean: New Signal's quicker starting naturally saves gas. Signal's smooth, fast pick up saves gas. And Signal's effortless, anti-knock power that sends your motor purring up the steepest hills saves gas! So you see the features in gasoline that make driving a pleasure, are the very same ones that add up to more mileage. That's why we say your speedometer is the best proof of gasoline quality. If you want the tops in performance from your car, the logical place to find it is the new super fuel that now helps you go farther than ever. New SIGNAL GASOLINE! (pause) And now, back to The Whistler...

MFX:

Whistling intro

Whistler:

Well, Pamela, jealousy can do strange things to a mind like yours, can't it? And it's a peculiar mind, filled to the bursting point with frustrated black hatred for your sister Sally.

Whistler:

Accumulated during the long years the three of you spent under the same roof with your father. She always had everything, didn't she? You and Kathy had to take what was left, and LIKE it. Yes, Pamela, that jealous hatred has brought you to the point where you'll stop at nothing! Lying! Cheating! Twisting the truth in such a way that your poor, gullible sister Kathy believes the very EXISTENCE of Sally condemns her to begging for crumbs at Sally's table, when the bread is rightfully hers. And you've thought of everything, haven't you, Pamela? You're confident that Kathy is prepared for the talk with Sally that's bound to come sooner or later......

Sally:

Look, Kathy, I know I'm right about Pamela.

Kathy:

(annoyed) Why must you always talk about Pamela? Pamela did this...If it wasn't for Pamela... OH STOP IT, WILL YOU! (sobs) I tell you Pamela is the only one in the world I can turn to! (sobs again)

Sally:

PLEASE, Kathy, please! Believe me! You're wrong!

Kathy:

(still crying) I'm NOT wrong!

Sally:

(consoling) You ARE, dear! She's filled your mind with all sorts of hateful lies about me and Henry.

Kathy:

(angry) Why do you keep throwing THAT in my face? Henry!, HENRY!, HENRY!!! He's yours now, isn't he? (sobbing) You've got him! (pause) (meekly) And you're smart....just like she said. (pause) ALL RIGHT! TAKE HIM! MARRY HIM! I DON'T CARE! (pause) (sobbing) It doesn't make any difference now.

Sally:

(quietly) Kathy...apparently there is nothing I can do or say that will make any difference in the way you feel. I promised father I'd take care of you. (pause) Well...I'm leaving you the house and all the furniture. And I'm making arrangements for a trust fund that will provide for you both.

Kathy:

(snidely) That's charitable of you.

Sally:

Under the circumstances, I think it IS. I'll expect you and Pamela to be civil to Henry until we leave. Is that clear?

Kathy:

(meekly) Is he coming here?

Sally:

Yes.

Kathy:

To live?

Sally; Yes. For a week or so.

Kathy:

(more composed) I...I don't understand.

Sally:

It's very simple. We're going to be married tonight.

MFX:

'HERE COMES THE BRIDE' STING

Whistler:

Yes, Pamela, Kathy was prepared, wasn't she? Sally was right. Nothing she could do or say would make any difference. Because Kathy is yours, isn't she? For too many years she's depended on you for guidance. Looked to you for advice. Regarded everything you said as true, and everything else as false. Yessss, jealousy is a strange thing, Pamela. It's been there DEEP inside for as long as you can remember. And it was convenient for you to find a cause for it. Sally and your father: the legacy! The house! The money! But that's gone now, isn't it, Pamela? Sally's been pretty fair about it. She and Henry are married now, and you have the house and your share of the money. That's what's strange about jealousy. The CAUSE is gone, but it's still there! Stronger than ever! And with it, your plan for MURDER!

Pamela:

Did you get the key to their room from Mrs. Stokes?

Kathy:

Yes, I....ahh...well----here it is.

Pamela:

She doesn't know you have it?

Kathy:

No. She's gone to the store. I took it off the hook.

Pamela:

(demanding) Give it to me.

Kathy:

(fearful) What are you going to do?

Pamela:

Just look around a little.

Kathy:

Why?

Pamela:

Henry's things are up there. He brought them in last night before they left.

Kathy:

Well?

Pamela:

I'm just curious, Kathy. (pause) Just curious...

MFX:

TRANSITION

Pamela:

All right now, Kathy. You can put the key back now.

Kathy:

Did you find anything?

Pamela:

Yes. Several things.

Kathy:

What?

Pamela:

Kathy....I'll do the shopping tomorrow.

Kathy:

(surprised) Shopping? Pam, you NEVER do the...

Pamela:

(interrupting) I'll tell you later. (pause) It seems Mister French is a vicious man, Kathy! Perhaps you're just as well rid of him.

Kathy:

(disbelief) Vicious?

Pamela:

Of course! He MUST be, dear. Otherwise, WHY would he keep a loaded revolver in the upper drawer of his dresser?

MFX:

INTERLUDE

Mr. Watkins:

Well, Miss Pamela! What are you doing around here? Why, you ain't been in the store for six months now!

Pamela:

Oh, I thought the drive might do me good.

Mr. Watkins:

Well, what'll it be?

Pamela:

A small rolled roast, please. About three pounds, perhaps.

Mr. Watkins:

(proudly) I got JUST the thing for you here!

SFX:

BUTCHER CASE DOOR OPENING

Mr. Watkins:

You ain't lookin' too well, if you don't mind my sayin' so. Something wrong?

Pamela:

(hesitantly) N...no.....nothing.

Mr. Watkins:

Oh. (pause) Ahh! Will this do?

Pamela:

Yes. That will be fine.

Mr. Watkins:

(apologetic) It's kinda small....

Pamela:

Oh, it'll do, Mister Watkins. (pause) You....you see, Kathy and I haven't been too well lately.

Mr. Watkins:

Mmm hmm, I THOUGHT SO! Now c'mon! What's up?

Pamela:

(hesitantly) I...Oh, I know I shouldn't say anything, but I've GOT to talk to SOMEONE, Mister Watkins!

Mr. Watkins:

Gosh! Is it THAT bad?

Pamela:

I don't know...It's Sally and that husband of hers!

Mr. Watkins:

(interested) Hmmm, you don't say!

Pamela:

(knows she has him hooked) Oh, they've been quarreling dreadfully! It's been going on all morning, and I just HAD to get away from it!

Mr. Watkins:

They was only married night before last!

Pamela:

You....you won't say anything, will you, Mister Watkins? Promise me!

Mr. Watkins:

Sure, sure!

Pamela:

(lowers voice) Well, it's about the estate. Sally told him she was going to deed part of it to Kathy and me, and he flew into the most dreadful fit of temper! I could hardly.....

MFX:

SHORT STACCATO TRANSITION

Mr. Kennedy:

Well, here's your sugar, Miss Pamela.

Pamela:

Thank you, Mister Kennedy.

Mr. Kennedy:

I'm sure sorry about that.

Pamela:

You....you won't say anything, will you?

Mr. Kennedy:

Oh, no, no. Ain't there anything you can do?

MFX:

SHORT STACCATO TRANSITION #2

SFX:

CASH REGISTER BELL

Mr. Spencer:

Let's see... that'll be three dollars for the lube and oil change, and another two dollars for the gasoline, Miss Pamela. Total of five dollars.

Pamela:

Here you are, Mister Spencer.

Mr. Spencer:

Thank you, Miss Pamela. Ya know, I had a hard time keeping my mind on servicing your car after what you told me...

Pamela:

You...you won't say anything, will you?

Mr. Spencer:

Oh! Of course not, Miss Pamela! Not a WORD!

MFX:

SHORT STACCATO TRANSITION #3

Whistler:

You're very efficient, aren't you, Pamela? The town of Newton is like a smooth pond. All you have to do is cast a few pebbles here and there, and the ripples spread over the whole surface, clear to the edges! There's another step now: a VERY important one. Sally is hostile and suspicious. And you're going to need her confidence.

SFX:

KNOCK ON DOOR

Sally:

(off mic) Who is it?

Pamela:

Pamela.

SFX:

DOOR OPENING

Sally:

(on mic and COLDLY) Well, Pamela?

Pamela:

May I comein?

Sally:

Must you?

Pamela:

Please don't make it difficult for me, Sally!

Sally:

I don't understand.

Pamela:

I have something to tell you. (hesitantly) I'd like to come in and sit down, if you don't mind.

Sally:

All right, Pamela.

SFX:

DOOR CLOSING

Sally:

Well?

Pamela:

(apologetically) I...I've been doing a lot of thinking, Sally. and...and I haven't slept much. Not since you told us about the house and the money.

Sally:

Yes?

Pamela:

This is so unexpected, I ...well... you see, it threw me a little off balance...

Sally:

(interrupting) What are you trying to say?

Pamela:

You know me so well, Sally. The past few years have been hard, and I know I've been unreasonable and difficult....

Sally:

(softening) Pamela, you're trying to say you're sorry, aren't you?

Pamela:

(embarrassed) Why...I...I'm so clumsy at this sort of thing...I do so want to have you and Henry forgive me.

Sally:

(totally believing her) Oh, my dear! I REALLY believe you mean it!

Pamela:

I DO, SALLY! I DO MEAN IT! (pause) and I'm going to try and make Kathy understand, too! (pause) You were right, Sally. I've been such a terrible influence on the poor thing.

Sally:

(elated) And darling, I'm so happy that it's working out!

Pamela:

(beginning to cry) Oh, Sally! I....I...(continues crying through Sally's next line)

Sally; (happy) Oh, come on now! Let's forget all about it! I'm sure Henry will understand. It's odd, isn't it? I had the feeling underneath that somehow it WOULD work out. I just KNEW it, Pam!

Pamela:

(meekly) Thank you, Sally. (louder) Thank you.

Sally:

Now you go on down and tell Kathy. I've got to finish the packing.

Pamela:

(panicked) PACKING? B...B...but you're not leaving until the end of the week!

Sally:

Henry has to make a business trip to New York. Some things he has to settle up before we leave.

Pamela:

When's he going?

Sally:

Tonight. He's leaving at nine. Oh! That reminds me! I must call a cab. He said to be sure and have it here for him promptly at nine. Now you run down and tell Kathy it's ALL cleared up, will you?

Pamela:

Oh, of course, Sally. (forcefully) OF COURSE!

MFX:

SPOOKY INTERLUDE

Pamela:

(furious) That's what I get for avoiding them! HOW COULD I HAVE BEEN SO STUPID?

Kathy:

It's all right, Pam, Henry will be back.

Pamela:

Oh, DON'T BE REDICULOUS! He's leaving for New York tonight! And they're taking the steamer from there in four days. (emphatically) NO, KATHY, HE'S NOT COMING BACK! He'll send for her, and she'll meet him there.

Kathy:

But isn't there some way?

Pamela:

There's only ONE way! It's GOT to happen TONIGHT!

Kathy:

(meekly) Oh, Pam, I'm scared! Maybe...

Pamela:

(very upset) OH, STOP GIBBERING, KATHY! The town is ready for it, and it's going to happen! Henry French is going to shoot his wife in a fit of temper, and try to leave the country!

Kathy:

(also upset) PAM! PAM, THE GUN! How are we going to get the gun? WE CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT THE GUN! (talking rapidly) And it's in his dresser, and, and, and she's in there..

Pamela:

I SAID STOP GIBBERING! I've got to think! (pause) Turn on the light, it's getting dark in here.

Kathy:

Yes, Pam.

SFX:

LIGHT SWITCH

Pamela:

(has idea) Light.....YESSSSSSS! The light! THAT'S IT! THE LIGHT!

Kathy:

(calmer) What is it, Pam?

Pamela:

The basement! (pause) Kathy, the fuse box is in the basement. In the furnace room.

Kathy:

The fuse box?

Pamela:

He'll get here about six. I'll go down in the basement and unscrew a fuse. The lights will go out. (assured) You know Henry! He'll trot down to the basement to fix it!

Kathy:

What about Sally?

Pamela:

I'll wait till she's down stairs. You'll be on the second floor in your room at the end of the corridor. And then, when he leaves, you can go into the room and GET THE GUN!

MFX:

TRANSITION

Whistler:

You can see it pretty clearly now, can't you. Pamela? The people versus Henry French. The charge: MURDER! It's easy to think there in the basement, as you wait in a dark corner after you unscrew the fuse, and listen to the confusion upstairs as they stumble around in the dark. Then, as an afterthought, you find an old blown out fuse on the shelf and screw it into place just in case Henry might wonder how a perfectly good one could come UNscrewed by itself. (pause)

Whistler:

Then, when it's over, you return secretly to your room at the end of the second floor corridor....

SFX:

DOOR CLOSING

Pamela:

(demanding) Did you get it?

Kathy:

(breathless) Yes! Here it is. I wore my gloves, Pam, just as you told me.

Pamela:

All right. Now listen! We haven't much time. He's down there now waiting for the taxi. Have you got your watch on?

Kathy:

Yes!

Pamela:

Now, let's see...Ahh! luminous dial! That's good! (slowly) Now LISTEN CAREFULLY! The taxi is calling promptly at nine o'clock. Understand it's going to happen shortly after he leaves. About five past nine.

Kathy:

(slightly fearful) Who's going to do it?

Pamela:

YOU ARE!

Kathy:

(nearly hysterical) OH, PAM! I.....

Pamela:

(interrupting) You've GOT to! I'll have to be upstairs. You'll be in the basement. Henry will leave in the taxi at nine, and I'll get Sally up on the second floor on some pretense. At five past nine, I'll scream that you've fallen down the basement stairs. She'll run down.

Kathy:

(meekly) Yes. (pause) Yes, Pam. I understand.

Pamela:

Now remember: not until AFTER nine o'clock! We've got to be SURE Henry is gone!

Kathy:

All right, Pam. I'll look at my watch. I promise.

Pamela:

Good! Now you'd better get down there. It would be rude of me not to be there to say goodbye to him...

MFX:

TRANSITION

Whistler:

So the time has come, hasn't it, Pamela? Forty years of pent up hatred is about to find relief, at last! For the first time in you life, you're actually cordial to Henry, as you make small talk with him in the entrance hallway. And you feel a glow of satisfaction as you watch him carry his bags to the waiting taxi. Then, just as you begin to wonder why Sally isn't there to see him off, you hear a foot on the stair, and your heart stops!

Pamela:

Sally!

Sally:

What's the matter?

Pamela:

Why is that.....ahh...the suitcase! You're in traveling clothes!

Sally:

Well, what's the matter with that?

Pamela:

You're going, too?

Sally:

(amused) Oh! That's it! I guess I'm not used to having you concerned about me, Pam! As a matter of fact, we decided just five minutes ago. I convinced Henry that walking out on his wife after four days of marriage was a pretty dirty trick!

SFX:

TAXI BLOWS HORN

Sally:

(off mic as if shouting out door) Yes, dear! I'm coming! (ON mic) Well, goodbye, Pamela. I'll wire you if we decide not to come back.

Pamela:

(panicked) Sally! Sally, you...you CAN'T!

Sally:

(OFF mic as if on porch) What's the matter?

Pamela:

(resigned) Nothing...nothing, Sally.....goodbye.

SFX:

DOOR CLOSE

MFX:

STING

Whistler:

You watch unbelieving as she walks down the steps to the taxicab. It failed, didn't it? Just like everything else you ever tried. Sally succeeded and you failed! There's a lump in your throat! You're all choked up with disappointment and bitter, corrosive hatred! Then suddenly, you realize, there IS another way! You've got to get to Kathy and tell her! You glance at the clock: 8: 45, it's STILL safe. Then over to the basement door...

SFX:

WOMAN'S RAPID FOOTSTEPS

SFX:

DOOR OPEN

Pamela:

(excited) KATHY! KATHY!

SFX:

2 GUNSHOTS

SFX:

BODY FALLING DOWN BASEMENT STAIRS

Pamela:

(near death) (meekly) Kathy

Kathy:

(realizing who she shot) Pam! (SHRIEKING) PAM!!!!

MFX:

STING TO FINALE

Announcer:

The Whistler will return in just a moment with the strange ending of tonight's story. (pause) I'd like to tell you about an interesting experiment I witnessed the other day. An automobile motor that had been driven 35,000 miles without taking the head off, was being torn down for inspection. Ordinarily, you'd expect to find a good deal of carbon in the cylinder head and worn motor parts. But this motor was remarkably clean and free of carbon, and all parts were in excellent condition. Now the thing that makes these results so interesting is that this motor was lubricated only with Signal Four Star Motor Oil. A Signal engineer who was present, however, explained to me why Signal Four Star Oil takes such good care of motors. Because of solvent refining, one of the latest and most costly developments in petroleum engineering, Signal Four Star Oil has three important advantages: One, forms less carbon. FAR less by actual tests with many leading brands. Two, its tougher film clings to moving parts, protecting them from wear, and sealing in power. And three, Signal Four Star Oil flows freely, instantly on the coldest mornings, yet doesn't thin out when your motor is hot. In these days when motors have to last and last, your motor NEEDS this triple protection. You can get it by making your next oil change a change to the better. A change to SIGNAL FOUR STAR MOTOR OIL. (pause) And now, back to The Whistler...

MFX:

STING

Whistler:

So it didn't work out, Pamela. You're a failure, even in death. And without you, Kathy is lost. She's helpless now, cringing before the sharp questions the officers throw at her. Trying futilely to lie her way out of a hopeless trap. And Sally stands there, unbelieving, as the hatred, the jealousy come to the surface for all the world to see. More questions----more stumbling answers. Then STILL MORE AND MORE UNTIL FINALLY...

MFX:

STING

Kathy:

(hysterically screaming) ALL RIGHT! WE DID IT! WE PLANNED TO KILL HER! (sobs uncontrollably)

Policeman:

OK, take her away, Joe. (sobbing fades)

SFX:

DOOR CLOSES

Policeman:

Well, there you are, Mrs. French.

Sally:

(distraught) I...I can't believe it. It's so fantastic!

Policeman:

Yeah, it is at that. They knew Mister French was leaving at nine. Planned to kill you with his gun.

Sally:

In the dresser drawer...that's where he kept it.

Policeman:

Pamela was smart, Mrs. French. But she forgot one thing: The clock on the wall read 8: 45, so she figured it was safe to open the basement door where Kathy was waiting to kill you. (pause) She forgot it was an ELECTRIC clock. When she pulled the fuse down there, and cut out the current, the clock (slowly) LOST EIGHTEEN MINUTES...

MFX:

TWO NOTE TYMPANI STING INTO WHISTLER END TO FINISH.