OPENING COMMERCIAL

WILCOX:

In just a moment Auto-Lite presents SUSPENSE starring Margaret O'Brien.

HAP:

Over the river and through the woods
To grandmother's house we go
The horse knows the way, to carry the sleigh...

WILCOX:

(INTERRUPTING) Why, Hap, Hap, that's not the way to sing Hurrah for Thanksgiving Day!

HAP:

What are you telling me, Harlow Wilcox - why....

WILCOX:

(INTERRUPTING) No, no, Hap -- this is the way it goes today...
Over the river and through the woods
And never mind the snow
Grandpa is happy with his jalapy
His battery's never low.
Over the river and through the woods
Blow high ye winds blow low
The car's as snappy as grandma and pappy
With an Auto-Lite Sta-Ful you know.

HAP:

But Harlow - - - - - - - - -

WILCOX:

You see, Hap, Auto-Lite Sta-Ful batteries have changed a lot of things --why....

HAP:

(INTERRUPTING) Harlow, isn't anything sacred anymore. It's Thanksgiving Day. Let's listen to Margaret O'Brien on SUSPENSE

NARR:

SUSPENSE!

MUSIC:

BRASS CHORD

NARR:

Auto-Lite and its 60,000 dealers and service stations bring you Radio's outstanding Theatre of Thrills.... starring tonight, Miss Margaret O'Brien in Anton Leader's production of "The Screaming Woman" -- a tale well calculated to keep you in --

MUSIC:

WOODWINDS CHORD

NARR:

SUSPENSE

MUSIC:

UP AND OUT

MUSIC:

DOWN TO B.G.

MARGARET:

(NARRATING) I'm Margaret Leary and I got to tell you how it happened. It was Thanksgiving Day and it was nice and sunshiny - almost like summer except cooler. Mama was cooking the turkey and I was watching and mama said to me...

MAMA:

Good heavens - I forgot. Your Aunt Cynthie's made some cranberry relish for us. Run over and get it, Margaret, so her feelings aren't hurt. And hurry! This turkey's done to a turn.

MUSIC:

SWELLS SLIGHTLY AND DOWN

MARGARET:

So I ran to Aunt Cynthie's and on the way back I took a short cut through Mr. Kelly's lot. It's a big lot..more like the side of a hill that slides down to Monument crick. It's a swell place to play Indians and Cowboys or explorer or hunting for treasure because trucks dump all kinds of stuff there. Loads of dirt and junk and even big things like old cars and and big pipes and chunks of concrete. Well, this day, coming back from Aunt Cynthie's I saw that a lot of new junk and dirt had been dumped there since Saturday. They'd even covered up our swell, big concrete pipe that us kids called our fort, covered it clear up. I was looking around to see where it used to be.. when all of a sudden...

MUSIC:

OUT COMPLETELY AND ABRUPTLY WITH LAST WORD

SOUND:

(AFTER A BEAT) A MUFFLED BUT SHRILL SCREAM: SLIGHT ECHO)

MARGARET:

I stopped and listened...!

SOUND:

A SECOND WAVERING MUFFLED SCREAM

MARGARET:

The sound was coming up out of the ground!

SOUND:

A THIRD SCREAM TAKEN OUT BY

MUSIC:

STINGS AND DOWN

MARGARET:

A woman was buried under the junk and dirt and glass and she was screaming all wild and horrible for somebody to dig her out!

MUSIC:

SWELLS AND DOWN

MARGARET:

I started to run. I fell down and got up and ran some more. It was an awful, awful long way to our house that day...

MUSIC:

OUT

SOUND:

POUNDING FOOTSTEPS UP WOODEN STEPS: DOOR OPENS AND SLAMS: FOOTSTEPS CONTINUE UNDER FIRST LINES

MARGARET:

(ALMOST A SCREECH) Mama....! Mama!

MAMA:

(OFF MIKE, CALLING) Margaret....?

MARGARET:

(FRANTIC: OUT OF BREATH) Mama... mama...!

MAMA:

(FADE ON) Margaret, haven't I told you not to slam the door? Is that the relish?

MARGARET:

Listen mama, there's a screaming woman in the lot..!

MAMA:

(MATTER OF FACT) Wash your hands, Margaret.

MARGARET:

She was screaming and screaming and screaming!

SOUND:

OVEN OPENED: COVER OF ROASTER: GENERAL KITCHEN CLATTER UNDER:

MARGARET:

Mama, listen to me! We got to dig her out! She's buried under tons and tons of dirt!

MAMA:

I'm sure she can wait till after dinner. (EFFORT) Oh, next year I swear I'm going to buy a bigger platter...

MARGARET:

Mama, don't you believe me? You got to believe me..!

MAMA:

Margaret! I've got a million things to do. Good gosh, look at you. How'd you get your knees so dirty?

MARGARET:

Well, running back from the lot I....

MAMA:

Never mind. Skoot and tell your Dad we're about to eat..He's in the front room reading his paper.

MARGARET:

Yes, mama. (SOUND: QUICK FOOTSTEPS: A SWINGING DOOR: FOOTSTEPS CONT.) Dad!... Oh, dad, I got to tell you something...

SOUND:

RUSTLE OF PAPER AS PAGE IS TURNED

DAD:

Getting hungry, baby?

MARGARET:

Daddy, there's a screaming woman in the lot..!

SOUND:

ANOTHER RUSTLE OF PAPER

DAD:

I never knew a woman who didn't. M-mm, smell that turkey..

MARGARET:

We gotta get picks and shovels and dig her up, like for an Egyptian mummy! Oh Daddy...!

DAD:

(ABSENTLY) I don't feel much like an archaeologist today, Margaret. Can't think of anything but food. Let's have an expedition next Sunday and dig her up.

MARGARET:

But we can't wait that long. Dad, she'll die if we don't do it now. I'll give you some money.

SOUND:

RUSTLE OF PAPER AS MR. LEARY FOLDS IT UP

DAD:

(AMUSED) Oh, so it's a business proposition. Well, how much do you pay by the hour?

MARGARET:

I got five whole dollars it took me a year to save!

DAD:

Come here, puss. You know, I'm touched. You want me to play with you and you're willing to pay me for my time. Why, here, you're shaking. Calm down..

MARGARET:

Daddy, please....!

DAD:

After our Thanksgiving dinner I'll come out and listen to your screaming woman. How's that?

MARGARET:

Oh, no -- now, dad. Maybe she'll die if you don't come out now. You got to come now.

DAD:

(SHARPLY) Margaret!

MARGARET:

If you believed me, you wouldn't wait. You never believe me! Mama doesn't believe me. Nobody believes me!

DAD:

Margaret - quiet down right this minute! Or I not only won't go with you - but you'll go to your room, and stay - and without your Thanksgiving dinner. Now is that clear?

MARGARET:

Y-yes sir. It's clear.

MUSIC:

IN AND UNDER

MARGARET:

I always liked Thanksgiving almost next best to Christmas but that was an awful one. Dinner was a million years long. Everybody moved so slow like a slow motion movie. Forks and knives and spoons moved slow and Dad's cheek muscles moved slow when he chewed. (MUSIC: OUT INTO SOUND: CLATTER OF DINNER TABLE) - and I tried to make things faster...

CAST:

EATING DURING DIALOGUE

DAD:

Margaret, you heard your mother. Now don't eat so fast.

MARGARET:

But, Daddy, the screaming woman! We got to hurry!

DAD:

My dear young lady, this is Thanksgiving dinner...an occasion when we do not hurry. I intend to eat four or five helpings of everything until I can't eat any more. Then I'm going to make an extra effort and find room for pumpkin pie... a few walnuts and stuffed dates...

MARGARET:

Oh, please... please, Daddy...!

DAD:

If you pester me any more.. if you mention her again, this screaming whatsis, I won't go out with you to hear her recital at all. Is that understood?

MARGARET:

(FORLORNLY) Yes sir. It's understood--

MUSIC:

IN AND UNDER

MARGARET:

I wanted to yell oh please, rush, get up, run around, come on, hurry. But I had to sit still while out there in the lot with the sun shining down, all alone with nobody to hear her or to help her, was the Screaming Woman. I could hear her in my mind, screaming... (MUSIC: THE EFFECT OF A FAINT SCREAM AND REPEATED) Mama and Dad couldn't hear.. (MUSIC: OUT) ..They just kept on eating and talking...

DAD:

Well, now that I can be thankful for a full stomach, I guess we should consider what other things we have to be thankful for, huh?

MAMA:

Well, we're all healthy. Prices are sky-high but we're not in debt, yet..

DAD:

Those are mundane things, my dear. I'm thankful for my big daughter. Right, puss...?

MARGARET:

(MISERABLE) Yes, Dad..

DAD:

And for my loving wife, who is still the most romantic woman I know..

MAMA:

Oh, silly...

DAD:

I'm thankful I didn't marry somebody else..

MAMA:

You nearly married Dora Lampell...Even gave her a ring.

DAD:

That never meant a thing. No one - no. You're the only one who's been the serious competitor since we were all kids.

MAMA:

(ARCHLY) O-h-h-?

DAD:

There's only one. One other.

MAMA:

Who?

DAD:

Helen Nesbitt.

MAMA:

(LAUGHS GAILY)

DAD:

Yeah, Helen was my first love..When she was about as old as Margaret, I gave her a present one Christmas and she gave me one.. and I still have it.

MAMA:

That paper weight on your desk!

DAD:

Uh-huh. Funny how we hang on to things that were important when we were kids...

MARGARET:

(TENTATIVE) Dad..!

DAD:

Just a little longer, puss. Warm up my coffee.. will you, dear?

SOUND:

COFFEE POURED

MAMA:

You know what I'm thankful for, dear..seriously. That we stayed here in this same town where we grew up. Here you are, dear. The same friends -- even the same street. It's been a peaceful life -- not very exciting but..

MARGARET:

Daddy....!

DAD:

Margaret finds it pretty exciting.

MAMA:

(LAUGHS) Yes. You better take her out to the lot before she collapses.

MUSIC:

BRIDGE

SOUND:

FOOTSTEPS ON GRAVEL: A FAINT SIGHING WIND

DAD:

All right. Now where is your Screaming Woman? Lead me to her.

SOUND:

A FEW RUNNING STEPS ON GRAVEL UNDER MARGARET'S LINE

MARGARET:

(SLIGHT FADE) Over here.. where our fort used to be.

DAD:

Fort....?

SOUND:

WALKING STEPS

MARGARET:

(FADE ON AGAIN) The big concrete pipe. It's all covered up, now.

DAD:

(ABSENTLY) Kelly's really getting this lot filled in. All right, where's the lady?

MARGARET:

Right about here, Daddy. Listen...

SOUND:

A LONG BEAT WITH ONLY THE SOUND OF WIND

DAD:

Don't hear a thing..except the wind. Better button up your sweater, puss.

MARGARET:

Sssssh! Listen!

SOUND:

ANOTHER LONG BEAT OF SILENCE, THEN OFF MIKE A FAINT CLATTERING SOUND

DAD:

That's the trolley over on Aspen Street.

MARGARET:

(YELLS) Hey there.. Screaming woman! Hey!

SOUND:

OFF MIKE A CAR MOTOR SWELLS SLIGHTLY AND FADES TO A WHISPER

DAD:

Huh, looks like the Dolans are starting out for a drive..(SILENCE) Well, I guess your Screaming Woman's let you down, puss.

MARGARET:

(EXCITED) But she was here, Daddy. Right under here where they've dumped all this dirt. I heard her, screaming and screaming like she was underneath in the fort.. Somebody's dumped tons and tons right on top of our fort.

DAD:

Yes, it's too bad they buried your fort, Margaret.. I saw two of Kelly's big trucks backed in here last evening and there was a dump truck in here this morning too...

MARGARET:

It isn't because they covered the fort!

DAD:

Oh, it must be your Screaming Woman doesn't like grownups. Only delivers her solo for kids, I guess.

MARGARET:

Maybe she can't scream any more.

DAD:

Well, I'm going back and take a nap. Let my dinner settle.

MARGARET:

Aren't you going to help me dig?

DAD:

Now listen, my dear, don't you think this is a sort of a silly game?

MARGARET:

But it's not a game!

SOUND:

FOOTSTEPS START OFF AND PAUSE

DAD:

(OFF MIKE) Don't stay too long, dear. Mama probably would like some help with those dishes.

SOUND:

FOOTSTEPS START UP AGAIN GOING OFF RAPIDLY

MARGARET:

Daddy...! Daddy...!! (HOPELESSLY) I know I heard her scream. I know it!

SOUND:

FOOTSTEPS HAVE FADED OUT ENTIRELY

MARGARET:

Oh darn.. darn... DARN!

SOUND:

FOOT STAMPED TWICE ON GRAVEL: A SILENCE AND THEN THE SCREAM AGAIN: FAINT: MUFFLED AS THOUGH CARRIED FROM A DISTANCE: THEN MARGARET'S FOOT STAMPING.

MARGARET:

You're there! You're still there! Hey, Screaming Woman!

SOUND:

THE SCREAM COMES AGAIN AND THEN AGAIN

MARGARET:

Why didn't you scream before? Why didn't you scream so Daddy could hear you? (STARTS TO CRY) Don't just scream for me. I can't help you all by myself!

SOUND:

A SCREAM

MUSIC:

BRIDGE

SOUND:

POUNDING FOOTSTEPS UNDER

MARGARET:

Daddy, Daddy, where are you?

DAD:

Upstairs, Margaret.. Here I am.

SOUND:

RUNNING FOOTSTEPS AND CONT'D. UP STAIRS UNDER DIALOGUE

MARGARET:

Daddy, Daddy, she's screaming again. Right after you left she started to scream. You've got to come back..

DAD:

(ON MIKE) Whoa, there now. (SOUND: FOOTSTEPS OUT) Come here. Let me feel your head.

MARGARET:

(ALMOST SOBBING) Please, Dad...

DAD:

Why, you've got a fever. You're going to lie down, young lady.

MARGARET:

We can't leave her down there, Dad. We just can't.

DAD:

Come on along.. Come on into your room. That's right...

MARGARET:

It's awful, Dad! It's awful for her to be screaming and screaming and nobody listening or nobody caring!

DAD:

You lie down, puss. Lie down now. Come on.

MARGARET:

(BEGINS TO SOB) She'll choke when there isn't any more air and she'll die..

DAD:

Now you're going to lie down the rest of the afternoon.. before you make yourself sick.

MARGARET:

(CRYING) No, I've got to dig. I've got to dig her up.

DAD:

Those comic books you read. (FADING) Now I forbid you to leave the house. Close your eyes now and take a nap... That's my good girl.

MARGARET:

(STIFLES A SOB)

SOUND:

THE DOOR CLOSES: A KEY TURNS IN THE LOCK: A BEAT OF SILENCE

MARGARET:

(BEGINS TO SOB IN EARNEST.. MUMBLING) Oh, what am I going to do! What am I going to do?

MUSIC:

SOCKS IN AND UP TO MIDDLE BREAK

NARR:

For Suspense, AUTO-LITE is bringing you Miss Margaret O'Brien in radio's outstanding Theatre of Thrills -- SUSPENSE!

MUSIC:

(THREE CHORDS AND OUT)

MIDDLE COMMERCIAL

HAP:

Harlow, I have a hunch you're going to give me another Auto-Lite Sta-Ful battery Thanksgiving song.

HARLOW:

No, not me, Hap!

HAP:

No?

HARLOW:

No, sirree, by Cornelius, I'm going to tell a Thanksgiving story. It's a fable.

HAP:

Couldn't be anything else if you told it.

HARLOW:

Now listen to this, my trigger-tongued trouper. Last year at this time my car called me out to the garage. Quite a car, too, Hap -- once a year she overhauls me.

HAP:

Wow! And on Thanksgiving Day too.

HARLOW:

"Harlow", she said, "I've an empty feeling, and I'm so confounded thirsty all the time, I think you ought to do something about it. I'd like to end up Thanksgiving Day with that fine, full feeling that lulls you to sleep as soon as the mince pie disappears.

"Well, how, my pretty," says I, "can all this be accomplished?" "Easy," she chimes. "I need to switch to an Auto-Lite Sta-Ful battery. Why, with an Auto-Lite Sta-Ful battery, I'll never be thirsty, and if you use me normally I'll need only three drinks a year. What's more, with the oversized electrical capacity and fiberglas insulation of that Auto-Lite Sta-Ful battery, I'll have more power, stay lively longer, and save you time, trouble, work and worry. And, Harlow, for a fellow as lazy as you are, think what all this means!"

Well, when she came up with all those points in my favor, I hurried, I hastened, I hurdled till I was exhausted and by Christopher, I got an Auto-Lite Sta-Ful battery and gave it to Clarissa - I call my car Clarissa -- Thanksgiving morning. We took a spin and I could tell she was happier than a penguin with skis.

HAP:

Sounds like Harlow in Wonderland. Let's get back to Margaret O'Brien and "THE SCREAMING WOMAN".......

NARR:

And now, AUTO-LITE brings back to our Hollywood Sound Stage Miss Margaret O'Brien as Margaret in "The Screaming Woman" -- a tale well-calculated to keep you in --

MUSIC:

(CHORD)

NARR:

SUSPENSE!

MUSIC:

(RESOLVE INTO SECOND OVERTURE)

MUSIC:

(SECOND OVERTURE)

MARGARET:

After awhile, I stopped crying. I had to get back to the lot where that woman was screaming. But I was locked in. So I tied a sheet to the bed and let it out the window and shinnied down to the ground. Then I ran to the garage and got shovels and ran to the empty lot. The sun was almost down and it was getting cold... (MUSIC OUT INTO THE SOUND OF DIGGING) ..I started to dig fast...

SOUND:

FOOTSTEPS ON GRAVEL FADE AND STOP OFF MIKE

DIPPY:

(OFF MIKE - CALLING) Hi, Maggie!

MARGARET:

(NARRATION) It was Dippy Smith who is ten years old the same as me. He goes to my school.

DIPPY:

(FADES ON) Whatcha digging for?

MARGARET:

(GASP) For a Screaming Woman. She's down in the ground and I'm going to dig her up. (EFFORT) You can help me dig, Dippy. (SOUND OF DIGGING PAUSES) There's an extra shovel.

DIPPY:

I don't hear nothing. I don't dig unless I hear a scream.

MARGARET:

Then listen..

DIPPY:

(AFTER A BEAT) I don't hear nothing.

SOUND:

DIGGING RESUMES

MARGARET:

(EFFORT) Just wait. You will.

SOUND:

OVER DIGGING A FAINT SCREAM: DIGGING PAUSES

MARGARET:

There! Did you hear it?

DIPPY:

Hey! That's okay! Do it again.

MARGARET:

(CONFUSED) Do what again?

DIPPY:

The scream. Do it again. Go on. I'll give you this aggie if you teach me to do it.

SOUND:

A SCREAM AND ANOTHER UNDER DIPPY'S LINE

DIPPY:

(EXCITED) Hot dog! Did you get that ventriloquist book for a dime from that Magic Company? You got one of those tin things in your mouth?

MARGARET:

(CAGEY) I - I won't tell you unless you help me dig.

DIPPY:

Okay! Swell! Give me the shovel. Hot dog!

SOUND:

CLATTER OF SHOVEL PICKED UP. ONE SHOVEL DIGGING

MARGARET:

(EFFORT) And you got to dig fast like this, Dippy.

SOUND:

TWO SHOVELS DIGGING: THEN A SCREAM: DIGGING UNDER LINES

DIPPY:

Boy, you'd think she was right under our feet. (EFFORT) You're wonderful, Maggie. Say, what's the Screaming Woman's name?...you must have made her up a name.

MARGARET:

Oh sure. (OUT OF BREATH) Her name's Wilma Schweiger and she's a rich old lady a hundred and sixty years old and she was buried by a crook named Spike.. (PAUSE) (EFFORT) Come on, Dippy... dig.

SOUND:

SCREAM GOING INTO

MUSIC:

BRIDGE

SOUND:

DIGGING BUT SLOWED DOWN: A SHOVEL IS THROWN ON THE GROUND AND THE SOUND OF DIGGING STOPS

MARGARET:

Keep digging! We can't stop, Dippy!

DIPPY:

Aw, I'm tired. I think I'll go home.

SOUND:

TWO OR THREE FOOTSTEPS GOING OFF.

MARGARET:

Dippy, Dippy, stop! You can't! (FOOTSTEPS STOP) There really is a woman buried there.

DIPPY:

(OFF MIKE) Well, sure. You said so, Maggie.

MARGARET:

Don't you believe me? (DESPERATE) I wasn't throwing my voice. Come back, Dippy...

SOUND:

THREE RELUCTANT STEPS BACK ON MIKE:

DIPPY:

(FADES ON) Okay.. but I'm getting tired of digging.

SOUND:

MORE FOOTSTEPS FADE SLIGHTLY OFF UNDER NEXT LINE

MARGARET:

(FADES SLIGHTLY) Now look, Dippy, I'll go way over here and then you listen.

DIPPY:

(BORED) Okay.

MARGARET:

(OFF MIKE) Listen.....!

SOUND:

THE SCREAM. IT IS REPEATED UNDER NEXT LINE

DIPPY:

Hey! There really is a woman here!

SOUND:

FOOTSTEPS FADE BACK

MARGARET:

That's what I told you.

DIPPY:

(EXCITED) Come on - let's dig.

SOUND:

SHOVELS PICKED UP: DIGGING RESUMES FURIOUSLY UNDER: SCREAM

DIPPY:

How's she breathing do you think?

MARGARET:

I...(GASP) I think she's in the fort.. Remember..

SOUND:

FOOTSTEPS FADE ON WITH DIGGING UNDER FOLLOWING LINES

DIPPY:

(GASP) Sure.. That's where she must be! (EFFORT) Five or six of us kids could get in it so it's big enough. I sure hope it isn't just a radio or something.

MARGARET:

Well.... (GASP) A radio would be nice too...

SOUND:

THE FOOTSTEPS COME TO A STOP ON MIKE

KELLY:

(SHARP) Here, here, what do you kids think you're doing?

SOUND:

DIGGING OUT ABRUPTLY: ONE SHOVEL DROPPED

MARGARET & DIPPY:

Oh.... hello, Mr. Kelly.

KELLY:

I'm tired of chasing you out of this lot. If one of you gets hurt.. maybe your folks would sue me....

MARGARET:

(DESPERATE) But Mr. Kelly, there's a woman screaming...

SOUND:

THE SCREAM

KELLY:

(THREATENINGLY) You kids beat it. You hear?

DIPPY:

Yes sir....

MARGARET:

But listen, Mr. Kelly. Don't you hear her? (SOUND: ANOTHER SCREAM) There!

KELLY:

I don't hear a thing and neither do you. Now, beat it.

SOUND:

THE SCREAM

DIPPY:

(SLIGHT FADE) Come on, Maggie...

SOUND:

FOOTSTEPS UNDER

MARGARET:

(PLEADING) Mr. Kelly, somebody's got to dig her up...

KELLY:

(OFF MIKE FADING - SHOUTS) Don't argue with me or I'll phone your folks. This is my property.. (SHOUTING FADES MORE AND MORE AND OUT ENTIRELY UNDER NEXT LINES OF MARGARET AND DIPPY) Do I have to put up a fence? Why should I spend money to keep people off my own property...

MARGARET:

(ON MIKE - INTENSE - VERY LOW) Dippy.. it's him. He's the one.

DIPPY:

Huh?

MARGARET:

He murdered Mrs. Kelly. He hit her on the head and stuck her in the fort and dumped loads of dirt on top. But she wasn't dead. She came to. Why you saw him. He stood right there when she screamed and wouldn't pay any attention.

DIPPY:

Hey, that's right! He stood right there and lied to us. (PAUSE) What'll we do, Maggie?

MARGARET:

There's only one thing to do. We'll phone the police and tell them to come and arrest Mr. Kelly!

MUSIC:

BRIDGE

SOUND:

CAR WITH SIREN FADES IN, CAR COMES TO A STOP UNDER

DIPPY:

(LOW) Hey, they sure got here fast, Maggie.

MARGARET:

Sshh! Don't make a sound.

SOUND:

CAR DOOR OPENS: RAPID FOOTSTEPS ACROSS CONCRETE AND UP STEPS: KNOCKING ON DOOR ALL A LITTLE OFF MIKE

DIPPY:

(LOW) Is Mr. Kelly in the house?

MARGARET:

(LOW) Yes. He went right home from the lot.

SOUND:

ANOTHER KNOCK AND THE DOOR OPENS

KELLY:

(SLIGHTLY OFF MIKE) Yes, officer?

COP:

You Mr. Kelly?

KELLY:

Yes, sir. What can I do for you?

COP:

Is Mrs. Kelly at home this evening?

KELLY:

Why sure...

COP:

Can I see her, sir?

KELLY:

Why sure. (CALLS) Hey, Anna! (NORMAL VOICE) What's up?

COP:

We got a call.. Oh, good evening, Ma'am....

MRS. K:

What is it?

COP:

I'm sorry, folks. (SMILE) We got a call that Mrs. Kelly was buried alive in an empty lot. It sounded like some kid calling, but we had to make sure. We always check, you know.

MRS. K:

Why, I can't understand...

KELLY:

(FURIOUS) It's those blasted kids! If I ever catch them I'll break their necks.

DIPPY:

(LOW) Maggie! Cheezit!

MUSIC:

BRIDGE

SOUND:

WALKING ON ON SIDEWALK: DRAGGING FOOTSTEPS

DIPPY:

Boy, if Mr. Kelly telephones my Dad I'll get a licking.

MARGARET:

What'll we do about the Screaming Woman?

DIPPY:

Ah, to heck with her. I'm not going near that lot again....

MARGARET:

(REALIZES) Wait, Dippy....!!

DIPPY:

Huh?

SOUND:

FOOTSTEPS STOP

MARGARET:

(SUDDENLY EAGER) I know why he didn't hear the screams. Kelly's sort of deaf.. Mama says he's hard of hearing..

DIPPY:

He heard us, didn't he? He heard the cop.

MARGARET:

He reads people's lips.. But he couldn't hear the Screaming Woman because he couldn't see her.. Dippy, come on...! We gotta go dig some more.

DIPPY:

No sir!

MARGARET:

But we got to.

DIPPY:

We're in a peck of trouble over your darn old Ventriloquist voice. I'm not going to get in any more trouble. No sir!

MUSIC:

IN AND DOWN FAST TO B.G.

MARGARET:

And he went off and left me alone. I wanted to crawl down under the ground with the Screaming Woman and die too. It was dark now, and Dad would be hunting for me. If he found me I'd get a licking and be put to bed and then nobody would help the Screaming Woman at all. There was only one last thing to do, so I did it - to go all over the neighborhood from house to house (SOUND: OF DOOR BUZZER) and find out who was missing...

SOUND:

DOOR OPENS

MRS. GRISWALD:

Why.. hello, dear....

MARGARET:

Hello, Mrs. Griswald. Is anybody missing from your house? Is your sister from Detroit still here?

MRS. GRISWALD:

Yes, she's sitting right over there by the radio.. Don't you see her? Em..little Margaret Leary wants to..

MARGARET:

No, I only wanted to see her, Mrs. Griswald. I was just wondering. I just wanted to know if she was here.

MUSIC:

SWELLS AND DOWN

SOUND:

A DOOR OPENS

MARGARET:

Hello, Mrs. Pikes. You're looking good. I'm glad to see you're at home, Mrs. Pikes.. I'm awful glad.

MUSIC:

SWELLS AND DOWN

MARGARET:

Mr. Hyde, is your wife still here?

MR. HYDE:

(CALLS) Dora..! (NORMAL VOICE) Aren't you out pretty late, Margaret?

MARGARET:

Yes. Oh, hello, Mrs. Hyde.

MRS. HYDE:

(QUESTIONINGLY) What is it, Margaret?

MARGARET:

(BREATHLESS) I just wanted to see you, Mrs. Hyde -- that's all.

MUSIC:

SWELLS AND DOWN

MARGARET:

(NARRATES) The hours were just rolling along - and I rang bells and knocked and I rang bells. I was about to give up when I came to the Nesbitt's house. The house was quiet like nobody was home but I saw a dim spooky light inside somewhere. (MUSIC OUT: INTO SOUND OF KNOCKING) so I just kept knocking and knocking and knocking..

SOUND:

AFTER A PAUSE THE DOOR OPENS SUDDENLY

MARGARET:

(A KIND OF SQUEAL OF FEAR) Oh--h--h!

MR. NESBITT:

(SHARP) What do you want?

MARGARET:

(NERVOUS) Nothing, Mr. Nesbitt! I - I only want to see Mrs. Nesbitt.

MR. N:

She's not here. (PAUSE) She's gone to the store.

MARGARET:

At night..? Besides it's closed today I think.

MR. N:

The drugstore.. down on Clark Street..

MARGARET:

Oh. Well, then she ought to be back pretty quick. I'll come in and wait..

MR. N:

Hey! Wait, wait a minute..!

MARGARET:

(OFF MIKE) I'll just sit down here and wait. (SOUND: A ROCKING CHAIR) I sure like this rocking chair.

SOUND:

THE DOOR IS CLOSED

MARGARET:

(FADES BACK ON MIKE) Go right ahead and do whatever you were doing, Mr. Nesbitt... (ROCKING CONT'D)

MR. N:

I wasn't doing...anything.

MARGARET:

Oh. (SLIGHT PAUSE) It looks like you were packing or something with all those boxes and trunks around. Going away?

MR. N:

No. Helen's been sorting things out. Getting rid of a lot of stuff...

MARGARET:

Oh. (SOUND: ROCKING) Burning it up in the fireplace.

MR. N:

Yeah.. that's right.

MARGARET:

Dad always burns our junk out in the alley. Clothes smell awful when they burn.

MR. N:

(SUDDENLY NERVOUS) Look, kid, Helen may have gone on from the store to visit a friend..

MARGARET:

Well, if she doesn't come soon, I'll leave.

MR. N:

Yeah. I'll - I'll tell her you were here. (PAUSE) What did you want to see her about?

MARGARET:

Oh.. nothing much. (SUDDENLY) Hey! That's too bad!

MR. N:

(LIKE HE'D BEEN JABBED) What?

MARGARET:

I guess you lost the key to that box. You had to break the lock...

MR. N:

No, no. It was broken already..(INCREASED NERVOUSNESS) Hey, I bet your folks don't know where you are, kid.

MARGARET:

No sir. They think I'm in bed. (PAUSE) What friend did Mrs. Nesbitt go to visit?

MR. N:

Why, I don't know. I mean -- look, kid, I - I oughta tell you... she won't be back tonight.

MARGARET:

Oh..?

MR. N:

No. She went to the store like I said but she was going from there over to Beechwood to visit her mother. On the bus. She'll be gone two or three days..

MARGARET:

Oh...that's a shame..

MR. N:

(SHARPLY) Why?

MARGARET:

Mama was expecting Mrs. Nesbitt to come over tomorrow maybe to sew.

MR. N:

(HASTILY) You - you better not tell your mother.. You see, it's kind of secret about Helen going away. She doesn't want people to know for awhile.

MARGARET:

Oh-h-h-h..

MR. N:

You know how to keep a secret, kid?

MARGARET:

(DOUBTFUL) I guess so...

MR. N:

..I'll give you something for not telling.. I'll give you a reward.. Let's see.. (SOUND: RUSTLING PAPERS) Hey, here's something for a kid. A doll.

MARGARET:

A doll...?

MR. N:

Yeah. Helen was going to give it to you. I heard her say when she was sorting this stuff...she said, I'll give this to the little Leary girl.

MARGARET:

(SUSPICIOUS) Mrs. Nesbitt always calls me Margaret.

MR. N:

Well - sure. That's what she said.. Margaret ...(EAGER) It's quite a doll. Old-fashioned. It's made of leather and the face is china or something...See?

MARGARET:

Uh.. huh...Thank you, Mr. Nesbitt.

MR. N:

It's a reward for not saying anything about Helen being gone. Understand? Now come on. (SLIGHT FADE) I'll snap on the porch light..

SOUND:

LIGHT SWITCH

MARGARET:

Uh - Mr. Nesbitt - did you finish your driveway?

MR. N:

(A LITTLE OFF MIKE) What do you mean?

MARGARET:

Did you get all the dirt hauled off to make it smooth?

MR. N:

Sure. Sure. Now come on...

MARGARET:

I saw your dump truck in the lot this morning, and...

MR. N:

(POUNCING) What do you mean? Were you in the lot this morning?

MARGARET:

No...No, I was at home. I looked out the window...Please-- Mr. Nesbitt, let go of my arm...!

MR. N:

You been playing out there today? Answer me!

MARGARET:

Oh don't! That hurts! I wasn't playing.. It's no fun now with our fort all covered up and...

MR. N:

The fort...? What's that?

MARGARET:

Nothing.. (ABOUT TO CRY) Nothing, Mr. Nesbitt....

MR. N:

Tell me what you're talking about!

MARGARET:

(PAIN) Nothing but.. that old concrete...pipe...

MR. N:

(MENACE) You know something. That's why you came here. You've been snooping around that lot and you found out something. (VIOLENT) What do you know?

MARGARET:

(GASPING WITH EFFORT AND FEAR) I don't know anything. Let me go! Mr. Nesbitt, if you don't let me go, I'll....

SOUND:

A KICK: SCRAMBLING

MARGARET:

There!

MR. N:

A YELL OF PAIN

SOUND:

THE DOOR IS YANKED OPEN AND FOOTSTEPS POUND ACROSS A WOODEN PORCH AND FADE OFF UNDER:

MR. N:

(SHOUTS) Come back! (TRIES TO SOFTEN HIS VOICE) Come back, kid. I'll give you something else. (A PAUSE)

SOUND:

HEAVY RUNNING FOOTSTEPS START UP SIMULTANEOUS WITH:

MR. N:

(PANIC AND EFFORT) I'll give you something else. Come back, kid.. Come back...

MUSIC:

IN AND UNDER

MARGARET:

Mr. Nesbitt yelled because I kicked him and bit his hand. Then I ran, but I heard him running after me. It was dark and quiet and scarey on the street and more scarey out there in the lot. I ran straight across the place where I'd heard the screaming and it was so quiet, and all of a sudden there was a man in the lot. (MUSIC: OUT) (SOUND: RUNNING AND PANTING) right in front of me..

DAD:

Stop, Margaret.. Margaret..!

MARGARET:

(FEAR) Oh! (THEN RECOGNITION) Oh, Daddy...

DAD:

Margaret, where have you been? Do you have any idea how your mama's worried? Do you know how late it is?

MARGARET:

Daddy, Daddy, he's after me! Mr. Nesbitt----

DAD:

We've been up and down alleys and clear down to Clark Street.. I was about to call the police...!

MARGARET:

The Screaming Woman. It's Mrs. Nesbitt down there.

DAD:

I'm going to give you a good licking.

MARGARET:

Mr. Nesbitt killed her and now he wants to kill me --

DAD:

I've had all of that idiotic talk I can stand...!

MARGARET:

It's true.. You got to believe ---

DAD:

Margaret. I'm going to lick you right now! Right here! I've had enough -- (BREAKS OFF) What have you got there? Where did you get that doll?

MR. N:

(FADING IN) Why, I gave it to her, Leary. (NERVOUS ATTEMPT AT A LAUGH) The kid stopped by the house and I remembered Helen said she wanted to throw it away...

DAD:

Helen said.. to throw it away?

MARGARET:

(SCREECHING) He's lying, dad. He gave it to me so I wouldn't tell about her. It was locked up in a box. He didn't have the key. He broke it open...

MR. N:

(ANOTHER NERVOUS LAUGH) She's a high-strung kid, Leary. All the stuff she was telling me...

MARGARET:

He's lying, Dad!

DAD:

(OMINOUS) Yes...he is lying...Why are you lying, Charlie?

MR. N:

(HOARSE) Lying? How do you get that...

DAD:

Helen never let you have that doll. It was locked up. It was a present I gave her a long time ago. She wouldn't have thrown it away.. any more than I'd throw away the paper weight she gave me.. Why are you lying, Charlie?

MR. N:

I'm not! Don't look at me that way, Leary. As God is my witness....!

SOUND:

THE SCREAM: AND THEN ANOTHER AND A THIRD..THEN SILENCE

MARGARET:

It's her. Dad, it's the Screaming Woman...

DAD:

(WITH DEADLY MENACE) As God is your witness..

MR. N:

(SHRIEKS) No...Leary...Don't...! No...!

SOUND:

STRUGGLE AND TWO HEAVY BLOWS OF A FIST: A BODY FALLS. THERE IS A MOMENT OF SILENCE THEN THE SCREAM

DAD:

Margaret.. run to the house! Phone the police and tell them to hurry! Tell them we've got to dig!

MUSIC:

SMASHES IN FOR DRAMATIC BRIDGE

SOUND:

PHONE PICKED UP (FILTER)

DIPPY:

(ON FILTER) Hello....

MARGARET:

Hi, Dippy. Everything's fine. Everything's worked out keen. The Screaming Woman isn't screaming anymore. And they got a lot of people down there digging her up.

DIPPY:

Hey! That's swell! Hot dog!

MARGARET:

And you know what else, Dippy? They're going to uncover our fort again. Oh, Dippy, wasn't it a keen Thanksgiving!

MUSIC:

UP TO CURTAIN

NARR:

Thank you, Margaret O'Brien, for a splendid performance. Miss O'Brien will return in just a moment.

(CLOSING COMMERCIAL)

HAP:

Harlow, that Auto-Lite Sta-Ful Battery fable wasn't bad, coming from a fairly fabulous fibber.

HARLOW:

Ah, but you haven't heard all of it, Hap. Why, by Cornelius, Clarissa - that's my car - spoke to me again this morning. "Thanks to you," she said, "and that Auto-Lite Sta-Ful battery, this has been the happiest year of my life. Why, even these cold cruel mornings, I've got that Auto-Lite pep, that Sta-Ful battery get-up-and-go!"

"Well, Clarissa," I says to my gas buggy, "you're the queen of the May, the lass with the delicate air and the pride of Wilcox Alley all in one. What do you want now, My Thanksgiving prescious?"

And she says, "Just to go to sleep out in the garage once again. Why, Harlow, you can even use my Auto-Lite Sta-Ful battery for a pillow. Happy slumber and goodnight everybody."

HAP:

And remember....

MUSIC:

PUNCTUATION

ANNCR:

AUTO-LITE means Batteries!

VOICE:

Sta-Ful Batteries!

MUSIC:

PUNCTUATION

ANNCR:

AUTO-LITE MEANS spark plugs!

VOICE:

Ignition engineered Resistor Spark Plugs!

MUSIC:

PUNCTUATION

ANNCR:

AUTO-LITE means Ignition systems!

VOICE:

The life-line of your car!

MUSIC:

ORCHESTRA SWEEPS TO TAG

NARR:

And now, here again is Miss Margaret O'Brien.

O'BRIEN:

It's been just wonderful being on Suspense and I hope you'll let me come back again sometime.

NARR:

We will, Margaret. And now let me tell our listeners about next week. Claude Rains and Vincent Price in the famous mystery story - "THE HANDS OF MR. OTTERMOLE". Another gripping study in --

MUSIC:

CHORD

NARR:

SUSPENSE!

MUSIC:

(FADES UNDER:)

ANNCR:

Margaret O'Brien appeared by arrangement with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, producers of the Technicolor picture "The Three Musketeers", starring Lana Turner, Gene Kelly, and June Allyson.

Tonight's Suspense play was by Ray Bradbury, adapted for radio by Sylvia Richards - with music composed by Lucien Morawek and conducted by Lud Gluskin. The entire production was under the direction of Anton M. Leader. In the coming weeks, SUSPENSE will present such stars as Rosalind Russell, James Cagney, Ronald Coleman, William Bendix and many others. Make it a point to listen each Thursday to SUSPENSE - radio's outstanding theatre of thrills. And next Thursday, same time, hear Claude Rains and Vincent Price in "THE HANDS OF MR. OTTERMOLE".

MUSIC:

TO FILL

SOUND:

TELEPHONE RINGS

OPERATOR:

(FILTER) This is the Auto-Lite SUSPENSE show signing off. Goodnight ..switch to Auto-Lite!