"Hey." "You." "Come on, I seen that sleeping act before." "You know your ticket ran out the last stop." "How much to San Francisco?" "2.25." "Yes, three days." "So it's three days she's gone." "Where do you get off keeping it from the police 72 hours?" "I didn't want it to get around, Mr Johnson, that's all." "People talk." "Stella's a good girl, really she is." " l don't want them to talk." " Well, we'll find what took her." "Why not give it till morning, Johnson?" "Stella'll show up." "OK." "Till morning." "You oughta know, Mr Judd." "Good night." " Good night, Johnson." " Good night." "Way down this week, Pop." "Nobody plays it when Stella not around." "Yeah, I guess not." "You don't think she might have done something to herself?" "Not Stella." "Back in New York, I handled 31 suicide cases, personally." "Everything from poison to jumping in front of the Flatbush subway." "Stella's not the type." " Here's your receipt." " Thanks, Atkins." "I'll be seein' ya." "Cup of coffee, please." "It's after ten, we're closed up." "And a hamburger: well done, with onions, mustard, relish..." "What else you want on that, the whole state of California?" " What's the population?" " l'll fix you something." " Cigarette?" " No, thanks." "Never touch them." "I knew you'd be back." "OK." " l'm back." " Well, here y'are, young man." "Stella!" "You..." "You're OK." "I'm hungry." "Right away, Stella, right away." "You don't know what it's been like since you went." "You won't go away, Stella, will you, again?" "Well, see you tomorrow." "Room's waiting for you." "I paid him not to touch a thing." "You wanted it like that, didn't you?" " And you'll come back to your job, everything just like it was, 'cept you'd never been away." "That's just how it'll be." "After a long rest." "You sure look run out." "So what?" "One look at him and I knew he wasn't any good." " l knew..." " You make me sick." "He's finished his coffee." "Go on." "That was the best hamburger I never ate." "Sorry, come back later..." "I mean tomorrow." " l'm closing up." " How much?" " lt's OK." " lt's not OK." "He got his coffee, let him pay for it." "Five cents." " Good evening." " Uh-huh?" " Professor Madley, please." " Professor Madley?" "He won't be here till tomorrow." " Oh." " Maybe Mr Ellis could help you." " Ellis?" " The Professor's assistant." "He registered this morning." "Oh, Ellis!" "Oh, yes." "What's his room number?" "216, but he's not in just now." "Of course, he's getting tuned." " Tuned?" " To the other world." "He always does that before the Professor comes in." " ls that so?" " Oh, sure." "I'll wait for Ellis in his room." " That's against the rules." " Don't worry, it's all right." " Mr Ellis, I presume." " Yes." "My name is Stanton." " Eric Stanton." " Never heard of you." "Professor Madley's an old friend." " When was that?" " The good old days." "How old?" "Old enough to be good." "Oh." "Drink?" "My favourite brand." "Oughta be, I got it out of your bureau drawer." "Help yourself to everything as long as you're a friend of the Professor's." " From my cradle days." " Then do the Professor a favour." "Lend-lease him thirty dollars." " Thirty dollars?" " Do him half a favour." "Fifteen." "What's so funny?" "Tell me, I'd like to laugh too." "I came up to put the bite on you." "Now let's hear how you laugh." " You can't sleep here." " Wait a minute." "Consult the spirit of my friend the Professor." "What's he say?" "I know what the manager says:" "one more guest, one more dollar." "I haven't got enough for my own bill." " Then the extra dollar won't matter." " Don't take your shoes off." "I've enough to aggravate me." "Don't worry." " l'll get you out of it." " What with?" "You're broke." "I gotta have fifteen dollars by noon tomorrow, or lose the hall downstairs and my deposit, besides being kicked out of here." "What about the Professor's spooks?" "Don't they come through with an advance sale?" "Sure, if there's nobody to stop them, but a certain woman in this town don't believe in spooks, and what she says goes for the rest of the women." "She's not only the daughter of the former mayor, who donated a new organ to the church, but the President of the Ladies' Auxiliary." "Against such a combination, not even I could sell one ticket." "Go charm her." "Miss Mills will have no truck with me, not even on the phone." " Well, let's sleep on it." " l said no." "We're in this thing together." "Naturally, I'll sleep here." " Stands to reason." " What stands to reason?" "You are in trouble, man." "I've got to pull you out of it." " Have you got any toothpaste?" " ln the bathroom." "Hope you like my brand!" "Good morning." " Your mistress, please." " Who?" "Miss Clara Mills." "I'm Clara Mills, and we're not buying anything, either." "I am here to speak on the behalf of the dead." "Walton's respected deceased are having a rendezvous tonight at the Walton Hotel." "There's nothing to discuss, I told you that on the phone." " Now don't call again, Mr Ellis." " Oh, I'm not Mr Ellis." "I'm not a part of the spook act down at the hotel. I'm Eric Stanton." "Would you listen to me for a minute?" " Out with it, I'm busy." " So is Professor Madley." "Appointments with the dead from coast to coast." "Yet this soul of generosity finds time to drop in on Walton to deliver a message of hope." "For money." "He's a charlatan." "A fraud." "Not the Professor Madley." "Pretending to commune with the dead." "Now, look..." "He and Ellis are just a couple of struggling artists like fortune-tellers, or a vaudeville team." "I won't let the poor, gullible people of Walton be fooled." "If my father were alive, these fakers would never have gotten a licence." " Your father?" " Abraham Mills was a real mayor." "He wouldn't have let frauds take advantage of honest people." "What if Mayor Mills would like to make another speech, or tell you something?" "Suppose he's..." "Suppose you leave right now!" "Suppose l do." "But don't forget, the curtain goes up tonight at eight o'clock." "Birds of a feather." "Well, they won't hatch anything here." "Trading on people's sacred feelings." "Everything that's dear held up to ridicule by frauds in a trance, rapping on a table." "We won't have any of the cheap, vulgar tricks of spiritualism here." "You think I'm wrong?" "I think he's right." "But how can he be?" "June, don't be taken in by his glib manner." "He meant it: just two people trying to make a living." "Why can't they make an honest living?" "Are we to judge?" "Well, it's too late now, there's nothing we can do about it." " Yes, there is." " What?" "We can buy two tickets." "If we go, everybody else will." "Shall I call the hotel?" "I'll think about it." "We thank thee, O Lord, for our daily bread and our many blessings." "Amen." " Doughnut?" "No, thanks." " Like to make a few extra dollars?" " How?" "Push these tickets to your customers." " l'll give you twenty per cent." " Sure." "What are they for?" "A spook meeting tonight, featuring the one and only Professor Madley." " No." " Why not?" "If the Ladies' Auxiliary don't want 'em, I don't want 'em." "Don't worry about the women." "They wouldn't miss hearing Abraham Mills." " Mills?" " The Professor's bringing him back." " With a message." " l don't believe in it." "What's the difference?" "You can still make some money." "No, I don't wanna get mixed up in anything." " Pop?" " Coffee, please." " Right away." "Here he is, Professor, your old friend, Eric Stanton." "Old friend?" "I don't recall." " Buffaloes." "Connectity." " Sorry, I still can't remember." " Let me see." " Relax, Professor." "We've never met." "Last night in my room, you said..." " And you never met him?" " Glad to meet you now, Professor." "Delighted, Mr Stanton." "All the signs point to a prosperous association." "Dollar signs." "I've sold a batch of tickets already." " Couple of beers, please." " OK, comin' up." "I heard from my assistant here that you really work wonders." " Congratulations on your success." " We'll have sell-out after sell-out." "Well, OK." "I never believed you could talk Miss Mills into buying tickets." "I just had a call from her sister to reserve a couple." "They're coming over to get a message from their old man." "Right, Professor?" "Ah, yes, I had a visitation from him on US Route 101 ." "He definitely arrives tonight." "What do you say, Pop?" "Now do you believe it?" "He definitely arrives tonight, sir." "He better arrive tonight, he's your main attraction." "Er, dig up the vital facts, Ellis." "Who is Mills, and why does he want to come back?" " OK, see you later." " Wait, leave me one of these." "Pop, let me hang this up in here and I'll give you a couple of tickets to the best show in town." "All right, go ahead." " There you are." " Eric, you've got a great calling:" "spook promotion." " Like to back that up with a fin?" " Oh, gladly." "I hope to see you in my room later." "I have a fine collection of friendly spirits there, Scotch ancestry." "There you are, Stella." " Thank you." "Have you any idea what the deceased Mr Mills is going to say tonight?" "Why?" "They thought a great deal of him around here." "You wanna be careful." "Thanks." "?" "Slowly" "?" "I opened my eyes" " ?" "Hazy with mist" "?" "Slowly" "?" "My lips realised" "?" "They had just been kissed" "?" "Slowly" " Beer, please." " ?" "You stirred in my arms" "?" "Thrilling me so" "That the only record in that box?" " l like it." " He knows what you like." "That's for his wife to worry about." " What does he do?" " He's from New York." "New York." "He came out here to stay, to get his health back." "How'd he lose it?" "Workin' too hard, I guess." "He used to be a big man back there, on the police force." "Would you like to come to the show?" "You askin' me?" "?" "The moon came in through... ?" "Here." "Never mind." " What's the matter?" " l don't go places alone." "OK." " Here." " Was that four beers?" "Three beers and a cup of coffee." "You have just heard the spirits of citizens of Walton who have gone on before us, who've returned tonight through me." "Returned to tell you how happy they are in their eternal reward." "But now, my good friends of Walton, we come to our last experiment, for which I must have your undivided attention and sincere concentration." "I feel a strange vibration coming over me." "The vibration of a spirit who has remained troubled, who has found no peace or contentment since he departed." "Abraham Mills." "I can feel his troubled spirit trying to get through from beyond." "Yes, Abraham Mills,..." " l can hear you." " Would you mind moving over?" "Yes, Abraham Mills." " Like it?" " Oh, yes, very much." "You're troubled because your daughter Clara has lost practically everything you left her." "The bonds, orange groves." "You can't understand how she could have trusted that man... that man..." "John Martin!" "John Martin!" "John Martin, who came here after you passed on and talked her into selling everything." "Why didn't she ask the police for help" " when he ran away with the money?" " Come, Clara." "You'll find peace only when you know that Clara will guard the last of the inheritance for herself and her younger sister." "$25,000 in stocks." "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have made you come." "Gee, that was awful mysterious." "How he knew everything." " Say, can I ask you a favour?" " Sure." "What?" " You know the Professor, don't you?" " Sure I do." "I'd love to have my fortune told." "D'you think he'd do it if you asked?" " l can tell it better myself." " Where're we going?" "Your horoscope's up there." "I'd like a drink." "OK, you're on." "Where do we go?" "I know the place." "I like the way you talk." "I like the way you dance." "Here, sir, two bourbon." " Who ordered them?" " Do you want them?" "OK." "Thanks." " You said you'd tell my fortune." " Well,..." "Er, you don't belong in a one-armed joint." " No?" " Not a girl like you." "You've got style." "Beautiful style." "You inherited that." "Your father was a leading citizen." "Rich." " He trusted people too much." " And?" "Your mother..." "Well, her line seems to run out." "Don't scare me!" "She runs a boarding house in San Diego, and my old man came from a long line of drunks." "Anyway, there's a man in your life." "You just met him." "Tomorrow, he goes to San Francisco, and you're gonna lie awake at night, unable to forget." "And what can I do about it?" "Listen to that." "The sound of far-off places." "Do you like the sound of the ocean?" "I like the way you talk." "No." "That's OK for kids, but not for me." "Not any more." "Where are you from?" "What has that got to do with it?" "OK, don't tell me." "I'm from New York." " Now you know." " Er..." "What do you do when you don't tell fortunes?" "I help make 'em for others." "I passed actresses, directors, producers, through a publicity mill I ran:" "they came out famous." "Their names in all the papers." " You know people like that?" " l know all people in all places." "Like 21 , the Stork Club: that's where you belong, smothered in mink." "I can see you there." "Do you see me with a ring on my finger?" "Somebody to give me a home?" "Sure." "Sure." "Now, look... last night, I made up my mind." "That's the way I want it." "He didn't see it that way, so I walked home." "At night." "Miles before I got a ride." "Was plenty tired when I got in, too." "You saw me." " But when I make up my mind..." " Forget about last night." "You talk different, sure, but you drive just like the rest." "Well, you got the wrong girl." "Yeah?" "No!" "Tomorrow, you're going." " Where does that leave me?" " You'll go with me." "What on?" "You got into town with one dollar in your pocket." "You're a fake!" "Why, you little gyp!" "Dealing a buck out of the cash register, and calling..." "Go on." "Go on back to your one-armed joint and wait for somebody to come and marry you." "Coming, Eric?" "Yeah, I'm coming." "Professor's waiting. lt never felt so good getting out of town." "Even with the bills all paid." "Don't smile, your face looks better without it." " See ya downstairs." " OK." "Top of the mornin', my boy." "Hop in." " Good morning." " Get in." " l'm not going." " Not going?" "What's wrong?" "Nothing." "You go ahead, I'll meet you." "We need you for advance publicity." "San Francisco's tough on spooks." " Hit 'em like the earthquake." " When I feel like it." "I made it clear when I took this job, you can't tie me down." "It cramps my style." "I work best when a certain feeling comes and right now, I don't have it." " Genius." " Eric, my boy, you're an artist." " Have a bus ticket on the firm." " Never mind that." "Well, you'll always find your favourite brand in my bureau drawer." " lt's about time you showed up." "My bus leaves in fifteen minutes." "You got a nickel?" "I..." "I just came back to say I'm sorry about last night." " Save it." " Nothing else you want to say?" " No." " Don't give me that act." " What act?" " You know what I mean." "Hello." "So long... for good!" "What bit him?" "Just trying to make his bus, I guess." "?" "Slowly" "?" "You stirred in my arms" "?" "Thrilling me so... ?" " Well, in or out?" " Skip it." "This finishes it." "You'll never see me again." "Goodbye." "Goodbye!" "Oh!" "Always leave 'em laughing." "You again." " Whaddya want?" " l wanna talk to you." "OK, talk." "Don't give me that smile." "OK, I don't smile." "I thought you had something to say!" " Doesn't that say it?" " l heard that kinda talk before." "Good night." "I never said it before." "To anybody." "Ever." "I'll marry you, Stella, if that's what you want." "You?" "You don't kid me." "I'm not kidding." " Last night, you..." " Last night, I didn't know you." "What made you tick." "I know you now. I know why I couldn't pull out of here this morning, or get on that bus." "I can't get away without you, and I'm not going without you." " What's in it for me?" " You said you wanted that:" "a ring on your finger." "That isn't enough." "What goes with it?" "I want a home." "I'll get it for you." "What with, one dollar in your pocket?" "Twelve and a half thousand dollars." "Where would you get twelve and a half thousand dollars?" "What's the difference, as long as I get it?" "How?" "You gonna murder somebody?" " Talk sense." " Steal it?" " Listen." " Well, I don't know you!" "You know one thing." "We're gonna get married." "Once I get the cash." "Maybe you'll get me in trouble." "I don't wanna get in trouble." "You won't, not the way I'll get it." "I'm not even telling you how." "You just sit tight and wait for me." "That's the deal." "You'll keep it." "Maybe I will." "A very good performance, Miss Mills." "Please, go on." "Beethoven never sounded so good." " l wasn't playing Beethoven." " No?" "Why, sure, it was Brahms." "The old boys do sound alike, don't they?" "I mean, in spots." " What spots?" " The way they begin and end, sometimes in the middle, like the piece you were playing." "It wasn't anything, I was just improvising." "If Brahms didn't write that, you wrote him one better." "That was beautiful." "It was classical, it was inspiring." "You know, you belong in Carnegie Hall." "Now, look, you can't stay angry at me forever, not two full days." "Wait a minute." "What about living up to the place we're in?" "And the music you play here?" "So when a guy says he's sorry, the least you can do is forgive him." "All right, I forgive you." " Friends?" " l hardly know you." "Don't worry about that, we'll fix it right away." "It's a good thing word didn't come through from New York this morning." "I get the chance to stay another day, square things with you and your sister." "Tell me, what is there to do in this town to make time pass till tomorrow?" " That's up to you, isn't it?" " What do you do?" "Oh, there's plenty to occupy your time here." "The movies, dancing, the beach isn't far." "They'll tell you at the hotel." "You still think I tried to hurt your sister. I didn't mean to, really." "I only meant to help the Professor." "That's happened before. I try to help somebody, somebody else gets hurt." "That's the way it's been all my life." "Of course." "You live by impulse." "You never bother to think if you're following the right or wrong impulse." "I see you don't stop at music, you read too." "Don't you?" "I haven't opened a book since I left school." "They're phoney." " So are some people." " At least they're alive." " So are books." " You come to a part you don't like, you can turn the page, but try it on people." "Try it on life." "I'll tell you something about yourself." "You're scared to live." "That's why you bury yourself in books and music." "I think you ought to respect my ways as I respect yours." "Only I live and you don't." "All the things you look down on are the things that make up life." "What things?" "Little things." "A game of bowling, or a swim at night..." "Or a dance." "A kiss." "Stuff with bubbles." "I bet you never had a drink." " That doesn't mean anything." " Not by itself, it doesn't." "But you add up all the little things, that's what makes up life." "Maybe you're the one that's scared, not I." "How come?" "You don't know what you want, that's why you're scared." "That's why you keep running after every little thing." "That's quite a mind you have there, Miss Mills." "You mean for a girl in a small town?" "Must be the books, huh?" "Must be." "If you didn't know me so well, I might ask you something." " You'd probably say no, though." " Probably." "So there's really no use in asking." "Well, why don't you ask me anyway?" "Will you have dinner with me tonight?" "Well, I, I don't think I can." "You see?" "You're afraid to step out of your tower." "No, no, no, that isn't it." "Your sister?" " Of course not." " Then what are you afraid of?" "I'm not afraid." "Why should I be?" "Yeah, why should you be?" "I'll pick you up at seven." "At seven." "Two, please." "Don't you ever see anything through?" "When it's worth it." "We've had a dinner you didn't like and saw a movie you didn't like." " What's next?" " Dancing?" "All right." "Let's not miss any of the things that make up your happy life." "Well, here's to your first Scotch." "How do you like it?" "It tastes like soap." "If this is what all your little things add up to, I... I don't think it's very much." "Did you learn to play Beethoven in one night?" "No." "Then don't expect to learn this in one night." "I don't think you enjoy it either." " Because you don't." " But I want to, that's why I came." "Frankly, why did you ask me?" "No special reason." "You happen to interest me." "In what way?" "I can't define it." "Maybe it's your charm." "Maybe it's your talent." "Ever think of a career?" " Maybe?" " And?" "No." "No, I know my limitations." "One shouldn't set a limit on what one can do." "Mr Stanton, that sounds as if it came out of a book." "And not a very good one!" "There goes that mind again." "Shall we turn the page and dance?" "Oh, it's been an awfully long time." "I'll lead you." "You're doing fine." "Thank you." "Hey, ditch him and I'll meet you afterward." "I don't cheat on a date." "There's still one more little thing." "Don't worry, I'm not going to kiss you goodnight and make you unhappy." "Unhappy?" "Don't you take too much for granted?" "No." "One kiss goes a long way with you." "You need a guy who will take it the same way, who will give you a marriage with all the trimmings, home and kids." "Who'll walk to church with you every Sunday and listen to you play." "Save all your "Good nights" for him." "What makes you think I wanted you to kiss me?" "Didn't you?" " Short of help this morning, huh?" " Kinda." " She always come in this late?" " Sometimes." "Why d'you want to know?" "Just thought maybe she'd skipped out on you again." "No, she won't do it." "She promised me she won't." " Stella!" "Mornin', Stella." "Good mornin'." "Whew!" "Sure could use some coffee." "I got something special for you." "I waited for you last night." "Until after three." "That's nice." "Where were you?" "Around." " With that guy?" " Oh, leave me alone, it's too early." "Here y'are." " Mm, thanks." " Where d'you get the watch?" "You like it?" "Get me some hash." "Good and brown." "I said some hash." "You get this last night?" "Wait till we're married, then ask me." "Till then, I don't have to tell you a thing." "We're as good as married." "You're dropping out of circulation." "From now on, when you go out, it'll only be with me." "You've got a steady date, with Miss Mills." "I'm only doing that for you." " Lot of good I'm getting out of it." " You will in a couple of days." "OK, couple of days, but that don't mean forever." "Morning, Mr Judd." "Good morning, Stella." "Hello." "With my compliments." " Thank you." " Thank you." "I'm leaving tomorrow and I wanted to say goodbye." "Goodbye, Mr Stanton." "We're going to pick up a few things." "Can we take you anywhere?" "Anywhere you say." " Can three of us get in there?" " l think so." "You go ahead." "Thank you." "Nice town." "Hate to leave it." " Expect to go far?" " Maybe." "Maybe I'll be back." "And maybe I won't." "It depends." "On what?" "On what there is to come back to." "I..." "I'll be just a minute." "What would you come back for?" "June." "I gathered as much." "Let's be frank, shall we?" "My cards are on the table, Miss Mills." "I want you to leave June alone." "We don't know who you are or where you come from." " What do you do?" " Nothing." "That's frank, at least." "I'm sure you'll be interested to know I have no bank account, either." "I thought so." "Your hand is showing, Miss Mills." "You've got a trump card: money." " And because I haven't any, you..." " lt has nothing to do with money." "June has quite enough, even without my share." "Your share?" "Yes, she'll get that too. I want her to be happy, that's all I care about." "It's all hers, whatever I have." "In San Francisco, Mr Stanton, where no-one can touch it." "Not until she meets the right man." "Well, maybe I'm not the right man after all." "And you won't see her again?" "Suppose we leave that up to the one concerned." " There you are." " Thank you." "Wonderful." "Just wonderful." "If I've accomplished nothing else, at least I've made you like one of the little things I like." "I have my little secrets, too." "Bet you think all I do is read big, heavy books, don't you?" "But I don't." "For years, I've been saving ads out of magazines." "Sometimes, I... I feel like I'm the girl in the ads, softly alluring, full of grace, gowned by Schiaparelli." "If I had money, I'd dress you like the ads." "Take you to New York, at least to San Francisco." "You'd have that Schiaparelli gown." "It isn't that important." "It would be when I took you to the nightclubs, the theatre." "The concerts." "D'you ever hear the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra?" "Mm-hm." "On the radio." "Whaddya hear on the radio?" "A lot of noise." "But when you see 'em up on the stage, all dressed up with their fiddles and their horns, ten thousand people waiting for the music to begin." "That's a concert." "Particularly when Toscanini conducts, as he is tomorrow afternoon." "Toscanini?" "Yeah." "And you know what?" "After the concert, I'll get him to listen to you play, see who's right about your talent, you or me." " You know Arturo Toscanini?" " l'll make it my business to." "We can leave for San Francisco in the morning, make it in plenty of time." "No." "Your sister?" "Yes." "You gotta do everything she says?" "No, but I..." "Well, I guess after tonight, it's goodbye." "I guess it is." "Anyway, there are a few things to remember." "It could've been wonderful." "Mm-hm." "If I were another guy, the right guy, it could've gone on like this, night after night." "Just the two of us." "A fire, hot dogs, wine." "Martinis." "Wonderful martinis." "Coulda been a dream." " A beautiful dream." " You and I together." "New York and San Francisco." "Mm-hm." "Getting you all those things in the ads." "Going everywhere together, to the concerts, to hear the famous people play." "Becoming famous yourself." "Great career." ""Miss June Mills, the finest talent of them all."" ""Woman Of The Year."" " Who is it?" " Eric. I have to see you right away." "It can wait till tomorrow." "It's important." "OK, I'm listening." "I can't talk to you like this." "I can hear you." "Open up, what are you afraid of?" " Oh, pipe down, will ya?" "!" "You wanna wake everybody up?" "Whaddya want?" "I came to tell you I can't go through with it like I planned." "It'll take too long." "I knew it." "You didn't stand a chance." "That isn't it." "Look, you know how I feel about you." "You've gotta believe in me, have confidence in me." "I want you. I'm nuts about you." "That wasn't the deal." "Well, what of it?" "I'll get you that home and everything you wanted." "I can do it. I've got ideas that work and pay off big." "Come on, let's get out of here, tonight." "I'm taking no chances." " Now listen to me, Stella..." " l stick to a deal." "Satisfied there's nobody here?" "Now beat it." " Yeah?" " 'Eric?" "'" "Yeah." "'l'm so glad. I was afraid you might have already left.'" " Who is this?" " June." "Eric, I'm going with you." "To San Francisco?" "To the concert, on the nine o'clock train." "We'll pick you up." "We?" "Yes, Clara's going along too." "She had to go to San Francisco anyway to take care of some business, and thought she might as well do it a week early." "'Glad to have her along.'" "Thank you, Eric." "We'll be right over." " Wanna wait here?" " No, I'll go in with you." " Do you mind?" " Not at all." "Mills, number seventeen." "Yes, Miss Mills." "Clara and June Mills." "Joint ownership." "Either one of you sign here." "What's the rent on a box?" "Four dollars a month, but there's none available now." "We might have some vacancies next month." " l need one now." " Put whatever you want in our box." "I might need it when you're home." "Come on, June." "Have you a telephone directory?" "Yes, right around the corner." " This way?" " Yes." "Thanks." " The gentleman went to the phone." " Thank you." " Great luck, I found him in." " Who?" "Somebody very important." "Might have a great effect on your career." " Who is he?" " Wait till you meet him." "I told him we'd be over right away." "Go ahead." "I want to make a call from here." " l'll meet you after the concert." " We wouldn't think of it." " Eric asked you to go with us." " Sure, you're going." "Meet us at two-thirty sharp in front of the auditorium." "Two-thirty." " Good luck." " Thanks, we'll need it." "There is no concert." "I suppose you know that." " He knew it all along." " Getting us up here, pretending..." " He had to." " Why?" "Any better way of getting June out of Walton?" " There, we didn't have a chance." " What chance?" " To get married." " Married?" "Sure." "Here's the evidence." ""Certificate Of Marriage."" "June... you don't know what you've done!" "I do." "I'll have the whole thing annulled." "No, you won't, Clara." "I know what I want." "This isn't as sudden as you think." "Well, what's the verdict?" "I hope you'll be very happy." "Thank you." "I suppose the next thing to say is "Shall we be friends?"" "We could be, if you make June happy." "Sure I will." "Right from the start." "What are your plans?" "Well, I'd like to go home first and get a few things together." "Then we'll go some place for a little while, right, Eric?" "OK, back to Walton." "First, I'd like to try another bank." "I wanna put this in a safe deposit box." "Don't wanna take any chances carrying it around. I've a few valuables too." " Why don't you put it in our box?" " lt's in your name." "I'll put it away for you." "I always thought of it that way, didn't I, June?" "Yes, dear." "I said to myself "When June gets married, this will be her home."" ""l'll give it to her and her husband to do with as they please."" "If I am to stay on, it'll be as a guest." "A guest in June's home." "Assuming, of course, that I'm wanted." " Of course we want you with us." " Absolutely." "Here, have some more." "No." "It's time for a guest to say good night." "Good night." "Good night, Clara." "I'll be up in a minute." " ?" "is that the smile?" "?" "Slowly" "Won't you even have a drink with me?" "I got a date." " ?" "Smiling above" " Can I walk you home?" "I said I got a date." " ?" "That's when" " Good night, Stella." "Don't forget to lock the door." " ?" "I was in love ?" " Stella?" " Yeah?" "You're going to San Francisco tomorrow." "Am I?" "Tomorrow, I'll have that money." "All of it." " Meet me up there and then..." " How do I know you'll have it?" "I'm going to San Francisco with her to get it." "Well, I won't." "And she won't either." "Oh, yes, she will." "It's her honeymoon." " Her what?" " Yeah." "I married her... this afternoon." "It was the only way." "Congratulations" "Now, listen, we're really not married." " We'll be divorced in no time." "I haven't even kissed her." "In fact, I can have it annulled." " Good night!" "Now wait a minute!" "What do you want?" "She's your wife, not me." "I don't run around with married men." "I did it for you, to get you what you wanted." "Now keep your part of the deal." "Oh, sure, but she's got the ring on her finger." "She's not so dumb." " Well, I'm not a dope, either!" "Sugar?" "Cream?" "No." "Go ahead, say it." "I have nothing to say, Eric." "I'm waiting for you." "Well, I'm sorry." "Maybe I shouldn't have stayed out that late." "All of sudden, there I was, a married man." "I had to go out for a drink." "By the time I got back in, you were asleep." "Why did you go to that girl in the diner?" " What girl?" " Clara saw you." " You mean she went out after me?" " Yes, she told me this morning." "Well, that's fine." "Clara told you." "What's she gonna do?" "Follow me around everywhere I go?" "Check up on me?" "She's been running your life up to now, and she better stay out of mine." "I was angry with her too, at first, but she means well." "Yeah?" "Then why did she tell you?" "So you could have a good time worrying?" "I didn't worry." "Until that..." "that man came to see you." "What man?" "He's with the police." "Wants to ask you something." "Ask me what?" "About that girl." "She was found murdered." "Stella?" "Yes." "Yes, that was her name." "Eric... what did she mean to you?" "Does Mr Judd know?" "Judd?" "He's downstairs waiting." " Mr Judd." " Congratulations, Mr Stanton." "I just heard you were married." " My best wishes to you, Mrs Stanton." " Thank you." "Well, our church organist certainly surprised us all." "Married in San Francisco and not in the church." "It certainly saves time, doesn't it?" "Gives one the chance to get back the same night for a nice family dinner." " And after that, where d'you go?" " We retired." "Everybody?" "I locked the door myself." "Mm-hm." "Well, I'll check up on a few things." " Ah, mind if I go with you?" " Not a bit." "Thank you." "How did it happen?" "Who did it?" "I don't know yet." "The Chief of Police called me this morning and asked me to help." "He appointed me Special Investigator." " You know, it's strange." " What is?" "That a man doesn't spend his wedding night at home." " Did Clara tell you?" " No, she didn't say anything." "I saw you around myself." "Out the way, folks." "One side, please." "Hi, Mr Judd." "One side, please, one side." "Outta the way." " Hello, Mr Judd." " Johnson." "Hello, Pop." "You can sit down now." " Thanks for coming, Mr Judd." " Chief." "Coroner was here." "He'll send in his report as soon as possible." "In the meantime, however,... here's what he said." ""She was killed by a blow on the left temple."" ""Weapon undetermined."" ""Probably a lead pipe."" ""Time of death between three and four a.m."" " Find the weapon?" " lt's not in here." "Who's she?" "She lives downstairs, Mr Judd." "Says someone ran out of here late last night." "She found the girl's watch under the step this morning." "Guess he must've dropped it." "What did he look like?" "Oh, I don't know, mister." "It was so dark, I couldn't see him." "Just as I went to close the window, I saw him running down the street." "How d'you know it was a man you saw?" " l didn't say it was." " Then it was a woman?" " No!" " Then it had to be a man." "I guess it was." "A man always took her home." " Who?" " l don't know." "I saw him come up." "And once, I saw him." "Which one did you see last night?" "Oh, I can't say if it was them, honest!" "Can I go now, mister?" "I should be down in the store." "Please?" "!" "I don't like to stay in here." "You can go." "So can you, Pop." "I don't need you right now." "Let me stay, Mr Judd." " lt's her room." " lt was her room, Pop." "She was a good girl, wasn't she, Mr Judd?" "She never meant bad." "Everybody liked her." "Yes." "Everybody." " Your name?" " Atkins." "I gave my statement to the Chief." " What do you do?" " You know me, I operate jukeboxes..." " And slot machines." " Only in Nevada, where it's legal." "Now, look, I already said what I had to to the Chief." "I'm not answering any more questions." "What makes you think I'm gonna question you?" "I know how cops work." "How do they work, Mr Atkins?" "Well, you're supposed to show me." "Perhaps we'd better go in there." " lf you don't mind." " No, I don't mind." "Here's his statement, Mr Judd." "Check his alibi." " There's a phone in the store below." " Right away." "Sit down." "Now,..." "let's get down to facts, Mr Atkins." "You've got my alibi right there." "Don't believe me?" "Why don't you wait till the Chief gets back?" "I'm not interested in your alibi." "I'd like to know when you gave her this watch." "When?" "Why don't you ask if I gave it her?" " l know you did." " You don't." "I told you I know how cops work." "I don't believe you know how I work, Mr Atkins." " Those kid gloves?" " Certainly." "I don't like to mess up any case I'm on." "You gave her the watch, didn't you?" " No." " You did." " No." " You gave her the watch." " You gave her the watch." " No." " You did." "You gave her the watch." " No." " You gave her the watch." "All right, let's pick it up." "What about you and Stella?" "Well, I've known her for a long time." "I used to board at her mother's home down San Diego." "I... didn't have any money then, so I couldn't marry her." "Skip the romance." "Last night, you picked her up at 10.1 5." "You were with her until two." "What happened in between?" "We had dinner..." "We drove down to the beach." "You got there, didn't you?" "Yeah, yeah." "She said she'd marry me." "Then you brought her home, came up to kiss the bride." "No, I didn't. I left right away." "You see, when Stella was murdered, I was in a motor court just outside of Glenolden." "That's 100 miles away." "How do you know what time Stella was murdered?" "The coroner's report." "It says around four." "Oh, you know I couldn't have murdered her." "Sit down." " You gave her the watch, didn't you?" " No." "Time I went home." "Just for the record, so we can clear that up." "Doesn't make you any more guilty if you did give it to her." "You quarrelled, you took it back, then you lost it on the way down." "No, I never gave her any jewellery." " Come on, Mr Atkins, admit it." " No." " Admit you were generous, just once." " No!" " Admit it." " No!" " Mr Stanton." " Look, you don't try that on me." "I wouldn't think of it." "I just happen not to like his face." "Mr Judd, his alibi's OK." "The Liddell Motor Court in Glenolden said he checked in at 2.30." "All right, Mr Atkins, you may go now." "I knew his alibi'd hold up." "You got the watch?" "I didn't say you could go, Mr Stanton." " Sit down." " You can't ask me anything or hold me without charges." "You seem to be an expert on loopholes." "Perhaps you could tell us who might've murdered the girl." "Could've been anybody." "Atkins, maybe." " lt isn't Atkins." " Pop?" "He was stuck on her." "Perhaps." " Or was it a woman?" "Clara Mills?" " Or the woman downstairs." " Or you, Mr Stanton?" " Or you, Mr Judd?" "A splendid deduction." "The possibilities are many, and all quite interesting, don't you think?" "In a cold-blooded sort of way, sure." " You still aren't helping us." " lt's your case." "But you're involved in it, more than you realise." " Now, look..." " l'm looking." "The facts, they're all against you." "You came into town for no obvious reasons." "Of course, you weren't going elsewhere." "Meet a young lady, spend some time with her, then you come up here." "The woman downstairs saw you." "Then you meet another young lady and marry her." "On your wedding night, you walk the streets looking for lady number one." "How do we know you didn't wait for her until... I didn't." "You're an expert, Mr Stanton." "You know the exact value of a man's word against facts." " Are you accusing me?" " Not yet." "Perhaps after we find the weapon." "However, I wouldn't plan on any out-of-town honeymoon just yet." "We might need you any moment." "Good day." "What are you packing for?" " You're not going away now, are you?" " Yes, I am." "June, I won't let you go with him, not after that girl was murdered." " l'm going, Clara." " How can you?" "Why throw yourself away on someone who's not worth it?" "He isn't worth it." "It's no use, there's no happiness in it. I've been through this." "It's not the same thing, Clara, please try to understand." "I do understand." "Once I believed in someone, too." "No matter what people said, I believed in him." "You don't know what he meant to me." "What all of his lies and broken promises and dishonesty did to me." "I can't let you ruin your life too." "June, he went out after another woman the night of your marriage!" "Maybe you're right, but I can't let it end now." "I must give us every chance." "I hardly know him yet." "We've said so little, we're practically strangers." " Together, maybe he'll change." " He won't change." "Maybe not, but at least I'll have tried, done everything I could." "Goodbye, Clara." " There's a train in a half-hour..." " Forget about the honeymoon." "I'm beating it alone." "I'll make better time." "You're running away?" "What do you want me to do?" "Stick around here?" "Get framed?" "And my face punched in." "You bet I'm running away." "Won't it look bad if they want you?" "That's for Mr Judd to figure out." "If he wants to pin it on me, he'll have to find me first." "Where will you go?" "What do you want to know for?" "Cos I wanna go with you." "You'll need me to get the money in San Francisco." "Who asked you for money?" "You'll need it." "You mean you're giving me the money?" "No." "No, I'm not giving it to you, it belongs to both of us." "All right, but when this thing blows over, I'll pay it back to you." " Very well. I'll get the car." " No." "And we can't take the train." "Or the bus, either." "Judd'll have them all watched." "We've gotta get on the highway without being seen." "We'll hitchhike to San Francisco." "And no luggage." "It's gotta look as if we were just out taking a walk." "Come on." "Good evening." " ln and out, out and in." " l'm sorry." "One room right after the other." "Can't even wait till the room's ready." "I never saw such a rush." "Everybody getting married." "What a dump!" "It isn't so bad." "Tired?" "Maybe I am." "Waiting for something to happen." "Nothing's going to happen." "Shut it off, will you?" "I thought you might like a drink." "I sure would... but not that." "There's a bar downstairs and we have a little money left." "Whaddya want me to do, walk right into his arms?" " He probably isn't after you at all." " Not much!" "He must've sent a description of me to all the papers." "Maybe we missed an edition." "Couldn't be in the papers, it's too early." "There's no need to be afraid." "Sure!" "Murder rap's nothing" "Let's just go home, so he can pin it on me." " l didn't say we oughta go home." " You didn't, but you meant it." "The room's not good enough!" "Why don't you go and tell me, you're sorry you ever came?" "But I'm not sorry, I wanted to." "Why?" "So you could drive me nuts with that quiet way of yours?" " Eric..." " Why'd I bring you anyway?" "I don't need your dough." "Wouldn't have to hang around this dump." "If I'd been alone, I could've kept on going." "Maybe I will." "Double Scotch, thanks." "Better make it a single." " l'll settle for a beer." " Better make up your mind, mister." "It is made up." "A beer." "Eric?" " Yes." "Could you give me a towel, please?" "They're on the bed." " Here." " Thank you." "Eric, would you get me my coat?" "It's in the closet." "Here." "I, er, thought I'd bring you one of these." "Thank you." "And this." "Help you pass the time." "That's very sweet of you." "Ah, I thought it would say it better than I could that... I'm sorry." "Just nerves, I guess." "I understand." "All I mean is there's nothing in it for you." "You oughta go home." " No." " Why do you waste your money on me?" "I'm not wasting my money." "It's yours, as well. I don't care what you do with it." "Burn it, tear it up, do anything you want." "You take it easy." "I only meant it for your sake." "If you had any consideration at all, you wouldn't even mention money!" "OK." "But anytime you want to, you can always pull out." "They'll fix you up with a divorce, just for the asking." "Tell them how I lied to you, married you for your money." " l'm wanted for murder..." " You didn't murder that girl!" " Maybe I did." "You didn't ask me." " l knew you didn't." " What do you know about me?" " All I know is that I love you!" "I love you, Eric, I love you!" "I could talk for the rest of the night about my batting average." "How many times I've struck out." "Even when I hit a home run, it isn't any different." "Like the time in New York, just before I came west." "I'd started a publicity office." "Like always, it was great at the beginning." "A guy comes along, wants to buy the business." "Offered me eight thousand bucks." "I took it." "We had a big celebration that night." "In a couple of hours, I'd lost half of it back." "To him and his friends." "I knew the dice were loaded, but I couldn't prove it." "Anyway, I came west." "Chicago for a while." "Then Omaha." "Las Vegas." "That's where l dropped the other half of the dough." "When I was kicked off of that bus at Walton, I only had one dollar left." "And then..." "Ah, but why go on?" "I want to know everything about you." "It all adds up to only one thing." "A washout." "That's what you're looking at." "A complete washout at 30." "Yeah, I'm finished OK." " You're not finished, Eric." " Sure I am." "I'm tired." "Like I was a million years old." "With a million jobs behind me." "And girls." "Chances I never followed up." "Eric... did you care very much for..." "Stella?" "I don't know." "I guess I did." "I even promised her I'd marry her." "I can't figure it out now." "Woulda lasted a couple of weeks." "Maybe less." "Anyway, that's all gone." "Just as if it died with her." "Yeah, that's over, too." "Up in smoke, like everything in my life." "My school, the publicity game." "Easy come, easy go." "I got everything by talking fast in a world that goes for talk." "And I end up with exactly nothing." "Perhaps we can find what you want when this has all cleared up." "If it's cleared up." "Eric... wouldn't it look better not to run away, to go back to Walton?" "Sure, and go back to the chair." "Or is it the gas chamber in California?" "If you're innocent, there's nothing to worry about." "Maybe that's the way it works in your books, but even as a kid, I always got beaten up for something I didn't do." "That's when I learned to run away before it was too late." "You're tired." "Come, lie down." "Tomorrow, we'll go wherever you want to go." "June,... why don't you just go on home?" "We're married." "Remember?" "Besides, I..." "I wanna be with you." "Why?" "I need you, Eric." "You need me?" "Yes." "You're my husband." "And I'm your wife." "Right out of a book." "Again." "Yes." "Out of a book." ""We were born to tread the earth as angels, to seek out heaven this side of the sky," "but they who race alone shall stumble in the dark, and fall from grace."" "Go on." "Sounds good." ""Then love alone can make the fallen angel rise."" ""For only two together can enter paradise."" "Four-and-a-half-minute eggs." "I certainly married a man with a peculiar taste." "You can still get out of it." "Promise you'll never say that again." "OK, I promise." "It's ten o'clock." " The bank just opened." " Let's go." "Get your morning papers here!" "Get your papers!" "Early edition papers!" "Papers!" "This morning's papers!" "Paper, sir?" "You wait here, I'll be right back." "Shine, sir?" " Papers here!" "This morning's papers!" " All right." "Papers!" "Early edition papers!" "Morning papers here!" "Papers!" " Mrs Stanton?" " Yes?" "Could you come with us, please?" "Here." "But I ain't finished yet!" "Now let's be sensible." "We've been here for hours." "Tell us where he is." "We're bound to find him soon." "Mrs Stanton, you're not helping him or yourself." "Getting mixed up in this murder as an accessory after the fact." "If he doesn't wanna come back, he must have a reason." "What reason could an innocent man have?" " Assuming he's innocent." " He is." "He could never have done it." "How can you say that?" "You know very little about him." "He came into town a total stranger and within a week, he married you." "All to his credit, of course." "But why this trust in him?" "A man who went out to see another woman the night of your marriage." "That's between the two of us." "Ask Miss Clara Mills to come in." "Miss Mills, please." "June." "Sit down, Miss Mills." "In your sworn statement, you identified this envelope, found in your safe deposit box, as the one Mr Stanton gave you." "Would you please repeat that for your sister?" "Yes." "This is the envelope he gave me after they were married." "Why did he want you to put it away?" "He said it contained something valuable." "Mm-hm." "Would you care to see your husband's valuable property?" "A blank piece of paper." "Why would a man want to put a blank piece of paper in your deposit box?" "I'll tell you." "It gives him the excuse to open the box, to steal your money." "No, he wouldn't." "Whatever he did, he did because he was confused." "He knew what he was doing." "He wanted that money so he could run away with that girl." " But he didn't." " No." "He made the mistake of coming back a married man." "She didn't want anything to do with married men." "They argued and he killed her." "You're only assuming that." "You have no proof." "All right." "But why shield a man who lied to you and wanted to steal from you, when you have positive proof that he married you for your money?" "He didn't lie to me." "And he isn't guilty, I know he isn't." "He only ran away because he had to." "He's always had to run away, all his life, even as a child, when he was beaten for things he didn't do." "He won't come back because of you." "You won't give him a chance, you only think the worst of him!" "Trying to make him guilty of murder when he didn't do it!" "I tell you he didn't do it!" "He didn't do it!" "Take her home now." "You're responsible she doesn't leave the house." "It's not the same, Mr Judd." "I think I'll sell the place." "Hello, Pop." "Some coffee, please." "I knew you'd be back." "Yeah." "Well, drink your coffee and we'll go down to the Chief of Police." "Thanks." "Enjoy San Francisco?" "Sure." " How come you didn't go after me?" " l didn't have to." "And how come there wasn't a word about Stella's murder in the papers?" " Why are you holding it back?" " Professional reasons." "And was it for professional reasons you beat up Atkins?" "When all the time you knew he was innocent?" "You don't seem to appreciate my methods, Mr Stanton." "Frankly, no." "That's what brought me back." "You know, I got worrying about you in San Francisco." "About me?" "Yes, Mr Judd." "You know, you oughta stay home nights with your bad health." "Not walk the streets." "Like the night you said you saw me looking for Stella." "More coffee, Pop." "You weren't strong enough to keep on working on the New York force." "Why are you working so hard on this case?" " Maybe you better slow down." " Don't you worry about me." "I'm OK." "I said I wanted more coffee, Pop." "Get it." "I don't worry about you, Mr Judd." "Not anymore." "Not since I called a friend of mine in the DA's office in New York." "He assured me you were in perfect health when you left there." "They retired you from the force after you ruined another man's health." "Almost killed him, in a routine investigation." "They would've sent you up, if you hadn't had such a good record." "That was before you started to enjoy your work too much." "Wearing gloves, you know." "And I checked up on..." "That's enough." "Save it for the Chief." "There y'are, Pop." "Oh, you remember that watch?" "The one with the three diamonds that belonged to Stella?" " Find out who bought it for her?" " Perhaps." "You made your fatal mistake, Judd, when you had June arrested." "Oh, you scared me at first, all right, but then I stopped, and I began to think." "And I kept right on thinking about that watch, and I started a little routine investigation of my own." "The result is the Walton police will get a wire from San Francisco." "They'll know who bought it tomorrow morning, unless you admit it tonight." "Shall we go?" "Oh, I came in a police car, they're outside." "I thought it'd be more convenient." "Sit down." "You don't mind if I finish my coffee?" "You're insane." "The police are right outside." "Perhaps I am insane." "Perhaps this might've been the perfect crime if I hadn't dropped the watch." "But I doubt it." " There's always some slip." " Yeah, there always is." "You understand." "You know what she was like." "You couldn't get away from her either." "Two years I came in here and drank coffee." "Just to get a look at her." "Day after day for two years." "Insane, perhaps." "Those evenings when she went out with other men, while I was waiting for her in the shadow of the porch..." "Remember three nights ago, when you brought her home, and kissed her?" "I was standing there." "Insane, perhaps." "Night before last, when she was out with Atkins, after he left, I went up." "When she told me she wouldn't wait any longer for my wife to divorce me, that she was going to marry that slot-machine operator the next day, I hit her." "Unfortunately, I didn't remember my ring." "Get out of the way, Mr Stanton!" "I'm gonna kill him!" "He murdered Stella!" "I'm gonna kill him!" "Let's go." "You gotta forget it, Pop." "No, I'll never forget Stella." "You will." "I felt the same way myself, until..." "Well, you'll find yourself, Pop." "?" "They had just been kissed" "Eric?" "?" "The moon came in through" "?" "My room above" " Where to?" " Home." "?" "I suddenly knew" "?" "That I was" "?" "In love ?"