"Good evening." "I've been reading a mystery story." "I find them very relaxing." "They take my mind off my work." "These little books are quite nice." "Of course, they can never replace hardcover books." "They're just as good for reading... but they make very poor doorstops." "Tonight's story by Louis Pollock... is one that appeared in this collection." "I think you will find it properly terrifying... but like the other plays of our series, it is more than mere entertainment." "In each of our stories, we strive to teach a lesson or point a little moral." "Advice like mother used to give, you know." "Walk softly, but carry a big stick." "Strike first and ask questions later." "That sort of thing." "Tonight's story tells about a business tycoon... and will give you something to ponder if you have ever given an employee the sack." "Or if you intend to." "You'll see it after the sponsor story, which, like ours... also strives to teach a little lesson or point a little moral." "To be perfectly frank..." "I think there's very little chance of our being interested in the project... unless this new angle you mentioned... drastically alters the picture." "However, I'll be happy to discuss it with you again when I return to New York." "I'm driving back this time, so I won't be there until Thursday, the 17th." "You can get in touch with me the following week at my office." "Yes, he's here." "Cordially, etc." "It's long distance for you." "Your office in New York." "Thank you." "Hello." "Yes, this is he." "Oh, hello, Hubka." "Hold on." "That'll be all." "I'll stop by your desk and sign them later." "Yes, sir." "Ed." "Cigarette." "Go ahead, Hubka." "I explained that in my note." "Didn't you get my note?" "Yes, Mr. Callew." "I have it right here." "But it says I'm being let go to conform with Mr. Merling's new sales setup." "That's right." "But the sales don't have anything to do with accounting, Mr. Callew." "I can chart results of any type of selling." "This just doesn't make sense." "It may not make any sense to you, Hubka, but I'm afraid that's up to Mr. Merling." "But, Mr. Callew, I don't know..." "What am I going to do?" "This is so abrupt." "And unexpected." "I can't" "Good Lord, man, you're not being sent to Siberia." "You've got six months' severance pay, and there are other jobs." "No." "No, Mr. Callew." "There aren't for me." "Don't you see... after all these years the company is..." "It's just like it was our own business." "My whole family, even the children, feel they belong to it... and it to them." "I just can't go home and face them if this is true." "Listen, Hubka- Don't you see?" "It's the upset." "It's the suddenness." "If a thing like this can happen... then I can't be sure of anything." "Anything." "This is the last... the very last thing I thought could happen, Mr. Callew." "Mr. Callew?" "Operator..." "Operator, we've been cut off." "We've been cut off." "Can you imagine that?" "He was crying." "I heard him." "I hate that kind of weakness." "What do you expect, three cheers?" "After all, the bottom has just dropped out of the man's whole world." "He didn't have to weep about it." "You should show some control over your emotions." "Well, I suppose so, within reason." "But it's not such a good idea to try to control them beyond a certain point." "He may have saved himself from something worse by breaking down now." "Saved himself from what?" "Oh, I don't know." "Maybe from killing himself." "Maybe from hating you." "Maybe even from trying to kill you." "What, shall we trap a marlin this afternoon?" "Well, I guess so." "If they're running, I may even stay till tomorrow." "You just can't sit on the beach and relax, can you?" "I'd go nuts trying to do nothing but nothing." "Come on." "Snap it up." "Get over there." "Come on, get on the truck." "Snap it up." "Get over there." "What is it?" "Why is everything so fuzzy?" "It's like..." "Like dust on my eyes." "How could that be?" "Hey, I can't close them." "I can't..." "I can't move." "Anything." "I can't feel." "It..." "I'm paralyzed." "But maybe, maybe if I concentrate..." "No." "No, it won't work." "I can't move." "I'm..." "Wait a minute." "Wait a minute now." "It won't do any good to get in a sweat." "I'm alive at least." "And I'm not in pain." "There's a little feeling of pressure on my chest." "Or in it, or something." "My head feels kind of... tilted back a little, too, somehow." "But nothing hurts." "And there's no use worrying about what's wrong with me now." "I'll find out when they get me out of here." "It won't be long." "Somebody'll come soon." "So I'll just lie and wait." "That's all I can do." "At least I can see." "It's lucky I'm not looking right at the sun." "It's so quiet." "Am I deaf?" "No." "No, I can hear." "Those are birds." "It's just quiet." "Very quiet." "Where is everybody?" "It must have killed the guards but not the prisoners, all of them." "Maybe they went for help." "Probably just escaped." "Well... somebody'll come before long." "After all, it's a detour on a main highway." "But what if they opened the highway right after I passed?" "What if I was the last one on this detour?" "Then it might be..." "No, that's too fantastic." "It's okay." "Ain't nobody here." "Looks like clean pickings." "Yeah, come on." "Let's hurry and get out of here." "Man, man, was they clobbered." "Good." "That wasn't long." "Him, too." "Yeah." "I must look pretty bad." "We better get started." "We may not have much time." "Here." "Get those tools out of the back." "Right." "What are they doing?" "Why aren't they moving me?" "Have to do something to the car to get me out, I guess." "Hey, don't light that." "Don't you smell that gas?" "Gee, yeah." "I never thought." "Wanna burn everything up?" "Burn." "There's a thought." "What would happen if they did burn me up?" "Would I merely, at a certain point, lose consciousness?" "What are they doing?" "Why should it take so long?" "Take it easy." "Okay." "That's good." "Hey, how are you doing back there?" "Okay, how are you doing?" "I'm almost done." "Who's that?" "It's somebody." "Why doesn't he do something, say something?" "This is crazy." "I don't get it." "Maybe they don't know I'm alive." "Maybe they just came for the car, but what with?" "I didn't hear a car when they arrived." "They must have come on foot." "You about through?" "Just about." "Wait'll I get these bags out." "They didn't come to help." "They're just here to loot, to strip the car." "They live nearby and heard the crash." "Come on." "We better get out of here before somebody comes." "Right." "Here, we're coming." "They're gone." "Why wouldn't they look at me?" "They should have checked." "Don't they even wonder if I'm alive?" "They could've telephoned for help and still have kept the stuff." "No one would know." "I wouldn't care." "Ain't nothing wrong with your idea except not having it soon enough." "There goes the clothes." "We'll take a look around, anyhow." "Now what?" "Who is it?" "Have they come back?" "Ain't nothing left." "They took everything." "They sure did." "It's somebody else." "But who?" "Look at that poor fella." "That wheel really got him jammed in." "Yeah, broke his neck, too." "Hey, you reckon he's still alive?" "No." "If we had a mirror, we could tell." "Just hold it in front of his mouth and see if it clouds up." "Why don't you just feel my pulse?" "Let's get him out of here." "Yeah." "Yes, get me out." "Listen to my heart." "You'll see." "Come on, get in here next to me." "Put your feet up here." "Now push this." "Okay." "What happened?" "Oh, they moved me." "I didn't feel it." "Except maybe..." "Maybe a little less pressure in my chest." "Now if they'll" "You think he's alive?" "Of course not." "With his eyes open like that?" "Are you crazy?" "But I am." "Listen to my heart." "I am alive." "Seems like I kind of seen something shining in them eyes." "That's just the sunlight." "Then what'd you move him for?" "What good that gonna do if he's" " For his clothes, man." "What do you think we done come back here for?" "His clothes." "How far you think we gonna get in these jailhouse duds?" "They gonna catch us, boy." "My clothes." "Of course." "They're prisoners and they need clothes for their escape." "They all ran when they saw the guards were dead... and now these two have come back, looking for clothes." "So I have to lie here while..." "I've had about enough of this." "Is there nobody around here but criminals and ghouls?" "There goes my coat." "Shirt, too, I guess." "Wallet, identification, everything." "Somebody will hear about this, I promise that." "Leaving me out here all this time, while..." "I'll knock some heads together down this way, you bet." "If I can't do it, I'll find someone who can." "And this character who's stripping me, I hope..." "I wonder what he looks like, who he is." "Well, if I ever run into him again, he'll wish he'd..." "Come on, boy..." "I want to get out of here before the Sheriff shows." "And don't think you're getting any of these clothes." "Don't worry, you got them." "I'm keeping them." "I've done a lot of things, but I never robbed a dead man." "Come on, shut up." "Get out of here." "Well... no use getting worked up about it." "Can't help anything." "Awfully quiet now." "I guess they were company, in a way." "Funny that I can miss them." "It's just that it's so silent, I guess." "And lonely." "Well, it can't be much longer." "When the prison truck doesn't show up, somebody'll come... and they'll get me out of here." "But wait..." "If I look so dead to all those others, suppose..." "No." "They're bound to check." "Even these yokels would." "But if they didn't?" "If they just assumed..." "And went ahead to bury me." "If they tried to prepare my body..." "No." "They can't." "Now, wait." "Hold on." "Now hold on." "It won't help me to get panicky." "I've got to take it easy." "I've got to think." "I can handle it." "Just have to figure a way to get their attention when they come, that's all." "If only I could move... move a little bit." "My feet... hands, my face." "If only I..." "What's that?" "I hear something." "It's a finger." "I'm tapping my finger." "I'm sure of it." "It's moving." "All right." "I can move a finger and make a sound." "Now." "Now, when they come, all I have to do is tap." "Have to pull the convertible off to get these three out." "Okay." "I'll hook onto it." "That prisoner we caught sure never lied when he said it was a mess, did he?" "Looks to me like" " I believe it's worse than... that pileup at Farley's Bend, huh, Sheriff?" "Yeah, I believe it is." "Look at this one." "They're here." "These are the people." "Now's the time." "Looks like his neck's broken." "Sure never mattered that Doc Horner was out on a call, did it?" "Nothing for him to do here." "No." "Might as well load this one in." "They can't hear it." "They can't hear it with all this going on." "Well... maybe when they move me one of them will see it." "All right." "Look." "Look at my finger." "Look at my finger, look at it." "It's moving." "I'm sure it is." "Just look." "Look." "Oh, why don't you look?" "Now the truck has stopped." "They're taking the bodies out." "That's three." "I'll be next." "Pretty bad wreck, huh, Lloyd?" "Sure was." "Killed four of them." "When they take me in, they'll put me on a table or something." "It'll be in a good light." "Caught any of the convicts yet?" "Just one." "They can hear the taps in there all right... and they'll be looking right at me." "Reckon they'll have to get the bloodhounds after them." "Shouldn't wonder." "Well, good night." "All right." "Here we go." "I'll start tapping on the way in." "Those wheels." "Why don't they oil them?" "Over there?" "Yeah, bring him this way." "Here, this'll do." "Well, I guess that's all." "We'll just leave him on the stretcher for the night." "Wait, wait." "No." "Come back." "Listen." "Listen." "They're gone." "All night." "All night I'll be alone in the dark." "But it's all right." "I can do it." "I'm not going to break down." "They'll be back in the morning with the coroner." "It'll be light, and they'll have to look at me then to sign..." "To sign the death certificate." "There'll be no squeaking wheels, no motors." "They'll hear the taps and they'll see." "It'll be all right." "It's just... so long and so dark." "But it'll..." "It'll be..." "Well, there they be." "Yep." "Well, Iet's take a look." "When they get the coroner's jury convened out front..." "I'll bring them back to view the bodies." "But after the preliminary evidence..." "I'll have to continue the inquest until we..." "What's this?" "It's so..." "Must be a sheet." "They put a sheet over me." "And I've been asleep." "Or passed out." "This the other guard?" "Yeah." "You gonna give me a burial certificate on all these now, Doc?" "They're here." "That's the coroner." "They're uncovering the" "All but the one from the New York convertible." "Give you a death certificate on him, if you want." "Anytime." "This is the convict." "They haven't looked at me yet." "They can't have." "As soon as they move the sheet, I'll tap." "It's quiet." "They'll have to hear." "They'll have to hear." "They'll have to see." "Any word on the New York fellow yet?" "Not yet." "Might hear today." "Let's look at him." "Come on." "I'm ready." "Now." "What is it?" "What is it?" "It won't move." "I can't hear it." "It doesn't feel like it's moving." "What's the matter?" "I can't move it." "Chest crushed." "Extensive internal injuries, probably." "That steering wheel must have crushed him." "Yeah, there's a bad condition at the base of the skull where the spine makes its entry." "What's wrong?" "I'm trying." "I know I am." "Now, when he could save me..." "But, no, I'm lying on it." "They moved me..." "I'm lying on it." "I can't move it now." "I'll never move it now." "Oh, don't." "Don't go." "Look at me." "Take my pulse." "Do something." "Don't leave me." "Chessy?" "Yeah?" "Looky here." "What is it?" "Look at there, in his eyes." "Never seen that before." "Like it was a tear." "Man, it is tears." "He's crying." "He's alive." "Hurry and get blankets while I get my bag from up front." "Why didn't somebody check this man?" "It's all right." "Don't worry, fellow, we know." "You'll be all right." "We'll take care of you." "Thank God." "Thank God." "Well, that was a bit of a near thing." "He reminded me of my own situation." "Imagine if you can, the terror of being inside a television set... knowing that any moment, the viewer may shut you off... and being powerless to prevent it." "And I go through this every week." "My only consolation is that some portions of our program are so fascinating... that they hold the viewer spellbound." "Such an episode follows immediately." "And then I'll be back again." "There now, that really held you in suspense, didn't it?" "For more of the same, I recommend you tune in next week at this time." "I shall see you then." "Bonsoir."