Brother John | The Curse of Kamoshek - Suspense

[00:00:00] And now, a tale well calculated to keep you in...

[00:00:07] Suspense.

[00:00:10] Act 1 of Brother John, starring William Redfield,

[00:00:14] and written especially for Suspense by Elspeth Erick.

[00:00:22] It was so simple, it was ridiculous.

[00:00:26] I was lying there in the veterans' hospital with a brain embolism.

[00:00:29] Stroke, they call it, for short.

[00:00:32] You think that only happens to old people?

[00:00:35] Both of us in that room were under 30.

[00:00:37] You see, you get a stroke on the left side of your brain.

[00:00:40] It paralyzes the right side of your body.

[00:00:43] And it makes you so you can't talk.

[00:00:45] I mean, you got all the words in your head and you understand what everybody says,

[00:00:48] but you can't talk.

[00:00:50] So I just laid there and listened to Brother John talking to the army doctor.

[00:00:56] He's your brother?

[00:00:57] Yes, he is 20 years younger.

[00:00:59] I've taken care of him since he was a kid.

[00:01:01] Well, we'll hope for spontaneous recovery.

[00:01:04] What's that?

[00:01:05] The damage to the brain clears up by itself.

[00:01:08] Speech returns and the paralysis disappears.

[00:01:11] Well, what do I do now?

[00:01:14] Well, can you remember what books he read as a child?

[00:01:18] Little poems or songs.

[00:01:21] Hey diddle diddle, humpty dumpty.

[00:01:23] Often these things come back first.

[00:01:26] Charlie was born in France.

[00:01:27] Our parents both died there when Charlie was 10.

[00:01:30] By that time I was in okay shape financially and they sent him back to me.

[00:01:34] But he only spoke French.

[00:01:36] I remember he used to sing that frère Jacques thing.

[00:01:42] Yes, singing often helps.

[00:01:44] The rhythm carries them along.

[00:01:46] I hardly know any French.

[00:01:48] Well now, you do your best.

[00:01:50] This may all clear up sooner than you think.

[00:01:52] The man on the other side of the screen has the same trouble.

[00:01:55] He seems to be coming along.

[00:01:57] Well, thank you doctor.

[00:01:59] Anything else you want to know, ask for me at the desk.

[00:02:01] Thanks.

[00:02:07] Hey there chum.

[00:02:09] You look fine.

[00:02:12] Now, now listen.

[00:02:14] I'm going to tell you what we're going to do.

[00:02:16] You know the apartment I have over the garage at the Tremains?

[00:02:20] You're going to come there.

[00:02:22] It's big enough.

[00:02:23] Wait till you see it.

[00:02:24] It's great.

[00:02:25] Yeah.

[00:02:27] What's the matter?

[00:02:28] You think they'll mind?

[00:02:29] They won't mind.

[00:02:30] They're very nice people.

[00:02:32] Of course, they're really not in any position to mind anything.

[00:02:35] Are they?

[00:02:35] Huh?

[00:02:37] No.

[00:02:38] But when I took that prison rap for Jerry Tremain,

[00:02:40] he promised he'd look after me for the rest of my life.

[00:02:43] And somebody asks you what does your brother do,

[00:02:45] you can say he's butler for the Gerald Tremains.

[00:02:49] It's not much, I grant you that.

[00:02:50] But it's better than saying he's a bum.

[00:02:52] Right?

[00:02:54] Yeah, he's doing very well incidentally, old Jerry.

[00:02:58] All strictly on the up and up ever since that one little mistake that I did time for.

[00:03:02] But I'm a nice fella.

[00:03:06] I've stuck to our original agreement, 200 a week for life.

[00:03:10] And of course, I get my board and room.

[00:03:12] So most of it, I've got put away for you.

[00:03:15] And if you ever need a little extra,

[00:03:19] well, truth is Mrs. Tremain is what you might say crazy about me.

[00:03:26] I could always put the bite on her for a little extra if you needed it.

[00:03:30] Listen, I brought you some champagne.

[00:03:33] Want me to open it now?

[00:03:35] Okay, later.

[00:03:36] With your buddy here.

[00:03:38] Doctor says you both got this cerebral thing.

[00:03:42] Okay if I introduce myself?

[00:03:46] My name's McGee.

[00:03:48] Yeah, I'm Charlie's brother, John.

[00:03:50] I brought some champagne.

[00:03:52] You and Charlie can have it together, okay?

[00:03:54] You both look great, you know.

[00:03:57] Just great.

[00:03:59] Well, good luck.

[00:04:01] Enjoy the champagne.

[00:04:03] Hey, looks like a nice fella.

[00:04:05] You want to say something, Charlie?

[00:04:08] Go ahead, go ahead, try.

[00:04:10] Go ahead.

[00:04:12] Frere Jacques, Frere Jacques,

[00:04:16] Dormez-vous, Dormez-vous?

[00:04:24] I had to laugh.

[00:04:26] Big brother John standing there trying to sing in French.

[00:04:30] Well, all right, so he didn't know French.

[00:04:32] But he had brains.

[00:04:33] He does a little stretch in prison for a guy,

[00:04:35] then when he gets out, he moves in with the guy.

[00:04:38] Gets 200 a week and takes over the wife besides.

[00:04:42] Well, anyway, a few days later, I had a spontaneous recovery.

[00:04:46] Blood clot was absorbed, speech came back, paralysis is gone.

[00:04:50] I'm out of the army.

[00:04:52] Walking around.

[00:04:54] But you see, I'd never met these Tremaynes.

[00:04:57] And I'm very curious to find out what they're like.

[00:05:01] So, Mrs. Tremayne comes to the door.

[00:05:04] Not a bad-looking woman for her age.

[00:05:07] She lets me in and introduces me to her husband.

[00:05:10] This is my husband, Mr. Tremayne.

[00:05:12] Gerald, this is John's brother, Charlie.

[00:05:16] Charlie?

[00:05:17] Good Lord.

[00:05:20] Uh, sit down, sit down, Charlie.

[00:05:22] Well, I should have called John, I guess,

[00:05:24] but I wanted to surprise him.

[00:05:26] Gerald, you tell him.

[00:05:28] I just can't.

[00:05:29] Uh, Charlie, we were just going to call you at the hospital.

[00:05:34] Yeah, the truth is...

[00:05:37] Well, your brother has been shot, Charlie, killed.

[00:05:42] John?

[00:05:44] John was shot?

[00:05:45] It just happened about an hour ago.

[00:05:47] Well, who'd want to do a thing like that?

[00:05:49] We don't know who did it.

[00:05:50] The police don't know.

[00:05:52] Gerald, you ought to let them know that Charlie's here.

[00:05:54] All right, I will.

[00:05:55] I'll be right with you.

[00:05:58] I...

[00:05:59] Oh, he...

[00:06:01] He was such a wonderful brother to me.

[00:06:04] I know.

[00:06:06] He talked a lot about you.

[00:06:07] I mean, he...

[00:06:08] He did everything for me.

[00:06:10] You were planning to stay here with him, weren't you?

[00:06:12] He said so.

[00:06:13] Yeah, yeah, till I get a job or something.

[00:06:18] Now I don't know what to do.

[00:06:20] Well, why don't you just stay on here anyway for the...

[00:06:24] For the time being?

[00:06:25] Oh, I don't know if I could.

[00:06:26] John's apartment's over the garage, you know.

[00:06:28] Why...

[00:06:29] Why don't you just move in?

[00:06:31] Well, I...

[00:06:33] Gee, Mrs. Tremaine, I...

[00:06:36] I kind of like that.

[00:06:38] I'd like to poke around there sort of

[00:06:40] and see if I can't figure out

[00:06:41] who could have wanted to kill my brother John.

[00:06:48] It was so simple, it was ridiculous.

[00:06:53] I could move right in and I did.

[00:06:55] Ah, they were nice, really.

[00:06:56] She was what you'd call faded, I guess,

[00:07:00] but not too faded.

[00:07:01] I could see how John could have gone for her a little bit.

[00:07:06] Next morning, I asked if I could help her with breakfast.

[00:07:10] You know, John told me a lot about you, Mrs. Tremaine.

[00:07:15] He did?

[00:07:15] Yeah.

[00:07:17] He liked you a lot.

[00:07:18] Well, that's very nice to hear.

[00:07:21] I can see why.

[00:07:23] You're very attractive.

[00:07:25] Well, now...

[00:07:26] I mean, John certainly thought you were.

[00:07:30] And so do I.

[00:07:31] That's a nice compliment from a young man.

[00:07:35] And you're not much older than I am.

[00:07:37] Well, I'm certainly not younger.

[00:07:39] Lots of men my age go for older women.

[00:07:44] I really wouldn't know about that.

[00:07:46] Oh, come on now, Mrs. Tremaine.

[00:07:48] You must have had lots of guys going for you.

[00:07:51] Really, Charlie, I...

[00:07:52] I don't think this is the way for us to talk.

[00:07:59] I knew I had her.

[00:08:01] When they say they shouldn't talk this way,

[00:08:04] they're starting to weaken.

[00:08:06] They talk that way all the time they're saying they shouldn't,

[00:08:09] and pretty soon they're ready for action.

[00:08:12] Anyway, I could see she was getting uncomfortable,

[00:08:14] and that was exactly what I wanted.

[00:08:17] Her husband came downstairs right then,

[00:08:20] and I took him some coffee in the living room.

[00:08:23] John was with us a long time, you know, Charlie.

[00:08:26] Yeah, yeah, I know.

[00:08:27] A terrible shock.

[00:08:29] Awful.

[00:08:30] You talk to the police?

[00:08:32] Last night.

[00:08:33] They don't seem to know much.

[00:08:36] Well, they need time to get...

[00:08:37] Oh, sure, sure.

[00:08:38] Look, Charlie, you stay on here just as long as you like.

[00:08:41] No, no, Mr. Tremaine.

[00:08:42] I'll be moving on pretty soon, I guess.

[00:08:45] I mean, John said he had some money saved up for me.

[00:08:48] Oh?

[00:08:48] Yeah, quite a lot.

[00:08:50] Good.

[00:08:51] I don't know how he did it.

[00:08:53] Almost $40,000.

[00:08:55] That much, huh?

[00:08:56] Yeah.

[00:08:56] Well, he must have made good investments.

[00:08:58] No, no, he just had savings.

[00:09:01] Yeah.

[00:09:01] In four different banks.

[00:09:04] Oh, is that so?

[00:09:04] Yeah.

[00:09:05] Every week he made a deposit, see.

[00:09:08] A big one.

[00:09:09] You don't say.

[00:09:10] Ever since the first week, he came to work for you.

[00:09:14] Well, now.

[00:09:16] What do you know about that?

[00:09:22] So.

[00:09:22] Well, they had him too.

[00:09:24] And I knew it.

[00:09:25] Now, both of them were uncompromised people, really.

[00:09:30] I could almost have gotten to like them.

[00:09:32] Yeah.

[00:09:33] Anyway, I helped Mrs. Tremaine put the breakfast on the table.

[00:09:37] They even asked me to eat with them, but I said no, I was going out.

[00:09:40] Only I didn't go out.

[00:09:41] I stayed in the kitchen because I wanted to hear what they had to say to each other.

[00:09:48] Connie, how long is he going to stay?

[00:09:50] Charlie?

[00:09:51] Yeah, Charlie.

[00:09:52] I don't know.

[00:09:53] A nice fellow.

[00:09:55] Very nice.

[00:09:57] Not like John, though.

[00:10:00] No, not really.

[00:10:03] Doesn't even look like him.

[00:10:05] He's a lot younger, of course.

[00:10:07] Yes.

[00:10:09] I'll miss John.

[00:10:11] We'll get somebody else.

[00:10:14] Not like John, though.

[00:10:16] No, not like John.

[00:10:20] I was sorry I wasn't like John.

[00:10:23] I really was.

[00:10:25] I'd have liked to stay on with these people for a while.

[00:10:29] I was even a pretty good butler, if you can imagine that.

[00:10:33] I helped Mrs. Tremaine get lunch.

[00:10:36] I'm terribly awkward in the kitchen, I'm afraid.

[00:10:38] Well, let me do that.

[00:10:40] John always did everything.

[00:10:42] Uh-huh.

[00:10:42] He was a good man.

[00:10:45] Yes, he was.

[00:10:46] Yeah, you know, I'm sorry I didn't get to see more of him.

[00:10:50] Well, we used to ask him to have you here for a visit, but he never would.

[00:10:54] I know, I know.

[00:10:55] I wonder why he wouldn't.

[00:10:57] I wonder if it was a woman.

[00:11:00] Oh, no, it wasn't a woman.

[00:11:01] I'd have known if the...

[00:11:03] Oh?

[00:11:04] You would?

[00:11:06] Well, I mean, if that was why he wouldn't have you here,

[00:11:09] I'd have known if he was seeing some woman here.

[00:11:12] No, I meant if it was some woman who killed him.

[00:11:22] You should have seen her face.

[00:11:25] All of a sudden she looked like somebody had hit her.

[00:11:28] Then Mr. Tremaine came home for lunch.

[00:11:31] I made him a drink first in the living room.

[00:11:33] Join me, Charlie?

[00:11:34] Oh, well, thank you, Mr. Tremaine.

[00:11:37] I don't usually indulge in the middle of the day.

[00:11:40] Of course not.

[00:11:42] $38,000.

[00:11:44] How's that?

[00:11:46] That's what my brother had.

[00:11:48] In four different banks.

[00:11:50] Oh, well, that makes you a rich man, doesn't it?

[00:11:53] Well, not quite.

[00:11:54] I just can't help wondering, that's all.

[00:11:59] Wondering what, Charlie?

[00:12:01] Oh, where he got all that money?

[00:12:04] Who gave it to him all those years?

[00:12:06] Well, I wouldn't know if anybody gave it to him.

[00:12:10] Well, you see, if somebody was paying him,

[00:12:14] that could be the man who killed him.

[00:12:17] So he could stop paying it.

[00:12:21] Oh, I see what you mean.

[00:12:27] She came in right then and told him lunch was ready

[00:12:30] and they both went into the dining room looking absolutely sick.

[00:12:36] As a parting shot, I said that I was going down to the police station.

[00:12:40] I thought that should start a little something, you know?

[00:12:43] I went out to the kitchen and I opened and shut the door like I was leaving.

[00:12:48] But I sat down to listen.

[00:12:50] That's the third time he's talked to the police.

[00:12:53] That's natural, isn't it?

[00:12:54] Yes, I guess so.

[00:12:56] I must say, he doesn't seem to be mourning for his brother very much.

[00:13:01] No, they were supposed to be very close, weren't they?

[00:13:05] I guess men just don't show their feelings, in fact.

[00:13:09] I'm sure they don't.

[00:13:11] Meaning me?

[00:13:12] Toward each other.

[00:13:15] Some men don't even show their feelings toward their wives.

[00:13:18] Me again?

[00:13:20] If you have any feelings toward your wife...

[00:13:22] Oh, Connie, don't start that again.

[00:13:23] Sorry.

[00:13:25] I'm sorry. That Charlie is making us both nervous.

[00:13:27] I'm not nervous. Are you nervous?

[00:13:29] No, not nervous exactly.

[00:13:31] Yes, you are.

[00:13:33] Why don't we get rid of him?

[00:13:34] Get rid of who?

[00:13:35] Charlie.

[00:13:36] But we just asked him to stay.

[00:13:37] You asked him of me.

[00:13:38] Well, if you want him to leave...

[00:13:40] I didn't say I wanted...

[00:13:40] Tell him so.

[00:13:41] Well, I'll give him some money until John's estate is settled.

[00:13:44] That'd be nice.

[00:13:45] Well, so tell him.

[00:13:46] Me? You tell him.

[00:13:48] Why should I tell him? You tell him.

[00:13:49] Why me?

[00:13:54] And so it went.

[00:13:56] You tell him.

[00:13:57] No, you tell him.

[00:13:59] I wanted to laugh.

[00:14:01] I got out of the kitchen very quietly and I did go down to the police station.

[00:14:05] They didn't know anything.

[00:14:06] They hadn't found the gun and they couldn't figure out who'd had a motive.

[00:14:10] So, about 5.30 I went back to the house.

[00:14:14] Mrs. Tremaine was setting the table for dinner.

[00:14:17] Did you see the police, Charlie?

[00:14:20] Yeah, yeah. I was there all afternoon.

[00:14:23] Really? All afternoon?

[00:14:25] Mm-hmm.

[00:14:26] They wanted me to tell him everything I knew about John.

[00:14:30] Really?

[00:14:31] Yeah.

[00:14:32] I didn't know a lot.

[00:14:34] He never said too much about himself.

[00:14:37] No.

[00:14:38] No, he was sort of a quiet man.

[00:14:40] A few things, I told him.

[00:14:43] Oh? Like what?

[00:14:45] Well, like I gathered he was very happy here.

[00:14:49] I mean, you took good care of him.

[00:14:52] I gathered that.

[00:14:53] Well, we tried.

[00:14:55] He was really happy here.

[00:14:57] Yeah, he really was happy.

[00:14:59] He used to say he never wanted to leave here.

[00:15:02] Did he?

[00:15:03] Yeah.

[00:15:04] I guess he had about everything he wanted right here in this house.

[00:15:10] Everything?

[00:15:11] I mean, jobs like that are sure hard to find that have everything.

[00:15:18] I suppose they are.

[00:15:24] Her hand started to shake and pretty soon she gave up trying to set the table

[00:15:28] and went out to the living room to join Mr. Tremaine.

[00:15:32] I told her that I was going to go up and wash up for dinner,

[00:15:36] but instead I went out in the hall.

[00:15:38] She closed the door to the living room and standing on the other side,

[00:15:41] I could hear everything that went on.

[00:15:44] Gerald, I must tell you something.

[00:15:45] What, dear?

[00:15:46] Gerald, we've got to get rid of that man.

[00:15:49] I told you that at lunch.

[00:15:51] He knows something.

[00:15:53] What do you mean, something?

[00:15:55] Gerald, I never meant to tell you this.

[00:15:58] It isn't anything much really, only now it might make the police think I killed John.

[00:16:05] You?

[00:16:06] Oh, I'm so ashamed of myself.

[00:16:10] Carrying on with a servant.

[00:16:12] What are you...

[00:16:12] Poor little lonely housewife taking up with the first man who was nice.

[00:16:17] Connie, Connie, what are you talking about?

[00:16:19] It wasn't the way I thought of myself, Gerald.

[00:16:21] It was all self-pity.

[00:16:22] What was all self...

[00:16:24] I was alone all day and John was here.

[00:16:27] Connie, I...

[00:16:27] That's the way it was.

[00:16:30] You and John?

[00:16:32] Yes.

[00:16:33] It's hard to believe.

[00:16:34] Oh, Gerald, I'm not trying to excuse myself.

[00:16:36] I'm not.

[00:16:37] It's just that now John's dead and that awful Charlie thinks some woman killed him

[00:16:42] and I think he thinks I'm the woman.

[00:16:44] No, he doesn't.

[00:16:45] He's been hinting around.

[00:16:46] He thinks some man did it.

[00:16:47] He thinks it's some man who was paying John a lot of money, extortion money.

[00:16:49] Who?

[00:16:50] Me.

[00:16:50] You?

[00:16:51] Yes.

[00:16:52] He doesn't come right out and say it, but he knows someone's been paying the money

[00:16:54] and I think he suspects me.

[00:16:58] And he's right.

[00:17:00] What do you mean?

[00:17:00] I paid John for 15 years ever since he got out of jail.

[00:17:03] We were both guilty, but he took the rap.

[00:17:05] Guilty of what?

[00:17:06] Embezzlement.

[00:17:06] Embezzlement?

[00:17:07] Yes.

[00:17:08] We took $70,000 from the firm before we got caught.

[00:17:11] As I said, I went free and John went up the river.

[00:17:14] I paid him $200 a week, 52 weeks a year.

[00:17:17] He'd saved up almost $40,000 when he was killed.

[00:17:21] But you didn't kill him.

[00:17:23] Is that a question?

[00:17:25] I know you didn't do it.

[00:17:27] You know I didn't.

[00:17:29] Of course.

[00:17:32] You think I did?

[00:17:33] No, no, no, of course not.

[00:17:34] You don't think maybe he got tired of me or I got jealous or hysterical or something and shot him?

[00:17:39] No, of course I don't.

[00:17:40] I did get jealous sometimes and hysterical.

[00:17:42] But you didn't kill him.

[00:17:43] No, I didn't.

[00:17:44] Neither did I.

[00:17:45] I know.

[00:17:50] Well, that wasn't the way I thought it would go, frankly.

[00:17:54] In the first place, I never thought they'd spill everything to each other.

[00:17:57] And in the second place, I thought if they did spill everything,

[00:18:00] they'd each jump at the chance to pin it on the other.

[00:18:03] Eh, they must have loved each other or something.

[00:18:07] I don't know, something like that.

[00:18:09] Anyway, I decided to walk in and settle the whole thing right then and there.

[00:18:14] Ah, Mr. Tremaine.

[00:18:15] Oh, yes, Charlie.

[00:18:17] Mr. Tremaine, the fact is I need $50,000 from you right now.

[00:18:22] 50? What is this, Charlie?

[00:18:24] Well, it's extortion money, Mr. Tremaine.

[00:18:26] You know what that is.

[00:18:27] It's just a word like embezzlement.

[00:18:30] I see.

[00:18:31] Gerald, he knows. He actually...

[00:18:32] That's right, that's right.

[00:18:33] I actually know, Mrs. Tremaine.

[00:18:35] I didn't know exactly before that it was embezzlement, you see.

[00:18:39] But Brother John told me he'd done time for your husband,

[00:18:42] and that was why he had this cushy job.

[00:18:45] I didn't know why he bothered to work at all.

[00:18:47] I know I wouldn't have.

[00:18:48] No, I guess you wouldn't have.

[00:18:50] Now, wait a minute. Well, I take that back.

[00:18:52] I know a reason why he worked here.

[00:18:55] Don't you, Mrs. Tremaine?

[00:18:57] Yeah.

[00:18:58] You were fooling around a little, weren't you?

[00:18:59] Huh? With Brother John?

[00:19:01] Now, look, my wife and I have no secrets,

[00:19:02] so this is not a shock to either one of us.

[00:19:03] But have you told the police? It might be a shock to them.

[00:19:07] Have you?

[00:19:08] Well, now, of course you haven't.

[00:19:10] My wife didn't kill your brother, neither did I.

[00:19:12] Maybe yes, maybe no.

[00:19:14] How do we know you didn't kill him?

[00:19:17] Why would I kill my own brother?

[00:19:20] For the money and the four savings banks?

[00:19:21] I was gonna get that anyway.

[00:19:23] Brother John told me so in the hospital.

[00:19:25] He even said he could put the touch on your wife

[00:19:27] for a little extra if I needed it.

[00:19:29] You can't prove that.

[00:19:30] Well, I think I could if I had to.

[00:19:32] There's a guy up at the hospital.

[00:19:33] He had the bed next to mine.

[00:19:35] He was there when John came to see me.

[00:19:37] He knows all about this?

[00:19:38] Well, he might.

[00:19:40] Neither one of us could talk at the time.

[00:19:42] Maybe he can't even now. I don't know.

[00:19:44] But he was still there when I got out.

[00:19:46] What's his name?

[00:19:49] Now, why would I tell you that?

[00:19:50] I can find out.

[00:19:51] Well, what's the difference, Mr. Tremaine?

[00:19:53] Suppose he says the whole story is true,

[00:19:55] that he heard John tell it to me.

[00:19:57] It'll all come out anyway, newspapers and everything.

[00:19:59] And then what will the police think about you?

[00:20:02] So come on. I mean, let's be sensible.

[00:20:04] You raise the $50,000 and I'll clear out.

[00:20:07] How am I supposed to raise $50,000?

[00:20:09] Well, out of your house, your car.

[00:20:11] You must have insurance.

[00:20:13] Nah, you two stay there.

[00:20:14] I'll answer that phone.

[00:20:19] What do you think, Constance?

[00:20:20] Don't give it to him.

[00:20:21] It's just money.

[00:20:22] Don't give it to him.

[00:20:23] You sure?

[00:20:24] It's wrong.

[00:20:25] What I did was wrong.

[00:20:27] Let's not keep on doing what's wrong.

[00:20:29] Well, it's the wrong number or something.

[00:20:30] It sounded like a singing telegram.

[00:20:33] A singing telegram?

[00:20:33] I couldn't make it out.

[00:20:35] Well, how about it?

[00:20:37] Charlie, we don't think we can give you $50,000.

[00:20:39] We don't think we can afford it.

[00:20:41] Can you afford being smeared all over the newspapers?

[00:20:44] We can't afford to go on living this way, lying to each other.

[00:20:46] One of you may not go on living at all.

[00:20:48] Let me answer it this time.

[00:20:49] Leave the phone off the hook.

[00:20:51] Charlie, neither one of us killed John.

[00:20:53] Tell that to the police.

[00:20:54] I'm going to. I've talked to my wife and she agrees.

[00:20:56] Gerald, come here.

[00:20:57] You too, Charlie.

[00:20:58] Now, look, I don't think you've thought this over.

[00:21:00] Oh, yes, we have.

[00:21:02] We don't want to think about it anymore.

[00:21:03] Gerald, listen.

[00:21:04] Huh? What is it?

[00:21:05] Listen.

[00:21:06] Hold the phone up.

[00:21:08] Listen, Charlie.

[00:21:09] Frere Jacques, Frere Jacques,

[00:21:14] Dormez-vous, dormez-vous.

[00:21:18] Frere Jacques, Frere Jacques,

[00:21:22] Dormez-vous, dormez-vous.

[00:21:28] Well, that's the story.

[00:21:30] It was the real Charlie on the phone,

[00:21:32] the guy in the other bed.

[00:21:34] See, he hadn't had a spontaneous recovery like mine,

[00:21:38] but he'd gotten back enough to get to a phone in the hospital,

[00:21:41] dial the number,

[00:21:42] and then sing this French song into the phone.

[00:21:46] Frere Jacques, Frere Jacques,

[00:21:47] Are you sleeping, are you sleeping?

[00:21:49] That's what it says.

[00:21:52] It's just my lousy luck I never learned French

[00:21:55] I should have known it was the real Charlie the first time he called.

[00:21:59] Oh, I guess you want the gun I killed John with, huh?

[00:22:04] Right here.

[00:22:05] Yeah, I've had it in my pocket the whole time.

[00:22:08] Oh, and thanks for offering me a lawyer,

[00:22:11] but frankly,

[00:22:13] I don't think any lawyer in the world could get me off.

[00:22:17] Do you?

[00:22:18] Well, do ya?

[00:22:23] Suspense.

[00:22:25] You have been listening to Brother John,

[00:22:27] starring William Redfield,

[00:22:29] and written especially for Suspense by Elsbeth Erick.

[00:22:34] Suspense is produced and directed by Bruno Zerato Jr.,

[00:22:37] music supervision by Ethel Huber,

[00:22:39] sound patterns by Joseph Kibibo.

[00:22:41] Heard in tonight's story were Connie Lemke as Constance Tremain,

[00:22:44] Paul McGrath as Gerald Tremain,

[00:22:46] Sam Gray as John,

[00:22:47] Bill Smith as the doctor,

[00:22:49] and Guy Repp as the voice of Charlie.

[00:22:50] Listen again next week when we return with The Curse of Kamashek,

[00:22:54] written by Jonathan Bundy.

[00:22:55] Another tale well calculated to keep you in...

[00:22:59] Suspense.

[00:23:00] This is the CBS Radio Network.

[00:23:03] And now, a tale well calculated to keep you in...

[00:23:11] Suspense.

[00:23:12] In a moment, act one of The Curse of Kamashek,

[00:23:16] starring Ian Martin as Turnbull,

[00:23:18] and written especially for Suspense by Jonathan Bundy.

[00:23:31] Yes, yes, what is it, Walden?

[00:23:33] I beg your pardon, Mr. Turnbull,

[00:23:35] but I thought you would like to know...

[00:23:37] Yes, well?

[00:23:38] Well, it's your nephew, sir,

[00:23:40] Mr. Donald Ransom.

[00:23:41] Oh, Lord.

[00:23:42] Yes, his car has just come into the driveway.

[00:23:44] It has, hasn't it?

[00:23:45] Yes, sir.

[00:23:46] Now, what the devil does that impractical young wastrel want this time?

[00:23:49] I'm sure I don't know, Mr. Turnbull.

[00:23:51] Well, I think I do.

[00:23:52] Yes, sir.

[00:23:53] I think he wants some more extra money from his inheritance

[00:23:56] to squander on that nonsensical research and experimentation

[00:24:01] he's been doing over at the university

[00:24:03] on those ridiculous journeys to heaven knows where

[00:24:05] in search of heaven knows what.

[00:24:06] Yes, sir.

[00:24:07] Money, money, money.

[00:24:09] Well, he won't have it.

[00:24:10] No, sir.

[00:24:10] Not as long as I have any legal right to the management of it.

[00:24:15] And then, after all, we...

[00:24:18] do have to look out for ourselves, don't we?

[00:24:21] Of course we do.

[00:24:23] Well, don't we, Walden?

[00:24:24] Yes, sir, yes, sir.

[00:24:25] Of course we do, sir.

[00:24:26] Of course.

[00:24:27] Go out and meet him at the door.

[00:24:29] Tell him that I'm not in, that I've...

[00:24:33] Well, Donald!

[00:24:36] Come in, come in.

[00:24:37] Oh, here you are, Uncle Frederick.

[00:24:39] I thought I heard your voice in here.

[00:24:41] Hello, Walden.

[00:24:42] Mr. Donald.

[00:24:43] Well, I'm glad to see you, boy.

[00:24:44] You should come and visit with me more often.

[00:24:47] Sit down, sit down.

[00:24:48] Thank you, sir.

[00:24:50] That'll be all for now, Walden.

[00:24:52] If I need you, I'll ring.

[00:24:54] Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.

[00:24:58] Well, my boy.

[00:25:00] How are you?

[00:25:01] Feeling better than I've felt in a long time.

[00:25:03] Splendid, splendid!

[00:25:05] And then you look it too.

[00:25:09] But...

[00:25:10] now what's on your mind?

[00:25:12] I've come to say goodbye, sir.

[00:25:14] You've come to...

[00:25:15] What was that?

[00:25:16] I've come to say goodbye to you.

[00:25:17] I'm about to leave on another expedition.

[00:25:20] Your what?

[00:25:21] Yes, sir.

[00:25:22] In just a few days now, I'll be leaving for Egypt.

[00:25:24] Egypt?

[00:25:25] Yes, sir.

[00:25:27] I see.

[00:25:28] Do you mind telling me why...

[00:25:31] why you think you ought to embark on another of these silly, expensive expeditions?

[00:25:35] Uncle, I've spent months now in reading and research at the museum,

[00:25:38] at the university, working with Horace Brackton.

[00:25:40] And who is Horace Brackton?

[00:25:42] He's the son of Mr. J. Harrison Brackton,

[00:25:44] the curator at the museum.

[00:25:47] What's more, he's one of the foremost students of Egyptology in this part of the country.

[00:25:50] Yes, yes, I see, I see.

[00:25:52] All right, very well. Go on.

[00:25:53] Uncle, I am now convinced that I can locate the tomb of the ancient pharaoh,

[00:25:57] Khamishek I.

[00:25:59] Oh, you are?

[00:26:01] Yes, sir.

[00:26:02] I'd stake my life on it.

[00:26:06] You mean...

[00:26:07] if I let you go?

[00:26:09] What?

[00:26:11] Donald, to put it bluntly,

[00:26:12] I'm fed up with your wasting your time on these stupid, pointless wanderings

[00:26:18] all over the face of the earth.

[00:26:20] And I mean completely pointless.

[00:26:22] That's not exactly the way the museum feels about them, uncle.

[00:26:24] Nor several universities...

[00:26:26] Well, that's the way I feel about them.

[00:26:27] I'm sorry.

[00:26:28] What's more, you're wasting not only your time, but your money.

[00:26:34] Money that your poor father spent a whole lifetime struggling to accumulate.

[00:26:40] And not for any such nonsense as this.

[00:26:42] You can be quite sure of that.

[00:26:43] Father left me that money to spend in any way I might see fit.

[00:26:46] Oh, he did, huh?

[00:26:47] He certainly did.

[00:26:48] Provided, Donald...

[00:26:52] Provided...

[00:26:53] that your handling of it meets with my approval.

[00:26:57] Don't you forget that.

[00:27:00] When you're 30 and the estate passes completely into your hands,

[00:27:04] if you live that long...

[00:27:06] Is that supposed to be a threat?

[00:27:08] Take it any way you like.

[00:27:11] When you're 30, when the money is yours alone,

[00:27:14] very well, you can do anything you like with it.

[00:27:17] But until then, don't you forget for one minute

[00:27:20] that I am legally in control of it.

[00:27:24] All of it.

[00:27:26] Well, you've...

[00:27:28] You've opposed me in my plans for every one of my expeditions, haven't you?

[00:27:31] I certainly have and I shall continue to do so.

[00:27:32] Do you mind telling me why?

[00:27:34] For your own good, that's why.

[00:27:37] Oh, I'm sure...

[00:27:38] Don't be sarcastic, Donald.

[00:27:40] Or is it your own good you're thinking of?

[00:27:42] It is not.

[00:27:45] It's simply because sooner or later, boy,

[00:27:47] you've got to realize your responsibility.

[00:27:51] Realize that as the wealthy heir of a wealthy family,

[00:27:54] it's up to you to carry on a tradition that's been set for you,

[00:27:57] whether you like it or not.

[00:27:59] To increase the fortune

[00:28:01] that has made your family name and reputation,

[00:28:03] to build even greater financial power.

[00:28:06] Not to waste it, throw it away.

[00:28:08] Do you call my contributions to science a waste of money?

[00:28:11] Science?

[00:28:12] Right.

[00:28:14] What do you know about science?

[00:28:19] Now look, Donald.

[00:28:21] Believe me, my boy, there's nothing

[00:28:24] selfish in my attitude in this matter.

[00:28:26] Oh, no.

[00:28:27] I am thinking only of you, Donald.

[00:28:30] Of your future.

[00:28:32] And above all, of the fine family name,

[00:28:35] the family honor.

[00:28:37] A dual honor left to uphold, that you must uphold.

[00:28:41] If for no other reason than respect for the memory of your father.

[00:28:48] Well, my boy,

[00:28:50] is that all, Uncle Frederick?

[00:28:53] Well, it depends on you.

[00:28:55] Are you going to give up this asinine plan?

[00:29:00] No.

[00:29:01] What do you mean, no?

[00:29:02] Now you listen to me.

[00:29:03] Regardless of what you may say or think, I'm going to Egypt.

[00:29:05] I said you listen to me.

[00:29:06] I made all my plans, obtained the sponsorship of the museum,

[00:29:09] thanks to Horace Bradford.

[00:29:10] Donald, I'm not...

[00:29:11] So if this tirade is simply because you thought

[00:29:13] I might want more of my inheritance, Uncle Frederick,

[00:29:16] well, you can stop worrying about it right now.

[00:29:18] And I tell you that you're not going on this stupid,

[00:29:20] this ridiculous expedition.

[00:29:22] And I tell you that I am.

[00:29:24] There's nothing you can do or say

[00:29:26] that will stop me.

[00:29:27] Oh, there isn't, huh?

[00:29:29] No.

[00:29:32] Goodbye, Uncle Frederick.

[00:29:33] Why, you insufferable young imbecile.

[00:29:36] Sit down and listen to me.

[00:29:37] Sorry, I must go now.

[00:29:38] Sorry, huh?

[00:29:38] Well, you will be sorry.

[00:29:40] What's the matter with you?

[00:29:40] Have you lost your senses?

[00:29:41] I think I've finally come to my senses.

[00:29:43] Donald!

[00:29:45] Donald Ransom, have you forgotten that I am in a position

[00:29:48] to cut you off from your inheritance,

[00:29:51] cut you off entirely?

[00:29:52] If I wish to.

[00:29:53] I'm fully aware of that, Uncle Frederick.

[00:29:56] But if you think I care,

[00:29:58] you're entirely wrong.

[00:30:01] Goodbye, sir.

[00:30:02] Then by heaven, I will cut you off.

[00:30:06] Well, do you hear me?

[00:30:08] I hear you.

[00:30:10] So help me, Donald.

[00:30:11] I've tried to avoid this.

[00:30:12] Believe me, I have.

[00:30:14] I have shown more patience

[00:30:16] toward this arrogant behavior of yours

[00:30:19] than I thought I had.

[00:30:20] But your idiotic bullheadedness,

[00:30:23] your utter disregard for your responsibility

[00:30:26] for the importance of your family name and social status,

[00:30:30] in spite of all I've tried to do,

[00:30:32] well, by heaven,

[00:30:33] I will have you cut off

[00:30:36] without one single solid...

[00:30:38] Wait a minute!

[00:30:39] Wait a minute, I said!

[00:30:40] Where do you think you're going?

[00:30:42] Egypt!

[00:30:46] You'll be sorry, Donald.

[00:30:51] You don't know how sorry you'll be.

[00:31:02] Well, Alden, what's all that you have there?

[00:31:05] A package and a letter, sir.

[00:31:07] It came for you by special post.

[00:31:09] By special delivery, as you call it.

[00:31:11] Mm, from where?

[00:31:12] From Egypt, sir.

[00:31:15] Egypt!

[00:31:17] Well, well, well.

[00:31:20] I've been expecting a letter from him.

[00:31:23] Three months now, isn't it, that he's been gone?

[00:31:25] Yes, sir.

[00:31:27] Yes, Walden, I knew very well

[00:31:29] that the money Donald had to beg for that stupid expedition

[00:31:31] would soon run out.

[00:31:34] So now he wants some more.

[00:31:36] I'm sure I don't know, sir.

[00:31:38] Well, I do, and Walden...

[00:31:39] Yes, sir.

[00:31:40] You can take that letter out and burn it.

[00:31:42] But, but the handwriting on it, sir,

[00:31:44] it doesn't look to me like...

[00:31:45] As for the package...

[00:31:47] Well, all right, let me have it.

[00:31:48] We'll see what's in it.

[00:31:49] Yes, sir, here you are, sir.

[00:31:53] Probably some completely useless relic or souvenir

[00:31:56] that he picked up,

[00:31:57] sent along in the hope it might influence me

[00:32:00] into sending him money.

[00:32:02] Well, I assure you that it won't.

[00:32:05] I made my position clear when he walked out of here.

[00:32:10] I don't intend to change it.

[00:32:12] Mr. Turnbull, the handwriting on this letter...

[00:32:15] Yes, I know, I know, Walden.

[00:32:19] You've always been sympathetic

[00:32:21] towards some of his silly ideas,

[00:32:24] perhaps even hoped that I would help him.

[00:32:27] Don't worry, I won't.

[00:32:29] Let me see now.

[00:32:31] But this was apparently written by somebody else...

[00:32:36] Irresponsible young idiot!

[00:32:37] Look at this, look at it, Walden.

[00:32:41] Why, why, yes, sir, I, I see.

[00:32:45] What is this, Donald's crude idea of a practical joke?

[00:32:49] This, this dirty old piece

[00:32:52] of some kind of dried up old bone?

[00:32:55] It's, uh, it's from a human body, sir,

[00:32:59] and very, very old.

[00:33:01] So this is the sort of nonsense Donald has been wasting his time

[00:33:04] and our money digging up out of the dirt and sand

[00:33:06] over there in Egypt.

[00:33:08] By heaven, I've said it before and I say it again, Walden.

[00:33:11] Yes, I know you have, sir, I know you have.

[00:33:12] Now don't you get out of line!

[00:33:16] That, uh, that letter, where's the, where's the letter?

[00:33:19] Here, sir.

[00:33:21] But as I started to say, sir,

[00:33:23] that handwriting is...

[00:33:24] Here, Mr. Turnbull.

[00:33:27] Oh, I see, it's signed by Horace Brackton.

[00:33:31] The young man he spoke of who went with him.

[00:33:34] Oh, yes, yes, I remember.

[00:33:37] Walden.

[00:33:38] Walden.

[00:33:39] Listen to this.

[00:33:40] Yes, sir.

[00:33:42] Dear Mr. Turnbull, a few minutes before he died...

[00:33:47] What?

[00:33:47] Your nephew Donald Ransom...

[00:33:51] Oh, dear.

[00:33:53] What a misfortune, sir.

[00:33:58] Donald.

[00:34:02] Dead.

[00:34:04] My, uh,

[00:34:05] my deepest sympathy, sir.

[00:34:08] Huh?

[00:34:08] Yes, sir.

[00:34:10] You can keep your sympathy to yourself, Walden!

[00:34:12] I beg your pardon, sir.

[00:34:15] Just forget it and go answer the door.

[00:34:16] Well, sir, but, uh...

[00:34:18] Yes, sir.

[00:34:22] I knew it.

[00:34:24] I knew I was right.

[00:34:26] And now, by heaven, this proves it.

[00:34:31] Now let's see.

[00:34:34] Your nephew Donald Ransom's last request...

[00:34:37] was that I send you a section of the femoral bone...

[00:34:40] from the skeleton of the pharaoh Kamashek...

[00:34:43] that he recovered from the tomb near the ancient city of Giza.

[00:34:47] As you no doubt have been informed, he died of some as yet completely unknown...

[00:34:52] Yes, what is it now?

[00:34:54] Your pardon, sir.

[00:34:55] Yes, Walden!

[00:34:55] Uh, Mr. Harrison Brackton,

[00:34:58] the father of the young man who sent the letter.

[00:35:02] Oh.

[00:35:04] All right, send him in.

[00:35:06] Yes, sir.

[00:35:07] Right in here, sir.

[00:35:09] Thank you.

[00:35:11] Ah, come in, Mr. Brackton.

[00:35:13] Come in!

[00:35:14] Thank you, Mr. Turnbull.

[00:35:17] You, uh, may as well sit down, I suppose.

[00:35:20] Thank you.

[00:35:22] And, uh, before we go any further,

[00:35:24] I must tell you how distressed I am about your nephew's death.

[00:35:28] Yes, yes, yes.

[00:35:30] Now, let's see, you're, uh...

[00:35:33] you're over at the museum, aren't you?

[00:35:35] Yes.

[00:35:36] I am the curator of osteology.

[00:35:39] Osteology.

[00:35:40] That's the, uh, study of bones, I believe.

[00:35:43] Yes.

[00:35:44] Well, in here, take a look at this.

[00:35:47] Even in his last moments,

[00:35:49] my recalcitrant nephew chose to mock me

[00:35:52] by sending me this, this, uh, this bone.

[00:35:55] I know.

[00:35:56] From the remains of the Pharaoh Khamashek,

[00:35:59] it's most exciting, isn't it?

[00:36:00] Exciting?

[00:36:01] I'll be honest with you,

[00:36:02] it's why I came in the hope I might be allowed to see it.

[00:36:05] See it? Well, take it!

[00:36:06] It's yours for that stuffy museum you live in.

[00:36:09] But you... you mean it?

[00:36:10] Well, I certainly don't want it around here, do I?

[00:36:13] Oh, I see.

[00:36:14] Then you believe it too.

[00:36:16] Mm.

[00:36:17] Believe in what? What are you talking about?

[00:36:19] The curse, Mr. Turnbull.

[00:36:21] The... the curse?

[00:36:22] Yes, that may have accounted for the strange death

[00:36:25] of your nephew, the curse of Khamashek.

[00:36:26] Oh, you can't be serious, Bracken.

[00:36:28] You mean to sit here, you supposedly intelligent man,

[00:36:30] and... oh, no, I don't believe it.

[00:36:32] Have you forgotten what happened to the men

[00:36:34] who violated the tomb,

[00:36:36] who touched the remains of King Tutankhamun,

[00:36:40] knowing about the curse on them?

[00:36:41] What? That's absurd, ridiculous.

[00:36:43] You... you really believe in such rubbish?

[00:36:47] Mm-hmm. I... I'm not sure.

[00:36:50] Well, I am.

[00:36:51] It's utter nonsense, superstition.

[00:36:53] So here, take this worthless piece of bone along with you

[00:36:56] and get out of here.

[00:36:57] I... I would hesitate to touch it, sir.

[00:36:59] Oh, you would, huh?

[00:37:01] Yes, yes.

[00:37:01] Well, do you want it for that second-rate museum of yours?

[00:37:05] My second?

[00:37:07] Well, of course.

[00:37:09] All right then, here.

[00:37:11] I'll bundle these papers around it for you.

[00:37:16] Here you are, now take it and leave.

[00:37:18] Mr. Turnbull.

[00:37:19] But to think that you, the curator of a museum,

[00:37:22] would fall for such trash is almost beyond belief.

[00:37:25] Go along now.

[00:37:26] Now, wait, sir, please.

[00:37:27] I should have recognized you for the superstitious,

[00:37:29] doddering old fool you are the moment you stepped in here.

[00:37:32] Now, listen to me.

[00:37:32] Now, get out! Get out of here before I lose my patience!

[00:37:35] Get along!

[00:37:42] Curse of Tamasheka.

[00:37:46] I'd like to see it try to act on me.

[00:37:51] Ridiculous!

[00:38:06] The Curator of a Museum

[00:38:07] Mr. Turnbull.

[00:38:08] I must see him at once.

[00:38:09] Oh, Mr. Brackton, I believe.

[00:38:10] Yes, Harrison Brackton.

[00:38:12] I was here to see him only a few days ago.

[00:38:13] Take me in to him. Where is he?

[00:38:15] Well, I'm sorry, sir, but I doubt if Mr. Turnbull is in this evening.

[00:38:17] He must be. He has to be.

[00:38:19] I must see him immediately.

[00:38:19] Now, wait, sir, please, wait.

[00:38:21] Please, sir.

[00:38:22] Get out of the way.

[00:38:22] I'll find him myself.

[00:38:23] I tell you, he isn't into anyone this evening.

[00:38:25] Please, wait, sir.

[00:38:26] Please.

[00:38:26] What's going on around here? What for the...

[00:38:30] Oh, you again.

[00:38:33] Yes, it's I, Mr. Turnbull. I must talk to you.

[00:38:36] Yes, so it would seem.

[00:38:38] Well...

[00:38:38] I'm terribly sorry, sir. I tried to stop him.

[00:38:41] That's all right, that's all right, Walden.

[00:38:41] Thank you, sir.

[00:38:44] Well, what do you want this time, Mr. Brackton?

[00:38:47] Here, take it.

[00:38:49] Take back this accursed thing.

[00:38:51] What?

[00:38:51] I told you when you insisted I'd take it along with me.

[00:38:54] I told you there was a curse on it.

[00:38:56] The curse of Kamashek.

[00:38:57] Now it's proved itself.

[00:38:59] Oh, Brackton, have you been to see a psychiatrist lately?

[00:39:02] Oh, please, please, don't jest about this, Mr. Turnbull.

[00:39:05] I told you I didn't want to actually touch this terrible thing, nor have I, nor will I.

[00:39:11] And now, after what I've seen it do to those who have touched it, I...

[00:39:15] I don't even want it near me.

[00:39:17] Oh, well, that sounds very intriguing, Brackton.

[00:39:21] Go on.

[00:39:21] Well, when I got it home, I placed it under a glass bell in one of the cabinets in my study.

[00:39:31] Very carefully, Mr. Turnbull, not actually touching it, just using a pair of forceps.

[00:39:37] Nonsense!

[00:39:38] That night, sir, it somehow forced its way out of the cabinet.

[00:39:43] The glass was broken into a thousand pieces, yet no one who was around could possibly have touched it.

[00:39:48] Oh, no, ridiculous.

[00:39:49] The next morning, the housemaid, knowing nothing about the curse on it,

[00:39:53] picked it up in her fingers and placed it on a table.

[00:39:58] Well?

[00:39:59] Late that night, frantically running away from what she described as a living mummy,

[00:40:03] she fell headlong down the stairs leading from her room on the third floor.

[00:40:07] Oh, no, Brackton, listen.

[00:40:08] She is still in the hospital, Mr. Turnbull.

[00:40:11] And all because of this poor little boy.

[00:40:15] My, my.

[00:40:17] Listen to me. You must listen to me.

[00:40:18] Oh, I am listening.

[00:40:20] The doctor who attended her...

[00:40:25] Why did I...

[00:40:27] Why I did it, I shall never know.

[00:40:29] Why did what?

[00:40:31] I let him take the bone with him to study it.

[00:40:35] In two days, Turnbull, that man, one of the finest in his profession,

[00:40:41] had to be committed to an institution as a raving maniac,

[00:40:46] babbling wildly about a phantom that pursued him,

[00:40:49] a phantom he described as looking like a mummy.

[00:40:52] Oh, now wait a minute, Brackton. I've heard enough of this.

[00:40:55] Do you mean to tell me that a man of your so-called intelligence,

[00:40:59] that you can possibly take a thing like this seriously?

[00:41:03] That you can really believe a chunk of bone could have caused these things you told me about?

[00:41:09] If they really did occur?

[00:41:10] It was you who inflicted this sting on us, Turnbull.

[00:41:12] And here. Now you have it back.

[00:41:14] Brackton, I...

[00:41:15] I can only hope and pray that I may never see it again.

[00:41:18] You honestly believe that this...

[00:41:20] I tell you, sir, those stings are incontrovertible proof of the curse that carries...

[00:41:25] And I tell you, sir, that you're nothing but a superstitious doddering old fool.

[00:41:30] What's more, I'll prove it to you. Let me have the package.

[00:41:32] Here now.

[00:41:33] Wait a minute. What are you going to do?

[00:41:37] Turnbull!

[00:41:38] Well?

[00:41:39] Surely you don't intend to touch that bone.

[00:41:41] Why, I thought that's why you brought it here.

[00:41:45] So I could feel the curse of it too.

[00:41:48] Yes. Yes, yes I did because I was angry and upset.

[00:41:52] Very well then.

[00:41:52] But you mustn't.

[00:41:53] Now aren't you getting a little tired of being foolish about this thing?

[00:41:56] Please, please, I beg of you.

[00:41:58] There. Satisfied now?

[00:42:01] Yes.

[00:42:01] Now watch me.

[00:42:04] I'll even hold it in both my hands.

[00:42:07] Turnbull!

[00:42:09] Rub it against my face.

[00:42:10] My cheek.

[00:42:14] Heaven help you.

[00:42:17] Curse, did you say?

[00:42:19] Why, Brackton, you're crazy.

[00:42:22] Turnbull, you don't know what you're doing.

[00:42:26] You don't know.

[00:42:27] You bet I do, Brackton.

[00:42:29] I'm simply proving once and for all that the only people who are affected by these silly, stupid, childish superstitions...

[00:42:35] Are those who believe in them. And I don't.

[00:42:38] Now that you've seen me defy this so-called curse, you don't have any reason to either.

[00:42:45] And this will be the proof of it.

[00:42:48] You will touch it now.

[00:42:50] No!

[00:42:50] Here you are.

[00:42:51] No, no, please.

[00:42:52] I said you'll touch it.

[00:42:54] Don't, don't, don't take it away.

[00:42:55] Touch it!

[00:42:56] I beg of you.

[00:42:57] Will you stand still, you blithering...

[00:42:59] Stand... Stand still!

[00:43:02] No!

[00:43:11] Quite frankly, Mr. Brackton, I don't understand it.

[00:43:15] I don't understand this at all.

[00:43:17] You don't understand what, doctor?

[00:43:19] I had Turnbull in my office for a complete examination not more than ten days ago.

[00:43:24] At that time, and I'm sure of it, we overlooked nothing.

[00:43:28] His physical condition was perfect.

[00:43:31] But now...

[00:43:33] Well, there's only one way I can report this.

[00:43:38] Yes?

[00:43:38] Yes, doctor?

[00:43:40] Death due to natural causes.

[00:43:43] Natural causes?

[00:43:46] Yes.

[00:43:47] No.

[00:43:48] No?

[00:43:49] Now, what do you mean by that, Mr. Brackton?

[00:43:53] Nothing, I suppose.

[00:43:57] Nothing at all.

[00:44:05] Suspense!

[00:44:09] You've been listening to The Curse of Kamashek, starring Ian Martin as Turnbull,

[00:44:15] and written especially for Suspense by Jonathan Bundy.

[00:44:41] Suspense is produced and directed by Bruno Zorato Jr.,

[00:44:45] music supervision by Ethel Huber,

[00:44:48] sound patterns by Joseph Khabibow.

[00:44:51] Heard in tonight's story were Raymond Edward Johnson as Brackton,

[00:44:54] Mercer McCloud as Walden,

[00:44:57] John Thomas as Donald,

[00:44:59] and Guy Repp as the Doctor.

[00:45:01] Listen again next week when we return with Blackbeard's Ace,

[00:45:06] written by Jack Buttram.

[00:45:08] Another tale well calculated to keep you in...

[00:45:12] Suspense!

[00:45:14] The woman's world unfurled by Betty Furness, weekdays on the CBS radio network.

[00:45:22] This has been a Cryptic County podcast.

[00:45:24] To check out our other storytelling podcasts like Let's Not Meet and Odd Trails,

[00:45:29] go to crypticcountypodcasts.com.

[00:45:32] We'll see you next time.

[00:45:35] You know what ought to happen next?

[00:45:37] If this was a horror story...

[00:45:41] That's what ought to happen next.

[00:45:43] It did.