In this captivating episode of the CBS Radio Mystery Theater, host EG Marshall invites listeners to explore the intriguing tale of "A Grain of Salt," written by Sam Dan. The story unfolds with a seemingly mundane theft of a pocketbook from Miss Katie O'Neil, which leads to a fascinating journey back in time to Ireland. There, her father, Terrence O'Neil, encounters the mythical old man of the rock, a Viking turned Irish legend. As the narrative weaves between the past and present, listeners are drawn into a world where wishes, magic, and the supernatural collide, revealing the true value of a simple salt shaker.
As the mystery deepens, the episode explores themes of wealth, desire, and the power of belief. The old man of the rock offers Terrence a chance to make a wish that could change his life forever, but the outcome is both unexpected and heartwarming. With a blend of folklore, humor, and a touch of romance, "A Grain of Salt" challenges listeners to consider what they truly value in life. Join EG Marshall and the talented cast, including Terry Keen and Fred Gwynne, for an enchanting adventure that promises to entertain and provoke thought.
(00:31) Introduction to the Mystery
(01:49) A Grain of Salt: The Mystery Unfolds
(02:17) Supernatural Beings and Enchanted Islands
(03:04) The Case of the Missing Pocketbook
(10:44) The Legend of the Old Man of the Rock
(15:21) The Old Man's Tale Continues
(28:17) The Wish and Its Consequences
(36:33) The Magical Salt Shaker
(42:00) Reflections on Wishes and Magic
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[00:00:02]
Unknown:
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[00:00:32] Unknown:
The CBS radio mystery theater presents Come in. Welcome. I'm EG Marshall. Add a grain of salt, said a learned Roman gentleman named Pliny the Elder some two thousand years ago, and the value of that advice has only increased for the passage of time. Take everything you see and hear with a grain of salt, and you'll be surprised at how much savor you will add to your life.
[00:01:15] Unknown:
I am going to find the old man of the rock. There's no such person. It's an old wives tale. Will you keep away from him? If there's no such person, why are you so scared? Because because he kills everyone who approaches. Why do you wanna find him? Because
[00:01:36] Unknown:
he knows where all the money in the world can be found.
[00:01:50] Unknown:
Our mystery drama, A Grain of Salt, was written especially for the mystery theater by Sam Dan and stars Terry Keen and Fred Gwynne. It is sponsored in part by True Value Hardware stores and Buick Motor Division. I'll be back shortly with act one. Goblins and ghosts, pixies and elves, kelpies and banshees, spirits and sprites, the good folk, the bad folk. Oh, I could go on and on, but you get the idea. At one time, these, what should we call them, supernatural beings were as real as as the sounds you hear in a deserted house in a desolate countryside on a dark and moonless night, and nowhere were they more real than on a certain enchanted island that was gracious and green and filled with soft and lilting music and covered with a magical mist. But we run ahead of ourselves. We're not there yet. We're still on this side of the Atlantic in a large city on the Eastern Coast, perhaps seventy, eighty, or even ninety years ago. Are you the sergeant?
[00:03:06] Unknown:
Well, I'm a sergeant. Sergeant Smith. Are you the sergeant they told me to see? Are you the sergeant they told me to see? Why, it sings. Your mother comes from County Donegal. She does not. Then Monaghan or Cavan. Sir, I have not come to discourse on genealogical or geographical situations.
[00:03:24] Unknown:
But it is the place of my own origin.
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With the name of Smith.
[00:03:28] Unknown:
My dearest mothers, me father comes from England. That, sir, must be your own private sorrow
[00:03:34] Unknown:
and bear it bravely and in silence like a man.
[00:03:37] Unknown:
Well then, miss or madam? Miss, if you please,
[00:03:40] Unknown:
miss Katie O'Neil. Miss Katie O'Neil. Oh, it sings like a ballad. Are you a maker of music or an an officer of the police? The two need not be mutually exclusive. Well, then I might have done better to consult mister John Phillips Souza. He conducts his orchestra in the park this evening.
[00:03:56] Unknown:
Would you, do me the honor, miss O'Neil?
[00:03:59] Unknown:
Is this how you spend the taxpayers' hard earned dollars, Sergeant Smith, attempting to romance every young maiden lady that requires the assistance of the police? Not every young maiden lady, miss O'Neil. Then shall we come at last to the facts in the case?
[00:04:13] Unknown:
Then. We have a case, have we? We'll proceed. Which is exactly what I was doing.
[00:04:19] Unknown:
This noon, about half hour past, I was standing at the corner of Fifth Domain and why are you not writing this down? I'm gazing into your eyes, miss Casey O'Neil. Aren't you ashamed, sergeant Smith? Of what? Attend to the fact. There's work to be done.
[00:04:36] Unknown:
You were standing on the corner of Fifth And Main. I was. And stopping the traffic for miles around. I was waiting for a street car. A most innocent occupier. I was in the midst of a crowd that was waiting.
[00:04:48] Unknown:
Suddenly Yes? Suddenly, there was this tug in my arm. Tug? It was more of a pull. A pull. But a gentle pull. A gentle pull. Yes. So gentle, so soft, so light as a thistle or a hummingbird's wing. Are you writing that down?
[00:05:11] Unknown:
Was that as light as a thistle or as light as a hummingbird's wing, miss O'Neil? We must be accurate in these matters. Make it as light as either or both. Well, would you happen to know specifically the weight of a hummingbird's wing or a thistle for that matter? As you know, police work is an exact science. And then Yes.
[00:05:31] Unknown:
And then And then I looked down at my arm and And? And my pocketbook was gone. Your pocketbook was gone? It had been taken from me. What did you say? Who did it? See him know as I said I was standing in the midst of a crowd. One moment the pocketbook was on my arm, and then the next, it was gone. And you saw no one who could have taken it? No. I saw no one. I said to the people who were standing around, I said, has anyone seen a pocketbook? Mine is gone. I believe it was taken. And everyone looked all around and someone said, are you sure you didn't drop it on the ground? And someone else said, are you positive you had it with you? And I said, it's been taken by a thief. Has anyone seen the thief? And a man standing next to me said, what did he look like? And I answered if I knew what he looked like, I'd know who he was.
And no one had seen him? No one had seen him. I was in the midst of a crowd that was waiting for a street car on the corner of Fifth And Main at high noon, and a man removed my pocket book from my arm unseen and unbeknownst.
[00:06:35] Unknown:
And those are the facts? Those are the known facts. You discovered the last of the pocket book. You saw no one taken. Nor could I find a witness to the taken.
[00:06:45] Unknown:
And then what did you do? What did I do? I came to the nearest police station. This one, I was referred to a sergeant. You. Now
[00:06:54] Unknown:
when may I expect to get my pocketbook? When we find the thief. That does not answer the question. But the police department is not yet in position to make a definite statement. Oh, it is not? It requires more facts. Now
[00:07:09] Unknown:
how much money was there in the pocket book? How much money? Why none? None. But, no, I never carry money in a pocket book. You don't? And why not? Why not? Should it not be obvious? Why not even to the sergeant of the police? You know what happened less than an hour gone by? Suppose I'd had money in the pocketbook. What then? Well, so we established that there was no money in the pocketbook.
[00:07:34] Unknown:
Well, was the pocketbook itself new? No. No. It was old. Old. And what was the color of the pocketbook?
[00:07:42] Unknown:
Its color. I'm not sure that question can be answered. And why not? Because the original color had faded and gone, given way to a whole spectrum, hues and shades of varying degrees. Well, is the pocketbook still worth anything? Oh, the poor old thing ripped it was and torn and, in general, fallen apart.
[00:08:03] Unknown:
Well, then, stolen from you is a worthless pocketbook with nothing of value inside. Why are you bothering to report it to the police? Oh, but there was something of value inside. Oh, but you said there was no money? Something of great value. And what is that, miss Katie O'Neil? A salt shaker.
[00:08:24] Unknown:
A salt shaker. The English side of your family would no doubt refer to it as a salt seller.
[00:08:30] Unknown:
Well, what sort of a salt
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shaker? Just a salt shaker.
[00:08:36] Unknown:
And you said it was valuable? Oh, yes. It is. Indeed.
[00:08:40] Unknown:
Why would a salt shaker be valuable? Because it's the only one of its kind in the whole wide world. Oh, is it made of gold? No. Silver? Not a bit of it. Well, then what is it made of? Oh, pewter. Pewter? Perhaps not pewter. It could be something even cheaper.
[00:08:59] Unknown:
But you just said it was valuable. That it was the only one of its kind in the world. I said that and I stand by it. Then is it is it encrusted perhaps with pearls or diamonds, robes or precious stones? Oh, no. Well, then was it crafted by, one of those great fellas, like, a Cellini? Who? Cellini. Bin van Haute or Cellini. Oh, no. No.
[00:09:26] Unknown:
Then how can it be valuable? Because it's a magical salt shaker.
[00:09:33] Unknown:
Oh. Oh, yes. I see. And that is why I must have it back. In what way is the salt shaker magical?
[00:09:41] Unknown:
In what way can a salt shaker be magical?
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Well,
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The
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The question only has one answer. Well, suppose you tell it to me. And you are a sergeant of detectives? Well, now, miss Katie O'Neil, what is your game? You're coming here with this blather about a magical salt shaker. I bet it's true. Why would you be carrying a salt shaker in your pocketbook?
[00:10:07] Unknown:
Why? Because I never know when it might be useful.
[00:10:10] Unknown:
Well, it would seem to me that the only time you'd require a salt shake would be at meals. Is that most probably so. And would you take your meals at a table in someone's home or in a restaurant? Is that not so? I agree. Well, wouldn't there already be at least one salt shaker on that table? Yes. But mine is a magical salt shaker.
[00:10:32] Unknown:
Very well.
[00:10:34] Unknown:
You don't believe it. But why? Is it a magical salt shaker? Ah.
[00:10:40] Unknown:
And if I told you, would you promise faithfully and truly to find it for me? It's my duty to find it for you. Alright. When I was a little girl in County Cavan, I lived on a farm with my father and mother. And my father ah, there was a man for you filled with great and bold schemes, all of which I'm sorry to report came to naught. And I was a tiny child, but I still remember the talk around the table. Well, Terence O'Neil. Good morning, Bridget, my darling. A good morning, is it, Terence O'Neil? You can't see the sun for the clouds, the wind howling, and it's cold enough to crack the stones.
[00:11:27] Unknown:
But it's the only morning the good Lord, in his infinite wisdom, has seen fate to send us, and we accept it gladly. For it is written, you shall take the ban with the good. Oh, and where is that written? Well, if it isn't written, it should be.
[00:11:45] Unknown:
Well, now, not that I wish to raise a subject so painful, but have you given much thought to seek an employment this day,
[00:11:54] Unknown:
Oh, yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. I shall be employed expanding the horizon of my knowledge. I was thinking of gainful employment.
[00:12:02] Unknown:
It's gainful.
[00:12:03] Unknown:
I am embarked on a course of study that shall make us both rich. Rich.
[00:12:09] Unknown:
You don't believe it? Oh, no man ever got rich by looking through books. That's because you have to find the right books.
[00:12:22] Unknown:
That's how it would go. My father would spend the days reading his books and walking through the fields and the forests, nodding his head, thinking, studying, considering. And then finally, one day my father came home and he had a very old book in his hand and he was very excited. Bridget. Oh, yes. It's Bridget. And you'd expect me not to be home. Bridget. Bridget. Listen to her. Oh, I listened to you once, and that was the undoing of me. Oh, marry me, Bridget, darling, and you shall wear silks and furs, spangled with clathagore, and spartan with diamonds and pearls. And and so you shall you shall you shall. Of course. No. No. Bridget. I'm serious. About what? About the promise I made you about the wearing of the silks and the furs and the diamonds and the pearl. Oh. We'll bring them in and I'll put them on. I will I will. When? Tomorrow.
[00:13:15] Unknown:
Tomorrow? Yes. Oh my poor Terrence it's it's gone to your head as I knew it would. Bridget,
[00:13:22] Unknown:
I I am not crazy. It's here in the book. Right here. It tells how to find them. Find who? The old man of the rock.
[00:13:32] Unknown:
Have you taken leave of your senses? Bridget, it's here. It's in the book. The Old Man of the Rock. He's nothing but an old wives tale. He don't exist. This book tells you exactly where to find him. Well, then don't dare go near him. It reveals his hiding place. Now you listen to me. The old man of the rock king, he'll make you his slave. No. No. No. No. Not if you know the magical words.
[00:13:55] Unknown:
What magical words? The magical words that make him your slave. I don't want another word said about that in this house. You can make him your slave, and he'll grant you your wish. Whatever you want, he'll make it come true.
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The old man of the rock.
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Tomorrow. I'll go to him. No. No, Terrence. I I don't want to be rich. You do. You do. Oh, please, Terrence. Promise me. Please. But, Bridget, I believe I've never seen you so frightened before. It's because
[00:14:27] Unknown:
I've I've never been so frightened before. But what are you afraid of? The old man of the rock.
[00:14:35] Unknown:
But you should be afraid. Didn't you say he was nothing but an old wives tale?
[00:14:49] Unknown:
Well, now, as you know, we're going to find out about the powers, if any, of some supernatural being, assuming, of course, such a one exists. It all began with a stolen pocketbook in America somewhere, and suddenly we find ourselves in Ireland somewhere. But it's a good place to be for our purposes, and the tour shall resume as soon as I return shortly with act two. As we concluded act one, we heard someone refer to something hard to believe as an old wives' tale. Well, don't be too cavalier in dismissing old wives' tales. They used to be an old wives' tale to the effect that moldy cheese was good for wounds, and then science discovered penicillin.
Similarly, that the bark of a certain tree did wonders for malaria, and science, of course, discovered quinine. Are we also involved in an old wise tale?
[00:15:50] Unknown:
Probably. Now, miss Cathy O'Neil, I don't want you to lose me. But as I understand it, your father had unearthed some mythical character,
[00:15:59] Unknown:
the old man of the rock. Oh, yes. And how well he was known in the countryside. For the old man of the rock. Just who was he? He was a dame. A dame? A viking. One who had invaded Ireland A Thousand Years ago. Oh, you mean one who had conquered Ireland? We don't talk about about that. And besides, they all took Irish names and learned the Irish tongue and became truly Irish, so it can be said that we conquered them. And now you must bring me back to the old man at the rock. Ah, yes. He was a Viking, a Scandinavian. Yes. He was a Dubgail, a Dane, a black foreigner, as distinguishable from a Fin Gael, a fair foreigner, a Norwegian.
[00:16:41] Unknown:
I see. Is this important? As you said, sergeant, police work is an exact science.
[00:16:48] Unknown:
Contain your Katie O'Neil. And they laid waste the land with fire and sword, but they could not conquer. So they remained to become a part of it. And the old man in the rock? He was a Dane who had ranged as far north as the River Liffey. And one day, he saw a huge rock and he said, I will build me a castle and this rock shall be a foundation stone. And he commanded his men to move it, but it could not be budged from the spot. Yes. And it was not that large nor heavy a rock. Well, it could not be moved.
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No. But what happened? No one knows what happened.
[00:17:30] Unknown:
Oh, well then. One day, this Dugdale Chieftain, this dark foreigner disappeared.
[00:17:38] Unknown:
Oh, now what do you mean disappeared?
[00:17:41] Unknown:
Disappeared. Vanished.
[00:17:43] Unknown:
Was no more. But what became of him? Where did he go? Ah, that is the legend.
[00:17:49] Unknown:
What legend? Of what legend are we speaking the legend of the old man in the rock? Yes. It is said, he would go to the rock, this rock that would not be moved from its spot to become a stone for his castle. And he would say, rock, why do you refuse to be taken from the ground and become part of the great wall of my castle? And do you know what the rock replied?
[00:18:15] Unknown:
For I have no way of knowing that the rock could even speak. A voice was heard to come from the rock and it said,
[00:18:22] Unknown:
you have no need for a rock to form the wall of your castle, dark foreigner. Inside your body is something even harder than I am.
[00:18:33] Unknown:
Your heart. This is what the rock purportedly said. Purportedly is it? Well, is there documentation
[00:18:41] Unknown:
to that effect? Of course. There were witnesses who had seen and heard. Well, continue, miss Katie O'Neil. For a moment, the Dubgail said nothing. He was, as you may safely assume, overcome with fear and surprise. Yes. I can safely make that assumption. And a terrible look came into his eyes. Terrible? And he said, yes. If my heart is rock, then it means that I am rock. And I am that rock. That rock.
[00:19:15] Unknown:
Well, now that's drawn a long ball. Wouldn't you say? It makes fine sense indeed. I'm sorry. I shall not interrupt again. And then what happened?
[00:19:25] Unknown:
What happened? He retired to his tent. Yes. And he was seen no more. Well, what became of him? Evidently, he became the rock. Well, now how could he do that? Well, he was the rock. He said he was, didn't he? Yes. But Let there be no buts. Those were the exact words my father said to my mother that morning. I remember it. I remember as if it were yesterday. We were sitting at the table in the kitchen, and my father said
[00:20:01] Unknown:
Let there be no butts, Bridget O'Neil. I have this book. I bought it in Belfast. Four Shillings.
[00:20:08] Unknown:
Four Shillings. And I have had no meat on this table in six months. Am the good thing. Meat is conducive to the gout. Only rich people get the gout. We are in no danger here. Ah, we are in great danger. Tomorrow, we shall be rich. Do not speak this way in front of the child. She will think her father is mad. Oh,
[00:20:28] Unknown:
it is just his way of talking, Katie. He means no harm. Of course not. I mean only good. Yes. This book. See?
[00:20:37] Unknown:
It is 400 years old. Who's 6 shillings you're entitled to a book that is brand new? The book. You see? It says the dove gale entered into the rock where he had time to repent his many sins. Oh, ate your fish.
[00:20:51] Unknown:
It wants salt. Okay. Pass your father the shaker. Thank you, Jack.
[00:20:58] Unknown:
I can't can't seem to get any salt to come out. Well, shake harder.
[00:21:03] Unknown:
This wretched salt shaker. Well, it's it's a damp day. Why don't you get a new one? For 6 shillings, I could have had one of silver. Yeah. Well, tomorrow,
[00:21:12] Unknown:
you shall have one of gold. Yes. Pure gold. If I can find the old man at the rock, he will He will lead you straight to the devil. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. That is the old wise tale. You see, he has had a change of heart. Too much slaughter and pillage had seconded him, has turned his heart to stone. Who says that? This book right here. His heart is a heavy burden inside him. He seeks to lighten it by doing good for good people. And so if I can find him Yes.
[00:21:47] Unknown:
Yes. This book tells how to find him. Why didn't the person who wrote the book find him and become rich? He could not. Why? Because he was a monk
[00:21:57] Unknown:
who had sworn a vow of poverty. Poverty? He gets 6 shillings for every copy of the book. He doesn't get the money. He's been dead. He's 400 years. Then the person who sold you the book, why doesn't he go to the old man of the rock and get rich? He can't. Why not? That's because the book is written in Gaelic, and he cannot read it. Now in this book are detailed instructions on how one may find the rock. One must wait for the first moonless night of the month, which happens to be tonight. Children so near. One waits for the first sound of a nighting
[00:22:38] Unknown:
Nightingale?
[00:22:39] Unknown:
There are no nightingales in these parts. There are when one seeks the old man of the rock. One
[00:22:47] Unknown:
listens. I do not care how keen your ears. You cannot hear a nightingale where there are none. Oh, one does not listen with the ears but with the heart.
[00:22:58] Unknown:
Oh, I see. I'm happy.
[00:23:00] Unknown:
Now you understand. Oh, my poor Terrence. You were not intended for poverty. It has turned your brain and I have helped. Now, Bridget, what are you saying? Oh, I should help you be happy. I shall neither scold nor nag, my darling Terrence. I shall support these delusions. Bridget, we shall be rich tomorrow
[00:23:21] Unknown:
for I shall find the old man of the rock. I shall find him. Where are you going?
[00:23:28] Unknown:
To the old man of the rock, my darling, Bridget. Good night, dear. What chance? Oh, that man. That man, he'll catch his death. Join Katie, child. He didn't even take his hat. Here. Run after him and see that he puts it on his head. And I did. I ran from the house, but I did not wish to catch up with my father. For if I should, he would take the hat and tell me to go home.
[00:23:58] Unknown:
And, of course, I would have to obey him. So what did you do? Something naughty, no doubt? Oh, yes.
[00:24:04] Unknown:
I followed him in the dark through fields, through the woods, keeping far enough behind so he couldn't see me, but close enough to hear him read from the book. And you shall hear a nightingale song. And he stopped, and he listened, and I stopped, and I listened. And of a sudden, I heard it. And what did you hear? What are we talking about? The nightingale, foul. The nightingale? Yes. The nightingale.
[00:24:38] Unknown:
A soft and a sweet and a silvery clear. Oh, you're positive it was a nightingale. Yes. On what evidence, Katie O'Neil? For after how, you never heard one before. On the evidence of my heart. Ah, yes. The only true evidence there is. Well, I must let you continue uninterrupted. And my father laughed this great joyous laugh, and he said, the nightingale.
[00:25:05] Unknown:
And we follow her dulcet tones to a tree, a patriarch of the forest, an ancient oak. Its limbs are bare, but the heart still beats truly within. Oh, yes. And beneath this oak is a rock, a large sized rock, great enough for the foundation stone of a castle. And was that the rock? My father stood before the rock, and I could hear him say.
[00:25:36] Unknown:
Old man of a rock. I approach with clean heart and a soul that is free from malice.
[00:25:45] Unknown:
Old man of the rock, hear me.
[00:25:48] Unknown:
I come to seek your aid. Therefore, I bid you. Materialize from within the stone and lift the weight from your own heart. Dobgeil, dark foreigner, appear before me.
[00:26:08] Unknown:
Oh, cause me dark foreigner. It's you. It's true. You. Where did you come from? Oh, you've seen where I came from. The Rock. Old man of The Rock.
[00:26:23] Unknown:
I believed it. I believed it truly. That is why I have appeared.
[00:26:27] Unknown:
And why have you come to me? I want to be rich. All men desire riches. It was for wealth that I try give Lord Marcille from Daneland, a Viking pirate.
[00:26:42] Unknown:
But I've learned better. Oh, I do not ask to be rich for myself.
[00:26:47] Unknown:
You do not? For private gain. Is that a fact? I want riches for what they can do. And what can they do? Bring joy. Not all rich men are joyful. I can say this having known many. Indeed, having been one myself. But wealth, it is not meant to be kept. It is not. You know it is not Old Man of the Rock. It is meant to be given away.
[00:27:13] Unknown:
It should be used to feed the poor, to protect the widow, to raise the orphan, to relieve the oppressed. And this is what you would do with wealth? This is what I would wish to do with my wealth.
[00:27:28] Unknown:
It's a noble ambition.
[00:27:30] Unknown:
And so will you grant me my wish, old man of the rock? I will grant
[00:27:35] Unknown:
a wish. But this is my wish? But is it also your wife's wish? My wife? But, what is my wife to do with Well, she too must be considered. But why? Because you are not alone. A man and wife are one in body, in soul, in spirit. But my wish is her wish. Are you sure now? Oh, she's a good hearted woman.
[00:28:03] Unknown:
A bit short in the temper perhaps, but a kind heart, a a a generous soul. Well, no.
[00:28:09] Unknown:
That is what we're going to find out.
[00:28:17] Unknown:
And we shall find out all about it in act three. Here we have the old man of the rock, this Viking turned Irish. Ah, well, those were days filled with action and magic, and so are these, if you know where to look. Now where were we? In a police station, almost a hundred years ago, listening to pretty Katie O'Neil telling handsome sergeant Smith about a purse that was stolen from her. And to make the tale complete, she must go all the way back to Ireland many years ago and an encounter between her father and a mysterious being known as the old man of the
[00:29:06] Unknown:
rock. And so this,
[00:29:08] Unknown:
mythical character, he emerged from the rock, did he? Emerged, materialized as all one. And you. You saw it. With my own two eyes.
[00:29:18] Unknown:
And I still cannot decide whether to blue or green. Oh, but, pray. Continue.
[00:29:23] Unknown:
And so they had this confrontation. My father, Terrence O'Neil, and the old man of the rock. And what happened? The old man explained how it would have to work.
[00:29:37] Unknown:
Being rich is a complicated business.
[00:29:40] Unknown:
It seems rather simple to me, old man. But does it now?
[00:29:44] Unknown:
That is perhaps because you've never been rich yourself. True. And how would you choose to be rich? In land? In gold? I would have to think. In goods? In stocks? In bonds? I would just like to be rich. Well you cannot wish just to be rich. And why not? What is rich? Oh you and your wife must decide, you must talk together, you must understand together. And you must decide together. And then you must wish.
[00:30:19] Unknown:
Well, that should not be too difficult.
[00:30:22] Unknown:
Come. We shall walk back to your home together.
[00:30:25] Unknown:
Right now?
[00:30:27] Unknown:
Is there reason to wait? No. No. No. No. No. But then come. Come. For now I place the charm on the home of Terrance on here. Come lad. The charm lies over your cottage. Charm. From this point on, the very first wish that is made in your House shall be granted. The very first wish? The very first and only wish. For it is possible to give but one to a Supplion. I see. And so talk it over carefully with Bridget and decide what that wish shall be.
[00:31:09] Unknown:
So, Katie O'Neil, what happened? They started back towards the cottage with me following unobserved close behind. And once again we heard the song of the Nightingale. Ah, so gentle and clear in the stillness of the night. Pam? It was the dead of winter, but there was a warm breeze in the air, and the ground was gentle underfoot. Soon, we were inside of the house, the little house where I lived with my father and mother. Yes? We walked inside. And when my mother saw my father, she was furious because he was not wearing his hat. She was about to tell him so, but then she saw this old, old man dressed
[00:32:03] Unknown:
The old man of the rock, you see? Yes. Indeed, my darling. Old man. May I present my partner in this world and the next, the lovely Bridget O'Neil. I'm trying to make your acquaintance.
[00:32:18] Unknown:
The old man of the rock, is it? I have that honor, ma'am. Yes. Well, like goes to like. One crack brain finds another. Now, Bridget,
[00:32:29] Unknown:
we have a matter of the deepest import to discuss. Have we indeed? Yes. It's, import to discuss. Have we indeed? Yes. It concerns becoming
[00:32:37] Unknown:
rich. Oh, well, that can wait a day or two, I'm certain, if not a year or a lifetime. And so, Bridget, you and I must discuss You and I must discuss your lack of manners, Terrence O'Neil. When a guest is brought into the house, he must be served a cup of tea. I would be grateful for a cup of tea, Bridget O'Neil.
[00:32:57] Unknown:
And while the old man of the rock here is enjoying his cup of tea, you, Bridget, and I shall be exploring the various manners, methods and techniques, as it were, of becoming Rich. Yes. Rich. Rich. Rich. Rich. Rich as Midas. Rich
[00:33:17] Unknown:
as Currysets. Rich. I told
[00:33:21] Unknown:
you. He's the old man of the rock. Oh, and I am the queen who lives in Windsor Palace.
[00:33:27] Unknown:
Tell her. Tell her you are the old man of the rock. I'm the old man of the rock. And now to business. I will have no business until I have discharged my duties as a hostess.
[00:33:39] Unknown:
Oh, you look hungry indeed, my old man of the rock.
[00:33:42] Unknown:
Well, no. It has been a long fast
[00:33:45] Unknown:
A bit of bread of my own bacon, filled a piece of fish that I caught with my own two hands, Seeing as how my husbands are too busy supporting the covers of a book. Oh, I'm thankful, ma'am. Truly thankful.
[00:33:57] Unknown:
Bridget, you must listen now. We must make a wish. A wish, is it?
[00:34:03] Unknown:
And how is the fish, my old man of the rock? Oh, fine. Would you just fine? No. No. No. Stay freely. When it wants a bit of sauce. Oh, easily mended. Katie, pass the salt shaker to your father's old man of the rock. Bridget, would you listen?
[00:34:19] Unknown:
We must make a wish for a certain kind of wealth, land, money, livestock. Indeed. Yes. And whatever wish we make, the old man of the rock here will see that it comes true. Really? Yes, Bridget. It is the truth. Is it? Bridget, the very next wish you make will come true, and that's a fact. A fact? You don't believe me?
[00:34:44] Unknown:
Old man of the rock. Oh, what is the trouble, sir? Oh, no no trouble. Oh, but I can see there is trouble. Oh, it's that old salt shaker. Well It refuses to allow the salt to flow out. Well, it's quite damp, you know. Yes. I know. If only If only
[00:35:01] Unknown:
what? Impossible. Bridget, we must consider our wish. What wish? Oh, what wish have I been talking about now? The one wish that will be granted us. Now, Bridget, if you could have one wish,
[00:35:19] Unknown:
what would it be? No, old man. It doesn't do any good to shake that infernal salt cellar. Not in this weather. Bridget, my darling, let us talk together for a moment and decide on our wish. I know my wish. I wish No. Don't say that. Not yet. Not
[00:35:35] Unknown:
until we decide. But I've decided.
[00:35:37] Unknown:
I wish Bridget. I wish the salt would flow out of that shaker in all weather smooth clear in a beautiful stream of glistening white. Bridget. Oh my. Oh, Terence. Look. Do you see? The salt. See how it flows from the shaker. How smoothly, how quickly, how freely. Bridget, what have you done? You know what she's done, Terrence O'Neil. She's made her wish. But Now how do you account for the shaker behaving in just that fashion? Bridget. The weather. It must have become dry outside. Bridget. That that was our wish. Yes, Hans. That was your wish. What are you saying? We could have had the world.
[00:36:23] Unknown:
And now all we have is a salt shaker from which the salt shall always flow free. Well, Terrence O'Neil, you must admit this is no small thing.
[00:36:34] Unknown:
Yeah.
[00:36:34] Unknown:
True. What are you two talking about? Let me say this. Since I've been the old man of the rock since I've heard wishes made never has there been a wish made with such heartfelt sincerity. Is that true old man? Oh yes. Yes it's the truth. You really wanted that salt to flow, Bridget? Oh, now what fools, tricks are you two playing? Could you answer me, Bridget? Answer him, child. I
[00:37:02] Unknown:
no. What is this? At at that moment, Bridget, more than anything else in the world, did you want the salt to flow? I I I'm sir Bridget. Yes. Oh, Bridget. Why? Why?
[00:37:17] Unknown:
But I looked at this old man, this poor, tired old man, and I said to myself, oh, here is one whose face is lined, whose eyes are weary, whose life has been hard, whose death will be bitter. But, Bridget He can count his woes by the hairs on his head. But his joys, perhaps on the fingers of his hands. And he was trying to put just a few grains of salt on his fish. So small a pleasure and even this was being denied him. And my heart almost cried within me. So small a thing, so tiny a pleasure. Why should it be kept from him? And so I wished Yes. She wished. Oh, how wonderful.
[00:38:02] Unknown:
My dearest darling, Bridget. Oh, what a glorious wish. Oh, I told you must be drunk. Yes. Drunk. Drunk with happiness and joy to know what a wife I possess. Oh, do not flirt with your wife in front of a stranger.
[00:38:18] Unknown:
No man who sits at my table is a stranger. Ah, the salt. See the salt. How freely it flows, and it shall freely flow from this salt shaker forever. And that's why it's a magical salt shaker. Yes. Even a police sergeant can see that.
[00:38:40] Unknown:
A grand tale. But a true one.
[00:38:42] Unknown:
And the further history of this remarkable artifact.
[00:38:46] Unknown:
I was sent to America. This salt shaker was the gift
[00:38:58] Unknown:
coolly stolen away. Oh, I'm touched by your story, miss Gary O'Neill. And what will you do? It's a most difficult assignment. Miss O'Neil, shall you promise me something? First, I must hear. If I return your salt shaker, shall you accompany me to the park this evening to enjoy the concert by mister John Philip Sousa and his band of stalwart United States Marines. And how do you intend to find my salt shaker, sergeant? Well, the salt shaker is magical. No? Yes. Then I shall exercise powers of magic to bring it back to its rightful owner.
[00:39:36] Unknown:
I shall be waiting at the oak tree near the bandstand, my good sergeant Smith.
[00:39:42] Unknown:
And if you have the salt shaker, you may approach. However, there's no need for however, miss Katie O'Neil. By my magical powers, I shall have the sword shaker ready for its rightful owner.
[00:40:00] Unknown:
Miss Katie O'Neil. Oh, did you
[00:40:03] Unknown:
Approach no further unless But I have it. See? See how freely the salt flows. Oh, Sergeant Smith.
[00:40:13] Unknown:
Sergeant Smith, you worked magic. Magic? Of course. And shall you tell me the magic? Oh, that cannot be revealed
[00:40:22] Unknown:
but it's great magic.
[00:40:24] Unknown:
Shall I tell you the magic? You see I happen to know that all pickpockets, purse snatchers, and thieves of that ilk have their territory. Indeed, if they see someone else practice their depredations on that spot, they will turn the intruders over to the police. Is that a fact? You're telling the story, Katie on you. And so what you did was to ascertain which thief is the regular, shall we say it's just the name? And you told him to produce the salt
[00:40:55] Unknown:
shaker or else. Miss Cation Hill, what a suspicious nature you possess. But I retrieved the salt shaker. Yes. You did. From which the salt will always flow. And that's magic.
[00:41:09] Unknown:
Yes
[00:41:10] Unknown:
sir. That is magic. And so, Kate, O'Neil. Shall you accompany me home after the concert tour? Meet me mother.
[00:41:27] Unknown:
Shall you accompany me home to meet me, mother? An old fashioned line to an old fashioned ending to an old fashioned story. And so the romantics in the house have had their innings. We've had love and magic, and I shall return with more. And from the shaker, the salt shall always flow, and so shall the blessings.
[00:42:00] Unknown:
If you had one wish, what would you really wish for?
[00:42:04] Unknown:
All the money in the world? Do you really want or need all the money in the world? Think again and think deeply. What is it you would really wish for? One of the things I always wish for is to meet meet you here seven times each week. Our cast included Terry Keen, Fred Gwynn, Bryna Rayburn, and Lloyd Bautista. The entire production was under the direction of Hyman Brown. This is EG Marshall inviting you to return to our mystery theater for another adventure in the macabre. Until next time. Pleasant?
[00:43:21] Unknown:
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What you're hearing is Hardie fiber cement siding living up to its reputation as the siding that handles hail impact with ease. James Hardie knows how important a reputation is, especially when you're a contractor. That's why Hardie's siding withstands severe weather better than vinyl siding, with styles to match its strength, so you can be sure you're providing your clients with the best. Protect your reputation with exterior products by James Hardie.
[00:00:32] Unknown:
The CBS radio mystery theater presents Come in. Welcome. I'm EG Marshall. Add a grain of salt, said a learned Roman gentleman named Pliny the Elder some two thousand years ago, and the value of that advice has only increased for the passage of time. Take everything you see and hear with a grain of salt, and you'll be surprised at how much savor you will add to your life.
[00:01:15] Unknown:
I am going to find the old man of the rock. There's no such person. It's an old wives tale. Will you keep away from him? If there's no such person, why are you so scared? Because because he kills everyone who approaches. Why do you wanna find him? Because
[00:01:36] Unknown:
he knows where all the money in the world can be found.
[00:01:50] Unknown:
Our mystery drama, A Grain of Salt, was written especially for the mystery theater by Sam Dan and stars Terry Keen and Fred Gwynne. It is sponsored in part by True Value Hardware stores and Buick Motor Division. I'll be back shortly with act one. Goblins and ghosts, pixies and elves, kelpies and banshees, spirits and sprites, the good folk, the bad folk. Oh, I could go on and on, but you get the idea. At one time, these, what should we call them, supernatural beings were as real as as the sounds you hear in a deserted house in a desolate countryside on a dark and moonless night, and nowhere were they more real than on a certain enchanted island that was gracious and green and filled with soft and lilting music and covered with a magical mist. But we run ahead of ourselves. We're not there yet. We're still on this side of the Atlantic in a large city on the Eastern Coast, perhaps seventy, eighty, or even ninety years ago. Are you the sergeant?
[00:03:06] Unknown:
Well, I'm a sergeant. Sergeant Smith. Are you the sergeant they told me to see? Are you the sergeant they told me to see? Why, it sings. Your mother comes from County Donegal. She does not. Then Monaghan or Cavan. Sir, I have not come to discourse on genealogical or geographical situations.
[00:03:24] Unknown:
But it is the place of my own origin.
[00:03:26] Unknown:
With the name of Smith.
[00:03:28] Unknown:
My dearest mothers, me father comes from England. That, sir, must be your own private sorrow
[00:03:34] Unknown:
and bear it bravely and in silence like a man.
[00:03:37] Unknown:
Well then, miss or madam? Miss, if you please,
[00:03:40] Unknown:
miss Katie O'Neil. Miss Katie O'Neil. Oh, it sings like a ballad. Are you a maker of music or an an officer of the police? The two need not be mutually exclusive. Well, then I might have done better to consult mister John Phillips Souza. He conducts his orchestra in the park this evening.
[00:03:56] Unknown:
Would you, do me the honor, miss O'Neil?
[00:03:59] Unknown:
Is this how you spend the taxpayers' hard earned dollars, Sergeant Smith, attempting to romance every young maiden lady that requires the assistance of the police? Not every young maiden lady, miss O'Neil. Then shall we come at last to the facts in the case?
[00:04:13] Unknown:
Then. We have a case, have we? We'll proceed. Which is exactly what I was doing.
[00:04:19] Unknown:
This noon, about half hour past, I was standing at the corner of Fifth Domain and why are you not writing this down? I'm gazing into your eyes, miss Casey O'Neil. Aren't you ashamed, sergeant Smith? Of what? Attend to the fact. There's work to be done.
[00:04:36] Unknown:
You were standing on the corner of Fifth And Main. I was. And stopping the traffic for miles around. I was waiting for a street car. A most innocent occupier. I was in the midst of a crowd that was waiting.
[00:04:48] Unknown:
Suddenly Yes? Suddenly, there was this tug in my arm. Tug? It was more of a pull. A pull. But a gentle pull. A gentle pull. Yes. So gentle, so soft, so light as a thistle or a hummingbird's wing. Are you writing that down?
[00:05:11] Unknown:
Was that as light as a thistle or as light as a hummingbird's wing, miss O'Neil? We must be accurate in these matters. Make it as light as either or both. Well, would you happen to know specifically the weight of a hummingbird's wing or a thistle for that matter? As you know, police work is an exact science. And then Yes.
[00:05:31] Unknown:
And then And then I looked down at my arm and And? And my pocketbook was gone. Your pocketbook was gone? It had been taken from me. What did you say? Who did it? See him know as I said I was standing in the midst of a crowd. One moment the pocketbook was on my arm, and then the next, it was gone. And you saw no one who could have taken it? No. I saw no one. I said to the people who were standing around, I said, has anyone seen a pocketbook? Mine is gone. I believe it was taken. And everyone looked all around and someone said, are you sure you didn't drop it on the ground? And someone else said, are you positive you had it with you? And I said, it's been taken by a thief. Has anyone seen the thief? And a man standing next to me said, what did he look like? And I answered if I knew what he looked like, I'd know who he was.
And no one had seen him? No one had seen him. I was in the midst of a crowd that was waiting for a street car on the corner of Fifth And Main at high noon, and a man removed my pocket book from my arm unseen and unbeknownst.
[00:06:35] Unknown:
And those are the facts? Those are the known facts. You discovered the last of the pocket book. You saw no one taken. Nor could I find a witness to the taken.
[00:06:45] Unknown:
And then what did you do? What did I do? I came to the nearest police station. This one, I was referred to a sergeant. You. Now
[00:06:54] Unknown:
when may I expect to get my pocketbook? When we find the thief. That does not answer the question. But the police department is not yet in position to make a definite statement. Oh, it is not? It requires more facts. Now
[00:07:09] Unknown:
how much money was there in the pocket book? How much money? Why none? None. But, no, I never carry money in a pocket book. You don't? And why not? Why not? Should it not be obvious? Why not even to the sergeant of the police? You know what happened less than an hour gone by? Suppose I'd had money in the pocketbook. What then? Well, so we established that there was no money in the pocketbook.
[00:07:34] Unknown:
Well, was the pocketbook itself new? No. No. It was old. Old. And what was the color of the pocketbook?
[00:07:42] Unknown:
Its color. I'm not sure that question can be answered. And why not? Because the original color had faded and gone, given way to a whole spectrum, hues and shades of varying degrees. Well, is the pocketbook still worth anything? Oh, the poor old thing ripped it was and torn and, in general, fallen apart.
[00:08:03] Unknown:
Well, then, stolen from you is a worthless pocketbook with nothing of value inside. Why are you bothering to report it to the police? Oh, but there was something of value inside. Oh, but you said there was no money? Something of great value. And what is that, miss Katie O'Neil? A salt shaker.
[00:08:24] Unknown:
A salt shaker. The English side of your family would no doubt refer to it as a salt seller.
[00:08:30] Unknown:
Well, what sort of a salt
[00:08:33] Unknown:
shaker? Just a salt shaker.
[00:08:36] Unknown:
And you said it was valuable? Oh, yes. It is. Indeed.
[00:08:40] Unknown:
Why would a salt shaker be valuable? Because it's the only one of its kind in the whole wide world. Oh, is it made of gold? No. Silver? Not a bit of it. Well, then what is it made of? Oh, pewter. Pewter? Perhaps not pewter. It could be something even cheaper.
[00:08:59] Unknown:
But you just said it was valuable. That it was the only one of its kind in the world. I said that and I stand by it. Then is it is it encrusted perhaps with pearls or diamonds, robes or precious stones? Oh, no. Well, then was it crafted by, one of those great fellas, like, a Cellini? Who? Cellini. Bin van Haute or Cellini. Oh, no. No.
[00:09:26] Unknown:
Then how can it be valuable? Because it's a magical salt shaker.
[00:09:33] Unknown:
Oh. Oh, yes. I see. And that is why I must have it back. In what way is the salt shaker magical?
[00:09:41] Unknown:
In what way can a salt shaker be magical?
[00:09:45] Unknown:
Well,
[00:09:47] Unknown:
The
[00:09:50] Unknown:
The question only has one answer. Well, suppose you tell it to me. And you are a sergeant of detectives? Well, now, miss Katie O'Neil, what is your game? You're coming here with this blather about a magical salt shaker. I bet it's true. Why would you be carrying a salt shaker in your pocketbook?
[00:10:07] Unknown:
Why? Because I never know when it might be useful.
[00:10:10] Unknown:
Well, it would seem to me that the only time you'd require a salt shake would be at meals. Is that most probably so. And would you take your meals at a table in someone's home or in a restaurant? Is that not so? I agree. Well, wouldn't there already be at least one salt shaker on that table? Yes. But mine is a magical salt shaker.
[00:10:32] Unknown:
Very well.
[00:10:34] Unknown:
You don't believe it. But why? Is it a magical salt shaker? Ah.
[00:10:40] Unknown:
And if I told you, would you promise faithfully and truly to find it for me? It's my duty to find it for you. Alright. When I was a little girl in County Cavan, I lived on a farm with my father and mother. And my father ah, there was a man for you filled with great and bold schemes, all of which I'm sorry to report came to naught. And I was a tiny child, but I still remember the talk around the table. Well, Terence O'Neil. Good morning, Bridget, my darling. A good morning, is it, Terence O'Neil? You can't see the sun for the clouds, the wind howling, and it's cold enough to crack the stones.
[00:11:27] Unknown:
But it's the only morning the good Lord, in his infinite wisdom, has seen fate to send us, and we accept it gladly. For it is written, you shall take the ban with the good. Oh, and where is that written? Well, if it isn't written, it should be.
[00:11:45] Unknown:
Well, now, not that I wish to raise a subject so painful, but have you given much thought to seek an employment this day,
[00:11:54] Unknown:
Oh, yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. I shall be employed expanding the horizon of my knowledge. I was thinking of gainful employment.
[00:12:02] Unknown:
It's gainful.
[00:12:03] Unknown:
I am embarked on a course of study that shall make us both rich. Rich.
[00:12:09] Unknown:
You don't believe it? Oh, no man ever got rich by looking through books. That's because you have to find the right books.
[00:12:22] Unknown:
That's how it would go. My father would spend the days reading his books and walking through the fields and the forests, nodding his head, thinking, studying, considering. And then finally, one day my father came home and he had a very old book in his hand and he was very excited. Bridget. Oh, yes. It's Bridget. And you'd expect me not to be home. Bridget. Bridget. Listen to her. Oh, I listened to you once, and that was the undoing of me. Oh, marry me, Bridget, darling, and you shall wear silks and furs, spangled with clathagore, and spartan with diamonds and pearls. And and so you shall you shall you shall. Of course. No. No. Bridget. I'm serious. About what? About the promise I made you about the wearing of the silks and the furs and the diamonds and the pearl. Oh. We'll bring them in and I'll put them on. I will I will. When? Tomorrow.
[00:13:15] Unknown:
Tomorrow? Yes. Oh my poor Terrence it's it's gone to your head as I knew it would. Bridget,
[00:13:22] Unknown:
I I am not crazy. It's here in the book. Right here. It tells how to find them. Find who? The old man of the rock.
[00:13:32] Unknown:
Have you taken leave of your senses? Bridget, it's here. It's in the book. The Old Man of the Rock. He's nothing but an old wives tale. He don't exist. This book tells you exactly where to find him. Well, then don't dare go near him. It reveals his hiding place. Now you listen to me. The old man of the rock king, he'll make you his slave. No. No. No. No. Not if you know the magical words.
[00:13:55] Unknown:
What magical words? The magical words that make him your slave. I don't want another word said about that in this house. You can make him your slave, and he'll grant you your wish. Whatever you want, he'll make it come true.
[00:14:10] Unknown:
The old man of the rock.
[00:14:13] Unknown:
Tomorrow. I'll go to him. No. No, Terrence. I I don't want to be rich. You do. You do. Oh, please, Terrence. Promise me. Please. But, Bridget, I believe I've never seen you so frightened before. It's because
[00:14:27] Unknown:
I've I've never been so frightened before. But what are you afraid of? The old man of the rock.
[00:14:35] Unknown:
But you should be afraid. Didn't you say he was nothing but an old wives tale?
[00:14:49] Unknown:
Well, now, as you know, we're going to find out about the powers, if any, of some supernatural being, assuming, of course, such a one exists. It all began with a stolen pocketbook in America somewhere, and suddenly we find ourselves in Ireland somewhere. But it's a good place to be for our purposes, and the tour shall resume as soon as I return shortly with act two. As we concluded act one, we heard someone refer to something hard to believe as an old wives' tale. Well, don't be too cavalier in dismissing old wives' tales. They used to be an old wives' tale to the effect that moldy cheese was good for wounds, and then science discovered penicillin.
Similarly, that the bark of a certain tree did wonders for malaria, and science, of course, discovered quinine. Are we also involved in an old wise tale?
[00:15:50] Unknown:
Probably. Now, miss Cathy O'Neil, I don't want you to lose me. But as I understand it, your father had unearthed some mythical character,
[00:15:59] Unknown:
the old man of the rock. Oh, yes. And how well he was known in the countryside. For the old man of the rock. Just who was he? He was a dame. A dame? A viking. One who had invaded Ireland A Thousand Years ago. Oh, you mean one who had conquered Ireland? We don't talk about about that. And besides, they all took Irish names and learned the Irish tongue and became truly Irish, so it can be said that we conquered them. And now you must bring me back to the old man at the rock. Ah, yes. He was a Viking, a Scandinavian. Yes. He was a Dubgail, a Dane, a black foreigner, as distinguishable from a Fin Gael, a fair foreigner, a Norwegian.
[00:16:41] Unknown:
I see. Is this important? As you said, sergeant, police work is an exact science.
[00:16:48] Unknown:
Contain your Katie O'Neil. And they laid waste the land with fire and sword, but they could not conquer. So they remained to become a part of it. And the old man in the rock? He was a Dane who had ranged as far north as the River Liffey. And one day, he saw a huge rock and he said, I will build me a castle and this rock shall be a foundation stone. And he commanded his men to move it, but it could not be budged from the spot. Yes. And it was not that large nor heavy a rock. Well, it could not be moved.
[00:17:25] Unknown:
No. But what happened? No one knows what happened.
[00:17:30] Unknown:
Oh, well then. One day, this Dugdale Chieftain, this dark foreigner disappeared.
[00:17:38] Unknown:
Oh, now what do you mean disappeared?
[00:17:41] Unknown:
Disappeared. Vanished.
[00:17:43] Unknown:
Was no more. But what became of him? Where did he go? Ah, that is the legend.
[00:17:49] Unknown:
What legend? Of what legend are we speaking the legend of the old man in the rock? Yes. It is said, he would go to the rock, this rock that would not be moved from its spot to become a stone for his castle. And he would say, rock, why do you refuse to be taken from the ground and become part of the great wall of my castle? And do you know what the rock replied?
[00:18:15] Unknown:
For I have no way of knowing that the rock could even speak. A voice was heard to come from the rock and it said,
[00:18:22] Unknown:
you have no need for a rock to form the wall of your castle, dark foreigner. Inside your body is something even harder than I am.
[00:18:33] Unknown:
Your heart. This is what the rock purportedly said. Purportedly is it? Well, is there documentation
[00:18:41] Unknown:
to that effect? Of course. There were witnesses who had seen and heard. Well, continue, miss Katie O'Neil. For a moment, the Dubgail said nothing. He was, as you may safely assume, overcome with fear and surprise. Yes. I can safely make that assumption. And a terrible look came into his eyes. Terrible? And he said, yes. If my heart is rock, then it means that I am rock. And I am that rock. That rock.
[00:19:15] Unknown:
Well, now that's drawn a long ball. Wouldn't you say? It makes fine sense indeed. I'm sorry. I shall not interrupt again. And then what happened?
[00:19:25] Unknown:
What happened? He retired to his tent. Yes. And he was seen no more. Well, what became of him? Evidently, he became the rock. Well, now how could he do that? Well, he was the rock. He said he was, didn't he? Yes. But Let there be no buts. Those were the exact words my father said to my mother that morning. I remember it. I remember as if it were yesterday. We were sitting at the table in the kitchen, and my father said
[00:20:01] Unknown:
Let there be no butts, Bridget O'Neil. I have this book. I bought it in Belfast. Four Shillings.
[00:20:08] Unknown:
Four Shillings. And I have had no meat on this table in six months. Am the good thing. Meat is conducive to the gout. Only rich people get the gout. We are in no danger here. Ah, we are in great danger. Tomorrow, we shall be rich. Do not speak this way in front of the child. She will think her father is mad. Oh,
[00:20:28] Unknown:
it is just his way of talking, Katie. He means no harm. Of course not. I mean only good. Yes. This book. See?
[00:20:37] Unknown:
It is 400 years old. Who's 6 shillings you're entitled to a book that is brand new? The book. You see? It says the dove gale entered into the rock where he had time to repent his many sins. Oh, ate your fish.
[00:20:51] Unknown:
It wants salt. Okay. Pass your father the shaker. Thank you, Jack.
[00:20:58] Unknown:
I can't can't seem to get any salt to come out. Well, shake harder.
[00:21:03] Unknown:
This wretched salt shaker. Well, it's it's a damp day. Why don't you get a new one? For 6 shillings, I could have had one of silver. Yeah. Well, tomorrow,
[00:21:12] Unknown:
you shall have one of gold. Yes. Pure gold. If I can find the old man at the rock, he will He will lead you straight to the devil. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. That is the old wise tale. You see, he has had a change of heart. Too much slaughter and pillage had seconded him, has turned his heart to stone. Who says that? This book right here. His heart is a heavy burden inside him. He seeks to lighten it by doing good for good people. And so if I can find him Yes.
[00:21:47] Unknown:
Yes. This book tells how to find him. Why didn't the person who wrote the book find him and become rich? He could not. Why? Because he was a monk
[00:21:57] Unknown:
who had sworn a vow of poverty. Poverty? He gets 6 shillings for every copy of the book. He doesn't get the money. He's been dead. He's 400 years. Then the person who sold you the book, why doesn't he go to the old man of the rock and get rich? He can't. Why not? That's because the book is written in Gaelic, and he cannot read it. Now in this book are detailed instructions on how one may find the rock. One must wait for the first moonless night of the month, which happens to be tonight. Children so near. One waits for the first sound of a nighting
[00:22:38] Unknown:
Nightingale?
[00:22:39] Unknown:
There are no nightingales in these parts. There are when one seeks the old man of the rock. One
[00:22:47] Unknown:
listens. I do not care how keen your ears. You cannot hear a nightingale where there are none. Oh, one does not listen with the ears but with the heart.
[00:22:58] Unknown:
Oh, I see. I'm happy.
[00:23:00] Unknown:
Now you understand. Oh, my poor Terrence. You were not intended for poverty. It has turned your brain and I have helped. Now, Bridget, what are you saying? Oh, I should help you be happy. I shall neither scold nor nag, my darling Terrence. I shall support these delusions. Bridget, we shall be rich tomorrow
[00:23:21] Unknown:
for I shall find the old man of the rock. I shall find him. Where are you going?
[00:23:28] Unknown:
To the old man of the rock, my darling, Bridget. Good night, dear. What chance? Oh, that man. That man, he'll catch his death. Join Katie, child. He didn't even take his hat. Here. Run after him and see that he puts it on his head. And I did. I ran from the house, but I did not wish to catch up with my father. For if I should, he would take the hat and tell me to go home.
[00:23:58] Unknown:
And, of course, I would have to obey him. So what did you do? Something naughty, no doubt? Oh, yes.
[00:24:04] Unknown:
I followed him in the dark through fields, through the woods, keeping far enough behind so he couldn't see me, but close enough to hear him read from the book. And you shall hear a nightingale song. And he stopped, and he listened, and I stopped, and I listened. And of a sudden, I heard it. And what did you hear? What are we talking about? The nightingale, foul. The nightingale? Yes. The nightingale.
[00:24:38] Unknown:
A soft and a sweet and a silvery clear. Oh, you're positive it was a nightingale. Yes. On what evidence, Katie O'Neil? For after how, you never heard one before. On the evidence of my heart. Ah, yes. The only true evidence there is. Well, I must let you continue uninterrupted. And my father laughed this great joyous laugh, and he said, the nightingale.
[00:25:05] Unknown:
And we follow her dulcet tones to a tree, a patriarch of the forest, an ancient oak. Its limbs are bare, but the heart still beats truly within. Oh, yes. And beneath this oak is a rock, a large sized rock, great enough for the foundation stone of a castle. And was that the rock? My father stood before the rock, and I could hear him say.
[00:25:36] Unknown:
Old man of a rock. I approach with clean heart and a soul that is free from malice.
[00:25:45] Unknown:
Old man of the rock, hear me.
[00:25:48] Unknown:
I come to seek your aid. Therefore, I bid you. Materialize from within the stone and lift the weight from your own heart. Dobgeil, dark foreigner, appear before me.
[00:26:08] Unknown:
Oh, cause me dark foreigner. It's you. It's true. You. Where did you come from? Oh, you've seen where I came from. The Rock. Old man of The Rock.
[00:26:23] Unknown:
I believed it. I believed it truly. That is why I have appeared.
[00:26:27] Unknown:
And why have you come to me? I want to be rich. All men desire riches. It was for wealth that I try give Lord Marcille from Daneland, a Viking pirate.
[00:26:42] Unknown:
But I've learned better. Oh, I do not ask to be rich for myself.
[00:26:47] Unknown:
You do not? For private gain. Is that a fact? I want riches for what they can do. And what can they do? Bring joy. Not all rich men are joyful. I can say this having known many. Indeed, having been one myself. But wealth, it is not meant to be kept. It is not. You know it is not Old Man of the Rock. It is meant to be given away.
[00:27:13] Unknown:
It should be used to feed the poor, to protect the widow, to raise the orphan, to relieve the oppressed. And this is what you would do with wealth? This is what I would wish to do with my wealth.
[00:27:28] Unknown:
It's a noble ambition.
[00:27:30] Unknown:
And so will you grant me my wish, old man of the rock? I will grant
[00:27:35] Unknown:
a wish. But this is my wish? But is it also your wife's wish? My wife? But, what is my wife to do with Well, she too must be considered. But why? Because you are not alone. A man and wife are one in body, in soul, in spirit. But my wish is her wish. Are you sure now? Oh, she's a good hearted woman.
[00:28:03] Unknown:
A bit short in the temper perhaps, but a kind heart, a a a generous soul. Well, no.
[00:28:09] Unknown:
That is what we're going to find out.
[00:28:17] Unknown:
And we shall find out all about it in act three. Here we have the old man of the rock, this Viking turned Irish. Ah, well, those were days filled with action and magic, and so are these, if you know where to look. Now where were we? In a police station, almost a hundred years ago, listening to pretty Katie O'Neil telling handsome sergeant Smith about a purse that was stolen from her. And to make the tale complete, she must go all the way back to Ireland many years ago and an encounter between her father and a mysterious being known as the old man of the
[00:29:06] Unknown:
rock. And so this,
[00:29:08] Unknown:
mythical character, he emerged from the rock, did he? Emerged, materialized as all one. And you. You saw it. With my own two eyes.
[00:29:18] Unknown:
And I still cannot decide whether to blue or green. Oh, but, pray. Continue.
[00:29:23] Unknown:
And so they had this confrontation. My father, Terrence O'Neil, and the old man of the rock. And what happened? The old man explained how it would have to work.
[00:29:37] Unknown:
Being rich is a complicated business.
[00:29:40] Unknown:
It seems rather simple to me, old man. But does it now?
[00:29:44] Unknown:
That is perhaps because you've never been rich yourself. True. And how would you choose to be rich? In land? In gold? I would have to think. In goods? In stocks? In bonds? I would just like to be rich. Well you cannot wish just to be rich. And why not? What is rich? Oh you and your wife must decide, you must talk together, you must understand together. And you must decide together. And then you must wish.
[00:30:19] Unknown:
Well, that should not be too difficult.
[00:30:22] Unknown:
Come. We shall walk back to your home together.
[00:30:25] Unknown:
Right now?
[00:30:27] Unknown:
Is there reason to wait? No. No. No. No. No. But then come. Come. For now I place the charm on the home of Terrance on here. Come lad. The charm lies over your cottage. Charm. From this point on, the very first wish that is made in your House shall be granted. The very first wish? The very first and only wish. For it is possible to give but one to a Supplion. I see. And so talk it over carefully with Bridget and decide what that wish shall be.
[00:31:09] Unknown:
So, Katie O'Neil, what happened? They started back towards the cottage with me following unobserved close behind. And once again we heard the song of the Nightingale. Ah, so gentle and clear in the stillness of the night. Pam? It was the dead of winter, but there was a warm breeze in the air, and the ground was gentle underfoot. Soon, we were inside of the house, the little house where I lived with my father and mother. Yes? We walked inside. And when my mother saw my father, she was furious because he was not wearing his hat. She was about to tell him so, but then she saw this old, old man dressed
[00:32:03] Unknown:
The old man of the rock, you see? Yes. Indeed, my darling. Old man. May I present my partner in this world and the next, the lovely Bridget O'Neil. I'm trying to make your acquaintance.
[00:32:18] Unknown:
The old man of the rock, is it? I have that honor, ma'am. Yes. Well, like goes to like. One crack brain finds another. Now, Bridget,
[00:32:29] Unknown:
we have a matter of the deepest import to discuss. Have we indeed? Yes. It's, import to discuss. Have we indeed? Yes. It concerns becoming
[00:32:37] Unknown:
rich. Oh, well, that can wait a day or two, I'm certain, if not a year or a lifetime. And so, Bridget, you and I must discuss You and I must discuss your lack of manners, Terrence O'Neil. When a guest is brought into the house, he must be served a cup of tea. I would be grateful for a cup of tea, Bridget O'Neil.
[00:32:57] Unknown:
And while the old man of the rock here is enjoying his cup of tea, you, Bridget, and I shall be exploring the various manners, methods and techniques, as it were, of becoming Rich. Yes. Rich. Rich. Rich. Rich. Rich as Midas. Rich
[00:33:17] Unknown:
as Currysets. Rich. I told
[00:33:21] Unknown:
you. He's the old man of the rock. Oh, and I am the queen who lives in Windsor Palace.
[00:33:27] Unknown:
Tell her. Tell her you are the old man of the rock. I'm the old man of the rock. And now to business. I will have no business until I have discharged my duties as a hostess.
[00:33:39] Unknown:
Oh, you look hungry indeed, my old man of the rock.
[00:33:42] Unknown:
Well, no. It has been a long fast
[00:33:45] Unknown:
A bit of bread of my own bacon, filled a piece of fish that I caught with my own two hands, Seeing as how my husbands are too busy supporting the covers of a book. Oh, I'm thankful, ma'am. Truly thankful.
[00:33:57] Unknown:
Bridget, you must listen now. We must make a wish. A wish, is it?
[00:34:03] Unknown:
And how is the fish, my old man of the rock? Oh, fine. Would you just fine? No. No. No. Stay freely. When it wants a bit of sauce. Oh, easily mended. Katie, pass the salt shaker to your father's old man of the rock. Bridget, would you listen?
[00:34:19] Unknown:
We must make a wish for a certain kind of wealth, land, money, livestock. Indeed. Yes. And whatever wish we make, the old man of the rock here will see that it comes true. Really? Yes, Bridget. It is the truth. Is it? Bridget, the very next wish you make will come true, and that's a fact. A fact? You don't believe me?
[00:34:44] Unknown:
Old man of the rock. Oh, what is the trouble, sir? Oh, no no trouble. Oh, but I can see there is trouble. Oh, it's that old salt shaker. Well It refuses to allow the salt to flow out. Well, it's quite damp, you know. Yes. I know. If only If only
[00:35:01] Unknown:
what? Impossible. Bridget, we must consider our wish. What wish? Oh, what wish have I been talking about now? The one wish that will be granted us. Now, Bridget, if you could have one wish,
[00:35:19] Unknown:
what would it be? No, old man. It doesn't do any good to shake that infernal salt cellar. Not in this weather. Bridget, my darling, let us talk together for a moment and decide on our wish. I know my wish. I wish No. Don't say that. Not yet. Not
[00:35:35] Unknown:
until we decide. But I've decided.
[00:35:37] Unknown:
I wish Bridget. I wish the salt would flow out of that shaker in all weather smooth clear in a beautiful stream of glistening white. Bridget. Oh my. Oh, Terence. Look. Do you see? The salt. See how it flows from the shaker. How smoothly, how quickly, how freely. Bridget, what have you done? You know what she's done, Terrence O'Neil. She's made her wish. But Now how do you account for the shaker behaving in just that fashion? Bridget. The weather. It must have become dry outside. Bridget. That that was our wish. Yes, Hans. That was your wish. What are you saying? We could have had the world.
[00:36:23] Unknown:
And now all we have is a salt shaker from which the salt shall always flow free. Well, Terrence O'Neil, you must admit this is no small thing.
[00:36:34] Unknown:
Yeah.
[00:36:34] Unknown:
True. What are you two talking about? Let me say this. Since I've been the old man of the rock since I've heard wishes made never has there been a wish made with such heartfelt sincerity. Is that true old man? Oh yes. Yes it's the truth. You really wanted that salt to flow, Bridget? Oh, now what fools, tricks are you two playing? Could you answer me, Bridget? Answer him, child. I
[00:37:02] Unknown:
no. What is this? At at that moment, Bridget, more than anything else in the world, did you want the salt to flow? I I I'm sir Bridget. Yes. Oh, Bridget. Why? Why?
[00:37:17] Unknown:
But I looked at this old man, this poor, tired old man, and I said to myself, oh, here is one whose face is lined, whose eyes are weary, whose life has been hard, whose death will be bitter. But, Bridget He can count his woes by the hairs on his head. But his joys, perhaps on the fingers of his hands. And he was trying to put just a few grains of salt on his fish. So small a pleasure and even this was being denied him. And my heart almost cried within me. So small a thing, so tiny a pleasure. Why should it be kept from him? And so I wished Yes. She wished. Oh, how wonderful.
[00:38:02] Unknown:
My dearest darling, Bridget. Oh, what a glorious wish. Oh, I told you must be drunk. Yes. Drunk. Drunk with happiness and joy to know what a wife I possess. Oh, do not flirt with your wife in front of a stranger.
[00:38:18] Unknown:
No man who sits at my table is a stranger. Ah, the salt. See the salt. How freely it flows, and it shall freely flow from this salt shaker forever. And that's why it's a magical salt shaker. Yes. Even a police sergeant can see that.
[00:38:40] Unknown:
A grand tale. But a true one.
[00:38:42] Unknown:
And the further history of this remarkable artifact.
[00:38:46] Unknown:
I was sent to America. This salt shaker was the gift
[00:38:58] Unknown:
coolly stolen away. Oh, I'm touched by your story, miss Gary O'Neill. And what will you do? It's a most difficult assignment. Miss O'Neil, shall you promise me something? First, I must hear. If I return your salt shaker, shall you accompany me to the park this evening to enjoy the concert by mister John Philip Sousa and his band of stalwart United States Marines. And how do you intend to find my salt shaker, sergeant? Well, the salt shaker is magical. No? Yes. Then I shall exercise powers of magic to bring it back to its rightful owner.
[00:39:36] Unknown:
I shall be waiting at the oak tree near the bandstand, my good sergeant Smith.
[00:39:42] Unknown:
And if you have the salt shaker, you may approach. However, there's no need for however, miss Katie O'Neil. By my magical powers, I shall have the sword shaker ready for its rightful owner.
[00:40:00] Unknown:
Miss Katie O'Neil. Oh, did you
[00:40:03] Unknown:
Approach no further unless But I have it. See? See how freely the salt flows. Oh, Sergeant Smith.
[00:40:13] Unknown:
Sergeant Smith, you worked magic. Magic? Of course. And shall you tell me the magic? Oh, that cannot be revealed
[00:40:22] Unknown:
but it's great magic.
[00:40:24] Unknown:
Shall I tell you the magic? You see I happen to know that all pickpockets, purse snatchers, and thieves of that ilk have their territory. Indeed, if they see someone else practice their depredations on that spot, they will turn the intruders over to the police. Is that a fact? You're telling the story, Katie on you. And so what you did was to ascertain which thief is the regular, shall we say it's just the name? And you told him to produce the salt
[00:40:55] Unknown:
shaker or else. Miss Cation Hill, what a suspicious nature you possess. But I retrieved the salt shaker. Yes. You did. From which the salt will always flow. And that's magic.
[00:41:09] Unknown:
Yes
[00:41:10] Unknown:
sir. That is magic. And so, Kate, O'Neil. Shall you accompany me home after the concert tour? Meet me mother.
[00:41:27] Unknown:
Shall you accompany me home to meet me, mother? An old fashioned line to an old fashioned ending to an old fashioned story. And so the romantics in the house have had their innings. We've had love and magic, and I shall return with more. And from the shaker, the salt shall always flow, and so shall the blessings.
[00:42:00] Unknown:
If you had one wish, what would you really wish for?
[00:42:04] Unknown:
All the money in the world? Do you really want or need all the money in the world? Think again and think deeply. What is it you would really wish for? One of the things I always wish for is to meet meet you here seven times each week. Our cast included Terry Keen, Fred Gwynn, Bryna Rayburn, and Lloyd Bautista. The entire production was under the direction of Hyman Brown. This is EG Marshall inviting you to return to our mystery theater for another adventure in the macabre. Until next time. Pleasant?
[00:43:21] Unknown:
Bettering your business takes working with the best. With the James Hardie Alliance, you gain access to leads, training, networking, and support from the number one brand of siding in North America. Achieve new levels of success by joining the James Hardie Alliance today.
Introduction to the Mystery
A Grain of Salt: The Mystery Unfolds
Supernatural Beings and Enchanted Islands
The Case of the Missing Pocketbook
The Legend of the Old Man of the Rock
The Old Man's Tale Continues
The Wish and Its Consequences
The Magical Salt Shaker
Reflections on Wishes and Magic
