In this intriguing episode of Mystery Theater, we delve into the story of Augustus Sanderson, a dedicated agriculturalist who finds herself embroiled in a murder mystery. The episode begins with Augustus, a woman of science, grappling with societal prejudices as she attempts to introduce a revolutionary type of clover that could save millions from starvation. However, her noble intentions are overshadowed by a murder accusation, as she is suspected of killing her colleague, Dr. Eugene Everett Howells, who had taken credit for her discovery. As the plot unfolds, Augustus must navigate through a web of deceit, cultural barriers, and personal turmoil to prove her innocence and uncover the true murderer.
As the investigation progresses, Lieutenant Novak becomes a key player in unraveling the truth. The story takes a dramatic turn when Augustus's interactions with Prince Lutoff and his brother Ali reveal a deeper conspiracy tied to political ambitions and cultural traditions. With the stakes higher than ever, Augustus must confront her own emotions and the societal norms that challenge her. This episode explores themes of gender roles, scientific integrity, and the lengths one will go to protect their legacy and loved ones. Join us for a captivating journey into the heart of mystery and human complexity.
(00:37) Introduction to Mystery Theater
(02:08) The Accusation of Murder
(14:16) The Investigation Begins
(27:20) The Truth Unfolds
(39:25) The Real Culprit Revealed
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Come in. Welcome. Welcome to Mystery Theater. I am Hyman Brown, your special envoy from a wild and weird country that exists way down deep in your very own imagination. To many people, especially city dwellers, grass is something to smoke or perhaps something that has keep off signs on it. The fact is grass is the foundation of life as we know it. All the greens we eat are grasses. All of the meat we eat is nothing more than grasses transformed. In many ways, the quality of our existence depends on the quality of our grass, which means that those who can change that quality, for better or worse, literally hold our lives in their hands.
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All we need is your confession. I didn't kill him. You swore you were going there to shoot him. I know. But You did go there. Yes. You
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Now this is the gun that fired the bullet. Can you identify it? I already have. It's mine. I don't deny it. I tell you I didn't kill him. Just look at all the evidence. I don't care about the evidence. I know I didn't kill him.
[00:02:09] Unknown:
Our mystery drama, Snake in the Grass, was written especially for the mystery theater by Sam Dan and stars Sandy Dennis. I'll be back shortly with act one. Her name is Augustus Sanderson. She's 36 years old, and while there are those who say she has never been kissed, we cannot vouch for the complete accuracy of that statement. What does she do? She's an agriculturalist, An unusual occupation for a woman? Well, don't say that. We live in liberated times. You'd be surprised at the things women can do. You might venture to inquire why they want to do them, but that's another story.
Our story begins in a quiet university town in the Northwest. Amen, ma'am.
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I'll thank you not to patronize me. Well, all I say was I'll thank you not to call me ma'am. Ma'am is short for madam, and I am neither the mistress of a household nor the keeper of a brothel. Well, I only wanted to say hello, and welcome to Pete's for twenty five years, an oasis for the thirsty. I have a BA, an MA, and a PhD. I hold a rank of full professor at the School of Agriculture. I don't have to be addressed as ma'am as if I were some fragile Victorian lady. Well, how's doc or, prop? Now I intend to become extremely inebriated. Oh? And it's just as well that I don't make a spectacle of myself. Let me have a
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A what?
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I don't know.
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Tell me what's best to make you forget. Well, nothing can ever really make you forget. Very well. What is good for building courage? Again, nothing. That's not what I hear. Well, it's true. You get maybe the illusion of courage, but not the real thing. Well, dispenser of illusions, pour one for me. Oh, you must be the lady professor at the ag school.
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The lady professor at the ag school. You know doctor Howell?
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Do I know doctor Howell? Yeah. I was reading about him in the papers. Let me tell you how well I know doctor Howell. Wasn't that a terrific thing he discovered? I know Eugene Everett Howells well enough to kill him. His new free grasp will mean that millions of starving people
[00:04:39] Unknown:
what'd you say? I said I intend to kill him. Yeah. Well, All I need is the courage, all the illusion of it, and I'm feeling bolder every minute. Yeah. But look, don't you think you better Don't I think I'd better what? Go home? Stop talking foolishly. But I have every right to talk foolishly. You know why? Because I've been a fool all my life. Yeah. Well, I'll get somebody to take you home. The article in the paper said that doctor Howells discovered created the new feed grass. He didn't do it. He didn't? No. I did. You did.
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Okay.
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I mean it. I really mean it. It's mine. Oh, sure. You see, you don't believe it. Well, why? In the Himalayan regions in Asia, the terrain, the climate is almost like what we have here. Yeah. Well, look, I No. You have to follow this. They have an economy, an agricultural economy that's based on goats. Goats. Yeah. Goats. The goats are actually sacred. The soil is calcareous like ours, and a red clover grows there. But it's deficient in proteins and nitrogen. You know what you need? A nice cup of coffee. I have been developing a species highly nutritious of purple clover. It would practically double the
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output of milk. Is that a fact?
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Think of how many lives this will save. That's really great. You know? It could have been the supreme achievement of my career. It could have meant a Nobel Prize, perhaps. Now there's talk of doctor Howells winning it. It isn't fair. It's mine. Don't you understand? It's my grass. I created it. It's mine. Tell me. For doing that to me, for taking it from me, isn't that enough to justify my killing him?
[00:06:23] Unknown:
I tell you what you ought to do, professor. You ought to go home and sleep on it. You don't
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believe because I'm a woman, I'm incapable of scientific achievement. Oh, that's not so. There's a whole lot of lady scientists. Thank you, Pete. Is that your name, Pete? Thank you.
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What for? For listening to me. Oh, it was my pleasure.
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And I see now. How clearly I see it now. If my life is to have any meaning at all, I must kill him. Yeah. Well, it's really getting late. You'll see. You'll feel better in the morning. I feel better already. I'm strangely at peace with myself. I'm quite contented. You've made me see it. His death will rid me of all my demons.
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Now you really
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look. Dames dames. Well, she's gotta be crazy. But what if she ain't crazy? She maybe I better
[00:07:33] Unknown:
I don't know. If I tell a story like this, won't they think I'm nuts?
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Lieutenant Novak. Hello? This is Lieutenant Novak. Come on. Who's on the other end of this?
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Oh, no. No. Not him. Of all the cops who cops who could have answered that phone, definitely not Novak.
[00:08:05] Unknown:
Oh, oh, oh, Someone's at the door. Some just a minute. Who could be ringing the bell at this hour? It's noon. How could I have slept so long? Just a minute. I'll get on my just a minute. How could I have slept so late? Who is it? Police. Police? Why would
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Doctor Augusta Sanderson?
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Yes.
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I'm police lieutenant Novak. May I come in? Well,
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yes. Why?
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You are Augustus Anderson? I am. Miss Anderson, you're under arrest. What? What are you saying? The charge is suspicion of murder. Murder? Who's murder? Doctor Eugene Everett Howells. Oh, but you're making it I must inform you of your constitutional right. But I didn't care. Anything you say may be used against you. Please. Please. You can't be serious.
[00:09:16] Unknown:
Are you saying Gene Howells is dead? That's right. But why do you insist that I You said that you would kill him. I was only You're only one.
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Now, professor Sanderson, you insisted to beat Grimes at the Oasis Bar and Grill last night. Did you I was feeling very unhappy, and there are times when you say things you shouldn't. You had a motive. Motive? Didn't you say that he has robbed you of a discovery? Oh, that. Yes. That. A discovery you considered great enough to make you eligible for the Nobel Prize. He didn't exactly rob me.
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No? No. I gave it to him. I had to. Otherwise well, it wouldn't be used, so I said take it. It might as well be yours. Why did you give it to him? Because they wouldn't take it from me, from a woman.
[00:10:04] Unknown:
I don't know what you're talking about. In that part of Asia,
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women are considered, well, not exactly unclean, but it's hard for you as an American to visualize this. But the fact of my being a woman would make the grass defiled, unfit for the goats, which are holy animals.
[00:10:23] Unknown:
According to the way you told the story to Pete last night, Howells robbed you of the credit. He did.
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But I had no choice. If I was to save millions of lives, I would have to sacrifice my own vanity and say say to Jean, let it be known as yours. But afterward, when I saw how Howells was preening himself You killed him. No.
[00:10:44] Unknown:
You left Pete's Oasis at 9PM. The car in a place is the time of death at midnight. Where were you at midnight? Here. Right here. Can anyone support that statement? Well, no. According to mister Pete Grimes, you were acting somewhat strangely. You could say that. Yes. But I didn't kill him. You went directly home after you left Pete's Oasis at 9PM? Yes. The ballistics lab is established that doctor Howells was killed by a 22 caliber bullet. You own a gun?
[00:11:13] Unknown:
Yes. Yes. I have a 22 caliber revolver, which I carry sometimes when I am in the field, especially when the snakes are shedding. May I see it? You see, snakes are very nervous when they shed. Are they pistol And they strike at shadows.
[00:11:27] Unknown:
Thank you. This gun's been fired recently. Oh, no. Not in months. And you can smell it. You can see the falling.
[00:11:38] Unknown:
Yeah. Five live cartridges and one empty shell. But I haven't used the gun should be empty.
[00:11:44] Unknown:
The lab will determine whether or not this is the gun, but But what? I I put the gun away. I didn't even have any bullets I was supposed to buy. Can I see the, shoes you were wearing last night? Why? May I? What will my shoes show you? Doctor Hals is having a sidewalk repaired. There's dirt and mud in front of a doorstep. We have a mold of shoe prints. I'm sure these shoes will fit them. But I There's dried mud on these shoes too, professor.
[00:12:11] Unknown:
I I can explain that. Can you? I was angry, so I went to his house after I left the OAC. But you said you went directly home. I know. I did. I know. I just thought that it might be embarrassing if I admitted nothing happened. I just saw him briefly, and I left and came here.
[00:12:34] Unknown:
Professor, there are people who get themselves into a highly serious crime like murder. And afterwards, they forget all about it. I am incapable of killing. I am not a murderer. What you're saying is you never killed anyone before. That's who the majority of murderers are. But I know who I am and what I believe. And that's why you made sure you'd be caught and punished because you were brought up to believe no one should get away with murder. But I didn't. Now first, you were sure to make a public announcement.
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I wasn't making any.
[00:13:09] Unknown:
I was overlooked. You were sure to state that you had a powerful motive. Third, you used your own gun. Why do you insist? You must have been aware of the fact that you were leaving shoe marks in the dirt. Why didn't you avoid doing that? Why couldn't you at least wipe off the mud? Now well, now you just think about it.
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Detective, I don't know what to say.
[00:13:42] Unknown:
Well, did she or didn't she? Even she doesn't know for sure. That blacking out of unpleasant memories is by no means a rare occurrence in our culture. Well, let's give her an opportunity to collect her thoughts and see what, if anything, she can come up with in act
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two.
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They say the wish is the father of the deed, which is why we have inhibitions. No? After all, if every time you felt like killing someone, you did it, who among us would be out of jail? And so here we have Augustus Sanderson, PhD, a knowledgeable professor of agriculture, about to be booked on a charge of homicide. Talk about still waters running deep.
[00:14:46] Unknown:
Here is a quiet brook which apparently has no bottom. What are you going to do with me, Lieutenant Novak? Take you in, book you. Lieutenant, please give me a chance to think. Well, that's not my job. But I have to get my thoughts together, and how can I think in jail? I'm sure you'll get out on bond. But I'll be a different person. I'll stand accused of murder. People will look at me in a a different way. I'll even look at myself differently. Please help me. Help me think it through from the beginning. Someone killed Gene Howells. If I didn't kill him, who did?
Look, professor I need your help, the help of an experienced professional That's not my job. And once you arrest me, you'll be through with me. I already arrested you. I even told you your rights. I know. You said I had the right to counsel. Well, you're my counsel. I'm not a lawyer. A counselor is one who advises. Now please listen and advise me. Who else could have killed Jean Howells?
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Who else had a motive?
[00:15:47] Unknown:
Let me, let me explain that to you. Now we're wasting time. You never waste time. You only waste effort. Arrest me, and you'll get further away from the truth. But what is the truth? What did happen? What is the chain of events that led you to my door? The first link among the exchange students at the university is the crown prince of a protectorate located high in the Himalayan Mountains in Asia. I know where the Himalayan Mountains are. And it occurred to me that I could help the prince to help his countrymen, who are mostly poverty stricken herdsmen.
[00:16:23] Unknown:
And so you see, prince Lutoff Oh, you must call me Shorty. Shorty. It is a fabulous joke. You see, I am six feet tall. None of my countrymen grow that high. You see, my brother Ali here is barely five feet. That is average for our country,
[00:16:43] Unknown:
small people with small bones. That's why I'm here, prince, because your countrymen do not grow. Fabulous. You hear that, Ali? A lady, professor Ashaheba, visits us because our country people are small. There is great wisdom in this
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country, magnificent one, which is why we Ali, in public, even you must call me shorty.
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The staple food of your people is milk, goat's milk. The sacred goats of Kandahar. But the milk is scanty and significantly
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low in protein. The milk is sacred.
[00:17:20] Unknown:
What the Saiva says is blasphemy. The problem can be solved by introducing a new kind of pasturage, a new clover which I have developed, one that contains more nutrients, one that will double the output of milk. Fabulous. We would have to arrange for proper plowing and seeding. His magnificence wishes to thank you. You will be informed of his decision in due time. Yeah. But Ali, what Just because you are not at home, magnificence,
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shorty, does that mean you may act without meditation or counsel? He's right, professor. He's always right. Maybe my younger brother, but he has the brains in our family. We will communicate with you in due time.
[00:18:13] Unknown:
I didn't know what to think. Here, I was offering these people a way to save millions of lives. How how could they be so cavalier about it? And would you believe a week later, I received a note from Ali? Dear professor Sanderson,
[00:18:30] Unknown:
after considerable meditation and Rudolf, has determined that your estimable project is not practical at this time. Why is it impractical? Iheba, it is impractical because you are a woman. What does that mean? And because you are a woman, you are impure. Really? In what way? In our country, you would not be permitted to come in contact with the goats of Kandahar, which are sacred beasts. But I'll have nothing to do with your goats. You will have provided them with food. The people will ask, this new grass, from whence does it come? And the answer, it is the creation of a woman. We shall have civil war. No one has to know. It will come out. How? It will be a major news event hailed all over the world. Many of our people read. You mean
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they would rather starve than accept food created by a woman.
[00:19:27] Unknown:
Madam, this is our religion. It is not to be marked. Forgive me. No. We appreciate your concern, professor, but we must analyze the entire problem. Your new grass may save thousands from hunger, but cause just as many to die in riots.
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Is this being turned down because I am a woman? Is that the only reason? Yes. This magnificent Shorty has no choice. Well, then perhaps there is something I can do.
[00:20:05] Unknown:
What are you saying, Augusta?
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Jean, this is your discovery. But I that's not right. Agonized over this this thing. What am I supposed to do? Let people starve because of their prejudices? And what right have I to call them prejudices? Those are devoutly held beliefs.
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But this grass, this thick purple clover, I didn't know it could be developed. I didn't either. Well, how did the idea occur to you? Perhaps.
[00:20:42] Unknown:
Well, perhaps it was supposed to occur to me. Well, now, what does that mean? Oh, anything you'd like it to mean.
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Augusta, I I I I'm afraid to take the credit. Afraid? Yeah. I'm afraid of what it might do to me. This will be hailed. You know that, don't you? Yes. It'll earn its discoverer recognition awards. How will I react? How will my personality change?
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I've always been content to do my work quietly. We're talking about life or death or hundreds of thousands, millions of people.
[00:21:18] Unknown:
And how will you change, Augusta? You'll see me regarded as a savior. What will it do to you? You'll start to hate me.
[00:21:26] Unknown:
I I could never hate you, Jean.
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It isn't right. You've been struggling with this discovery for so long. You're going to regret it.
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I'll think of all the children who'll have a chance to live. I'll regret nothing.
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I'll regret it.
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I thought and thought. There's no other way.
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So you finally convinced doctor Howes to become a hero. Is that what you're telling me? Yes. It's very noble of you, very self sacrificing. So why did you accuse him of stealing everything in Pete's Oasis? Because Gene was right.
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He started to believe after a little while that the clover was actually his. It was supposed to be kept secret till we were ready for planting, but he let out a word here and there. And, well, compliments, praise
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poured in. He started to preen himself. And that's when you found out you were human after all. Yes. And you gave up without a fight. I'm not a fighter. I think it's more important for the grass to grow. Now I have to repeat this vital question, professor. Why give the credit to doctor Howells?
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Because of because he is an authority on agriculture.
[00:22:49] Unknown:
Yeah. Sure. But is he the only one? Well, no. The fact is you could have given it to any number of people. Isn't it true? Yes. Yes. Alright. Why Howells? Alright. I'll tell you why. You're in love with him. That's That's what? That's That's either true or false. You see, I listened every word you said, not only to the words, but to how you said them. I I could never hate you, Gene. There's a tone in your voice when you say his name. It's funny. You call him Gene. He calls you Augusta. It's kind of formal, isn't it? Everyone calls me Augusta. But as far as you're concerned, doctor Howells wasn't everyone?
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I admit. I confess. Perhaps, why shouldn't I have felt that I as I was in love with him,
[00:23:46] Unknown:
we certainly had similar interest. And so you gave him this, grass discovery, hoping somehow that he might respond to you. That's not true.
[00:23:56] Unknown:
It isn't, I gave him the credit
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because of the starving people. Sure. And also because he might feel he owed you something, like a proposal of marriage. That's a lie. Only you know that for sure. Alright. Maybe that wasn't so cut and dried. Few things are, but there was an element of give and take, wasn't it? Yes. But your generosity didn't change the nature of your relationship with Howells, did it? No. It was through friendship at best, wasn't it? Yes. And that's what really infuriated you, wasn't it? No. You were, as they say in the books, the woman spurned. Please believe me. I didn't kill him. I'm afraid we have to go. Where? To police headquarters. But I'm innocent. Professor Sanderson, I admire you.
You're a woman who worked hard against a lot of odds to get where you are. On the way, you must have missed out on many things. Please, I am telling you I am innocent. Was something between you and Howell. No. But what did happen? You're giving me a story about some purple grass, some Asiatic prince, some deal you made to give Howell some credit for something. Now how do I know any of it is true? What are you saying? This business is about the grass. All I've got is your word for it. I tell you it's true. Well, alright.
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There's only one way to find out,
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isn't there?
[00:25:27] Unknown:
Yes. How may I help you? Prince, your highness Shorty. You must call me Shorty.
[00:25:36] Unknown:
I'm, police detective as I believe, this gentleman has told you. Oh, yes. My brother Ali informed
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me. It's fabulous.
[00:25:46] Unknown:
Do you know this lady?
[00:25:48] Unknown:
This lady? Of course. They know me. Ali, is this charming lady familiar?
[00:25:56] Unknown:
No. You must remember me. I was here to tell you all about my new grass. Grass?
[00:26:02] Unknown:
Ali, what would we have to do with grass? We have never seen this lady before in our lives. Oh, it is a pity because she is the most charming lady. We spoke about the goats, the sacred goats of Kandahar, and you said because I was a woman, I was impure. Oh, that is impossible. Why should we insult you? I told you the discovery would belong to doctor Howells, and you said in that case, you would accept it. I
[00:26:26] Unknown:
accept it. Ali, do we know a doctor Howells? No. But I was here. We spoke. Professor, it's time we were leaving. It's time we were leaving. I'm
[00:26:37] Unknown:
were leaving.
[00:26:42] Unknown:
Ever get the feeling that everybody around you is crazy and that you were the only sane, sensible person in the room or even the world? Well, if you ever did, you are in a perfect position to appreciate what is going on inside professor Augustus Sanderson this very moment. Well, we still have the third act, and usually, we manage to sort these
[00:27:19] Unknown:
things out.
[00:27:21] Unknown:
What do you do when you are accused of murder? I suppose you admit it if it's true and deny it if it's false. But suppose you are not sure of the answer. Suppose the charge could be true or false. Suppose you reach that point where you just don't know. Is such a state of affairs possible?
[00:27:45] Unknown:
But I was here. I spoke to you both. Oh, would we forget so delightful a lady as you? The Sahiba is mistaken.
[00:27:56] Unknown:
I can't be. German, I'm sorry we bothered you. Oh, it was no bother. Just think, Ali, when we return home, we can say we had a visit from a real American detective. Oh, fabulous.
[00:28:10] Unknown:
Professor, I'm sorry, professor Sanderson. The train has come to the end of the line. Last up, all out.
[00:28:25] Unknown:
What, what does one bring to a jail?
[00:28:30] Unknown:
Well, a toothbrush, a change of clothes. Like I say, you've got a good chance of being out on bond.
[00:28:38] Unknown:
Thank you. Lieutenant Novak, I can prove that I gave the credit for the discovery to doctor Howells.
[00:28:46] Unknown:
Well, I suppose you did.
[00:28:48] Unknown:
Then that would prove that those two are lying.
[00:28:51] Unknown:
No. It will only prove that you gave the discovery to doctor Howells for reasons of your honor. What reasons would I have? Personal
[00:28:59] Unknown:
reasons. That's why you killed him. I still say I didn't do it.
[00:29:04] Unknown:
Well, if that's your story, stick to it. I didn't. Someone stole my revolver. Professor, you'll have to convince a jury. You don't believe it? What I believe right now doesn't matter at all. Now just pack a small bag.
[00:29:27] Unknown:
Ali? Yes. Magnificent. Tell me, little brother, why did we have to engage in that charade with the police detective? I thought it would be instructive. Instructive?
[00:29:41] Unknown:
Why have we come to this most democratic of all countries? You were the one who insisted. I know. I know.
[00:29:49] Unknown:
I wanted to live like a like an ordinary
[00:29:52] Unknown:
common member of the people. A desire I could never understand. Well, the common people, whether they be ignorant shepherds or sophisticated Americans, act alike as far as the police are concerned. Is that true? When questioned by police, the common people in America do exactly as our people do, but they have a most picturesque phrase for it. They
[00:30:17] Unknown:
clam up. Clam up? How beautifully descriptive.
[00:30:23] Unknown:
In both countries, one simply does not become involved with the police And so when I heard there was an officer at the door, I decided to act in our best interests. Who knows where a thing like this could lead? Clam up. It is after all my duty to advise you. Fabulous.
[00:30:48] Unknown:
Are you ready, professor? As I said, you don't have to pack too much.
[00:30:52] Unknown:
Lieutenant, Luttoff and his brother Ali were alive. It's all in the hands of the jury now. Don't say that.
[00:30:59] Unknown:
What do you want me to say? Look. I want you to know something.
[00:31:07] Unknown:
I like you. Please don't. Don't what? Don't say meaningless words in an attempt to make me feel better. I like you
[00:31:15] Unknown:
because you're a woman who's smart, who well, who's good looking. If you really liked me, you'd listen to my story. Because I like you, I'm advising you to change it. You wanna beat this, don't you? Tell the truth. The truth is always the best defense no matter how bleak it looks. The jury responds to the truth. They feel it.
[00:31:42] Unknown:
They respect you for it. But I am telling the truth. No. It was a lover's quarrel.
[00:31:48] Unknown:
I have your lawyer get women on the jury. They eat that up.
[00:31:52] Unknown:
If you're going to arrest me, get it over with.
[00:31:55] Unknown:
Okay. I just wish you'd listen to me. Is
[00:31:58] Unknown:
someone came here, stole my gun. My gun, you have it. I want a receipt for it. You'll get it.
[00:32:05] Unknown:
It'll be an exhibit at the trial. One twenty two caliber revolver, five cartridges,
[00:32:10] Unknown:
one empty shell. I don't care about those. They don't belong to me. I wouldn't keep a loaded gun in the house. I don't even have any bullets I told you. Why can't you believe me? Because if I believed you, I'd have to believe in Santa Claus.
[00:32:23] Unknown:
And furthermore Hey. Maybe I do. What? These cartridges these cartridges, they're not American made. Look at what it says on the rim of each cartridge. Yeah. Yeah. Well, the manufacturer has his name. That's not American writing.
[00:32:46] Unknown:
Post letters? It's a different alphabet. It could be Hindi.
[00:32:52] Unknown:
Foreign shells. Made in India. Nobody sells them around here.
[00:32:59] Unknown:
It was the younger brother Ali. Hold it. I know why it was Ali. Let me tell you. From the very beginning, he was the one who who was opposed to the Now hold it a minute.
[00:33:13] Unknown:
This is Lieutenant Novak. I need something in a hurry. You got that, crown prince going to the college and his brother? Alright. Get the phone number. Call him. Say it's a routine annual inquiry about guns. Ask if he has one and what kind. Alright. Call me right back at this number. 227-8308.
[00:33:37] Unknown:
Yeah. The bullets have to belong to Ali. Only if he has a 22 of his own. It was Ali. I know it. How can you be so sure? He came here. He stole my gun, but it was empty. It was nighttime. The stores are closed. Where can he buy bullets? He can't. So he goes home. He gets his own. He would only have those bullets if
[00:33:57] Unknown:
he owns a 22.
[00:33:59] Unknown:
He has to. He must.
[00:34:01] Unknown:
Must. It's the only thing that makes sense. Alright. Alright. Even if we can prove these are his cartridges, you know what he can say? He can say you stole them. Why would I Because you're trying to construct a case against him, and you are.
[00:34:15] Unknown:
I just know he killed Jean Howells.
[00:34:17] Unknown:
Let's examine your whole story. They won't take the grass seed from you because you're a woman. Alright. Fine. You give it to doctor Howells. Now now what's the objection? The objection. Now it's plain sailing, isn't it? Plant the new grass, feed all the hungry people.
[00:34:36] Unknown:
What's wrong? Ali. It's Ali. When I saw Gene Howells last night, he was terribly depressed and very
[00:34:43] Unknown:
frightened. Lieutenant Novak. Yeah. Oh, he does. Okay. Prince Aly has a 22 pistol registered in his name. Which means these are his bullets. You said doctor Howells was depressed? Why?
[00:35:02] Unknown:
Why? Why? Let me think. I was so angry and upset when I went to see him. I know I went in there hating him, and I left feeling, feeling sorry for him. But you haven't told me why. What did he say to me? Let me try to remember exactly what he said to me.
[00:35:24] Unknown:
I wish I'd never heard of that clover of yours.
[00:35:29] Unknown:
Really? The last time I read the papers, it was that clover of yours. And it's mine only because that's how you'd have it.
[00:35:37] Unknown:
I I I told you this had happened. You'd have second thoughts, and I'd have a guilty conscience.
[00:35:43] Unknown:
I'm sorry. It is all my fault.
[00:35:46] Unknown:
And it may have been all for nothing. Why? They don't want the grass. They didn't realize it was purple in color. Oh, what's wrong with purple? Ali explained it. Purple is an unlucky color, and so the time wasn't right. But perhaps in the future What was supposed to happen in the future? If purple is unlucky, it will always be unlucky. I became angry.
[00:36:11] Unknown:
I told Ali somehow I would let his people know about this grass and how badly they need it. And what was his answer? Nothing.
[00:36:19] Unknown:
He looked at me, just looked with those funny eyes. Well, you think they're funny, but they can be frightening.
[00:36:30] Unknown:
Augusta, why did you have to tempt me with this? Please, Jean, try to be calm. It's going to end badly. I know it. We tried. They won't take our help. This is all we can do. Prince Lutuf was willing to go along, and it was Ali who raised the objection. And when that objection was removed, it was Ali who Starving? Because wait. Wait. Jean said Ali had told him that the time wasn't ripe, perhaps in the future, if Prince Lutoff is overthrown, and he could be, if the people get hungry enough Does Ali get the tough spot then? And then as the new ruler, Ali can claim heaven showed him a new grass, and henceforth, purple will be the color favored by the gods. But there's one thing.
Where would he get the grass with Jean dead?
[00:37:30] Unknown:
Well, he could come to you with a brand new story. No. No. The woman thing is too deeply rooted. Unless it stands right now well, what is the grass? Where does it exist?
[00:37:41] Unknown:
The grass is a box full of seeds, plus volumes of notes detailing hundreds of experiments, how it's formed, how it should be planned. Where is Honesta? I turned it over to Gene. It should all be in his files at home, And I'll bet it's gone. I delivered the seeds and the notes to him myself. The only place he could keep them would be in these files. Are you sure they wouldn't be anywhere else? I'm positive. Besides, look at the notation on this drawer. P c, purple clover, and the drawer is empty.
[00:38:22] Unknown:
Well,
[00:38:23] Unknown:
that's that. What does that mean?
[00:38:25] Unknown:
We have a very good hypothesis, but no evidence. So far, you are still the best suspect. But you know I am innocent.
[00:38:35] Unknown:
There must be some way we can prove that Ali is I have an idea. I'll go to see prince Ali, and I'll confront him with what we know. That will force him to threaten me, perhaps to try to kill me. You can save me at the last minute. It's not going to work. Why?
[00:38:52] Unknown:
Because this is a country of laws.
[00:38:54] Unknown:
What you're suggesting is illegal. Why is it illegal? Because it's considered entrapments.
[00:38:58] Unknown:
But you see it all the time in the movie. And those movies all end up before the judge throws the evidence out of court. But you did give me an idea. What idea? It's a very simple routine idea. Now you go home. Wait then. What are you going to do? Just police business. Just go home and wait. But I can't wait.
[00:39:19] Unknown:
You'll just have to.
[00:39:25] Unknown:
No, Sahiba. I'm really quite embarrassed.
[00:39:30] Unknown:
Your younger brother is plotting against you. Ali? Oh, that is impossible. That woman is mad. Ali wants your people to starve so they will revolt. You will be killed. He succeeds you, and then he gives them the purple grass. That's a lie. Fabulous. It's true. He has discouraged you from accepting the clover. Why? He wants to give it to the people himself. She's mad. Oh, what a woman.
[00:39:55] Unknown:
Look at the fire in her eyes. You may think I'm young for you, professor, but I value an older woman. Don't you understand
[00:40:06] Unknown:
the implications
[00:40:07] Unknown:
of what I am saying to you? Be my first wife. The others don't matter. They're only concubines. You will rule and with fabulous wisdom. I'm telling you about your brother. Oh, I know he's plotting against me. It is expected of brother. You knew?
[00:40:24] Unknown:
Didn't I plot against our older brother? Then you should have done something about me when you had the chance.
[00:40:31] Unknown:
What are you doing with that pistol? She'll be blamed. She'll be thought mad because of her purple grass. She's already killed her lover, and now you,
[00:40:43] Unknown:
because you made her give up her discovery. No. It's not gonna work that way at all. Just lower that gun. That's nice. Why'd you come here, Augusta? Because I Because you didn't think I could help you. Well, I thought I I just went back for a search warrant. All we have to do is find the seeds and the notes in his possession. Will we find them now then? I don't. They are in his trunk.
[00:41:08] Unknown:
You know, Lutas?
[00:41:10] Unknown:
Of course, I knew. I plan to take care of you as soon as we return to our own country. Here, I am restricted by all kinds of legalities.
[00:41:21] Unknown:
Prince, I intend to arrest your brother. Will you claim any diplomatic privilege?
[00:41:26] Unknown:
None at all. The law is sacred. It must be observed.
[00:41:32] Unknown:
Smitty, go get his trunk. Wilson, take him to the station house. Well,
[00:41:37] Unknown:
professor Sanderson,
[00:41:39] Unknown:
shall you consider my proposal? She can't do that. She has to come along with me.
[00:41:44] Unknown:
Where are we going?
[00:41:45] Unknown:
This way, ma'am.
[00:41:49] Unknown:
Where are you taking me? Surely, I'm not under arrest. Listen.
[00:41:54] Unknown:
You, you'd consider going off to Asia with that, that character?
[00:42:00] Unknown:
Oh, I have to take it under very serious consideration.
[00:42:05] Unknown:
Why?
[00:42:07] Unknown:
It's the first time anyone at all made me a proposal.
[00:42:12] Unknown:
Well, relax. You're about to get another one.
[00:42:24] Unknown:
I'll be back shortly with a final thought. How slender a thread holds up the world. If a million goats can give an extra pint of milk a day, that can mean the difference between life and death for thousands of children. So the true heroes are the overlooked and unknown heroes who daily solve the really great mystery, how to get an acre to yield another few bushels or the hen to lay another egg. Our cast included Sandy Dennis, Ralph Bell, Robert Dryden, and Arnold Stange. Associate director, Marlon Swin. This is Hyman Brown, producer director, inviting you to return to our mystery theater for another adventure in the macabre.
Until next time then, pleasant, dream.
[00:43:34] Unknown:
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[00:00:38] Unknown:
Come in. Welcome. Welcome to Mystery Theater. I am Hyman Brown, your special envoy from a wild and weird country that exists way down deep in your very own imagination. To many people, especially city dwellers, grass is something to smoke or perhaps something that has keep off signs on it. The fact is grass is the foundation of life as we know it. All the greens we eat are grasses. All of the meat we eat is nothing more than grasses transformed. In many ways, the quality of our existence depends on the quality of our grass, which means that those who can change that quality, for better or worse, literally hold our lives in their hands.
[00:01:36] Unknown:
All we need is your confession. I didn't kill him. You swore you were going there to shoot him. I know. But You did go there. Yes. You
[00:01:48] Unknown:
Now this is the gun that fired the bullet. Can you identify it? I already have. It's mine. I don't deny it. I tell you I didn't kill him. Just look at all the evidence. I don't care about the evidence. I know I didn't kill him.
[00:02:09] Unknown:
Our mystery drama, Snake in the Grass, was written especially for the mystery theater by Sam Dan and stars Sandy Dennis. I'll be back shortly with act one. Her name is Augustus Sanderson. She's 36 years old, and while there are those who say she has never been kissed, we cannot vouch for the complete accuracy of that statement. What does she do? She's an agriculturalist, An unusual occupation for a woman? Well, don't say that. We live in liberated times. You'd be surprised at the things women can do. You might venture to inquire why they want to do them, but that's another story.
Our story begins in a quiet university town in the Northwest. Amen, ma'am.
[00:03:16] Unknown:
I'll thank you not to patronize me. Well, all I say was I'll thank you not to call me ma'am. Ma'am is short for madam, and I am neither the mistress of a household nor the keeper of a brothel. Well, I only wanted to say hello, and welcome to Pete's for twenty five years, an oasis for the thirsty. I have a BA, an MA, and a PhD. I hold a rank of full professor at the School of Agriculture. I don't have to be addressed as ma'am as if I were some fragile Victorian lady. Well, how's doc or, prop? Now I intend to become extremely inebriated. Oh? And it's just as well that I don't make a spectacle of myself. Let me have a
[00:03:55] Unknown:
A what?
[00:03:56] Unknown:
I don't know.
[00:03:57] Unknown:
Tell me what's best to make you forget. Well, nothing can ever really make you forget. Very well. What is good for building courage? Again, nothing. That's not what I hear. Well, it's true. You get maybe the illusion of courage, but not the real thing. Well, dispenser of illusions, pour one for me. Oh, you must be the lady professor at the ag school.
[00:04:18] Unknown:
The lady professor at the ag school. You know doctor Howell?
[00:04:22] Unknown:
Do I know doctor Howell? Yeah. I was reading about him in the papers. Let me tell you how well I know doctor Howell. Wasn't that a terrific thing he discovered? I know Eugene Everett Howells well enough to kill him. His new free grasp will mean that millions of starving people
[00:04:39] Unknown:
what'd you say? I said I intend to kill him. Yeah. Well, All I need is the courage, all the illusion of it, and I'm feeling bolder every minute. Yeah. But look, don't you think you better Don't I think I'd better what? Go home? Stop talking foolishly. But I have every right to talk foolishly. You know why? Because I've been a fool all my life. Yeah. Well, I'll get somebody to take you home. The article in the paper said that doctor Howells discovered created the new feed grass. He didn't do it. He didn't? No. I did. You did.
[00:05:13] Unknown:
Okay.
[00:05:15] Unknown:
I mean it. I really mean it. It's mine. Oh, sure. You see, you don't believe it. Well, why? In the Himalayan regions in Asia, the terrain, the climate is almost like what we have here. Yeah. Well, look, I No. You have to follow this. They have an economy, an agricultural economy that's based on goats. Goats. Yeah. Goats. The goats are actually sacred. The soil is calcareous like ours, and a red clover grows there. But it's deficient in proteins and nitrogen. You know what you need? A nice cup of coffee. I have been developing a species highly nutritious of purple clover. It would practically double the
[00:05:54] Unknown:
output of milk. Is that a fact?
[00:05:56] Unknown:
Think of how many lives this will save. That's really great. You know? It could have been the supreme achievement of my career. It could have meant a Nobel Prize, perhaps. Now there's talk of doctor Howells winning it. It isn't fair. It's mine. Don't you understand? It's my grass. I created it. It's mine. Tell me. For doing that to me, for taking it from me, isn't that enough to justify my killing him?
[00:06:23] Unknown:
I tell you what you ought to do, professor. You ought to go home and sleep on it. You don't
[00:06:32] Unknown:
believe because I'm a woman, I'm incapable of scientific achievement. Oh, that's not so. There's a whole lot of lady scientists. Thank you, Pete. Is that your name, Pete? Thank you.
[00:06:46] Unknown:
What for? For listening to me. Oh, it was my pleasure.
[00:06:50] Unknown:
And I see now. How clearly I see it now. If my life is to have any meaning at all, I must kill him. Yeah. Well, it's really getting late. You'll see. You'll feel better in the morning. I feel better already. I'm strangely at peace with myself. I'm quite contented. You've made me see it. His death will rid me of all my demons.
[00:07:12] Unknown:
Now you really
[00:07:22] Unknown:
look. Dames dames. Well, she's gotta be crazy. But what if she ain't crazy? She maybe I better
[00:07:33] Unknown:
I don't know. If I tell a story like this, won't they think I'm nuts?
[00:07:41] Unknown:
Lieutenant Novak. Hello? This is Lieutenant Novak. Come on. Who's on the other end of this?
[00:07:51] Unknown:
Oh, no. No. Not him. Of all the cops who cops who could have answered that phone, definitely not Novak.
[00:08:05] Unknown:
Oh, oh, oh, Someone's at the door. Some just a minute. Who could be ringing the bell at this hour? It's noon. How could I have slept so long? Just a minute. I'll get on my just a minute. How could I have slept so late? Who is it? Police. Police? Why would
[00:08:46] Unknown:
Doctor Augusta Sanderson?
[00:08:47] Unknown:
Yes.
[00:08:48] Unknown:
I'm police lieutenant Novak. May I come in? Well,
[00:08:54] Unknown:
yes. Why?
[00:08:55] Unknown:
You are Augustus Anderson? I am. Miss Anderson, you're under arrest. What? What are you saying? The charge is suspicion of murder. Murder? Who's murder? Doctor Eugene Everett Howells. Oh, but you're making it I must inform you of your constitutional right. But I didn't care. Anything you say may be used against you. Please. Please. You can't be serious.
[00:09:16] Unknown:
Are you saying Gene Howells is dead? That's right. But why do you insist that I You said that you would kill him. I was only You're only one.
[00:09:26] Unknown:
Now, professor Sanderson, you insisted to beat Grimes at the Oasis Bar and Grill last night. Did you I was feeling very unhappy, and there are times when you say things you shouldn't. You had a motive. Motive? Didn't you say that he has robbed you of a discovery? Oh, that. Yes. That. A discovery you considered great enough to make you eligible for the Nobel Prize. He didn't exactly rob me.
[00:09:49] Unknown:
No? No. I gave it to him. I had to. Otherwise well, it wouldn't be used, so I said take it. It might as well be yours. Why did you give it to him? Because they wouldn't take it from me, from a woman.
[00:10:04] Unknown:
I don't know what you're talking about. In that part of Asia,
[00:10:08] Unknown:
women are considered, well, not exactly unclean, but it's hard for you as an American to visualize this. But the fact of my being a woman would make the grass defiled, unfit for the goats, which are holy animals.
[00:10:23] Unknown:
According to the way you told the story to Pete last night, Howells robbed you of the credit. He did.
[00:10:30] Unknown:
But I had no choice. If I was to save millions of lives, I would have to sacrifice my own vanity and say say to Jean, let it be known as yours. But afterward, when I saw how Howells was preening himself You killed him. No.
[00:10:44] Unknown:
You left Pete's Oasis at 9PM. The car in a place is the time of death at midnight. Where were you at midnight? Here. Right here. Can anyone support that statement? Well, no. According to mister Pete Grimes, you were acting somewhat strangely. You could say that. Yes. But I didn't kill him. You went directly home after you left Pete's Oasis at 9PM? Yes. The ballistics lab is established that doctor Howells was killed by a 22 caliber bullet. You own a gun?
[00:11:13] Unknown:
Yes. Yes. I have a 22 caliber revolver, which I carry sometimes when I am in the field, especially when the snakes are shedding. May I see it? You see, snakes are very nervous when they shed. Are they pistol And they strike at shadows.
[00:11:27] Unknown:
Thank you. This gun's been fired recently. Oh, no. Not in months. And you can smell it. You can see the falling.
[00:11:38] Unknown:
Yeah. Five live cartridges and one empty shell. But I haven't used the gun should be empty.
[00:11:44] Unknown:
The lab will determine whether or not this is the gun, but But what? I I put the gun away. I didn't even have any bullets I was supposed to buy. Can I see the, shoes you were wearing last night? Why? May I? What will my shoes show you? Doctor Hals is having a sidewalk repaired. There's dirt and mud in front of a doorstep. We have a mold of shoe prints. I'm sure these shoes will fit them. But I There's dried mud on these shoes too, professor.
[00:12:11] Unknown:
I I can explain that. Can you? I was angry, so I went to his house after I left the OAC. But you said you went directly home. I know. I did. I know. I just thought that it might be embarrassing if I admitted nothing happened. I just saw him briefly, and I left and came here.
[00:12:34] Unknown:
Professor, there are people who get themselves into a highly serious crime like murder. And afterwards, they forget all about it. I am incapable of killing. I am not a murderer. What you're saying is you never killed anyone before. That's who the majority of murderers are. But I know who I am and what I believe. And that's why you made sure you'd be caught and punished because you were brought up to believe no one should get away with murder. But I didn't. Now first, you were sure to make a public announcement.
[00:13:06] Unknown:
I wasn't making any.
[00:13:09] Unknown:
I was overlooked. You were sure to state that you had a powerful motive. Third, you used your own gun. Why do you insist? You must have been aware of the fact that you were leaving shoe marks in the dirt. Why didn't you avoid doing that? Why couldn't you at least wipe off the mud? Now well, now you just think about it.
[00:13:32] Unknown:
Detective, I don't know what to say.
[00:13:42] Unknown:
Well, did she or didn't she? Even she doesn't know for sure. That blacking out of unpleasant memories is by no means a rare occurrence in our culture. Well, let's give her an opportunity to collect her thoughts and see what, if anything, she can come up with in act
[00:14:07] Unknown:
two.
[00:14:17] Unknown:
They say the wish is the father of the deed, which is why we have inhibitions. No? After all, if every time you felt like killing someone, you did it, who among us would be out of jail? And so here we have Augustus Sanderson, PhD, a knowledgeable professor of agriculture, about to be booked on a charge of homicide. Talk about still waters running deep.
[00:14:46] Unknown:
Here is a quiet brook which apparently has no bottom. What are you going to do with me, Lieutenant Novak? Take you in, book you. Lieutenant, please give me a chance to think. Well, that's not my job. But I have to get my thoughts together, and how can I think in jail? I'm sure you'll get out on bond. But I'll be a different person. I'll stand accused of murder. People will look at me in a a different way. I'll even look at myself differently. Please help me. Help me think it through from the beginning. Someone killed Gene Howells. If I didn't kill him, who did?
Look, professor I need your help, the help of an experienced professional That's not my job. And once you arrest me, you'll be through with me. I already arrested you. I even told you your rights. I know. You said I had the right to counsel. Well, you're my counsel. I'm not a lawyer. A counselor is one who advises. Now please listen and advise me. Who else could have killed Jean Howells?
[00:15:45] Unknown:
Who else had a motive?
[00:15:47] Unknown:
Let me, let me explain that to you. Now we're wasting time. You never waste time. You only waste effort. Arrest me, and you'll get further away from the truth. But what is the truth? What did happen? What is the chain of events that led you to my door? The first link among the exchange students at the university is the crown prince of a protectorate located high in the Himalayan Mountains in Asia. I know where the Himalayan Mountains are. And it occurred to me that I could help the prince to help his countrymen, who are mostly poverty stricken herdsmen.
[00:16:23] Unknown:
And so you see, prince Lutoff Oh, you must call me Shorty. Shorty. It is a fabulous joke. You see, I am six feet tall. None of my countrymen grow that high. You see, my brother Ali here is barely five feet. That is average for our country,
[00:16:43] Unknown:
small people with small bones. That's why I'm here, prince, because your countrymen do not grow. Fabulous. You hear that, Ali? A lady, professor Ashaheba, visits us because our country people are small. There is great wisdom in this
[00:17:01] Unknown:
country, magnificent one, which is why we Ali, in public, even you must call me shorty.
[00:17:08] Unknown:
The staple food of your people is milk, goat's milk. The sacred goats of Kandahar. But the milk is scanty and significantly
[00:17:17] Unknown:
low in protein. The milk is sacred.
[00:17:20] Unknown:
What the Saiva says is blasphemy. The problem can be solved by introducing a new kind of pasturage, a new clover which I have developed, one that contains more nutrients, one that will double the output of milk. Fabulous. We would have to arrange for proper plowing and seeding. His magnificence wishes to thank you. You will be informed of his decision in due time. Yeah. But Ali, what Just because you are not at home, magnificence,
[00:17:47] Unknown:
shorty, does that mean you may act without meditation or counsel? He's right, professor. He's always right. Maybe my younger brother, but he has the brains in our family. We will communicate with you in due time.
[00:18:13] Unknown:
I didn't know what to think. Here, I was offering these people a way to save millions of lives. How how could they be so cavalier about it? And would you believe a week later, I received a note from Ali? Dear professor Sanderson,
[00:18:30] Unknown:
after considerable meditation and Rudolf, has determined that your estimable project is not practical at this time. Why is it impractical? Iheba, it is impractical because you are a woman. What does that mean? And because you are a woman, you are impure. Really? In what way? In our country, you would not be permitted to come in contact with the goats of Kandahar, which are sacred beasts. But I'll have nothing to do with your goats. You will have provided them with food. The people will ask, this new grass, from whence does it come? And the answer, it is the creation of a woman. We shall have civil war. No one has to know. It will come out. How? It will be a major news event hailed all over the world. Many of our people read. You mean
[00:19:23] Unknown:
they would rather starve than accept food created by a woman.
[00:19:27] Unknown:
Madam, this is our religion. It is not to be marked. Forgive me. No. We appreciate your concern, professor, but we must analyze the entire problem. Your new grass may save thousands from hunger, but cause just as many to die in riots.
[00:19:49] Unknown:
Is this being turned down because I am a woman? Is that the only reason? Yes. This magnificent Shorty has no choice. Well, then perhaps there is something I can do.
[00:20:05] Unknown:
What are you saying, Augusta?
[00:20:08] Unknown:
Jean, this is your discovery. But I that's not right. Agonized over this this thing. What am I supposed to do? Let people starve because of their prejudices? And what right have I to call them prejudices? Those are devoutly held beliefs.
[00:20:29] Unknown:
But this grass, this thick purple clover, I didn't know it could be developed. I didn't either. Well, how did the idea occur to you? Perhaps.
[00:20:42] Unknown:
Well, perhaps it was supposed to occur to me. Well, now, what does that mean? Oh, anything you'd like it to mean.
[00:20:49] Unknown:
Augusta, I I I I'm afraid to take the credit. Afraid? Yeah. I'm afraid of what it might do to me. This will be hailed. You know that, don't you? Yes. It'll earn its discoverer recognition awards. How will I react? How will my personality change?
[00:21:09] Unknown:
I've always been content to do my work quietly. We're talking about life or death or hundreds of thousands, millions of people.
[00:21:18] Unknown:
And how will you change, Augusta? You'll see me regarded as a savior. What will it do to you? You'll start to hate me.
[00:21:26] Unknown:
I I could never hate you, Jean.
[00:21:30] Unknown:
It isn't right. You've been struggling with this discovery for so long. You're going to regret it.
[00:21:38] Unknown:
I'll think of all the children who'll have a chance to live. I'll regret nothing.
[00:21:43] Unknown:
I'll regret it.
[00:21:45] Unknown:
I thought and thought. There's no other way.
[00:21:53] Unknown:
So you finally convinced doctor Howes to become a hero. Is that what you're telling me? Yes. It's very noble of you, very self sacrificing. So why did you accuse him of stealing everything in Pete's Oasis? Because Gene was right.
[00:22:09] Unknown:
He started to believe after a little while that the clover was actually his. It was supposed to be kept secret till we were ready for planting, but he let out a word here and there. And, well, compliments, praise
[00:22:25] Unknown:
poured in. He started to preen himself. And that's when you found out you were human after all. Yes. And you gave up without a fight. I'm not a fighter. I think it's more important for the grass to grow. Now I have to repeat this vital question, professor. Why give the credit to doctor Howells?
[00:22:45] Unknown:
Because of because he is an authority on agriculture.
[00:22:49] Unknown:
Yeah. Sure. But is he the only one? Well, no. The fact is you could have given it to any number of people. Isn't it true? Yes. Yes. Alright. Why Howells? Alright. I'll tell you why. You're in love with him. That's That's what? That's That's either true or false. You see, I listened every word you said, not only to the words, but to how you said them. I I could never hate you, Gene. There's a tone in your voice when you say his name. It's funny. You call him Gene. He calls you Augusta. It's kind of formal, isn't it? Everyone calls me Augusta. But as far as you're concerned, doctor Howells wasn't everyone?
[00:23:37] Unknown:
I admit. I confess. Perhaps, why shouldn't I have felt that I as I was in love with him,
[00:23:46] Unknown:
we certainly had similar interest. And so you gave him this, grass discovery, hoping somehow that he might respond to you. That's not true.
[00:23:56] Unknown:
It isn't, I gave him the credit
[00:23:59] Unknown:
because of the starving people. Sure. And also because he might feel he owed you something, like a proposal of marriage. That's a lie. Only you know that for sure. Alright. Maybe that wasn't so cut and dried. Few things are, but there was an element of give and take, wasn't it? Yes. But your generosity didn't change the nature of your relationship with Howells, did it? No. It was through friendship at best, wasn't it? Yes. And that's what really infuriated you, wasn't it? No. You were, as they say in the books, the woman spurned. Please believe me. I didn't kill him. I'm afraid we have to go. Where? To police headquarters. But I'm innocent. Professor Sanderson, I admire you.
You're a woman who worked hard against a lot of odds to get where you are. On the way, you must have missed out on many things. Please, I am telling you I am innocent. Was something between you and Howell. No. But what did happen? You're giving me a story about some purple grass, some Asiatic prince, some deal you made to give Howell some credit for something. Now how do I know any of it is true? What are you saying? This business is about the grass. All I've got is your word for it. I tell you it's true. Well, alright.
[00:25:18] Unknown:
There's only one way to find out,
[00:25:21] Unknown:
isn't there?
[00:25:27] Unknown:
Yes. How may I help you? Prince, your highness Shorty. You must call me Shorty.
[00:25:36] Unknown:
I'm, police detective as I believe, this gentleman has told you. Oh, yes. My brother Ali informed
[00:25:43] Unknown:
me. It's fabulous.
[00:25:46] Unknown:
Do you know this lady?
[00:25:48] Unknown:
This lady? Of course. They know me. Ali, is this charming lady familiar?
[00:25:56] Unknown:
No. You must remember me. I was here to tell you all about my new grass. Grass?
[00:26:02] Unknown:
Ali, what would we have to do with grass? We have never seen this lady before in our lives. Oh, it is a pity because she is the most charming lady. We spoke about the goats, the sacred goats of Kandahar, and you said because I was a woman, I was impure. Oh, that is impossible. Why should we insult you? I told you the discovery would belong to doctor Howells, and you said in that case, you would accept it. I
[00:26:26] Unknown:
accept it. Ali, do we know a doctor Howells? No. But I was here. We spoke. Professor, it's time we were leaving. It's time we were leaving. I'm
[00:26:37] Unknown:
were leaving.
[00:26:42] Unknown:
Ever get the feeling that everybody around you is crazy and that you were the only sane, sensible person in the room or even the world? Well, if you ever did, you are in a perfect position to appreciate what is going on inside professor Augustus Sanderson this very moment. Well, we still have the third act, and usually, we manage to sort these
[00:27:19] Unknown:
things out.
[00:27:21] Unknown:
What do you do when you are accused of murder? I suppose you admit it if it's true and deny it if it's false. But suppose you are not sure of the answer. Suppose the charge could be true or false. Suppose you reach that point where you just don't know. Is such a state of affairs possible?
[00:27:45] Unknown:
But I was here. I spoke to you both. Oh, would we forget so delightful a lady as you? The Sahiba is mistaken.
[00:27:56] Unknown:
I can't be. German, I'm sorry we bothered you. Oh, it was no bother. Just think, Ali, when we return home, we can say we had a visit from a real American detective. Oh, fabulous.
[00:28:10] Unknown:
Professor, I'm sorry, professor Sanderson. The train has come to the end of the line. Last up, all out.
[00:28:25] Unknown:
What, what does one bring to a jail?
[00:28:30] Unknown:
Well, a toothbrush, a change of clothes. Like I say, you've got a good chance of being out on bond.
[00:28:38] Unknown:
Thank you. Lieutenant Novak, I can prove that I gave the credit for the discovery to doctor Howells.
[00:28:46] Unknown:
Well, I suppose you did.
[00:28:48] Unknown:
Then that would prove that those two are lying.
[00:28:51] Unknown:
No. It will only prove that you gave the discovery to doctor Howells for reasons of your honor. What reasons would I have? Personal
[00:28:59] Unknown:
reasons. That's why you killed him. I still say I didn't do it.
[00:29:04] Unknown:
Well, if that's your story, stick to it. I didn't. Someone stole my revolver. Professor, you'll have to convince a jury. You don't believe it? What I believe right now doesn't matter at all. Now just pack a small bag.
[00:29:27] Unknown:
Ali? Yes. Magnificent. Tell me, little brother, why did we have to engage in that charade with the police detective? I thought it would be instructive. Instructive?
[00:29:41] Unknown:
Why have we come to this most democratic of all countries? You were the one who insisted. I know. I know.
[00:29:49] Unknown:
I wanted to live like a like an ordinary
[00:29:52] Unknown:
common member of the people. A desire I could never understand. Well, the common people, whether they be ignorant shepherds or sophisticated Americans, act alike as far as the police are concerned. Is that true? When questioned by police, the common people in America do exactly as our people do, but they have a most picturesque phrase for it. They
[00:30:17] Unknown:
clam up. Clam up? How beautifully descriptive.
[00:30:23] Unknown:
In both countries, one simply does not become involved with the police And so when I heard there was an officer at the door, I decided to act in our best interests. Who knows where a thing like this could lead? Clam up. It is after all my duty to advise you. Fabulous.
[00:30:48] Unknown:
Are you ready, professor? As I said, you don't have to pack too much.
[00:30:52] Unknown:
Lieutenant, Luttoff and his brother Ali were alive. It's all in the hands of the jury now. Don't say that.
[00:30:59] Unknown:
What do you want me to say? Look. I want you to know something.
[00:31:07] Unknown:
I like you. Please don't. Don't what? Don't say meaningless words in an attempt to make me feel better. I like you
[00:31:15] Unknown:
because you're a woman who's smart, who well, who's good looking. If you really liked me, you'd listen to my story. Because I like you, I'm advising you to change it. You wanna beat this, don't you? Tell the truth. The truth is always the best defense no matter how bleak it looks. The jury responds to the truth. They feel it.
[00:31:42] Unknown:
They respect you for it. But I am telling the truth. No. It was a lover's quarrel.
[00:31:48] Unknown:
I have your lawyer get women on the jury. They eat that up.
[00:31:52] Unknown:
If you're going to arrest me, get it over with.
[00:31:55] Unknown:
Okay. I just wish you'd listen to me. Is
[00:31:58] Unknown:
someone came here, stole my gun. My gun, you have it. I want a receipt for it. You'll get it.
[00:32:05] Unknown:
It'll be an exhibit at the trial. One twenty two caliber revolver, five cartridges,
[00:32:10] Unknown:
one empty shell. I don't care about those. They don't belong to me. I wouldn't keep a loaded gun in the house. I don't even have any bullets I told you. Why can't you believe me? Because if I believed you, I'd have to believe in Santa Claus.
[00:32:23] Unknown:
And furthermore Hey. Maybe I do. What? These cartridges these cartridges, they're not American made. Look at what it says on the rim of each cartridge. Yeah. Yeah. Well, the manufacturer has his name. That's not American writing.
[00:32:46] Unknown:
Post letters? It's a different alphabet. It could be Hindi.
[00:32:52] Unknown:
Foreign shells. Made in India. Nobody sells them around here.
[00:32:59] Unknown:
It was the younger brother Ali. Hold it. I know why it was Ali. Let me tell you. From the very beginning, he was the one who who was opposed to the Now hold it a minute.
[00:33:13] Unknown:
This is Lieutenant Novak. I need something in a hurry. You got that, crown prince going to the college and his brother? Alright. Get the phone number. Call him. Say it's a routine annual inquiry about guns. Ask if he has one and what kind. Alright. Call me right back at this number. 227-8308.
[00:33:37] Unknown:
Yeah. The bullets have to belong to Ali. Only if he has a 22 of his own. It was Ali. I know it. How can you be so sure? He came here. He stole my gun, but it was empty. It was nighttime. The stores are closed. Where can he buy bullets? He can't. So he goes home. He gets his own. He would only have those bullets if
[00:33:57] Unknown:
he owns a 22.
[00:33:59] Unknown:
He has to. He must.
[00:34:01] Unknown:
Must. It's the only thing that makes sense. Alright. Alright. Even if we can prove these are his cartridges, you know what he can say? He can say you stole them. Why would I Because you're trying to construct a case against him, and you are.
[00:34:15] Unknown:
I just know he killed Jean Howells.
[00:34:17] Unknown:
Let's examine your whole story. They won't take the grass seed from you because you're a woman. Alright. Fine. You give it to doctor Howells. Now now what's the objection? The objection. Now it's plain sailing, isn't it? Plant the new grass, feed all the hungry people.
[00:34:36] Unknown:
What's wrong? Ali. It's Ali. When I saw Gene Howells last night, he was terribly depressed and very
[00:34:43] Unknown:
frightened. Lieutenant Novak. Yeah. Oh, he does. Okay. Prince Aly has a 22 pistol registered in his name. Which means these are his bullets. You said doctor Howells was depressed? Why?
[00:35:02] Unknown:
Why? Why? Let me think. I was so angry and upset when I went to see him. I know I went in there hating him, and I left feeling, feeling sorry for him. But you haven't told me why. What did he say to me? Let me try to remember exactly what he said to me.
[00:35:24] Unknown:
I wish I'd never heard of that clover of yours.
[00:35:29] Unknown:
Really? The last time I read the papers, it was that clover of yours. And it's mine only because that's how you'd have it.
[00:35:37] Unknown:
I I I told you this had happened. You'd have second thoughts, and I'd have a guilty conscience.
[00:35:43] Unknown:
I'm sorry. It is all my fault.
[00:35:46] Unknown:
And it may have been all for nothing. Why? They don't want the grass. They didn't realize it was purple in color. Oh, what's wrong with purple? Ali explained it. Purple is an unlucky color, and so the time wasn't right. But perhaps in the future What was supposed to happen in the future? If purple is unlucky, it will always be unlucky. I became angry.
[00:36:11] Unknown:
I told Ali somehow I would let his people know about this grass and how badly they need it. And what was his answer? Nothing.
[00:36:19] Unknown:
He looked at me, just looked with those funny eyes. Well, you think they're funny, but they can be frightening.
[00:36:30] Unknown:
Augusta, why did you have to tempt me with this? Please, Jean, try to be calm. It's going to end badly. I know it. We tried. They won't take our help. This is all we can do. Prince Lutuf was willing to go along, and it was Ali who raised the objection. And when that objection was removed, it was Ali who Starving? Because wait. Wait. Jean said Ali had told him that the time wasn't ripe, perhaps in the future, if Prince Lutoff is overthrown, and he could be, if the people get hungry enough Does Ali get the tough spot then? And then as the new ruler, Ali can claim heaven showed him a new grass, and henceforth, purple will be the color favored by the gods. But there's one thing.
Where would he get the grass with Jean dead?
[00:37:30] Unknown:
Well, he could come to you with a brand new story. No. No. The woman thing is too deeply rooted. Unless it stands right now well, what is the grass? Where does it exist?
[00:37:41] Unknown:
The grass is a box full of seeds, plus volumes of notes detailing hundreds of experiments, how it's formed, how it should be planned. Where is Honesta? I turned it over to Gene. It should all be in his files at home, And I'll bet it's gone. I delivered the seeds and the notes to him myself. The only place he could keep them would be in these files. Are you sure they wouldn't be anywhere else? I'm positive. Besides, look at the notation on this drawer. P c, purple clover, and the drawer is empty.
[00:38:22] Unknown:
Well,
[00:38:23] Unknown:
that's that. What does that mean?
[00:38:25] Unknown:
We have a very good hypothesis, but no evidence. So far, you are still the best suspect. But you know I am innocent.
[00:38:35] Unknown:
There must be some way we can prove that Ali is I have an idea. I'll go to see prince Ali, and I'll confront him with what we know. That will force him to threaten me, perhaps to try to kill me. You can save me at the last minute. It's not going to work. Why?
[00:38:52] Unknown:
Because this is a country of laws.
[00:38:54] Unknown:
What you're suggesting is illegal. Why is it illegal? Because it's considered entrapments.
[00:38:58] Unknown:
But you see it all the time in the movie. And those movies all end up before the judge throws the evidence out of court. But you did give me an idea. What idea? It's a very simple routine idea. Now you go home. Wait then. What are you going to do? Just police business. Just go home and wait. But I can't wait.
[00:39:19] Unknown:
You'll just have to.
[00:39:25] Unknown:
No, Sahiba. I'm really quite embarrassed.
[00:39:30] Unknown:
Your younger brother is plotting against you. Ali? Oh, that is impossible. That woman is mad. Ali wants your people to starve so they will revolt. You will be killed. He succeeds you, and then he gives them the purple grass. That's a lie. Fabulous. It's true. He has discouraged you from accepting the clover. Why? He wants to give it to the people himself. She's mad. Oh, what a woman.
[00:39:55] Unknown:
Look at the fire in her eyes. You may think I'm young for you, professor, but I value an older woman. Don't you understand
[00:40:06] Unknown:
the implications
[00:40:07] Unknown:
of what I am saying to you? Be my first wife. The others don't matter. They're only concubines. You will rule and with fabulous wisdom. I'm telling you about your brother. Oh, I know he's plotting against me. It is expected of brother. You knew?
[00:40:24] Unknown:
Didn't I plot against our older brother? Then you should have done something about me when you had the chance.
[00:40:31] Unknown:
What are you doing with that pistol? She'll be blamed. She'll be thought mad because of her purple grass. She's already killed her lover, and now you,
[00:40:43] Unknown:
because you made her give up her discovery. No. It's not gonna work that way at all. Just lower that gun. That's nice. Why'd you come here, Augusta? Because I Because you didn't think I could help you. Well, I thought I I just went back for a search warrant. All we have to do is find the seeds and the notes in his possession. Will we find them now then? I don't. They are in his trunk.
[00:41:08] Unknown:
You know, Lutas?
[00:41:10] Unknown:
Of course, I knew. I plan to take care of you as soon as we return to our own country. Here, I am restricted by all kinds of legalities.
[00:41:21] Unknown:
Prince, I intend to arrest your brother. Will you claim any diplomatic privilege?
[00:41:26] Unknown:
None at all. The law is sacred. It must be observed.
[00:41:32] Unknown:
Smitty, go get his trunk. Wilson, take him to the station house. Well,
[00:41:37] Unknown:
professor Sanderson,
[00:41:39] Unknown:
shall you consider my proposal? She can't do that. She has to come along with me.
[00:41:44] Unknown:
Where are we going?
[00:41:45] Unknown:
This way, ma'am.
[00:41:49] Unknown:
Where are you taking me? Surely, I'm not under arrest. Listen.
[00:41:54] Unknown:
You, you'd consider going off to Asia with that, that character?
[00:42:00] Unknown:
Oh, I have to take it under very serious consideration.
[00:42:05] Unknown:
Why?
[00:42:07] Unknown:
It's the first time anyone at all made me a proposal.
[00:42:12] Unknown:
Well, relax. You're about to get another one.
[00:42:24] Unknown:
I'll be back shortly with a final thought. How slender a thread holds up the world. If a million goats can give an extra pint of milk a day, that can mean the difference between life and death for thousands of children. So the true heroes are the overlooked and unknown heroes who daily solve the really great mystery, how to get an acre to yield another few bushels or the hen to lay another egg. Our cast included Sandy Dennis, Ralph Bell, Robert Dryden, and Arnold Stange. Associate director, Marlon Swin. This is Hyman Brown, producer director, inviting you to return to our mystery theater for another adventure in the macabre.
Until next time then, pleasant, dream.
[00:43:34] Unknown:
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