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In this thrilling episode, we delve into the mysterious and eerie world of "The Devil God," a story that explores the intersection of superstition and reality. Jeff and Katie Moore, a young couple from New England, inherit a ranch in the stark cliffs of the Southwest, only to find themselves entangled in a web of ancient beliefs and ominous occurrences. As they navigate the challenges of their new life, they encounter a Palomino horse said to be touched by the lightning god, and a series of unsettling events that test their understanding of the natural and supernatural.
As the story unfolds, the Moores face a series of harrowing experiences, including a flash flood, a mysterious death, and the desertion of their ranch hands. The tension escalates as Jeff grapples with the local beliefs and the presence of a malevolent spirit, Chindy, that seems to haunt their every move. With the backdrop of a relentless storm and the isolation of the desert, the couple must confront their fears and the possibility that some legends hold a grain of truth. Join us as we explore the thin line between superstition and reality in this captivating tale.
(01:02) Introduction to Primeval Dread
(03:20) The Devil God and the Young Couple
(08:21) The Journey to Antelope Valley
(15:35) Superstitions and the Lightning God
(29:21) The Storm and Its Aftermath
(38:13) Resolution and Reflection
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[00:00:00]
Unknown:
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True Value Hardware, your store of first choice.
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Come in.
[00:01:03] Unknown:
Welcome. I'm E. G. Marshall. Welcome to the world of primeval dread, to the fear you can hear. Do things have souls? Do natural forces embody malicious spirits? That was the primitive distorted shadow of some long forgotten lore? Dark images we dare not face. Jeff Moore never found the answer, but the question shattered his life.
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You devil, Chindy. I defy you. You called me and I'm here, Chindy. I'm here. I defy you. Play you. Stop. Stop. Just just just go. What
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a dream having a nightmare.
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Oh, Katie. He did a terrible break again.
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Of melting flesh It
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was the face of the man we buried our bear in the sand Kitty Kitty
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Our mystery drama, The Devil God, was written especially for the mystery theater by Mary Jane Higbee and stars Ruby Dee and Mandel
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Kramer.
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The main character of our drama tonight will never appear. I think you will feel his presence, however, as thousands have felt it through the long centuries that brought us out of the prehistoric
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cave
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to the place where we now stand. As Jeff and Katie Moore, a young couple from New England felt it among the stark cliffs of the Southwest. But let Katie tell you about
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it. That storm last night shook this whole house like a panic shaking away. I lay trembling in my bed while it crashed its way towards it and burst in a roar overhead. Oh, no. Jeff started screaming in his feet. I'll be This is the storm. It's the horse again.
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The horse galloping toward me the rider wrapped in a long black shroud. Suddenly he turned his face to me and it was a massive melting flesh. The face of the man we buried out there
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in the sand. Oh, Katie.
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Katie, Katie, am I ever going to get over this?
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What do you think about a vicious storm? How innocent and clean the world crapped off? Oh, the morning the air was so shimmering clear For a moment, I thought I was back in Antelope Valley That day I first saw it nestling in the desert mountain I didn't know then the pillar hidden in low hills I wish I had known. Pee oh, I wish I had known.
[00:05:08] Unknown:
Yeah. Sorry about the shape this road's in, folks. This is a road? Are we on our own property yet, mister Grady? It will be as soon as we cross the little Yaki River. It's only 20 miles or so on top from there. Mhmm. Your uncle left you a fine ranch. You're gonna be mighty happy when you see what you've got. I'll be mighty happy if I still got my kids. It's awfully nice of you to bring us all the way out here. Well, I couldn't let you come out alone the first time. You being strangers to this part of the country and all. Now when we get to the top of
[00:05:39] Unknown:
Well, I couldn't let you come out alone the first time. You'll be in strangers to this part of the country and all. Now when we get to the top of this rise, you're gonna see a grade age
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of government bungling. A few months ago, they sent out some fancy eastern engineers. First thing they did was pull out the bridge that was here and move it 10 miles downriver. Never stopped to find out there was a house 20 miles back and this bridge was the only access. Oh dear, well what do we do? The jeep won't make it through the gully. Yeah. Please stay. I think it will. I better walk down first though to make sure. Sure. You sure I can with you? Nah. No use both of us getting their feet wet. Well, I can see why he said we'd never make it in our own car.
[00:06:26] Unknown:
Honey, when I think of your uncle sinking all of his money in this godforsaken country God. Come on darling, you've seen too many John Wayne movies. It's valuable love. I know, I know. And I'm lucky I married a beautiful woman who turned out to be an heiress.
[00:06:43] Unknown:
I'm glad we didn't know my Uncle Bush was making me as heir. I'd have thought you were marrying me for my vast holdings.
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Well, I just hope that among the vast holdings he left a bottle of Scotch
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because I'm gonna need it if Joe Purdy manages to get us across these craters of the Moon I just wanna be sure that there was no quicksand.
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We're really going down into that ravine. Yep.
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Here we go.
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Oh,
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boy.
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Well, made it. It shook out a bit. Sorry, folks. Oh. Well, that's the little Yaki River.
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River? There wasn't a quart of water in it. No. Not now.
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But don't you ever try what I just did. Come a flash flood and it'll be a wall of water rushing down. Yeah. I've seen little jackrabbits caught in the deep rattlesnakes. That's why your uncle was so mad about that bridge. You can't get to your land from the new one without scaling the cliff. What? Mister Purdy, wait a minute. Now you're saying that once you leave us, we are completely cut off trap? Oh, no. The ranch ranch hands can always get you out. Kenneth, he's your foreman. He talks English real good. Well, what are the others talking? Their own language.
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They're Indians. Indians?
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Why didn't anybody tell us all this? Well now I wouldn't worry. Well your uncle had the best ranch hands in the state. That's why Antelope Valley's such a fine money making outfit. Well not yet. Don't borrow trouble. Wait till we get there. See what it's like. I know what it's like. Flash floods, quicksand,
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rattlesnakes and six feet of snow. Katie we are moving into a trap.
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The death misgivings stayed in an antelope Valley lay spread before us. Us. A lone white l shaped house half hidden in cotton trees and bordered by bright flowers. And winding in the distance, the gully that marked the upper course of the little Yaki. Some Indians were standing around
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And
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here we are, folks.
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Well,
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after what we've been through, this is kinda like Shangri La, isn't it? We'll just get the luggage out. Oh, there's your foreman.
[00:09:15] Unknown:
Hi, Ken. Hi, Jerome. Mister and missus Moore, Kenneth Yazzie. Yeah. Hi, Mitch. Missus Yazzie. I'll help with your bags. Well, thank you. And if you'll excuse me, I'll get back to work. We're just finishing up. Alright. If I show you around later. Oh, yes. Cool. The freezer's well stocked, isn't it, Ken? Sure is. Couple of sides of beef and a lot of game. Now don't you carry anything, missus Moore. Just get the door for us, please. I've had the house open and airing for you all day.
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What a nice room. What a great fire. And look at this. You wouldn't expect a picture window in a ranch house, would you? Oh, your uncle built himself a real modern Oh, look. Look. I'm on the hill. What a beauty.
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Oh, you mean a horse.
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Hey. That's a palomino, isn't it? What? Isn't that a palomino out there? Oh, it's gone.
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I think you must be mistaken. I think you saw a deer. No. No. It was a horse all around. Wonderful gold in Maine. I'm gonna get some sugar and see if I can No. Take a
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What? Leave it alone. Why, Ken?
[00:10:23] Unknown:
That horse is no good, Joe. What do you mean? There's a bad feeling about that horse, missus Moore. Leave her alone. She doesn't belong here. Whose horse is it? Bad feeling. Don't go near it. Let her go. But doesn't she belong to her? Doesn't she? Believe me, missus Moore.
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You staying overnight, Joe? No. No. I have to get back to the office.
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The title company won't run itself, you know. Well, you'll stay and have a drink with us, won't you?
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The boys
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want to talk to you, Joe. Yeah. Sure. Sure. I'll go out to the corral and say hello and, yes, mister Moore. I reckon I better have one for that road. We'll be right back.
[00:11:08] Unknown:
Well, what do you suppose that was all about? The horse, you mean? That Indian looks so funny. That foodie looked frightened.
[00:11:18] Unknown:
A valuable animal like that shouldn't be running around loose. Oh, come on, darling. I wanna see the rest of the house. This oh, look at this kitchen. It's it's huge.
[00:11:33] Unknown:
Hey. You're gonna walk right inside the closets. Boy.
[00:11:37] Unknown:
Hey, here Uncle Bush Hyatt was no teetotaler. I'll say that for you. Get the ice, honey. I'll see if I can find some glasses. There's enough liquor here to last the whole winter.
[00:11:47] Unknown:
Who'd he staring at? That horse again. Mhmm. Look through this window.
[00:11:52] Unknown:
It's heavenly. Oh, Jeff. Boy, Joe Purdy showed deep in conversation with those Indians. They're kind of a sullen looking lot, aren't they?
[00:12:03] Unknown:
No. I don't,
[00:12:04] Unknown:
I don't think I would exactly call this place heavenly, honey. Hostel seems a better word. You don't like it.
[00:12:12] Unknown:
Oh, just give it a few weeks' trial. Look, it's beautiful, Kate, but
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oh, I guess I'm just tired. Oh. Hey. Well, in the kitchen, you're getting it all together. What do you have? Bourbon or scotch? Oh, bourbon. Bourbon's fine. I haven't found the soda yet. Will tap water be alright? Never mind the water. I'm gonna ask you folks to, put me up for the night. Oh, wonderful. Oh, sure. Wonderful. Well, here's to a happy life in Antelope Valley. Yes. Cheers, Joe. Cheers. You don't mind if I call you that day? Of course not. Everybody does. Well, I, I have to ride out behind the hills tomorrow.
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Oh, why?
[00:12:47] Unknown:
There's a job to do back there. Nasty job too. The ranch hands asked me if I'd do it. Why'd they do it themselves? Yeah. They can't. It has something to do with their religion. Oh, and by the way, I wanna talk to you about that. You've got the best cowhands in the state. Now you'll get along just fine if, if you respect their ways, their
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religion. What what is their religion?
[00:13:12] Unknown:
Well, as near as I can figure, the Indian lives in a different world from us. He lives in a world of spirits. Where we see a cloud, he sees a spirit. Where we hear the wind Well, that's animatism. Well, I wouldn't know about that. But the important thing is not to rile those spirits.
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Okay. Okay. I'll drink to that. No. No. I'm I'm serious.
[00:13:38] Unknown:
And I advise you to be because, well, I seen some mighty strange things in my time. And now about that horse, Palomino How about that? Now is it ours or isn't it? Well, I figure it isn't. You see, anything the lightning god has touched belongs to him. You mean the horse was struck by lightning? It didn't hurt her. One of those freak accidents. But now she belongs to the lightning god. He'll strike down anybody who tries to take what is his. So,
[00:14:13] Unknown:
leave her alone, okay? Oh, come on. That's nonsense. Plain superstition. It's what they believe. Well, Kenneth doesn't go for this rubbish, does he? He seems like an educated man. He was a track star at UCLA.
[00:14:25] Unknown:
So it won't make the Olympics. But Ken is an Indian.
[00:14:30] Unknown:
I see. Alright. I look let's get this straight. The horse belongs to this ranch. Right? And it's a valuable animal, isn't it? I reckon so. Now you're saying that I can't keep her, can't even sell her because of some whammy that somebody's put on her? I'm saying you won't go near that horse if you know what's good for you. But that's crazy. Don't be so sure. Well, you don't believe this drivel, do you? I don't believe it, and I don't not believe it. Well, that horse is going back into the barn. It's ours, and I'm keeping it. You take that attitude, and you will be in trouble. Bad trouble. That is superstition
[00:15:06] Unknown:
right out of the dark ages. Older than that, I reckon. But it's it's their belief. And this would be one hell of a time to try to talk them out of it. They've got a dead man lying back in the hills to prove it.
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A dead man?
[00:15:22] Unknown:
If you're so cock sure about these things, ride out with me tomorrow when I go bury him.
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Katie leaves the two men still stubbornly arguing the pros and cons of superstition, to stand at her bedroom window watching the motionless stars. As one springs to sudden life and goes skimming across the sky, she makes a wish, then smiles at herself. A meteor, nothing more. What power has it to grant good fortune? Troubled, she turns to her bed and her first night's sleep in the eerie stillness of Antelope Valley. I'll be back shortly with act two of The Devil God. A profound stillness has settled over the remote ranch, broken only by the occasional howl of a coyote.
In spite of her uneasiness about the gruesome task her city bred husband has agreed to undertake with Joe Purdy, Katie Moore has fallen into a deep sleep. She awakes with a start. Someone is moving about the room.
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Yes?
[00:16:55] Unknown:
Oh, I didn't mean to wake you, honey. I'm sorry. Oh, it's so dark. It sure is. And Joe Purdy says early, he means it.
[00:17:03] Unknown:
I'll get you breakfast. No. No. No. We've had breakfast. Don't get up. Katie, do you know where that blue cotton shirt of mine is? I think I put it,
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yes, second drawer down. Okay, then.
[00:17:15] Unknown:
So how's the girl at the Golden West?
[00:17:19] Unknown:
Did did you hear anything?
[00:17:20] Unknown:
No. Like what? I thought I heard hoof speech.
[00:17:29] Unknown:
Talk to me about dressing gown, will you? Chilly, isn't it? Yes. There there she is again, the palomino. Oh, poor thing.
[00:17:39] Unknown:
Probably holy. You know, Katie, this whole setup seems fishy. You mean about the whole? The whole situation on this ranch. After you went to bed last night, I found out the name of this guy that we're going to bury. Little gambler. And whose father do you think he is? Kenneth Yazzie's father? That's right. Our college graduates. Now a superstition or no superstition, you don't leave your father lying out where the buzzards and coyotes can get at him. Oh, Jeff. Don't. I'm sorry, honey, but I tell you, I won't be surprised if we find him shot through the head or stabbed in the back, if we can tell from what's left of him. There's something phony going on. I'm not sure Joe isn't part of it. Oh, no, Jack. Well, you take this guy's name, Little Gambler.
Honey, you know that horse is worth a lot of money.
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You think there was a fight over the horse? I don't know.
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And I sure don't go for all this mumbo jumbo about lightning gods and rainbow gods and spirits of death. It's too easy an out.
[00:18:39] Unknown:
Can you see, is that horse still there?
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Uh-huh.
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Poor thing. It needs a good culling. As soon as I'm dressed, I'm going out and putting it into the barn. And, Katie, you see that it stays there.
[00:18:55] Unknown:
The sun was beginning to rise as I watched Wiry Joe hurting and my cheerful blonde husband ride out of sight. I turned to unpacking and settling into my new home. Just after midday, a sudden commotion drew me out into the yard. The barn door was open and in the dark interior, a golden mane flashed through the air as the telomere had suddenly come across. I could make out two shadowy figures behind Yes. My husband put the velomino in the barn this morning, and I caught these men trying to drive her out. I don't think so, Mrs. Moore? Oh, yes. I saw them. The horse is no good. You mean she's vicious. That's absurd. She's as gentle as a lamb. No good for the ranch. She was my uncle's horse, wasn't she? Kenneth, I'm serious about this. We're keeping her. And from now on, I want the boys to take good care of her. They have other work to do. Oh, come on. All this fuss is because you were struck by lightning, isn't it? Let's settle this once and for all.
This was my uncle's ranch. Now my husband and I occupy the place that he did. Your uncle understood Indian ways. I understand, too. I know how the ranch hands feel about the lightning guard, and I snub with that. But I don't for one minute believe in it, and I don't think you do.
[00:20:24] Unknown:
Mrs. Moore, let the horse go. Otherwise,
[00:20:29] Unknown:
I cannot be responsible. You don't have to be. Just do as I say. He turned on his heel and left me standing He turned on his heel and
[00:20:39] Unknown:
left me standing there in the blazing heat. Tears of fury stung my eyes.
[00:20:41] Unknown:
I watched a buzzer circling in the clear sky. Then the thought of Jeff and the grizzly job he had set out to do sent a shiver through me and I ran back into the cool ranch house. I prowled restlessly from room to room until in my uncle's office, I came across a photograph album, a pictorial record of his days as a trader on the Indian reservation. A recent snapshot, not yet was the Palomino. I was so engrossed in the album that I I didn't notice the change in the weather. A wind had come up and a door started banging. And I ran to fastness and I could see the cottonwoods outside writhing in the wind. A few Indians had gathered near the corral.
One of them, taller than the rest, wore a big black hat. He was pointing to the east where a dark menacing cloud hung over the hills. I felt stifled. I sat down, gasping for breath, and watched while the ugly things spread like some monstrous growth across the sky. Shortly after sunset, Jess and Joe Purdy returned.
[00:22:05] Unknown:
Honey? Oh, Jeff. Jeff, I'm so glad you're back. Not as flat as I am. What a day. Nasty chore. I reckon it gave your husband a bad turn. Better believe it. You look exhausted, darling. Aren't you coming in, Joe? No. No. I'll just return our ponies to the corral, and then I gotta get on my way. Mhmm. I wanna keep ahead of that storm, at least till I cross the little Yaki. You'll excuse me, missus Moore? Oh, of course. Goodbye. Goodbye. Thanks, Joe, for everything. Oh, Joe. I'll see you soon. Sure. Sure. I'll keep in touch. Oh, Ken,
[00:22:36] Unknown:
take these ponies. I've gotta get going. Okay. You'll make it if you hurry, Joe. So long.
[00:22:43] Unknown:
Oh, come on in, darling. Yeah.
[00:22:47] Unknown:
Those cow ponies are tough little animals. I don't think anything else could have made this trek. It was rugged, You'd never believe it, honey. I'll say this for the lightning god when he says not to do his job.
[00:22:58] Unknown:
That bolt must have hit the Indian in the head and spun him right around. His face was, like, melted. Oh, even his moccasins were split. And a funny thing, his blouse was untouched, but the sleeves were gone. Apparently, it went up in smoke, and the flesh on his arms was
[00:23:20] Unknown:
peeled to the wrist.
[00:23:22] Unknown:
Do you think it really lost lightning? Oh, no question about it.
[00:23:25] Unknown:
Freak accident. Strange how often people use that word about lightning. Freak? Yeah. You have to see it to know why.
[00:23:33] Unknown:
I mean, it looks
[00:23:35] Unknown:
it looks deliberate. You know, like two guys are in a boat and one is struck by lightning and killed and the other one isn't touched. You know what I mean? Mhmm. The Indians think it's malicious spirits. Chimdi, they call it. Well, it's nonsense, of course. But
[00:23:50] Unknown:
I tell you, standing alone with Joe out there in the desert, it was funny, but
[00:23:56] Unknown:
it was like I could feel a a presence. I kept looking over my shoulder. I told Joe and he said, Yep. Chin B. That's the death devil. Chin B.
[00:24:11] Unknown:
Yes. Alright. Look, honey, I was darn glad to get away from there. It's getting dark. That evil presence was I better put on some more lights. Where where's the light switch? Oh, by the front door. Oh, oh, yes. Mhmm. Come on in the kitchen, dear. I've got a good rich beef stew on the stove and you'll feel better when you've eaten. What was the scenery like back there? In sky, sand, and sagebrush.
[00:24:39] Unknown:
The handiwork of chin beef.
[00:24:43] Unknown:
Storms.
[00:24:44] Unknown:
My goodness. It's black outside. Said you I wouldn't wanna be Joe Purdy driving back to town now.
[00:24:51] Unknown:
Oh, lightning. Look. Sheep lightning,
[00:25:09] Unknown:
sky hit last year. For Palomino?
[00:25:12] Unknown:
That's right. And he knew the lightning god gets mad if anybody takes what's his.
[00:25:19] Unknown:
You know, Katie, I'm afraid we're gonna have to give her up.
[00:25:23] Unknown:
Oh, no. She's a jewel, a prize winner, you know, and she's been so neglected. It's awful. Uncle Bush was very proud of her. How do you know? Well, I found the picture of him standing beside her the day she took first at some horse show. Well,
[00:25:38] Unknown:
we can't keep her.
[00:25:39] Unknown:
Jeff, you're not gonna let them drive her away. Honey, there are forces around us that we don't dare contend with. Jeff, what are you talking about? You know it's superstition.
[00:25:50] Unknown:
It's easy to say that here in this cozy house.
[00:25:53] Unknown:
But out there, in those bleak burning dunes, I tell you, Katie, there was something. I could feel it. I feel it now.
[00:26:01] Unknown:
That
[00:26:03] Unknown:
was a close button. Yes. And a sheep liking and sport
[00:26:08] Unknown:
I'm going out and open the barn door. Jeff, just you're not. Not in this weather. I won't let you drive her drive her out into this weather. What's the matter with you? You said yourself, this is nonsense. It's bringing us trouble. Bad trouble. I can feel it coming like a hot wind. You've been out in the hot sun all day, and Joe Purdy has hypnotized you with this rubbish. Joe says the ranch hands will all leave if we try to keep her. Listen. We'll get others. They have good jobs here, and good jobs I'll listen to get these days. But, honey, this morning, I felt the way you do. But damn it all, you haven't seen what I've seen. That Indian looked like he'd been scalped. I know. I saw it. I'm not just talking. Now we've got to get rid of the horse. Jeff, listen to me, dear. If we give in now, we'll lose all authority. You know, I had an unpleasant scene with Kenneth earlier. He was very rude, and we can't start out that way. This taboo or whatever it is is stupid and barbaric, and we're not going to yield to it.
[00:27:02] Unknown:
I'm gonna make some calls. Stay away from the sink.
[00:27:10] Unknown:
You mean I can't even run water for coffee? Not until the worst of the storm is over. It's heading for us right now. Joel was telling me that before lightning strikes, you can sometimes feel an electric charge run through your body. If you and your hairs rise, it's the hand of Chin D. Then you're probably going to be hit, and the only thing to do is drop flat on the ground and pray.
[00:27:36] Unknown:
The light.
[00:27:37] Unknown:
Hit a power line, I guess. But what do we do? Just keep calm.
[00:27:41] Unknown:
Lights will probably go on again.
[00:27:43] Unknown:
It's awfully dark.
[00:27:45] Unknown:
We got a flashlight. Yeah, but it's in the car back in town. Matthew? Not since I go with
[00:27:50] Unknown:
smoking There's gotta be some candles around here I saw some this morning
[00:27:54] Unknown:
I remember now I was putting things in the kitchen closet I know where they are Unless he matches it too I'll get them Let's see now It's over here past the stage. Yes. They're in the back on the third Katie, what happened?
[00:28:12] Unknown:
Katie, are you alright? Katie, where are you?
[00:28:27] Unknown:
Groping his way through the darkness, Jeff struggles against the sudden rush of his own superstitious fear. But one man's superstition is another man's firmly held faith. And perhaps the only safe conduct through the uncertainties of this valley of shadows
[00:28:47] Unknown:
is a healthy respect for the beliefs of others.
[00:28:51] Unknown:
Common courtesy or common sense should teach us that. If not, the powers that we may find harsher ways to bring the lesson home. I'll return shortly with act three. An unfamiliar house, a wrong step, and a headlong plunge into black emptiness, Katie moralized dazed and frightened on a rough cement floor.
[00:29:37] Unknown:
Oh. Katie? Katie, where are you? Are you all right?
[00:29:42] Unknown:
I think so. Don't try to get to me, Jeff. Wait. I'll see if I can get up. Oh. Oh. Are you hurting?
[00:30:12] Unknown:
Now, where where are you, Nami? Here. Oh, okay.
[00:30:16] Unknown:
Alright. Listen. Do you think do you think you can put your arm around my neck?
[00:30:21] Unknown:
I'll try.
[00:30:25] Unknown:
I'll try. I better not try to move you until we get some light. I gotta find those cameras.
[00:30:30] Unknown:
I'll be right back, darling. Watch this. Okay. Watch this. Hello? Tomorrow, Hello? Oh, Ken. Thank God. You brought a light. I could see from the bunkhouse that the place was still dark. I figured you didn't have a flashlight so I brought a couple of kerosene lamps. But my wife fell down the cellar steps and I'm afraid she's badly hurt I didn't dare try to move her
[00:30:50] Unknown:
Ken's brought her some lamps there It just happened a minute ago She told him these steps She was looking for candles She thought she was going into the kitchen closet And she opened the wrong door
[00:31:00] Unknown:
I I I can't move. I can't turn over. Let's see.
[00:31:05] Unknown:
Oh. Oh. Oh. Looks like it's a shoulder.
[00:31:10] Unknown:
It's a collarbone. My legs still are.
[00:31:12] Unknown:
I I can move. Right. Slipping your arm around her waist, I think I can open her so it won't be too bad, But it's easy. It's going to hurt some, Mrs. Moore. Ready?
[00:31:24] Unknown:
Yes. Alright. Do you think you dare lift her? Yes.
[00:31:27] Unknown:
I've got her. Tell me when you're ready.
[00:31:31] Unknown:
I'll try now. Step at a time and then bring the lamp. Yeah. I think I can walk up here. Okay. Nice and snug, aren't you? Careful.
[00:31:58] Unknown:
Can we get the lights on again, Kenneth? Not a chance.
[00:32:01] Unknown:
Until the worst of this is over, I have a hunch to hit the generator. I'm afraid I have to get back to the bunkhouse. Here we are now. Easy now, Mrs. Moore. Wonderful now. Easy. Yeah. I don't want to leave the ranch alone too long.
[00:32:16] Unknown:
They're, they're rescued. Yes, I understand. Alright, go ahead. And Ken? Yes? Go to the barn and get rid of her. My horse? No. No. Katie, don't make a wave. Not now.
[00:32:31] Unknown:
You're right. You're right. Do what you think's best. Thanks.
[00:32:36] Unknown:
It'll make things a whole lot easier for me.
[00:32:40] Unknown:
That was a bright flash throughout the whole room. Oh my god.
[00:32:46] Unknown:
What is it? Did you see that? Yes. I saw. If they can't do this, I'll stop them. I'll try. What's the matter? What happened? The ranch hands, honey. They're leaving. In that last flash, you could see a long line of ponies. They're all just quietly riding away. Oh, Jeff.
[00:33:01] Unknown:
I'm sorry. I know. We have to keep our heads here. We can leave too. I don't know. We have plenty of provisions.
[00:33:08] Unknown:
It can't rain forever. I never farted it down. Ken,
[00:33:13] Unknown:
did they take all the points? No. There's one left, but it was badly heard a few days ago. Kenneth, why did they all leave us? There's bad feeling here. You mean they're frightened? I'm damned if I understand it. They're not afraid of dying.
[00:33:29] Unknown:
It is the spirit of death they respect. It is indeed. Indians are proud before men. They're not proud before their
[00:33:47] Unknown:
will take all Antelope Valley for his own.
[00:34:01] Unknown:
By morning, I was running a fever. It rained for four days without bath. But part of the time, I was delirious and my memories are confused. Try to drink this, dear. I want some old kid.
[00:34:18] Unknown:
Honey, it's chicken broth. Well Try to take a little Mister Moore,
[00:34:22] Unknown:
I'm afraid, it's going to flood. A little yucky? There are sandbags in the barn. We've got to make a dike to protect the house. The river doesn't look that high. Remember, there's no vegetation in these hills to hold the water. Sudden downpour runs right off. Flash flood. Come on.
[00:34:43] Unknown:
Well, I've got a hold for a while,
[00:34:46] Unknown:
Not enough It's all we have I'm tired I'm gonna drown We've done all we can do Mr. Moore, we'll have to move to higher ground. When that water hits, the house may go. We can't, ma'am. We can't move Kitty outdoors in her condition We'll set a tarpaulin tent on the hill Take blankets Hurry It'll come anytime now We were lucky to get out. Look. Great Scott. It's a wall of water. Will the house go? I don't know. Never seen anything like that. It's like a name at first. Thank God you've had a son of death. Yeah. Yes, Kate. Yeah?
Horse, could we make it out of here now? I can use his way The barn is still standing Yes I'm gonna see if that Palomino went there I could never find the pass Even in good weather, somebody would have to show you the first time In a storm by this. I've got to do something I can't stand by and let my wife die. I'll
[00:36:25] Unknown:
go out to the barn. No. I don't expect you to touch the horse, Ken. I understand these things better now. And you can see that I must go.
[00:36:33] Unknown:
First, let's see if the horse is still there. Yes. Yep. Yes.
[00:36:41] Unknown:
Cool. And the blanket is tucked off and he wrapped it around you.
[00:37:27] Unknown:
Down. Joe is with them. It's search and rescue from town. Search and rescue? That's a local organization. They have special equipment. Mostly, they go after hunters who get lost in the San Francisco Peaks. Well, how did they know about us? The ranch hand sold them Managed to throw a makeshift bridge across the Yaqui down below The road is mostly washed out but they can make it slowly Thank God Ken Yeah?
[00:37:55] Unknown:
Ken I want to thank you for what you did
[00:37:58] Unknown:
I know what it meant Yes It's all right Look
[00:38:01] Unknown:
We were wrong Ken We We behaved badly But when you've lived all your life a certain way and believed certain things it's it's hard to in any way everything will be okay now.
[00:38:14] Unknown:
I hope you're right. Oh, I'd better get back under the top when the rain's starting again. Kim D circled around. It's coming from the other side now. Oh, nonsense, man. We'll soon
[00:39:24] Unknown:
I wouldn't let it go. I I I killed him. I killed him. I killed him. I'll never forgive myself. I'm a murderer. No. No, miss. It's not your fault. We don't control these things. They're actually You said Jim Dee would kill anyone who touched his property. You said it. You know you did. It is my fault. It is it. I killed you. Katie, I killed you. I killed you. I killed you. He saved our lives. And Katie, stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. You have got to get this straight now. It was an accident. Do you hear me? An accident. I I I no. I killed him. I'll never fix you myself. It was not an accident. You all know what it was. Why don't you say it? It was it was 10 b. Oh, God forgive me
[00:40:04] Unknown:
I I killed him I killed him She was to blame all her life She's hysterical Cindy, Tim
[00:40:08] Unknown:
D Jillie, listen to me There is no Tim D What happened was an accident You got to hold on to that fact
[00:40:16] Unknown:
There's a horse. Get rid of us. Just drive her away. Oh, take Mrs. Moore to the truck, boys. We'll have to come back for Kenneth later. No, no. I I I won't go unless you bring Kenneth too. You're not going to leave him here alone. Hey, watch me.
[00:40:29] Unknown:
I'm gonna ride that Palomino. Cindy, I'm taking your horse, Cindy. I defy you. If you're there, show us your power now. I defy you. There is no Jindi. Miss Moore? You there? Oh,
[00:41:00] Unknown:
just just mister Murchison. Oh, come on in. Oh, you're tangible. Just a second. I'll get this cleaned up here.
[00:41:07] Unknown:
My my wife sent this over to you. Oh, nice. Well, she she remembered you always did like it. Banana bread. Yeah.
[00:41:15] Unknown:
Well, we're glad to have you back with us in Connecticut. We thought we'd lost you to the West. Oh, it's good to be back. Did you see, Jeff? He's working over the edge of the woods.
[00:41:25] Unknown:
There's a tree, he says, has to come down. It looks dirty enough to me. Well, if he's talking about the oak near the clump of white birch,
[00:41:32] Unknown:
paint as solid as it looks,
[00:41:34] Unknown:
you're planning to stay now for good? Oh, yes. We we sold everything we owned out west.
[00:41:40] Unknown:
It was beautiful. Mary and I drove out there once. It was all too big for me, all too, too much. The Connecticut
[00:41:48] Unknown:
is more cozy. Yeah? Well, I'll be getting along. Along. I wanna see Jeff. There's something I should tell him about that tree. Tell missus Murchison. I'll be able to see her as soon as I get settled. Well, if we can help, just let us know. What was that?
[00:42:03] Unknown:
Sounds like he felled the tree.
[00:42:05] Unknown:
See, he wasn't going to chop it down. Jeff? Jeff?
[00:42:10] Unknown:
You alright, Jeff? Sure. Mister Merchant, look. Hello, ma'am. Hello. Tell them to send the ambulance. We can't move that tree just for two of us now. Quick girl. Quick. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look
[00:42:34] Unknown:
just had it. I I was coming to tell you, Jeff. It's it's rotten all the way through.
[00:42:40] Unknown:
You see, that tree was struck years ago by lightning.
[00:42:53] Unknown:
Jeff Moore is in a wheelchair now. Nobody knows just why. The doctors say he suffered no permanent injury when that tree fell. But sometime late at night, when she hears the wind rising, the rain beginning to fall, Katie's thoughts go back to Antelope Valley and Kenneth Yazzie and the Palomino. And she wonders. I'll be back shortly. Lightning strikes, invoking a tribal taboo. Result? Two dead men and a house plunged into darkness. Two months and 3,000 miles later, a third man is struck down. Coincidence, of course. But what is coincidence? A word.
A word we use to explain what we cannot explain. Our cast included Ruby Dee, Mandel Kramer, Leon Janney, and Guy Sorrell. The entire production was under the direction of Hyman Brown.
[00:44:35] Unknown:
Hello. It is Ryan, and I was on a flight the other day playing one of my favorite social spin slot games on chumbacasino.com. I looked over the person sitting next to me, and you know what they were doing? They were also playing Chumba Casino. Coincidence? I think not. Everybody's loving having fun with it. Chumba Casino is home to hundreds of casino style games that you can play for free anytime, anywhere, even at 30,000 feet. So sign up now at chumbacasino.com to claim your free welcome bonus. That's chumbacasino.com
[00:45:01] Unknown:
and live the Chumba life. No purchase necessary. Each tele route, way prohibited by law. See terms and conditions. 18
Hello. It is Ryan, and I was on a flight the other day playing one of my favorite social spin slot games on chumbacasino.com. I looked over the person sitting next to me, and you know what they were doing? They were also playing Chumba casino. Coincidence? I think not. Everybody's loving having fun with it. Chumba Casino is home to hundreds of casino style games that you can play for free anytime, anywhere, even at 30,000 feet. So sign up now at chumbacasino.com to claim your free welcome bonus. That's Chumba Casino dot com and live the Chumba life. No purchase necessary. VW, void, prohibited by law,
[00:00:38] Unknown:
True Value Hardware, your store of first choice.
[00:01:00] Unknown:
Come in.
[00:01:03] Unknown:
Welcome. I'm E. G. Marshall. Welcome to the world of primeval dread, to the fear you can hear. Do things have souls? Do natural forces embody malicious spirits? That was the primitive distorted shadow of some long forgotten lore? Dark images we dare not face. Jeff Moore never found the answer, but the question shattered his life.
[00:01:58] Unknown:
You devil, Chindy. I defy you. You called me and I'm here, Chindy. I'm here. I defy you. Play you. Stop. Stop. Just just just go. What
[00:02:10] Unknown:
a dream having a nightmare.
[00:02:12] Unknown:
Oh, Katie. He did a terrible break again.
[00:02:32] Unknown:
Of melting flesh It
[00:02:34] Unknown:
was the face of the man we buried our bear in the sand Kitty Kitty
[00:02:53] Unknown:
Our mystery drama, The Devil God, was written especially for the mystery theater by Mary Jane Higbee and stars Ruby Dee and Mandel
[00:03:05] Unknown:
Kramer.
[00:03:20] Unknown:
The main character of our drama tonight will never appear. I think you will feel his presence, however, as thousands have felt it through the long centuries that brought us out of the prehistoric
[00:03:32] Unknown:
cave
[00:03:33] Unknown:
to the place where we now stand. As Jeff and Katie Moore, a young couple from New England felt it among the stark cliffs of the Southwest. But let Katie tell you about
[00:03:48] Unknown:
it. That storm last night shook this whole house like a panic shaking away. I lay trembling in my bed while it crashed its way towards it and burst in a roar overhead. Oh, no. Jeff started screaming in his feet. I'll be This is the storm. It's the horse again.
[00:04:16] Unknown:
The horse galloping toward me the rider wrapped in a long black shroud. Suddenly he turned his face to me and it was a massive melting flesh. The face of the man we buried out there
[00:04:29] Unknown:
in the sand. Oh, Katie.
[00:04:33] Unknown:
Katie, Katie, am I ever going to get over this?
[00:04:41] Unknown:
What do you think about a vicious storm? How innocent and clean the world crapped off? Oh, the morning the air was so shimmering clear For a moment, I thought I was back in Antelope Valley That day I first saw it nestling in the desert mountain I didn't know then the pillar hidden in low hills I wish I had known. Pee oh, I wish I had known.
[00:05:08] Unknown:
Yeah. Sorry about the shape this road's in, folks. This is a road? Are we on our own property yet, mister Grady? It will be as soon as we cross the little Yaki River. It's only 20 miles or so on top from there. Mhmm. Your uncle left you a fine ranch. You're gonna be mighty happy when you see what you've got. I'll be mighty happy if I still got my kids. It's awfully nice of you to bring us all the way out here. Well, I couldn't let you come out alone the first time. You being strangers to this part of the country and all. Now when we get to the top of
[00:05:39] Unknown:
Well, I couldn't let you come out alone the first time. You'll be in strangers to this part of the country and all. Now when we get to the top of this rise, you're gonna see a grade age
[00:05:44] Unknown:
of government bungling. A few months ago, they sent out some fancy eastern engineers. First thing they did was pull out the bridge that was here and move it 10 miles downriver. Never stopped to find out there was a house 20 miles back and this bridge was the only access. Oh dear, well what do we do? The jeep won't make it through the gully. Yeah. Please stay. I think it will. I better walk down first though to make sure. Sure. You sure I can with you? Nah. No use both of us getting their feet wet. Well, I can see why he said we'd never make it in our own car.
[00:06:26] Unknown:
Honey, when I think of your uncle sinking all of his money in this godforsaken country God. Come on darling, you've seen too many John Wayne movies. It's valuable love. I know, I know. And I'm lucky I married a beautiful woman who turned out to be an heiress.
[00:06:43] Unknown:
I'm glad we didn't know my Uncle Bush was making me as heir. I'd have thought you were marrying me for my vast holdings.
[00:06:50] Unknown:
Well, I just hope that among the vast holdings he left a bottle of Scotch
[00:06:54] Unknown:
because I'm gonna need it if Joe Purdy manages to get us across these craters of the Moon I just wanna be sure that there was no quicksand.
[00:07:05] Unknown:
We're really going down into that ravine. Yep.
[00:07:09] Unknown:
Here we go.
[00:07:14] Unknown:
Oh,
[00:07:16] Unknown:
boy.
[00:07:19] Unknown:
Well, made it. It shook out a bit. Sorry, folks. Oh. Well, that's the little Yaki River.
[00:07:27] Unknown:
River? There wasn't a quart of water in it. No. Not now.
[00:07:30] Unknown:
But don't you ever try what I just did. Come a flash flood and it'll be a wall of water rushing down. Yeah. I've seen little jackrabbits caught in the deep rattlesnakes. That's why your uncle was so mad about that bridge. You can't get to your land from the new one without scaling the cliff. What? Mister Purdy, wait a minute. Now you're saying that once you leave us, we are completely cut off trap? Oh, no. The ranch ranch hands can always get you out. Kenneth, he's your foreman. He talks English real good. Well, what are the others talking? Their own language.
[00:08:06] Unknown:
They're Indians. Indians?
[00:08:08] Unknown:
Why didn't anybody tell us all this? Well now I wouldn't worry. Well your uncle had the best ranch hands in the state. That's why Antelope Valley's such a fine money making outfit. Well not yet. Don't borrow trouble. Wait till we get there. See what it's like. I know what it's like. Flash floods, quicksand,
[00:08:25] Unknown:
rattlesnakes and six feet of snow. Katie we are moving into a trap.
[00:08:36] Unknown:
The death misgivings stayed in an antelope Valley lay spread before us. Us. A lone white l shaped house half hidden in cotton trees and bordered by bright flowers. And winding in the distance, the gully that marked the upper course of the little Yaki. Some Indians were standing around
[00:09:01] Unknown:
And
[00:09:02] Unknown:
here we are, folks.
[00:09:06] Unknown:
Well,
[00:09:07] Unknown:
after what we've been through, this is kinda like Shangri La, isn't it? We'll just get the luggage out. Oh, there's your foreman.
[00:09:15] Unknown:
Hi, Ken. Hi, Jerome. Mister and missus Moore, Kenneth Yazzie. Yeah. Hi, Mitch. Missus Yazzie. I'll help with your bags. Well, thank you. And if you'll excuse me, I'll get back to work. We're just finishing up. Alright. If I show you around later. Oh, yes. Cool. The freezer's well stocked, isn't it, Ken? Sure is. Couple of sides of beef and a lot of game. Now don't you carry anything, missus Moore. Just get the door for us, please. I've had the house open and airing for you all day.
[00:09:47] Unknown:
What a nice room. What a great fire. And look at this. You wouldn't expect a picture window in a ranch house, would you? Oh, your uncle built himself a real modern Oh, look. Look. I'm on the hill. What a beauty.
[00:10:02] Unknown:
Oh, you mean a horse.
[00:10:04] Unknown:
Hey. That's a palomino, isn't it? What? Isn't that a palomino out there? Oh, it's gone.
[00:10:10] Unknown:
I think you must be mistaken. I think you saw a deer. No. No. It was a horse all around. Wonderful gold in Maine. I'm gonna get some sugar and see if I can No. Take a
[00:10:20] Unknown:
What? Leave it alone. Why, Ken?
[00:10:23] Unknown:
That horse is no good, Joe. What do you mean? There's a bad feeling about that horse, missus Moore. Leave her alone. She doesn't belong here. Whose horse is it? Bad feeling. Don't go near it. Let her go. But doesn't she belong to her? Doesn't she? Believe me, missus Moore.
[00:10:41] Unknown:
You staying overnight, Joe? No. No. I have to get back to the office.
[00:10:46] Unknown:
The title company won't run itself, you know. Well, you'll stay and have a drink with us, won't you?
[00:10:52] Unknown:
The boys
[00:10:53] Unknown:
want to talk to you, Joe. Yeah. Sure. Sure. I'll go out to the corral and say hello and, yes, mister Moore. I reckon I better have one for that road. We'll be right back.
[00:11:08] Unknown:
Well, what do you suppose that was all about? The horse, you mean? That Indian looks so funny. That foodie looked frightened.
[00:11:18] Unknown:
A valuable animal like that shouldn't be running around loose. Oh, come on, darling. I wanna see the rest of the house. This oh, look at this kitchen. It's it's huge.
[00:11:33] Unknown:
Hey. You're gonna walk right inside the closets. Boy.
[00:11:37] Unknown:
Hey, here Uncle Bush Hyatt was no teetotaler. I'll say that for you. Get the ice, honey. I'll see if I can find some glasses. There's enough liquor here to last the whole winter.
[00:11:47] Unknown:
Who'd he staring at? That horse again. Mhmm. Look through this window.
[00:11:52] Unknown:
It's heavenly. Oh, Jeff. Boy, Joe Purdy showed deep in conversation with those Indians. They're kind of a sullen looking lot, aren't they?
[00:12:03] Unknown:
No. I don't,
[00:12:04] Unknown:
I don't think I would exactly call this place heavenly, honey. Hostel seems a better word. You don't like it.
[00:12:12] Unknown:
Oh, just give it a few weeks' trial. Look, it's beautiful, Kate, but
[00:12:16] Unknown:
oh, I guess I'm just tired. Oh. Hey. Well, in the kitchen, you're getting it all together. What do you have? Bourbon or scotch? Oh, bourbon. Bourbon's fine. I haven't found the soda yet. Will tap water be alright? Never mind the water. I'm gonna ask you folks to, put me up for the night. Oh, wonderful. Oh, sure. Wonderful. Well, here's to a happy life in Antelope Valley. Yes. Cheers, Joe. Cheers. You don't mind if I call you that day? Of course not. Everybody does. Well, I, I have to ride out behind the hills tomorrow.
[00:12:46] Unknown:
Oh, why?
[00:12:47] Unknown:
There's a job to do back there. Nasty job too. The ranch hands asked me if I'd do it. Why'd they do it themselves? Yeah. They can't. It has something to do with their religion. Oh, and by the way, I wanna talk to you about that. You've got the best cowhands in the state. Now you'll get along just fine if, if you respect their ways, their
[00:13:09] Unknown:
religion. What what is their religion?
[00:13:12] Unknown:
Well, as near as I can figure, the Indian lives in a different world from us. He lives in a world of spirits. Where we see a cloud, he sees a spirit. Where we hear the wind Well, that's animatism. Well, I wouldn't know about that. But the important thing is not to rile those spirits.
[00:13:34] Unknown:
Okay. Okay. I'll drink to that. No. No. I'm I'm serious.
[00:13:38] Unknown:
And I advise you to be because, well, I seen some mighty strange things in my time. And now about that horse, Palomino How about that? Now is it ours or isn't it? Well, I figure it isn't. You see, anything the lightning god has touched belongs to him. You mean the horse was struck by lightning? It didn't hurt her. One of those freak accidents. But now she belongs to the lightning god. He'll strike down anybody who tries to take what is his. So,
[00:14:13] Unknown:
leave her alone, okay? Oh, come on. That's nonsense. Plain superstition. It's what they believe. Well, Kenneth doesn't go for this rubbish, does he? He seems like an educated man. He was a track star at UCLA.
[00:14:25] Unknown:
So it won't make the Olympics. But Ken is an Indian.
[00:14:30] Unknown:
I see. Alright. I look let's get this straight. The horse belongs to this ranch. Right? And it's a valuable animal, isn't it? I reckon so. Now you're saying that I can't keep her, can't even sell her because of some whammy that somebody's put on her? I'm saying you won't go near that horse if you know what's good for you. But that's crazy. Don't be so sure. Well, you don't believe this drivel, do you? I don't believe it, and I don't not believe it. Well, that horse is going back into the barn. It's ours, and I'm keeping it. You take that attitude, and you will be in trouble. Bad trouble. That is superstition
[00:15:06] Unknown:
right out of the dark ages. Older than that, I reckon. But it's it's their belief. And this would be one hell of a time to try to talk them out of it. They've got a dead man lying back in the hills to prove it.
[00:15:20] Unknown:
A dead man?
[00:15:22] Unknown:
If you're so cock sure about these things, ride out with me tomorrow when I go bury him.
[00:15:36] Unknown:
Katie leaves the two men still stubbornly arguing the pros and cons of superstition, to stand at her bedroom window watching the motionless stars. As one springs to sudden life and goes skimming across the sky, she makes a wish, then smiles at herself. A meteor, nothing more. What power has it to grant good fortune? Troubled, she turns to her bed and her first night's sleep in the eerie stillness of Antelope Valley. I'll be back shortly with act two of The Devil God. A profound stillness has settled over the remote ranch, broken only by the occasional howl of a coyote.
In spite of her uneasiness about the gruesome task her city bred husband has agreed to undertake with Joe Purdy, Katie Moore has fallen into a deep sleep. She awakes with a start. Someone is moving about the room.
[00:16:54] Unknown:
Yes?
[00:16:55] Unknown:
Oh, I didn't mean to wake you, honey. I'm sorry. Oh, it's so dark. It sure is. And Joe Purdy says early, he means it.
[00:17:03] Unknown:
I'll get you breakfast. No. No. No. We've had breakfast. Don't get up. Katie, do you know where that blue cotton shirt of mine is? I think I put it,
[00:17:11] Unknown:
yes, second drawer down. Okay, then.
[00:17:15] Unknown:
So how's the girl at the Golden West?
[00:17:19] Unknown:
Did did you hear anything?
[00:17:20] Unknown:
No. Like what? I thought I heard hoof speech.
[00:17:29] Unknown:
Talk to me about dressing gown, will you? Chilly, isn't it? Yes. There there she is again, the palomino. Oh, poor thing.
[00:17:39] Unknown:
Probably holy. You know, Katie, this whole setup seems fishy. You mean about the whole? The whole situation on this ranch. After you went to bed last night, I found out the name of this guy that we're going to bury. Little gambler. And whose father do you think he is? Kenneth Yazzie's father? That's right. Our college graduates. Now a superstition or no superstition, you don't leave your father lying out where the buzzards and coyotes can get at him. Oh, Jeff. Don't. I'm sorry, honey, but I tell you, I won't be surprised if we find him shot through the head or stabbed in the back, if we can tell from what's left of him. There's something phony going on. I'm not sure Joe isn't part of it. Oh, no, Jack. Well, you take this guy's name, Little Gambler.
Honey, you know that horse is worth a lot of money.
[00:18:27] Unknown:
You think there was a fight over the horse? I don't know.
[00:18:30] Unknown:
And I sure don't go for all this mumbo jumbo about lightning gods and rainbow gods and spirits of death. It's too easy an out.
[00:18:39] Unknown:
Can you see, is that horse still there?
[00:18:42] Unknown:
Uh-huh.
[00:18:43] Unknown:
Poor thing. It needs a good culling. As soon as I'm dressed, I'm going out and putting it into the barn. And, Katie, you see that it stays there.
[00:18:55] Unknown:
The sun was beginning to rise as I watched Wiry Joe hurting and my cheerful blonde husband ride out of sight. I turned to unpacking and settling into my new home. Just after midday, a sudden commotion drew me out into the yard. The barn door was open and in the dark interior, a golden mane flashed through the air as the telomere had suddenly come across. I could make out two shadowy figures behind Yes. My husband put the velomino in the barn this morning, and I caught these men trying to drive her out. I don't think so, Mrs. Moore? Oh, yes. I saw them. The horse is no good. You mean she's vicious. That's absurd. She's as gentle as a lamb. No good for the ranch. She was my uncle's horse, wasn't she? Kenneth, I'm serious about this. We're keeping her. And from now on, I want the boys to take good care of her. They have other work to do. Oh, come on. All this fuss is because you were struck by lightning, isn't it? Let's settle this once and for all.
This was my uncle's ranch. Now my husband and I occupy the place that he did. Your uncle understood Indian ways. I understand, too. I know how the ranch hands feel about the lightning guard, and I snub with that. But I don't for one minute believe in it, and I don't think you do.
[00:20:24] Unknown:
Mrs. Moore, let the horse go. Otherwise,
[00:20:29] Unknown:
I cannot be responsible. You don't have to be. Just do as I say. He turned on his heel and left me standing He turned on his heel and
[00:20:39] Unknown:
left me standing there in the blazing heat. Tears of fury stung my eyes.
[00:20:41] Unknown:
I watched a buzzer circling in the clear sky. Then the thought of Jeff and the grizzly job he had set out to do sent a shiver through me and I ran back into the cool ranch house. I prowled restlessly from room to room until in my uncle's office, I came across a photograph album, a pictorial record of his days as a trader on the Indian reservation. A recent snapshot, not yet was the Palomino. I was so engrossed in the album that I I didn't notice the change in the weather. A wind had come up and a door started banging. And I ran to fastness and I could see the cottonwoods outside writhing in the wind. A few Indians had gathered near the corral.
One of them, taller than the rest, wore a big black hat. He was pointing to the east where a dark menacing cloud hung over the hills. I felt stifled. I sat down, gasping for breath, and watched while the ugly things spread like some monstrous growth across the sky. Shortly after sunset, Jess and Joe Purdy returned.
[00:22:05] Unknown:
Honey? Oh, Jeff. Jeff, I'm so glad you're back. Not as flat as I am. What a day. Nasty chore. I reckon it gave your husband a bad turn. Better believe it. You look exhausted, darling. Aren't you coming in, Joe? No. No. I'll just return our ponies to the corral, and then I gotta get on my way. Mhmm. I wanna keep ahead of that storm, at least till I cross the little Yaki. You'll excuse me, missus Moore? Oh, of course. Goodbye. Goodbye. Thanks, Joe, for everything. Oh, Joe. I'll see you soon. Sure. Sure. I'll keep in touch. Oh, Ken,
[00:22:36] Unknown:
take these ponies. I've gotta get going. Okay. You'll make it if you hurry, Joe. So long.
[00:22:43] Unknown:
Oh, come on in, darling. Yeah.
[00:22:47] Unknown:
Those cow ponies are tough little animals. I don't think anything else could have made this trek. It was rugged, You'd never believe it, honey. I'll say this for the lightning god when he says not to do his job.
[00:22:58] Unknown:
That bolt must have hit the Indian in the head and spun him right around. His face was, like, melted. Oh, even his moccasins were split. And a funny thing, his blouse was untouched, but the sleeves were gone. Apparently, it went up in smoke, and the flesh on his arms was
[00:23:20] Unknown:
peeled to the wrist.
[00:23:22] Unknown:
Do you think it really lost lightning? Oh, no question about it.
[00:23:25] Unknown:
Freak accident. Strange how often people use that word about lightning. Freak? Yeah. You have to see it to know why.
[00:23:33] Unknown:
I mean, it looks
[00:23:35] Unknown:
it looks deliberate. You know, like two guys are in a boat and one is struck by lightning and killed and the other one isn't touched. You know what I mean? Mhmm. The Indians think it's malicious spirits. Chimdi, they call it. Well, it's nonsense, of course. But
[00:23:50] Unknown:
I tell you, standing alone with Joe out there in the desert, it was funny, but
[00:23:56] Unknown:
it was like I could feel a a presence. I kept looking over my shoulder. I told Joe and he said, Yep. Chin B. That's the death devil. Chin B.
[00:24:11] Unknown:
Yes. Alright. Look, honey, I was darn glad to get away from there. It's getting dark. That evil presence was I better put on some more lights. Where where's the light switch? Oh, by the front door. Oh, oh, yes. Mhmm. Come on in the kitchen, dear. I've got a good rich beef stew on the stove and you'll feel better when you've eaten. What was the scenery like back there? In sky, sand, and sagebrush.
[00:24:39] Unknown:
The handiwork of chin beef.
[00:24:43] Unknown:
Storms.
[00:24:44] Unknown:
My goodness. It's black outside. Said you I wouldn't wanna be Joe Purdy driving back to town now.
[00:24:51] Unknown:
Oh, lightning. Look. Sheep lightning,
[00:25:09] Unknown:
sky hit last year. For Palomino?
[00:25:12] Unknown:
That's right. And he knew the lightning god gets mad if anybody takes what's his.
[00:25:19] Unknown:
You know, Katie, I'm afraid we're gonna have to give her up.
[00:25:23] Unknown:
Oh, no. She's a jewel, a prize winner, you know, and she's been so neglected. It's awful. Uncle Bush was very proud of her. How do you know? Well, I found the picture of him standing beside her the day she took first at some horse show. Well,
[00:25:38] Unknown:
we can't keep her.
[00:25:39] Unknown:
Jeff, you're not gonna let them drive her away. Honey, there are forces around us that we don't dare contend with. Jeff, what are you talking about? You know it's superstition.
[00:25:50] Unknown:
It's easy to say that here in this cozy house.
[00:25:53] Unknown:
But out there, in those bleak burning dunes, I tell you, Katie, there was something. I could feel it. I feel it now.
[00:26:01] Unknown:
That
[00:26:03] Unknown:
was a close button. Yes. And a sheep liking and sport
[00:26:08] Unknown:
I'm going out and open the barn door. Jeff, just you're not. Not in this weather. I won't let you drive her drive her out into this weather. What's the matter with you? You said yourself, this is nonsense. It's bringing us trouble. Bad trouble. I can feel it coming like a hot wind. You've been out in the hot sun all day, and Joe Purdy has hypnotized you with this rubbish. Joe says the ranch hands will all leave if we try to keep her. Listen. We'll get others. They have good jobs here, and good jobs I'll listen to get these days. But, honey, this morning, I felt the way you do. But damn it all, you haven't seen what I've seen. That Indian looked like he'd been scalped. I know. I saw it. I'm not just talking. Now we've got to get rid of the horse. Jeff, listen to me, dear. If we give in now, we'll lose all authority. You know, I had an unpleasant scene with Kenneth earlier. He was very rude, and we can't start out that way. This taboo or whatever it is is stupid and barbaric, and we're not going to yield to it.
[00:27:02] Unknown:
I'm gonna make some calls. Stay away from the sink.
[00:27:10] Unknown:
You mean I can't even run water for coffee? Not until the worst of the storm is over. It's heading for us right now. Joel was telling me that before lightning strikes, you can sometimes feel an electric charge run through your body. If you and your hairs rise, it's the hand of Chin D. Then you're probably going to be hit, and the only thing to do is drop flat on the ground and pray.
[00:27:36] Unknown:
The light.
[00:27:37] Unknown:
Hit a power line, I guess. But what do we do? Just keep calm.
[00:27:41] Unknown:
Lights will probably go on again.
[00:27:43] Unknown:
It's awfully dark.
[00:27:45] Unknown:
We got a flashlight. Yeah, but it's in the car back in town. Matthew? Not since I go with
[00:27:50] Unknown:
smoking There's gotta be some candles around here I saw some this morning
[00:27:54] Unknown:
I remember now I was putting things in the kitchen closet I know where they are Unless he matches it too I'll get them Let's see now It's over here past the stage. Yes. They're in the back on the third Katie, what happened?
[00:28:12] Unknown:
Katie, are you alright? Katie, where are you?
[00:28:27] Unknown:
Groping his way through the darkness, Jeff struggles against the sudden rush of his own superstitious fear. But one man's superstition is another man's firmly held faith. And perhaps the only safe conduct through the uncertainties of this valley of shadows
[00:28:47] Unknown:
is a healthy respect for the beliefs of others.
[00:28:51] Unknown:
Common courtesy or common sense should teach us that. If not, the powers that we may find harsher ways to bring the lesson home. I'll return shortly with act three. An unfamiliar house, a wrong step, and a headlong plunge into black emptiness, Katie moralized dazed and frightened on a rough cement floor.
[00:29:37] Unknown:
Oh. Katie? Katie, where are you? Are you all right?
[00:29:42] Unknown:
I think so. Don't try to get to me, Jeff. Wait. I'll see if I can get up. Oh. Oh. Are you hurting?
[00:30:12] Unknown:
Now, where where are you, Nami? Here. Oh, okay.
[00:30:16] Unknown:
Alright. Listen. Do you think do you think you can put your arm around my neck?
[00:30:21] Unknown:
I'll try.
[00:30:25] Unknown:
I'll try. I better not try to move you until we get some light. I gotta find those cameras.
[00:30:30] Unknown:
I'll be right back, darling. Watch this. Okay. Watch this. Hello? Tomorrow, Hello? Oh, Ken. Thank God. You brought a light. I could see from the bunkhouse that the place was still dark. I figured you didn't have a flashlight so I brought a couple of kerosene lamps. But my wife fell down the cellar steps and I'm afraid she's badly hurt I didn't dare try to move her
[00:30:50] Unknown:
Ken's brought her some lamps there It just happened a minute ago She told him these steps She was looking for candles She thought she was going into the kitchen closet And she opened the wrong door
[00:31:00] Unknown:
I I I can't move. I can't turn over. Let's see.
[00:31:05] Unknown:
Oh. Oh. Oh. Looks like it's a shoulder.
[00:31:10] Unknown:
It's a collarbone. My legs still are.
[00:31:12] Unknown:
I I can move. Right. Slipping your arm around her waist, I think I can open her so it won't be too bad, But it's easy. It's going to hurt some, Mrs. Moore. Ready?
[00:31:24] Unknown:
Yes. Alright. Do you think you dare lift her? Yes.
[00:31:27] Unknown:
I've got her. Tell me when you're ready.
[00:31:31] Unknown:
I'll try now. Step at a time and then bring the lamp. Yeah. I think I can walk up here. Okay. Nice and snug, aren't you? Careful.
[00:31:58] Unknown:
Can we get the lights on again, Kenneth? Not a chance.
[00:32:01] Unknown:
Until the worst of this is over, I have a hunch to hit the generator. I'm afraid I have to get back to the bunkhouse. Here we are now. Easy now, Mrs. Moore. Wonderful now. Easy. Yeah. I don't want to leave the ranch alone too long.
[00:32:16] Unknown:
They're, they're rescued. Yes, I understand. Alright, go ahead. And Ken? Yes? Go to the barn and get rid of her. My horse? No. No. Katie, don't make a wave. Not now.
[00:32:31] Unknown:
You're right. You're right. Do what you think's best. Thanks.
[00:32:36] Unknown:
It'll make things a whole lot easier for me.
[00:32:40] Unknown:
That was a bright flash throughout the whole room. Oh my god.
[00:32:46] Unknown:
What is it? Did you see that? Yes. I saw. If they can't do this, I'll stop them. I'll try. What's the matter? What happened? The ranch hands, honey. They're leaving. In that last flash, you could see a long line of ponies. They're all just quietly riding away. Oh, Jeff.
[00:33:01] Unknown:
I'm sorry. I know. We have to keep our heads here. We can leave too. I don't know. We have plenty of provisions.
[00:33:08] Unknown:
It can't rain forever. I never farted it down. Ken,
[00:33:13] Unknown:
did they take all the points? No. There's one left, but it was badly heard a few days ago. Kenneth, why did they all leave us? There's bad feeling here. You mean they're frightened? I'm damned if I understand it. They're not afraid of dying.
[00:33:29] Unknown:
It is the spirit of death they respect. It is indeed. Indians are proud before men. They're not proud before their
[00:33:47] Unknown:
will take all Antelope Valley for his own.
[00:34:01] Unknown:
By morning, I was running a fever. It rained for four days without bath. But part of the time, I was delirious and my memories are confused. Try to drink this, dear. I want some old kid.
[00:34:18] Unknown:
Honey, it's chicken broth. Well Try to take a little Mister Moore,
[00:34:22] Unknown:
I'm afraid, it's going to flood. A little yucky? There are sandbags in the barn. We've got to make a dike to protect the house. The river doesn't look that high. Remember, there's no vegetation in these hills to hold the water. Sudden downpour runs right off. Flash flood. Come on.
[00:34:43] Unknown:
Well, I've got a hold for a while,
[00:34:46] Unknown:
Not enough It's all we have I'm tired I'm gonna drown We've done all we can do Mr. Moore, we'll have to move to higher ground. When that water hits, the house may go. We can't, ma'am. We can't move Kitty outdoors in her condition We'll set a tarpaulin tent on the hill Take blankets Hurry It'll come anytime now We were lucky to get out. Look. Great Scott. It's a wall of water. Will the house go? I don't know. Never seen anything like that. It's like a name at first. Thank God you've had a son of death. Yeah. Yes, Kate. Yeah?
Horse, could we make it out of here now? I can use his way The barn is still standing Yes I'm gonna see if that Palomino went there I could never find the pass Even in good weather, somebody would have to show you the first time In a storm by this. I've got to do something I can't stand by and let my wife die. I'll
[00:36:25] Unknown:
go out to the barn. No. I don't expect you to touch the horse, Ken. I understand these things better now. And you can see that I must go.
[00:36:33] Unknown:
First, let's see if the horse is still there. Yes. Yep. Yes.
[00:36:41] Unknown:
Cool. And the blanket is tucked off and he wrapped it around you.
[00:37:27] Unknown:
Down. Joe is with them. It's search and rescue from town. Search and rescue? That's a local organization. They have special equipment. Mostly, they go after hunters who get lost in the San Francisco Peaks. Well, how did they know about us? The ranch hand sold them Managed to throw a makeshift bridge across the Yaqui down below The road is mostly washed out but they can make it slowly Thank God Ken Yeah?
[00:37:55] Unknown:
Ken I want to thank you for what you did
[00:37:58] Unknown:
I know what it meant Yes It's all right Look
[00:38:01] Unknown:
We were wrong Ken We We behaved badly But when you've lived all your life a certain way and believed certain things it's it's hard to in any way everything will be okay now.
[00:38:14] Unknown:
I hope you're right. Oh, I'd better get back under the top when the rain's starting again. Kim D circled around. It's coming from the other side now. Oh, nonsense, man. We'll soon
[00:39:24] Unknown:
I wouldn't let it go. I I I killed him. I killed him. I killed him. I'll never forgive myself. I'm a murderer. No. No, miss. It's not your fault. We don't control these things. They're actually You said Jim Dee would kill anyone who touched his property. You said it. You know you did. It is my fault. It is it. I killed you. Katie, I killed you. I killed you. I killed you. He saved our lives. And Katie, stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. You have got to get this straight now. It was an accident. Do you hear me? An accident. I I I no. I killed him. I'll never fix you myself. It was not an accident. You all know what it was. Why don't you say it? It was it was 10 b. Oh, God forgive me
[00:40:04] Unknown:
I I killed him I killed him She was to blame all her life She's hysterical Cindy, Tim
[00:40:08] Unknown:
D Jillie, listen to me There is no Tim D What happened was an accident You got to hold on to that fact
[00:40:16] Unknown:
There's a horse. Get rid of us. Just drive her away. Oh, take Mrs. Moore to the truck, boys. We'll have to come back for Kenneth later. No, no. I I I won't go unless you bring Kenneth too. You're not going to leave him here alone. Hey, watch me.
[00:40:29] Unknown:
I'm gonna ride that Palomino. Cindy, I'm taking your horse, Cindy. I defy you. If you're there, show us your power now. I defy you. There is no Jindi. Miss Moore? You there? Oh,
[00:41:00] Unknown:
just just mister Murchison. Oh, come on in. Oh, you're tangible. Just a second. I'll get this cleaned up here.
[00:41:07] Unknown:
My my wife sent this over to you. Oh, nice. Well, she she remembered you always did like it. Banana bread. Yeah.
[00:41:15] Unknown:
Well, we're glad to have you back with us in Connecticut. We thought we'd lost you to the West. Oh, it's good to be back. Did you see, Jeff? He's working over the edge of the woods.
[00:41:25] Unknown:
There's a tree, he says, has to come down. It looks dirty enough to me. Well, if he's talking about the oak near the clump of white birch,
[00:41:32] Unknown:
paint as solid as it looks,
[00:41:34] Unknown:
you're planning to stay now for good? Oh, yes. We we sold everything we owned out west.
[00:41:40] Unknown:
It was beautiful. Mary and I drove out there once. It was all too big for me, all too, too much. The Connecticut
[00:41:48] Unknown:
is more cozy. Yeah? Well, I'll be getting along. Along. I wanna see Jeff. There's something I should tell him about that tree. Tell missus Murchison. I'll be able to see her as soon as I get settled. Well, if we can help, just let us know. What was that?
[00:42:03] Unknown:
Sounds like he felled the tree.
[00:42:05] Unknown:
See, he wasn't going to chop it down. Jeff? Jeff?
[00:42:10] Unknown:
You alright, Jeff? Sure. Mister Merchant, look. Hello, ma'am. Hello. Tell them to send the ambulance. We can't move that tree just for two of us now. Quick girl. Quick. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look. Hey, look
[00:42:34] Unknown:
just had it. I I was coming to tell you, Jeff. It's it's rotten all the way through.
[00:42:40] Unknown:
You see, that tree was struck years ago by lightning.
[00:42:53] Unknown:
Jeff Moore is in a wheelchair now. Nobody knows just why. The doctors say he suffered no permanent injury when that tree fell. But sometime late at night, when she hears the wind rising, the rain beginning to fall, Katie's thoughts go back to Antelope Valley and Kenneth Yazzie and the Palomino. And she wonders. I'll be back shortly. Lightning strikes, invoking a tribal taboo. Result? Two dead men and a house plunged into darkness. Two months and 3,000 miles later, a third man is struck down. Coincidence, of course. But what is coincidence? A word.
A word we use to explain what we cannot explain. Our cast included Ruby Dee, Mandel Kramer, Leon Janney, and Guy Sorrell. The entire production was under the direction of Hyman Brown.
[00:44:35] Unknown:
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