WEBVTT 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:25.640 Mystery Theater. Come in. Welcome. I am E .G. 00:00:25.879 --> 00:00:29.500 Marshall. Welcome to The Sound of Suspense. to 00:00:29.500 --> 00:00:34.560 the fear you can hear. Our tale is a blood -freezing 00:00:34.560 --> 00:00:38.780 story inspired by a nursery rhyme, a sweet, simple 00:00:38.780 --> 00:00:43.759 song. Ring a ring of roses, a pocketful of poses. 00:00:44.259 --> 00:00:49.880 Achoo! Achoo! We all fall down. It sounds young 00:00:49.880 --> 00:00:53.500 and innocent, doesn't it? But it is very old 00:00:53.500 --> 00:00:57.619 and very sinister. For the ring -a -ring of roses 00:00:57.619 --> 00:01:00.079 were the splotches that first appeared on the 00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:03.140 faces of those afflicted during the Black Plague. 00:01:04.180 --> 00:01:07.579 The pocketful of poses were the herbs that were 00:01:07.579 --> 00:01:10.859 carried, hopefully to ward off the fatal disease. 00:01:11.739 --> 00:01:16.299 The sneezing sounds, achoo, achoo, were the sounds 00:01:16.299 --> 00:01:21.819 of the final spasms. And we all fall down was, 00:01:22.420 --> 00:01:33.730 well, you can guess. Our mystery drama, A Ring 00:01:33.730 --> 00:01:36.750 of Roses, was written especially for the Radio 00:01:36.750 --> 00:01:40.989 Mystery Theatre by S. J. Wilson and stars Glynis 00:01:40.989 --> 00:01:56.189 O 'Connor. Science has brought most plagues under 00:01:56.189 --> 00:02:00.450 control, but not so those other epidemics of 00:02:00.450 --> 00:02:04.379 the past. those that plague us with their unseen, 00:02:04.920 --> 00:02:09.159 unknown, and unexpected terrors. And such is 00:02:09.159 --> 00:02:12.960 the tale of terror you are about to hear. Draw 00:02:12.960 --> 00:02:16.740 close to the guttering candle, for you will receive 00:02:16.740 --> 00:02:24.780 no warmth from a ring of roses. You know, George, 00:02:25.319 --> 00:02:27.560 I've heard about this place so often from Helena. 00:02:27.949 --> 00:02:31.229 I'm just dying to see her home. And I'm anxious 00:02:31.229 --> 00:02:33.789 to meet your friend, Helena. Oh, I'm sure you'll 00:02:33.789 --> 00:02:37.270 like her. But will she like me, taking her best 00:02:37.270 --> 00:02:41.389 friend away from her? Come on, George. You know 00:02:41.389 --> 00:02:44.229 you're irresistible. Why do you think I'm going 00:02:44.229 --> 00:02:47.969 to marry you? Well, for one thing, my beautiful, 00:02:48.310 --> 00:02:52.610 exquisite, enormous pots of money. Oh, George, 00:02:52.770 --> 00:02:55.889 wait! Look! Laurie! Get your hands off the wheel! 00:02:56.370 --> 00:02:58.939 What do you think you're trying to... But we 00:02:58.939 --> 00:03:02.020 passed it! It's the sign to the house! Back there! 00:03:02.400 --> 00:03:06.060 Now, Laurie... Laurie, I never want you to do 00:03:06.060 --> 00:03:09.460 that again. I'm not gonna let missing a sign 00:03:09.460 --> 00:03:14.159 risk your getting hurt, you understand? I'm sorry. 00:03:15.020 --> 00:03:16.719 I shouldn't have grabbed the wheel that way. 00:03:17.159 --> 00:03:20.180 All right, forget it. But please, never again, 00:03:20.240 --> 00:03:27.560 ever. And that is supposed to be the sign? Helena 00:03:27.560 --> 00:03:31.180 warned that we might miss it. Why would anyone 00:03:31.180 --> 00:03:34.939 use a rose -colored stone in a brass oval with 00:03:34.939 --> 00:03:37.439 no name or any identification on it for a house 00:03:37.439 --> 00:03:41.259 sign? Well, their name is Rauston. And Helena 00:03:41.259 --> 00:03:43.419 said that generations back when their family 00:03:43.419 --> 00:03:47.400 first moved to America, it was rose stone. And 00:03:47.400 --> 00:03:51.219 so they put up a rose stone. Well, if they want 00:03:51.219 --> 00:03:53.639 people to get that meaning from it. They either 00:03:53.639 --> 00:03:56.199 enjoy guessing games or more likely just want 00:03:56.199 --> 00:04:00.960 to keep themselves very, very private. Yes. Guess 00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:05.419 what? As you said, they are very private. Well, 00:04:05.419 --> 00:04:08.460 I got that impression before we got here. And 00:04:08.460 --> 00:04:11.060 I also have the feeling that they're not very 00:04:11.060 --> 00:04:14.139 friendly either. Oh, how can you say that? When 00:04:14.139 --> 00:04:16.959 Helena's mother especially invited us over because 00:04:16.959 --> 00:04:19.319 she personally wanted to give us our engagement 00:04:19.319 --> 00:04:23.220 gift. Yes, and that's pretty peculiar too. How? 00:04:24.500 --> 00:04:27.680 How many parties, I mean showers, did your girlfriends 00:04:27.680 --> 00:04:31.120 give you? Four, right? No, three. The last one 00:04:31.120 --> 00:04:33.939 was a dinner. All right, and Helena was invited 00:04:33.939 --> 00:04:37.860 to every one, but she... I know, George. She 00:04:37.860 --> 00:04:40.920 didn't turn up for any of them. You know, Laurie, 00:04:42.120 --> 00:04:45.600 I've never seen you so wound up. What's spinning 00:04:45.600 --> 00:04:49.860 around in that pretty head of yours? I don't 00:04:49.860 --> 00:04:57.970 know, but... I am on edge. About what? I guess 00:04:57.970 --> 00:05:01.870 about meeting Helena's mother. You see, she's 00:05:01.870 --> 00:05:06.910 so strange. She seems so powerful and so terribly 00:05:06.910 --> 00:05:10.790 uncompromising. I was trying to change things 00:05:10.790 --> 00:05:13.689 for Helena, and then I let her down by becoming 00:05:13.689 --> 00:05:16.069 engaged to you. Well, now don't tell me you weren't 00:05:16.069 --> 00:05:18.870 gonna marry for poor Helena's sake. Well, at 00:05:18.870 --> 00:05:22.279 least not until she married first. We were going 00:05:22.279 --> 00:05:26.480 to share an apartment together in the city You 00:05:26.480 --> 00:05:29.899 know what I'm gonna do Laurie I am going to turn 00:05:29.899 --> 00:05:32.420 this car right around and head back to the city 00:05:32.420 --> 00:05:35.279 this whole trip is more Foolish than funny. Oh, 00:05:35.439 --> 00:05:45.579 no George. Please don't Hey, what's that you 00:05:45.579 --> 00:05:49.240 hear something like like like singing Let me 00:05:49.240 --> 00:05:53.160 open the window. It's a woman singing that old 00:05:53.160 --> 00:05:59.420 nursery rhyme. What's that snapping sound? It 00:05:59.420 --> 00:06:02.439 sounds like a piece of leather. It sounds like 00:06:02.439 --> 00:06:04.680 a whip. George, what are you doing? I'm getting 00:06:04.680 --> 00:06:07.470 out. Something's happening here that I don't 00:06:07.470 --> 00:06:09.689 like. No, don't open the door. Please don't. 00:06:09.689 --> 00:06:11.129 We'll go back if you want to, but don't. I'll 00:06:11.129 --> 00:06:13.370 be right back. Keep the window shut and the doors 00:06:13.370 --> 00:06:16.149 locked. No, don't leave me, George. I'm coming 00:06:16.149 --> 00:06:21.610 with you. Wait. Okay, but stay close to me. It 00:06:21.610 --> 00:06:25.009 seems to be coming from behind those hedges. 00:06:26.649 --> 00:06:29.430 You know, it could be just kids playing games. 00:06:30.209 --> 00:06:33.129 If that voice is coming from a kid, he's using 00:06:33.129 --> 00:06:37.889 a bullhorn. Let's stop here. We might see through 00:06:37.889 --> 00:06:43.350 the hedge. Please be careful. Holy Toledo. Look 00:06:43.350 --> 00:06:47.670 at that. Let me see. That man. The old man with 00:06:47.670 --> 00:06:50.350 the beard. He's trying to catch the girl with 00:06:50.350 --> 00:06:54.509 his whip. She's teasing him. She's making fun 00:06:54.509 --> 00:06:58.589 of him. If he lands that wagon whip on her, he'll 00:06:58.589 --> 00:07:01.750 split her face open. Look at their clothes, George. 00:07:02.250 --> 00:07:04.860 They're dressed like settlers. Back in the early 00:07:04.860 --> 00:07:08.540 1800s. Yeah. You know, they could be rehearsing 00:07:08.540 --> 00:07:11.740 a play. If they are, he's lost his mind in his 00:07:11.740 --> 00:07:14.079 part. That man's going wild with that whip. But 00:07:14.079 --> 00:07:17.379 she's provoking him. Why doesn't she stop? Hey. 00:07:18.079 --> 00:07:21.079 Hey, you there. What are you two doing? George, 00:07:21.519 --> 00:07:24.019 you shouldn't have done that. And who is it who 00:07:24.019 --> 00:07:27.100 is ordering me and questioning me? I am. Over 00:07:27.100 --> 00:07:30.430 here. That's a terrible thing you're doing. Oh, 00:07:30.589 --> 00:07:33.089 George, please don't go in there. They know we're 00:07:33.089 --> 00:07:36.250 here. We must meet them. That's a dangerous whip 00:07:36.250 --> 00:07:38.509 you're using. That young woman can be killed 00:07:38.509 --> 00:07:41.810 by it. I see by your clothes you are a stranger. 00:07:42.370 --> 00:07:45.629 And I can also see that you are a kind human 00:07:45.629 --> 00:07:49.389 who wishes no harm to come to another. But this, 00:07:49.410 --> 00:07:52.850 this wench is my daughter. And what I am doing 00:07:52.850 --> 00:07:56.149 is the true way to gain the obedience of a child 00:07:56.149 --> 00:07:59.370 who will stray. But what in heaven could she 00:07:59.370 --> 00:08:03.449 have done? to deserve being whipped I did no 00:08:03.449 --> 00:08:07.009 harm to no person or to him I have broken no 00:08:07.009 --> 00:08:09.930 law of God or man strumpet hold your witch's 00:08:09.930 --> 00:08:14.230 tongue believe me young woman when I tell you 00:08:14.230 --> 00:08:18.529 that she has the demon in her playing and wenching 00:08:18.529 --> 00:08:22.100 with the young master who owns this land Well, 00:08:22.100 --> 00:08:24.379 I'm out here working at clearing their forest 00:08:24.379 --> 00:08:27.600 lands she's up there in the great house with 00:08:27.600 --> 00:08:32.320 her enticements and tricks and enchantments and 00:08:32.320 --> 00:08:35.600 If it has already come to this that he has given 00:08:35.600 --> 00:08:40.120 her a gift for favors promised or already bestowed 00:08:40.120 --> 00:08:46.129 the gift of a ring and already He gave it to 00:08:46.129 --> 00:08:48.830 me fair and with the holy vow that he will marry 00:08:48.830 --> 00:08:51.909 me in the month of the next full moon. Marry 00:08:51.909 --> 00:08:56.070 you, Willie. You can have fair to read and write. 00:08:56.769 --> 00:09:00.389 You who are lower than his mother's kitchen scullion. 00:09:01.129 --> 00:09:04.450 You give me that ring. I won't. I swear by the 00:09:04.450 --> 00:09:06.750 name and the soul of my sainted mother that you 00:09:06.750 --> 00:09:10.649 will never get this ring. Then until I do, though 00:09:10.649 --> 00:09:14.230 it mean your own death, you get the whip. Stop 00:09:14.230 --> 00:09:17.629 it! Don't! Why can't you be a little more reasonable? 00:09:17.909 --> 00:09:20.649 She may be telling you the truth. I am. I swear 00:09:20.649 --> 00:09:23.889 it on my dead mother's Bible, I am. Well, then 00:09:23.889 --> 00:09:27.509 if you are, why don't you give him the ring and 00:09:27.509 --> 00:09:29.830 let your young man personally tell your father 00:09:29.830 --> 00:09:33.450 of his plans? No! No, he'll do no thing like 00:09:33.450 --> 00:09:36.850 that. He'll bury the ring in some secret spot 00:09:36.850 --> 00:09:39.899 and drag me away before the fall of night. For 00:09:39.899 --> 00:09:42.799 he doesn't want me to marry to no one but to 00:09:42.799 --> 00:09:45.279 stay with him and clean and cook and wash for 00:09:45.279 --> 00:09:47.960 the rest of his devil life. As you can see, she's 00:09:47.960 --> 00:09:50.600 beyond talking of matters with sense and decency. 00:09:51.080 --> 00:09:53.580 She's been taken up with her planning and scheming 00:09:53.580 --> 00:09:56.340 to get away from me for the purpose of harlot's 00:09:56.340 --> 00:10:00.179 gain. And she hardly of marrying him. I'll kill 00:10:00.179 --> 00:10:05.240 you! George! She has an axe! An axe! She's going 00:10:05.240 --> 00:10:07.259 to kill him! Stop! Stop! For God's sake, stop! 00:10:20.330 --> 00:10:23.350 What happened to her? There she is! She's running 00:10:23.350 --> 00:10:29.289 away! Hey! Hey, come back! Come back! You can't 00:10:29.289 --> 00:10:34.149 get away! It's you who will never get away! The 00:10:34.149 --> 00:10:39.250 ring will circle you! George! George, don't try 00:10:39.250 --> 00:10:42.389 to catch her! She's like the wind! I'll never 00:10:42.389 --> 00:10:45.870 get my hands on her! She's almost in the forest! 00:10:45.990 --> 00:10:48.269 Come back! Come back! We're not gonna hurt you! 00:10:52.590 --> 00:10:57.330 She's disappeared. Even before she got to the 00:10:57.330 --> 00:11:01.929 forest. But George, look what I found. It's the 00:11:01.929 --> 00:11:07.629 ring. She dropped the ring. Let me see it. You 00:11:07.629 --> 00:11:10.370 know what it's like? It's just like the road 00:11:10.370 --> 00:11:17.490 sign. It's the same shape. The same color stone. 00:11:18.909 --> 00:11:22.049 It's smaller, but it is just like the road sign. 00:11:22.399 --> 00:11:26.460 Rose colors George George we've got to get help 00:11:26.460 --> 00:11:32.419 the police somewhere Of course the house we've 00:11:32.419 --> 00:11:41.659 got to get to Helena's house This ring so rosy 00:11:41.659 --> 00:11:47.240 this ring so red does it belong to the living 00:11:47.240 --> 00:12:07.019 Return shortly with Act II. Let us return to 00:12:07.019 --> 00:12:10.700 the evil of a ring of roses and to our young 00:12:10.700 --> 00:12:13.279 friends who have been wrenched back through space 00:12:13.279 --> 00:12:17.179 to a time when a young woman raised an axe and 00:12:17.179 --> 00:12:22.159 split in more ways than one. But did she leave 00:12:22.159 --> 00:12:24.919 that strange foreboding ring with its bloody 00:12:24.919 --> 00:12:30.019 rose stone? What does the ring mean? Does it 00:12:30.019 --> 00:12:37.659 possess a tragic magic? Oh Why doesn't someone 00:12:37.659 --> 00:12:40.840 answer why don't they hurry take it easy Laura? 00:12:42.299 --> 00:12:45.279 Thank you. We've got to see a moment, please 00:12:45.629 --> 00:12:48.750 You are Miss Thornton? Yes, but we've got... 00:12:48.750 --> 00:12:52.009 And you, Mr. Williams? Yes, and we've come to 00:12:52.009 --> 00:12:55.850 see... Mrs. and Miss Roston are expecting you. 00:12:56.190 --> 00:13:05.750 Won't you follow me, please? Miss Thornton and 00:13:05.750 --> 00:13:10.830 Mr. Williamson. Oh, Laurie, how wonderful. Oh, 00:13:11.409 --> 00:13:18.899 but something's wrong. Your hair. And Lori, you're 00:13:18.899 --> 00:13:22.360 so pale. Something frightful has just happened, 00:13:22.559 --> 00:13:26.940 Helena. Can... Can I see you alone? I don't want 00:13:26.940 --> 00:13:30.019 to disturb your mother. My dear, you're not disturbing 00:13:30.019 --> 00:13:33.320 me in the slightest. This room has no secrets. 00:13:33.899 --> 00:13:36.940 Its acoustics are incredible. I'm Helena's mother. 00:13:37.559 --> 00:13:41.120 Hello, Mrs. Rauston. We've just had a very... 00:13:41.120 --> 00:13:44.929 a very unusual experience. Laurie's pretty badly 00:13:44.929 --> 00:13:48.830 shaken by it. Yes, so I see. Helena, why don't 00:13:48.830 --> 00:13:50.970 you take Laurie to your room, let her refresh 00:13:50.970 --> 00:13:54.909 herself. Perhaps Mr. Williamson will tell me 00:13:54.909 --> 00:13:57.250 something more about what's happened. I think 00:13:57.250 --> 00:14:00.590 the police should be notified at once. The police? 00:14:01.049 --> 00:14:04.370 Here? Did you have an accident? Well, not exactly, 00:14:04.570 --> 00:14:06.929 but we happen to see something that can only 00:14:06.929 --> 00:14:11.759 be described as... grossom, I guess. And the 00:14:11.759 --> 00:14:14.519 police should be notified. Mother, do you think... 00:14:14.519 --> 00:14:17.460 Helen, dearest, this is not the time for speculation. 00:14:18.159 --> 00:14:20.759 I shall be glad to have the deputy's office call. 00:14:21.539 --> 00:14:23.759 But can you give me some indication of what they'd 00:14:23.759 --> 00:14:27.399 be told? We don't like bothering our officers 00:14:27.399 --> 00:14:30.379 unnecessarily. They have enough to do as it is. 00:14:30.879 --> 00:14:34.080 But someone's just been murdered! Oh, no, not 00:14:34.080 --> 00:14:36.500 again. What? Now, Helena, restrain yourself, 00:14:36.700 --> 00:14:40.799 dearest. Laurie, you say someone's been murdered. 00:14:41.179 --> 00:14:44.799 Who? Well, we don't know who he is, but he was 00:14:44.799 --> 00:14:48.059 trying to whip a young woman. And Mr. Williamson, 00:14:48.100 --> 00:14:53.360 she took an axe and killed him. You know? How 00:14:53.360 --> 00:14:55.960 could you? I was praying that it wouldn't happen 00:14:55.960 --> 00:15:00.200 to you. Oh, poor Laurie. Now, why don't you young 00:15:00.200 --> 00:15:02.580 people make yourselves comfortable? A glass of 00:15:02.580 --> 00:15:05.159 sherry might calm you. But Mother, you told me 00:15:05.159 --> 00:15:08.259 that it would never happen again. That... Thing, 00:15:08.460 --> 00:15:11.860 Helena, I said I had taken every precaution not 00:15:11.860 --> 00:15:14.860 to have it happen. But who am I to promise I 00:15:14.860 --> 00:15:18.000 will control the uncontrollable? Are you saying 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:21.600 that this has happened before? Laurie, maybe 00:15:21.600 --> 00:15:24.580 Mrs. Rauston wants to explain. Well, not really, 00:15:24.679 --> 00:15:28.039 but I feel I'm obliged to. However, it is difficult. 00:15:28.919 --> 00:15:32.559 How does one explain the inexplicable? I think 00:15:32.559 --> 00:15:35.879 they're ghosts. There are no ghosts, Helena. 00:15:36.940 --> 00:15:40.299 Dr. Medvek, the last scientist I consulted, said 00:15:40.299 --> 00:15:43.379 it was undoubtedly an instance of photally sensory 00:15:43.379 --> 00:15:47.460 projection. Helena poo -poos it. But, uh, has 00:15:47.460 --> 00:15:49.539 either of you ever heard of that discipline? 00:15:50.059 --> 00:15:53.740 Oh, vaguely. It once came up in a course on parapsychology 00:15:53.740 --> 00:15:56.620 that I had at school. No one has ever proved 00:15:56.620 --> 00:16:00.059 PSP, Mother. Well, they've never proved ESP either, 00:16:00.059 --> 00:16:02.200 but a lot of serious scientists work with it. 00:16:02.460 --> 00:16:06.860 But, but, George, what does that... Photo -whatever 00:16:06.860 --> 00:16:11.860 -mean. It's quite complicated. Fatalysis is the 00:16:11.860 --> 00:16:14.279 means by which light can affect the arrangement 00:16:14.279 --> 00:16:18.320 of chlorophyll grains in leaves. Chlorophyll 00:16:18.320 --> 00:16:21.940 grains? Leaves? There's a man not more than a 00:16:21.940 --> 00:16:23.899 mile from here who's been murdered! Now calm 00:16:23.899 --> 00:16:28.399 yourself, my child. There is no such man and 00:16:28.399 --> 00:16:32.000 no such daughter. This has happened before. I've 00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:35.370 seen it. Helena has. A very few close friends 00:16:35.370 --> 00:16:40.490 have. Unfortunately, you have too. Mr. Williamson, 00:16:41.269 --> 00:16:43.629 do you think you'd still like to try an explanation 00:16:43.629 --> 00:16:47.870 of PSP? Well, it's spooky in a way. By that I 00:16:47.870 --> 00:16:51.950 mean the scientific explanation of it. You see, 00:16:51.990 --> 00:16:53.649 we're all supposed to give off certain light 00:16:53.649 --> 00:16:56.549 and heat waves. And what is it happens in the 00:16:56.549 --> 00:16:59.350 case of individuals who are emotionally stimulated, 00:16:59.490 --> 00:17:03.340 let us say... people in love well the theory 00:17:03.340 --> 00:17:05.839 has it that people in a very intense emotional 00:17:05.839 --> 00:17:08.759 state give off more highly concentrated waves 00:17:08.759 --> 00:17:12.319 well i just don't understand what chlorophyll 00:17:12.319 --> 00:17:16.019 and and leaves and light waves have to do with 00:17:16.019 --> 00:17:18.359 a man being murdered. You see, it's tied up with 00:17:18.359 --> 00:17:21.420 photosynthesis. And scientists aren't sure how 00:17:21.420 --> 00:17:24.259 that process really works. But with the unusual 00:17:24.259 --> 00:17:27.180 intensity of light, the cells of chlorophyll 00:17:27.180 --> 00:17:29.720 rearrange themselves and are forced to give off 00:17:29.720 --> 00:17:32.019 some of the excess carbohydrates in which there 00:17:32.019 --> 00:17:36.779 is an unusual amount of stored energy. I'm not 00:17:36.779 --> 00:17:39.839 following this at all. My dear. Helena speaks 00:17:39.839 --> 00:17:42.480 of you as having the patience of a saint. So, 00:17:42.660 --> 00:17:45.019 if you'd like me to telephone the deputies, I 00:17:45.019 --> 00:17:47.500 suggest you give your fiancé a chance to finish. 00:17:47.819 --> 00:17:50.660 There isn't much more, Laurie. Just at the openings 00:17:50.660 --> 00:17:52.559 in the leaves, they're called stonemates, tend 00:17:52.559 --> 00:17:56.539 to react like projectors. And through the magnification 00:17:56.539 --> 00:17:58.500 of additional oxygen, are supposed to be able 00:17:58.500 --> 00:18:01.380 to relay an episode they once absorbed when they 00:18:01.380 --> 00:18:06.400 were in the receptive state, like film. Are you 00:18:06.400 --> 00:18:09.279 talking about something... Something like motion 00:18:09.279 --> 00:18:12.380 picture film? Yes, Laurie, but it means something 00:18:12.380 --> 00:18:16.819 like a projector with a memory. A memory of blood, 00:18:16.839 --> 00:18:19.559 in this case. Well, it happens that chlorophyll 00:18:19.559 --> 00:18:22.359 is very much like hemoglobia, except that it 00:18:22.359 --> 00:18:24.680 contains magnesium instead of the iron found 00:18:24.680 --> 00:18:27.819 in blood. Are you saying that what we saw was 00:18:27.819 --> 00:18:31.220 a motion picture? Nothing more? Well, essentially, 00:18:31.400 --> 00:18:34.619 that's it. But when and where the original was 00:18:34.619 --> 00:18:38.839 recorded, we have no idea. But there's a building! 00:18:39.099 --> 00:18:41.640 There's a cabin out there! And there's a man's 00:18:41.640 --> 00:18:44.859 body bleeding! Why don't you go and see for yourself 00:18:44.859 --> 00:18:47.640 if you don't believe us? No, Laurie. There's 00:18:47.640 --> 00:18:53.200 nothing there. Helena, you too? Yes. As Mother 00:18:53.200 --> 00:18:58.000 said, I've seen it. Others have too. Around here, 00:18:58.160 --> 00:19:01.740 they call it the Enchanted Forest. But if you 00:19:01.740 --> 00:19:04.279 go out there again, you won't find a cabin or 00:19:04.279 --> 00:19:08.880 a man. Nothing. The police know all about it. 00:19:09.000 --> 00:19:13.619 They'll come and you'll just feel foolish. I... 00:19:13.619 --> 00:19:17.579 I don't know what to think. It all seemed so 00:19:17.579 --> 00:19:20.119 real. Well, now why don't we come back to the 00:19:20.119 --> 00:19:24.779 present and the truly real? Because I have the 00:19:24.779 --> 00:19:27.880 real pleasure of giving you our gift to celebrate 00:19:27.880 --> 00:19:30.960 your engagement. It's a complete surprise. Even 00:19:30.960 --> 00:19:34.049 I don't know what it is. Laurie, dear... It isn't 00:19:34.049 --> 00:19:37.670 that what we're giving you is expensive or valuable, 00:19:38.630 --> 00:19:41.710 but it is dear to us. We hope it will be your 00:19:41.710 --> 00:19:51.509 first family heirloom. Here it is. No pretty 00:19:51.509 --> 00:19:54.529 wrapping, but it seems too lovely a box to cover 00:19:54.529 --> 00:19:57.500 with silly paper. Mother, I've never seen that 00:19:57.500 --> 00:19:59.779 box before. Well, now isn't it nice that I can 00:19:59.779 --> 00:20:01.920 still have some surprises for you? That's a great 00:20:01.920 --> 00:20:06.839 -looking box, Mrs. Rauston. Those are roses painted 00:20:06.839 --> 00:20:09.819 on ivory, aren't they? Oh, it's so beautiful. 00:20:10.460 --> 00:20:12.900 I feel as if I'm depriving you of something very 00:20:12.900 --> 00:20:17.900 special if I accepted it. Oh, no. Please, take 00:20:17.900 --> 00:20:22.359 it. It's little enough and... You know what I 00:20:22.359 --> 00:20:24.759 think that box would be perfect for? It already 00:20:24.759 --> 00:20:28.660 has its purpose, dear. What I was going to say 00:20:28.660 --> 00:20:32.660 was that it would be the perfect place to keep 00:20:32.660 --> 00:20:35.700 a lock of your first baby's hair. Wouldn't it? 00:20:35.759 --> 00:20:38.519 And I'm afraid it's going to stay empty for some 00:20:38.519 --> 00:20:41.619 time. Oh, George, we don't know that. Not yet. 00:20:41.640 --> 00:20:44.039 We will have to find you another container for 00:20:44.039 --> 00:20:47.539 that when the time comes. This box already has 00:20:47.539 --> 00:20:50.200 its occupant. You mean there's something inside? 00:20:50.420 --> 00:20:54.740 Well, look and see. Well, go ahead, Laurie. My 00:20:54.740 --> 00:20:58.319 heart's beating so loudly. She's been like that 00:20:58.319 --> 00:21:01.700 all day, so excited. Darling, do you want me 00:21:01.700 --> 00:21:06.440 to open it? No, no, I'm all right. Just let me 00:21:06.440 --> 00:21:14.539 take a deep breath. Oh, no! Hey, that's... that's 00:21:14.539 --> 00:21:18.130 the same... Laurie! What's wrong? Mother! Oh, 00:21:18.170 --> 00:21:21.829 it's music! Give me the box, Laurie. And inside! 00:21:22.529 --> 00:21:28.910 Inside! Oh, the ring! I got her. Put her on the 00:21:28.910 --> 00:21:35.970 couch. Yes. Laurie? Laurie? Mother, do something! 00:21:36.069 --> 00:21:38.150 Don't just stand there! Helena, control yourself 00:21:38.150 --> 00:21:41.309 and get some water. Oh, Laurie, my poor Laurie. 00:21:41.609 --> 00:21:46.450 Wake up. Laurie, come out of it, honey. Darling? 00:21:46.799 --> 00:21:49.839 She's trying to open her eyes. Slowly, Laurie. 00:21:50.700 --> 00:21:56.680 It's me, George. Who? What happened? You've just 00:21:56.680 --> 00:21:59.019 passed out for a moment. Here, give her this 00:21:59.019 --> 00:22:03.440 water. Here you go. Sip this slowly. I don't 00:22:03.440 --> 00:22:10.079 need it. But did I really see it? See what? The 00:22:10.079 --> 00:22:14.259 ring. Yes. Yes, I've got it. What ring? This 00:22:14.259 --> 00:22:18.849 ring. The same one. With a rose -colored stone. 00:22:18.990 --> 00:22:22.349 Mother, how dare you? That's mine. You know what 00:22:22.349 --> 00:22:24.630 that ring means to me. Oh, please take that thing 00:22:24.630 --> 00:22:26.869 away. I don't want to look at it. Don't worry. 00:22:26.890 --> 00:22:29.890 You won't have to. Here, Mrs. Rothstein, take 00:22:29.890 --> 00:22:33.269 it back. And I hope it isn't a sample of your 00:22:33.269 --> 00:22:36.069 sense of humor. Just one moment, Mr. Williamson. 00:22:36.069 --> 00:22:38.730 I don't particularly appreciate your tone or 00:22:38.730 --> 00:22:42.490 your attitude. What do you mean by my sense of 00:22:42.490 --> 00:22:46.019 humor? If you and your daughter know all about 00:22:46.019 --> 00:22:48.660 that axe murdering scene that we saw earlier, 00:22:49.420 --> 00:22:51.480 then you must have known about the ring. What 00:22:51.480 --> 00:22:56.200 about it? It's mine. That ring. It's just like 00:22:56.200 --> 00:22:58.799 that road sign you have on the highway. Yes, 00:22:58.839 --> 00:23:01.420 the sign was copied from the design of the ring. 00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:04.839 It's been our family hallmark, so to speak, for 00:23:04.839 --> 00:23:07.619 generations. Is that why the girl who killed 00:23:07.619 --> 00:23:10.440 her father did it? Because of that ring? What 00:23:10.440 --> 00:23:14.799 do you mean? She had it. She teased him with 00:23:14.799 --> 00:23:19.039 it while she sang that song. That same nursery 00:23:19.039 --> 00:23:25.039 rhyme in the box. Oh, no. That couldn't be. That's 00:23:25.039 --> 00:23:27.960 my ring. She couldn't have had it. Are you too 00:23:27.960 --> 00:23:30.660 sure you saw this ring? Well, that girl in the 00:23:30.660 --> 00:23:33.819 field. She dropped it when she ran away. Then 00:23:33.819 --> 00:23:38.019 where is it now? Well, George, you had it. What? 00:23:38.059 --> 00:23:41.019 You sure? I thought you put it into your purse. 00:23:41.519 --> 00:23:45.660 Well, I'll look. Well, it isn't in any of my 00:23:45.660 --> 00:23:49.440 pockets. No, it's not here in my purse. How could 00:23:49.440 --> 00:23:55.160 it be? There is only one ring, this ring. It's 00:23:55.160 --> 00:23:57.680 been in the Rosten family for generations. It 00:23:57.680 --> 00:24:00.059 was brought here by a Rosten early in the 18th 00:24:00.059 --> 00:24:03.400 century. And it has always belonged to the oldest 00:24:03.400 --> 00:24:05.740 child in each family. In which case it would 00:24:05.740 --> 00:24:09.150 be your daughter's. Since you are a Rostan by 00:24:09.150 --> 00:24:12.089 marriage. Yes, that would be so if it were true. 00:24:13.250 --> 00:24:15.470 You're not going to tell them. Well, why not? 00:24:15.890 --> 00:24:18.089 It's time that silly cloud you've been hiding 00:24:18.089 --> 00:24:20.450 behind was blown away. Don't, Mother, please, 00:24:20.630 --> 00:24:25.990 I beg you, don't. Nonsense. I am a Rostan. That 00:24:25.990 --> 00:24:29.599 ring belongs to me. Helena's father died in the 00:24:29.599 --> 00:24:32.680 Southeast Asian war, shot down even before he 00:24:32.680 --> 00:24:34.960 knew I was going to have a child. Mother, I hate 00:24:34.960 --> 00:24:38.279 you for this. I hate you. Helena, don't say that 00:24:38.279 --> 00:24:42.000 to your own mother. Why not? She's hated me ever 00:24:42.000 --> 00:24:43.980 since she learned that her father and I had never 00:24:43.980 --> 00:24:48.640 married. Imagine that, in this day. A girl making 00:24:48.640 --> 00:24:50.940 such a fuss about legitimacy. Stupid mother, 00:24:50.980 --> 00:24:53.049 please! We don't have to hear anymore, Mrs. Boston. 00:24:53.190 --> 00:24:56.109 Oh, yes, yes, you do. George, can't we get out 00:24:56.109 --> 00:24:58.450 of here quickly? You can go whenever you like, 00:24:58.450 --> 00:25:01.170 Miss Thornton. But out of your friendship for 00:25:01.170 --> 00:25:04.349 Helena, you must take that ring with you. No, 00:25:04.569 --> 00:25:07.009 I couldn't. I won't let her give it to me. Helena, 00:25:07.049 --> 00:25:09.910 what are you doing? The ring, she tore it out 00:25:09.910 --> 00:25:12.549 of my hand. I've got it and no one will ever 00:25:12.549 --> 00:25:18.230 get it from me. Let her go. She'll be back. And 00:25:18.230 --> 00:25:21.380 with the ring. She knows it's wrong for her to 00:25:21.380 --> 00:25:25.079 have taken it. Eventually the ring must come 00:25:25.079 --> 00:25:29.299 to you, Laurie. We don't want it. But it will 00:25:29.299 --> 00:25:34.039 come to you. It can do you no harm. It's a silly 00:25:34.039 --> 00:25:36.079 superstition, but only Rawstons are supposed 00:25:36.079 --> 00:25:40.019 to be vulnerable to the ring. And Laurie, if 00:25:40.019 --> 00:25:42.079 you are Helena's friend, as you say you are, 00:25:42.200 --> 00:25:46.039 you will take it. But she wants it. She insists 00:25:46.039 --> 00:25:49.269 that it stay hers. Only as an excuse. But what 00:25:49.269 --> 00:25:51.509 sort of an excuse could the ring give her? The 00:25:51.509 --> 00:25:54.970 excuse not to marry. And why not? She considers 00:25:54.970 --> 00:26:00.029 herself fated, ill -starred, if you will. You 00:26:00.029 --> 00:26:02.829 see, at one time, the superstition arose that 00:26:02.829 --> 00:26:06.250 if the firstborn was female, the ring would prevent 00:26:06.250 --> 00:26:10.170 her from marrying. It's high time that ring is 00:26:10.170 --> 00:26:13.430 out of frost and hands. Why don't you just throw 00:26:13.430 --> 00:26:16.470 it away hot with Helena carrying on as if possessed? 00:26:16.549 --> 00:26:21.529 Well, we just do not want it I'm sorry, but we 00:26:21.529 --> 00:26:23.950 must get back to the city. Yes. It's a long drive 00:26:23.950 --> 00:26:26.250 and we'd like to make it before dark I regret 00:26:26.250 --> 00:26:29.029 this has turned out to be so unpleasant, but 00:26:29.029 --> 00:26:32.009 then perhaps it couldn't have been avoided perhaps 00:26:32.009 --> 00:26:43.440 But it's over now George, let's go Oh, I can't 00:26:43.440 --> 00:26:45.440 get away fast enough. I don't know what the speed 00:26:45.440 --> 00:26:47.700 limit is here, but whatever it is, we'll break 00:26:47.700 --> 00:26:57.539 it. Helena, I order you to come out of your room 00:26:57.539 --> 00:27:05.920 at once. At once! Mother, don't hurt her. She 00:27:05.920 --> 00:27:11.380 is my only friend. The only friend I have in 00:27:11.380 --> 00:27:20.960 the whole... Run from the ring. Run for your 00:27:20.960 --> 00:27:25.859 life. But without a ring, what's a husband or 00:27:25.859 --> 00:27:43.789 wife? We'll return shortly with Act 3. Let us 00:27:43.789 --> 00:27:46.970 try and penetrate the shrouding darkness of the 00:27:46.970 --> 00:27:51.829 final act of a ring of roses. Laurie and George 00:27:51.829 --> 00:27:55.750 have been plunged into a strange, unreal experience. 00:27:56.650 --> 00:27:59.430 As the twilight lowers over the countryside, 00:28:00.349 --> 00:28:03.750 they are fleeing from the Rostans, the malevolent 00:28:03.750 --> 00:28:07.650 nursery rhyme, the flashing axe, the avenging 00:28:07.650 --> 00:28:14.309 curse, the fatal ring. But can flight outrace 00:28:14.309 --> 00:28:20.069 those forces of evil? That woman at mrs. Rauston 00:28:20.069 --> 00:28:23.349 She's monstrous. Oh, I'm so sorry for Helena. 00:28:23.670 --> 00:28:25.470 Yeah. Well, I didn't see any halos around her 00:28:25.470 --> 00:28:27.890 head either Yeah, but just imagine having to 00:28:27.890 --> 00:28:30.609 live with that mother Why did she have to tell 00:28:30.609 --> 00:28:32.650 Helena that she and her father never married? 00:28:33.230 --> 00:28:36.190 Do you believe it? Well, why would she lie about 00:28:36.190 --> 00:28:38.650 something that important maybe out of just plain 00:28:38.650 --> 00:28:46.160 malice? Or... Or what? It just occurred to me. 00:28:46.200 --> 00:28:48.740 Couldn't she have invented that story about the 00:28:48.740 --> 00:28:51.700 curse the ring puts on firstborn Rost and girls? 00:28:52.259 --> 00:28:55.539 To what end? Simple. It'd be a guarantee that 00:28:55.539 --> 00:28:58.059 she'd never be alone. That she could hold on 00:28:58.059 --> 00:29:01.039 to her daughter for life. Like the woodcutter. 00:29:01.079 --> 00:29:05.420 Oh, don't remind me of him. Anyway, I can't see 00:29:05.420 --> 00:29:07.539 how the ring and whatever it's supposed to do 00:29:07.539 --> 00:29:09.640 fits. Well, if she made up the business about 00:29:09.640 --> 00:29:11.859 fate keeping her from marrying Helena's father, 00:29:12.220 --> 00:29:15.099 now wouldn't that be a kind of evidence, proof 00:29:15.099 --> 00:29:18.099 for Helena that the curse was real? Well, then 00:29:18.099 --> 00:29:20.220 why would she give us the ring? Well, I'm only 00:29:20.220 --> 00:29:22.880 guessing, but couldn't it have been Mrs. Rauston's 00:29:22.880 --> 00:29:24.759 way of telling her daughter that she wouldn't 00:29:24.759 --> 00:29:27.039 marry even if the ring was off the premises, 00:29:27.059 --> 00:29:30.279 so to speak? But, George, whatever we think of 00:29:30.279 --> 00:29:32.990 Mrs. Rauston, she's still a mother. And what 00:29:32.990 --> 00:29:34.809 mother would sentence her daughter to a lifetime 00:29:34.809 --> 00:29:38.809 of misery? Look, I'm sorry I got you into this 00:29:38.809 --> 00:29:41.450 mess. I didn't dream it would be that horrible. 00:29:41.670 --> 00:29:44.549 Well, you had no way of knowing. Well, looking 00:29:44.549 --> 00:29:48.829 back, I should have. Helena, always so strange, 00:29:49.490 --> 00:29:53.150 so withdrawn, and so mysterious about herself, 00:29:53.309 --> 00:29:57.150 her home, and her mother. It should have been 00:29:57.150 --> 00:29:59.809 a warning. Honey, let's find a happier subject. 00:30:00.569 --> 00:30:05.289 Such as? Well, let's see, uh... Okay, it's not 00:30:05.289 --> 00:30:08.269 original, but it'll do. For instance, if and 00:30:08.269 --> 00:30:10.329 when we have our first baby, would you want a 00:30:10.329 --> 00:30:13.130 boy or a girl? Oh, don't be corny. Why not? Corn 00:30:13.130 --> 00:30:15.730 is fine as long as it doesn't... George! George, 00:30:15.890 --> 00:30:18.230 isn't there someone in the road? Where? Well, 00:30:18.230 --> 00:30:21.150 look, straight ahead. Oh, yeah, that's a woman. 00:30:21.730 --> 00:30:24.289 Well, we're not stopping for a man or beast or 00:30:24.289 --> 00:30:26.890 any mixture of the two. There, that should get 00:30:26.890 --> 00:30:28.859 her off the road. Because if it doesn't, then 00:30:28.859 --> 00:30:31.299 she may be another bit of PSP, and we can drive 00:30:31.299 --> 00:30:33.980 right through her. Darling, slow down. She's 00:30:33.980 --> 00:30:37.319 waving at us. George, slow down! No way. If that's 00:30:37.319 --> 00:30:39.119 a living body and it wants to stay that way, 00:30:39.140 --> 00:30:42.660 she'll get off the road. Oh, please! She isn't 00:30:42.660 --> 00:30:44.539 moving from the middle of the road! Damn her 00:30:44.539 --> 00:30:46.640 teeth, whoever she is! George! George, you're 00:30:46.640 --> 00:30:50.940 going to hit her! Laurie, you all right? Yeah, 00:30:50.940 --> 00:30:57.259 I think so. That stupid woman! It's Helena! Yeah! 00:30:57.400 --> 00:31:00.480 Well, just wave goodbye and we'll get going Laurie 00:31:00.480 --> 00:31:04.099 Laurie, please. I must speak to you. Tell her 00:31:04.099 --> 00:31:06.740 your phone are on Halloween Hey, wait Laurie. 00:31:06.799 --> 00:31:08.740 Don't lower the window. Well, she's in trouble 00:31:08.740 --> 00:31:11.500 better her than you There can't be any danger 00:31:11.500 --> 00:31:13.440 in finding out what she wants. Haven't you been 00:31:13.440 --> 00:31:16.140 through enough? How about that? We're in a hurry 00:31:16.140 --> 00:31:19.140 telephone Laurie tomorrow. No, don't go please. 00:31:19.279 --> 00:31:21.839 Let me explain George. I don't have the heart 00:31:21.839 --> 00:31:25.240 to do this. Are you sure that's hell of it? Of 00:31:25.240 --> 00:31:30.970 course Her face. It looks so strange. What's 00:31:30.970 --> 00:31:32.769 strange about her face? Look at her eyes. They're 00:31:32.769 --> 00:31:35.609 washed out. They're sunken as if... as if she's 00:31:35.609 --> 00:31:38.190 taken some kind of drug. That's probably because 00:31:38.190 --> 00:31:41.289 she's been crying. I'm lowering the window. And 00:31:41.289 --> 00:31:43.130 you're also raising my temper. Well, what do 00:31:43.130 --> 00:31:45.069 you want me to do? Just wave goodbye and we'll 00:31:45.069 --> 00:31:47.769 get going. Oh, she's gone to the front of the 00:31:47.769 --> 00:31:51.410 car now, George. Oh, she does look dreadful. 00:31:51.430 --> 00:31:54.170 Why not? She is dreadful. I've got to find out 00:31:54.170 --> 00:31:57.509 what she wants. Just one minute. Let me talk 00:31:57.509 --> 00:32:00.970 to her for just only one minute. Okay. Sixty 00:32:00.970 --> 00:32:03.509 seconds. But don't lower the window more than 00:32:03.509 --> 00:32:11.910 an inch. Helena? Helena, over here. Now, what 00:32:11.910 --> 00:32:14.650 is it? Oh, thank you, Laurie. If you only knew 00:32:14.650 --> 00:32:16.849 how miserable I am about what happened today. 00:32:17.109 --> 00:32:20.269 It was all my fault. You don't have to apologize. 00:32:20.869 --> 00:32:23.890 It wasn't anybody's fault. Mother... Had only 00:32:23.890 --> 00:32:26.049 the best intentions in giving you the ring? Sure 00:32:26.049 --> 00:32:28.150 she did. Nothing like unloading something on 00:32:28.150 --> 00:32:30.210 a couple of strangers that isn't yours to give 00:32:30.210 --> 00:32:32.910 away. But the ring does belong to her mother. 00:32:33.069 --> 00:32:35.650 Only to be given to her child, which excludes 00:32:35.650 --> 00:32:39.769 you. That's true, but you see, after me there 00:32:39.769 --> 00:32:42.890 won't be any, Rostens. But you will marry Helena. 00:32:43.309 --> 00:32:46.690 Just wait and see. I doubt it. And even if I 00:32:46.690 --> 00:32:49.390 did... My children won't be Rostens. Helena, 00:32:49.529 --> 00:32:52.730 this has been the weirdest day in my life. Frankly, 00:32:52.930 --> 00:32:54.710 the sooner we get away from here, the better 00:32:54.710 --> 00:32:57.789 off we'll feel. Just one more thing. Prove to 00:32:57.789 --> 00:33:02.650 me that you are still my friend, and please take 00:33:02.650 --> 00:33:07.470 the ring. No, Helena. Thank you, but I couldn't. 00:33:07.710 --> 00:33:09.730 Absolutely not. Helena, why don't you just throw 00:33:09.730 --> 00:33:13.150 that ring away somewhere? I can't. I'm not allowed 00:33:13.150 --> 00:33:17.849 to. It has to be given to a Rostener. or to the 00:33:17.849 --> 00:33:21.710 person closest and dearest to me. But how could 00:33:21.710 --> 00:33:24.849 you expect me to take it? Every time I'd look 00:33:24.849 --> 00:33:27.289 at it, I would remember that terrible scene in 00:33:27.289 --> 00:33:30.150 the woods. I swear, the ring has nothing to do 00:33:30.150 --> 00:33:32.569 with what happened out there. It never has before. 00:33:32.670 --> 00:33:35.049 This is the first time. And it'll be the last 00:33:35.049 --> 00:33:37.049 for us. Okay, Helena, stand away from the car. 00:33:37.210 --> 00:33:39.369 I'm backing up. Laurie! If you don't take the 00:33:39.369 --> 00:33:42.589 ring, I'll die. I know I'll die. You won't die, 00:33:42.730 --> 00:33:44.710 Helena. Why should you? Because it will mean 00:33:44.710 --> 00:33:47.029 that I've lost my only friend and that I have 00:33:47.029 --> 00:33:49.170 no one to turn to. And I'll be stuck here in 00:33:49.170 --> 00:33:51.670 this prison with my mother. And she'll never 00:33:51.670 --> 00:33:55.890 let me go. Never. So long, Helena. If I return 00:33:55.890 --> 00:33:57.569 to the house with the ring, my mother will do 00:33:57.569 --> 00:33:59.910 something terrible. If you don't take the ring, 00:33:59.930 --> 00:34:01.910 I'll throw myself in front of the car. I don't 00:34:01.910 --> 00:34:06.410 care anymore. I don't care. Helena, give me the 00:34:06.410 --> 00:34:10.929 ring. You mean you will take it? Oh, Laurie, 00:34:11.190 --> 00:34:13.849 you've made me so happy. I've indebted to you 00:34:13.849 --> 00:34:22.849 forever. Forever. You're angry with me, George, 00:34:22.909 --> 00:34:28.889 aren't you? No. I'll probably never see her again. 00:34:29.610 --> 00:34:31.469 And if it meant that much to her, well... What 00:34:31.469 --> 00:34:33.630 probably meant even more to her was that she 00:34:33.630 --> 00:34:36.190 could twist and bend you in any way she wanted. 00:34:37.259 --> 00:34:39.519 Well, in a way, it was her last hope of getting 00:34:39.519 --> 00:34:42.820 out of that house. That's why I finally took 00:34:42.820 --> 00:34:45.980 the ring. Actually, what harm could it do? I 00:34:45.980 --> 00:34:48.099 don't know, Laurie, except that anything connected 00:34:48.099 --> 00:34:50.920 with the Rostens seems dangerous. That's because 00:34:50.920 --> 00:34:54.820 the Rostens are difficult to understand or explain. 00:34:54.840 --> 00:34:57.599 That may be. But why we might never get to the 00:34:57.599 --> 00:34:59.820 bottom of that axe job in the woods, there must 00:34:59.820 --> 00:35:02.940 be a key somewhere to the Rostens. After all, 00:35:02.960 --> 00:35:06.219 they're not ghosts or optical illusions, they're 00:35:06.219 --> 00:35:10.440 people. Living breathing humans Still for all 00:35:10.440 --> 00:35:13.019 we know about them. They're just as haunted as 00:35:13.019 --> 00:35:15.760 that phantom woodcutter and his crazy daughter 00:35:15.760 --> 00:35:20.099 Let's stop talking about them. I will if you 00:35:20.099 --> 00:35:25.360 do me an important favor if I can you can Throw 00:35:25.360 --> 00:35:29.699 that ring away you mean now right the second 00:35:29.699 --> 00:35:33.000 open the window and throw it out Why? Honey, 00:35:33.239 --> 00:35:35.920 I consider it a special favor to me if you got 00:35:35.920 --> 00:35:39.260 rid of that ring. Well, I have no intention of 00:35:39.260 --> 00:35:42.340 keeping it, but I don't want to just throw it 00:35:42.340 --> 00:35:45.880 away. What do you want to do with it? Give it 00:35:45.880 --> 00:35:51.820 away. To whom? I haven't thought yet. Try thinking 00:35:51.820 --> 00:35:55.280 about it right now. You sound as if you're ordering 00:35:55.280 --> 00:35:58.079 me to do it. Actually, I'm begging you, Laurie, 00:35:58.199 --> 00:36:01.820 begging you to get rid of the damn ring. I said 00:36:01.820 --> 00:36:06.079 I would. But when? When I find someone to give 00:36:06.079 --> 00:36:10.340 it to. Someone who would appreciate it. It just 00:36:10.340 --> 00:36:13.920 doesn't make sense to just throw away something 00:36:13.920 --> 00:36:17.260 that's probably valuable for just anyone to find 00:36:17.260 --> 00:36:24.119 or to have it crushed under a car. Say, I know 00:36:24.119 --> 00:36:27.199 what I could do with it. Drop it, Laurie. It's 00:36:27.199 --> 00:36:29.420 only going to get us into an argument. No, I'm 00:36:29.420 --> 00:36:32.260 serious, honestly. I just thought of where this 00:36:32.260 --> 00:36:34.380 ring could do the most good. Fine, you do what 00:36:34.380 --> 00:36:36.300 you want with it, but let's not talk about it. 00:36:36.420 --> 00:36:39.079 Oh, you'll agree? I bet you will. Oh, honey, 00:36:39.099 --> 00:36:41.880 do you realize that since we've known each other, 00:36:41.920 --> 00:36:44.840 we've never had so many disagreements? But I'm 00:36:44.840 --> 00:36:47.719 not disagreeing with you. Good, then let's change 00:36:47.719 --> 00:36:51.659 the subject. Or better still, let's let everything 00:36:51.659 --> 00:37:07.010 take a rest. If that's what you want, fine. Laurie, 00:37:07.269 --> 00:37:11.329 what are you doing? Nothing. Laurie, what are 00:37:11.329 --> 00:37:15.809 you doing with that ring? Nothing, I said. Besides, 00:37:15.849 --> 00:37:19.090 you don't want to talk about it. Why are you 00:37:19.090 --> 00:37:23.809 wearing it? I was playing with it. I just wanted 00:37:23.809 --> 00:37:27.969 to see if it fit. Will you please take it off? 00:37:28.730 --> 00:37:31.550 What are you getting so excited about? That ring, 00:37:31.610 --> 00:37:34.329 if you can't throw it away, at least put it away. 00:37:34.570 --> 00:37:36.650 You're getting awfully bossy, George. You're 00:37:36.650 --> 00:37:39.530 doing it only to get a rise out of me. You can 00:37:39.530 --> 00:37:42.130 forget about it. Because I'm going to give it 00:37:42.130 --> 00:37:44.210 to that thrift shop around the corner from where 00:37:44.210 --> 00:37:46.510 I live. Great idea. Now please take it off. All 00:37:46.510 --> 00:37:53.250 right. Anything for some peace. Hey, that's funny. 00:37:54.690 --> 00:38:01.829 What is? The ring's stuck. I'll get it off. You 00:38:01.829 --> 00:38:03.730 shouldn't have put it on if it was too small. 00:38:03.989 --> 00:38:08.389 But it wasn't. In fact, it felt too big. Isn't 00:38:08.389 --> 00:38:12.230 that strange? I... I can't even twist it. Get 00:38:12.230 --> 00:38:13.889 the flashlight out of the glove compartment. 00:38:15.849 --> 00:38:17.590 Now turn it on and hold your finger under the 00:38:17.590 --> 00:38:24.050 light. There. Can you see it? Your finger doesn't 00:38:24.050 --> 00:38:30.320 look swollen. No. It isn't swollen. But... But 00:38:30.320 --> 00:38:35.179 the ring won't budge. George? George, do you 00:38:35.179 --> 00:38:39.579 hear something? Hear what? That voice. The singing. 00:38:40.099 --> 00:38:46.420 Don't you hear it? No, I don't. Wait. Yes, I 00:38:46.420 --> 00:38:53.679 do. It's that song. Where's it coming from? I 00:38:53.679 --> 00:38:56.840 don't know. It seems to be surrounding us. I'll 00:38:56.840 --> 00:38:58.880 turn the bright lights on. You keep trying to 00:38:58.880 --> 00:39:02.159 get that ring off. I am trying, but it's as if 00:39:02.159 --> 00:39:05.059 it's cemented to my finger. And that's singing. 00:39:05.739 --> 00:39:07.579 It's the same as the girls in the forest. Get 00:39:07.579 --> 00:39:09.579 rid of the flash and give me your hand. What 00:39:09.579 --> 00:39:11.820 for? Maybe I can get it off. Well, you can't. 00:39:12.199 --> 00:39:13.860 You're driving. There's no traffic, Laurie. I 00:39:13.860 --> 00:39:16.000 can manage the wheel with one hand. Why don't 00:39:16.000 --> 00:39:17.960 we wait till we get to a gas station? Then I 00:39:17.960 --> 00:39:19.719 can get it off with a little soap. Come on, give 00:39:19.719 --> 00:39:23.800 me your hand. All right. No, wait. I can't. Why 00:39:23.800 --> 00:39:27.150 not? Oh, I just can't, George! Laurie, you were 00:39:27.150 --> 00:39:29.190 about to drive me out of my head. Why can't you 00:39:29.190 --> 00:39:32.769 give me your hand? Because... because I remembered 00:39:32.769 --> 00:39:35.050 something. What, for heaven's sake? What, Laurie? 00:39:35.510 --> 00:39:38.889 Well, what Helena said back there when she wanted 00:39:38.889 --> 00:39:41.210 me to take the ring. She said a lot of hysterical 00:39:41.210 --> 00:39:43.849 things. That if she couldn't give the ring to 00:39:43.849 --> 00:39:46.969 a Rostin, it would have to be to a person nearest 00:39:46.969 --> 00:39:49.230 and dearest to her. Well, Helena's all whacked 00:39:49.230 --> 00:39:51.329 up. Now give me your hand, Laurie. But what if 00:39:51.329 --> 00:39:55.570 it's true? Oh, that voice! A terrible voice! 00:39:56.030 --> 00:39:58.570 Why doesn't it stop? Laurie, please give me your 00:39:58.570 --> 00:40:02.030 hand. No! Because if you can get it off, then 00:40:02.030 --> 00:40:04.590 you'll be stuck with it. Who cares? I don't want 00:40:04.590 --> 00:40:07.650 anything to happen to you! Not for anything! 00:40:09.309 --> 00:40:12.130 George! George, look straight ahead! Oh, no! 00:40:12.130 --> 00:40:13.889 It's them! The two of them! The old man and the 00:40:13.889 --> 00:40:16.349 girl! He's got an axe! I'm stopping the car! 00:40:44.590 --> 00:40:50.369 It was a tree we had. Only, only a tree, Laurie. 00:40:51.889 --> 00:41:02.710 You hear me? Only a tree. Laurie, the ring. The 00:41:02.710 --> 00:41:10.309 ring? What did you do? It's not on your finger. 00:41:12.010 --> 00:41:27.389 Your finger. Good Lord. She's dead. So you gave 00:41:27.389 --> 00:41:31.309 Laurie the ring, Helena. Yes, Mother. As you 00:41:31.309 --> 00:41:35.849 told me to. Now give me the box. And we'll see 00:41:35.849 --> 00:41:39.070 if the ring has worked wonders once more. Here 00:41:39.070 --> 00:41:43.170 is the box. The one with the roses. Open it. 00:41:43.869 --> 00:41:51.210 Yes, Mother. The music? Why isn't the music playing? 00:41:51.389 --> 00:41:55.210 It's a good sign that it's not playing. It's 00:41:55.210 --> 00:41:58.949 the sign that the ring has done its work. Your 00:41:58.949 --> 00:42:03.730 friend Laurie will not marry ever. Not ever. 00:42:05.389 --> 00:42:10.469 But the ring, Mother? Where is the ring? You'll 00:42:10.469 --> 00:42:14.530 find it in the woods. In the clearing. in the 00:42:14.530 --> 00:42:17.630 same place where I killed your great -grandfather 00:42:17.630 --> 00:42:24.949 143 years ago. Go and bring back the ring that 00:42:24.949 --> 00:42:32.849 will keep us alive forever. Forever. Forever, 00:42:37.130 --> 00:42:42.909 you ghosts. Forever, you sing. But your death 00:42:42.909 --> 00:42:47.829 is as forever as your grim, rosy ring. I'll be 00:42:47.829 --> 00:43:03.030 back shortly. Let us end our tale of ring, a 00:43:03.030 --> 00:43:07.150 ring of roses. For as we also know, roses are 00:43:07.150 --> 00:43:10.590 red, roses are blue. But the rose of death is 00:43:10.590 --> 00:43:15.650 meant for... who? Our cast included Glynis O 00:43:15.650 --> 00:43:19.409 'Connor, George Petrie, Sidney Walker, L. Speth 00:43:19.409 --> 00:43:23.630 -Erik, Holland Taylor, and Carol Hilliard. The 00:43:23.630 --> 00:43:25.590 entire production was under the direction of 00:43:25.590 --> 00:43:28.590 Hyman Brown. This is E .G. Marshall inviting 00:43:28.590 --> 00:43:31.570 you to return to our Mystery Theatre for another 00:43:31.570 --> 00:43:37.630 adventure in the macabre. Until next time, pleasant... 00:43:37.630 --> 00:43:38.550 Dreams?