WEBVTT 00:00:18.590 --> 00:00:26.489 Come in. Welcome. I'm E .G. Marshall. Welcome 00:00:26.489 --> 00:00:30.530 to the sounds of suspense. To the fear... you 00:00:30.530 --> 00:00:34.810 can hear. I have a story for you about a writer, 00:00:35.590 --> 00:00:38.990 a writer of books. We all know what it is to 00:00:38.990 --> 00:00:43.130 read a book. We all read. Sometimes to learn, 00:00:44.009 --> 00:00:47.729 sometimes to pass the time, sometimes to experience 00:00:47.729 --> 00:00:52.450 a life unrelated to our own, and sometimes to 00:00:52.450 --> 00:00:55.189 surrender ourselves to the fantasies of a person 00:00:55.189 --> 00:00:59.700 we have never met and will never meet. But what 00:00:59.700 --> 00:01:04.299 is it to write a book? Ah? That's another thing 00:01:04.299 --> 00:01:07.079 altogether. But what difference does it make? 00:01:07.459 --> 00:01:10.060 All the difference in the world. Well, it's not 00:01:10.060 --> 00:01:12.640 as if it were real. It is real. Don't you see 00:01:12.640 --> 00:01:15.840 that? Well, I mean, it's not real life. It is 00:01:15.840 --> 00:01:19.700 real life. It's a life more real than yours or 00:01:19.700 --> 00:01:22.200 mine or any life that anyone will ever live. 00:01:22.480 --> 00:01:34.950 How can you say that? It's just a book. Our mystery 00:01:34.950 --> 00:01:38.310 drama, Three Women, was written especially for 00:01:38.310 --> 00:01:41.769 the mystery theater by Elspeth Erick and stars 00:01:41.769 --> 00:01:46.790 Ruth Ford. I'll be back shortly with act one. 00:01:57.590 --> 00:02:01.989 What is a book? Two, three, four hundred pages 00:02:01.989 --> 00:02:05.909 of words lying side by side in rows. That's all. 00:02:06.469 --> 00:02:10.469 Words we all know. Many of them we use. Nothing 00:02:10.469 --> 00:02:14.349 mysterious about the words themselves. But they 00:02:14.349 --> 00:02:16.750 are not thrown helter -skelter on the pages, 00:02:16.870 --> 00:02:20.830 are they? No, they lie there in a certain order, 00:02:21.330 --> 00:02:24.930 each one following on the one before. And who 00:02:24.930 --> 00:02:28.259 prescribed that order? Who put this word here 00:02:28.259 --> 00:02:32.439 and that word there? A writer. And this is the 00:02:32.439 --> 00:02:35.639 story of a writer named Stephen Lake and the 00:02:35.639 --> 00:02:48.500 book he wrote. Yes? Does Mr. Lake live here? 00:02:48.819 --> 00:02:52.960 Yes. Is he home? Yeah, he's home. Could I see 00:02:52.960 --> 00:02:57.080 him? Well, he's working. Could you tell him please 00:02:57.080 --> 00:03:01.080 it's mr. Higgins to see him Higgins. I'm a publisher 00:03:01.080 --> 00:03:04.699 Look, could I step inside? It's terribly cold 00:03:04.699 --> 00:03:10.639 out here. I guess so He really is working isn't 00:03:10.639 --> 00:03:13.620 he I mean I hear him it's typewriter you're a 00:03:13.620 --> 00:03:16.520 publisher you say yes, that's right If you just 00:03:16.520 --> 00:03:20.159 tell him you can go on up up. Yeah up that ladder. 00:03:20.180 --> 00:03:23.479 That's where he works up there. Oh Thank you 00:03:26.219 --> 00:03:29.300 You get to the top, just bang on the trap door. 00:03:29.680 --> 00:03:33.039 Where? Yes, thank you. Bang hard so he'll hear 00:03:33.039 --> 00:03:43.020 you. Yes, all right. He heard you. Mr. Lake, 00:03:43.460 --> 00:03:47.659 I'm Albert Higgins. Albert Higgins. Not from... 00:03:47.659 --> 00:03:50.699 Yes, from Higgins and Hart. All right to come 00:03:50.699 --> 00:03:54.479 up the rest of the way? All right. Well, I should 00:03:54.479 --> 00:03:57.419 say... Can you make it? Can I help you? I think 00:03:57.419 --> 00:04:04.199 I can. Yes. Here we are. I can't believe it. 00:04:04.699 --> 00:04:07.939 Mr. Albert Higgins. Very same. This is where 00:04:07.939 --> 00:04:10.460 you work? Yes, it's the only place I can get 00:04:10.460 --> 00:04:12.719 away. I live with my wife and my mother -in -law. 00:04:12.780 --> 00:04:14.819 That was my mother -in -law who let you in. Well, 00:04:15.319 --> 00:04:18.439 it's nice and secluded up here, anyway. May I 00:04:18.439 --> 00:04:21.139 take your coat, Mr. Higgins? Oh, thank you. No, 00:04:21.199 --> 00:04:24.199 actually, I think I'll keep it on. You're cold. 00:04:24.970 --> 00:04:27.589 It's awfully cold outside. I think it's even 00:04:27.589 --> 00:04:30.990 colder in here. I get where I don't notice it. 00:04:31.310 --> 00:04:34.329 You have a stove, I see. Yes, but sometimes I 00:04:34.329 --> 00:04:36.290 forget to put wood in. Just a second, I'll get 00:04:36.290 --> 00:04:40.250 it going again. That's a real old Franklin stove, 00:04:40.430 --> 00:04:44.050 isn't it? Genuine article. I haven't seen a Franklin 00:04:44.050 --> 00:04:46.790 stove in years. They're great. If you remember 00:04:46.790 --> 00:04:49.230 to keep them lighted, please sit down, Mr. Higgins. 00:04:49.730 --> 00:04:54.879 All right. Well now. I'd better explain what 00:04:54.879 --> 00:04:59.120 I'm doing here. I'd sure like to know. My secretary 00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:01.579 handed me your manuscript just as I was leaving 00:05:01.579 --> 00:05:04.160 the office for the weekend. We have a little 00:05:04.160 --> 00:05:06.699 ski lodge up here, my wife and I, right up the 00:05:06.699 --> 00:05:09.180 road from you, as a matter of fact. Yes, I think 00:05:09.180 --> 00:05:11.259 maybe I've seen it, right off Route 7, about 00:05:11.259 --> 00:05:14.300 a mile north. Yes, that's it. Well, I was coming 00:05:14.300 --> 00:05:17.220 up by myself, and on the train I read your book. 00:05:17.920 --> 00:05:21.939 When I got to the lodge I read it again. I like 00:05:21.939 --> 00:05:25.889 it a lot. Except for one thing. What's that? 00:05:26.449 --> 00:05:29.629 You've made one grievous error, Mr. Lake. Or 00:05:29.629 --> 00:05:32.649 may I call you Stephen? Call me anything. What's 00:05:32.649 --> 00:05:35.329 the mistake? You've killed off the most attractive 00:05:35.329 --> 00:05:41.089 character in the book. You mean Clarissa? You 00:05:41.089 --> 00:05:43.870 can't do that, my boy. Why, nine -tenths of the 00:05:43.870 --> 00:05:46.790 book's appeal is the charm of that girl. She's 00:05:46.790 --> 00:05:50.459 another Scarlet O 'Hara. You can't spend 200 00:05:50.459 --> 00:05:52.980 pages making us fall in love with this marvelous 00:05:52.980 --> 00:05:56.139 creature and then poof, just like that, have 00:05:56.139 --> 00:06:01.139 a die on us, go out of our lives. You just can't 00:06:01.139 --> 00:06:05.459 do that. But I have to. You don't have to at 00:06:05.459 --> 00:06:08.620 all, Stephen. You've written a marvelous book. 00:06:08.720 --> 00:06:12.459 I want to publish it. All I want from you is 00:06:12.459 --> 00:06:17.810 10 new pages. The last 10. Write me ten new pages 00:06:17.810 --> 00:06:23.610 at the end and let Clarissa live. I can't I can't 00:06:23.610 --> 00:06:26.750 Now Stephen that isn't asking much. It's everything 00:06:26.750 --> 00:06:31.689 I can't do it. She has to die. She has to why 00:06:31.689 --> 00:06:35.730 does she have to die because Because if she doesn't 00:06:35.730 --> 00:06:54.060 die, I don't know what will happen to me It's 00:06:54.060 --> 00:06:59.199 me. Well, get your boots off. Dinner ready? Just 00:06:59.199 --> 00:07:02.740 about. You call Stephen? He gets so wrapped up 00:07:02.740 --> 00:07:05.160 in his writing. No, he's not wrapped up now. 00:07:05.199 --> 00:07:09.639 Listen to him. He's thinking, Mama. He's walking 00:07:09.639 --> 00:07:11.740 up and down to help him think. Well, he can't 00:07:11.740 --> 00:07:14.259 be putting words down every single minute. He's 00:07:14.259 --> 00:07:16.360 been walking up and down like that ever since 00:07:16.360 --> 00:07:20.600 that man left. What man? Was somebody here? Well, 00:07:20.720 --> 00:07:26.120 Mr. Higgins. Higgins? Albert Higgins? From Higgins 00:07:26.120 --> 00:07:29.240 and Hart? I believe he did say he was a publisher. 00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:33.339 Oh, mama. It was our last hope. You know, every 00:07:33.339 --> 00:07:35.699 other publisher turned down Steve's novel, and 00:07:35.699 --> 00:07:38.480 he sent it to Higgins and Hart. But Mr. Higgins 00:07:38.480 --> 00:07:41.240 was here? They were up there together for about 00:07:41.240 --> 00:07:44.000 15 minutes, and then the great Mr. Higgins came 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:46.100 tumbling down the ladder like the devil himself 00:07:46.100 --> 00:07:49.519 was after him. Very red in the face. looked at 00:07:49.519 --> 00:07:52.199 me like everything was my fault and catapulted 00:07:52.199 --> 00:07:54.600 out of here. You didn't ask Steve what happened? 00:07:55.100 --> 00:07:57.839 Loretta, when have I ever asked Mr. Genius -type 00:07:57.839 --> 00:08:02.060 novel writer Stephen Lake anything? If he feels 00:08:02.060 --> 00:08:04.180 like telling me, he'll tell me, which he never 00:08:04.180 --> 00:08:08.319 does. I'm going to find out. Good luck is all 00:08:08.319 --> 00:08:14.000 I can say. Stephen? It's impossible. Absolutely 00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:19.199 impossible. Stephen! Impossible, Clarissa. I 00:08:19.199 --> 00:08:26.160 can't... Darling, are you all right? You just 00:08:26.160 --> 00:08:29.899 get home? Mrs. McGinnis wanted her windows washed. 00:08:30.639 --> 00:08:33.440 Darling, Mama said... I don't want you washing 00:08:33.440 --> 00:08:36.340 windows. Stephen, Mama said there was a man here 00:08:36.340 --> 00:08:41.960 today. Mr. Higgins? Albert Higgins. He really 00:08:41.960 --> 00:08:44.779 was here? He has a ski lodge up the road. He 00:08:44.779 --> 00:08:48.350 didn't just... Drop in, did he? What did he want? 00:08:49.889 --> 00:08:55.289 He read my book. He wants to publish it. Oh, 00:08:55.710 --> 00:09:00.009 Stephen! Why didn't you say so? He wants me to 00:09:00.009 --> 00:09:03.330 change it. Does he want you to change it a lot? 00:09:03.370 --> 00:09:07.549 Completely. Oh. Would that be a lot of work? 00:09:08.269 --> 00:09:13.070 The last ten pages. He wants me... He wants me 00:09:13.070 --> 00:09:18.309 to let Clarissa live. Is that all? Oh, Stephen. 00:09:18.509 --> 00:09:21.669 What do you mean is that all? Clarissa is supposed 00:09:21.669 --> 00:09:24.610 to die. It's all been decided. She has to die. 00:09:25.110 --> 00:09:27.370 I can't let her go on living just to please Mr. 00:09:27.549 --> 00:09:32.629 Higgins. But it's not just Mr. Higgins. Oh, Stephen, 00:09:33.129 --> 00:09:35.850 I wasn't going to tell you yet. Not for a while. 00:09:36.590 --> 00:09:39.809 But I can't go on doing housework for other people 00:09:39.809 --> 00:09:42.490 much longer I never wanted you to do housework 00:09:42.490 --> 00:09:46.190 for other people but pretty soon I won't be able 00:09:46.190 --> 00:09:53.149 to I'm I'm going to have a baby Stephen You're 00:09:53.149 --> 00:09:59.490 not You You must be wrong. Oh No, I'm not wrong 00:09:59.490 --> 00:10:04.769 Not about this. You must be with Stephen aren't 00:10:04.769 --> 00:10:09.019 you glad? Just a little bit and coming right 00:10:09.019 --> 00:10:11.379 now. What with Mr. Higgins wanting to publish 00:10:11.379 --> 00:10:14.399 your book. Why in the spring we'll both be having 00:10:14.399 --> 00:10:17.559 babies. You'd be having your book and I'd be 00:10:17.559 --> 00:10:20.659 having... I can't let Clarissa live. I can't 00:10:20.659 --> 00:10:23.240 do it. She has to die. Just the way I wrote it. 00:10:23.240 --> 00:10:26.620 She has got to die. Stephen, you're frightening 00:10:26.620 --> 00:10:30.200 me. I'm sorry. What difference would it make 00:10:30.200 --> 00:10:33.879 if you let Clarissa live? All the difference 00:10:33.879 --> 00:10:36.379 in the world. Just not as if it were real. It's 00:10:36.379 --> 00:10:42.919 just a book. It's not just a book. Loretta, I 00:10:42.919 --> 00:10:45.740 can't talk about it anymore right now. Well, 00:10:45.740 --> 00:10:48.639 you'll think about it, won't you? About rewriting 00:10:48.639 --> 00:10:53.279 it? I'll think about it. Well, Mama says dinner's 00:10:53.279 --> 00:10:56.799 almost ready. I'll be right down. Well, don't 00:10:56.799 --> 00:11:03.620 be long. I won't. Clarissa. Clarissa, I can't 00:11:03.620 --> 00:11:08.159 let you live. Oh, yes you can, darling. I can't. 00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:10.860 You can do anything you put your mind to, Stephen. 00:11:11.519 --> 00:11:16.059 Anything at all. You're such a great man, darling. 00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:20.259 You can do anything. Absolutely anything at all. 00:11:20.340 --> 00:11:25.559 You know you can. Mr. Higgins, this is Stephen 00:11:25.559 --> 00:11:28.639 Lake. I have to see you, sir. No, right away, 00:11:28.639 --> 00:11:31.519 if that's possible. I'll come to your place. 00:11:32.019 --> 00:11:35.620 Yes, it's better that way. In an hour. All right, 00:11:35.700 --> 00:11:39.779 sir. I'll be there. Oh, that's my sweet Stephen. 00:11:41.340 --> 00:11:47.779 My dear love. My own brilliant boy. My Stephen. 00:11:54.179 --> 00:11:56.779 I'm glad you called me, Stephen. I must say I 00:11:56.779 --> 00:11:59.480 was a trifle perturbed at your outburst this 00:11:59.480 --> 00:12:02.139 afternoon. It seems such a little thing, I was 00:12:02.139 --> 00:12:04.340 asking, to kill off a character like Clarissa 00:12:04.340 --> 00:12:07.220 in the last ten pages when you've spent the entire 00:12:07.220 --> 00:12:11.139 book constructing her, her magnetic personality. 00:12:11.240 --> 00:12:15.220 It's not right. I have to do it, sir. But it's 00:12:15.220 --> 00:12:18.200 cheating, leading your readers up the garden 00:12:18.200 --> 00:12:21.740 path. I'll tell you something which perhaps I 00:12:21.740 --> 00:12:25.399 shouldn't, but anyway, I discussed with my wife 00:12:25.399 --> 00:12:28.980 the possibility of a sequel to this book. using 00:12:28.980 --> 00:12:33.759 the same central character. Clarissa? It's a 00:12:33.759 --> 00:12:36.220 shame to waste a character like that on one book. 00:12:36.419 --> 00:12:38.440 There should be another, and perhaps another. 00:12:39.179 --> 00:12:42.039 How can we do that if you kill her off at the 00:12:42.039 --> 00:12:45.340 end of your first book? Mr. Higgins, I've been 00:12:45.340 --> 00:12:48.720 writing for seven years steadily. I've never 00:12:48.720 --> 00:12:51.960 sold anything. Six years ago, I got married. 00:12:52.659 --> 00:12:55.399 My wife, Loretta, has been working as a domestic 00:12:55.399 --> 00:12:58.320 all these years, and her mother... goes out every 00:12:58.320 --> 00:13:01.639 day to do other people's laundry. I haven't brought 00:13:01.639 --> 00:13:05.360 in one red cent in all that time. But now you 00:13:05.360 --> 00:13:08.139 will. Lots of red cent. The house we're living 00:13:08.139 --> 00:13:11.100 in. That's an abandoned one -room schoolhouse. 00:13:11.559 --> 00:13:13.639 We bought it a year ago with every cent we had 00:13:13.639 --> 00:13:17.320 in the savings bank. Four hundred dollars. At 00:13:17.320 --> 00:13:20.740 a county auction. The room where I work used 00:13:20.740 --> 00:13:24.679 to be the place where they stored supplies. We 00:13:24.679 --> 00:13:27.039 got the Franklin stove from a junkyard. If you 00:13:27.039 --> 00:13:30.220 want the truth, we stole it Young writers never 00:13:30.220 --> 00:13:33.720 have it easy Stephen. My wife has never complained 00:13:33.720 --> 00:13:37.120 never once She's scrubbed the other women's floors 00:13:37.120 --> 00:13:39.740 She's washed their dishes and dusted their furniture 00:13:39.740 --> 00:13:42.320 and scar their bathtubs and polish their silver 00:13:42.320 --> 00:13:44.960 in view of all this I should think you'd jump 00:13:44.960 --> 00:13:47.639 at the chance to have your novel published. I 00:13:47.639 --> 00:13:53.950 do jump at it I am jumping at it only I can't 00:13:53.950 --> 00:13:58.769 let Clarissa live. She's got to die ten pages 00:13:58.769 --> 00:14:01.029 from the end of the book. But that's unreasonable. 00:14:01.090 --> 00:14:03.350 Don't you think I wanted her to live? Don't you 00:14:03.350 --> 00:14:05.870 think I kept her alive as long as I could? You 00:14:05.870 --> 00:14:08.669 think I wanted to kill her? I had to. I can't 00:14:08.669 --> 00:14:14.809 for the life of me see why. Because... Because... 00:14:14.809 --> 00:14:20.509 I'd fallen in love with her. Come now, Stephen. 00:14:20.970 --> 00:14:26.000 Deeply. hopelessly, irrevocably in love. Now, 00:14:26.080 --> 00:14:29.159 now, my boy, I've been a publisher a long time. 00:14:29.279 --> 00:14:33.059 I've talked to dozens of authors. They all fall 00:14:33.059 --> 00:14:35.120 in love with characters they've created. It happens 00:14:35.120 --> 00:14:38.659 all the time. Clarissa isn't just a character. 00:14:38.820 --> 00:14:42.000 Well, of course she is. She didn't exist before 00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:46.049 you created her, did she? She exists now. Good 00:14:46.049 --> 00:14:49.149 heavens, man, she came out of your mind. She 00:14:49.149 --> 00:14:52.149 has no life except the one you gave her. Maybe 00:14:52.149 --> 00:14:54.649 she did come out of my mind, but now she's got 00:14:54.649 --> 00:14:57.470 a life of her own. Well, in a manner of speaking, 00:14:57.610 --> 00:15:00.610 of course she has, and I want to prolong that 00:15:00.610 --> 00:15:03.509 life, Stephen. I predict great success for Clarissa, 00:15:03.769 --> 00:15:07.429 and for you. You and Clarissa are one, you might 00:15:07.429 --> 00:15:11.929 say. No. No, we are not one. We must ever be 00:15:11.929 --> 00:15:20.960 one. I want her dead. And out of my life. On 00:15:20.960 --> 00:15:25.440 my word, I can't follow you. Mr. Higgins, if 00:15:25.440 --> 00:15:30.240 Clarissa is allowed to live, I shall desert my 00:15:30.240 --> 00:15:36.059 wife. Dessert your wife? My wife is going to 00:15:36.059 --> 00:15:39.779 have a baby. Well then, why on earth would you 00:15:39.779 --> 00:15:44.200 desert her? Because I love Clarissa. I love her 00:15:44.200 --> 00:15:47.320 with the kind of love I never knew existed. A 00:15:47.320 --> 00:15:50.080 love that has more power over me than I have 00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:52.840 over myself. I can't fight it. I can't escape 00:15:52.840 --> 00:15:56.220 it. It haunts my waking hours and my dreams as 00:15:56.220 --> 00:16:00.500 well. Those last ten pages of the book weren't 00:16:00.500 --> 00:16:03.740 easy to write, Mr. Higgins. But I had to write 00:16:03.740 --> 00:16:06.980 them. I had to free myself somehow from a love 00:16:06.980 --> 00:16:11.519 that was destroying my soul, my life! I don't 00:16:11.519 --> 00:16:17.080 think you're quite sane, Stephen. Neither do 00:16:17.080 --> 00:16:22.340 I. Suppose... suppose we were to publish the 00:16:22.340 --> 00:16:25.340 book as it is. Oh, if only you would. And Clarissa 00:16:25.340 --> 00:16:29.820 dies. What then? Why, then... she'd go back to 00:16:29.820 --> 00:16:33.740 being a character in a book. And if you let her 00:16:33.740 --> 00:16:39.639 live? Then... then I would follow her. My life. 00:16:40.039 --> 00:16:44.039 My body, even my talent would belong to her. 00:16:45.139 --> 00:16:49.559 I myself would belong to Clarissa and to her 00:16:49.559 --> 00:17:03.179 alone. Everybody talks about love, but nobody 00:17:03.179 --> 00:17:06.660 does anything about it. Now here for the first 00:17:06.660 --> 00:17:08.960 time we have a man who wants to do something. 00:17:09.339 --> 00:17:13.019 He wants to kill the lady. It may not be the 00:17:13.019 --> 00:17:16.099 perfect solution, not one to be universally recommended. 00:17:16.400 --> 00:17:19.680 Still, it's something. We'll be back shortly 00:17:19.680 --> 00:17:35.339 with Act Two. It was an American writer who said 00:17:35.339 --> 00:17:40.039 it, and not so long ago. Novelists, whatever 00:17:40.039 --> 00:17:43.859 else they may be, are also children, talking 00:17:43.859 --> 00:17:48.920 to children, in the dark. Listen with me now 00:17:48.920 --> 00:17:52.319 to the second act of three women. Stephen is 00:17:52.319 --> 00:17:56.200 talking to Clarissa, a character he created in 00:17:56.200 --> 00:18:00.259 one of his books, In the Dark. Clarissa, I can't 00:18:00.259 --> 00:18:02.980 let you go on living. But I want to, Stephen. 00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:05.539 Of course you want to. We all want to. But I 00:18:05.539 --> 00:18:08.460 want to so badly. And it's your fault, Stephen. 00:18:09.339 --> 00:18:12.700 Why is it my fault? Because you gave me such 00:18:12.700 --> 00:18:15.940 a wonderful life in your book. I enjoy it so 00:18:15.940 --> 00:18:18.940 much. I can't bear the thought of giving it up. 00:18:19.839 --> 00:18:24.559 Neither can I. Neither can I. To have had a life 00:18:24.559 --> 00:18:27.299 like that, and then to die ten pages from the 00:18:27.299 --> 00:18:29.599 end of the book. I know, I know. When the book 00:18:29.599 --> 00:18:33.920 is published, you'll be dead. I don't see why, 00:18:34.119 --> 00:18:36.400 Stephen. I really don't. Because till now it's 00:18:36.400 --> 00:18:41.099 just been you and me, and this room, and words 00:18:41.099 --> 00:18:44.039 on paper. But after the book is published... 00:18:44.039 --> 00:18:47.839 What will it be then? It'll be something that 00:18:47.839 --> 00:18:51.599 sells for $7 .95. $1 .50 in the paperback edition. 00:18:51.740 --> 00:18:54.440 My goodness, you're counting on a big sale, aren't 00:18:54.440 --> 00:18:57.700 you? Just hoping. But it won't have a big sale 00:18:57.700 --> 00:19:01.299 if you kill me off, sweetheart. It might. What 00:19:01.299 --> 00:19:05.380 was that? Who came in? Probably my mother -in 00:19:05.380 --> 00:19:07.039 -law. She gets home early to get dinner ready. 00:19:07.460 --> 00:19:09.759 Will she come up here? I don't think so. She 00:19:09.759 --> 00:19:12.559 hardly ever does. Oh, then let's talk some more 00:19:12.559 --> 00:19:15.839 about how much you love me. She is coming up 00:19:15.839 --> 00:19:19.440 here. Oh, bother. Well, we'll talk some more 00:19:19.440 --> 00:19:23.069 later. I am not going to let you kill me off, 00:19:23.309 --> 00:19:29.589 Stephen. It's too cruel. Uh, just a minute. All 00:19:29.589 --> 00:19:31.589 right, come up. Of course, Mother. Give me your 00:19:31.589 --> 00:19:36.990 hand. What a place! How do you stand it? I like 00:19:36.990 --> 00:19:41.890 it. It's cold, too. Your fire's gone out. You 00:19:41.890 --> 00:19:46.609 been working? Oh, no, not much. Well, what have 00:19:46.609 --> 00:19:49.900 you been doing? Figuring something out? Well, 00:19:50.619 --> 00:19:53.539 trying to. Figuring out what to do with the last 00:19:53.539 --> 00:19:58.660 ten pages of your novel? More or less. Stephen, 00:19:59.700 --> 00:20:02.559 it's not up to me to tell you what to do. Then 00:20:02.559 --> 00:20:06.480 don't. I don't know one book from another, but 00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:10.819 this book of yours, it's a novel, isn't it? It's 00:20:10.819 --> 00:20:15.420 a novel. About made -up people, right? Yes. So 00:20:15.420 --> 00:20:18.289 what's the difference? You can do what you want 00:20:18.289 --> 00:20:22.210 with made -up people. They can live as long as... 00:20:22.210 --> 00:20:24.450 as long as you're alive to write about them. 00:20:24.650 --> 00:20:29.109 True? Is that true? Yes, yes, that's true. So, 00:20:29.250 --> 00:20:31.589 if Mr. Higgins says you should let this character, 00:20:31.789 --> 00:20:35.589 this Clarissa, go on living, what's the difference? 00:20:35.769 --> 00:20:41.390 Let the lady live. Who cares? Also, and I don't 00:20:41.390 --> 00:20:43.829 mean this as a reproach, we can use the money. 00:20:44.029 --> 00:20:47.329 Believe me, I know that. So, if a little lady 00:20:47.329 --> 00:20:49.789 is worth more alive than dead, I say let her 00:20:49.789 --> 00:20:54.390 live. Yeah. Not a lot of work. The way I understand 00:20:54.390 --> 00:20:56.369 it from Loretta, I mean, you don't have to write 00:20:56.369 --> 00:20:59.829 the whole book over. Just the last ten pages. 00:20:59.910 --> 00:21:02.589 Well, what's that? You can knock that off in 00:21:02.589 --> 00:21:09.710 no time. Well, I better be getting on down and 00:21:09.710 --> 00:21:13.250 get dinner started. It'll be ready in about half 00:21:13.250 --> 00:21:26.670 an hour. I'll be down. Oh, darling. Darling, 00:21:27.049 --> 00:21:34.269 yes. Yes, sweetheart. The cold hand I held wet 00:21:34.269 --> 00:21:37.950 with my tears. Oh, Stephen, that's beautiful. 00:21:38.990 --> 00:21:43.509 Stirred ever so little. The fingers moved faintly 00:21:43.509 --> 00:21:57.029 in mine. Oh, Stephen, yes! That was a very good 00:21:57.029 --> 00:22:00.349 dinner, Mother. How would you know? You hardly 00:22:00.349 --> 00:22:03.430 tasted it. Well, what I did taste was awfully 00:22:03.430 --> 00:22:06.490 good. Nobody's going to eat anymore, I'll clear. 00:22:06.609 --> 00:22:08.390 Let me help you. Oh, don't be silly, Mama, and 00:22:08.390 --> 00:22:11.170 I'll finish up. You go back to work if you want 00:22:11.170 --> 00:22:18.529 to. Well, all right. I guess I will. Poor Stephen. 00:22:18.650 --> 00:22:23.009 He looks awful. He hardly eats anything anymore. 00:22:26.769 --> 00:22:29.869 I had a talk with him today about changing a 00:22:29.869 --> 00:22:33.869 book. What did you say? I said, what's the difference? 00:22:34.910 --> 00:22:36.970 Character in a book can be alive or dead. Who 00:22:36.970 --> 00:22:40.309 cares? Stephen cares. Oh, why should he? Oh, 00:22:40.410 --> 00:22:44.029 mama. He's a writer. Writers care about these 00:22:44.029 --> 00:22:48.869 things. It has something to do with, um, artistic 00:22:48.869 --> 00:22:52.849 integrity. You think maybe somebody's putting 00:22:52.849 --> 00:22:56.170 things into Stephen's head? Artistic notions, 00:22:56.250 --> 00:23:00.349 things like that? Who would do that? Mr. Higgins 00:23:00.349 --> 00:23:03.289 wants him to change the book. I wasn't thinking 00:23:03.289 --> 00:23:07.599 of Mr. Higgins. I was thinking of... Some woman. 00:23:08.440 --> 00:23:12.819 What woman? I don't know what woman. I don't 00:23:12.819 --> 00:23:16.299 suppose I should say this, but lots of times 00:23:16.299 --> 00:23:21.019 I hear him talking up there. Oh, Mom, Steve talks 00:23:21.019 --> 00:23:23.400 to himself all the time when he's trying to work 00:23:23.400 --> 00:23:26.359 things out. This isn't talking to himself. This 00:23:26.359 --> 00:23:30.059 is talking to somebody. There's a big difference. 00:23:30.660 --> 00:23:33.220 And another thing that... That mattress he has 00:23:33.220 --> 00:23:35.200 up there, it looks to me like there's two people 00:23:35.200 --> 00:23:37.859 been lying on it. Mom! All right, all right, 00:23:37.960 --> 00:23:40.119 all right, all right. I told you I shouldn't 00:23:40.119 --> 00:23:44.640 say it now. I'm sorry I did. He didn't seem very... 00:23:44.640 --> 00:23:47.359 happy about the baby. I should have kept my mouth 00:23:47.359 --> 00:23:50.579 shut. Oh, that's all right. You finish up the 00:23:50.579 --> 00:23:52.619 dishes. I'm going up to talk to him. Don't say 00:23:52.619 --> 00:23:55.259 I said anything. Don't tell him we've been talking. 00:23:57.119 --> 00:24:06.359 I won't. Yeah, just a second Not disturbing you 00:24:06.359 --> 00:24:10.380 am I of course not I didn't hear the typewriters. 00:24:11.319 --> 00:24:18.559 So Stephen Do you love me? What kind of a question 00:24:18.559 --> 00:24:21.480 is that? It's the kind of question wives are 00:24:21.480 --> 00:24:25.400 always asking even if they never say the words 00:24:25.400 --> 00:24:31.029 Yes, I love you Are you glad we're going to have 00:24:31.029 --> 00:24:37.130 a child? Yes. Yes, I'm... I'm glad we're going 00:24:37.130 --> 00:24:42.029 to have a child. Well, ask a straight question 00:24:42.029 --> 00:24:44.269 and you get a straight answer. That's the way 00:24:44.269 --> 00:24:48.430 it should be. So, I'll ask you another one. Why 00:24:48.430 --> 00:24:52.490 don't you want to change the book? Rita, I... 00:24:52.490 --> 00:24:55.869 I just don't. Well, it's not a straight answer. 00:24:56.309 --> 00:25:00.970 I know it isn't. I just... I can't. Steven, I'm 00:25:00.970 --> 00:25:04.890 going to ask you another straight question. Are 00:25:04.890 --> 00:25:11.650 you interested in some other woman? Interested? 00:25:12.609 --> 00:25:18.089 No. Because if you are, I'll go away. I don't 00:25:18.089 --> 00:25:22.150 want you to go away. I'll go away and have the 00:25:22.150 --> 00:25:25.269 baby someplace else. Until you get over this 00:25:25.269 --> 00:25:29.539 other woman, then I'll come back. Or if you don't 00:25:29.539 --> 00:25:33.420 get over her, I'll stay away. Oh, Loretta. Steven, 00:25:34.779 --> 00:25:38.440 can you swear to me that there's no other woman 00:25:38.440 --> 00:25:42.759 in your life except me? Can you promise me that? 00:25:44.180 --> 00:25:50.000 Loretta, I swear to you, I promise you that I 00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:53.400 love you. That I love you, that I want you for 00:25:53.400 --> 00:25:57.480 my wife for always, for as long as we live. I 00:25:57.480 --> 00:26:00.759 guess I'll have to be satisfied with that. It's 00:26:00.759 --> 00:26:05.960 the truth? All right. I'll let you work now. 00:26:08.980 --> 00:26:12.380 Oh, I thought she'd never leave. Please, Clarissa, 00:26:12.539 --> 00:26:14.799 I don't feel like talking to you right now. Why 00:26:14.799 --> 00:26:17.640 didn't you tell her about me? How could I tell 00:26:17.640 --> 00:26:20.630 her about you? She wouldn't believe me. Nobody 00:26:20.630 --> 00:26:22.650 would. Darling, you know what I was thinking 00:26:22.650 --> 00:26:25.250 while Loretta was going on and on about herself 00:26:25.250 --> 00:26:29.309 and you and the baby she's going to have? I was 00:26:29.309 --> 00:26:33.509 thinking, why don't I have a baby? Oh, not in 00:26:33.509 --> 00:26:35.509 this book, of course, but later on in some other 00:26:35.509 --> 00:26:38.869 book. I'll have this perfectly gorgeous child 00:26:38.869 --> 00:26:43.289 who'll have my sweet disposition and your marvelous 00:26:43.289 --> 00:26:55.430 brains. How about that? Mama, I asked him if 00:26:55.430 --> 00:26:59.410 there was somebody else. Another woman. Oh, well. 00:26:59.670 --> 00:27:03.609 He said he loved me and wanted me for his wife 00:27:03.609 --> 00:27:07.069 for as long as we live. I still hear him talking 00:27:07.069 --> 00:27:09.269 up there and it certainly sounds to me like he's 00:27:09.269 --> 00:27:12.490 talking to somebody. Who do you suppose that 00:27:12.490 --> 00:27:19.180 is? One way to find out. Oh, Mr. Higgins. Come 00:27:19.180 --> 00:27:21.940 in before you freeze to death. Winter's closing 00:27:21.940 --> 00:27:25.319 in on us. Sure is. How are you, Mr. Higgins? 00:27:25.480 --> 00:27:30.240 Fine. Fine. I thrive on the cold. Mrs. Lake, 00:27:30.980 --> 00:27:34.240 your husband's in, I hope. He's up there. Working, 00:27:34.339 --> 00:27:37.299 I guess. Has he talked to you about, you know, 00:27:37.759 --> 00:27:41.119 about Clarissa, keeping her alive? He just says 00:27:41.119 --> 00:27:43.980 he doesn't want to. All right to go up and see 00:27:43.980 --> 00:27:47.720 him? Oh, sure it is. Good luck, Mr. Higgins. 00:27:47.859 --> 00:27:58.880 Thank you. Oh, Mr. Higgins. Okay, just talk to 00:27:58.880 --> 00:28:03.599 you for a few minutes, Stephen. I guess so, sure. 00:28:07.099 --> 00:28:10.339 I thought I'd like to see how you're getting 00:28:10.339 --> 00:28:15.079 along. I'm not. You haven't done any work? None 00:28:15.079 --> 00:28:18.680 at all? Oh, a few pages. They're over there next 00:28:18.680 --> 00:28:21.759 to the typewriter. Okay, may I have a look? If 00:28:21.759 --> 00:28:26.059 you want to. Mr. Higgins, if you're here, talk 00:28:26.059 --> 00:28:28.880 to me about letting Clarissa live. I most certainly 00:28:28.880 --> 00:28:31.960 am. I'm not sure I can take it anymore. My mother 00:28:31.960 --> 00:28:33.799 -in -law is talking to me about it. My wife talks 00:28:33.799 --> 00:28:38.240 to me about it. Stephen, this is very good so 00:28:38.240 --> 00:28:40.539 far. The hardest thing of all is Clarissa talks 00:28:40.539 --> 00:28:43.319 to me about it. Do you know what she wants now? 00:28:43.769 --> 00:28:47.730 She wants a baby. My baby. We could probably 00:28:47.730 --> 00:28:52.390 work in a baby later on. Mr. Higgins, if Clarissa 00:28:52.390 --> 00:28:56.910 has a baby, am I going to love it more than Loretta's 00:28:56.910 --> 00:29:02.970 baby? Stephen, these pages are very good. Now 00:29:02.970 --> 00:29:05.819 write the last couple of pages. I've got... To 00:29:05.819 --> 00:29:08.440 kill her off, Mr. Higgins, and never write about 00:29:08.440 --> 00:29:11.759 her anymore, never! Now, Stephen, stop it! Calm 00:29:11.759 --> 00:29:14.640 down and try to be reasonable! I can't be reasonable! 00:29:16.500 --> 00:29:19.680 I love my wife, Mr. Higgins. I want to live with 00:29:19.680 --> 00:29:23.559 my wife and our child. I can't live with her 00:29:23.559 --> 00:29:29.279 and Clarissa, too. No, Mr. Higgins. Clarissa 00:29:29.279 --> 00:29:32.480 has to die just the way I wrote it in the first 00:29:32.480 --> 00:29:35.200 place. If she dies in this book, then I can't 00:29:35.200 --> 00:29:36.819 write about her anymore. And if I don't write 00:29:36.819 --> 00:29:40.140 about her anymore, she won't exist. Steven, I 00:29:40.140 --> 00:29:43.460 won't publish the book if Clarissa dies. I've 00:29:43.460 --> 00:29:46.200 put it to you straight. Don't you think you owe 00:29:46.200 --> 00:29:48.019 it to your wife, to your mother -in -law, to 00:29:48.019 --> 00:29:51.519 yourself, to make this little concession? Concession? 00:29:52.079 --> 00:29:55.119 What will happen to them if you don't? What will 00:29:55.119 --> 00:30:06.380 happen to them... if I do? Money is the root 00:30:06.380 --> 00:30:11.720 of all evil, and killing is certainly evil. Yet, 00:30:11.900 --> 00:30:15.220 here we have a man who wants to kill and is letting 00:30:15.220 --> 00:30:19.400 himself be talked out of killing for money. It 00:30:19.400 --> 00:30:22.559 leaves us with the perplexing question, what 00:30:22.559 --> 00:30:26.420 is evil? Maybe we'll find out when we return 00:30:26.420 --> 00:30:42.130 shortly for Act 3. Pity the poor novelist alone 00:30:42.130 --> 00:30:47.069 with his thoughts his visions his conceits his 00:30:47.069 --> 00:30:51.230 fancies His only solid substantial companion 00:30:51.230 --> 00:30:59.930 his typewriter Steven What is it Clarissa? Everybody 00:30:59.930 --> 00:31:04.509 wants me to live except you I know I know and 00:31:04.509 --> 00:31:07.410 you're the one who loves me. I know nobody else 00:31:07.410 --> 00:31:10.269 even knows me except from reading the book, and 00:31:10.269 --> 00:31:12.670 that's not really knowing. Clarissa, I wish you'd 00:31:12.670 --> 00:31:19.009 let me work. How am I doing? You're living. Just 00:31:19.009 --> 00:31:22.190 barely, but you're living. I thought I was, because 00:31:22.190 --> 00:31:27.569 I was feeling so warm and loving about you. I 00:31:27.569 --> 00:31:29.789 know the only reason you're keeping me alive 00:31:29.789 --> 00:31:32.650 is for the money. You can't fool me, Stephen. 00:31:32.690 --> 00:31:34.809 If there was a way to kill me and still make 00:31:34.809 --> 00:31:37.930 the money, I bet you'd take it. There ought to 00:31:37.930 --> 00:31:43.349 be a way Clarissa you've given me an idea. Oh, 00:31:43.349 --> 00:31:45.990 it makes me very happy if I've given you something 00:31:45.990 --> 00:31:48.990 You've given me everything. It's about time. 00:31:48.990 --> 00:31:53.470 I gave something back to you Mr. Higgins Stephen 00:31:53.470 --> 00:31:57.329 Lake Yes, I have an idea. I have to talk to you 00:31:57.329 --> 00:31:59.130 about it right away. Can I come to your house? 00:31:59.950 --> 00:32:01.950 Well, that's all right. I have snow shoes. I'll 00:32:01.950 --> 00:32:06.670 be there in say half an hour Thanks, Mr. Higgins. 00:32:08.309 --> 00:32:12.670 What kind of an idea have you got? Never you 00:32:12.670 --> 00:32:16.309 mind. I'm coming with you. No, I don't want you 00:32:16.309 --> 00:32:18.710 tagging along. I want to tag along. Where are 00:32:18.710 --> 00:32:22.890 my snowshoes? Right there. Now, what's this big 00:32:22.890 --> 00:32:26.230 idea you have to tell Mr. Higgins? None of your 00:32:26.230 --> 00:32:29.470 business. Is it about me? As a matter of fact, 00:32:29.549 --> 00:32:34.460 it is. Then it is my business. Steven, you're 00:32:34.460 --> 00:32:37.079 not going to kill me off, are you? I thought 00:32:37.079 --> 00:32:47.640 that was all decided. Are you? Now, my idea is 00:32:47.640 --> 00:32:50.759 this, Mr. Higgins. I'll finish up the book just 00:32:50.759 --> 00:32:54.079 the way you want it. Good, good. Clarissa stirs 00:32:54.079 --> 00:32:56.500 and comes to life. Whatever it was she was dying 00:32:56.500 --> 00:32:59.690 of, she only went into... coma etc etc i'll work 00:32:59.690 --> 00:33:02.049 it out i'll give you a book in a couple of days 00:33:02.049 --> 00:33:05.710 maybe by tomorrow good then if you still like 00:33:05.710 --> 00:33:10.390 it oh i like it it's yours only i wanted in my 00:33:10.390 --> 00:33:13.329 contract that whatever money the book makes goes 00:33:13.329 --> 00:33:16.529 to my wife i want her to get all the proceeds 00:33:16.529 --> 00:33:20.650 but it's your book why i just happen to write 00:33:20.650 --> 00:33:24.470 it that's all and writing it i nearly ruined 00:33:24.470 --> 00:33:27.369 my wife's happiness in my own I don't want any 00:33:27.369 --> 00:33:30.829 money for that. Stephen, it seems to me that 00:33:30.829 --> 00:33:33.430 you're simply feeling guilty about your feelings 00:33:33.430 --> 00:33:38.829 for Clarissa. I am. Guilty as hell. And about 00:33:38.829 --> 00:33:41.049 the other books, the ones after this one. You're 00:33:41.049 --> 00:33:43.589 not going to tell me you don't want any of that 00:33:43.589 --> 00:33:47.009 money either. I want somebody else to write those 00:33:47.009 --> 00:33:51.150 things, not me. You're joking. Mr. Higgins, I've 00:33:51.150 --> 00:33:53.859 got to get Clarissa out of my head. And the only 00:33:53.859 --> 00:33:55.880 way to do that is to put her into somebody else's 00:33:55.880 --> 00:33:58.700 head. Let somebody else keep her alive, not me. 00:33:59.619 --> 00:34:03.440 Well, uh... I suppose we could find a ghostwriter, 00:34:03.579 --> 00:34:07.660 but... At least let me have those last ten pages 00:34:07.660 --> 00:34:11.639 with Clarissa alive. Mr. Higgins, you'll have 00:34:11.639 --> 00:34:22.659 them. Tonight. My, you are busy, aren't you? 00:34:22.780 --> 00:34:25.219 Very. You're working on the new ending to the 00:34:25.219 --> 00:34:28.099 novel, aren't you? That's right. And I get to 00:34:28.099 --> 00:34:32.159 live and live and live and live... Clarissa, 00:34:32.179 --> 00:34:33.659 it's cold in here. Why don't you do something 00:34:33.659 --> 00:34:36.760 useful like putting some wood in the stove? I 00:34:36.760 --> 00:34:40.420 don't know how. You don't know much, do you? 00:34:41.420 --> 00:34:44.880 Enough. Okay, I'll do it. Make a nice big fire 00:34:44.880 --> 00:34:46.719 and then we can sit and talk about what's going 00:34:46.719 --> 00:34:49.519 to happen next. What do you mean by next? In 00:34:49.519 --> 00:34:51.219 all the other books, the ones you're going to 00:34:51.219 --> 00:34:54.780 write after this one. Now blow on this fire, 00:34:54.880 --> 00:34:57.260 will you? Oh. At least you can do that. Okay. 00:35:00.159 --> 00:35:03.400 Go on, tell me about the other books. I don't 00:35:03.400 --> 00:35:06.380 know anything about the other books. Would you 00:35:06.380 --> 00:35:09.980 like to hear some of my ideas? Not really. Well, 00:35:09.980 --> 00:35:11.639 that's enough. You can stop blowing. It's caught 00:35:11.639 --> 00:35:17.329 fire. Ah, that feels good. I think the next novel 00:35:17.329 --> 00:35:21.050 ought to be in Venice. Clarissa, I have made 00:35:21.050 --> 00:35:24.809 a deal with Mr. Higgins. When I finish these 00:35:24.809 --> 00:35:29.130 ten pages, thereby keeping you alive, I shall 00:35:29.130 --> 00:35:31.389 turn them over to him to replace the original 00:35:31.389 --> 00:35:36.849 ten, and then I shall write no more books. No 00:35:36.849 --> 00:35:40.010 more books about you, anyway. But Mr. Higgins 00:35:40.010 --> 00:35:42.309 thinks I'm wonderful. He wants lots of books 00:35:42.309 --> 00:35:44.800 about me. He's going to get lots of books about 00:35:44.800 --> 00:35:47.780 you, but they won't be written by me. But who 00:35:47.780 --> 00:35:54.119 will write them? A ghost. A ghost? I don't want 00:35:54.119 --> 00:35:57.719 to be written by a ghost. I'm part ghost myself. 00:35:57.860 --> 00:36:00.539 Oh, he'll be a real live man. A ghost writer. 00:36:01.039 --> 00:36:02.699 That's what they are called in the publishing 00:36:02.699 --> 00:36:06.579 business. But it won't be you? Definitely not 00:36:06.579 --> 00:36:11.539 me. But it will be a real live man. Yes. Now, 00:36:11.579 --> 00:36:13.079 if you'll excuse me, I'd like to get back to 00:36:13.079 --> 00:36:19.639 work. I wonder, will he be as handsome as you? 00:36:20.719 --> 00:36:25.340 Handsomer, probably. I wonder, will he love me 00:36:25.340 --> 00:36:30.320 the way you do? For his sake, I hope not. I wonder, 00:36:30.420 --> 00:36:34.960 will I love him? Why should you love him? Why 00:36:34.960 --> 00:36:39.280 not? You never loved me. That's the way you wrote 00:36:39.280 --> 00:36:43.730 it. I couldn't love anyone. Except yourself. 00:36:43.849 --> 00:36:45.989 But he might write me differently, mightn't he? 00:36:46.050 --> 00:36:48.869 He shouldn't. He should follow the character 00:36:48.869 --> 00:36:51.110 exactly as I've set it down in the first book. 00:36:51.449 --> 00:36:53.650 But if he falls in love with me, he might want 00:36:53.650 --> 00:36:56.889 it changed so I could fall in love with him. 00:36:57.909 --> 00:37:00.469 It would be so much more convenient for everybody. 00:37:00.769 --> 00:37:04.630 Clarissa, you wouldn't. Wouldn't what? Fall in 00:37:04.630 --> 00:37:10.769 love... Fall in love with the ghostwriter. Would 00:37:10.769 --> 00:37:15.429 you? How should I know? Well, you... You wouldn't 00:37:15.429 --> 00:37:20.329 have his child. You wouldn't do that. I think 00:37:20.329 --> 00:37:22.590 I'll put another piece of wood on the fire, or 00:37:22.590 --> 00:37:26.489 would you rather do it? Clarissa, would you have 00:37:26.489 --> 00:37:32.349 his child? There. Oh, look. That's a nice fire. 00:37:33.070 --> 00:37:36.570 Lovely. Answer me! Would you have his child? 00:37:37.179 --> 00:37:40.780 Well, Stephen, if that's the way he writes it, 00:37:41.739 --> 00:37:46.340 I guess I'll have to. Stephen, what are you doing? 00:37:46.400 --> 00:37:48.599 Oh, no, no. You're not going to have his child. 00:37:48.800 --> 00:37:50.619 No. Stephen. You're going back to where you were 00:37:50.619 --> 00:37:53.039 in the original. You're going to die ten pages 00:37:53.039 --> 00:37:55.420 from the end of the book. You're not going to 00:37:55.420 --> 00:38:00.260 burn the new pages, Stephen. You're not. Don't! 00:38:01.059 --> 00:38:06.690 Help! Help! Someone help me! I'm on fire! Help 00:38:06.690 --> 00:38:11.489 me! The quilt! Get me the quilt, please! Help 00:38:11.489 --> 00:38:30.929 me! I'll get it, Mama. Mrs. Lee? Mr. Higgins. 00:38:31.289 --> 00:38:35.260 It's Mr. Higgins, Mama. Oh. I haven't seen you 00:38:35.260 --> 00:38:37.360 since the funeral, Mr. Higgins. Thank you for 00:38:37.360 --> 00:38:39.920 the beautiful flowers. May I come in for a minute? 00:38:40.119 --> 00:38:43.880 Why, of course. Come in. Would you like a cup 00:38:43.880 --> 00:38:45.980 of tea, Mr. Higgins? I was just about to put 00:38:45.980 --> 00:38:50.159 the kettle on. Thank you. No, Mrs. Lake. I haven't 00:38:50.159 --> 00:38:53.440 wanted to intrude before this on your grief. 00:38:54.219 --> 00:38:58.150 Such a terrible accident. Mama and I can't figure 00:38:58.150 --> 00:39:01.409 out how it happened. You know, Stephen knew that 00:39:01.409 --> 00:39:05.530 Franklin stove so well. He'd used it for years. 00:39:06.349 --> 00:39:08.309 And then... It was like it sort of blew up in 00:39:08.309 --> 00:39:12.829 his face. Mrs. Lake, he was working on the new 00:39:12.829 --> 00:39:16.710 ending for the novel when he... when it happened. 00:39:17.690 --> 00:39:21.090 At least I think he was. I don't know for sure, 00:39:21.090 --> 00:39:24.409 Mr. Higgins. He promised me I'd have the new 00:39:24.409 --> 00:39:28.409 pages that same night. He acted as though he 00:39:28.409 --> 00:39:31.349 couldn't wait to get started. Then I imagine 00:39:31.349 --> 00:39:34.030 that's what he was doing. Mrs. Lake, would you 00:39:34.030 --> 00:39:37.449 mind if I'm not intruding? Could I go up and 00:39:37.449 --> 00:39:41.389 take a look? You see, if I can find them, I can 00:39:41.389 --> 00:39:44.489 just substitute them for the original last ten 00:39:44.489 --> 00:39:48.389 pages, and we can go right to work. I think we 00:39:48.389 --> 00:39:50.389 might be able to publish the book this spring. 00:39:50.590 --> 00:39:53.590 Why, that would be wonderful. At least. You'd 00:39:53.590 --> 00:39:56.110 have a little money coming in. Stephen would 00:39:56.110 --> 00:39:59.110 have liked that. So is it all right if I take 00:39:59.110 --> 00:40:03.489 a look? Why, surely. You don't mind if I don't 00:40:03.489 --> 00:40:07.250 go up there with you. I haven't wanted to somehow 00:40:07.250 --> 00:40:09.949 since the fire. No, no, no. That's quite all 00:40:09.949 --> 00:40:14.289 right. I'll go up by myself. Trap door's not 00:40:14.289 --> 00:40:19.409 locked, Mr. Higgins. Make it all right? Yes. 00:40:19.889 --> 00:40:22.820 Thank you. Fine. Oh, I suppose I should have 00:40:22.820 --> 00:40:26.980 cleaned up that place, but I just couldn't. No 00:40:26.980 --> 00:40:29.579 hurry. When the time comes, I'll do it. Never 00:40:29.579 --> 00:40:32.420 entered my head to look for those ten pages. 00:40:32.619 --> 00:40:36.340 Oh, never mind. Mama, if he finds the pages and 00:40:36.340 --> 00:40:40.619 publishes the book, and if it's a success, that'll 00:40:40.619 --> 00:40:45.360 be nice, won't it? Mrs. Lake. What is it, Mr. 00:40:45.619 --> 00:40:50.099 Higgins? You found them? I found something. I 00:40:50.099 --> 00:40:53.920 found these. These ten pages. Oh, thank the good 00:40:53.920 --> 00:40:56.780 Lord. All neatly stacked beside his typewriter. 00:40:56.920 --> 00:41:00.460 Oh, I'm so glad, Mr. Higgins. Glad? Have you 00:41:00.460 --> 00:41:05.860 read them? Well, no. Well, listen. Lovely, gorgeous 00:41:05.860 --> 00:41:09.380 Clarissa lifted her beautiful head. She wasn't 00:41:09.380 --> 00:41:14.900 dead after all. Well? But that's not the way 00:41:14.900 --> 00:41:18.989 Stephen writes. I could hardly believe my eyes. 00:41:19.369 --> 00:41:23.570 That creamy complexion was beginning to pinken. 00:41:24.070 --> 00:41:27.929 Pinken? There's no such word as pinken. My adorable 00:41:27.929 --> 00:41:31.050 sweetheart had only fainted and wasn't dead at 00:41:31.050 --> 00:41:36.329 all. My goodness, but I was happy. Now I ask 00:41:36.329 --> 00:41:39.050 you... Stephen didn't write that way at all. 00:41:39.070 --> 00:41:41.730 Nothing like that. Then who did? Who did write 00:41:41.730 --> 00:41:46.739 this awful trash? Mr. Higgins, you don't... Think 00:41:46.739 --> 00:41:50.079 that well somebody wrote it is typed on his typewriter 00:41:50.079 --> 00:41:56.679 You You don't suppose it is possible that Stephen 00:41:56.679 --> 00:41:59.739 Went mad and wrote this awful stuff while he 00:41:59.739 --> 00:42:03.260 was unbalanced Mr. Higgins if Stephen was a certified 00:42:03.260 --> 00:42:05.519 lunatic. He couldn't write ten pages like those 00:42:05.519 --> 00:42:09.019 there Do you want them to keep for any reason? 00:42:09.239 --> 00:42:12.139 I don't think so. Well, I'll take them home with 00:42:12.139 --> 00:42:16.199 me and burn them. Mr. Higgins Does this mean 00:42:16.199 --> 00:42:21.239 that that there won't be any book at all why 00:42:21.239 --> 00:42:26.139 I? Hadn't thought I would so like to have a book 00:42:26.139 --> 00:42:30.039 of Stevens published Tell you what we'll do mrs. 00:42:30.139 --> 00:42:32.219 Lake. We'll go ahead and publish the original 00:42:32.219 --> 00:42:38.000 version the one where Clarissa dies You say something 00:42:38.000 --> 00:42:47.880 no sounded like a ghost kind of It really does 00:42:47.880 --> 00:42:52.460 sound like a ghost. Must be the wind. Well, I'll 00:42:52.460 --> 00:42:55.519 be getting along. And don't you worry, you two. 00:42:55.559 --> 00:42:57.559 There'll be a little money coming in. It's still 00:42:57.559 --> 00:43:01.320 a good novel, even with Clarissa dying. Too bad, 00:43:01.840 --> 00:43:04.500 though. I'd hoped Clarissa would have a long 00:43:04.500 --> 00:43:16.590 and happy life, but such is fate. And the moral 00:43:16.590 --> 00:43:20.829 of the story is, what is the moral of the story? 00:43:22.250 --> 00:43:26.610 How's this? Lie if you like, but never believe 00:43:26.610 --> 00:43:31.570 your own lies. Or, the man who fools himself 00:43:31.570 --> 00:43:36.090 is a fool indeed. Well, something like that. 00:43:36.690 --> 00:43:50.860 You figure it out. I'll be back shortly. The 00:43:50.860 --> 00:43:54.699 gift of youth is ours for just a little while. 00:43:55.440 --> 00:43:59.539 Fame is capricious, and money slips through our 00:43:59.539 --> 00:44:04.360 fingers. Health is a godsend subject to recall. 00:44:05.440 --> 00:44:08.780 Even the venison of love can elude us, or it 00:44:08.780 --> 00:44:12.179 can wither in our hearts. But the blessings of 00:44:12.179 --> 00:44:18.500 imagination, ah, they belong to us forever and 00:44:18.500 --> 00:44:23.400 ever. Our cast included Ruth Ford, George Petrie, 00:44:23.679 --> 00:44:26.760 Elspeth Eric, Joan Loring, and Roger DeKoven. 00:44:27.760 --> 00:44:29.579 The entire production was under the direction 00:44:29.579 --> 00:44:33.960 of Hyman Brown. This is E .G. Marshall inviting 00:44:33.960 --> 00:44:37.019 you to return to our Mystery Theatre for another 00:44:37.019 --> 00:44:42.280 adventure in the macabre. Until next time, pleasant 00:44:42.280 --> 00:44:43.039 dreams.