Welcome. I'm E .G. Marshall. Welcome to the sound
of suspense. To the theater of the mind, where
on the unlimited stage of your imagination, we'll
play out a drama of terror. Terror for three
people who might be called babes in the wood.
It's a frightening thing to lose your way. And
even more terrifying if you're lost. in an unfamiliar
forest with nothing to give you a sense of direction.
And that's where we find two escaped convicts,
Hank Foley and Will Chase. Fugitives from an
army stockade, together with Hank's wife, Dolly,
who tried to help them escape. But being lost
is only a part of their problem. Well, whatever
it was, it's gone. But it's still out there,
somewhere. What are we gonna do? I think we oughta
stay here. Till we starve? We've got to keep
moving! But Hank's leg! Okay, look. I figure
it's about early afternoon. Let's wait till the
heat of the day passes. Give Hank's leg a rest
and then go on when it's cooler. But if we can't
find our way out before dark... Then we spend
another night in these woods. With that? That
thing out there? That and... God knows what else.
Our mystery drama, Escape, Escape, was written
especially for the Mystery Theater by Bob Juren
and stars Terry Keene and Robert Dryden. I'll
be back shortly with Act One. to a rainy August
night in Louisiana. The lights of an army camp
shine dimly through the sheet of water that falls
from the cold black sky. Little rivers run in
gullies across the deserted muddy compound of
the stockade. All is quiet except for the rain.
And then... We killed one guard already. No,
we're going to go down and try. This rain's on
our side. The searchlights don't shine as far.
But we've got to get across that whole compound!
The next time the lights sweep past, we follow.
Just behind. Now, get ready. We won't be able
to find a hole in the fence in this rain! We'll
worry about that when we get to the fence. Now,
hold on. Here comes the light now. Hey, just
behind it. Ready? We gotta see that next swing
of the light! How much farther? Can't tell with
this rain! The light's coming its way again!
Faster! Here! Here's the fence! Hey! The light!
I got more shots left! Keep your fingers crossed!
I hit the light! Come on! See you on the fence!
Yeah! Charlie said the hole would be right next
to the fork folks! Damn rain! It's hoped that
it hasn't! We don't know the words of the roads
around here Hey, are you sure you know which
way to go? No, no, I'm not sure. What am I, a
miracle man? I'm as scared as you are, but we
gotta keep going. Charlie said head straight
away from the fence for a mile and a half to
the road. The trees block a lot of the rain.
We'll get there. There's a clearing. It must
be the road here. That looks like a car, Hank.
It's too dark to be sure. Keep moving. It is
a car, Hank. It's Dolly! She found the spot,
okay? Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's a good word of
light. Told you Dolly wouldn't let us down. Hey,
you made it! Oh, Rush, you're on it! Sorry for
being here. Okay, well, get in the back. Thank
God you made it. Oh, I have missed you so. Time
for that later, doll. Come on, get going. Oh,
hey, man, you sure are a man. Yeah, we had to
crawl through the mud. Yeah. And where are we
heading? Well... First to Masonville, we pick
up the interstate there. I had a heck of a time
finding my way in here. The rain didn't help
either. It helped us back to stockade. What's
the matter? I ripped myself crawling through
the fence. Is it bad? I don't know. I don't think
so. I haven't had a chance to look at it. Maybe
we should stop in Masonville. Are you crazy?
It'll be all right. We don't dare stop. He's
right. We'll keep going. Oh, but... What's the
matter? I just went past the road I'm supposed
to take. You're sure? Yeah, I'm positive. I turned
right at the white line coming in, so I'm supposed
to turn left coming out. Well, I can't argue
with you. One mile on this road, and then right
at the cemetery. I know this was the road, but
we should have come to the cemetery a long time
ago. We probably missed it in the rain. Maybe
we should go back. Yeah, we'll have to. That
cemetery's my only guidepost. We're on dirt now.
The roads coming in here are all paved. Well,
maybe we ought to stop and wait till daylight.
Hey, there's a light up ahead. Let's ask. What
are you, a dummy? What do you think we are, tourists?
They've had an alert out for us for an hour.
Well, look, maybe I should ask. You two stay
in the car. No, no, no, no. Wait a minute. It
might not be so bad. It's isolated out here.
Maybe they haven't heard about it. And even if
they haven't, it doesn't make any difference.
What are you talking about? We're going to spend
the night in that house. What? Now you're just
wandering around getting lost in the rain. We're
all going in and help ourselves to their hospitality.
What do you want? Our car broke down. Can we
use your phone? What happened to you? Haven't
you ever seen mud before? Come on in. This is
very kind of you. Call me Granny Good. That's
how I'm called. We're on our way to Masonville,
Granny. Can we call a service station? Here's
the phone. I don't know if Amos had come out
this late. Oh, we don't mind waiting. I'll just...
My phone! What did you do that for? You just
got some unexpected overnight company, and we
don't want to be disturbed. You've got some nerve!
Shut up! You got a radio? Of course I got a radio!
Now I know what you want! Shut up! You're the
prisoners that escaped from the army camp. Didn't
take them long to announce it. They said you
killed a guard. Hank, you didn't. We had to.
Murderers! Get out of my house! Get out! You
just shut up, old lady. You murderers, you'll
not stay in my house! Hank! Old woman! You'll
be sorry for that. Murderer! Shut up! I said.
Get us some food. You'll be sorry. Hank, why
are you acting like this? Leave me alone. He's
on edge, darling. We all are. The past couple
of hours haven't been any pick -me -up. What
is it? You're hip again? Yeah, yeah, I... Well,
we're here. Sit down, sit down. Look, could we
have some warm water and bandages? My husband's
been hurt. Do you expect me to nurse him? No,
I just ask not for a murderer. Let him suffer.
Get the bandages. Hank! All right, I'll get you
some water. But don't think you scared me into
it. Come on, Hank. Relax, okay? Coming here was
your idea, Hank. We got no other choice. We'll
stay till daylight and then get moving. Yeah,
water and a bandage and don't ask for anything
more. How about some food? I don't have any food.
Yeah? What's in that pot on the fire? Snakes
and snails and puppy dog tails. You want some,
sonny boy? Don't get funny with me. Oh lady,
we're gonna stay here till morning, so just get
used to the idea, huh? Will, look around. See
if there's anything we can use and find some
food, no matter what she says. Hank, sit still.
I'll fix your leg. Now, just a minute. Oh, the
gun again. Why? Why do you want to frighten me,
barge in and treat me like this? I know you're
escape murderers. Why don't you just go and leave
me alone? I will. You find anything? Nothing
much. There's a storeroom back here full of empty
bottles, every size and shape. Ah, so Granny
likes to put up around, huh? We're out of full
bottles, Granny. I don't know what you're talking
about. Where's your booze? I could use a drink
right now. There's no liquor here. Find it, Will.
Right. No, no, don't open that cabinet! Open
it, Will! No, no, please! It's locked! Open it!
Oh, please, don't! Get away from there! Hey!
Look at that! Money! It's mine! Stacks and stacks
of money! Just laying there! Ah, that is something
we can use. No, no! Don't you dare touch that!
There's no hurry, Will. Pack it up when we're
ready to leave. All right, come on, Will. Wash
up and Dolly will find us something to drink.
And eat. You want some more salad? No, no, thanks
me neither. Yeah, it wasn't a bad meal. Yeah
better than that garbage at the army prison a
ink. I Knew that old hag it's soft enough. Yeah
Look at her snoozing over there by the fire with
her cauldrons and her cats Hey, all she needs
is a black pointed hat. Yeah I could use some
sleep myself. They'll take turns There's nothing
that old hag can do but we better not take chances.
She might run for help Yeah, still pouring rain,
though. I wouldn't stop her. She knows her way
around here. Oh, look, I'll stay up. I'm too
nervous to sleep anyway. I don't like the way
that one cat keeps staring at us. Yeah, I know
what you mean. It's bugging me, too. What are
you two trying to do, spook us all? I'll just
be glad when we're out of here. Hank? Why don't
we leave now? Rene will tell us how to get to
the main road into Masonville just to get rid
of us. No way. She could get us really lost or
direct us right back to the army base. Now, we'll
wait for daylight. She's waking up. So what?
I'm gonna sleep. You're all still here? Yeah.
I thought you'd be gone by now. I told Rimba
to send you away. Who's Rimba? My best friend.
Aren't you, Rimba? Well, maybe he didn't get
the message. It's that cat that's been staring
at us. Send him away, Rimba. You have the power.
Send him away. Hank? Hank, I'm frightened. Keep
that cat away from me. Go ahead, Rimba. We've
been hospitable long enough, send them away!
If that cat comes any closer, I'll... Hey! Remba!
Remba! You've killed Remba! That cat was mad!
It was attacking you, killed Remba! Now you'll
pay! Murderers! You'll hit me, you'll steal my
money, eat my food! You'll kill my cat! Hey,
with your lives, you have no more chances left.
Hank, I'm scared to death. She's going crazy.
She's throwing things on the fire. Now what can
she do? That cat was gonna fire first and then
the ash. Golden powder from the sash. Powder
mixed with basil green. Mandrake root and things
unseen. Now a grain into the fire to test. fulfillment
of desire. It blew up. What's going on, Hank?
I don't know. She's putting on some show. Look,
I don't like it. We've got to get out of here.
Killers of my faithful friend, only the hate
of hell descend. Now once again into the fire,
complete fulfillment of desire. unwanted company,
smoke them out, and Granny is certainly within
her rights when nothing but brutal treatment
rewarded her hospitality. We'll see how our notorious
trio makes out when I return shortly with Act
Two. We return now to the rather bizarre scene
at the cottage of old Granny Good. After being
terrorized by her very rude and ungrateful guests,
she struck back by filling the cottage with smoke
from a powder she threw into the fire. And at
this moment, her unexpected company is making
a hasty retreat. We found the door. Hurry up,
the smoke's getting worse. Okay, okay. Let's
go. I can breathe. Keep running. Get in the car.
The rain stopped. It's so dark. I can't see either
of you. That's the way it is in here. Was it
nice? The car ought to be right over here. Be
parked close to the cottage. I can't, I can't
see it. Good. We can't see the lights in the
cottage anymore. Did we run that far? No, it
didn't seem like it. Let's double back. Hank,
Hank, please, do you know which way we're going?
Yeah, back to where we came. We gotta get to
the car. Walked into a tree! I can't see a damn
thing! You got any mattress? No, do you? No.
Come on, we'll fill our way. We could walk around
in circles in this dark. We gotta wait for morning.
That old woman's probably on her way to the police
right now. How? On her broom? She couldn't get
anywhere tonight. We'll try. We'll bed down here
and wait till daylight. Bed down on this wet
ground? Okay, okay, okay. Let's relax. We can't
walk around in circles. We'll have to make out
as best we can right here. It's not cold. Rain's
stopped. We'll just have to stay here till daylight.
Then we'll see the cottage and get out of here.
Hey. You awake? Yeah. It's getting light. Ah,
yeah, yeah. Better get moving. Dolly. You all
right, honey? Oh. Oh, it's too stiff. You'll
feel better once we get going. Hey. Dolly. Look.
What? Where's the cottage? It's gone. Well, we...
We couldn't have wandered that far away from
it. Well, we did. We thought we were heading
back for it in the dark. Instead, we were walking
away from it. Well, what direction should we
go? Well, if we keep moving, we've got to come
to a road sometime. Maybe the dirt road we came
in on. Hey, look. Look. That looks like a path
up ahead. Oh, yeah. Yeah, the undergrowth isn't
a stick up there. Our path's gotta lead somewhere.
What do we do? We go right or left, huh? Left.
It seems to go up. Yeah, yeah. Maybe if we get
to higher ground we'll see the cottage. Okay,
where do we go left? Yeah. Hank, suppose we can't
find our way out of here. We don't have any water,
any food. Don't think like that, darling. We'll
get out of here. He couldn't have come all that
far from the cottage last night. We stopped walking
after a few minutes. The cottage and that dirt
road has to be closed. But we may still be walking
away from him. Oh, Hank. Hank, please. I've got
to rest. Yeah, okay. We'll stop for a while.
My legs bother me too. I'm dying of thirst. We
are. It's so blasted hot, too, and still. Hank?
Huh? Do you notice something? Like what? There's
no sound. Yeah, you're right. I mean, not a rustle.
No birds. Come to think of it, I haven't seen
any animals either, like a... squirrel or chipmunk
or anything. It's unnatural. Ah, it's the heat.
I just wish we could find some water. Look, you
two stay here. Maybe I can scout around. No,
no, no, no. No, we've got to stick together.
Well, sitting here isn't going to find us any
water. Relax. We're in Dolly's time. Well, so
am I. But unless we keep going, we'll go when
Dolly's ready. Stop it. Stop it. I'm OK. Will's
right. We ought to keep going. Hey, look. Look
at that tree over there. Where? To the left.
No branches, just flowers at the top. If I wasn't
so miserable, they would be almost beautiful.
It's probably a vine. Like the bougainvilleas
in California, when I was in LA one time. Hey,
hey, up ahead! It's a clearing! Oh, thank God!
Oh, yeah! How many we can get our bearings if
we get out of this undergrowth? Come on! Yeah,
maybe there's a pond or a stream or something.
Look at... Wow! Look at the size of that rock!
That's bigger than a house! And white! It's like
a whole hill collapsed into a pile of white boulders.
I'm going to try and scale this one. Maybe I
can get a clue about where we are. Be careful.
It's not too bad. I can get a footing. It looks
like about 30 feet up. It's a solid rock, not
a branch or weight of grass. You're killing me.
I... I think it's infected. I've got to have
some water. It's not far now. We're coming out
of the rocks now. Okay? Where's the rope? a sound
like that whoever it is probably won't know about
it we can ask him how to get out of here he's
got in the heart he got in What are we doing
now? It looks like it's eating a plant. What
are we going to do? They can't be ants that big.
I think it's out of this. I can't look. It's
moving this way. It's moving. We can't find it.
We've got to get back under those boulders. They
just performed a natural key back there. Yeah,
but I can't make a sound. I can't move. Reach
us in here. We're okay now. Oh, Chad. It can't
be real. It can't be real. That was straight
out of a nightmare. I got chills all over. I
can't stop shaking. So it is that... Has it gone?
No, no. It might be trying to find another way
in. Oh, no, no. Gosh, that's an ugly thing. It's
moving away, back into the woods. Oh, thank heaven.
How could an ant get to be that size? I mean,
this isn't Mars. It's Louisiana. Hey, maybe it's...
Mechanical? What? What do you mean, mechanical?
Well, some kind of vehicle. The army's been testing.
Remote control, maybe. We've been walking in
this heat for hours. No sleep, no food, no water.
We could be imagining anything. It tried to attack
us. I was no vehicle. Well, then how do you explain
an ant as big as a lion? I don't know. Well,
whatever it was, it's... It's gone. But it's
still out there... somewhere. What else, indeed?
Could there really be an ant as big as a lion?
There are such things as mutations, we're told.
I'd certainly hate to have one of them show up
at one of my picnics. But if that's any indication
of what lies ahead in this strange Louisiana
wood... It won't be any picnic for Hank, Will
and Dolly when we return shortly with Act 3.
No escape goes unpursued. And at the moment,
while Hank, Will and Dolly are considering their
predicament, their pursuers are hot on the trail.
Let's return to Granny Good's cottage. There's
a car bearing the word sheriff on its doors.
It winds its way up the road, and then suddenly
stops. Something wrong, Sheriff? Yeah, that car
by Granny Good's cottage. It's got out -of -state
plates. Don't see many of them around here. Uh,
let's walk the rest of the way. Keep your gun
handy. Harley and Chase were on foot when they
left their stockade. They could have been picked
up by somebody. Hi, Roy! Hi, Granny. Everything
all right here? No, it ain't. I just got finished
burying Rimba, my favorite cat. Whose car? That
belongs to the fellas I think you're looking
for. They've been here? They were here. They're
gone now. Without their car? No, they're... Granted,
this here is Major Thomas from the Army base
where those two fellas escaped from. He's investigating.
I do, Major. Hello, Mrs. Good. You say they were
here and then left without their car. Is that
right? Last night. A few hours after they came.
In good riddance. They're nothing but murderers.
They... They killed my cat. My rimba. And they
hit me. Tried to steal my money. Yeah, well,
now if they didn't take their car, where'd they
go? I don't know. It was pouring rain. They run
out into the woods. There's a girl with them.
She drove the getaway car. Well, she said she
was the wife of one of them. Yep, Hank Fordy's
wife. Chase wasn't married. Well, come on in
out of the heat. I have lemonade ready. All right,
tell us what happened last night, Granny. Well,
Roy, they... They rushed in here around ten o
'clock. Oh, they traveled fast. First alarm went
out at nine. They were all covered with mud.
But I'd heard it on the radio. I knew who they
were. And they pulled the phone out of the wall.
But what made them leave? How'd they run into
strange woods they didn't know? Oh, it beats
me. Oh, here's your lemonade, Major. Thank you,
ma 'am. Thank you. Roy. Oh, thank you. Major.
I don't think you're ever gonna find them. Those
woods out there. One wrong step and you're lost
forever. I don't think we ought to wait any longer.
I'm not moving from here. Not while that thing
is out there. Dolly, it's gone. Gone where? If
we go into the woods again, it'll find us. Well,
we can't stay here forever. We gotta keep trying.
We'll keep out of the woods for a while. Look
down there. It's like a sandy path along the
edge of the forest. Yeah. But let's follow that.
OK. No. Now, Dolly, we've got to. Hank, I'm afraid.
Once we get going, you'll feel better. It's sitting
around here imagining things that's getting to
us. Come on. Come on. I'll help you. I guess
I don't have any choice. Oh, I'm so thirsty.
How's that leg, Hank? Oh, boy, it hurts like
a devil. But I don't have any choice either.
Is anything out there? No. Not a sound either.
Okay. Let's go. You know, seems to be getting
lighter. Hey, we're coming to something. What
do you mean, coming to something? Well, uh...
Another clearing maybe the sand strips getting
wider look it It's like a desert. They have gadgets
in Louisiana. Well, what do you call that? There's
there's nothing but more sand up ahead better
than jungle What do you think Should we go across?
We don't know what's on the other side. Well,
we don't know what's behind this either I'm gonna
move up a bit. See if there's anything to give
us a bearing The sand's deeper here. You sink
in over your ankles. Will, be careful. See anything?
No. Hey, what's the matter? I don't know. It's
as though something hit me, but there's nothing
here. Will, you all right? I will be when I find
out what the... Well, Hank, this is the damnedest
thing. What is it? It's a force field of some
kind. What do you mean? A force field. Look,
we're standing here. Now walk straight ahead.
You know, slowly. Okay. It knocked you back!
Stay back, Dolly! Don't worry. Now I'm convinced
of it. We're wandering around an army testing
ground. This is another one of our experiments.
Is there a way? Somewhere, probably. Yeah, but
where? You can actually reach out and touch it.
It's like feeling your way along an invisible
wall. You know what this means? We're right back
in prison again. Our only escape is into the
waiting hands of Major Thomas. We'll have to
go back. Go back? To where? Hold on a second.
Look off there to the left. Nothing but sky.
I think the land drops away at the edge of the
woods. Let's find out. Maybe we can get a bearing.
Oh, Hank. Hank, I'm so tired. I can't keep going.
Okay, honey, okay. Sit here for a few minutes.
Will and I want to check out that cliff. Hey,
we're high all right. Nothing but space out there.
Don't go so close to the edge. Look down there,
will you? Do you ever see anything like it? No.
The strangest looking plants I've ever seen.
It's not like the woods anymore. Yeah, tall spindly
things and flowers. Don't make sense. Look at
this. Look at this thing. Don't let go. We're
not in Louisiana. We're in hell. When I was a
little girl, I used to have bad dreams about
hell. My mama would say, Dolly, if you're not
a good girl, the devil will get you. And you'll
go to that place. Stop it, Dolly. And I'd go
to bed and I would think about hell. And I'd
dream about it. Now I'm here. I'm here. Oh, hurry,
hurry. Oh, Mama. Can I have a drink of water,
Mama? I promise I won't cook again, Mama. get
the phone company out to fix your phone before
dark. You can't be without that. I'd appreciate
it, Roy. I will be in touch, Granny. Major, are
you married? Well, yes, I am. Well, then I'd
be most happy if you'd take this to your wife.
A little token of my appreciation. Why, it's
very beautiful. It's a terrarium. I see you've
been admiring it. Granny, this terrarium's famous
around these parts, Major. Everybody buys them.
My wife's got one with a plant that eats meat.
Now, at the Venus Flytrap, there's one in this
glass, too. Well, thank you very much. My wife
will really enjoy it. My pleasure. Oh, something
wrong, Major? Well, I thought I saw something
moving in there. Well, it might be an ant. Sometimes
they're in the earth when I plant them. It does
no harm. Well, thank you again, Mrs. Good, and...
Don't worry, we'll get those men. Well, you never
know. You might be closer than you think. Well,
after all, this is the age of miniaturization.
And even witches have to keep up with the times.
It appears that Granny Good reduced her problems.
to the smallest common denominator and arrived
at a satisfactory solution. It also strikes me
as a convenient way to lose weight or avoid a
bill collector unless of course one goes too
far and finds himself reduced to nothing. I'll
be back shortly. Dali might well have heeded
a popular saying before tampering with granny
good Never underestimate the power of a woman
Particularly one with lots of cats and a cauldron
bubbling over the fire We'll be stirring up some
more suspense and terror for you on our next
mystery theater tale So do join us again our
cast included Terry Keene Robert Dryden Bob Caliban
and Briana Rayburn The entire production was
under the direction of Hyman Brown. Radio Mystery
Theatre was sponsored in part by CONTAC, the
12 -hour allergy capsule Anheuser -Busch Incorporated,
Brewers of Budweiser, and the Kellogg Company,
makers of Kellogg's Special K cereal. This is
E .G. Marshall inviting you to return to our
Mystery Theatre for another adventure in the
macabre. Until next time, pleasant... Dreams?