Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho. This
is your host, Adam Graham. If you have a comment, email it
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from Colombo and All I needed to know I learned from Dragnet. Each ebook
examines the life and history of a great fictional detective and policeman and life lessons
that can be learned from them. It is available as an audiobook through the
Apple Store or through audible dot com and wherever fine ebooks are sold. Well.
Now it is time for this week's episode of Mister Chameleon. The original
aired eight January fifth, nineteen forty nine, and this one is the Rich
Uncle Murder Case. Next Mister Chameleon and the Rich Uncle Murder Case. Tonight
we again present the famous Mister Cameleon of Central Headquarters in his most famous cases
of crime and murder, brought to you by the makers of genuine Bayer Aspirin.
Now let me tell you just who mister Camelion is. A college man,
he tried from childhood to live up to the name he bore Chameleon,
by taking on the color of whatever situation in which he found himself, appearing
in endless guises, finally entering the police force, where he became known as
Cameleon, the man of many faces, the underworld's most dreaded man. The
listener invariably knows who mister Chamelion is, no matter which disguise he assumes,
but the criminal he's tracking down seldom does. Tonight we give you mister Chameleon.
In the Rich Uncle murder case. It is difficult in your old age
to have to live with your relatives, and no one knows it better than
Captain Silas Harper. But he's a shrewd and colorful old seaman, and he
has no qualms about using the one weapon left to him his money. Now
on the little parlor of the flow Bear's New York flat, he smiles a
trifle maliciously at his niece Harriet and her husband Flowbear and he says, Harriet,
you're very good to your old uncle. Very good. Indeed, you
too, flow beh, it's nice to have a snug harbor to come to
every year. Show you how grateful I am. Here's something for you.
What is it, Uncle Silas. It looks like a will You got a
smart husband, Harriot. He knows you will when he sees one. Oh
but Uncle Silas, you don't mean jruel Harriet. Yes, I've left you
my entire fortune a state. I guess you land lubbers and call it,
Uncle Silas, you've left us your entire fortune. Oh, bless your heart.
You're a good man, Uncle Silas. Thank you for a but that's
the first time I've ever been called that. We can never thank you enough.
This is your home for as long as you live. Oh oh,
but what about Lucy. Lucy, Yes, my little niece, my little
chickadee with the light brown hair. Well, what about it, Uncle Silas.
She's not sincere. She's always making up to you, but she doesn't
really love you at all. Then you'll appreciate the joke that I'm playing on
Lucy. I'm leaving her one hundred dollars and my china clock, Your china
clock, the one you put up there on the mantle. Yeap, my
wonderful old clock that I hit with me everywhere, My beautiful china clock with
the cherubs paint on it. Lots of people think it's a nice especially Lucy.
And that's what you are leaving to Lucy and your will. That is
priceless, priceless. That's the funniest thing I ever heard of, Uncle Si.
I thought I would amuse you. I think like a little air,
I find it kind of stuffy in here. But Uncle Silas, you can't
go out this hour the night. There's a terrible FuG FuG you think I'm
scared of a little fog me who sailed everybody of water on this planet.
I'm going down to ducks and be back around midnight. And oh, or
don't worry about my health. Oh I don't, Uncle Silas, you outlive
all of this good night. Well, I suppose it's worth it if he
leaves, it's all his money. Oh, but that terrible clock alone,
it ruin the whole house. Wait quiet, he may overhear you. Well,
Frankly, I don't don't believe he'll outlay of all of us. Howyatt,
surely you wouldn't do that. Who said I'd do anything? Flaubert and
Harriet Flaubert proved to be quite a prophet. For the following morning, at
Central Headquarters, we find mister Camellion, the Great Detective, sitting in the
office of the Commissioner of Police, and the commissioner is saying, and the
poor old man was stabbed in the back. Chameleon. A couple of sailors
found his body about one am down there, Peer sixty one. Whoever murdered
them must have sneaked up behind him in the fog and struck him down.
Oh that's too bad. Captain Silas Harper is a legend, the last of
the old sea captains. Where is the body now at the home of his
niece, Harriet Flaubert. He's a nephew too in New York, that is
Harper, A ship's chandler u Sell ship supplies. Then I suppose that all
of them grief stricken old man must have left plendy. Well, I'll get
right over there and question them. I'm Chameleon of Central Headquarters, here to
ask some questions in connection with the murder of missus Flaubert's uncle, Captain Silas
Harper. Come in, mister Camelion. I am mister Flaubert, Captain Harper's
nephew by marriage. Harriet. It's mister Camelion. It's so awful to think
that poor uncle Silas, that he should have died like that all alone.
I doubt if he minded that as much as he minded dying. You are
very hard, mister cameleon. But then you are a cup. I am
simply determined to find Captain Harper's killer, Missus Flawbair, who survives him besides
yourself, his niece and a nephew, Thaddeus Harper. Well, there are
two other nieces, one in New Zealand and one in Calia. And of
course cousin Lucy Billingsley. She's an orphan. She lives here in New York.
And who are Silas Harpers? We are, mister Camellion. That is
to say, my wife, Harriet, is you are his soul lair?
Missus Floubell. Yes, Uncle Silas himself gave me his will last night.
It's right here. He gave it to you last night, just before he
was murdered. Very convenient. What do you mean by that, I mean
I want to know exactly where you and your husband were last night at the
time your uncle was murdered. I was in bed. That's where I was
here too, Is that correct, Miss Slaubell? Your husband was here with
your I don't know where he was. I was asleep. What are you
trying to do to me? Harriott? Tell this man, camellon the truth.
There's the doorbell, flowbear answer it. Oh very well, mister Cameleon.
Uncle Silas left everything he had to me except one hundred dollars to cousin
Lucy and that clock there on the mantel. But I had nothing to do
with his murder. This china clock here, yes, isn't it hideous?
But Uncle Silas loved that clock. He took it everywhere with him. Wait
till Lucy hears that's all she gets in his will. Oh there, I
am heartbrook and I am simply heartbroke. Who's that coming in? That's my
cousin, Thadeus Harper, the one who is Hellship supplies. How is his
business incident there? Very bad? I'm sure he was counting on Uncle Silas
to pull him through well, Thaddeus Harriet, Harriet This is terrible news.
You know the five cousin esther in California, cousin Myra, New Zealand.
Yes, yes, I wired them both. Oh, Thaddeus, this is
mister Camellian, the famous detective. Glad to meet you, mister comedian.
Hope you're looking for Uncle Silas's killer. Uh? Naturally, mister Harper,
were you very close to your uncle Silas? Close? So close that he
left me all his money? What what are you saying? Are you crazy?
Thadeus? He left it all to me. You're the one who's crazy,
Harry. He gave me his will, told me to put it in
a safe place. He left his whole fortune to me. Two people each
claiming the murdered man left everything to them. Very interesting. I don't understand
it. Mister comeleion, there's the door bell again, Thlawbeart, answer it
thereeous. Is this a joke? Uncle Silas couldn't have left you his entire
fortune. Have you the will, mister Harper? Oh? Yes, yes,
mister comedian, here's the will? May I see it? Lisse?
Well, this will seems an order, mister Harper. Let me see it.
Whyat It's just like the one Uncle Silas gave me. Was it dated
the same day, Missus Slowburn. Yes, yes, mister Comellion. And
it's why it's worded the same way, bequeathing all my stocks and bonds,
and all my cash in the bank, all my ownership remaining in any shipping
company. Here's a telegram, all right, flowbear open it, various.
I'll fight you in every court in the lamb. Go ahead, Harriet,
you bloodsucker. You haven't a chance to win. Mister Flaubert. What's in
that telegram you're reading? You a very strange expression on your face, mister
Camillion, Nay, I do not understand her yet. Listen. It's from
cousin Esther in California. She says, grieved at uncle Sila's death, I
have his last wheel and testament, bequeathing his whole fortune to me. What
she's crazy? Or Uncle Silas was crazy? Your mister cameleon, what are
you grinning at? I was just thinking, Missus Flaubert, in a case
like this, it's always rather difficult to tell who is crazy, But I
don't think it was your uncle Silas. Meanwhile, I am concerned with finding
his murderer. I might as well tell you that every one of you has
a perfect motive for murder. See what you have done, Haryot. But
now I'm going to question Captain Silas Harper's other needs Lucy billings Lead. Yes,
question her a questioner. I might as well take her the ugly old
china clock, which her uncle Silas will do, don't you think so?
Yes, yes, get that terrible thing out of the house. And mister
Camellion does take the ugly old china clock to Lucy Billingsley, and we find
him now with Lucy in her living room. She is saying, I couldn't
believe it, mister comedian. Uncle Silas was so alive. I can't believe
he's gone, that he's been murdered. You sound as if you were really
fond of him, Miss Lucy. I was underneath his bluster, he was
very warm and kind. You can still say that when all he left you
in his will was one hundred dollars and this hideous clock, this perfect monster
of the clock. I didn't want anything from him. What about that note
that you said you received from him this morning. Uncle Silas must have mailed
it yesterday, mister comedian. He spoke of this China clock. He said,
if it got too much on my nerves, I had permission to smash
it after six weeks. That is strange. That's very strange. Yes,
Dave, come on in. That's Detective Sergeant Donald. Well, mister comedian,
we caught this character here. He was seen hanging around the water front
following Captain Salas Harper last night. Oh his name is Marcus Smith, so
he says, that's my name right enough? Oh you an accent, haven't
you? What is it the Australian? No? Wait, New Zealand?
So what does that prove? That don't mean I'm murdered a man, does
it? No? Indeed, mister Smith, you have a very strange color.
Do you get out of prison recently? Well, answer me, did
you? Yes? I did? That don't prove I'm a murderer either,
Comedian, what were you in for? What were you in prison for?
A sultan robbery? But I'm trying to make a fresh start. That's why
I came to this country. Why were you following Captain Silas Harper? What
wait a minute, miss Lucy. Uh didn't your uncle Silas have another niece
in New Zealand? Yes, of course, mister comedian. Her name is
Sally Marcus Smith, did you know Sally Harper? You might as well tell
me. We'll only find it out in the end. Yes, I'm a
foster brother, but so hel me, mister comedian. I had nothing to
do with Captain Harper's murder. Why would I? What was the rented for
me? I? I am not sure, Marcus Smith, but I have
a pretty good idea, Dave. You take him to Central headquarters and hold
him for questioning. Mister chameleon. We can't get a thing out of Marcus
Smith. He still swears he had nothing to do with Captain Harper's murder.
But does he still swear there was nothing in it for him, Dave,
because if he does, he is lying. I wired miss Sally Harper,
Captain Harper's niece in New Zealand. I received a return wire telling me that
she was Captain Harper's sole heir. He gave her as will too. What
so Marcus Smith did have a motor for killing Captain Harper? A cut of
the old man's estate. That's right, Dave. The candy old devil Captain
Harper giving all four of them identical wills, leaving each one his entire fortune,
and making himself welcome wherever he went, and making himself a target for
murder. Mister in a Dave, what seems so strange to me is that
Lucy Billingsley the only decent one of the lot. All she got was that
china clock. Dave, what's the matter? I am going to see Lucy
Billingsley. It just occurred to me that Captain Harper might have had a reason
for leaving her that clock. And my idea, Miss Lucy, is for
you to break open your Uncle silas china clock. And mister Camellion, I
can't Uncle Silas adored that clock, Miss Lucy. Was your uncle a sentimental
man? Well, no, no, he certainly was not, judging from
his actions. But I believe that he loved you. I also believe that
he had no sentimental attachment at all for that clock. Mister Camelion, Now
we can't open the clock. The bank is being sodded on. The only
thing to do to take this hammer and break it. You think that that
breaking this china clock will help you find Uncle Silas's murderer. It may in
a sort of roundabout way. Then I'll do it. Mister Camellion. Good,
good, there's a hammer. I hate to but here goes mister Commellion.
Mister Comellion, good, heavens, this is amazing, even though I
half expected. It's amazing. Miss Lucy. You must promise me that you
won't tell any one what we found in this clock. Now, if you
value your life, you won't tell any one, mister Camellion, And the
rich uncle murder case continues in just a moment. Don't let a coal cause
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hundred tablet bottle, and you get Bayer asp tablets for less than a penny
apiece. And now back to mister Camellion and the rich Uncle murder case.
Mister Camellion, the famous detective, is trying to track down the murderer of
a wealthy old sea captain, Silas Harper, who is found stabbed on the
waterfront. It is a few hours after Camellon has broken open the hideous china
clock belonging to the murdered man. He is now at the home of Harriet
Flaubert and her husband, two of the suspects in the case. As he
enters, Slowbert says excitedly, mister Camellon, I tell you my wife is
insane. She is trying to pin this murder for uncle on me, an
innocent man The woman is mad, I tell you mad, and not Flobert.
She is putting you in a very dangerous position. But why should I
kill my wife's rich uncle. I loved him like my own uncle. Oh,
very touching. But the fact remains that you knew by killing him your
wife and yourself would come into a great fortune. Oh no, it is
there. Tell me exactly what went on between you and your wife after her
uncle, Captain Silas Harper, gave her a will, leaving her his entire
fortune. What did you say? And what did she say? Ster Chamelion,
I love my wife, but I will tell you the truth. No.
Sooner than her uncle left the house, she said, I do not
believe he will live very long. And I said to her, Harriet,
surely you would not do that. You think she killed her uncle? I
don't think anything. That's the trouble with you cops. You twist everything.
One more question, flow beer, How are your finances? Are you up
against it? For money? Certainly not. I make plenty. That's all
for now, Flawber, goodbye, goodbye, mister Camelion. Well thank you
to take the sergeant Ann for waiting outside for me. Did you get anything,
mister Camellion Flowbert accuses his wife Harriet. The whole trouble is that any
one of those hungry heirs of Captain Silas Harper could have been the killer.
Yet we haven't enough evidence to make an arrest. We can't even hauld that
crook from New Zealand, Marcus Smith any longer. Well, the main thing
I'm depending on now to break this case is a clock, a hideous hand
painted china clock. I get you the clock. Mmm. We also know
that the flow bears and Thaddeus Harper too frequent that waterfront gambling house, which
means that all of them must want to make some quick money. Yeah,
Dave, they're going in there disguised as a croupier at the roulette. Will
what my name will be, Biff Logan. I'm an old time croupier and
once during my travels I met the murdered man, Captain Silas Harper. That
will give me a chance to mention his china clock. Hey, you're not
going to mention that clock? Oh, just mention it, Davis. Which
reminds me, when you release that crook Marcus Smith, you mentioned to him.
Isn't this dangerous mister Commingland just say that, with everyone battling over Silas
Harper's wills, maybe Lucy was lucky to be left that clock. Meanwhile,
Dave, tonight, I shall go into that gambling house, get still another
look at Captain Harper's heirs. And that night, in the shoddy little gambling
house near the waterfront, we find Chameleon in his disguise as Biff Logan,
and seated at the roulette table are Harriet and her husband Flaubert, and mister
Camelion, in the nasal twang of his disguise, is saying, okay,
ladies, and chance make your back twenty five dollars on the red. Okay,
mister Flaubert? Are you crazy? Flobert? Haven't you lost enough for
one evening? If I keep on, I may win? Harriott, I've
got to win? What for? What do you do with your money anyway?
Are you please? Here comes your cousin Fedius well theddeous. Hello Harriet,
Hello Flobert, Come on, ladies and chance make your back. You're
quick getting to be quite a gambler, aren't you, Thaddeus? What are
you trying to do? Win enough money to pay off your desk? Shut
up, Harriet? I'll put fifty dollars on twenty one. Okay, fifty
dollars on twenty one. Hey, you're a new croup. You're here on
you? Yeah? What's your name? My name is Big Flogan. I
know your uncle, Captain Silence Harper. Is that so you did doing well
back in the old days in Shanghai. I like to get my hands on
whoever killed him? So would we? But now let us play, Let
us play. Okay, everyone put up their money. There we go thirteen
the number who swings as usual? What terrible? Look? What are you
crabbing about? Flow there? You only lost twenty five dollars. I lost
fifty twenty five? Is enough? Now? Will you stop betting? Flogan?
No? And I say you will. Hey, whatever I happened to
that china clock? What was that? What did you say, mister Logan?
I was asking whatever became of that china clock? The Captain Silentce Harper
used to lug around me. There was an awful lot of talk about that
clock. What kind of talk? Wow, you know how it is,
mister man. Lots of weird talk about Captain sires too. Okay, ladies
and Jace, make your back. What kind of talk. Did you hear
about the clock? Oh, there's something mysterious about it. He used to
guard it with the gun he did, and when I heard it was dead,
I wondered, well, who got the clock? There's a matter of
fact, one of his nieces, Lucy Billingsley, got that clock. The
following day, in Lucy Billingsley's little flat, mister Chameleon, no longer in
disguise, is eagerly reading a note Lucy was handed to him. Lucy,
I got quicker results in I'm hoped for. This is quite an offer.
Your uncle's killer's hot on the trail of that tin o'clock. But to offer
me three hundred dollars for it cheap enough, I'd say. No. What
amuses me is this note. I would very much like to have this clock
for sentimental reasons. I was an old friend of your uncle. Signed Biff
Logan, Biff Logan, if you please. That was the name I used
in my disguise last night. Someone is using my disguise as a disguise.
What'll I do, mister Camellia meet them tonight, Miss Lucy. They say,
eleven o'clock near pair sixty one. By the way, your cousin Harriet
is quite a shrew, isn't she. I'm afraid she is. But what
has that got to do with it with Uncle Silas's murder? My dear,
you would be surprised how often personal traits can lead to murder. What time
is it, mister cameleon. It's almost eleven day. Lucy should be coming
along the waterfront any minute now, and so should Captain Silas Harper's murderer.
On a foggy night just like this, That Captain Harper was stabbed in the
bank, not fought away from he and you think they intend to kill his
niece Lucy too. Here she comes, dad, Uh huh, she's carrying
a package. Here's the china clock supposedly, Dave, you got your gun?
This may be a tough one. I'm all set, mister, comeleon.
Watch, watch carefully, look look someone stepping out from behind the entrance
to the pier. Wait wait until I step up to Lucy. All right,
Dave, let's go. Put up your hands. We've got your come
out. I'll try to get away. What is this, mister, comeleians
Dan still, Marcus Smith, don't move, Dave frisking. Oh, mister
Chamelion. I couldn't see you. I was afraid you weren't here, all
your rotten little squealer. You tipped him off, Lucy, didn't you?
Of course you did, Dave to find anything gun good good? A gun,
Marcus Smith can be a very dangerous thing for an ex convict like you
to have on his person. Now we're ready to do business. What do
you mean, comedian, Marcus who murdered Captain Silas Hartburn? How should I
know? All I was trying to do is to buy that clock. Who
were you buying it for? Marcus? Answer me? Who hired you to
come here? Nobody? Honest, miss comedian? It was my own ardea?
Was it your own idea to sign the name of Biff Logan to that
note you send Lucy? You see I am Beff Logan? What yes,
Marcus, I disguised myself as a gambling house attendant named Biff Logan, and
you couldn't possibly have known that name unless somebody else told you. Who was
it? Listen, mister comedian, Marcus, I know that you're scared.
The killer is probably right behind you in the shadows, but you have got
to tell me his name. I can't I can't. Well, then I'll
tell you loud enough for him to hear. I shall bring him out into
the open. What do you mean to say that? Flow bear? Silas
Harper? Heave quick? I think I got him, Marcus? You all
right? Yes? Hey? Meshed me, mister chameleon? Was it,
Flaubert? Did he kill uncle? Silas saved? I get him? You
got him, all right, mister comedian. That's not very serious. My
leg? You shut me in the leg. Oh that's too bad, Flobert.
You intended to kill Marcus Smith, and you would have killed Lucy as
you killed Captain Happer. I didn't kill Harper. My wife killed him.
What a liar you off? Flaubert? He killed my uncle, mister chameleon,
he killed him? I tell you whoa harriet I thought you'd be.
Of course, she tricked me into coming here with her tonight. I'll tear
your eyes off for bed. She's got a guy, that's right, I
ta Chameleon to think of me. Le Flobert, are married to a murderer.
That's enough out of you. Flobert. You and your wife both killed
Silas Harper. That's a dirty coppers lie. You and your wife followed your
uncle. Out the foggy night he left your house and brutally murdered him.
It weren't so hideous. It could be a joke. Joke, What joke
that the old and ugly China Clark went to the only decent one of you,
to Lucy, that the old clerk held well over a million in emeralds
and diamonds. No, it can't be, Jools, Hilas Harper had converted
his whole fortune to Jules. You killed him for nothing, but you will
both pay for it and pay well. Dave, you put them in a
carpet. It's a lie, you dotty coup. I'd like to kill you,
chameleon. No, I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that you'll never get
the chance. We cops have a firm way of holding people anyway. What
a charming pair you are out with them, Dave. And with these words,
mister Chameleon concludes tonight's murder case. When you take something for the fast
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than a penny apiece. Listen next Wednesday night at this same time for mister
Camellion, the Man of Many Faces in the case of the Dance of Death.
The part of mister Comedion is played by Carl Swinson, with dialog by
Marie Baumer from the original story by Frank and Anne Hummert music directed by Victor
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Man, listen for mister Comeleon in the case of the Dince of Death
next Wednesday night at this time. This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.
Welcome back. This was a fun one. I love when mister Cameleon
gets a bit of a twinkle in his eye about a case. And he
was definitely amused by the uncles leading all of his nephews and nieces to believe
that they were his sole heir. Admittedly it backfired on him. Obviously,
the ones who would be nice to him because he made them the sole air
would have also capitaliitting him come around for hopes of getting that distinction. He
wasn't crazy. Hiding what was in the clock after it was broken into was
kind of pointless as far as I'm concerned, because you figured out, I
think pretty quickly once it got open that whatever was in there was actually valuable.
I mean, it doesn't matter whether it was worth one hundred thousand or
if it was worth a million. We're not like revenue men. We're just
listening to the radio show. I have to say it must have been pretty
high quality diamonds and emeralds, because you couldn't have had many in the clock
for it not to wag a ton. I did like that the murderers were
so taken in by mister Chameleon's disguise that they signed his fake name to the
note. That was a really nice touch. Now on to listener comments and
feedback, and we got some our responses to the episode Mister Chameleon's Strangest Murder
Case, which, as I said at the time, was really not all
that strange. But Austiner writes over on Spotify, I hate it with a
little more detailed David writes on Facebook. Thanks for calling out the exaggeration the
title This seems to be becoming a quirk of mister Cameleon where he proclaimed something
the most extraordinary case I've ever seen or something, and then it turns out
to be quite ordinary by old time radio detective standards. Also, did I
miss Dave's use of the word black provided a clue? Was that the association
with blackmail that really wasn't clear? And yeah, it does feel like there
are occasionally some drop clues in the series, like I honestly don't get how
the wife being a shrew had anything at all to do with the solution to
the case. Doing that, it's kind of a way to be follow your
listeners if it doesn't really have a big direct bearing. But David goes on
the intro to the series had me wondering about his life before he became a
detective. I kind of want to hear young Chameleon stories about him learning to
blend in with different situations, you know, David, That kind of ulped
me thinking, because I think a Young Chameleon series might be really fascinating.
I think the first thing that to me would make sense to answer would be
the origin of his last name. Now, I suppose you could do a
series where you just kind of accepted that he was named chameleon, even though
that is not a real last name. But I think that it would be
more interesting to imagine how he might have gotten his last name or what his
family origin was, since it says his name was chameleon from birth. Now,
the obvious a answer would be that his parents' last name was changed to
chameleon, And how might that have happened. A good answer might be Ellis
Island. There are lots of new citizens' names were changed from names that were
viewed as hard to pronounce or hard to spell, to more common standbys like
Smith, Brown, and Jones. Obviously, Chameleon wasn't on the list.
But let's imagine a man might change his own name to chameleon. Why might
he do that? I thought about this, and I came up with the
idea that mister Chameleon's father came to this country from a place where his family
had suffered a persecution, either for unpopular political views or for their ethnicity,
and he came to the belief that the key to survival was to blend in
to your environment. That was how you were going to stay safe. That
was how he was going to stay safe. The rest of his life.
He was going to blend in. So he's heard all of these people having
their names changed, and so he decided when they asked him what his name
was, he would say Chameleon, a name that would remind him of his
overall goal to blend into his surroundings wherever he was. We'll say that he
was professor or a doctor, already had like an existing knowledge of English when
he came to this country. Long story short, Professor Cameleon finds a good
job and really works in blending in everyone around him, not just your typical
assimilation of immigrants, but a pathological drive to fit in to his environment and
to not stand out in anyway, which he passes on to his children.
As a boy, mister Chameleon, I would imagine had a great interest in
people. His father may have been comfortable blending in in particular, maybe two
or three different settings, mostly you know, upper middle class sort of circles
that he moved in. Young Chameleon had an interest in being in more situations
and knowing more types of people, and the way he was taught to relate
to people was by blending in. And he realized that his clothes, his
style, his manner might help him fit into the fancy school he went to
and the social occasions that his father took him to, but would really make
it hard for him to fit in with different classes and groups of people.
So he set out to learn how to blend in, to learn the arts
of disguise and different clothes, different ways of wearing his hair, to find
ways to transform himself to fit into different situations. And I could imagine him
having an adventure where he decides to run away from home and pretend to be
an orphan, get taken into an orphanage, and then eventually run away from
the orphanage and go back home. And you might even have it be a
situation where the manager of the orphanage read a newspaper about the missing Chameleon boy,
and then later, once Chameleon was back with his father, his father
read an article about the missing orphan and they never connected that it was the
same boy. And then of course you could have other things happen, like
mister Cameleon wanting to be an actor, but his father pushing him to go
to instead, And then you would have to have some major inciding event that
changes the trajectory of Chameleon's life, where he's trying to fit into every situation,
leads him into trouble when he gets in with the wrong group of people,
and he eventually realizes that just trying to fit into a crowd constantly without
any sort of moral code is no way to live life. And then he
pledges himself to use his abilities on the side of justice and they could work
in the first meeting with Dave Arnold and they could have a second season Chameleon
of the Oss seen his abilities on the side of the Allies. You're right,
Young Chameleon is not a series that people would think of, but it
is a series that I think we all need and it could be great.
I done right, So yeah, I definitely wish that there were series like
that. Thanks so much for the comment, David. We then go over
to YouTube for a couple comments on Death in the Blue Peacock, and Betsy
says, Detective Dave Arnold was just going to shoot a potential witness on the
street. Good question. I real listened to the scene and essentially when the
guy who wanted to identify himself as John Smith knocked Dave over and ran,
Dave got up andrew his gun, but they witness was gone. Now I
don't know if I would necessarily say Dave was going to shoot him, although
I think it's a good rule not to draw a gun unless you're willing to
use it. But if the witness were still around and Dave shouted freeze,
most people are not going to sit there and analyze, well, is he
actually gonna shoot me? In this situation, I wouldn't necessarily read into it
that he was going to shoot him, hopefully not. Uh and then saysoft
highlighted a line I was in a state of prostration. Yeah, I need
to remember that line. I might be able to use it myself someday.
Hopefully not. But thanks so much of the comments, say Soft, And
now it's time to thank our Patreon supporter of the day. Thank you to
m Cook, Patreon supporter since August of twenty twenty, currently supporting the show
at the rookie level of two dollars or more per month. Thank you so
much for your support, and that will do it for today. If you're
enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your favorite podcast software. Be sure
to rate and review the podcast wherever you download it from We'll be back next
Thursday with another episode of Mister Chameleon. But join us back here tomorrow for
the conclusion of the Purling matter. Where your numbers ringing? Now, mister
Dollar Aimwell Agency Aimwell Detectives is want to talk to mister Ainwell. My name's
Johnny Dollar. I understand your agency has been looking for the Perling girl for
about a year now, Oh you do? Huh? And who told you
that missus Perling? I never heard of you or her or a girl saloon.
This is the operator where you cut off, mister Dollar. I'll call
them back, never mind, call me a cab, honey, I'll talk
to them in person. I hope you'll be with us then. In the
meantime, do send your comments to Box thirteen Great Detectives dot net, follow
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dot com, slash Great Detectives from Boise, Idaho. This is your
host, Adam graham Son and all