Wheaties presents Joel McCrae and Tales of the Texas Rangers on stage tonight, transcribed
from Hollywood. Another in the Wheaties Big Parade of exciting half hour presentations,
Tales of the Texas Rangers, starring Joel McCrae as Ranger Pearson, Texas,
more than two hundred and sixty thousand square miles and fifty men who make up
the most famous and oldest law enforcement body in North America. Now from the
files of the Texas Rangers come these stories based on fact only. Names,
dates and places are fictitious, obvious reading they amnin them. Founds are a
matter of record. Case for Tonight, the White Elephants. It is January
sixteenth, nineteen fifteen, the time six twenty eight pm. A freight train
just outside of the West Texas town gained speed and rolls through the gathering dust.
Inside the gondola ca A hobo crouches in the corners. The brakeman comes
toward him. All right, Paul, this is where you get up.
Now, listen, pout. Just let me get to the next town.
And I just just I said, this is where you get up. But
we're moving now. You get on. When we was moving, you can
get off. Now, come on, arodt whad listen, don't don't don't
do it? I tear it on you eat me like this, Let go?
You want to get up? You look round, sluck me with it,
you ain't. Tales of the Texas Rangers will continue in just a moment.
You take a nice ripe, plump kernel of wheat and you roll it
out flats, and you toast it a little, and what have you got?
A wheaty? Do that over and over and over again. Do that
enough times, and pretty soon you have a whole bowl full of wheaties and
you can sit down to breakfast. Of course, you and I know not
many people go to all that work to get their breakfast wheaties. They just
tip up that big wheaties box and let those crisp little flakes tumble into the
bowl. And you know what, when you do that, you get the
very same one hundred percent old wheat goodness and energy that you'd get if you
rolled out your own wheaty's flakes. Colonel by colonel, and the best tip
I can give you is to tip the wheaty's into your own bowl. First
thing in the morning and see how Wheedy's at seven can help At eleven.
At two fifty five am of the morning following the freight train incident, a
rancher named Banker noticed a small coupe parked on the shoulder of the road.
It bore Oklahoma license plates. Banker turned his spotlight on the car saw a
man slump down on the driver's seat. A half hour later, Sheriff Calwell,
notified by Banker, began investigation of the murder and called in the Texas
Rangers. Ranger Jase Pearson was assigned to the case, and a few hours
later Pearson, Banker, and Sheriff Carwell stood at the scene. Pearson listened
to Banker, it was just about three this morning when I saw it,
Ranger, come, you were driving along this road that light. I've been
to a rancher's meeting. In our mirrors. I was going to spend the
night there and change my mind. Uh huh did you take this road when
you left? Four our mirrors? Yes, sir, what time? Uh
yesterday morning? About uh seven, seven thirty and then this car came here
sometime between seven thirty yesterday morning and three this morning. Hey guess so you
never saw the dead man before. Huh, what's the first time I laid
eyes on him? All right, mister banker, you can go hey,
you need me, I'll be home. Identification on the body at all,
huh, Sheriff. Nothing in the pockets picked clean as a whistle. Anybody
else been around the car? Nope, Deputy kept his eyes on it.
Cars facing west, going west when it was stopped. Car tracks on the
shoulder tail, that m blood on the seat, yep, thirty eight bullet
on it. Thirty eight might be a police special banker got one banker,
but uh, just asking him for now. You see, I you see
something? Look here, sheriff. Huh. Set of tracks leading up to
the car. Ordinary shoes, not boots. Heel marks are too broad for
boots. Yeah, it looks like it. Look at this one sole print
with a hole in it. Now, look the prints lead from that way
north up to the car. A little scuffle and the prince turned back north.
In other words, Sheriff, somebody walked up to the car, stood
there, then turned and went back north. On hears something else. Grease
looks like grease smeared on the car door. Same side. Footprints are on
grease might be from the car. Looks too stiff and heavy for that.
Eh. What about it coming from a freight train, Jase? Why well,
there's tracks about a mile off here. Frate's use a side and to
pull on when passengers gotta pass. Mm. Maybe it all ties in the
sheriff a shoe with a hole in it. Grease freight siding. Yeah,
might be worth going after. Where do we start here? At the car
first, I'm gonna check it over inch by inch. Meantime you get hold
of a freight schedule, I'll meet you at your office. When I checked
the car inside and out, I found him a few things that were interesting
and a little puzzling. I sent a sample of grease to the laboratory for
analysis and took plaster cast of the footprints. Then went on the Sheriff Caldwood's
office. He had the information I'd requested. Here it is Jay's schedule of
freights went through yesterday. How many three of them? You can check those
all? Right? Of course we might be sending the dogs up the wrong
tree. Looks like a hobo to me. Yeah. Let me see the
dead man's fingerprints. Sure they are? These matched with some of the prints
in the car see closed delta. Yeah, how about those others you got?
Picked these up on the door that had the grease on it, smear
it all over, A couple clear enough to use only only what jas you
know? There wasn't a single print on the steering wheel. Seems like the
dead man's prints ought to be on it. I didn't find any gloves on
him nor in the car. Yeah, you know, by the way,
I got a call out if any hobo picked up or seen on those trains.
Good Now, I found these tucked under the sunrise in front of the
driver's seat gasleen receipts made out to Carl Thompson. Oh that'll save a lot
of checking forward the dead man's prints anyway, that's steering will bothers me?
Excuse me? Jason Sheriff called one. Yeah, good hold him. We'll
be there as soon as we can make it. Something else. Jase Braakman,
in one of those frights we've been checking, has a story some hobo
slugged him and jumped Okay, let's go. The brakeman took us to the
approximate spot that hobo jumped off the freight. Sheriff Calwell and I picked up
the trail and followed it by horse. We hoped to apprehend the suspect before
he could reach a town and lose himself and us. After six hours,
we stopped. What's the matter, Jace, Tracks are different. Come here
and take a look different. Yeah, look, the right prints a little
deeper favoring his left a little hurt himself. Huh. Mister twisted his leg
when he took the jump off the freight. Kept getting worse. Sat down
here, smoked a cigarette. Here's the butt. He ain't gonna make such
a good time with a bum leg. We've been traveling at the study trot.
Uh huh, Okay, let's get going. The suspects trail showed increased
favoring of his left leg. His progress became slower more and more often he
stopped to rest, and the trail became fresher and fresher. Evidence in the
dessert shack showed suspect that rested there for quite a while. We picked up
the trail again. We're getting close, Sheriff, How do you know noticed
something? Just now, take a look at these prints, same as the
ones we've been following. Not quite hole in the right shoes. Not that
I'm talking about this and hill he crushed? What about it? Quite a
few of the princes had an hills in him, crushed and rebuilt. So
and start working on a new hill when the old one's been tramped down.
This one's so fresh they haven't had time to rebuild. Hey, that's right,
he can't be far off. So we better leave the horses tied up
here, sheriff, and start moving on foot. At fifteen that evening we
found the men we were hunting. He was asleep. He gave us no
trouble, and he denied anything and everything about the We took him back,
and I kept questioning him, but he stuck to his story. And I
never was there. I didn't do it. Never own a gun thirty eight
Police Special two one hundred times. I never owned no kind of gun.
How'd you take all that skin off your arm? Don't know? Maybe you
got that while you were running away, when you jumped off the freight after
you sluged the brakeman. No, no grease on your jacket. How did
it get there? Maybe maybe off in the freight. Sure that car we
showed you, the one you said you never seen before, the truth is
it? Hold up your right foot, Hold it up, hold on the
right shoe? What else? Here's a plaster cast cast at the print of
the scene of the murder. Take a good look. Yeah, but I
wasn't there. I did you ever hear a fingerprint? You? Here are
yours? And here's a set found at the crime They match. Still say
you weren't there. I didn't deal nobody. Let me see your hands.
When did you wash him last? Don't know, maybe a couple of days
ago. You know, we can tell if you fired a gun. I
never had no gun. Did you rob the man in the car? No?
No, look at me. You were there, weren't you? We
can prove it away, all right? I was there, but I didn't
kill him. Why did you lie? Well, I was scared. If
you're innocent, you don't have to be rainge. I got a couple of
raps, bag raps, A sure, sure, we can check that too,
all right, right, I got a couple of wraps, pink and
stuff, nothing bacon. Now, look tell me exactly what you did.
Well coming off afraid, I was walking across when I've seen the car.
I figured it was funny, something funny. Why car park like? Then
I walked over seeing the fellow in there was dead. I beat it,
hoped the frase not all? You know what? Else? Heps? Now,
did you get in the car? Did you touch the body or take
anything? I swear range I didn't. Did you touch the steering wheel and
then wipe it off? No? No? What? Look I tell you?
Yeah, shriffme, mirror with you. Sure you stay, but I
got no place to go. Here's all the dope and the murdered man.
Thompson come in just now? Oh Thompson, resident Tults, Oklahoma, traveling
salesman for Prince Extract Company. This checked double all. He's with the gasoline
receipts. What about him the hobo? Yep? I think the only crime
he committed was failure to report what he saw. His fingerprints were all over
the outside of the one door of that car and none inside. Seems to
me if he thought of cleaning up the inside, he'd have done the same
outside. Yeah, looks like it. We're given the paraffin test anyway,
and see if he's fired a gun lately, and if he didn't start all
over and start with that clean steering wheel. In just a moment, we
continue with tales of the Texas Rangers starring Joel McCrae as Ranger Chase Pearson.
I guess nobody gets much of a taste treat out of taking their calcium and
iron and phosphorus or their vitamins straight. But you simply have to have all
those things to keep feeling good. And you should have them first thing in
the morning, too, because morning's the time you do most of your big
day's work. That's when you really need the energy. You see, morning
is the time when you really Wait a minute, Frank, why don't you
just tell them this, See how wheats at seven can help at eleven,
Ah, you took the words right out of my mouth. Of course,
wheaties at seven because wheaties have all those vitamins and minerals. That's how wheaties
give you the zip it takes to feel eager and ready for anything all morning
long, whether you drive a truck or plow a field, or if you're
just playing busy with a multitude of household duties. And wheaties do you another
big favor. Wheedies wrap all those vitamins up in a wonderful, sunny,
toasted nut like flavor. But fairly, hollers, give me some more.
Wheedies are crisp, they're munchie, you know, fun that you on taste
is good going down, as they make you feel when they get there.
So do this, will you, Not for me, but for yourself.
Hurry on down to the wheaties tomorrow morning and just see for yourself how wheaties
at seven can help. At eleven, the result of the paraffine test was
negative, and we held the hobo pending further investigation. I reported back to
my Captain Stinson at company headquarters. I told him I was pretty sure that
the hobo story checked out. Yeah, it looks like it. But somebody
killed Thompson, killed him and then drove him in his own card where that
rancher spotted it. There wasn't anything on Thompson eh, no money, no
papers, only these caasleen charge account receipts. Somebody I went into an awful
lot of trouble to clean him, but they overlooked these mm hm on top.
This looks like a plain case of murder with robbery as the motive.
But if that was it, why go to all the risk of being spotted
in a car with Oklahoma plates? Why not just kill him and leave him
I don't know, jeez, what you're thinking. Well, Thompson was a
traveling salesman, traveled a lot in a few days. Now, suppose the
killer realized that with Thompson far enough away from the scene of the crime,
we'd have a pretty tough time finding out just where the murder was committed.
Yeah, that could be. But why well, maybe the killer couldn't leave
the spot, so he did the next best thing, took Thompson's body away.
And maybe it wasn't just robbery or what else. I don't know yet,
but I got some more checking to do. It'll take maybe a couple
of hours, and then I might have some answers. Well, a couple
hours on the nose, jase you get anything new. It's more dope on
Thompson, captain. He never carried much money, never was known to have
picked up a hitchhiker, and I got a pretty good idea of where he
was killed. These gasoling receipts tell a fair story. Yeah, ah,
how well, this one, for example, dated the fifteenth day before he
was killed, made out in Bannon. He got sixteen gallons of gas there.
Oh, did you ever think somebody else might have been using his credit
card. Yeah, but Thompson traveled that route pretty often. Chances are he
was well known at the service stations. Yeah, that's right, Okay,
go on. I ran a mileage test on his car. He got about
seventeen miles a gallon. Now his tank holds sixteen. I did a little
figure in just about enough gas was used to get him from Bannon to where
his body was found. But he could have been killed anywhere between Bannon and
where he was found dead. Sure I know that, but it still looks
like my next stop is Bannon. Honey, Ranger, howdy? How many
whatever? She'll take? It's your thing? You the owner here? Yes?
How long? A couple of years? You work alone nights? Yeah,
take a look at this, will you one of my receipts, credit
card stuff? You know this Carl Thompson? Yeah, I see him ever?
Oh, four or five months? When'd you see Thompson last? The
evening he bought that gus Why anything wrong? Ranger? Was Thompson alone that
evening? H Yeah? I never remember him ever having anybody along. What
else do you remember about that evening? Oh? One of the worst sleet
storms we ever had hit, Like it'd be tough for him to drive.
Then, oh, sure, hey, he was asking about some place to
stay. He never stayed in Bannon before. I don't know leastways. He
didn't know much about the places. I told him to try the hotel.
He said it was full up. He said the motels were jam packed.
Allows he went where he went. I said he was going to try and
find a place along the highway. Why anything wrong, plenty, Here's for
the gas. I might come back and ask you some more questions. Thanks.
I began a check of every possible place Thompson might have stayed that night,
but I drew one blank after another. Then I got a lead at
a motel on the outskirts of Bannon. Sure ranger, I remember that night.
Sleep was an inch thick. We was full up here, but I
sent him to a place down the highway. The Star Motel been closed up
for sale for quiet a spout, but I heard it was opened up again.
I went to the Star Hotel. It was closed tight, Every cabin
was locked, the windows boarded. There wasn't a soul around. I was
just about to leave when I noticed something. The electricity must have been on
somewhere in the place, because the little wheel under the dials of the meter
was spinning. There was enough to send me back into town to ask a
few more questions. Now, let me see you, ranger, star Hotels.
Ay, yes, sir, here's what we want right here. Uh
huh? Are these all electricity bills? Yes, sir. Let me see.
After three months ago, the bills were just for meter installation, minimum
service charge. That's right, Ranger. For the last three months four seventy
five, three eighty nine five sixty m isn't it. The place is closed,
But for the last three months the bills have averaged over four dollars a
month. Then that seemed peculiar to you. Well, Ranger, we just
sure, sure I know. Now, can you give me the name of
the person to whom these bills were sent? Get it for you right away?
Why, yes, Ranger, mister Calson's here. I believe he's on
the phone right now. But if you come in, thank you, ma'am
you missus Calson. Yes, I hope I'm not bothering you any Miss Calson,
not a tam will Ranger. My husband is here, okay, yeah,
see I think that'd be ranged. Yeah, sure, tell you what
I'll come a little later, I'll bring the clent with me. Sure,
thanks for calling you by, And this is range up here. Hell,
sorry to margin like this, mister Calson, but I got a few questions.
Question. Sure, what about you own the Star Hotel, don't you?
Yes? I do Star Motel. That white elephant, White elephant.
I've been trying to get rid of it for two years. Why. Well,
like basically said, it ain't been worth a hoot since the new highway
went in two years ago. Half the traffic that used to pass it it
hasn't been used for two years. Well, I guess I didn't mean exactly
What did you mean? I tried to keep it going for a year after
the highway went through, but couldn't rent enough rooms. Wasn't worth trying to
save? You got the keys to it, keys? Sure is something wrong,
ranger might be ma'am. Can you take me through the motel, mister
Calson anytime? Right now? Suit? You couldn't be better. Let's go.
I ain't been out here for close on three or four weeks. Did
you go through the cabins? Then? Just take a look. See kids
sometimes full round And that's why I boarded up the windows wenna. Take a
look at the office. Yeah, go ahead, mister Calson, Sure nothing
in here, nger, No, that's not are you thinking particularly you're looking
for? Yeah, you have this floor washed lately. Oh heck no,
ain't no use paying for something like that. It's been washed recently. Uh
why now? You know scrubbing wood with hot water always raises the grain,
and hot water isn't as good as cold to wash out bloodstains. But blood,
holy cons right here? Go on? What the devil is this two
way you fellows? My guess is a couple of men I want from murder?
Mister Calson murder telephone? Why everything? Okay? Yeah? Purus?
That guy me? Why I never carry a gun? Well, we'll just
make sure. Ah, he's clean, all right, now strip the ranger's
gun belt. Wait a minute, you got the drop on me. Maybe
i'd have to be a fool to draw. But if you don't want me
to be a fool, don't touch these guns. You try and take them
off me and I'll go down use them and I might get lucky. All
right, lock let him alone. He's too smart to start anything. Go
get the panel truck out and start loading us stuff. Fast. Well,
what about them? We can lock them in, fix that car so they
can't get out of here for a while after we leave. If they try
to come out while we're still here, we'll bless whatever door of window they
try to come through. Get that ranger, I get it, Okay,
I'll be outside. Chuck. So your name's Chuck? Huh? Good as
any What are you and that other fellow doing in my Please go ahead,
Chuck? Tell him some other time. Friend, Now you too, listen
because I ain't gonna say this twice. Try to bust out before you hear
us. Drive off and you'll get it good. I'll stay your foot.
They got us locked in. Yeah, Oh don't go hear that windowy,
you heard what he said, a little crack in the boarding. I'm just
taking a look. What are they doing? Come here and take a look
for yourself. Well, I should have watched the place more. I never
knew anyone who's using it, and use plenty. Look what they're taking now
first, all kinds of stuff. It's beginning to make sense. Closed down
the hotel made a nice storage bin for stolen unsmuggled goods until I could run
into the markets. Oh, they'll get away you you said there was a
murder. Take it easy, mister Calson. We'll get them, or they'll
be across the border in a half an hour before we could even reach a
phone. Maybe you better take a chance and get shot down in cold blood.
No, but we'll get them, all right. Know why, mister
Calson? Why because you will help. I pinned Calson with a quick headlock
and then got one arm up fine him an applied pressure so I could keep
him still while I had a free hand. I reached into his jacket and
found what I was looking for under his shoulder. Then I pushed it.
But herre you crazy? He almost prove my arm u off. Calson?
Do you think I saw this gun bulging under your coat and they deliberately missed
it when they frished you. You played it real smart almost, so I
don't know what you're talking about. This gun and the electric bills you paid
him, paid bills that were being run up in a place that was supposed
to be shut down. Seemed kind of funny. You never complained of the
power company, So what you got a phone call from your friends out there?
They tipped you because they saw me nosing around here earlier. Right,
Oh, okay, okay, take a look out there. They're almost finished.
In a couple of minutes they'll be gone, and half an hour they'll
be over the border. How about you. You want to stick back here
and face a murder charge. There's a nothing you can prove. There's plenty
we can prove, Calson, and you're holding the bag. You'll have a
tough time. I'm explaining those electric bills and then missing your gun. I
didn't kill that man, did this, Chuck do it? Yeah? Yeah,
that schems would come in the show was going on. Chuck killed him
then drove him away. All right, now listen real careful to me.
I'm gonna fire this gun of yours. Then you hammer on the door and
holler for him. Get it. What do you want to Just listen when
they come up, tell him you had to kill me. Tell him to
open the door. Then mister Calson stepped back and out of the way fast.
They'll be gone in a minute. Make up your mind, all right,
go ahead on it. Any funny tricks and you get it first.
Now ready, turn that door, dollar, Chuck, Look, give me
a fast over the door. Now when it's opening. Step back over the
door. I had to kill him. He was making a break for it.
You get just knocked him off. Reach. Hey, what's a big
idea are you? We've come back for him later, calson. Meantime,
lets you and me get back to town. I got you a deal for
this white elephant motel. You can trade it for a jail cell. And
now here is the wheaties man. Frank Martin, all right, sound effects
man ring the alarm clock. Yeah. I used to grow too when I
heard that sound. And one morning I said to myself, now, look,
Martin, you gotta get up. Why fight it? Think about something
pleasant? And right away I thought, wheaties. That's about the pleasantest thinking
a man can do. Why when you figure you can sit down to a
bowl of good, crisp wheaties, and then if you like time the world,
when you know a bowl of wheaties and milk and fruit can help you
work good because you feel good? Why it almost makes you want to shake
hands with your alarm clock. And when you hear it, come morning,
roll out happy, reach for the big orange and blue box and see how
wheaties at seven can help at eleven next week Joel McCray and another authentic reenactment
of the case from the Piles of not Texas Rangers. Joel McCray will soon
be seen starring in the Universal International Technicolor Productions Saddle Tramp. Tonight's cast included
Tony Barrett, Paul McCay, Louke Krugman, Jeff Corey, Robert Bruce,
Byron Kine, and Jeanette Nolan. This story was transcribed and attapt it by
Russell Hughes. The program was produced and directed by Stacy Keith. And this
is Hell, Give Me Speaking, and this is the Wheedies Man Frank Martin
inviting you to listen Monday night to Frank Lovejoy and Night Beat on the Wheaties
Big Parade. See you. Then listen tomorrow for the Summer Symphony. Now
It's Basin Street Time on NBC