1
00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:06,360
Speaker 1: The Killer by Harold Ward. The killer halted at the

2
00:00:06,400 --> 00:00:10,720
window of the tar paper covered shack, and nose pressed

3
00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:16,160
against the glass, sought to penetrate the gloomy interior. Satisfied

4
00:00:16,199 --> 00:00:19,800
that the place was unoccupied, he fought his way against

5
00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:22,600
the force of the storm to the spot where his

6
00:00:22,719 --> 00:00:26,879
eyes had marked the outline of a door. The thermometer

7
00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:31,640
showed a temperature of twenty below. The storm was increasing

8
00:00:31,719 --> 00:00:35,560
in violence every minute, and the killer was half frozen.

9
00:00:36,759 --> 00:00:39,719
Yet he stood with hands on the knob, making no

10
00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:43,439
effort to enter until his stiffened fingers had sought out

11
00:00:43,439 --> 00:00:48,520
the gun, which nestled snugly in his outside pocket. With

12
00:00:48,679 --> 00:00:52,240
his teeth, he drew the mitten from his right hand, and,

13
00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:56,399
with an effort that caused him to groan aloud with pain,

14
00:00:57,159 --> 00:01:02,600
crooked his benumbed forefinger around the trigger. Cautiously turning the knob,

15
00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:06,079
he threw open the door and stumbled across the threshold

16
00:01:06,359 --> 00:01:09,280
in a tumultuous gale of wind and whirl of snow.

17
00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:15,840
For an instant he stood there, listening every faculty alert. Then,

18
00:01:16,319 --> 00:01:19,920
satisfied that he was alone, he put his back against

19
00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:22,879
the panel and closed the door against the violence. Of

20
00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:29,280
the storm. The room was cold and tomblike. Yet to

21
00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:32,920
the killer, driven from place to place like a mad dog,

22
00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:38,359
it had offered a haven for the night. He was tired, dead,

23
00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:42,959
weary from traveling for what seemed centuries, threw snow waist

24
00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:46,079
deep in the face of the worst blizzard of the season.

25
00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:53,319
Every muscle, every nerve ached with exhaustion. For the last

26
00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:57,079
mile he had fought against the ever increasing desire to

27
00:01:57,159 --> 00:02:00,599
succumb to the feeling of drowsiness which crept over him.

28
00:02:01,879 --> 00:02:06,079
He was lost. Only his powerful will kept him on

29
00:02:06,159 --> 00:02:11,240
his feet, thus far sliding the gun back into his pocket,

30
00:02:11,439 --> 00:02:14,680
he whipped his hands against his chest and stamped his

31
00:02:14,759 --> 00:02:21,080
feet until circulation was partly restored. Then, shaking the accumulation

32
00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:25,159
of snow shoulders, he unbuttoned his overcoat and fumbled in

33
00:02:25,199 --> 00:02:29,680
his vest pocket until he found a match. Striking it

34
00:02:29,719 --> 00:02:34,639
against the door, he held it aloft to view his surroundings.

35
00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:40,080
It flickered weakly, nearly went out, then burned brightly by

36
00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:43,840
its yellow glow. He distinguished a nearby table on which

37
00:02:43,879 --> 00:02:47,800
stood a kerosene lamp. It took but an instant to

38
00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:51,800
apply the stump of the match to the wick he

39
00:02:52,159 --> 00:02:54,919
was in what appeared to be a combined kitchen and

40
00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:59,599
living room. The light danced and threw grotesque shadows on

41
00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:04,039
the walls covered with cheap pictures cut out from newspapers,

42
00:03:04,599 --> 00:03:08,719
shelving filled with dishes, covered with papers with the edges

43
00:03:08,759 --> 00:03:13,159
scalloped and crimped. Behind the cook stove in the corner,

44
00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:16,879
a slab of bacon hanging over a can of flour.

45
00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:21,199
A box beside the stove filled with great chunks of wood,

46
00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:25,560
all told of the comfort that were his for the taking.

47
00:03:26,919 --> 00:03:29,960
A pair of slippers run down at the heel, and

48
00:03:30,159 --> 00:03:33,400
an apron thrown across the back of a chair showed

49
00:03:33,439 --> 00:03:36,120
that a woman's presence had graced the room not long

50
00:03:36,159 --> 00:03:40,520
before the killer's eyes fell upon the opening leading to

51
00:03:40,599 --> 00:03:46,280
another room. Cautiously, he drew his gun and tiptoed toward

52
00:03:46,319 --> 00:03:50,680
the faded curtain which served as a door. A board

53
00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:56,039
creaked beneath his weight. He stopped short, every nerve tingling

54
00:03:57,479 --> 00:04:02,199
From behind the curtain. Came a groan, then a woman's voice,

55
00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:08,639
plaintively pain racked. Is that you William? The killer made

56
00:04:08,639 --> 00:04:13,120
no answer, with body hunched forward, poised on the balls

57
00:04:13,159 --> 00:04:16,600
of his feet, his glittering black eyes never left the

58
00:04:16,639 --> 00:04:20,600
curtained opening. His gun was well in front of him,

59
00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:25,680
his thumb on the hammer. Why don't you answer me, wigium,

60
00:04:26,079 --> 00:04:30,680
came the voice again. Please hurry, you have been gone

61
00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:36,079
so long, and I'm so sick. The killer twisted his

62
00:04:36,199 --> 00:04:39,000
body to one side of the opening, where he would

63
00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:43,839
be partly out of range. It's not William, he answered gruffly.

64
00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:49,040
I'm a stranger lost in the storm. Are you alone?

65
00:04:49,560 --> 00:04:53,560
The woman gave a startled cry. Yes, oh God, yes,

66
00:04:53,759 --> 00:04:59,040
she answered, and I'm sick, awful sick. Please help me.

67
00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:05,439
Are you armed, asked the killer. Without waiting for an answer,

68
00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:08,439
he picked up the lamp and stuffed the gun back

69
00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:12,439
into his pocket, but with fingers still locked around the butt,

70
00:05:13,480 --> 00:05:17,000
he pushed aside the curtain and entered. The woman, who

71
00:05:17,079 --> 00:05:20,920
lay between the coverlets was young, just now. Her face

72
00:05:21,079 --> 00:05:25,199
was drawn with pain and pinched with cold. A startled

73
00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:28,160
look appeared in her eyes as the grim visage of

74
00:05:28,199 --> 00:05:32,160
the killer appeared within range of her vision, and she

75
00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:37,040
shrank back closer to the wall. The killer stepped closer

76
00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:43,800
to the bed and eyed her questioningly. Humph he grunted fire,

77
00:05:44,199 --> 00:05:49,519
hot water hands, Where are they? He lighted a lamp

78
00:05:49,519 --> 00:05:53,000
which stood on the side near the bed. The woman's

79
00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:58,959
eyes followed every move, filled with wonder and fear. Are

80
00:05:59,040 --> 00:06:05,040
you a a doctor, she asked weakly. The killer smiled riley.

81
00:06:06,079 --> 00:06:09,040
Then he shrugged his shoulders, as if to shake off

82
00:06:09,079 --> 00:06:15,399
some memory. Used to be years ago. He answered gruffly, Yes,

83
00:06:15,519 --> 00:06:19,279
I've not forgotten all I know. Got nothing to work with, though,

84
00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:22,319
But how the devil do you come to be here

85
00:06:22,399 --> 00:06:29,600
alone in this condition? My husband William Stevenson, he sheriff,

86
00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:34,120
She explained, between twinges of pain. He went away yesterday

87
00:06:34,399 --> 00:06:38,959
after a bad man, a man named Henshaw. They call

88
00:06:39,079 --> 00:06:43,079
him the Killer. Right after he went the storm broke

89
00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:49,480
and then this She halted lamely for an instant, Then,

90
00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:53,480
as if seeking to defend her absent husband, she continued,

91
00:06:54,639 --> 00:06:59,680
He the Killer has an awful record. Murdered a man

92
00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:02,839
in this whole blood a week ago in Eerie, killed

93
00:07:02,839 --> 00:07:06,800
another several months ago. When William heard that he had

94
00:07:06,839 --> 00:07:10,959
been seen in Milledgeville, that's thirty miles away over the mountains,

95
00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:14,839
he felt that he had to go. He hated to

96
00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:18,639
leave me, but he didn't think that this would happen.

97
00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:23,160
And the killer turned his back so that she might

98
00:07:23,199 --> 00:07:27,199
not see the look of amazement on his face. Bad

99
00:07:27,279 --> 00:07:31,560
snowslide down the canyon, he answered, happened right after I

100
00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:37,519
came through. That's what's holding him. And now, madam missus Stevenson,

101
00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:43,120
quit fretting and let me get to work. He picked

102
00:07:43,199 --> 00:07:45,319
up the lamp and bore it back into the kitchen,

103
00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:49,759
setting it on the table. He scratched his head with

104
00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:54,360
a puzzled expression on his face. Now ain't this a

105
00:07:54,439 --> 00:07:59,639
hell of a fix, he murmured to himself. Bill Stevenson's wife,

106
00:08:00,439 --> 00:08:04,480
the wife of Sheriff Bill, and he sworn to get

107
00:08:04,519 --> 00:08:10,399
me dead or alive. Slowly, his eyes filled with a

108
00:08:10,439 --> 00:08:14,319
far away look, he buttoned his overcoat and drew down

109
00:08:14,360 --> 00:08:19,439
the flaps of his cap. Outside, the storm still raged.

110
00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:25,399
The wind was growing higher. It howled and whistled around

111
00:08:25,399 --> 00:08:31,240
the corners, rattling the windows and shaking the doors. The

112
00:08:31,319 --> 00:08:35,759
snow would cover his tracks in five minutes. Of course,

113
00:08:35,919 --> 00:08:41,080
the woman would die, she and the kid. But what difference.

114
00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:45,639
She was the wife of his worst enemy, and the

115
00:08:45,759 --> 00:08:53,159
kid would be his brat. I furthermore swear that damn

116
00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:57,279
those memories of other days, wraith, like they insisted on

117
00:08:57,360 --> 00:09:01,639
appearing before him. For some reason, he could not get

118
00:09:01,679 --> 00:09:05,600
them out of his mind. And damn that old, fooled

119
00:09:05,679 --> 00:09:11,320
hippocrateus and his nonsensical oath. What business was it of his?

120
00:09:12,519 --> 00:09:16,159
He had long ago given up medicine. Let the woman

121
00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:21,519
die if she wanted to. But the baby cursed the baby?

122
00:09:22,600 --> 00:09:25,679
Of course, it was the sheriff's flesh and blood, but

123
00:09:25,759 --> 00:09:29,799
it was innocent. Why did the thoughts of the baby

124
00:09:29,879 --> 00:09:35,639
come to torture him, to keep him from making his escape? Slowly,

125
00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:39,639
as if reluctant to go, he crept to the door

126
00:09:39,759 --> 00:09:44,600
and laid his hands upon the knob. Oh, doctor, please,

127
00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:50,759
please hurry, It was the woman's voice, sobbing, pain filled.

128
00:09:52,159 --> 00:09:56,799
The killer hesitated a second longer, then he turned, and,

129
00:09:57,559 --> 00:10:02,000
hurling mittens and overcoat into a corner, he commenced heaping

130
00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:08,600
kindlings into the stove. The End of the Killer by

131
00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:09,480
Harold Ward