Speaker 1: Welcome to the Great Adventurers of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho.
This is your host, Adam Graham. In a moment, we're
going to bring you this week's episode of Counterspot. But
first I do want to encourage you. If you're enjoying
the podcast, please follow us using your favorite podcast software,
and our listener support and appreciation campaign continues. You can
become one of our Patreon supporters for as little as
two dollars per month. Just go to Patreon dot Great
Detectives dot net. But now, from December the fourteenth, nineteen
forty two, here is industrial spirring.
Speaker 2: Washington Calling Counterspy, Washington Calling Counterspy, Washington Calling Counterspy.
Speaker 3: Lardy counters By Washington, Lardy encounters By Calling Washington.
Speaker 4: Phillip H.
Speaker 5: Lord counters By.
Speaker 6: The Blue Network is proud to present Philip H. Lord Counterspire,
a dramatization packed with thrills and adventures, the fascinating portrayal
of undercover agents working against enemy spies within our borders
all over this great country tonight is an invisible army
of men and women, highly trained to protect us from
professional enemy.
Speaker 5: Spies within our borders.
Speaker 6: Imagine Chief counter spy of them all as David the
pirting in Pittsburgh, Henry Hughes cultured, well educated, and sophisticated,
and of his hotel suite on the seventh floor, seated
before addressing table in the bedroom was his most attractive.
Speaker 7: H Hello, Laura, fixing up a little n Oh, no
matters down at the office. You get those times for
a drink?
Speaker 8: What one already?
Speaker 9: Man?
Speaker 8: Having a drink alone? Eh? Perhaps you were alone?
Speaker 10: You swine your insinuating pigs.
Speaker 9: You come in with us, saintly where you have and
I know where.
Speaker 11: You've been at the office, Yes, the office, but let's
take all over your car at night after night coming in.
Speaker 12: I don't know you.
Speaker 11: They got a fall, he haf you decent family, money, position, honors.
I follow you every place of God for ten years.
Speaker 12: You eat yam.
Speaker 13: You're fake great Laura, Oh oh.
Speaker 14: All right, thanks. I can't even do that anymore. Why
do I love yourself?
Speaker 8: It's been great? Sure, sure, I've been seeing someone else.
You know it's business now.
Speaker 7: As soon as I get all the information that we
can leave this country, we'll be rich the rest of
our lives.
Speaker 8: No, I can't tell you the things I'm doing not
allowed to stop. WI kill me. But they've promised that
if I make good on this job, it means a
big job over there, we'll get out of this country.
But this is my country here.
Speaker 9: Yes, you see what I've been through for years, loving you,
ready to die for him, but cheating all the time
in my country, which.
Speaker 7: Means more to you your country or me there that
sounds more natural. Well, all right, I'm going to go
out for a while a night. Now, you go to move.
Speaker 15: There's something o the bacon him Where you're going.
Speaker 7: I've got to drive over the mountain in the Connors
village five ninety miles.
Speaker 11: You lie, you're lying like you always you.
Speaker 9: You're going with her. You're letting me down.
Speaker 16: I can see it in your eyes.
Speaker 9: What are your head?
Speaker 17: No, I'll wait a minute.
Speaker 8: Okay, Okay, come along, I'll google Yah.
Speaker 15: You need you want me to go with you?
Speaker 8: Yes, I'll provence business. You'll have some drinks, drive over
and make a good time of it. You needed him.
I'd rather have you with me than anyone else.
Speaker 9: Oh, I'm sucking cool, but I do love yourself.
Speaker 16: Here's the bottle, Laura, have yourself another drink.
Speaker 8: Oh, it's so beautiful tonight, Kenny.
Speaker 10: You can seek for a mile.
Speaker 16: Sure, we're about four thousand feet up.
Speaker 9: Look.
Speaker 16: Look how those clips drop right down from the side
of the road. Oh, I thought I'd turn and drive
right up to the edge. You can sit for a
few minutes and look out at.
Speaker 8: The mule, Henry.
Speaker 16: Hed on't here, of course, see how I can handle
a car. I didn't have a drink like you did.
Speaker 10: Exciting have another drink, all right, but I'm busy now. Yeah,
lean on my shoulders, Henry, I'm sorry.
Speaker 4: Oh it's all right now.
Speaker 8: But perhaps there was a pin or something in the cushion. Yeah,
what step? How should I know?
Speaker 9: You do know it was you? You've done it.
Speaker 6: There was a hypotemic me, you bidon venue.
Speaker 17: We got too dangerous to have around you.
Speaker 4: And you're jealous.
Speaker 8: Your head off, nobody lever you up here, you're going over.
Speaker 7: The clip.
Speaker 18: Was just to make you when you find your body
of blood naturally and your stomach full of liquor.
Speaker 8: Mhm h, No emergency break, have big journey, my dear.
Now to get the front wheels over now, the back
wheels over.
Speaker 19: All encounters my headquarters.
Speaker 8: What harding figuring g seven, Pittsburgh.
Speaker 19: I think you should fly here immediately, mister Harding.
Speaker 8: What's your report?
Speaker 19: Very attractive wife of Henry Hughes drove car while intoxicated
off mountain cliff. Henry Hughes holds a rather important position
in the Pittsburgh Bronze Casting Company. She is now doing
war work exclusively.
Speaker 8: What's the cat?
Speaker 19: She's supposed to have driven off the cliff while intoxicated,
but the ignition wasn't turned on, the key was in
the lock turned off.
Speaker 18: Quite remarkable in defense worker. Have a complete report ready.
I'm flying immediately.
Speaker 3: Party calling J seven Pittsburgh, J seven Pittsburgh, Jack.
Speaker 8: I mean, I just had a thought check.
Speaker 19: On the bookkeeper of the Pittsburgh Bronze Casting Company.
Speaker 8: Find out everything about him. Been arriving about an hour.
Speaker 4: Now. These reports, mister Harding, are all on Henry Hughes. Oh,
you did well to get them as quickly. Notice that their.
Speaker 8: Very well help us.
Speaker 4: As a matter of two years there there seems to
be no record of Henry Hughes at all during that period.
You take that fort pile, mister Hardy. He was left
the country and we entered. He did so without leaving
any record of it.
Speaker 8: There is no thing here that points are stationed anyway.
To Henry Hughes, what about the bookkeeper of le Bron,
I think company.
Speaker 4: Elmer Bruce sixty five, smaller stature, light hair, blue eyes,
lives with wife. Both regular church attenders. She's a Sunday
school teacher. They have a daughter and two sons one grandchild.
Bruce is very well thought of by his neighbors. It's
a great lover of books. Goes the library at least
four nights a week the library. Yeah, quite a scholarly chap.
And they're going to drop.
Speaker 8: Over to the library and see if Bruce happens to
be there.
Speaker 10: Me.
Speaker 8: Were you through with this book?
Speaker 9: Oh oh yeah, yeah, yes, I was just browsing for it.
Speaker 8: Bruce is down a moment I might speak to you. Well, yes, certainly,
and you Elmer Bruce.
Speaker 9: But well, that's the most amazing thing I've ever heard of.
I've never seen you before.
Speaker 18: Well, this meeting isn't quite as accidental as it might seem,
mister Bruce.
Speaker 8: There certain reasons I didn't want to go to your home.
I mean to have you look at my credentials. Mercy.
Nothing to be nervous about.
Speaker 9: Have I done something belonged?
Speaker 18: I just wanted to ask you a question, mister Bruce.
Do you happen to know a man who worked for
your company by the name of Henry Hugh Why?
Speaker 9: Yes, wasn't eticate to be his wife's death?
Speaker 18: Yes, a terrible thing, mister Bruce. Of course you pay
all the employees of the Bronze Casting Company by check.
Speaker 9: Oh yes, yes, four hundred and sixty two, counting the
two janitors at night watchman. That is the last counter that.
Speaker 8: I'm mister Bruce.
Speaker 18: Tomorrow your accountants are going to call on you and
mister Haroldlawrence, the president of your firm. Now, these accounts
are going to recommend that you pay the employees from
now on in cash instead of by check. Oh no,
I want you to fall in with the accountant's plans
to pay from now on in cash.
Speaker 9: But I couldn't. I'd be untruthful.
Speaker 18: I'm sorry, mister Bruce. But he's happened to be government orders.
A great deal depends on him.
Speaker 9: I'm sorry too, mister Harting. I respect my government that
even for your time, I couldn't lie.
Speaker 8: Bruce. It's very refreshing to meet a man of your principle.
Speaker 9: I don't wish to be an unreasonable print. I just
want to do what's right.
Speaker 18: Well, couldn't you say, under the present day circumstances you
recommend paying by cash, and you wouldn't have to say
what circumstances.
Speaker 9: Well, rather delicately skirting the truth, Well I might.
Speaker 8: Oh, that's fine.
Speaker 18: Now you will receive from the bank each week some
separate bills of different denominations, which we will have the
numbers of. Now you are to put these designated bills
in the pay envelope each week of Henry Hughes until
notified to the contrary. Yes, and you're not to mention
to anyone under any circumstances that you have met or
talked with me.
Speaker 9: That's responsibility. I hope. I'm a big enough person, mister Hardy.
After all, I've always lived in my very small way,
and I'm not a broad or big person.
Speaker 18: I know all about you, mister Bruce. You're considered a
very fine person. Now I'll have to leave you. I'm
going back to Washington.
Speaker 12: Jay seven had just arrived from.
Speaker 8: Got any news quite a bit with Honey.
Speaker 4: Very interesting.
Speaker 8: Now see the court cover two weeks.
Speaker 4: Yes, sir, Henry Hughs has received two pay in blots,
each containing one hundred and twenty five dollars. All of
that money was marked, and the banks were instructed to
watch for it and to make careful notes where the
different foods were turned in from You spent about eighty
dollars each week.
Speaker 8: See you got the page Saturday.
Speaker 4: By Monday noon, the bank had received twenty dollars and
the Birch Clothing Company fifteen dollars from the Red Moth
a't the nightclub, thirty dollars from the hotel where Henry
Hughes has an apartment five dollars. The money was received
by the bank from a little cigar stand around the corner.
He was evidently changed a bill there.
Speaker 8: Let's take Tuesday, a.
Speaker 4: Ten dollar bill from the gasoline station in garage where
Hughes keeps his car.
Speaker 8: Let do me see that second week report.
Speaker 4: I think I know what you've noticed, mister Hardy.
Speaker 8: Let's see Monday Wednesday Friday. Oh, yes, first week, Monday
Wednesday Friday, Yes, sir.
Speaker 4: Three times each week one of those mark bill would
returned to the bank from the Rebel Arrow moving picture house.
Speaker 8: How often does this Rebel Arrow moving picture house change
its feature pictures twice a week.
Speaker 18: Sir Henry Hughes, shortly after his wife's death, over which
he grieved greatly, goes to a certain movie house three
times each week, although they change the feature picture only
twice a week.
Speaker 8: Yes, see the J four goes to Pittsburgh.
Speaker 18: Immediately get the job is usher ret in the Rebel
Arrow moving picture house and have her contact me for
further instructions. Yes, now his pace is beginning to look
pretty big. George, I have a feeling that we're going
into action.
Speaker 6: We'll continue tonight's case of Counterspy in just a moment,
But first, here is a message of vital importance to
women and girls who want to take an active part
in the war effort. Your country needs you, and need
you now as a student nurse. The need is so
great that nineteen thousand student nurses will have to enter
mid year classes in January and February.
Speaker 8: Will you be one of them?
Speaker 9: You won't attack the enemy, but you'll fight.
Speaker 6: You will fight pain, you'll fight casualties.
Speaker 8: Even as a student.
Speaker 6: You'll release some experienced nurse to help our fighting men
on the fields of battle. Here is a direct call
from your country to answer it. Women and girls between
eighteen and thirty five who are citizens and high school
graduates in good health should write to Student Nurse Box
eight eight, New York City at Box eighty eight, New
York City, and they will give you full information.
Speaker 5: Now back to Phillips h Lord's Counters five.
Speaker 13: J four reporting the Hiding from Pittsburgh. Day four Reporting.
Speaker 8: From Pittsburgh party. Speaking of course, the man in question and.
Speaker 13: His fitter at four tens went down center ale to row,
d asked girl to remove coats from a seat and
sat down next to her. After a while, spoke to her,
and from then on they carried on conversation. This happened
Monday and Wednesday, the same girl each time.
Speaker 8: Who is the girl?
Speaker 12: Jellis Lawrence, the daughter.
Speaker 13: Of the president of the Bronze Casting Company.
Speaker 8: Yes, oh, I'll contact you later. I'm leaving for Pittsburgh.
Speaker 18: Immediately tell j seven I'm going to call on mister Lawrence,
president of the Bronze Casting Company.
Speaker 5: H h.
Speaker 8: Me, mister Harold Lawrence at home.
Speaker 18: He said, I ask Chris Codon to kind of take
you my card if you please participate, sir, thank you,
said I had to take your Cortos loves.
Speaker 15: Suddenly needed, mister Harding. He's in the living room.
Speaker 8: Yeah, have you had me kuzzer. I think I'll take
it with me.
Speaker 15: I take.
Speaker 8: No, I'd like to keep that with me too. Rat
the space out. Delighted to meet you, sir. I'm very
glad to meet you. Mister Laurence. Sit down, sit down.
William should have taken your thing. I'm just starving for
a moment, Lawrence.
Speaker 4: You have a daughter, yes, feel it. It's a little
difficult for me to broach the subject, mister Lawrence.
Speaker 8: But what is it, mister Harding? Speak up?
Speaker 17: Man?
Speaker 18: But are you aware, mister Lawrence, that your daughter is
it's quite interested in a certain gentleman.
Speaker 17: Why no, Phyllis has many gentlemen friends. I don't think
she's partial to anyone, especially I'm afraid, mister Lawrence, and
I must tell you that she is just a moment
mister Harding. I respect you in your position, but whether
my daughter is partial to any young man or not
is none of your business.
Speaker 8: Wow.
Speaker 18: I don't blame me for saying that, mister Lawrence. And
believe me, I'll never be here. But we're not for
a very serious purpose.
Speaker 15: What is.
Speaker 8: Well.
Speaker 18: The young man that your daughter happens to be interested
in is in the employe of our enemies Germany.
Speaker 20: Now let me get this straight. My daughter you mean Philly, Yes,
she's interested in the man who's a German spy. I'm
afraid so no, no, no, you're wrong. Is a man
employed by you, Henry Who?
Speaker 8: No, No, Harding Hughes.
Speaker 17: Hugh's wife. Phyllis doesn't even know him. Besides, his wife
was just killed. Why Hughes is a fine man.
Speaker 18: I'm sorry, mister Lawrence, but Henry Hughes is a member
of the German Gestapo.
Speaker 17: He's lying.
Speaker 9: He's lying.
Speaker 10: She isn't.
Speaker 12: So don't you believe him?
Speaker 17: Father Phyllis, have you been listening.
Speaker 9: Henry isn't a spy.
Speaker 13: He's a patriotic American, just as patriotic as you are.
Speaker 17: What Henry Henry Henry who.
Speaker 9: Philis, Henry Hughes.
Speaker 12: If you've got to know, I've loved him for months,
but I wouldn't see him.
Speaker 13: Then when his wife was killed, I didn't see why
I shouldn't see him.
Speaker 12: He's honestly decent, and I'm not ashamed I love him.
Speaker 8: Phyllis, do you know what you're saying. I can't believe,
mister Lawrence.
Speaker 15: I'll leave.
Speaker 8: I think it's between you and your guard father.
Speaker 13: This man is tied to point in your mind.
Speaker 12: Henry's fine and you know it.
Speaker 17: He's my sweetheart.
Speaker 8: I'll call you shorty on the phone, mister Lawrence Phyllis.
I want the truth.
Speaker 17: How long you've been seeing this man hughes? Oh no,
he isn't what mister Harding said.
Speaker 4: He is.
Speaker 12: I do know, and he loves me.
Speaker 9: Ask him.
Speaker 12: He didn't love his wife anyway, he told me. They
ask him.
Speaker 20: I'll ask him nothing.
Speaker 17: You've been meeting him behind my back.
Speaker 8: You've been lying to me about where you were going.
Speaker 4: You haven't told me a thing about it.
Speaker 12: Why should I have? For the sin the love a man, it's.
Speaker 8: A sind of an enemy.
Speaker 17: That man hiding must know what he's talking.
Speaker 12: I tell you it's lies, lies, lies, lies, I.
Speaker 4: Can say on the shade.
Speaker 17: Hiding is driving off in his car and stupid as
I'd like to have my hands on.
Speaker 9: Him, killing his wife that said up to this, I
told him not to, but.
Speaker 4: He was a plate of her.
Speaker 9: She got so jealous.
Speaker 4: We've got to get out for this. Things have gotten
too hot.
Speaker 9: You know Henry doesn't over the mouse. The countersis evident.
Speaker 13: They haven't arrested him yet, and we can see that
he doesn't talk on his way back here is sound
with a bullet?
Speaker 8: Yes, yes, let's get.
Speaker 9: The car rather than meet.
Speaker 17: Do you think hiding was suspicious of his.
Speaker 9: Septible business man?
Speaker 11: And I'm your innocent.
Speaker 12: Don't let us trade in the warness. Let's take if
we can do away with Henry.
Speaker 7: Before he talks.
Speaker 17: What that package by the chair right there?
Speaker 9: Such a hurry? Forgot?
Speaker 8: Wait a minute, the trick?
Speaker 9: He said?
Speaker 12: Everything we said?
Speaker 20: Quick?
Speaker 18: The car in the garage.
Speaker 8: Don't stop for thin on.
Speaker 9: Primate.
Speaker 17: I'm starting this.
Speaker 8: I'm afraid it won't go.
Speaker 18: Yes, the distributor cap is missing, and I wouldn't move
either one of you.
Speaker 19: Two of my agents are in the back, and I
have you covered.
Speaker 6: Verry.
Speaker 18: Next time you go to a theater to meet a man, Phillis,
if you ever do, be sure and look around and
see who's sitting in the seat behind you.
Speaker 4: What my daughter has done is not bearing on me.
Speaker 9: Why am I arrested?
Speaker 18: Oh come, mister Laurence, you've been operating this factory on
money supplied by Berlin.
Speaker 8: You make parts for airplane motors.
Speaker 18: So that your firm is close to many manufacturers and
you have access to their plans.
Speaker 8: Besides, he's not your daughter, Frouleine Grok.
Speaker 9: Henry's responsible shot.
Speaker 18: That's just what he did, killed himself when my men
went to arrest him. Henry, Yes, Henry, your father.
Speaker 6: We'll be back in just a moment to tell you
about next week's exciting counter spy case.
Speaker 8: But in the meantime, we.
Speaker 6: Wish to call your attention to the government's urgent appeal
for the conservation of gas for cooking and heating. Gas
must be conserved for the following reasons. It is used
for fuel by many industrial plants, which are now expanded
to double or triple their normal peacetime size, and it
is used widely in the manufacture of armor plates, gun barrels,
and similar equipment, which must be hardened or molded extremely
high temperatures. Because its flame is flear from impurities in
the flame from coal or oil, Gas is used almost
exclusively in these processes, and gas is in itself a
raw material for certain products. Synthetic rubber, for example, an
ammonium nitrate which is used in the manufacture of explosives.
That is the why, and now here's the how of
gas conservation. Don't use the kitchen range to heat the house.
If you heat with gas, keep your house below sixty
five degrees, cook with a low blue flame, use hot
water sparingly.
Speaker 4: Those are directions direct from Uncle Sam.
Speaker 6: They may not sound as intriguing at an assignment to
track down and capture enemy spies, but the conservation of
gas practiced by millions of soldier citizens on the home
front will be echoed in cheers of victory from our
fighting men because the conservation of gas will help give
them equipment and weapons they need. Next week, David Harding
and counter Spy will be back with you again at
the same time for the case of the trailed count,
the society woman who talked too much, the highball glass
served by waiter thirty seven, the man at the zoo,
the long underwear at the railroad station, and the ultra
polite third degree. That next week, the unusual counter by
eleven days till Christmas, give the presents with the future,
the greatest gifts of all, a share in America, Give
war bonds and stamps.
Speaker 1: Welcome back an interesting episode, and you're already seeing more
of an evolution of the program where more of the
program is Harding collecting data and information from the field,
rather than being more hands on with everything as he
was in some other episodes, although of course he came.
Speaker 8: In at the end.
Speaker 1: In terms of overall plots, I think this is relatively
grounded in terms of what was possible. There had been
Nazi sympathizers in the United States prior to the war,
so the idea that some money had been sent over
and was used to set someone up as a provider
of war supplies, that seems really plausible, And of course
it highlighted the fact that Harding was looking really strongly
at things that federal agents might not generally check into,
but would be concerned with because the person or someone
involved had ties to the war effort. The direct involvement
of the Gestapo here may have been a less believable
element of the story, particularly given that the Gestapo was
pretty sloppy, particularly the way that they that he failed
to make that car crash look believable. But a lot
of world more two stories had this sort of conflicting
message where we have to be vigilant, we are dealing
with absolute evil, and the only way that they can
be stopped is by absolute dedication and vigilance.
Speaker 9: But they're not all that brighte.
Speaker 1: It's got of the tricky part of not making the
enemy too impressive or overpowering, but also making them a
little less competent. That would undermine your audiences belief in
them as a threat if they only listen to and
watched media portrayals. All right, listener comments and feedback. Now
we've got a few on Counterspot and particularly the episode
The Case of the Logan Burry Point Spy. We start
with Harrison, who writes Captain Lawson sounds slightly like the
Laugher from the old time radio Superman program. Also, there
wasn't a cast listing, but Liza sure sounded like the
type of character Virginia Greg would play. Well, Thanks so much, Harrison,
and yeah, it was actually the same actor. I can
tell the voice very distinctive. I've been looking for the
name for years, but I was finally able to nail
it down thanks to an episode of the Big Story.
That's Craig McDonell lays a lot of old time radio roles.
Very distinctive voice. He does have a bit of range,
but you can tell when it's one of his, and
so I'm thrilled to be able to credit him in
his work. Now, as to the Virginia Greg comment, doctor
who'd done it a Mechanic sixty picked up on the
idea of this sounding a lot like a Virginia Greg character. However,
Counterspy was made in New York, Virginia Greg worked out
of Hollywood, So yeah, the while I would agree if
this was on the West Coast, this would have been
a perfect program for her to be cast in, but
it would have been some other actress, and I don't
know all of the New York actresses quite as well,
and I do think there was maybe more of a
rotation and sort of cross pollination with theater in the
New York radio place. And then Mechanic sixty six also
wrote all the fishing boats approaching the sub from all
signs while shooting is the setup for some serious friendly fire.
That is fair enough, and I think that would be
a definite concern. I also think it would be fair
to assume that, since these wasn't just a bunch of
civilions striking out on their own, that the head of
Counterspy was there, and that he would have provided some
instructions and precautions against that potentiality, and that it was
just not something that we heard on stage, and that's
why we didn't end up hearing about a bunch of
friendly fire in the wake of this incident, but it
was something that would have needed to be addressed and
a good point.
Speaker 4: All right.
Speaker 1: Well, now it's time to thank our Patreon supporter of
the day, and I want to thank John, Patreon supporter
since November twenty twenty four, currently supporting the podcast at
the secret Agent level of four 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
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will be back on The Great Adventurers Podcast next Saturday
with another episode of Counterspy, and then on Tuesday, be
sure to listen for Tarzan and then join us back
here on The Great Detectives of All Time Radio Podcasts
for our second listener Support and Appreciation special In the meantime,
do send your comments to box thirteen at Great Detectives
dot net from Boise, Idaho. This is your host, Adam Graham,
signing off.