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Speaker 1: And now mystery fitter, come in.

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Speaker 2: Welcome. I'm E. G. Marshall, and as you may suspect,

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I have a tale to tell, a tale full of

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sound and terror and signifying. Well, I'll have to leave

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that to you. And I also ask your indulgence when

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I personalize this strange riddle, because this story was brought

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directly to me. Ever since I've been your host on

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this series. I have the feeling that you expect me

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to be an expert on the macabre. But I must

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confess to a sense of surprise when I was buttonhole

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by a young man the other day who said, excuse me,

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mister Marshall, but I have a coffin that I'm sure

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will interest you.

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Speaker 3: You cannot frighten me.

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Speaker 4: I am not leaving this graveyard until I get to

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the bottom of this.

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Speaker 2: I warn you, your persistence will be your destruction.

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Speaker 3: I still trust in the Lord. Where's that music coming

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from from beyond the grave? Is it Judgment Day? No,

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then you talk nonsense.

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Speaker 4: The dead will rise, the Lord will summon his elect

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to meet him in the clouds. But until that day,

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the dead remained buried.

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Speaker 2: Our mystery drama A coffin for the Devil was especially

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adapted for the mystery theater by Murray Burnett and stars

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Cure Delay. What do you do when a perfect stranger

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tells you he has a coffin which might interest you?

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My first instinct was to tell a young man that

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I wasn't in the market for coffins, But he quickly

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explained that he wasn't a salesman, but an avid listener

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to our series, and that he had a macabre story

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of a strange coffin that had been in his family

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for generations. I was in trade, So the next night

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I found myself in his old suburban house, drinking coffee

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with his wife Cora, and his friend, Professor Gerald Barker,

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and looking at a large wooden box which appeared to

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me to be a case for a bass fiddle. This box,

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although you may not believe it, mister Marshall, is a coffin.

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And this letter, which my wife Cora found in the attic,

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explains how it came in our family, and also how

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it happens.

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Speaker 3: That I am not today a mortician.

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Speaker 5: It was written by my great grandfather, whose name was

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also William Spindles, and the letter begins, I William Spindles

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swear this to be a true and honest account of

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the strange happenings that befell me when I was employed

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by Edward Rodgers, the undertaker, in the year eighteen fifty one.

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The month was December, and mister Rogers and his good

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wife Pain pre Christmas visits, had left me.

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Speaker 3: In charge of the shop.

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Speaker 5: It was a cold night and blowing hard, but my

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good friend Richard Clay and I were snug enough with

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a big fire going in the stove.

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Speaker 2: Only for you, William Spindles. Would I spend a stormy

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night like this sitting in an undertaker's parlor?

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Speaker 3: Come on, now, Dick.

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Speaker 5: You kept me company often enough to know that there's

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no harm in corpses.

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Speaker 2: Well, it's not the corpses that worry me, it's their

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spirits that may be around.

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Speaker 3: There's no such thing as spirits.

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Speaker 5: Mister Rogers says that there's no harm in the dead,

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harmors in people's minds.

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Speaker 2: Oh maybe maybe?

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Speaker 3: What's that Someone to the door? Come in?

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Speaker 2: Oh, I don't like this.

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Speaker 3: I'll see who it is.

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Speaker 5: Uh, Come in, sir, Come in, you'll catch your death

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of cold standing out there.

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Speaker 2: I'm sorry to disturb you. On a night like this.

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But my need is urgent. I require a coffin.

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Speaker 3: Yes, sir, did you have a particular type in my area?

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Speaker 2: Particular? I know exactly what I need.

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Speaker 5: Well, we have a complete stock in the next room. Now,

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if you'll follow me I need, you won't have it

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in stock. We carry the most complete line in the state.

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Speaker 2: That's why I have come here.

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Speaker 3: Well, thank you.

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Speaker 5: Now, if you'll tell me who the coffin is for,

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I'll be able to help you better for me. For

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you mean it's for your own, your own personal use exactly.

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Speaker 2: Well, I can see you're going to be busy, Bill,

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so I'll run along.

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Speaker 3: No, no, no, no need to leave, Dick. This gentleman

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will have to come back to Ma and see mister Rogers.

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Speaker 5: So I cannot return mister Rogers the proprietor, and I

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honestly believe you'll be better, sir if you.

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Speaker 3: Wait for him.

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Speaker 2: I can draw you the way. The coffin must be here.

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Here's fifty dollars. Will that cover it? But uh, goodbye, Bill,

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I really must leave.

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Speaker 6: Amy's expecting me.

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Speaker 3: Here's the fifty dollars enough. It's not the money I

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was thinking of. It's the special requirements you mentioned. I'm

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not sure I can handle them. I said i'd draw it.

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Do you have paper, I guess, so, here's a pencil.

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Speaker 2: I have my own. Now the shape must be exactly

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like this or so.

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Speaker 5: But that doesn't look like a coffin at all. It's

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it's more like the case for a musical.

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Speaker 2: Instr I know my needs.

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Speaker 5: Never in my life have I seen or heard of

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a coffin such as you ask for it.

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Speaker 2: It must be exactly the way I've drawn it very well.

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Speaker 3: Now.

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Speaker 2: It must also have lids and hinges hinges hinges you

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see them here on the drawing. Yes, But and a

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lock on the inside, the inside and a good quality

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lock secure, nothing shoddy, you understand. I believe I do good. Now,

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if you have a tape measure, I want you to

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measure me around.

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Speaker 3: But why I mean the drawing is it's unusual. It's

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very clear.

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Speaker 2: I want to make sure that you leave enough room

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for my arms.

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Speaker 3: I really don't know how I'm going to explain this

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to mister Rogers.

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Speaker 2: Show him the drawing. Now take my measurements.

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Speaker 3: Yes, sir, h I believe.

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Speaker 5: Enough room for your arms.

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Speaker 3: I'll make sure that this is ready by Friday, but

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that's the day after tomorrow.

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Speaker 2: I must have it. I'm sorry to be so particular,

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but I've been buried before, and this time I want

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to have it my own way.

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Speaker 5: Bill, Bill, are you in there just a minute, I'm

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opening the door, Lucy, what are you doing here?

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Speaker 6: Are you all right? Is he still here?

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Speaker 3: What are you talking about?

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Speaker 6: Dick talking about that strange man.

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Speaker 7: Who came here. Dick was really scared, he said. The

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man wanted to order his own coffin.

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Speaker 3: That's right, but I'm sure with some kind of practical joke.

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Speaker 7: Well, I don't care what it was. I want you

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to find another job. I hate the idea of your

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being an undertaker, Lucy.

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Speaker 5: We've been through this before, and this job is no

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different than any other, excepting people's mind.

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Speaker 3: I'm sorry, Bill, I'm sorry.

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Speaker 6: I'm just so frightened all the way over here. I

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was just worried about you and scared, but I came anyway. Now,

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Oh Bill, I don't think it's going to work.

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Speaker 5: I'd like to punch Dick Clay right in the nose

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for frightening you like that.

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Speaker 3: I don't blame Dick.

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Speaker 6: It's not his fault.

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Speaker 3: If he hadn't scared you, you wouldn't have.

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Speaker 7: Yes, I would. Maybe I wouldn't have come here tonight.

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But I hate what you're doing.

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Speaker 3: I hate I know, Honey, what do you want me

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to do?

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Speaker 2: Quit?

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Speaker 3: And do what? Oh?

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Speaker 6: I don't care?

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Speaker 3: What will we live on?

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Speaker 6: Well, you'll find another job.

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Speaker 3: No, we're near as much money.

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Speaker 6: I don't care about the money bill.

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Speaker 7: Can't you understand I don't want hands touching me, but

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have been touching death all day?

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Speaker 4: All right, Lucy, I'll speak to mister Rogers believing. Good morning, Bell,

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Good morning, and now what's all this about? Some excitement

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you had here last night? Good morning, mister Rogers.

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Speaker 5: I guess Dick Clay has been busy gossiping again.

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Speaker 4: I don't know whether it came from Dick or not,

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but I heard it from the barber, some ridiculous clap

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trap about a.

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Speaker 3: Walking cadaver ordering its own coffin.

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Speaker 5: Well, sir, what happened was unusual. How so take a

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look at this. This is a drawing made by the

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gentleman who ordered this coffin.

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Speaker 3: HM. Remarkable.

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Speaker 4: Looks something like a carrying case for the base fiddle.

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Speaker 5: Yes, sir, it looks that way to me. Also, it

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must be ready tomorrow evening.

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Speaker 4: You're worried about something, aren't you, Bill, Yes, sir, something

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to do with this special order.

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Speaker 3: I suppose so.

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Speaker 5: In a way, mister Rogers, I'm sorry to tell you

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that I'm going to have to leave here.

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Speaker 3: What you mean because of last night? Only partially? It's

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really because of Lucy. Oh.

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Speaker 4: I suppose she's upset about the idea of marrying a mortician.

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Speaker 5: More than upset, she's she practically gave me a choice

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either this job or her.

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Speaker 3: I wouldn't worry about that if I were you. Bill,

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You're not me, and you're not engaged to lose.

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Speaker 4: I'm sorry, Bill, It's just that I've been there before.

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I had the same problem with missus Rogers before we

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got married.

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Speaker 3: What did you do before? I answer that?

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Speaker 4: How do you feel about the business? I mean, would

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you stay on and if Lucy would marry you?

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Speaker 3: I think so. Bill.

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Speaker 4: You know I have no son, no one to carry on.

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I've never said it, but I think you know how

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I feel about you and what hopes I have that

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you might be the one to carry on. Until today,

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I thought you felt the same way.

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Speaker 3: I don't think I can change Lucy's mind. Of course

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you can't. You just said that you can't.

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Speaker 4: But missus Rogers can now ask Lucy to talk with a.

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Speaker 3: Woman to woman. That's your best bet.

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Speaker 4: My wife knows all the problems and she has all

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the answers.

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Speaker 3: I never thought of it all the same. I wish

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you'd been here last night. It was well.

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Speaker 5: The only word I can use to describe what happened

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is weird, because.

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Speaker 3: He ordered a coffin for himself. That plus the way

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he came in, and then the strange shape he insisted on,

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but most of all because he appeared to be driven,

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almost as if he were compelled to do what he

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was doing.

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Speaker 4: What he felt or didn't feel isn't important, Bill. What

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matters is whether you've changed the way you think about death.

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Speaker 3: I don't follow you.

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Speaker 4: You have to see dying for what it is, Bill,

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Life's ultimate destination. It's nothing to be afraid of. It's

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just an inescapable fact. In the course of my life,

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I've met a lot of people, and I'm good at

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judging them, and up until now I've thought of you

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as a no nonsense, feet on the ground, level headed

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young man.

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Speaker 3: Sir, you didn't see this man. You didn't hear the

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terrible desperation he had.

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Speaker 4: I've seen and heard almost everything since I started some

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eighteen years ago.

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Speaker 3: This poor fellow who ordered.

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Speaker 4: His coffin from you last night was obviously deranged, no

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question about it, deranged.

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Speaker 3: I hope you're right, sir. Of course I'm right. What

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other conclusion can there be? The one I can't get

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out of my head?

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Speaker 5: He told me he'd been buried once before, and this

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time he means to have it his own way.

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Speaker 3: Oh, very good, very good.

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Speaker 4: Indeed you find that now I understand everything. That coffin

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he ordered is nothing but a big fiddle case a

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double bass box.

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Speaker 3: And he must be a musician.

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Speaker 4: They're the very devil for playing practical jokes, don't you see?

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This is nothing but a practical joke, A joke on whom, sir,

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How should I know, some fellow musician.

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Speaker 3: I'm sorry, sir, I just can't believe that. Why not?

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Why wouldn't you have told me so? Why would he

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try to scare the.

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Speaker 5: Daylights out of me and then pay fifty dollars fifty

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whole dollars?

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Speaker 2: Bizarre?

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Speaker 4: Well, I expect we'll have the answer to that tomorrow

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evening when he comes to get his coffin, that.

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Speaker 3: Is, if he comes at all. Oh, he'll be here,

254
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I'm sure that.

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Speaker 5: I just pray that we won't be sorry when he comes.

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Speaker 2: When the reading stopped, I looked at the faces in

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that sane and sensible twentieth century living. Spindle's wife, Cora

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00:12:55,039 --> 00:12:58,799
was white eye, and Professor Barker's lips were pursed and

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his eyes were skeptical. My eyes were drawn automatically to

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the subject of the letter, the large, strangely shaped coffin

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that stood in the corner of the living room, and

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I could understand the fear that had gripped that nineteenth

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century William Spindles. I'll be back shortly with that two

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I suppose to the three inalienable rights of life, liberty,

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and the pursuit of happiness, one could add the right

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of a man to order his own handmade coffin. Most

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of us, I believe, would find the thought distasteful, But

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the feeling that prevailed among us in the living room

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of William Spindles was one of curiosity. We were all

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anxious for him to continue reading the letter from his

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great great grandfather.

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Speaker 3: I must confess that my.

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Speaker 5: Work suffered during that day. My thoughts were not on

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what I was doing, but on what the evening would

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bring and what mister Rogers would make of the stranger

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when he came to call for his coffin.

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Speaker 3: The day passed somehow, Bill.

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Speaker 4: When did this customer of yours say he'd be back

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early in the evening, that we'll give him.

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Speaker 3: Another half hour and then we'll lock up. That won't

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help if he wants to pick it up.

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Speaker 4: What does that mean, young man? Someone tampered with the coffin,

283
00:14:28,440 --> 00:14:30,919
and we don't know who. We only have Sam's word

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that the coffin was tampered with.

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Speaker 3: He's our best work.

286
00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:35,120
Speaker 4: Well like everyone else around here, I'm sure he's been

287
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infected with the idea that there's something strange about this

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00:14:37,679 --> 00:14:39,720
order for a coffin in the shape of a base fiddle.

289
00:14:40,639 --> 00:14:44,879
Speaker 3: At last, he's arrived. Those raps didn't come from the door.

290
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Speaker 4: Nonsense, of course they did. It's cold out there. He

291
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wants to come in.

292
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Speaker 3: I'll prove it to you.

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Speaker 4: All open the door, don't need he's letting himself in, Sir.

294
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Speaker 3: Sir, there there's no one at the door. Hold of yourself. Bill,

295
00:15:01,559 --> 00:15:03,320
must have been a draft that blew the door open.

296
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I'll close it myself.

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00:15:05,480 --> 00:15:10,799
Speaker 4: Good evening, mister Rogers, it's my order. Ready, well, good evening, sir,

298
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Come in, Come in.

299
00:15:12,240 --> 00:15:17,000
Speaker 3: The box you ordered is ready, Thank you, My dear sir.

300
00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:19,600
Speaker 4: You really should wear a greatcoat and a muffler in

301
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this bitter weather you catch cold.

302
00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:26,879
Speaker 2: Where is my coffin? Ah, that's it in the corner. Satisfactory,

303
00:15:27,759 --> 00:15:32,399
very satisfactory. Is there a good secure lock on the inside.

304
00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:34,600
Speaker 4: You may open the lid and see for yourself. That

305
00:15:34,679 --> 00:15:36,399
way you can also test the hinges.

306
00:15:38,320 --> 00:15:40,720
Speaker 2: The make of the lock is unknown to me. Is

307
00:15:40,799 --> 00:15:41,480
it a good one?

308
00:15:42,039 --> 00:15:44,600
Speaker 4: We never have had a single complaint about any of

309
00:15:44,639 --> 00:15:48,759
our coffins, so i'd heard. Now, then where would you

310
00:15:48,799 --> 00:15:51,960
like it sent? I'll take it with me, my dear sir.

311
00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:54,639
It's much too heavy for one man to carry.

312
00:15:54,759 --> 00:15:55,399
Speaker 2: I'll manage.

313
00:15:55,440 --> 00:15:58,080
Speaker 4: Should you have a horse and cart outside, we can

314
00:15:58,120 --> 00:15:58,879
help you get it off.

315
00:15:58,919 --> 00:16:00,320
Speaker 2: That won't be necessary.

316
00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:02,559
Speaker 3: May I have your name?

317
00:16:02,799 --> 00:16:04,720
Speaker 2: My name is of no importance, sir.

318
00:16:05,639 --> 00:16:09,679
Speaker 4: I'm a reputable undertaker. I must keep my records in order.

319
00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:11,240
Speaker 2: Any name you choose will do.

320
00:16:11,399 --> 00:16:15,039
Speaker 4: Come now, sir, I see through your little joke, and

321
00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:19,080
I don't disapprove, but you joke, mister Rogers.

322
00:16:19,759 --> 00:16:22,200
Speaker 2: If there's any joke being played here, it's on me.

323
00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:28,600
So I'll take my coffin and be on my way.

324
00:16:28,679 --> 00:16:30,960
Speaker 3: But sir, you can't just walk out of here with it.

325
00:16:31,320 --> 00:16:34,320
Speaker 2: Thanks to you for your efforts, and I wish you, gentlemen,

326
00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:38,320
good nicely, sir, come back.

327
00:16:38,399 --> 00:16:41,440
Speaker 3: Let him go, for the love of heaven, let him go.

328
00:16:41,559 --> 00:16:45,679
Speaker 5: Mister Rogers, he lifted that box as if it were

329
00:16:45,679 --> 00:16:46,600
as light as a feather.

330
00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:50,080
Speaker 3: Get your coat? What for to follow him? Bill? Couldn't

331
00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:51,960
you see? The man is ill. We're the ones that are

332
00:16:51,919 --> 00:16:53,679
going to be ill if we follow. Stop babbling and

333
00:16:53,679 --> 00:16:54,519
get into your coat.

334
00:16:54,639 --> 00:16:57,799
Speaker 5: All right, all right, I'll go with you. I don't

335
00:16:57,799 --> 00:17:01,159
want you following that. That's alone. But I tell you

336
00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:02,240
he's not mortal.

337
00:17:02,279 --> 00:17:06,200
Speaker 3: He is. He is, and he's sick mentally ill. Hurry.

338
00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:11,440
How far do we follow him? As far as he goes? No, Sir,

339
00:17:11,519 --> 00:17:16,200
I won't because I believe his destination is hell.

340
00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:24,359
Speaker 4: There he goes around the corner down green Tree Lane.

341
00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:26,079
Speaker 3: I see him. Where can he be heading?

342
00:17:26,599 --> 00:17:29,279
Speaker 4: There are no houses after a block of green Tree Lane.

343
00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:31,880
But there's the cemetery. Didn't I tell you he was deranged?

344
00:17:32,200 --> 00:17:34,839
The cemetery gates locked and walks never bothered spirits?

345
00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:35,960
Speaker 2: Then he's no spirit.

346
00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:38,680
Speaker 3: Didn't he ask for a lock on the coffin? Let

347
00:17:38,799 --> 00:17:43,079
him go, mister Rogers, Please hurry up before we lose him.

348
00:17:43,240 --> 00:17:47,160
Miss Rogers, if we do catch up to him, what

349
00:17:47,319 --> 00:17:49,119
in Heavens name do you want of him? Find out

350
00:17:49,160 --> 00:17:52,240
who he is, where he lives, and get him safely home.

351
00:17:52,599 --> 00:17:55,279
Then I shall call a doctor to attend him. There

352
00:17:55,279 --> 00:17:58,960
he goes, heading directly for the cemetery gate. Found what's

353
00:17:58,960 --> 00:18:01,319
happened to the moon? A cloud just passed in front

354
00:18:01,319 --> 00:18:01,480
of it?

355
00:18:01,559 --> 00:18:03,880
Speaker 4: No matter, Even if we can't see him, we shall

356
00:18:03,880 --> 00:18:05,599
catch up when he finds the gate locked.

357
00:18:07,880 --> 00:18:13,480
Speaker 3: Oh, here comes the moonlighting. Here's the gate. Where did

358
00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:19,119
he go? He must have gone in gates? Well, I

359
00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:22,640
have my key. You don't intend to go into you,

360
00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:23,519
of course?

361
00:18:25,279 --> 00:18:29,240
Speaker 4: Come on, Come on, no, sir, there there isn't that

362
00:18:29,279 --> 00:18:31,839
our man moving among the trees over there near the

363
00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:32,880
Addison mausoleum.

364
00:18:32,920 --> 00:18:35,440
Speaker 3: Mister Rogers, I've had enough of this. I'm going home and.

365
00:18:35,440 --> 00:18:37,680
Speaker 4: Allow that poor soul to do himself some kind.

366
00:18:37,519 --> 00:18:39,640
Speaker 5: Of mischief, Sir, that poor soul, as you call him

367
00:18:39,640 --> 00:18:42,039
as a person, I want nothing to do with. I

368
00:18:42,039 --> 00:18:45,039
don't know whether he's man, ghost or devil, but whatever

369
00:18:45,079 --> 00:18:47,400
he is, and whatever his business is in the cemetery,

370
00:18:47,440 --> 00:18:47,839
I want.

371
00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:48,319
Speaker 3: No part of Bill.

372
00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:51,519
Speaker 4: When a man's dead, he's dead. I've never seen a

373
00:18:51,559 --> 00:18:53,799
man or woman come to life again. I'm a god

374
00:18:53,880 --> 00:18:56,079
fearing man, and I go by the Bible. Doesn't the

375
00:18:56,119 --> 00:18:57,720
Good Book say dust to dust?

376
00:18:57,920 --> 00:18:59,640
Speaker 5: The Bible says a lot of things, but I remember

377
00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:01,559
no mention of men who could lift a heavy coffin

378
00:19:01,599 --> 00:19:03,240
as if it were a pillow, and pass through lock

379
00:19:03,319 --> 00:19:06,240
gates without leaving a sound, to say nothing.

380
00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:07,799
Speaker 3: Of a man ordering his own coffin.

381
00:19:08,400 --> 00:19:10,759
Speaker 4: Very well, Bill, you can stay or leave. I'm going

382
00:19:10,759 --> 00:19:13,039
after him. I beg it's the gate. I beg you,

383
00:19:13,079 --> 00:19:15,119
mister Rogers, leave this bee and come home with me.

384
00:19:15,279 --> 00:19:16,799
Speaker 3: Close the gate and make sure it's light.

385
00:19:21,799 --> 00:19:25,039
Speaker 2: At this point, Bill Spindles stopped reading and put down

386
00:19:25,039 --> 00:19:28,839
the letter. My reaction was shared by his wife, Cora,

387
00:19:29,039 --> 00:19:30,920
who almost screamed at him.

388
00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:31,440
Speaker 6: Don't tell me.

389
00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:33,880
Speaker 7: The letter stops there, and we're not going to find

390
00:19:33,880 --> 00:19:34,720
out what happened.

391
00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:37,880
Speaker 5: The reason I stopped is because the story my great

392
00:19:37,920 --> 00:19:41,160
grandfather was telling up to now was his, but it

393
00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:45,799
now changes. At this point. He is writing not what

394
00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:48,720
he saw, but what he heard, as he puts it

395
00:19:48,759 --> 00:19:53,319
in a letter. Perhaps I was a coward, but I

396
00:19:53,359 --> 00:19:56,319
allowed mister Rogers to go on into the graveyard alone

397
00:19:56,839 --> 00:20:00,640
while I hurried home. So I warned the reader this letter,

398
00:20:01,359 --> 00:20:04,599
this portion of my tale is written here as it

399
00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:06,839
was told to me by mister Rogers.

400
00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:12,240
Speaker 4: The moon again had gone behind the clouds when young

401
00:20:12,319 --> 00:20:16,359
Spindles went hurrying off, But I thought I saw some

402
00:20:16,480 --> 00:20:16,960
light in.

403
00:20:17,160 --> 00:20:18,640
Speaker 3: Or around the big Addison tomb.

404
00:20:19,279 --> 00:20:21,640
Speaker 4: I started that way, and then I heard what seemed

405
00:20:21,680 --> 00:20:23,480
to be the voice of the man I was following,

406
00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:25,000
But it seemed to come from.

407
00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:30,279
Speaker 2: Far off, too far. You have come too far on

408
00:20:30,359 --> 00:20:35,440
a useless journey, Edward Rogers. Turn back before it's too late.

409
00:20:35,880 --> 00:20:37,720
Speaker 3: Where are you, sir? Listen to me?

410
00:20:38,519 --> 00:20:41,720
Speaker 2: Rice they tried, and thrice they died.

411
00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:44,799
Speaker 3: Where are you? What are you doing with your coffin?

412
00:20:45,079 --> 00:20:49,799
Speaker 2: Leave here, Edward Rogers. Your business with the dead is finished.

413
00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:52,839
You don't belong here, and what do you do here?

414
00:20:53,200 --> 00:20:57,160
I keep an age old bargain with whom you must

415
00:20:57,359 --> 00:21:01,240
leave here. This place is Dame Jerious for you, but

416
00:21:01,359 --> 00:21:04,880
not for you. Leave before it's too late. The Lord

417
00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:08,079
will protect me. Now, let me help you. Don't you

418
00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:09,160
understand you're ill?

419
00:21:09,319 --> 00:21:10,119
Speaker 3: You need help?

420
00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:13,440
Speaker 2: Oh? Be it, Edward Rogers. You want to join in

421
00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:16,880
a dance of death. The consequences will be on your head.

422
00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:21,559
Here I show myself to him. Here I am see

423
00:21:21,599 --> 00:21:22,480
if you can catch me.

424
00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:25,640
Speaker 4: It was then that I started after him. I could

425
00:21:25,680 --> 00:21:28,519
see him almost clearly. He seemed to be heading for

426
00:21:28,559 --> 00:21:31,480
the Addison tomb. He was carrying the coffin, and I

427
00:21:31,559 --> 00:21:34,240
was certain I could overtake him, but he kept dodging

428
00:21:34,359 --> 00:21:38,319
behind headstones. I turned and twisted after him, and then

429
00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:41,279
my foot caught. I lost my balance and fell, hitting

430
00:21:41,279 --> 00:21:43,440
my head against the tombstone.

431
00:21:46,319 --> 00:21:50,720
Speaker 2: Dick, wake up, wilm Bill, Bill, what do you want?

432
00:21:50,799 --> 00:21:53,000
Speaker 3: Get dressed? You've got to come to the cemetery with me.

433
00:21:53,039 --> 00:21:55,000
Speaker 2: What the cemetery? Are you out of your mind?

434
00:21:55,079 --> 00:21:57,079
Speaker 5: Sir Rogers went in there after the man who ordered

435
00:21:57,119 --> 00:21:59,440
the coffin. He isn't home yet, Missus Rogers is worried.

436
00:21:59,599 --> 00:22:02,400
Then take come on, Dick. I'll be with you.

437
00:22:02,440 --> 00:22:04,400
Speaker 3: I wouldn't care if the whole town was with us.

438
00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:07,960
What time. Is it four o'clock? It will soon be like, please, Dick,

439
00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:08,839
you must all right?

440
00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:10,960
Speaker 2: All right, I'll get dressed and i'll go with you,

441
00:22:11,039 --> 00:22:12,279
but we'll wait for the dawn.

442
00:22:12,319 --> 00:22:13,880
Speaker 3: But mister Rogers may be in trouble.

443
00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:16,279
Speaker 2: Bill. Whatever has happened has happened. I'll go with you,

444
00:22:16,319 --> 00:22:20,240
but not until it's light.

445
00:22:23,319 --> 00:22:29,000
Speaker 3: Ahead. It hurts. Where am I?

446
00:22:29,279 --> 00:22:30,440
Speaker 2: Where you do not belong?

447
00:22:30,799 --> 00:22:38,279
Speaker 3: Oh, it's you. Where's your coffin where it belongs? Good? Good, Come, Come,

448
00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:39,119
I'll take you home.

449
00:22:39,160 --> 00:22:40,480
Speaker 2: You need more help than I do.

450
00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:43,039
Speaker 4: I'll be all right. I was fortunate. It was just

451
00:22:43,279 --> 00:22:44,240
her glancing blow.

452
00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:45,880
Speaker 3: I'll take you.

453
00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:48,079
Speaker 2: To the gate, see that you get there safely.

454
00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:52,319
Speaker 3: You've changed. Why are you now worried about me?

455
00:22:52,759 --> 00:22:56,759
Speaker 2: I admire your courage. You were concerned about me now

456
00:22:56,799 --> 00:22:57,799
I returned the favorite.

457
00:22:57,799 --> 00:23:00,640
Speaker 4: No, no, no, you tried to frighten me for your

458
00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:04,799
own good. You're still in danger from whom, From the

459
00:23:04,880 --> 00:23:08,319
damned sir. I don't know who you are or where

460
00:23:08,359 --> 00:23:12,000
you're from, but I'll swear you're of this world. There

461
00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:14,119
are no such things as ghosts.

462
00:23:14,799 --> 00:23:18,480
Speaker 2: I know that's what you believe. I wish with all

463
00:23:18,559 --> 00:23:21,119
my heart that you will write what's that music?

464
00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:22,559
Speaker 3: Do you hear it?

465
00:23:22,759 --> 00:23:23,119
Speaker 2: I do?

466
00:23:23,519 --> 00:23:26,640
Speaker 3: What is it? It doesn't belong here in a graveyard.

467
00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:30,359
Speaker 2: You're wrong. It's the only place it can be heard,

468
00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:34,720
and not by everyone. Come, come, the gate is this way? No?

469
00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:37,480
Speaker 3: No, I am not leaving until I get to the bottom.

470
00:23:37,519 --> 00:23:40,400
Speaker 2: I warn you, your persistence will be your destruction.

471
00:23:40,640 --> 00:23:43,839
Speaker 4: I still put my trust in the Lord. Where's that

472
00:23:43,920 --> 00:23:47,480
music coming from from beyond the grave? Is it Judgment day?

473
00:23:47,640 --> 00:23:47,680
Speaker 6: No?

474
00:23:47,960 --> 00:23:52,400
Speaker 3: Then you talk nonsense. The dead will rise, the Lord.

475
00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:54,519
Speaker 4: Will summon his elect to meet him in the clouds.

476
00:23:55,079 --> 00:23:58,279
But until that day, the dead remain buried.

477
00:23:58,119 --> 00:24:03,920
Speaker 2: And quiet and quiet. Oh, foolish man, I will not

478
00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:06,920
be able to protect you much longer. Go home now,

479
00:24:07,079 --> 00:24:08,039
while you can't.

480
00:24:07,759 --> 00:24:09,759
Speaker 4: I will if you will first allow me to take

481
00:24:09,799 --> 00:24:10,559
you to your home.

482
00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:14,599
Speaker 2: Can't you understand my home is here, Tommy rot I

483
00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:18,200
must go. I have work to do. If you've been warned,

484
00:24:18,720 --> 00:24:20,240
my conscience is clear.

485
00:24:21,039 --> 00:24:22,720
Speaker 4: As I turned my head to see where he went,

486
00:24:23,279 --> 00:24:26,400
I felt dizzy. The blow had evidently been more serious

487
00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:29,200
than I thought. When my head cleared, I could still

488
00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:32,039
hear the music, and I thought I saw a light.

489
00:24:33,079 --> 00:24:35,720
I walked toward the light. It seemed to come from

490
00:24:35,799 --> 00:24:38,799
the Addison Tomb. As I approached, I could see that

491
00:24:38,839 --> 00:24:42,400
the door to the mausoleum was open. I was convinced

492
00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:45,559
that inside was the source of the music. It grew

493
00:24:45,599 --> 00:24:48,640
louder with every step I took, and then I found

494
00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:53,079
myself at the door to the tomb, and there, just

495
00:24:53,160 --> 00:24:56,720
inside I saw the large coffin the stranger head ordered.

496
00:24:57,279 --> 00:25:00,880
The lid was wide open, but the moment I took

497
00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:04,799
one step inside, the lid slammed shut and the music stopped.

498
00:25:06,039 --> 00:25:08,279
I thought the coffin had been empty, but I couldn't

499
00:25:08,319 --> 00:25:12,480
be sure. I walked over to it and bent down

500
00:25:12,599 --> 00:25:15,240
and listened. I heard the key turn in the lock,

501
00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:17,920
and I called out, you mustn't lock yourself in, You

502
00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:21,920
mustn't please open the coffin. He wouldn't listen, so I

503
00:25:21,960 --> 00:25:25,640
determined to get the coffin open, when suddenly there was

504
00:25:25,680 --> 00:25:26,880
a flash of light and.

505
00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:27,920
Speaker 3: A loud explosion.

506
00:25:36,319 --> 00:25:39,720
Speaker 2: Bill, I can't see anyone in there, Mister Rogers must

507
00:25:39,720 --> 00:25:40,200
have gone home.

508
00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:42,400
Speaker 5: You can't see the whole cemetery from outside. Will have

509
00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:43,799
to go in the gates locked.

510
00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:44,839
Speaker 3: I have a key.

511
00:25:45,680 --> 00:25:47,559
Speaker 2: Oh look, do we really have to go on? It's

512
00:25:47,640 --> 00:25:48,559
practically daylight.

513
00:25:48,599 --> 00:25:50,279
Speaker 3: There's nothing to be afraid of. And I hear you,

514
00:25:50,319 --> 00:25:52,519
but I'm still shivering. It's the cold.

515
00:25:52,839 --> 00:25:58,079
Speaker 5: Come on, you seem to know where you're going. I

516
00:25:58,079 --> 00:26:00,640
shouldn't have left him. Anyheim has been falling in. I'll

517
00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:01,480
never forgive myself.

518
00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:02,680
Speaker 2: Well, he shouldn't have been here at all.

519
00:26:03,319 --> 00:26:05,200
Speaker 5: Last I saw of mister Rogers, he was heading for

520
00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:08,400
the Addison tomb. I have a feeling that if we

521
00:26:08,480 --> 00:26:10,039
find him at all, that's where he'll be.

522
00:26:11,200 --> 00:26:15,319
Speaker 3: There's the tobe. Now the door's open, should it be

523
00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:17,359
we'll find out? Wait?

524
00:26:18,559 --> 00:26:22,160
Speaker 2: Wait, suppose suppose there's something in that tombe that waited

525
00:26:22,160 --> 00:26:23,960
for mister Rogers, and now it's waiting for us.

526
00:26:24,119 --> 00:26:25,680
Speaker 5: If you don't want to come in, you can wait here.

527
00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:27,759
But I'm going into that tombe. All right, all right,

528
00:26:27,799 --> 00:26:28,519
I'll come with you.

529
00:26:32,319 --> 00:26:36,799
Speaker 6: Good Lord. There he is lying across that caffinin and so.

530
00:26:36,920 --> 00:26:39,799
Speaker 3: Still is he?

531
00:26:39,839 --> 00:26:40,359
Speaker 2: Is he dead?

532
00:26:40,759 --> 00:26:45,279
Speaker 3: I don't know, but there's only one way to find out.

533
00:26:50,079 --> 00:26:53,400
Speaker 2: I can offer no explanation, but I can tell you

534
00:26:53,440 --> 00:26:55,880
that the words of a letter written more than one

535
00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:59,200
hundred years ago had cast a spell over all of us,

536
00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:03,319
spell that had transported us back to a small nineteenth

537
00:27:03,319 --> 00:27:06,720
century graveyard. I'll be back in a moment with this

538
00:27:06,839 --> 00:27:22,920
strange end to this strange tale. Like many time worn sayings,

539
00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:27,400
the old adage curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought

540
00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:32,160
it back, still contains more than a few grains of truth. Certainly,

541
00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:34,440
all of us sitting in the William Spindles living room

542
00:27:34,519 --> 00:27:37,440
that night were anxiously waiting for him to resume reading

543
00:27:37,440 --> 00:27:40,880
the letter from his great great grandfather, but he further

544
00:27:40,960 --> 00:27:45,319
whetted our curiosity by prefacing his reading with this explanation.

545
00:27:46,039 --> 00:27:46,599
Speaker 3: I think it's.

546
00:27:46,480 --> 00:27:48,640
Speaker 5: Important to tell you that this next portion of the

547
00:27:48,720 --> 00:27:52,319
letter is an eyewitness account, not what was told to

548
00:27:52,359 --> 00:27:57,680
my ancestor, but what he experienced himself. So if you're already,

549
00:27:57,720 --> 00:28:04,200
I'll continue. After mister Rogers told me what had happened

550
00:28:04,200 --> 00:28:06,960
to him that night in the cemetery, I was still

551
00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:10,440
undecided about leaving the undertaking business, although my dear Lucy

552
00:28:10,920 --> 00:28:13,599
was at me every day to give my notice.

553
00:28:14,079 --> 00:28:15,319
Speaker 3: And then one.

554
00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:19,000
Speaker 4: Morning mister Rogers called me to his office. Sit down, Bill,

555
00:28:20,079 --> 00:28:21,359
I think we should have a talk.

556
00:28:21,960 --> 00:28:23,119
Speaker 3: Yes, mister Rogers.

557
00:28:23,680 --> 00:28:26,039
Speaker 4: My wife tells me that Lucy hasn't been to see her.

558
00:28:26,839 --> 00:28:29,559
Have you spoken again to Lucy about discussing your future

559
00:28:29,599 --> 00:28:30,240
here with Emily.

560
00:28:30,599 --> 00:28:31,880
Speaker 3: No, sir, you still.

561
00:28:31,559 --> 00:28:34,160
Speaker 4: Believe that our strange customer was a ghost.

562
00:28:34,400 --> 00:28:39,839
Speaker 5: Let's say I'm still undecideds.

563
00:28:37,759 --> 00:28:40,559
Speaker 3: That probably someone who wants to see me come in?

564
00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:44,559
Should I get the door? Oh, father, I'll go.

565
00:28:44,559 --> 00:28:48,480
Speaker 2: Good morning, gentlemen, it's you, It is indeed, I, and

566
00:28:48,559 --> 00:28:51,839
I'm not sure how long I'll be permitted to stay long.

567
00:28:51,720 --> 00:28:53,920
Speaker 4: Enough I hope to give me an explanation of your

568
00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:54,920
actions the other night.

569
00:28:55,200 --> 00:28:56,759
Speaker 2: That is why I'm here.

570
00:28:56,920 --> 00:28:59,920
Speaker 3: Good Perhaps you'll start by telling you come.

571
00:28:59,880 --> 00:29:03,400
Speaker 2: Here, sir, at great personal risk. I ask you to

572
00:29:03,440 --> 00:29:06,240
believe me. I beg you to listen and keep an

573
00:29:06,279 --> 00:29:06,960
open mind.

574
00:29:07,759 --> 00:29:09,000
Speaker 3: I believe I'm a fair man.

575
00:29:10,240 --> 00:29:12,079
Speaker 2: Since you're a native of this town, you must know

576
00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:13,240
of the Addison family.

577
00:29:13,359 --> 00:29:16,680
Speaker 4: Of course, Old Thaddeus Addison owned the leather and dye plan.

578
00:29:16,799 --> 00:29:19,799
Speaker 2: He did, And do you remember a young man named

579
00:29:19,839 --> 00:29:21,960
Tom Addison, one of Thaddeus's three sons.

580
00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:25,240
Speaker 4: I never knew the young rascal. Everyone heard about him.

581
00:29:25,240 --> 00:29:27,720
Of course, he was a ne'er do well who finally

582
00:29:27,839 --> 00:29:28,359
ran away.

583
00:29:28,559 --> 00:29:30,519
Speaker 2: That's what my father wanted everyone to believe.

584
00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:34,759
Speaker 4: Hold on, are you trying to tell me you're Tom Addison.

585
00:29:35,039 --> 00:29:37,400
Speaker 2: My father wanted me to go into the factory. I

586
00:29:37,440 --> 00:29:41,359
couldn't abide the thought. In all modesty, I had a

587
00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:45,839
great talent for music, particularly the base, a talent which

588
00:29:45,880 --> 00:29:49,559
my father felt was foolishness. All of our quarrels came

589
00:29:49,599 --> 00:29:52,839
because I wanted to practice my music, and my father

590
00:29:52,880 --> 00:29:54,799
thought it was a waste of time and money.

591
00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:57,480
Speaker 3: Then you are young Addison.

592
00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:01,920
Speaker 2: I am, and I not not in the sense that

593
00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:02,440
you mean.

594
00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:05,599
Speaker 3: I suppose you can explain that the.

595
00:30:05,599 --> 00:30:10,240
Speaker 2: Situation between my father and me became unbearable. He finally

596
00:30:10,279 --> 00:30:13,160
gave me an ultimatum. Either I'd go into the business

597
00:30:13,400 --> 00:30:16,240
abandon my music, or he'd turn me out of the house.

598
00:30:17,079 --> 00:30:20,039
I really had no choice. I left, and what brought

599
00:30:20,079 --> 00:30:23,839
you back the very same thing that took me away music.

600
00:30:25,079 --> 00:30:28,119
When my father disowned me, I wandered around the country

601
00:30:28,160 --> 00:30:31,200
trying to earn my living as a musician. Wasn't easy.

602
00:30:32,279 --> 00:30:36,240
One day I found someone who valued my musicianship. I

603
00:30:36,319 --> 00:30:37,440
made a bargain with him.

604
00:30:38,240 --> 00:30:39,480
Speaker 3: Who was he?

605
00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:42,960
Speaker 2: He goes by many names. Take your choice. Satan, the

606
00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:46,559
devil beells a Bob, or the Prince of darkness, Rubbish

607
00:30:46,920 --> 00:30:49,000
you believe in the Lord, why do you find it

608
00:30:49,039 --> 00:30:50,680
so difficult to believe in the devil.

609
00:30:50,680 --> 00:30:53,640
Speaker 4: I'm a god fearing man. The devil has no power

610
00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:54,160
over me.

611
00:30:54,400 --> 00:30:57,720
Speaker 2: Not unless you invade his realm as you did the

612
00:30:57,720 --> 00:30:58,119
other night.

613
00:30:58,240 --> 00:31:00,960
Speaker 4: All I did the other night was my duty as

614
00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:02,599
an undertaker and as a man.

615
00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:05,200
Speaker 2: How can I make you see the horrors that lie

616
00:31:05,200 --> 00:31:07,519
ahead of you? If you will not listen? What will

617
00:31:07,640 --> 00:31:10,799
change your foolish obstinacy so that you can save yourself?

618
00:31:11,440 --> 00:31:14,119
Are you so insensible that if I tell you what

619
00:31:14,200 --> 00:31:17,759
I have suffered and am suffering, you'll still close your

620
00:31:17,759 --> 00:31:18,640
mind to what I say.

621
00:31:20,119 --> 00:31:21,599
Speaker 3: I promised to listen, and I will.

622
00:31:23,039 --> 00:31:26,160
Speaker 2: Ten years ago, I was in Chicago, living in a

623
00:31:26,319 --> 00:31:30,799
cold and miserable garret, hungry, alone, and with no hope

624
00:31:30,799 --> 00:31:34,119
of employment. In order to get something to eat, I

625
00:31:34,200 --> 00:31:38,720
knew I'd have to pawn my fiddle. Just before venturing out,

626
00:31:38,720 --> 00:31:42,400
I wanted to play it one last time. When suddenly

627
00:31:43,240 --> 00:31:47,279
I thought I'd lost my mind, because not only was

628
00:31:47,319 --> 00:31:51,880
I hearing my own instrument, but it was joined joined

629
00:31:51,880 --> 00:31:57,240
by a full symphony. And he was there, Satan, and

630
00:31:57,319 --> 00:32:00,920
he offered me the fulfillment of a dream I would

631
00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:03,759
never have to worry about money again, and I could

632
00:32:03,759 --> 00:32:08,559
concentrate on my music. It dazzled me the prospect of

633
00:32:08,599 --> 00:32:10,160
a life I had always hoped for.

634
00:32:10,759 --> 00:32:13,359
Speaker 4: And what did he ask in return your soul?

635
00:32:13,960 --> 00:32:19,799
Speaker 2: Nothing so dramatic, what seemed a simple, harmless request. All

636
00:32:19,839 --> 00:32:23,279
he asked is that I play for him whenever and

637
00:32:23,440 --> 00:32:27,599
wherever he should ask. I hesitated, but only for a moment.

638
00:32:28,680 --> 00:32:31,079
How I wish I had thought longer on it, but

639
00:32:31,160 --> 00:32:37,880
I didn't. I agreed. Now I'm his forever, a member

640
00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:40,039
of his Orchestra of the Damned.

641
00:32:46,720 --> 00:32:49,960
Speaker 5: And the letter closes as follows. That was the day

642
00:32:50,039 --> 00:32:53,960
I left the undertaking establishment of Edward Rogers. I have

643
00:32:54,079 --> 00:32:56,559
no way of knowing whether mister Rogers believed the story

644
00:32:56,640 --> 00:32:59,400
told by the man who claimed to be Tom Madison.

645
00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:03,559
I never saw nor heard from the stranger again, nor

646
00:33:03,599 --> 00:33:08,599
do I know whether mister Rogers did. Signed William Spindles.

647
00:33:09,200 --> 00:33:11,240
Speaker 3: Now, what do you make of that? I'll take the

648
00:33:11,319 --> 00:33:13,519
ladies first, Cora as my wife? What do you think?

649
00:33:14,119 --> 00:33:15,480
Speaker 6: That's one thing I know, Darling.

650
00:33:15,960 --> 00:33:18,319
Speaker 7: I'm glad you're not an undertaker, because if you were,

651
00:33:18,720 --> 00:33:19,759
I wouldn't be your wife.

652
00:33:19,839 --> 00:33:22,000
Speaker 3: Ah, you feel the same way as my ancestors. Girl,

653
00:33:22,240 --> 00:33:25,480
Lucy emphatically, Jerry, you're the scientist here.

654
00:33:25,640 --> 00:33:27,839
Speaker 2: Our history isn't a science, thank heaven. But I do

655
00:33:27,920 --> 00:33:31,319
have some questions. First, how did the coffin come into

656
00:33:31,359 --> 00:33:32,039
your possession?

657
00:33:32,160 --> 00:33:32,880
Speaker 3: Well, that's simple.

658
00:33:33,440 --> 00:33:35,400
Speaker 5: When mister Rogers died at the ripe old age of

659
00:33:35,400 --> 00:33:37,759
eighty nine, he left a sizable bequest in his will

660
00:33:37,799 --> 00:33:40,400
to my great grandfather, with the proviso that we keep

661
00:33:40,440 --> 00:33:41,480
the coffin as a momento.

662
00:33:41,680 --> 00:33:42,400
Speaker 6: Why would he do.

663
00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:45,839
Speaker 2: That now that Cora is an excellent question. If he

664
00:33:45,960 --> 00:33:48,799
insisted that the coffin remain in your family as part

665
00:33:48,799 --> 00:33:51,160
of his bequest, I think he must have had a reason.

666
00:33:51,240 --> 00:33:52,880
Speaker 3: In other words, you don't believe that the stranger was

667
00:33:52,920 --> 00:33:53,200
a ghost.

668
00:33:53,359 --> 00:33:56,920
Speaker 2: Let's say, I'm dead set against the idea of ghosts

669
00:33:56,920 --> 00:33:59,720
playing symphonic music in a graveyard at night.

670
00:34:00,160 --> 00:34:02,079
Speaker 7: I believe he was the ghost of Tom Addison.

671
00:34:02,160 --> 00:34:04,680
Speaker 2: Well, how do you explain Rogers leaving the coffin to

672
00:34:04,720 --> 00:34:05,640
the Spindle's family.

673
00:34:05,759 --> 00:34:09,280
Speaker 7: Simple, Rogers was probably hurt by Bill's refusal to stay

674
00:34:09,320 --> 00:34:12,719
in the business, and he wanted the coffin to remind him.

675
00:34:12,719 --> 00:34:14,000
Speaker 3: Sorry, Darling, that won't work.

676
00:34:14,519 --> 00:34:17,559
Speaker 5: If he was hurt why also leave my ancestor a bundle,

677
00:34:17,599 --> 00:34:19,119
and believe me, it was considerable some.

678
00:34:19,400 --> 00:34:20,559
Speaker 6: But then why did he bill?

679
00:34:21,800 --> 00:34:23,880
Speaker 3: I'm stomped. It's too much for me.

680
00:34:24,079 --> 00:34:26,920
Speaker 2: I still don't believe in ghosts, and I think I

681
00:34:26,960 --> 00:34:29,320
can prove to you that this man who ordered the

682
00:34:29,360 --> 00:34:31,880
coffin was flesh and blood. How well, I'm going to

683
00:34:31,920 --> 00:34:34,760
have to do a little research. When did you say

684
00:34:34,800 --> 00:34:37,000
all these things happened the date?

685
00:34:37,079 --> 00:34:38,960
Speaker 3: I mean, December eighteen fifty one.

686
00:34:38,960 --> 00:34:42,559
Speaker 2: Why, well, give me two days and I'll let you know.

687
00:34:48,320 --> 00:34:51,960
All right, I have solved the mystery of our peculiarly

688
00:34:52,039 --> 00:34:56,159
shaped coffin. Good how I kept asking myself, why did

689
00:34:56,199 --> 00:34:59,280
this man go to all the trouble of ordering a coffin, which,

690
00:34:59,360 --> 00:35:02,639
to say the least was strange, and also behave as

691
00:35:02,679 --> 00:35:06,199
if he wanted everyone to believe he was a ghost.

692
00:35:06,320 --> 00:35:09,360
Speaker 7: But if you forgotten, mister Rogers, believed that he was crazy,

693
00:35:09,800 --> 00:35:11,840
I mean, wouldn't that account for all his behaviors?

694
00:35:11,920 --> 00:35:13,960
Speaker 2: That would But I preferred to think of this fellow

695
00:35:13,960 --> 00:35:16,599
as a con man, you see, a really great con

696
00:35:16,719 --> 00:35:20,199
man who successfully conned your grandfather but had more difficulty

697
00:35:20,199 --> 00:35:24,079
with the undertaker. Why precisely, why Now that's where this

698
00:35:24,239 --> 00:35:27,039
newspaper article comes in. Yeah, I made a copy of

699
00:35:27,119 --> 00:35:30,039
the library. Let me read it to you. The headline

700
00:35:30,639 --> 00:35:33,079
Wells Fargo payroll stolen.

701
00:35:33,480 --> 00:35:33,920
Speaker 3: Ah.

702
00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:37,599
Speaker 2: Then it goes on yesterday, the largest robbery in the

703
00:35:37,639 --> 00:35:41,440
history of the Wells Fargo Company was successfully perpetrated by

704
00:35:41,480 --> 00:35:46,000
three masked men who boarded the westbound Lackawater Limited, entered

705
00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:48,719
the baggage car, and made off with more than forty

706
00:35:48,800 --> 00:35:51,920
thousand dollars in ten, twenty and fifty dollars bills. So

707
00:35:52,920 --> 00:35:54,840
it goes into more detail. But there you have it.

708
00:35:54,920 --> 00:35:55,840
Speaker 6: There you have it.

709
00:35:55,920 --> 00:35:59,599
Speaker 2: You've lost me, don't you See? The robbers needed a

710
00:35:59,679 --> 00:36:02,280
safe place to hide the money, and you.

711
00:36:02,360 --> 00:36:05,119
Speaker 3: Think that they decided to use a coffin as a

712
00:36:05,159 --> 00:36:05,800
hiding place.

713
00:36:05,920 --> 00:36:11,159
Speaker 2: Remember our man insisted on a strong lock on the inside.

714
00:36:11,239 --> 00:36:13,239
That's true, but that would be one way of making

715
00:36:13,280 --> 00:36:16,480
sure that no one opened this peculiar coffin by mistake

716
00:36:16,519 --> 00:36:18,840
and found a wad of tens, twenties and fifties that

717
00:36:18,880 --> 00:36:21,440
had been stolen from Wells Fargo.

718
00:36:21,800 --> 00:36:24,800
Speaker 7: But according to the letter, mister Rogers found the coffin

719
00:36:24,840 --> 00:36:27,599
in the cemetery and it was open and there was

720
00:36:27,599 --> 00:36:28,239
nothing in there.

721
00:36:28,320 --> 00:36:31,519
Speaker 2: That's right, that's right. Rogers followed the stranger right from

722
00:36:31,519 --> 00:36:34,360
the funeral parlor to the cemetery. He wouldn't have had

723
00:36:34,400 --> 00:36:36,000
time to stash the loot in there.

724
00:36:36,320 --> 00:36:38,599
Speaker 3: I think it's interesting, but rather far fetched, is it.

725
00:36:38,639 --> 00:36:41,880
Speaker 2: Look how everything fits, all that uproar in the cemetery,

726
00:36:42,199 --> 00:36:45,239
all the warnings to Rogers telling him to keep away.

727
00:36:45,559 --> 00:36:48,360
Speaker 5: Why, I'm sorry, you're so convinced your theory is right.

728
00:36:48,360 --> 00:36:49,360
Speaker 3: You're not thinking straight.

729
00:36:49,840 --> 00:36:52,199
Speaker 5: Once your man knows Rogers was going to interfere, he'd

730
00:36:52,280 --> 00:36:54,000
never have taken the chance of hiding anything there.

731
00:36:54,119 --> 00:36:55,719
Speaker 2: Well, he may have had no choice. What do you

732
00:36:55,800 --> 00:36:59,400
mean the money may have already been there. Look, have

733
00:36:59,480 --> 00:37:02,320
you forgot that? Your grandfather's letter said that the workmen

734
00:37:02,440 --> 00:37:04,320
believed the coffin had been tampered with.

735
00:37:04,480 --> 00:37:06,639
Speaker 6: Oh, Jerry, you're riding a hobby horse.

736
00:37:07,039 --> 00:37:08,639
Speaker 7: You have a theory and you're just going to see

737
00:37:08,639 --> 00:37:10,800
that everything fits, and you're not going to look at

738
00:37:10,800 --> 00:37:11,679
anything that does.

739
00:37:11,840 --> 00:37:13,599
Speaker 2: Now wait a minute, what have I left out?

740
00:37:13,679 --> 00:37:14,559
Speaker 6: Well, lots of things.

741
00:37:14,840 --> 00:37:18,280
Speaker 7: Now, one, How in the world did our stranger lift

742
00:37:18,360 --> 00:37:20,719
this coffin and carry it off under his arm?

743
00:37:21,360 --> 00:37:22,199
Speaker 2: Perhaps he didn't.

744
00:37:23,400 --> 00:37:25,840
Speaker 7: I mean you think Bill's grandfather made that part up.

745
00:37:25,880 --> 00:37:30,719
Speaker 2: Well, let's leave that anything else lots.

746
00:37:31,480 --> 00:37:34,159
Speaker 7: What about everything that happened to mister Rogers in the cemetery,

747
00:37:34,800 --> 00:37:36,960
the music, the open coffin.

748
00:37:37,679 --> 00:37:38,960
Speaker 6: What's your explanation for that?

749
00:37:39,199 --> 00:37:41,599
Speaker 2: Well, we know that Rogers fell down and hit his head.

750
00:37:41,639 --> 00:37:42,920
Speaker 3: Oh, come off it, Jerry.

751
00:37:42,960 --> 00:37:44,480
Speaker 5: You're not going to try and tell us that he

752
00:37:44,559 --> 00:37:46,719
imagined those things as a result of hitting his head.

753
00:37:46,840 --> 00:37:49,079
Speaker 2: Well it's possible, maybe we.

754
00:37:49,119 --> 00:37:49,800
Speaker 6: Don't believe it.

755
00:37:50,360 --> 00:37:53,960
Speaker 7: The other explanation, which you refuse even to think about, Jerry, is.

756
00:37:53,880 --> 00:37:55,159
Speaker 6: That he was a ghost and.

757
00:37:55,159 --> 00:37:57,880
Speaker 7: That mister Rogers reported everything faithfully.

758
00:37:59,079 --> 00:38:00,000
Speaker 6: That's the one I belie.

759
00:38:00,320 --> 00:38:03,480
Speaker 2: Even if I prove to you that this strange looking

760
00:38:03,480 --> 00:38:05,800
coffin has plenty of room for some kind of secret

761
00:38:05,840 --> 00:38:07,760
compartment and there may be money in it, why.

762
00:38:07,679 --> 00:38:09,960
Speaker 3: Don't we stop talking and see if you can prove

763
00:38:09,960 --> 00:38:10,480
what you think?

764
00:38:10,559 --> 00:38:13,880
Speaker 2: All right, good idea. Come on, how do we.

765
00:38:13,840 --> 00:38:15,400
Speaker 3: Go about finding a secret compartment?

766
00:38:15,440 --> 00:38:18,199
Speaker 2: Well, we'll try tapping and listen for a hollow sound.

767
00:38:18,599 --> 00:38:20,559
Speaker 3: Okay, who wants to do the tapping?

768
00:38:20,639 --> 00:38:20,679
Speaker 6: Me?

769
00:38:20,840 --> 00:38:22,639
Speaker 2: Let me go right ahead.

770
00:38:24,280 --> 00:38:25,960
Speaker 6: Ah, it all sounds the same.

771
00:38:26,079 --> 00:38:29,079
Speaker 5: You're too impatient. If there's a secret compartment. He'd make

772
00:38:29,119 --> 00:38:30,480
it hard to find, right.

773
00:38:33,280 --> 00:38:37,280
Speaker 6: Ah, Dear, it's a great theory. Dear, I'm afraid it's

774
00:38:37,360 --> 00:38:37,920
just a theory.

775
00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:43,159
Speaker 2: Why don't you try down at the bottom where it's widest. Okay,

776
00:38:44,039 --> 00:38:45,519
there right there?

777
00:38:45,719 --> 00:38:47,119
Speaker 3: Does that sound different? I think?

778
00:38:47,159 --> 00:38:50,280
Speaker 2: So go back there again, Cora, that's it.

779
00:38:51,239 --> 00:38:55,480
Speaker 3: Let's turn it upside down here. You have to let

780
00:38:55,559 --> 00:39:00,880
us do that. Kora, that's got it down. Huh Now

781
00:39:00,920 --> 00:39:01,480
what well?

782
00:39:01,559 --> 00:39:03,800
Speaker 2: I think we should have opened the lid first.

783
00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:05,400
Speaker 3: Okay, let's open it.

784
00:39:07,119 --> 00:39:07,719
Speaker 1: Right now.

785
00:39:08,360 --> 00:39:10,119
Speaker 6: Put your hand down in their bill.

786
00:39:11,039 --> 00:39:15,760
Speaker 2: Feel around carefully, I mean around the joint in the wood. Yes,

787
00:39:16,760 --> 00:39:17,760
do you feel anything?

788
00:39:19,480 --> 00:39:23,000
Speaker 3: Nothing? I kick you got it.

789
00:39:23,559 --> 00:39:26,880
Speaker 6: Jerry was right, it's a compartment. Well is there anything

790
00:39:26,920 --> 00:39:30,360
in there? This money a twenty dollar bill?

791
00:39:30,360 --> 00:39:33,920
Speaker 3: There must be more, know that, just the one bill?

792
00:39:34,679 --> 00:39:37,199
But wait, wait, here's a note.

793
00:39:38,440 --> 00:39:39,199
Speaker 2: What does it say?

794
00:39:39,559 --> 00:39:43,599
Speaker 5: Wait a second, it's hard to read. Dear, Bill or

795
00:39:43,679 --> 00:39:49,800
descendants of William Spindle's You, having found this secret hiding place,

796
00:39:50,079 --> 00:39:52,719
should know by now that I was right when I

797
00:39:52,800 --> 00:39:55,679
insisted that there were no such things as ghosts.

798
00:39:56,719 --> 00:39:57,960
Speaker 3: I was also right when.

799
00:39:57,800 --> 00:40:00,480
Speaker 5: I told you Bill that there was a fortune to

800
00:40:00,519 --> 00:40:04,599
be made in the undertaking business, as is proven by

801
00:40:04,639 --> 00:40:13,480
my bequest, God bless you and your family, Signed Edward Rogers.

802
00:40:17,639 --> 00:40:20,159
Speaker 2: What do you do when you discover that the fortune

803
00:40:20,199 --> 00:40:24,440
you expected turns out to be a single twenty dollars bill. Well,

804
00:40:24,840 --> 00:40:28,360
if you're William Spindles, you advanced the idea that Edward

805
00:40:28,440 --> 00:40:31,719
Rogers had indeed found the Wells Fargo loot in the

806
00:40:31,760 --> 00:40:34,599
coffin and taken all of it except the one bill.

807
00:40:36,199 --> 00:40:41,239
Is there another explanation? I think so, and I'll be

808
00:40:41,280 --> 00:40:52,760
back with it in just a moment. For what it

809
00:40:52,800 --> 00:40:56,920
is worth, I present you with this thought, there never

810
00:40:57,239 --> 00:40:59,880
was any Wells Fargo money in the coffin. To begin with,

811
00:41:00,800 --> 00:41:03,960
Edward Rogers had obviously been a man of strong beliefs,

812
00:41:04,519 --> 00:41:07,320
and he took this way of proving to Bill Spindles

813
00:41:07,440 --> 00:41:10,639
or his children that there are no such things as

814
00:41:10,719 --> 00:41:14,719
ghosts and that there was money to be made in

815
00:41:14,800 --> 00:41:20,280
the undertaking business. Did the Spindles accept my explanation? I

816
00:41:20,320 --> 00:41:25,639
really don't know, how about you. Our cast included ker Delay,

817
00:41:25,719 --> 00:41:29,880
Marion Seldas, William Redfield, Peter Collins and Nat Poland. The

818
00:41:30,039 --> 00:41:34,119
entire production was under the direction of Hyman Brown WCC.

819
00:41:34,239 --> 00:41:36,480
Originally in Las Vegas for three days and three lens