5 Escape by Death

The sealed book.
Once again the keeper of the book is ready to open the ponderous volume in which is recorded
all the secrets and mysteries of mankind through the ages.
All the strange and mystifying stories of the past, the present and the future.
Keeper of the book, what tale will you tell us this time?
What tale shall I tell you?
I have tales here of every kind.
Tales of murder, tales of madness, of dark deeds and events strange beyond all belief.
Let me see.
Yes, here's a tale for you.
The strange and terrible story of two old ladies and how they tried to escape from their
doom.

I call the story Escape by Death.
My story begins in a big shabby old house in the country, fully a mile from any other
habitation.
In a large ground floor room, which is both their bedroom and sitting room, Martha and
Louise Abbott listen to the wind howl outside.
Louise is an invalid confined to a wheelchair.
Martha, though able to walk, can only howl a few steps at a time so that to them the
lonely house is almost like a prison.
Listen to that wind Louise.
Oh, I do hate living out in the country like this.
We're so isolated from everybody.
Oh, yes, Martha, it was so much nicer when we lived in our own house in the village.
Even if Roger and Hester are our nephew and niece, we should never have let them persuade
us to move out here with them.
What is it, Toby?
Queenie?
Our mother's darling's hungry.
Even Toby and Queenie don't like living here.
Yes, they do seem unhappy.
Queenie hasn't been eating well.
Louise, it's very foolish for us to stay here with Roger and Hester.
I think I hear Hester coming now.
We'll tell her right away that we want to go back to our old home.
Here I am at last, Aunt Louise, Aunt Martha.
I brought you tea and some cake I just made this afternoon.
Thank you, dear.
I have the Daily Sentinel for you.
George Gibson just delivered it.
I haven't even opened it yet.
Thank you.
Roger, Louise and I have been talking things over.
It was very kind of you to invite us to live here with you, but we were much happier living
in the village.
We want to go back.
But Aunt Martha, it's much better for you here.
Really it is.
Of course.
You're just homesick, both of you.
You get over it.
Pretty soon you'll love the country as much as we do.
Now, we don't want to hear another word about your leaving us.
We couldn't be happy thinking of you alone and helpless in the village.
Come along, Roger.
Let them drink their tea.
All right, Heston.
See you both later.
Oh, I do wish they'd let us go back.
There's no reason why we shouldn't.
Do you remember the teas we used to give?
Mary Thompson came over every afternoon.
It was so nice.
There's no reason we can't move back and get those teas again.
We won't be alone or helpless either.
With all the money Father left us, we can afford a dozen servants.
Louise, we are going back.
I've made up my mind.
Oh, Martha, I'm so glad.
Listen to Toby and Queenie.
They're glad we're going back too, aren't you, you fat old darlings?
Oh, they understand you, Martha.
They know we're not going to stay here much longer.
Of course they do.
Well, now that's settled, let's see what's in the sentinel.
Let's see now.
Oh, Martha, let's look at the obituary notices first.
Just what I was turning to, Louise.
Ah, here we are.
Did anyone we know die?
Now let me see.
Ah, yes, yes.
You remember Amos Wilson, don't you?
Yes.
He died two days ago.
Poor Amos.
He was about your age, wasn't he, Martha?
Certainly not. He was a good deal older.
Oh, Martha, look at this.
Why, it says that Mary Thompson is entering the county home for the infirm.
The poor house?
Oh, no, no, it can't be.
You can read it for yourself.
Oh, that dreadful place.
I'd rather be dead than in that home.
Poor Mary.
Martha, after we move back to the village, can't we have Mary come to live with us?
Yes, of course.
Why, going to the poor house would be the death of her.
No, no, it can't be.
What can't be?
Read what it says there in the real estate column.
The old Abbott mansion, owned by the Mrs. Martha and Louise Abbott,
has been put up for sale by their nephew, Roger Clark.
What?
Well, it must be a mistake.
We never told Rogers to sell our house.
Roger!
Roger!
Now, Martha, we mustn't get excited.
Why should he want to sell our house? I won't permit it.
Are you calling me, Aunt Martha?
Yes, Roger.
What's this in the sentinel about our house being up for sale?
Oh, is it in the sentinel?
Oh, I'm so sorry.
It is a mistake, isn't it, Roger?
Well, no, Aunt Louise.
Since the house isn't being used, I thought it would be a good idea to sell it.
But you had no right to put the house up for sale without telling me.
Now, don't get yourself excited, Aunt Martha.
If you don't want the house sold, I'll remove it from the market.
You must, Roger.
We couldn't live if the house was sold.
All right, all right. Now, I'll take care of everything.
Don't you worry. Everything's going to be all right.
I don't like it, Louise. I don't like it at all.
Why should he try to sell it without telling us?
He does seem strange.
Louise, we must get in touch with Judge Morris at once.
He's the administrator of Father's estate.
He'll take care of everything for us the way we want it.
I didn't like the look in Roger's eyes just now.
I've always been suspicious of Roger, and if you want my opinion,
he and Hester are up to something.
Is Mother's beautiful Queenie hungry?
Well, here's a nice piece of meat from the lovely supper Hester just brought us.
Oh, Queenie is hungry, Martha.
She's got her appetite back since she learned we intend going back to the village.
Yes, she has, but where's Toby? I don't see him around anyplace.
Probably in the kitchen.
Martha, when are you going to speak to Roger and Hester again about our leaving?
I'm waiting until we can get in touch with Judge Morris.
He'll come get us whether Roger wants us to go or not.
There's been something very strange about Roger's manner
ever since we told him yesterday we didn't want to stay.
Martha, look. Queenie's ill.
That meat you gave her, it's made her sick.
Queenie, what's the matter with Mother's darling?
Martha, there's something terribly wrong with her.
Queenie, what is it? Oh, Louise, what can we do?
Give her some water. Maybe that'll help.
Martha, she's fallen down.
Is she... is she...
She's dead, Louise. Queenie is dead.
Oh, no. No, she can't be.
She is, though she was perfectly all right until I gave her that meat.
She was so hungry, she just boated it down.
Martha, she must have choked on it. She's choked to death.
Did she? I'm not so sure.
Martha, what do you mean? What else could it have been?
She acted more as if she were poisoned.
Poisoned? Yes, I'm sure of it.
The meat was poisoned. That's why Queenie died.
But how's that possible?
It was poisoned because that meat was meant for us.
Martha, you... you don't mean that Roger and Hester...
Yes, Louise. Oh, I see it now.
That's why they brought us out here, why they won't let us leave.
They're planning to kill us. They're after our money.
Oh, Martha, what are we going to do?
We've got to get in touch with Judge Morris right away. He'll save us.
But, Martha, how can we?
The telephone, it's upstairs in Hester's room.
And neither of us can climb stairs.
I know that. We've got to figure another way to reach him.
Louise, our lives depend upon it.
RUMBLE
All that night, the two old ladies, terror in their hearts,
tossed and turned in an effort to think of a way of escape
from the horrible trap in which they found themselves.
In the morning, they thought they had discovered how to do it.
When George Gibson, the rural mail carrier, came by,
Louise called him and gave him a frantic message to Judge Morris,
which he promised to deliver.
However, a few minutes later, encountering Roger, their nephew,
George Gibson told him what had happened,
and Roger managed to persuade him not to deliver the message.
Then Roger hurried home to consult with Hester.
Roger, you say that while Martha was out here in the kitchen with me,
Louise was giving George Gibson a message for Judge Morris?
Yes. And she seems so excited that George stopped me on the road
to tell me about it.
Hester, I'm afraid they suspect.
Oh, no, no, they mustn't. We mustn't let them.
I should say not. After all the trouble we've gone to,
we would ruin everything.
We've got to quiet their suspicion somehow.
We've got to make them like it here,
so they'd be perfectly content to stay with us until they die.
Well, let's go.
Let's go.
And now to return to the story of escape by death as it is written in the sealed book.
For 24 hours Martha and Louise have waited in trembling impatience for George Gibson to bring word that Judge Morris has received their frantic appeal for help.
Oh Martha, where can George be? He's more than an hour late.
He's probably just been delayed. Maybe the car broke down. He'll be here soon.
Yes, here he comes now. He's turning up the drive. Oh Martha, I was so worried.
I told you he wouldn't fail us. But there's Roger taking the mail from him. Suppose Roger doesn't let him see us. He might...
Louise. What is it Martha? What's wrong? That isn't George Gibson delivering the mail.
Not George Gibson. No, that's a much younger man. Now he's leaving. Roger's coming back in the house.
Martha, where do you suppose George is? I don't know. I don't understand.
Perhaps he's sick today. Here comes Roger. Hello Aunt Martha, Aunt Louise. Here's a magazine that came in the mail. I thought you might like to see it.
Thank you Roger. Why didn't George Gibson deliver the mail today? Oh, you saw that there was a new driver.
Well, I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but yesterday afternoon poor George was killed. Killed? Oh no.
He had a bad accident as he was returning to the village. An accident?
Yes. I'd rather not talk about it anymore now. It'll just upset you. Hess will bring you some supper soon.
Poor George. That means Judge Morris didn't get our message. Oh Martha.
Don't you see Louise? That wasn't any accident. George was killed to keep him from going to Judge Morris.
Martha, you can't mean that Roger and Hess... Yes Louise. They'll stop at nothing to get our money.
But what are we going to do? We can't get a message to anyone and they're poisoning our food. We haven't eaten a thing since poor Queenie died.
We can't go on throwing the food away or we'll starve. There's only one thing to do. Toby must sample our food.
You mean to see if it's poison? Yes. It's dreadful having to risk poor Toby's life, but it's the only thing we can do.
Here you are Toby. A nice piece of meat for Mother's darling.
Oh Martha, I get so frightened every time I see Toby eating something. I keep remembering Queenie and the dreadful way she died.
Now, now Louise, we mustn't think of that. Here Toby dear.
Martha, why are you feeding Toby? Well he gets plenty to eat in the kitchen. He'll die of overeating if you aren't careful.
I've always fed Toby from my own plate. He expects it. But Aunt Martha, if you feed that meat to the cat, that won't be enough for you.
No. And if you're to get well, you need all that food. Now I don't want you feeding Toby any more of it.
Here Toby. Come on boy. Come on, come on. Come on. Come on out to the kitchen. I'll have Martha and Louise eat their supper.
Here you are Aunt Martha. Aunt Louise, I've brought you your lunch. Doesn't it look good?
Yes, Esther. It's very nice. Here Toby. Here.
Esther, have you seen Toby? No Aunt Martha, I haven't.
But where could he be? Toby's always on time for meals. Oh, he's probably someplace around the house. Now eat your lunch before it gets cold.
Oh Martha, where can he be? Toby will be along in a few minutes. We won't touch a bit of this food until he's eaten some of it.
I do wish he were here. I'm so hungry. Louise, don't touch a thing on that tray. It isn't safe.
Here Toby. Here.
Good evening Aunt Martha and Aunt Louise. How are you? Good evening Roger.
I have supper here for you two. Why Aunt Martha, neither of you ate your lunch. What's wrong?
We, we weren't hungry, Esther. Have you found Toby yet? No, I've looked everywhere for him but he seems to have disappeared.
Oh no. Now, now, now, you mustn't worry. I'm sure he'll turn up all right.
Aunt Martha, you and Aunt Louise can't afford to miss meals in your state of health.
Certainly not. Now we want you to eat everything that Esther's brought you.
You'll make us very unhappy if you don't. Now please eat it while it's hot. Come along Roger. I'll get you your supper.
All right dear. Did you hear what she said about Toby, Louise? Yes, he's vanished.
Nonsense, they've killed him. You saw how angry they were last night when we fed Toby from our plates. They've killed him so he won't spoil their plans.
Oh Martha, what are we going to do? I'm so hungry that my head spins and I'm dizzy.
Oh no Louise, so am I. Oh I hate them, I hate them. We're leaving them our money and our wills. They'll get it soon enough. Why must they kill us?
Because they're nothing but common murderers. I distrusted Roger from the minute Esther first brought him to our house.
Yes, it's his fault. He's changed, Esther. She used to be such a sweet girl.
There was only some way to get word to the village or to bring somebody here to help us.
Louise, I have an idea. What is it Martha? There's one way to bring people here. What Martha?
If we were to set fire to the house, somebody would be sure to see the flames. Yes, of course. And then the fire company would come out.
Then we'd be able to tell them we'd be saved. Oh but Martha, Esther and Roger would put out the fire before it could get big enough to be seen.
Louise, I know a way we can prevent them from putting out the fire. You do? Yes, we can save ourselves Louise. We can save ourselves.
It'll be, it'll be, it'll be. Now Martha, why are you looking down the cellar stairs like that? Now you should be in your room.
You certainly should. It's drafty out here in the hall. Now close the cellar door and go back to your room. But I heard Toby crying.
He's down in the cellar and I won't go to my room until I get him. But Aunt Martha, he... Roger, just to put Aunt Martha's mind at ease, why don't you go down the cellar and see if Toby is there.
Oh, all right. But if you ask me, it's just a waste of time. Please help him look for Toby, Esther. You'll find him so much quicker if you both look for him. Please.
But Aunt Martha... Oh, very well. But you go back to your room so you don't catch cold. Roger, do you see him?
He doesn't seem to be any place here in the cellar. Now we'll see just how smart you are trying to poison us.
You won't stop us from escaping now. Let's get Louise. Louise, Louise, it worked. You mean you were able to lock them in the cellar?
Yes, and with the door locked, they can't get out.
They found out they're locked in. Now don't you worry about it, Louise. I'll take care of everything.
What are you doing with that kerosene lamp, Martha? I'm pouring the kerosene around the room so it will burn better.
There. Are you ready to leave, Louise? Yes, Martha, yes. Then I'll strike a match and start the fire.
Oh, quickly, it's starting to spread. Yes, we've got to leave. I'll push your wheelchair, Louise, as you try to help by rolling the fields.
Yes, Martha.
There we're coming along nicely.
Good morning. Come on. Just a little bit more.
Martha, I do hate to do this. Louise, you mustn't waste any pity on them. Even if they are our niece and nephew, they're nothing but common murderers.
Yes, I suppose you're right. Now I'll just open the front door and we'll be free.
Now, roll the wheels a bit more. Just a few feet more and we'll be safe.
Yes, I have said.
There. Now we're far enough away from the house to be perfectly safe.
Oh, my. The whole house is on fire. Do you think they can see it in the village by now, Martha?
I'm sure they do. Now, remember, Louise, when the fire company gets here, we don't know what happened to Roger and Hester. We just managed to get out ourselves.
Yes, Martha.
If we told them what we were forced to do to escape, we'd have to reveal that our own niece and nephew were poisonous murderers. We don't want to disgrace the family name, Louise.
Oh, no, Martha, of course not.
Look, Martha, look. The float is going.
And here comes the fire engine. Louise, we're saved. We're saved.
Good morning, Judge Morris.
Good morning, Miss Martha, Miss Louise. I trust you're well after that terrible ordeal last night.
Oh, we're feeling much better. Thank you, Judge Morris.
I know it'll be painful for you, but now that your niece and nephew are gone, we must plan for your future.
Oh, you don't have to bother, Judge. All we want to do is move back to our old house, hire a few servants and live as we used to.
Oh, yes.
And I was wondering if you could arrange to have Mary Thompson come live with us. I won't hear of her going to that dreadful home for the infirm. Why, the poor house would be the death of her.
Oh, no, we can't let her go there.
With all the money Father left us, there's no reason why she should.
Ladies, I'd hoped I'd never have to reveal the truth to you, but now it appears I must.
The truth? I don't understand, Judge.
Some weeks ago, the bonds in the trust fund your father left you became utterly worthless.
What?
Your nephew and niece were afraid the shock of learning you were penniless would be too much for you, so it was decided to keep the news from you.
That's why the three of us persuaded you to move in with them. Your house here in the village had to be sold to meet the debts of the estate.
But, but that can't be. Father left us so much.
It's all worthless now. Perhaps I should have told you this a month ago, but your niece and nephew wouldn't hear of it.
In spite of the fact that they had only Roger's salary to live on, they were determined to prevent you from ever learning of your misfortune.
But the, the deaths of poor Queenie and Toby are of George Gibson.
George Gibson?
Yes.
I'm afraid I don't understand. Surely you heard that he was killed, the tire blew out and his car turned over.
You mean he wasn't murdered?
Certainly not.
Oh.
Are you feeling well? Has my news been too much for you?
No, no.
Well, now that your niece and nephew are gone, there's no one to support you. I'm afraid there's only one thing left.
One thing left? What's that?
I'm sorry to say, believe me I am. The county home for the infirm.
Oh.
The poor house.
And that is the tale of escape by death, as it is written in the sealed book.
Louise and Martha, because they could not believe that the death of their cat was an accident, convinced themselves that they were in danger of being killed and in their frantic efforts to escape ruthlessly destroyed their only protectors.
Strange are the ways in which fate plays tricks on mere mortals.
The sound of the great gong tells me it's time to close the sealed book once more.
One moment, keeper of the book. What story from the sealed book will you tell us next time?
Next time? What kind of a tale would you like? A story of ghosts, of vampires, of werewolves howling in the night?
A tale of dark plots and evil deeds? Of a strange fate overtaking the guilty? Let me see. I'll find one for you in just a moment.
I'll find one for you in just a moment.
A story of dark plots and evil deeds?
And now, keeper of the book, have you found the story that you'll tell next time?
Yes, yes, I found one for you.
It's the amazing story of a woman's jealousy, so great that it would not let her lie quietly
in her grave, but made her seek revenge even from behind the dark veil of death.
I call it Death at Stormhouse.
Be sure to be with us next time to hear another strange and mysterious story from the sealed
book.
The sealed book, written by Bob Arthur and David Cogan, is produced and directed by Jock
McGregor.