And now, tonight's presentation of radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense.
Tonight the story of murder in a sealed coal mine.
We call it The Cave-In.
So now, starring Mr. Ben Wright, here is tonight's Suspense play, The Cave-In.
Three, two, four, please.
Hurry.
Yes, it's the Clintwood scene.
I don't know.
Put in the call, will you?
Mr. Gart, Mr. Gart, this is Mr. Flowers.
It's a bad fall, Mr. Gart.
Most of them got out, but a few are still down there.
We don't know how many.
I don't think there's been an explosion.
Can you come down right away, sir?
How is it down there, Will?
I'll turn around and look, Mr. Flowers.
I ran for the sake of my life when I heard it coming.
Haven't you got any idea who's still in it?
I'm not sure.
I was working along with you, Davis, Evan Lewis and David Owen.
I think maybe 4 Williams is with us too, but I can't be certain.
All right.
As soon as the dust is cleared a bit, we'll go down.
Have any other men come up?
I was the last, I think.
Answer it, will you, Thomas?
Yes, sir.
What's the matter with the thing?
Why don't they answer up there?
The fall probably knocked it out.
You're wasting your time.
You're on a hard train, eh?
Hello, hello.
Wait a bit.
Hello.
Emeline, can you hear me?
It's David Owen.
Yes.
Tell him what's happened.
Tell him, tell him.
Emeline, there's four of us in here.
End of the shaft.
You, Davis, Evan Lewis and me.
There's...
Evo Williams too, yeah.
No, no, no, Evo Williams.
But he's dead.
And you better have a policeman ready if you ever get us out because he's been murdered.
I was police inspector in charge of the district, which included Clinoeth, a village in South Wales.
It was ugly, with the grey ugliness of mining country.
Dirty, sullen, with the inevitable poverty.
I learned what had happened from the constable who drove me to the mine.
There was a light drizzle falling.
And it seemed that the entire village was gathered on that desolate spot.
I saw Mr. Flowers standing near a shed at the entrance.
Mr. Flowers?
What is it, constable?
This is Inspector Glidd, sir.
How do you do, sir?
Mr. Flowers, any news?
Relief crew's been down there two hours now, sir.
Should be coming up any minute.
How are they?
With the three in the shaft?
Mostly thirst, from what he says.
Air's not too good either.
Get any more details on the murdered man, Williams?
Not much.
He complained of a stomach ache just before the cave-in and afterwards before he died.
He had convulsions like.
At least that's what they say down there.
Well, that sounds like poison.
The shot-fireman, David Owen, talked to me on the phone from down there.
He says he knows it's poison.
He's a St. John's ambulance man.
Any progress getting the others out?
Oh, slow, very slow.
It's worrying.
Very, very loose down there, very loose.
If there's another fall, well, you can see we can't afford to blast.
I'd like to go down when you get close enough.
I couldn't allow that, Inspector.
Well, I'm afraid you'll have to.
It's my job, you know.
It's too dangerous.
When those men are reached, I want to be on the spot.
I'm not interested in policemen.
I've got work to do.
Something that might not interest you, mister.
Saving lives, not haunting them.
Uh, Mr. Flowers meant no offence, sir.
He's worried.
I don't blame him.
There's Will Vaughan.
Just come up from the shaft.
Maybe he knows something.
Will? Will Vaughan?
Hello!
Any news, Will?
Nothing much.
This is Inspector Glidd.
He's here for the murder.
Oh.
Well, I'm glad you're here.
The chaps and me were talking while we were digging.
We thought somebody better know.
Know?
About T.4 Williams.
About him?
He was no good.
No good at all that I've heard.
No good at all that T.4 Williams.
It's better you know the truth than find out lies.
That's what the chaps and me decided.
Ah.
What is the truth?
T.4 Williams was a lad with the girls.
It was more than one fight he had over it.
Oh.
So it's a great many men in Clinoeth who are not sorry to see him gone.
Well, is that all?
Yes, I...
I'm grieved for his wife, poor woman.
She was a fool to marry him, but it was for love.
Since you've gone so far, will you name some names?
Oh, it would take a dozen men or more.
There's those three still in the shaft.
David Owen for instance.
It is his daughter, Glynis, that's the latest trouble.
There she is standing with, by Mr Flowers, over there, the dark girl.
Oh.
T.4 Williams was interested in her.
Interested?
Eh, from the talk of the women, it is more than that.
David Owen swore he'd give Williams a terrible beating if he didn't stay away from his daughter.
I see.
Then you, Davis?
That is Glynis's man.
They are to be married.
You know about the talk.
You had a proper rage about it.
Oh, poor chap, it does him little good now.
You know that you've given those two men a motive for murder?
That's only two. What about Evan Lewis?
They fought for two days before the fall.
And I can go on with more.
You may have to, when the time comes.
It'll be the whole village you can arrest before you are done.
It is a great waste of time.
Make your report that he died in the fall.
It will save you the trouble.
The day passed and it became dark.
Floodlights blazed down on the mine entrance.
And the crews went down.
Fun came up again.
The women brewed tea, made food for the men.
Another day came.
And the voices of those who were trapped behind tons of coal and dirt were suddenly gone.
The telephone line had failed.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, the superintendent sent word to me that the next crew expected to break into the craft.
I was given clothing and a helmet.
Then a few minutes later, a coal truck was rolling down the lines deep into the mine.
Mr. Flowers and Will Vaughan were among those with me.
The next day.
All right, boys.
Mind your head, sir.
I will.
We're shoring up with timbers as we go.
That's the job of the shifters over there.
All right, easy now.
We shouldn't have more than a dozen feet to go, but slow slows the word.
You two start with the picks. We'll take turns.
Oh, if you must be here, you must inspect her, but stand out of the way.
Give me a shovel. I can help.
I'll be the first man in the pits.
All right, there's one on the truck.
Wait a bit.
You would have made a minor, you would.
I was once.
I think it's easier being a policeman, isn't it?
Try again.
Let's see if you can get an answer, Will.
Do you hear anything?
No.
There, there. I heard it.
They're all right.
Here, give me the pick. I'll have a go for a bit.
Oh, thanks. I'm about done.
We were working in a tunnel now big enough for only two men at a time.
One working with pick, one carrying the dislodged dirt and rock to the entrance.
It was a shaft within a shaft.
The men could only work a few minutes at a time, and it was our turn, Will Vaughan and myself.
We measured our progress by inches, lying on our stomachs, hacking at the unyielding earth,
ducking as a miniature landslide fell about, coughing in the dust it raised.
Will Vaughan had crawled to the tunnel entrance when my pick lodged in a seam.
I tugged at it and then...
I'm through! I'm through!
Are you all right in there?
Yes, yes. Can we get out?
I hope you brought some water with you.
We did. Bring some water in.
Yes, we're bringing it.
Ken, can you walk?
All of us except Avar Williams.
Come on, I don't want to look at him anymore. I'll drink outside.
What's that?
Come on, it's another fall. Come on!
It was such a very little tunnel, wasn't it?
And it took you so long to make.
Now it's gone.
What a shame you didn't bring in some water with you.
We stood there, head spent a little, looking at what had once been the way to safety.
Three feet inside the tunnel it was black, black with the solidity of a wall.
I knew that the tunnel was 12 feet long,
and there was no way of knowing how much of the mine had caved in beyond.
I turned away.
The dead man, Avar Williams, lay huddled in a corner.
When I looked at him, I knew it was poison.
The blue lips, fingernails.
And as I moved away, I suddenly realized how thirsty I was.
Might as well sit down and wait.
Have you got a cigarette?
Yes.
No, no, it'll make you more thirsty.
You should have brought water in with you.
I am sorry.
Oh, it's not your fault.
What happened to the telephone?
They don't know.
They were trying to find out when I came down.
Oh, well, it's not too bad.
The air is better now.
They'll get through again.
What's your name?
There, Glid. Harry Glid.
He's the district inspector, Huey, didn't you know?
Then that's a very dirty-faced policeman you are.
Yes.
What about him?
The dead one?
Oh, we've talked about it, the boys.
Ah, what difference does it make now?
It's the law, Huey.
A person doesn't kill, that's the law.
You think you know who did it?
Yes.
Remember now, I'm not agreed to it, don't forget that.
Nor I.
His wife, Catherine Williams.
She stood more than a body can bear, and I, for one, hold no blame.
Why do you think she did it?
I mean, proof.
Because of my daughter, Glynis.
Don't say it, Mr. Owen, don't say it.
There are a number of things I already know, Davis.
Your Glynis never went with him, Mr. Owen.
It's a dirty lie, made up by a lot of chattin' old women with nothing better to do.
She's my daughter, you.
I would feel it as much as you.
I say it's true.
Catherine Williams found out, and it was too much for her.
That still isn't proof.
No, it isn't.
Catherine couldn't do a thing like that, she didn't.
I heard him.
I heard him in the pub.
He was drunk and laughing.
He may have tried to make up to her, but she wouldn't have let him.
I was angry at the time, but Glynis wouldn't have let him.
We are engaged.
Nobody's arguing about that, Huwbach.
Let me finish.
He was saying that he had some money put away,
that as soon as there were a few more pounds,
he was going to divorce Catherine and take Glynis away with him.
That's silly.
Loud talk. You know it, Mr. Owen.
That's all it was.
Maybe, but if the word got back to Catherine Williams, what then?
So then Catherine Williams killed him.
And here we are.
And who will be there to testify against her?
Oh, I wish I had a drink of water.
Now and again we tried the phone, but there was no sound.
We sat in darkness a good deal, conserving the batteries in our lamps.
And there was always the dead man in the mine.
None of us wore a watch, and after a little while,
time became something that was only counted in the remembrance
of what seemed an age ago.
And I was the only one who could remember.
They had been without water for nearly two days,
and I knew what a torture it was becoming.
My own mouth was dry and bitter.
May have been ours, may have been another day.
We took turns at the little tunnel,
tearing at the loose dirt and rocks with our hands,
and we became tired very quickly.
It's funny.
What?
I remember last week, I went to the tap and drank a glass of water.
And then I filled the glass again because I thought I was still thirsty.
But I wasn't anymore, and so I threw it away.
I threw away the lovely water.
Oh, it made a cool sound.
That's enough.
If I want to talk about water, Evan Lewis,
I shall talk about water.
It is a great comfort for me.
Well, not for me. Shut up.
You are not telling me to shut up.
Look, you know this isn't going to do any good.
Save your strength.
What for? So that we can die more slowly?
Hugh, try the telephone again. It may be working.
As soon as I get my breath, in a minute.
Oh, do it.
No. Nothing.
Oh, well, I'm going to have a bit of sleep.
Put out the light.
Why doesn't he stop staring at me?
Easy, man, easy. He's not staring. We've covered his face.
No, he's staring. Look at him.
Make him stop.
You can't even see him, Evan. There's no light.
The dead can do you no harm.
Now, try to sleep. It will make the time pass sooner.
I'm going to dig again. I'm not going to sit here to die.
Give me a hand, Mr. Lidd.
Our hands were bleeding,
and every handful of rock and coal and dirt was an agony to pull away.
The darkness was never ending.
And as our batteries began to fail, it became a terrifying, alive thing.
Was Hugh Davis who found the teacan
glinted dully in the orange glow of his lamp?
Look. Look at this, boys. Listen to it.
It's a teacan.
It's wet. Oh, it's wet.
Did you ever hear a lovely sound like it?
We can measure it out. There's enough there.
You chop first. I'll miss this round. You've been here longer.
Share and share. Be careful. You don't spill it.
The lid's jammed.
You can't have it.
Give it back, Evan. Give it to me.
Don't be an idiot. There's enough for all. You'll have your share.
No. Stay back.
Stan, where you are, I'll pour it out.
Evan. No.
You drink one drop of that, Evan Lewis,
and I'm going to kill you.
Come along now. You can have the first drink. That's all right.
It's all right.
It's his. It's his. It's his. It's his. It's his. It's his. It's his.
It's his. It's his. It's his. It's his. It's his. It's his. It's his.
He's dead. He doesn't need it anymore.
And he's left enough for us all.
Thank you, Igor. Thank you.
He's gone mad.
I'm going to sit here with my tea,
and you'll all watch me, but you can't have any.
Don't come near. Don't come near.
All right. We can't let him.
Hush, you bug.
Have a sip and then pass it, eh, Lewis man?
Oh, no, no. I'm keeping it.
Go on then.
But don't forget, Evan,
when we are outside, I am going to kill you.
You remember what I say?
You'll not be fit to live.
Oh. Oh.
What's the matter with him?
Why doesn't he drink then and have done?
I wonder.
Stay there. Don't come near.
Why don't you drink it?
If you're not going to, give it to us.
No, it's mine.
Stay away. I'll pour it out.
Go on then. Pour it out.
I will. I will. Stay away.
Why don't you drink it?
Shall I tell you why?
Because I think you know what's in it.
You can't drink it, can you?
Yes. If I want to, I will too.
E.F.R. Williams drank some of that tea, didn't he?
Before he died.
I don't know. Don't you come closer to me.
Drink it then. Go on.
I will. But if you come closer, I'll pour it out.
Then no one will have it.
Don't. He means it, Mr. Lidd.
What did you put in that tea before you came down?
Nothing.
Then why are you afraid?
I'm not.
There isn't much choice, is there?
You're dying of thirst, but if you drink, you'll die of poison.
Is that it?
No. No.
You know if we want to get it, we can.
Not enough will spill out.
Why don't you give it to me now?
I... I can't.
You killed him, didn't you?
Give it to me.
No. You're not going to help me.
I'll drink it, see?
Don't. Don't, Mr. Glade. Come back here.
Don't do it, Evan. Don't.
We'll stand by you.
Get away from me.
Why, Evan, why did you do it?
Why?
He was wicked, oh, and ungodly.
He deserved to die.
He was cruel.
He was cruel.
He made my life a misery.
I was engaged to Catherine ten years ago,
and he stole her from me.
He deserved to die.
Oh, the way he treated her.
Oh, I'm sorry, Evan. I am sorry.
It doesn't matter anymore.
We'll not get out anyway.
It's better to go quickly by drinking this.
No. Don't. Don't, Evan.
The telephone.
Hello? Hello?
Hello, Mr. Glade? Yes.
Are you all right? Yes, we all are.
We'll be to you soon. It wasn't a bad fall.
Only a few feet. The men are clearing away now.
Hold on. Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much.
They'll be through in a few minutes.
We waited.
Watching.
Listening.
The fun Lewis crouched away from us.
The spout of the teacan raised to his lips.
Look! Look! It's breaking through!
They'll not hang me! They'll not!
Stop it! Stop!
No, no! Let him do it!
It's better that way!
No! Hugh! Help me!
I've got him!
It's poison. He's drinking the poison.
You're letting him die. You're killing him!
It's better this way.
You can let him go now, Hughie.
Thank you, Owen. Thank you.
We were brought to the surface.
But it was useless for Ivan Lewis.
The doctor worked over him.
And for the second time his life was saved.
Saved for the trial which convicted him of murder.
Suspense, in which Mr. Ben Wright starred in tonight's presentation of The Cave-In.
Next week, another terrifying and provocative story by Mr. Ray Bradbury.
We call it Kaleidoscope.
That's next week on Suspense.
Suspense is produced and directed by Anthony Ellis, who wrote tonight's script.
The music was composed by Renny Garragown and conducted by Wilbur Hatch.
Featured in the cast were Richard Peel, Tudor Owen, Jane Avello, Joe Kearns, John Dotsworth, and Charles Davis.
Listen while you work.
The Road of Life is here on the CBS Radio Network.
The Road of Life is here on the CBS Radio Network.