DOC SAVAGE
                              Program Number Ten
                         "The Southern Star Mystery"

                                     CAST

DOC SAVAGE...................Deep, cultured voice.
MONK.........................Small, almost ludicrously falsetto voice.
JANE.........................Pleasant voice.
COX..........................Harsh, bellicose voice.
ALEC.........................Young voice.
LA PEER......................Elderly, dignified voice.

BIZ:      

1--Blows.
2--Knock on door.
3--Door open.
4--Footsteps.
5--Running footsteps.
6--Steamboat whistle.
7--Water lapping.
8--Motor car.
9--Crash.
10--Door slam.
11--Phone ringing.
12--Click of phone receiver.
13--Gong.
14--Low-throated bird whistle trilling.
15--Fist blows on desk.

Playing Time: 14 minutes.
Script by: Lester Dent (Kenneth Robeson)

EFFECT:    (LOW-THROATED BIRD WHISTLE TRILLING)
ANNOUNCER: Now Cystex presents another thrilling quarter hour of action and
           mystery featuring Doc Savage, the man whose life is devoted to
           helping others out of their difficulties. We find Doc Savage and his
           assistant, Monk, in Doc's skyscraper office in New York, as the
           telephone rings.
BIZ:       (PHONE RINGS) (CLICK OF RECEIVER)
MONK:      Hello... Yeah, this is Doc Savage's office... Naw, this is Monk, one
           of Doc's helpers. Doc is here, though, and if you want 'im, I'll
           call... What?... (PAUSE)... What's that?... the liner Southern
           Star...Say, who're you... Hello!... (SOUND OF JIGGLED HOOK) Hello,
           hello... Hello... Hung up... what d'you know about that! (SHOUTS)
           Hey, Doc! Doc!
BIZ:       (DOOR SLAM)
DOC:       Why the excitement, Monk?
MONK:      Some guy on the telephone, Doc. He yelled something about bein' in
           the First Mate's cabin of the liner Southern Star. And he wanted you
           to help him, Doc.
DOC:       Help him... What was his trouble?
MONK:      He didn't say.
DOC:       Didn't say?
MONK:      It sounded like he was tryin' to talk, but somebody shut 'im up.
           Jammed the receiver on the hook.
DOC:       Someone didn't want him to talk to me?
MONK:      That's what it seemed like.
DOC:       The Southern Star is one of the largest Trans-Atlantic liners. She
           docks in the East River.
MONK:      Yeah. She just got in today. I saw a picture in the paper of some of
           the big shots among her passengers.
DOC:       Come on, Monk.
MONK:      You're goin' down to the boat?
DOC:       We'll both go, Monk. In my car, it'll only take a few minutes.
EFFECT:    (GONG)
BIZ:       (DISTANT STEAMBOAT WHISTLE) (SOUND OF WATER LAPPING) (PAUSE) (MOTOR
           CAR COMES IN AND HOLD UNTIL CUE TO CUT)
DOC:       Monk.
MONK:      What, Doc?
DOC:       You say this fellow said over the telephone that he was in the First
           Mate's cabin on the Southern Star.
MONK:      Yep.
DOC:       And he said nothing else?
MONK:      All except that he needed your help bad. He didn't give no
           particulars... Say, this part of town ain't so hot.
DOC:       The New York waterfront is not particularly attractive after dark,
           I'll admit.
MONK:      You said it. Darker 'n a cat's nightmare. Not a soul in sight.
DOC:       Well, it's not much farther to the Southern Star's pier.
MONK:      Yeah. I can see her funnels against the harbor lights. Well, there is
           somebody in this part of town, after all. There comes a truck.
DOC:       Yes. A very large truck.
BIZ:       (SECOND MOTOR COMES IN AND HOLD UNTIL CUE TO CUT)
MONK:      The driver of that truck sure holds the center of the road.
DOC:       A road hog.
MONK:      Doc, look out... look out!
BIZ:       (LOUD CRASHING) (CUT BOTH MOTORS)
EFFECT:    (PAUSE)
DOC:       Monk, Monk! Are you all right?
MONK:      (GROANS) Oh-h-h.
DOC:       Monk! Let me help you!
MONK:      Aw, I'm all right, Doc. What what Hey, where'd that truck driver go?
DOC:       Jumped out of his truck just before it hit us, and ran off.
MONK:      You saw what he done, didn't you?
DOC:       You mean turning into us deliberately? Oh, yes.
MONK:      Come on, Doc. Let's git 'im!
DOC:       Sure you feel all right?
BIZ:       (RUNNING FOOTSTEPS AND HOLD UNTIL CUE TO CUT)
MONK:      I feel awful, Doc. But I'm gonna feel a lot better after I get my
           hands on that truck driver.
EFFECT:    (PAUSE DURING WHICH FOOTSTEPS HEARD)
DOC:       There he goes!
MONK:      Where?
DOC:       In the shadow of that warehouse!
MONK:      Hey, Doc--looks like a woman!
DOC:       Can't be sure, Monk. Might be a man wearing a long rain coat or
           topcoat.
MONK:      Did'ya get a look at the truck driver?
DOC:       The truck cab was too dark, Monk. And I rather think the driver wore
           a mask.
MONK:      There... there... he's headin' for the Southern Star.
DOC:       Quite so.
EFFECT:    (PAUSE DURING WHICH FOOTSTEPS HEARD)
MONK:      He's makin' for that open cargo door in the hull.
DOC:       Try to head him off, Monk.
EFFECT:    (PAUSE DURING WHICH RAPID FOOTSTEPS ARE HEARD)
MONK:      We ain't gonna make it. He's got there first.
BIZ:       (METALLIC CLANG) (CUT FOOTSTEPS)
DOC:       Shut the cargo door behind him. Let's see... he fastened on the
           inside. We'll have to go around to the regular gangplank. Come on,
           Monk.
BIZ:       (RUNNING FOOTSTEPS AND HOLD UNTIL CUE TO CUT)
MONK:      Was it a woman, Doc?
DOC:       Couldn't tell for sure.
EFFECT:    (PAUSE DURING WHICH ONLY FOOTSTEPS HEARD)
DOC:       Here's the gangplank (PAUSE)... Let's go aft.
MONK:      Maybe we can head 'im off!
EFFECT:    (PAUSE DURING WHICH ONLY FOOTSTEPS HEARD)
BIZ:       (CUT FOOTSTEPS)
MONK:      Doc, why'd you stop me?
DOC:       Listen, Monk.
BIZ:       (FOOTSTEPS IN DISTANCE AND BRING CLOSE, THEN CUT)
JANE:      (PANTING) Oh ... Who are you?
DOC:       Sounds like you have been running, young lady.
MONK:      I told you it was a woman, Doc.
JANE:      What on earth are you talking about?
DOC:       You aren't by chance the person who just drove a truck into us,
           wrecking my car and narrowly missing killing us both?
JANE:      Are you trying to be funny?
DOC:       Answer my question, please.
JANE:      You must be insane... I don't want to talk to you. Let me pass,
           please... Oh, let go my arm, you big gorilla!
MONK:      Now don't get tough, sister. What about the truck?
JANE:      I don't know anything about any truck. My name is Jane Langley and
           I'm a stewardess on this boat, and I was running to get some bandages
           and iodine for Mr. Cox, the First Mate.
DOC:       Better let her go, Monk. That package you have is the bandage, isn't
           it, Miss Langley?
JANE:      Yes.
DOC:       Will you take us to Mr. Cox, the First Mate?
MONK:      That's right The phone call did come from the First Mate's cabin.
JANE:      Just who are you two men?
DOC:       I am Doc Savage. This is my associate, Monk.
JANE:      Oh... Doc Savage. I have read of you... in the newspapers.
EFFECT:    (BRIEF PAUSE)
DOC:       Will you take us to the First Mate's cabin, please?
JANE:      Of course, Mr. Savage.
BIZ:       (FOOTSTEPS AND HOLD UNTIL CUE TO CUT)
JANE:      Mr. Cox... the First Mate... has his quarters near the bridge.
BIZ:       (CUT FOOTSTEPS)
JANE:      Here is his cabin.
DOC:       Thank you. I'll knock.
BIZ:       (KNOCK ON DOOR) (DOOR OPEN)
COX:       Well, whatcha want?
DOC:       I am Doc Savage.
COX:       Yeah? Whatcha want?
DOC:       Someone called me for help... someone who said he would be in your
           stateroom.
COX:       Yeah? Well, somebody was kiddin' you. Go on, beat it! Yo ain't got no
           business around here!
DOC:       I never turn down an appeal for help, my friend.
COX:       Beat it, I tell you!
MONK:      Don't get tough with us, guy!
COX:       Who d'you think you are, monkey face?
MONK:      I'll show you who I am! Take that, willya!
BIZ:       (BLOWS) (CRASH)
DOC:       Monk, Monk, stop that!
MONK:      I'll teach 'im to call me monkey face!
DOC:       Stop it!
MONK:      Okay, okay, I'll get off of 'im.
JANE:      Boy, oh boy, did Mister Cox get what he had coming to him!
COX:       You get yourself out of here. I'll take care of you later, young
           woman.
DOC:       I'd advise you to stay, Jane.
COX:       Say, you--
DOC:       And Cox, I would advise you to shut up and speak when you are spoken
           to. And if you have any doubts about my right to be on board, set
           yourself at rest. I have an honorary commission on the New York
           police force that is just as good as the commission of any regular
           officer.
COX:       A cop, eh?
DOC:       No, not a cop. Just a fellow who makes a business of getting others
           out of trouble.
MONK:      Hey, Doc!
DOC:       Yes, Monk.
MONK:      There's somebody over here in the bunk.
DOC:       Let's see... Hm-m-m... a young man. Looks like he's been beaten up
           rather badly... Oh, he's conscious. Can you talk, young man?
ALEC:      I can talk, all right... He only knocked out a couple of my teeth.
DOC:       Who knocked out your teeth?
ALEC:      Cox.
DOC:       Why?
ALEC:      'Cause I phoned you. There's a line connected up from the Captain's
           cabin to shore. I used that. Cox caught me.
DOC:       So it was you who telephoned me for help.
ALEC:      Yep. I knowed you'd get me out of this jam.
DOC:       Who are you?
ALEC:      Alec Queen. I'm a sailor on this boat.
DOC:       And what is your trouble, Alec?
COX:       I'll tell you what his trouble is. He stole half a million dollars in
           gold bullion. That's what he done.
DOC:       Since you want to talk, Cox, suppose you tell us all about it.
COX:       You bet I'll tell you. The Southern Star was carrying half a million
           dollars worth of gold bullion from London. Half way across the
           Atlantic, somebody got in the purser's safe and took it.
DOC:       Was the safe blown?
COX:       No. Whoever done it must've learned the combination somehow. It's a
           combination safe.
DOC:       I see.
COX:       We searched the ship.
DOC:       Naturally. Did you find the gold?
COX:       Naw. It's still hid somewhere's, I guess.
DOC:       And where does Alec Queen, here, come in?
COX:       We found the wooden box that was around one of the gold bars under
           his bunk.
ALEC:      Somebody planted it there.
COX:       So they all say!
ALEC:      I don't care... that's the only way the box could have gotten under
           my bunk. The real thief put it there to throw suspicion on me.
COX:       With your record, no judge on earth will swallow that story.
ALEC:      Maybe not. But it's the truth.
DOC:       What does he mean by "record," Alec?
ALEC:      Aw, I made a mistake when I was a kid, Mr. Savage, and got sent to
           reform school. But I been goin' straight. Honest, I have.
COX:       You're lyin', you little rat.
DOC:       Wait a minute, Cox! Just why are you so anxious to lay the crime on
           this boy?
JANE:      That's just what I was wondering.
COX:       Listen, sister, for a little I'd slap you down.
DOC:       Stop that talk, Cox.
COX:       Listen, the same thing goes for you, too. I don't like you! I don't
           like you a bit!
DOC:       We're even there, Cox. I can't say that I like a man who will try to
           blame a crime like this on an innocent boy.
COX:       Who said he was innocent?
DOC:       If he wasn't innocent, why should he call on me for help?
COX:       Maybe he thought he'd buy you... give you part of the money he stole
           to fix a frameup that would get him out of it.
MONK:      Shall I bust him another one, Doc?
DOC:       Let him alone, Monk. He seems to have a rotten mind.
COX:       Hah! Well, what're you going to do about all this?
DOC:       I think I shall take a look at that safe.
COX:       You won't get no help from me.
JANE:      The safe is in the purser's office, Mr. Savage. You'll have to awaken
           the purser and have him unlock the office.
DOC:       Very well. Let's go.
COX:       I'm going along.
MONK:      I thought you wasn't gonna help?
COX:       I'm not. I'm going along to see that you don't frame nothing onto me.
MONK:      Say, guy, you keep on talkin' like that and I'm gonna put my foot
           down your throat.
COX:       So you say. Come on, Alec Queen. You're going, too.
ALEC:      Don't shove me. I can walk.
BIZ:       (FOOTSTEPS AND HOLD UNTIL CUE TO CUT)
DOC:       What is the purser's name?
JANE:      Mr. La Peer.
BIZ:       (CUT FOOTSTEPS)
JANE:      This is Mr. La Peer's cabin.
BIZ:       (KNOCK ON DOOR) (PAUSE) (KNOCK ON DOOR) (PAUSE) (KNOCK)
DOC:       He seems to sleep rather soundly.
BIZ:       (LOUD KNOCK ON DOOR)
LA PEER:   (AWAY FROM MIKE) What is it?
DOC:       We want to speak to you, Mr. La Peer.
BIZ:       (DOOR OPEN)
LA PEER:   What do you want, gentlemen?
DOC:       You keep your door locked on the inside, Mr. La Peer?
LA PEER:   Oh, yes.
DOC:       You've been asleep, I take it.
LA PEER:   Very soundly, and for some hours.
DOC:       You must sleep rather well. We had to knock several times.
LA PEER:   Excellently. But did you awaken me to discuss my sleeping habits?
DOC:       Not at all. You see, I am investigating the bullion robbery on behalf
           of the accused, Alec Queen.
LA PEER:   Queen is guilty enough. They found one of the bullion boxes under his
           bunk. It was hidden under some old clothes.
DOC:       I hope to prove him innocent. Will you unlock the office so that we
           may examine the safe?
LA PEER:   Well...
DOC:       Mr. Cox, the First Mate, has kindly consented to come along and watch
           things.
COX:       Sarcasm, eh?
LA PEER:   Very well, I will unlock my office. But first, I must get into a
           dressing robe and slippers.
DOC:       Thank you. Mr. La Peer. While you do that, would you mind if I washed
           my hands in the washbowl in your room? They became soiled in a...
           slight accident...which befell us on our way here.
LA PEER:   Go ahead. The washbowl is in the corner.
DOC:       Thank you.
EFFECT:    (PAUSE)
DOC:       I say, I don't believe I shall wash my hands after all.
LA PEER:   Eh? All right, all right. Let us go to examine the safe. Do you think
           that will give you some clue to the robber, Mr. Savage?
EFFECT:    (PAUSE)
DOC:       I don't think we will need to examine the safe, Mr. La Peer.
LA PEER:   What do you mean?
DOC:       You were smooth, weren't you, Mr. La Peer? Took the gold bullion out
           of the safe yourself and hid one of the boxes under Alec Queen's bunk
           to throw suspicion on an innocent person.
LA PEER:   Mr. Savage, this is ridiculous!
DOC:       You said, I believe, that you were sleeping soundly, with your door
           locked on the inside, when we came?
LA PEER:   That is right.
DOC:       Then how do you account for the fact that your washbowl has been used
           within the last few minutes? It is wet inside. Even the rim is wet.
LA PEER:   Why, why--
DOC:       When you came back from running the truck into our car, you washed
           the perspiration off with cold water, didn't you, La Peer?
LA PEER:   Oh, now, now--
DOC:       No doubt you overheard Cox calling down Alec Queen for telephoning
           me. That tipped you I was on my way here. You tried to stop me with
           the truck, because you were afraid of an investigation.
MONK:      You'd better confess, La Peer!
EFFECT:    (PAUSE)
LA PEER:   (SLOWLY) Do you think the insurance company would ask he judge to go
           light... if I showed them where the gold is hidden?
MONK:      Hot ziggety! He did get it! That's the same as a confession!
ALEC:      This is what I call quick work, Mr. Savage.
COX:       (DISGUSTED) Ah-h-h-h!
MONK:      What ails you, Cox?
COX:       Nothin', monkey face.
MONK:      Call me that again, will you! Here's a brother to that sock I handed
           you a while ago.
BIZ:       (BLOWS) (GRUNTS)
DOC:       (FADING SLOWLY) Monk, stop that! Always fighting somebody! Stop
           it!... Cut it out...
ANNOUNCER: Thus ends another quarter hour of drama brought to you by Cystex,
           spelled C-Y-S-T-E-X.
           (PLUG)
           Tune in next week for another quarter hour of action and mystery with
           Doc Savage. These dramas are brought to you by Cystex with the
           permission of Street and Smith, copyright owners of Doc Savage
           Magazine.