Original subtitles

Bye.

you

The FBI.

A Quinn Martin Warner Brothers production.

Starring Ephraim Zimbliss Jr.

Also starring Philip Abbott, Stephen Brooks, with

guest stars Claude Akins, David Macklin,

Louise Latham.

Tonight's episode.

How to murder an iron horse.

When did this happen, Art?

Yesterday afternoon.

Near Fargo, North Dakota. Ben Gambriella sent us the wire photo. The railroad

agent. That's right.

He needs our help.

Extortion. Extortion?

How did he go about it, sir?

Well, first he blew up a freight train.

Then he wrote a letter to Willard Overley, president of the Dakota

Railroad. Told him he wanted $100 ,000 in cash or he'd blow up a passenger

next, like his tri -state special.

complete with passengers.

Art, I thought Gambriola was with the Mid -Pacific out of Chicago.

That's right, Lou, he is.

But the Dakota Northwestern is a wholly -owned Mid -Pacific spur line.

It's just a single -track road, but it goes through some of the most rugged

country you've ever laid your eyes on.

Oberle made a big play for the hunters and the sportsmen, built it up as the

most important passenger line in the entire Mid -Pacific network.

It's his special baby.

What's his position with Mid -Pacific?

Well, he's president of that, too.

He flew out from his office in Chicago just as soon as he got the news.

He's there in Fargo right now with Gambriella.

When does the extortionist want his payoff?

Monday morning.

That gives us Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

What else do we have to work with?

Well, you've got the extortion note and the record from the freight train.

And, uh...

My best wishes.

I'll call you from fire.

So, Holly, what are you doing down here so early?

Good morning, Mother.

You haven't been to bed yet, have you?

I'm old enough to stay up late at night, Mother.

Holly, of course you are, but you do need your rest.

You're going to be late for work, Mother.

I left your breakfast on the table.

You know something, Mother?

I hate these trains.

Why?

How do you like to put them up for sale?

For sale?

Oh, but they're my... my inheritance.

My legacy from dear departed father.

Lou, it's good to see you. It's been too long.

Yes, it has.

Ben Gambiello, this is Jim Rhodes. How do you do, Ben?

Resident Agent Roberts.

Wayne Roberts.

Welcome to Fargo. Thank you. Any new leads?

We don't even have any old leads.

The station's on the other side of town. Overly's still there if you want to

talk to him, or would you rather check into the hotel first?

No, let's go right to the station.

I think you'll like Overly. He's a fighter.

He was a fireman back in the days when there were still fires to attend. I've

known him since I was a kid. I've worked with him for...

Probably 20 years. Yeah.

Come a long way, President of Mississippi.

Yeah, he's a fine businessman.

But just among the four of us, he's a lousy diplomat. That's his flaw.

His board chairman's been trying to oust him for the last six months. This

bombing may be just the ammunition he needs. Oh, by the way, here's a

of the extortion letter.

I sent the original to your lab in Washington.

Dear Mr. Oberle.

I blew up your freight train to prove I mean business.

Now put $100 ,000 in fives, tens, and twenties into a suitcase and put the

suitcase aboard the Tri -Stater Limited when it leaves Fargo on Monday, April

11th. What's your departure time, Ben?

9 .20 in the morning.

Tell the engineer to look for a sign made out of tape somewhere along the

roadbed. It will look like this.

That's a map symbol for railroads.

When he sees it, he'll throw the suitcase off the train. I will rig a

somewhere to be set off by radio remote control.

If the suitcase is empty or if you mark the money or call in the police, I

promise I will blow up the tri -state or Monday and kill everyone on it.

If you do not send the train out, I will bomb the next one you do send without

warning. Rig a bomb somewhere? Where? On the tracks?

Or on the train itself.

This could be a rough one.

I bet your life it could.

It's madness, Ben.

This is Inspector Erskine, Special Agent Rhodes, the FBI.

What do you do?

FBI?

We didn't ask the FBI to come in on this.

Well, sir, I just assumed you'd want them.

I see.

With your cooperation, sir, I think we can help you.

Inspector, the man could not have made himself more clear.

No interference. No marked bills.

Now, I talked with my board of directors before I left Chicago.

We can't possibly run the risk of having something like this happen to one of

our passenger trains.

We're going to follow the instructions in the note.

And we're going to follow them exactly.

Well, sir, that's up to you, of course.

But how can you be sure the extortionist will keep his end of the bargain?

Well, why shouldn't he?

Why should he, Mr. Overly?

Suppose this is the way he gets his kicks.

Once he's got the money, what's to prevent him from doing the same thing

over again?

Well, I suppose that's the chance we'll have to take, isn't it?

Inspector, how would the FBI handle this if the railroad does go along with it?

Will he put men in the train along the tracks?

No, no. Suppose he found out.

Suppose he's an employee of the road.

No, I'm going to give the maniac what he wants.

Put an end to this nightmare.

You trust a maniac, Mr. Overly?

All right.

Go ahead.

I'm not here to change your mind, sir.

I changed my own mind.

It's my responsibility.

I've been confined between Fargo and Gillette, Wyoming.

Ivana, get me Inspector Erskine. Fargo, North Dakota.

Here are those names you wanted, Inspector.

Railroad employees that have been fired recently. People that might have a

grudge against O 'Billy or his railroad.

They're all being checked out right now.

Roberts, look at these drawings.

Diagrams of the explosion pattern.

All the lines seem to radiate from this point.

An empty gondola car somewhere in the middle of the train.

Roberts. Inspector Erskine there, please.

Oh, yeah? He's right here.

Examine the route. Look for hide points. Any place a man might stand to toss a

bomb into a passing train.

Erskine. Document examination, Inspector.

About that extortion letter.

We've got the make and model of the typewriter.

Good, good. Hold on a minute.

Take this information. Find out who distributes the typewriter in this area.

Let's get a sales history on every machine they've sold. I'm going to the

movies.

Movies?

We've only seen it four times. I was just beginning to enjoy it. There are a

thousand places you can put that tape.

One blink of the eye, we miss it.

Ben, did the choice say to run tomorrow?

Every day, 9 .20.

I'd like you to post a sign somewhere between Fargo and Gillette, Wyoming.

Try a test run.

I'll be in the cab of the diesel.

Jim will be in the rear of the money.

As soon as I see the sign, I'll alert him. That'll be the signal to throw the

money out.

What are you doing here?

Just using a typewriter to pick up some extra money on my lunch hour. Do you

care?

Howdy. I want to talk to you.

What about?

About selling these trains?

Well, you should have thought of that when Dad was alive. Maybe he would have

had more time to spend with both of us.

Howdy, that's just not fair.

Not fair?

Where was he whenever we needed him?

Locked in this lousy room with these trains.

His own private world.

No visitors allowed.

Do you know that I got walloped with a section of track just for sneaking in

here once?

It was the only time he ever paid any attention to me is when I did something

a lousy train.

Mr. Riskin?

Right. Mr. Overly's office says you're to ride in the cab with us. You all set?

I'll be ready.

What is this, some kind of a research project?

Uh, top, top secret assignment.

All right.

Let's go.

We've given this problem a great deal of thought and voted unanimously to go

along with the terms of the extortionist's letter.

Roger, listen to me. I simply don't understand.

We made a decision in this room.

You concurred in it.

But the circumstances... No.

You were hired to run this railroad, not to wreck it.

The man told us to stay away from the police.

We have no reason to assume the man will keep his word just because we keep

ours. Well, we have no reason to assume that he won't. Have we?

All right. All right.

I've listened to you, I've listened to this board, and I've listened to the

Now, I have every reason to believe that the inspector I talked to... knows more

about the way an extortionist thinks than anyone in this room does, certainly

including myself.

And as long as I'm president of this road, I'm going to make the final

decisions, and I've decided to cooperate fully with the FBI.

Now, if you don't like that, if you disagree, Roger, vote me out of office,

if you can.

You're very sure of yourself, Will?

I'm very sure I'm doing the right thing.

Let's hope so.

Because if it isn't the right thing, you will be out before the smoke of that

bomb clears away.

And I'm very sure of that.

company during the past five to eight years we'll take the names

Coffee, some coffee, Mr. Ruskin? Nice and hot.

Oh, thank you.

Oh, my gosh.

What's the matter? You sound funny.

Well, I just hit my

head.

Well, how'd it go?

Busy, Ben.

Very, very busy.

The

engineer

said you got hurt. You all right?

Yeah.

Did we pass the test?

Here. I'll show you where I have the signs placed.

Signs? Are you sure you're all right?

Ben, is that singular or plural?

Plural. There were three of them.

Three? Here, here, and here.

I made sure they were all visible from the tracks.

Jim spotted all three of them, Luke.

You got one.

The plane's waiting. Shall we go?

You're fallible.

Lou, you haven't slept in 48 hours.

You've got one heck of a cut on your head.

That's somebody else riding the cat.

No, nobody. I do the job myself.

I can't hand another agent a responsibility like that.

I'll be all right.

I'll be all right.

Now, this will be simple. A man could stand on that rock down there, a few

above the train, and lean over.

Now, this is the only vantage point with access road from the highway.

Let's check on tire tread footprint.

Here's a couple of good ones.

Well, the landlady said they went out of business about eight months ago.

Used typewriters and all.

Another dead end.

Who's next?

Well, after Bycheck is Byron. And Calloway, Cantor, Castiglione.

Collier, Conway, Corelli.

Davis, Durrell, Dennis.

These tire tracks were off the road near a grove of trees about 15 yards from

the vantage point.

Well, I guess... I guess I'm going to pack them in right away so we can fly

off to Washington and notify the lab.

Yes, sir.

Tomorrow's a big day.

What time is the briefing session, Lou?

Nine o 'clock tonight.

I want all the agents here in the office.

How many of those pills have you taken?

You know, Lou, that cut on your head might be more serious than you think.

see a doctor about it if I were you.

Well, it gets worse.

Quit worrying, will you?

I thought I heard you leave.

I just went to the store for some cereal for your breakfast.

What are you doing?

I'm experimenting.

Do you have to cover the windows like that?

Oh, howdy, this basement. I have to, yes.

Howard.

Mother, will you please leave me alone?

I sounded like Dad just then, didn't I?

Leave me alone.

I'm working on my trains.

That's how I used to say it, isn't it?

Well, now I'm saying it.

My trains.

I can do it.

Anything I want with him.

Anything.

Howdy. I, uh... I do have to go now, and I'll be late tonight, but I want to

talk to you in the morning.

Anything I want.

My trains.

Anything I want!

All of you must be familiar with the route of the Dakota Northwestern.

Tomorrow, somewhere between Fargo, North Dakota and Gillette, Wyoming, our bomb

-happy friend will post a sign.

He may even try to place the bomb on the Tri -Stater itself.

As a precaution, there'll be men stationed in every car to watch for

parcels or suspicious passengers.

Undercover cars cruising the area adjacent to the tracks along the entire

They'll be in constant radio contact with our communications center here in

Fargo.

There'll be one man in the cab.

He should be the first to see the sign wherever it may be.

He'll signal the men in the rear by walkie -talkie.

And the attache case will be thrown out immediately.

As soon as that's done...

The communications center will be notified.

And the anchorman will alert all personnel to the activated area.

Are there any questions?

Who's anchorman?

You are.

Roberts and Gambriello will handle the money and the walkie -talkie.

I'll be in the cab.

Any further questions?

That's all.

I saw the doctor. The headaches are just temporary.

She's still got them.

He told me you had a mild concussion.

Jim, have you ever ridden in the cab of a diesel?

No, sir.

Now, may I take my pill?

Yes, sir.

I just

got

your message.

What's all this about a change in plan?

Who's riding in the cab?

That's Lady Rose.

Now, when I agreed to this, I naturally assumed you'd be holding down the key

position.

Do you know what's riding on this train?

Your career. My career.

The lives of heaven only knows how many passengers.

Well, there won't be any passengers, Mr. Overly.

Just a skeleton crew, Mr. Gambriela, and the special agents.

What are you talking about?

We can't risk all those lives.

About ten minutes out of Fargo, the train will stop.

Passengers will be transferred to buses.

They'll be told there's a rock slide ahead blocking the tracks.

But the extortionists will see the train's empty.

Oh, you'll see passengers, all right. There just won't be people.

Placing cardboard cutouts by the windows.

Of course, the final decision is yours.

If you object to the plan or any part of it, you can still call it off.

No. No, it's a good plan.

I only hope and pray it's successful.

For the sake of it all.

So do I.

Now, that's all you came up with, huh?

Just a second.

Normal front tires, oversized tires in the rear.

Possibly a hot rod.

Yeah, okay.

Thanks. I'll check with the local police, right?

Up, Father.

Up, Step.

Here you go.

That's what I'm up to.

Testing, Ben. How do you read me?

This is Robert. Read you loud and clear.

Unit 7 to Headquarters.

Come in, Unit 7.

Tri -Stater just reaching cruising speed. Everything okay?

Unit 12 to head...

our position.

Last car just went by, sir. Over.

Thank you, Unit 12. Stand by for further instructions.

Inspector, follow up on the hot rod report.

Here's a list of motorists known to drive hot rods in this area.

That's a minute.

And a list of people who purchased that particular typewriter.

Any names show up on those lists?

One caught him.

Mrs. Carter, FBI.

Sorry to disturb you.

Is it about my son?

May we come in?

Stand fixed, stand by.

That's it.

We're passing the sign.

Right now.

Roberts to Unit 21.

Unit 21 to Headquarters.

Come in, let's hear it.

Pay dirt, Inspector.

Exactly 45 seconds to go.

Stand by.

Nice work. Headquarters clear.

Headquarters to all units. 21 is our active zone.

Alert all FBI and police personnel.

Thank you.

Hmm

Mrs. Collier?

FBI. I'm Inspector Eskin. This is Special Agent Rhodes.

The other agents told me that you'd be here.

Won't you come in?

The typewriter's downstairs.

I bought the typewriter for my son, but I use it more than he does.

After my husband died, I had to go to work, and all I knew how to do was

My husband was a salesman, and I used to type up all of his orders for him. He

wasn't very good at it.

I guess that he wasn't very good at anything.

He couldn't find a place for himself in this world.

He had to build the world of his own.

And look what Hardy did to it.

A lot of wreckage, Mrs. Collier.

And a lot to be rebuilt.

Your son, Hardy, wants to see you.