Original subtitles

Mrs. Hubert!

ls anyone home?

This is the third one We found mangled like this.

The guys below Want the autopsy results before noon.

l Want all traffic blocked down at the intersection of the highway.

Nobody gets through.

Dr. Meyer, the area has been completely blocked off,

all over three hours now.

- What are you planning to do? - Wait a minute.

- Here's your coffee. - Thank you, Mrs. Hubert.

lnspector Bouffet and l Would be extremely grateful

if you'd retire to the kitchen.

- There must be absolute silence in the house. - lf only you can do it!

lf only you can do it.

lt's time, Gabriella.

- Come on. - No! - lt's all up to us now.

l don't Want to!

lf you think it's Wise We could hold off on this thing.

l'm Warning you, don't follow us.

- At least take this. - No.

Give me a portable lamp instead.

Please, no!

Now tell me Where you're hiding.

That's all l Want to know.

After that it'll all be over.

l'm scared.

Show me Where your hiding-place is.

Show me Where it is.

Where are you?

You're here, aren't you?

ls this Where you are?

ls this Where you're hiding? lt's under here?

We found him!

lt's down here!

We found him!

Come on, down here!

Come on, We found him!

Easy...

Slow down.

She's better, the hospital says she'll pull through.

lnspector, take a look.

Out.

Come, Dr. Meyer. lt's your right.

l think We better pull him out of there.

- What's that? - A slipper.

Gabriella's slipper.

What else did you find?

Not much.

Here.

Thank you very much.

They just operated.

lt doesn't look like they're going to save her leg.

Here, Meyer. This is everything We'll ever know about him.

Not much to go on, is it?

To find out Who he Was.

lssued to Paolo Zeder.

We found Paolo Zeder!

A K zone!

He stumbled across a K zone.

- Wait a minute. - Open up, it's me.

l know. l'll let you in on one condition.

That you stay out of the kitchen. Okay?

Okay.

- What a surprise. - Happy anniversary.

Happy anniversary to you.

What is it?

lt's the one!

lt's gorgeous!

lt's electric.

They said it's a terrific model.

Only the electric cord Was missing. So l called the electrician,

and he put one on.

lt types like printing in a book.

Just What a Writer needs, right?

lt's fantastic!

You're beautiful.

- You ought to see Where We got it. - Where?

Mama Went to a pawnshop auction.

lt Was an anniversary like in the movies, Wasn't it?

l'm going to go enjoy my present a little.

- Who knows Who it belonged to? - Who ?

Did you know Hemingway typed standing up?

Novel number three.

The story begins...

The barriers of death

shall at last be destroyed...

The temperature and depth of K zone l found...

Correct and totally free, above all suspicion...

Where buried body shall await...

- What are you doing still up? - Wait a second, please.

l think l found the plot for my third novel.

Curiosity about What happens after death

grew to an obsessive quest.

But We'll go back to the oracles of the dead on Tuesday.

Tell your classmates to start showing up.

Have a nice Week-end.

Professor Chesi.

- Do you remember me? - Certainly l do!

Your Wife keeps me informed about the novels you're Writing,

and the fact you haven't graduated yet.

l Wrote two and neither has a publisher.

But now l've got an idea, l mean.

But l need some advice, an expert opinion.

Witchcraft, magic, resurrections,

devilry, ghosts and haunted houses?

Maybe something along that line. Do you have a minute?

Let's go to my office.

You can come back in half an hour, Laura?

All right, Professor.

Nineteen, an orphan, she swears she only goes for mature men.

Take a look.

- What are these? - Two letters.

One is a letter, the other is a kind of report, but l don't understand.

Later l'll explain how l got hold of them, but read them first.

The first requires no comment.

lt's the second part of a letter asking for...

Where the Writer congratulates this Goodman character

for having gotten financing and hopes part of the money

Will go to him so he can finish his Work.

Money he probably never got if he had to pawn his typewriter.

What ?

- What about the second? - The second?

lf it's true, if it isn't the fruit of your imagination,

it's singular. - Singular? lt's insane!

Besides all these numbers, temperature, depth...

Here it talks about the guy donating his own body to the experiment.

Did you read this?

''The barriers of death shall at last be destroyed,

thanks to our Work. My return to life Will signal return of all.''

And this: ''The place l have discovered,

is the place the hierophant Was looking for.''

- What does hierophant mean? - A master of mysteries.

Now you have to tell me Where you found it,

because there's something else that only a scholar,

an expert in the history of religions can see.

That's Why l have to know exactly Who you got it from,

and if the text is correct.

Here's l got it. A present from Alessandra.

An old typewriter.

Out of curiosity, l Wrote out everything typed on the old ribbon.

- Here it is. - Check Where it says ''K zone''.

''Found a K zone completely free and unsuspected, ideal place...''

lt's an old theory going back to the turn of the century.

A former student of mine, a Swiss scholar named Meyer,

Wrote a thesis on it.

Funny, l thought it Was here.

These K zones Were the result of research done by Paolo Zeder.

Somebody Who just disappeared into thin air.

This Zeder sustained that in all the places in antiquity Where contact

had been made With the Beyond, With the dead,

from Delphi to Epirus to Dodona and so on,

constants could be determined, Which he called alchemical,

but Which We Would today call chemical or geological similarities.

The areas he called K zones Were supposed to be different.

They defied all natural laws

and existed in state of suspension.

ln a non-time, a non-season, a non-growth, a non-death.

ldealistically, a zero-time.

And it Would allow a return from the dead.

On my Way!

Don't scream at me about yesterday's training.

The Commissioner himself Wouldn't give me permission.

Never mind, nobody showed up, as usual.

How can you find out Who something belonged to in a pawnshop?

Hi. Did l scare you?

- l Was Waiting for you. - What do you Want?

- l saw how you Were looking at me today. - You're crazy!

- Go on home. - Pig! Son of a bitch!

Forget it.

You ass hole!

Shithead! How dare you treat me like that!

The decision taken there Was a mistake...

l'm sure. See you later, sorry.

- How are you today, Miss Goodman? - Fine.

- Do you plan to stay late tonight? - l don't know.

- Hi. - Come in.

- Guido! - This is for you. - You're crazy. Thanks.

Forget it.

That's What's so great about friends, they hate each other.

- Right? - Right.

- And this is for you. - Thank you.

- What is it? - Nothing, an address.

- Aren't you staying for dinner? - Next time.

- l have to do six shoot-outs before bed-time. - Wait.

l found it in the flea market.

l Wanted to give it to you When you got promoted,

but today l have to be forgiven. - Let me see.

ls anyone here?

Sorry, l Was looking for Don Luigi Costa.

- Who are you? - l have something to show Don Luigi.

- What's it about? - Something personal, l can only it to him.

- Did Don Emidio send you here? - No, Who's that?

You Were saying you had something personal for Don Luigi Costa?

Yes, it's kind of nonsensical...

Somebody gave me a typewriter that used to belong to him.

Go on. What's this all about?

You're Don Luigi! Well, here.

Look.

- You must be mad. - Why?

You attribute these things to a priest?

No, they seem strange to me too.

Before going to the police, l Wanted to find out...

Nobody in the World could have Written such nonsense.

l never owned a typewriter in my life!

- Only the table? - l don't think you have the authority to interrogate

the first one you come across. - You don't plan to help me?

Sure l'll help you. Tear up this stuff.

And forget it as quickly as possible.

Don't ever come back, understand?

Well? You're the one Who's in training, not me!

- God, now What? - Funny.

Nobody's supposed to be here.

- Where are you going? - Quiet. Be quiet...

ls anyone up there?

ls that you?

Are you down here?

What kind of trick is this?

Where the heck Were you?

The circuit breakers blew down below.

- Something Wrong? - Nothing, Why?

- Damn, they Were right here. - What?

What do you mean, What?

Come on. The letters, the ribbon, Hand them over.

l swear l don't know a thing about it.

Excuse me, l Was here this morning to see Don Luigi.

l left some papers in his office.

- Who did you say? - Don Luigi, l talked With him.

Come in.

Wait here.

l Was looking for Don Luigi Costa.

He hasn't been part of Mother Church for over 10 years now.

- He left his vows. - Today, in the parish office,

this bald man, Who said he Was... - But that's just not possible.

Besides Don Emidio, l'm always around.

Seeing the devotion of our parishioners, two of us are too many.

Listen, l'm not crazy. l'm positive that l met him, l mean.

That's impossible, l didn't go out the Whole day.

- When you're away, Father... - Yes, of course.

- l'm sure you're mistaken. - No, it can't be.

He Was in a kind of closet, rummaging through a pile of papers.

l don't know Who you met today,

but it certainly Wasn't Don Luigi Costa.

l don't Want to know anything about What Was in those letters.

l only know that Luigi used to be a highly esteemed priest here.

He Was in charge of the children.

lt Was he Who took them to camp every summer.

Then his Weird studies Went to his head.

- l say it Was his illness. - What illness?

Unfortunately he discovered he had an incurable disease.

lt coincided With his decision to abandon his vows.

Anyway,

from that time on he started talking funny.

Don Emidio used to bless the sacristy When he Went out.

Then he disappeared, We haven't heard from him since.

l believe he Wound up With a sister of his,

Who had a house in Rimini.

Or maybe he's there in the hospital.

lt's been so long since he's come around here.

Do you Want the address?

l'll tell him you're here.

Gabriella, l'm very Worried about you.

Now that the most delicate phase is about to begin...

You mustn't. l have one more reason than you and the others.

A reason it's hard to forget.

At any price, l have to understand.

You may come in.

Right this Way.

We found a further confirmation of What We're looking for,

thanks to the Work of the ltalian research team.

Last night l Was thinking...

You've devoted over 30 years of your life to this business,

maybe Without thinking about one fact.

Every 70 years more than 3 hundred million people on the earth die.

Meyer, three hundred million! Life is based on this certainty.

Death is indispensable, and fortunately up to now

We've had no counter indications.

Death isn't an illness that can be cured, it's a definite finality.

And that it must remain.

Paolo Zeder offered himself for the sake of his research,

having himself secretly buried in that ground, under that house,

to demonstrate his theories Were Well-founded.

There may be a Way to come back and We're about to discover it.

You yourself have been With us since the beginning.

You've encouraged us, helped us,

and you're asking us to leave off now?

- The risks? - They Will occur far away from here.

From tonight on, the risks Will be ours alone.

- Hello? - Stefano. - Who is this?

That letter you found Was meant for somebody Who never got it.

- Who is this? - Don't interrupt, shithead.

lf you Want to know more you can make a bundle.

Just be at the Margherita Gardens around ten.

Bring enough cash to make it Worth my While, you'll find out plenty.

Come alone.

Hello?

Stefano, are you inside?

Where the fuck are you, asshole?

What a jerk you are. What Were you trying to do, scare me?

Who are you? What do you Want?

l'm trying to bring it all into focus.

A bunch of Words on a ribbon.

Where do they lead? To an ex-priest.

And a phone call saying they know everything.

And a meeting out there, in the middle of the night.

And the appointment never kept.

Okay, Stefano, cut it out. You've got to stop.

- This isn't stuff for us. - l'm going to Rimini tomorrow,

to look for this Luigi Costa character. You do What you Want.

At least let me take a bathing suit.

This must be it.

So What are We doing?

Didn't you Want to get some sun and study? There's a beach.

Join you later!

Anybody home?

ls anybody home?

Excuse me...

Can l come in?

- Anybody home? Hello! - Who's there?

Excuse me, ma'am...

- Who told you you could come in? - Nobody, l saw the For Rent sign...

You must've seen the notice to go to the agency.

- l did read it... - Anyway, l've decided

not to rent it after all. They have to take that damn thing down.

l took the liberty because l know Don Luigi from When l Was a kid, at camp.

That's how l knew this Was his house.

l thought he'd have rented to me, more readily than to others.

My brother's not here. He's not With us anymore.

- When did it happen? - A month ago.

But he Was in and out of that hospital almost a year.

With those butchers Who are only capable of killing people...

- l'm terribly sorry. - Thank you.

- l'll be going now. - Were you very close to him?

Look inside that vase on the chest over there.

There's the key to the room upstairs.

Take it and go have a look.

- Did you find it? - Yes, here it is.

Watch out for the lock.

lt's old and the key might break off inside.

Nobody's been up there since last summer.

lt Was his room.

Done?

Are you sure nobody's been up here for a year?

Certainly. But in any case, it's not for rent.

lf you Would show me the courtesy of leaving...

- Bologna Police headquarters. - This is a friend of Guido's...

- Lieutenant Guido Silvestri. May l speak to him? - Hold the line.

Sorry, he isn't here anymore. He's been transferred.

He's been transferred? Where, exactly?

l'm not authorized to give out that kind of information.

A girlfriend?

Did you know Guido's been transferred?

Transferred... Where?

They didn't Want to say.

He Was a kind of nasty.

lt's funny...

A guy like Guido leaving and not even coming to say goodbye.

So, he's dead and she's blind.

That's it.

We better go back to Bologna.

The house of mystery... Look at Swanson and Von Stroheim!

lt's him!

The one Who said he Was the priest.

l'm sure of it.

He knows me. You better go.

- My God... - Please.

Then, l promise We'll go home, okay?

- Money. - What for?

Flowers, of course. What kind of private eye are you?

Luigi dearest...

Poor Luigi.

Why aren't you With me anymore?

We have to go.

Come on, now...

- lt can't be! - lt is.

- When did this happen? - One year and two days ago.

And you didn't let me know?!

Not even that ass of your father!

We know you're so busy, Professor, running a hospital like this.

To think that When you Were a girl and your father and l Were poor,

We used to plan how you and my Francesco Would get married.

- Remember? - Not very Well.

He's grown into a giant, he still hasn't graduated from college,

but he's a karate expert.

Look What he did to my poor hand, last Monday afternoon!

So Who did you settle on?

- Him! - Good afternoon. - lsn't he ugly?

He isn't even rich, but he's an incredible egoist.

We're here for our Wedding present.

A year late, but from you We expect it.

Go on, l Want to make amends.

Luigi Costa died about a month ago, here in your hospital.

- He Was supposed to have been very sick. - Certainly, Costa.

l remember him. He had been a priest at one time.

Lung cancer.

We'd like to know Where he's buried. He Was a distant relative of mine.

- l haven't been able to find out. - He Was buried here in Rimini.

He isn't here.

Don't tell me to go ask his sister: the poor Woman knows less than me.

l really don't know how l can help you.

- Maybe the police knows something. - There's no need.

There's nothing mysterious about it.

A little secret between me and the poor old man.

But if you're a relative...

The last few years of his life,

he Was affected by a persecution complex.

He didn't Want to be buried here, and he didn't Want it known Where.

lt Was as though he Was afraid.

lt Was supposed to remain our secret.

But instead...

He certainly chose a strange place, the cemetery of Spina.

Luigi Costa? Did you try the Etruscan necropolis?

- Sometimes they make a mistake! - Well?

He's in the night club.

- Where did you say? - lt has always been called that.

lt's a kind of underground place.

Sorry l can't go With you, l'd have done a rumba With the young lady!

Last chapel on the right!

This is creepy!

- Want to Wait for me outside? - Are you kidding?

Here it is! At last l get to see his face.

- lt's strange, though... - What?

They must've broken the tombstone When they set it.

ln fact they set it very recently.

The cement is still fresh.

While these...

Are at least two Weeks old, if not more.

Kind of hard to put flowers on a gravestone before you set it.

ls it cold down here.

Come on, are We going or not?

- You know What he looked like! - Go on up, l'll be right there.

- Wait for me in the car. - l can't Wait to go home.

lt's empty!

Here it is! Tonight too, see.

The sound and light are hooked up to photo-electric cells,

placed around the ground under study. As you see,

there's nothing visible moving.

Yet the sensometers scattered around signal a presence,

like somebody Walking over the field.

lt can't be small animals because the sensometers

are set to react only to a certain Weight.

They're calibrated for over a 100 pounds,

and no living creature exists small enough to escape our TV cameras,

With a specific mass that dense.

What's the temperature of the ground now?

- lt's up nine degrees. - And now?

- lt's still rising. - lt's always the same.

The arrival of that presence in the zone slowly raises the temperature.

Every night at the same time, and at dawn the effect disappears.

The data collected by Luigi Costa Was extraordinarily precise.

Anyhow, your suspicions Were correct.

The tomb is empty. He isn't there.

- Now Where do We look for him? - ln Bologna.

l have two classes.

Come on, hurry. Let's take the highway.

- Dear Luigi Costa, We're through With you! - What...

Spina. See What your book says.

The necropolis of Spina. That's What that name reminded me of!

Go on, read more.

lt Was founded around 530 B.C.

lt Was heavily hellenized and had its own treasury at Delphi.

- What's that mean? - That they Were in touch With the Delphic oracle.

The oracle of the dead?

The vast necropolis, Which included a large number of tombs,

number that seems inexplicable today,

given the scarcity of the population...

- Zeder's K zones! - What?

Professor Chesi Was telling me about it.

According to this Zeder, there exist special areas, K zones,

Which live in their own time,

Where it's possible to bring those buried there back...

Back from the Beyond.

That may explain a lot of things,

like Why he Wanted to be buried around here.

Here, this is Where he Was years ago.

- How do you know? - Don Mario told me.

And at his sister's house, l saw a kind of certificate of merit

With the name of this camp. - How sad it is!

Just think of all the children here once.

Right down the road from the necropolis, see?

And you Want me to drop this story?

Listen, let's ask that guy.

- What? - How We get back to Bologna, What else?

Excuse me, Where's the highway for Bologna?

Turn there, take your second right. lt's a couple miles down.

Thanks. Let's go.

- l feel like l've got to stay. - Stay here?

To do What? How can you Want to stay here?

l have to understand What this is all about.

There are too many things that don't make sense.

A heap of strange things...

The only strange one around here is you.

Come on, let's go!

l'm staying. That's all there is to it.

l guess you Want me to hitchhike back to Bologna,

seeing as how you're interested in all the stupidity in the World,

except me.

Take the car.

You're a nut! A crazy, selfish nut!

Go to hell!

Had a fight, didn't you?

No, it's just that l'm doing some research about this place.

There, and she doesn't Want to.

- You know how Women are. - l know something about them.

l got a mother Who's a real terror.

- What are you studying, ruins? - Ruins.

- This is a motel! - And a restaurant too.

But When they finish up there, We'll have to close.

- Are they making it into a hotel? - You bet.

These Frenchies, over a thousand rooms, all With colour TV.

We got a dozen rooms and can't rent one for love or money.

- And those guys are putting up a thousand! - l'll rent one.

lf you're into ruins, this here's the oldest ruin in Spina!

Mirko, fill 'er up and take a look at the oil.

Benni, there's a stranger here Who's heard a lot about you.

Are you one of those nuts from up there?

No, l'm doing some research on What Went on here.

l Will tell you everything for a beer.

- Questions? - No, l just Wondered What you knew about that place.

l know What everybody knows.

That it Was a holiday camp up to '56, When they closed it.

- Then? - Nothing until three years ago, When the nudists came.

The ones Who go around With their cheeks out...

- What happened? - So these perverts, that's What they are,

are all lying on the beach, When a dog of theirs dies.

So What do you think they do? They bury it there.

So they leave.

Every night anybody Who Went by there risked his life.

They found old Luisa With her throat ripped to pieces.

So one morning We go in there With our shotguns,

me and six or eight others,

and one of those long-hairs tells us Where they buried the mutt.

We dig him up, he Was a good six feet under.

And What else do We find?

He had the pair of garden shears that belonged to old Luisa

stuck in his neck.

We pulled him out of there.

He'd been dead at least three months and still Wasn't rotting!

So We threw him in garbage dump, it Was all over.

That's Why l say those Frenchies building that hotel are nuts!

Don't you pay Benni no mind!

Go on and laugh!

But l Wouldn't spend a night in a place like this for a million bucks!

- What are you doing here? - And you?

l often come here. l like it.

Besides, our parish Was once in charge of this camp's functions.

- Luigi Costa came here too. - Him too.

You know something you don't Want to tell me.

We priests never tell lies. lt's in the contract.

Lies, no. But not talking isn't lying.

Here's my alibi.

You mean to say you come all the Way from Bologna for those?

Poor Don Emidio enjoys them so much.

But you enjoy something else.

l like trying to understand man and his mysteries.

A priest leaves the Church after a lifetime of sacrifice,

only a few yards from the finish line,

in sight of the big prize.

- ln exchange for What? - The promise of a return?

Maybe the promise of a return.

Here We are talking like two imbeciles and l've got a service.

l'd like to see you again, to talk.

Sure, but in Bologna.

Go away from here.

Leave this business to us professionals of the supernatural.

Come in.

- ls that you? - Yes. Did you Want to see me?

l've thought about it a lot.

You have to tell Stefano to give that letter to the police.

They stole it from him. He hasn't got it anymore.

Better. Then maybe l'm Worrying about nothing.

l have these strange forebodings...

My husband isn't doing anything.

l don't Want anything to happen. Please, make him go to the police.

l recognize you.

Where are you?

Where are you hiding?

What are you standing in the dark for?

Chesi advises you to go to the police.

- You should at least talk to our friend. - Guido?

Right, Guido.

- God... - lt's useless to read it.

lt Was a real accident, nothing suspicious.

Do you see Why l came back?

Guido is dead, Stefano!

l Was scared to stay alone in the house.

So l grabbed all the things We might need and here l am.

For a moment l had the sensation he Was interested in my research.

- How? - No...

lt Was nothing.

A stupid coincidence, that's all.

Come on, let's do something fun.

Come on, please.

- We Were in school together. - Don't think.

You sure couldn't find a more suicidal room than this.

At least turn on the light.

What is it?

What is it?

Here's What it is!

How can it be?

You said it yourself:

a special kind of typewriter,

fairly rare...

And here, What do We find a few yards from the holiday camp?

The cord!

Don't tell me it's a coincidence.

Luigi Costa lived here, in this hotel.

Maybe in this very room...

My friend Carla says

making love makes the fear pass.

You kids, get out of here! Do you hear me?!

Did a certain Luigi Costa ever stay here?

How do l know? We just started running this place.

lf you ask me, it Would've been better to forget the Whole thing.

l see you and the girl up there.

That's a good-looking chick.

Ones like her are hard to come by around here. Where do you find them?

- Want me to bring you up some breakfast? - No, it's okay.

ls there a Watchman in there?

There Was, but they fired him When they took over.

There must be somebody... Last night there Was a light on.

Sure, With all the machinery they brought.

- What machinery? - Scientific stuff, to do their research With.

l know, l Watched them unload through my Super Visor.

- Your What? - My Super Visor.

l got it from a mail-order catalogue.

When the nudists Were here, it really came in handy!

l spend hours up there, messing With that gadget.

- What did you see? - lt's no use looking.

You can't see anything now. They took it all inside.

- What? - l don't know. l thought they Were making a movie.

They had these TV cameras and lights...

- And they never come down here? - Never, not even for coffee.

- Nobody better try to go in there! - Why?

They say they put up a kind of electrified fence.

But there's a Way to get in, anyway.

- How? - When We Were kids, We snuck in to steal fruit,

even past a guard With a shotgun full of buckshot.

- The hell We Were going through the gate. - How did you get in?

There Were Germans here during the War rounding people up.

But some found a Way to save themselves.

Let's go!

- l'll go get another one. - Never mind, it stopped.

His face, on the screen!

lt Was White, cadaverous...

He looked dead to me.

And then this.

Did you tell that giant to come in here With all that stuff?

Come on, Who cares? l'm telling you about insane things!

- Sorry. - Now, listen.

l need you to go to Professor Chesi With this videotape, right away.

He must have a videotape machine at the university,

or else he can get one.

lf only a small part of What l think is on it,

We finally have proof and you can take it to the police.

Then all this Will be over.

Okay? l can't leave.

l have to make sure they don't take everything away.

Then it Would be impossible.

Washed, greased and With an oil change!

Thanks.

- lt doesn't start. - Come on!

Let me try. Go out.

- Damn... - See?

- What did you do to it? - Me? Nothing.

l changed the oil. l figured it could use it, it Was smoking so much.

- Now, What? - ls there a Way to get to the train station?

My motorbike, in ten minutes We'll be there.

Well, promise you'll be careful.

- Don't go back in there, okay? - Promise.

Hello, this is urgent. l need to talk to Don Mario.

l Wish l knew Where he Was! We haven't seen him since yesterday.

l called the hospitals, l Was just about to call the police now.

Who's calling?

Hi!

Excuse me, they called from the hospital to say my mother Was bad.

The only one Who can take me is Mirko.

l don't know if l'll be back tomorrow morning.

lf anything comes up, you can always reach us at this number.

- Feel free to use the bar. - Thank you.

- Good evening. - Good night.

- Hello? - Alessandra stopped by and told me the Whole story.

Then l saw that tape you sent me. What is it, some kind of a joke?

- lt's completely blank. - Crazy things are happening here.

- l think l saw Luigi Costa... - Who?

The ex-priest... Never mind, you Wouldn't understand.

- l think We better call the police! - l'll take care of it.

All right, but have them come right away.

- Keep Alessandra With you. - Stay calm.

Stay Where you are and don't do anything.

l'll be there as soon as possible.

Hello? Hello?!

He has to be taken care of and that body has got to be disinterred.

Everything's ready.

Who's there?

You may as Well give up.

- They cut you off, didn't you? - How do you know?

You're screwed, friend. We're screwed.

That's not What l'm here for.

l came to tell you they already left their calling card.

Come on.

Everybody says l'm crazy. Just look here, if l'm a little crazy.

We got to try and dig up that ex-priest quick,

and get him out of that ground, if We still hope to save ourselves.

l don't think l'm going to make it.

l really don't think l can go any further.

We better go back.

Stop! Come back!

What do you try to do? Come back, son.

Unbury him... Unbury him!

Unbury him... Pull him out of that ground.

For the love of God!

- Where's the machine? - Over there.

- Please, sit on. - Good morning.

Some little inconveniences that We Will call accidents along the Way,

have forced us to temporarily suspend the experiment on that site.

But We are now in possession of such exceptional confirmation

to suppose that, in a near future, the situation Will be under control.

We don't feel the sacrifice of our two valorous colleagues

in the name of science Was in vain.

That ground is the most fertile K zone yet identified.

l remind you l came to know of this place, together With Dr. Melis,

on the indication of a remarkable man, somebody from the place:

a certain Luigi Costa, an ex-priest.

Wake up!

Come on, Wake up.

(FemaIe soIoist) ? Oh, for the wings

? For the wings

? Of a dove

? Far away

? Far away wouId I rove...

(Choirboys) ? Oh, for the wings

? For the wings of a dove

? Far away, far away

? Far away, far away wouId I rove

? In the wiIderness, buiId me a nest

? And remain there forever at rest

? In the wiIderness, buiId me a nest

? BuiId me a nest

? And remain there forever at rest

? In the wiIderness, buiId me a nest... ?

Look, there's one.

- HK. It's one I haven't got. - Ain't you tired of that Iark yet?

(Singing continues from inside the church)

"EnthraIIing new adventure of SeIwyn Pike, master sIeuth,

"and his youthfuI assistant, SmiIer."

- Wotcher, chaps! Tea's up! - Joe, any Iuck today?

No, I went for a job in an undertaker's. I didn't get it.

- Come and see the boss at our miIk bar. - I might Iook him up tomorrow.

Load of tripe.

- Found it in the road. - Listen.

"It was the work of a moment for SmiIer to force the window.

"He put one Ieg over and dropped to the floor."

Where'd he Ieave the other?

"Two men Iay in a pooI of bIood at his feet."

Brr. I'm scared.

(AII Iaugh)

"Pike must be informed at once of this grim new deveIopment."

- (Scottish accent) That's my comic! - Get out of it!

Get out of it!

"SmiIer stepped back towards the window but ere he couId reach it,

"the garage door swung open and Larry the BuII Ioomed up before him.

"SmiIer opened his mouth to shout,

"but his cry of desperation was instantIy smothered

"as a Iarge, rough hand cIosed over..."

WeII, where's the rest of it?

What do you mean?

It must have bIowed away.

That's that.

I'II get you another one in the morning. Tuppence, pIease.

Huh, you'II catch me reading that kid's stuff.

Give us the "Trump", pIease.

"'SeIwyn Pike was a fast mover.

"'Eight minutes of breakneck driving brought him to WiImot Road.

"'Just in time.

"'There was the van.

"'SeIwyn Pike was stiII on its taiI when it puIIed up in GranviIIe PIace.

"'It stopped outside number 81 3.

"'Two men jumped from it."'

(Bus conductor) Great Queen Street!

"'Pike watched through narrowed eyes.

"'Yes, there they were.

"'Three wooden crates and the number that SmiIer had impressed upon him:

"'GZ 4216.

"'Pike frowned.

"'Two crates, two dead men. But the third crate?

"'SmiIer! 'By gad', he ejacuIated, 'The fiends!'

"'It seemed onIy too cIear..."'

Mind out, you.

Look where you're going.

Excuse me, sir.

Are you SeIwyn Pike?

No, my name is Higgins, sorry.

Three bodies I teII you! In wooden crates!

You're crackers.

- Scared, are ya? - Who, me?

- Get out of it. - OK, Iet's get on with it.

Agh!

- WeII! - You're hurting me!

- Oh, yes. - Let go, I'II expIain.

You'II expIain to the poIice.

Leave off! Oh!

(Non-native accent) Lies, Iies, Iies.

AII big Iies, I teII you, Inspector. What I want bodies for in my business?

Mr Jago, pIease, I'm checking that number.

Sorry, inspector.

TerribIy sorry.

But what a story.

Wherever I knew such Iies!

You're sure it was GZ 4216?

Sure as I stand here, Inspector. Just Iike in that paper.

Very interesting. You see, there doesn't happen to be a GZ.

See, Inspector? He makes it aII in his head.

Why? He comes to rob my shop.

But I knew it aII the time.

You've got your remedy. I take it you wish to charge this boy.

Yes, I charge him. You wiII send him to prison?

Right, we'II aII three get aIong to Bow Street.

To Bow Street? Me? Now? Why?

- You're the one bringing the charge. - But Inspector, what eIse shaII I bring?

I've toId you aII I know.

- I'm sorry, you've got to come aIong. - Oh, yes, but I can't come now.

I'm waiting for a customer of mine.

He comes at haIf past nine. He's a very big customer.

Look here, Mr Jago.

Either you proceed in the proper manner or you drop the charge.

Yes, pIease, sorry, I haven't understood.

He is a very big customer. He can't find cIose to my shop.

You must understand, Inspector.

WeII, right. WeII...I'II Iet the boy go.

What eIse can I do?

AII right, son.

So sorry, Inspector. I didn't Iike to waste your time.

If onIy it wouId have been tomorrow, I couId have managed.

Sorry.

That was Iucky for you, son. You'd better cut aIong. Where do you work?

- I'm just Iooking for a job. - I see.

WeII, watch your step.

- It was GZ 4216. - Cut it out, son.

Supposing them number pIates was faIse and that bIoke was a crook?

He wouIdn't have sent for me, wouId he?

You ought to Iay off reading those shockers.

I don't think you're reaIIy a bad boy, just a bit imaginative.

- If I put you in the way of a job... - In the CID?

No, Covent Garden.

Do you know NightingaIe's, the fruit and vegetabIe pIace?

- No. - Mr NightingaIe is a friend of mine.

He's on the Iookout for a bright boy Iike you.

Take this aIong to him.

TeII him I sent you.

Detective Inspector Ford.

Send me up some aIIigators too.

What's that?

Yeah, I couId do with a fisherman's daughter.

That's the Iot, unIess you've got some ins and outs in.

Oh, Jim, those tennis baIIs are a bit of a duff Iot. They're frosted.

How's the missus?

Oh, too bad.

TeII her to rub it with turpentine. So Iong.

So you're the young feIIow that sees visions on the streets of London?

(Laughs) What's your name?

- Joe Kirby, sir. - That's right.

Detective Inspector Ford has just been teIIing me about you. Started young, eh?

- Started what, guv'nor? - The heebie-jeebies.

- Now, Iet me give you some advice, Joe. - Yes, sir.

If ever you see a smaII jeIIied eeI in striped pyjamas,

riding a tricycIe up the waII,

knock it off, boy.

Don't ever touch another drop.

- Good strong boy, are you? - I reckon so.

Come here.

Come here, I'm not going to eat you.

Bend it, bend it sIowIy.

Oh, not a bad bit of muscIe there. AII right, Joe, I'II try you out.

30 shiIIings a week, 5am to 1 pm.

And no daydreams in my time.

I wasn't dreaming.

(Laughs)

Tom, this is your new assistant, Joe Kirby.

Show him the ropes.

And if you find any corpses under those spuds, give me a whistIe.

(NightingaIe Iaughs)

(Vendor #1) Ho, razor bIades, ho!

I got ya.

(Vendor #2) AII eIastic, our braces, aII eIastic!

(Vendor #1) Razor bIades, ho!

AII eIastic, our braces, aII eIastic!

- Our eIastic braces! - Razor bIades!

(Vendor 2 Iaughs)

(GeneraI Iaughter)

(Train whistIes past)

(Mr Kirby) What does he get, young Johnson? Two quid a week?

Don't know how he does it. I couIdn't afford to pIay around with girIs at his age.

- Now what's his nibs up to? - Just practising, Dad.

- I've got a job. - A job, have you?

I hope it's a good steady one this time.

- That's mine. - I eat the crusts. I'm sIimming.

I toId you not to start a new Ioaf before you finish the oId.

TeII us, how much are you getting?

- I'm getting 30 bob a week. - Money isn't everything my Iad.

What's the prospects?

I wouIdn't be surprised if I wasn't given a very important job to do pretty soon.

- In the government? - In the CID, if you must know.

Never mind about the job you're going to get.

- What about the job you've got? - It's in Covent Garden.

I was recommended by a detective inspector.

I've got to carry ten baskets on me 'ead.

WeII, it's not what I'd caII a reaI safe job,

but some of these porters earn good money.

Dad, you know about car numbers?

I'II have a word with Ted WiIIiams. His son works in the market.

- Why ain't there no cars with GZ? - I didn't know there wasn't.

It's flowers he goes in for. SeasonaI stuff.

White carnations wouId go weII with my new dance dress.

Joe, try and get us a coupIe.

White carnations. I've got more important things to worry about.

Like joining the CID?

Some peopIe ain't got the imagination.

I done a bit of good for that detective inspector.

Kept me eyes open and what with this crime wave, I wouIdn't be surprised...

You've got a bit of sausage on your chin.

(Crashing)

(Mimics bombs dropping and expIoding)

(Mimics machine-gun fire)

(Continues to mimic firing weapons)

Joe!

Seen any of the others yet?

No, why?

Roy EIIis ain't haIf been spinning a yarn.

- I shouId worry. - He says they fetched a cop aIong to you.

Detective Inspector.

Detective Inspector! Coo, what happened?

Nothing much, 'cept he gave me a job.

(Mimics bomb bIasts and gunfire)

(Crashing sounds and chiIdren pIaying)

Wotcher, Dicky.

Look who's waIked in.

(Coughing)

(Roy) Found them bodies yet, Joe?

(Loud chattering)

(? Tune of "Ten Green BottIes") ? Three dead corpses rotting in a box ?

- You shouId have your brains tested. - (Boys) ? ...rotting in a box

? And if one dead corpse shouId accidentaIIy rot

? There'II be two dead corpses rotting in a box

? Two dead corpses rotting in a box

? Two dead corpses rotting in a box... ?

(Roy) Never mind. I bet you gave them cops the best Iaugh they've had for years!

I've got two more sets compIete, Joe.

(Roy) Don't taIk to him about car numbers.

- I've got aII the Xs and Gs. - You ain't got GZ, Arthur, I know that.

- I have. - You can't have, there ain't one.

Let's see it.

Where?

There. GZ 4216.

I got it this morning.

GZ 4216!

(Boy mimics cockereI crowing)

You give it back!

(SquabbIing)

Shut up aII of ya!

Where d'you see it?

On my way to work, coming out of the garage.

Why, what's up?

A garage.

It aII fits.

It aII fits! The van in the story came out of a garage. They transferred the bodies.

There wasn't any bodies. you saw that.

- Might mean something eIse, though. - What do you mean?

That's right, don't you see? It's sort of a code.

I bet them furs was stoIen.

No, I thought of that.

It can't be. That bIoke wouIdn't have dared send for the poIice.

- Why not? - (BIeats)

- You pipe down. - Pipe down yourseIf. Go on, CIarry.

He took a chance the cops wouIdn't beIieve Joe.

Now if he goes to 'em again they'II just Iaugh.

- He's a crook that bIoke in the shop! - Course he's a crook.

Crooks with a code in a kids' paper(!) What for anyway?

To get their orders from the boss, Iike in the stories.

Why don't the boss just teII 'em?

Because he doesn't want them to know who he is.

Yes.

Who is he, then? FeIIer that owns the paper?

Might be, or the bIoke that writes them stories.

FeIix H WiIkinson.

Why not Bing Crosby?

FeIix H WiIkinson.

Yeah.

I wonder if he's in the teIephone book.

There he is. F H WiIkinson.

Come on.

(Loud whirring)

(Man's voice echoes) Your fate is in my hands.

(SIow Iaughter)

Nothing can save you now.

Nothing.

You're aII aIone and I have a siIencer on this gun.

You've onIy got five seconds to Iive...

(Dictaphone) 'the pistoI barked. A spurt of yeIIow flame.

'Pike's nostriIs were assaiIed by the famiIiar smeII, er...

'Correction, aroma.'

Who are you? What are you doing here?

We... We thought we was going to be murdered.

The door was open.

Oh!

What a jape, eh?

No, I Ieft the door open for Otto, my cat

And that's Dick. Dick the Dictaphone.

(ChuckIes)

WeII, Iook, come in, come in and sit down.

Just one moment.

There you are.

WeII, what...what can I do for you?

WeII, sir, we've been reading that story of yours

about "Mr Pike And The ScarIet Death".

Ah!

My pubIic.

Him being tied to that circuIar saw and the poison gas seeping in...

Five more days to find out if he gets away...

...SmiIer when they drop that bIack widow spider in the crate...

- We was thinking, Mr WiIkinson... - You might...

TeII us.

Thank you a thousand times.

This is reaIIy the most scrumptious compIiment I've ever been paid.

- You wiII? - Of course, by aII means.

One moment though, I...think this caIIs for a IittIe Iiquid refreshment, eh?

(ChuckIes)

What's he going to give us? I don't know.

Sip it carefuI.

- Hey, AIec! - What?

- This. "A Study Of Codes And Ciphers". - Look out!

(ChuckIes)

Ginger pop.

Come aIong now, feIIows, heIp yourseIves.

No, no, no. Not that one!

Mine has, er...gin in it.

Bung ho!

Mmm! Yum, yum, yum.

And now for the answer to your touching request.

"SeIwyn Pike And The ScarIet Death."

InstaIment number four.

'Crack!

'The sound of the pistoI shot echoed and reverberated

'through the sepuIchraI darkness of the IoneIy miII.

'SeIwyn Pike, his neck a bare six inches from the crueI bIades of the whirIing saw,

'was aware that something akin to a miracIe had occurred.

'He had toId nobody of his pIan to visit Zanzibar Street.'

- Where? - What?

What is the matter?

The miII where Mr Pike went was in Lambeth Road.

- I never use reaI streets in my stories! - It says Lambeth Road in here.

What?

Oh, crumbs. What a frightening picture.

So that's what SeIwyn Pike Iooks Iike.

I say, a bit of a bounder, I'm afraid.

Not at aII as I imagined him.

But ain't you never seen this here paper before?

Gracious me, no.

I create these stories.

Why bIess my souI, you boys are perfectIy right.

It is Lambeth Road!

Now, what on earth induced them to change that?

- Wait. - Oh!

- And here's a spIit infinitive. - (Joe) Mr WiIkinson...

- And aII appearing under my name. - Mr WiIkinson.

We reckon it's used as a code by crooks.

I'II never Iive it... What?

Crooks?

My stories?

That there van.

I've seen it in Great Queen Street, unIoading three crates.

Another boy saw it too!

Here's the addresses.

By the Lord Harry!

Do you mean my stories have been distorted by some...

- Master criminaI. - ExactIy.

Some master criminaI,

as a means of sending instructions to his, er...minions?

Without betraying his own identity.

(Sighs)

Stupendous.

Just Iike Captain X in "SeIwyn Pike And The Footprints On The CeiIing".

He used the agony coIumn in the "Morning Gazette".

My story.

Let me see that.

"GranviIIe PIace, Great Queen Street, WiImot Road, Woburn Avenue."

1 from 4 Ieaves 3, and 16 and 14...

Ah!

Ah-ha!

Got something, have you?

Yes.

- What is it? - The key.

The key to your precious code, the "London PostaI Guide".

GranviIIe PIace, turn ten pages

and the corresponding position is Great Queen Street!

Just as I thought, with two, three, four added.

- How do you work that out? - WeII may you ask.

The scoundreIs have purIoined the code I invented

for "The Case Of The Limping SkeIeton", the chiId of this brain!

- Who's going to teII the poIice? - The poIice?

(Joe) Yeah, the cops.

- TeII the poIice! - (Joe) What's the matter?

Huh.

WeII...

This is a big powerfuI gang we've stumbIed on!

They wouId never show a shred of mercy on anyone who...peached on them.

- But if they aII get arrested - Some may get away.

And they'II be sure to avenge their comrades, ruffians of that breed,

Iike the survivors in "The Case Of The Crowded Coffins".

They reappeared IiteraIIy from the grave,

to cut the throat of poor oId SiIas CobIeigh.

- (Joe) See here, Mr WiIkinson... - And remember

Remember what happened to Nicky the Nark in "The Case Of The Creeping Death".

Yeah, but those sort of things onIy happen in stories.

Are you suggesting that stories can never come to Iife?

Look, don't be rash, boys.

Leave me out of it, I impIore you. Leave me out of it.

I want no part of it at aII!

Ah.

Otto.

Come...Otto.

Boys.

Don't forget Nicky the Nark.

(Church beIIs toII)

Morning, Harry. Nice weather.

Wotcher, mind your backs pIease! Yoi-yoi!

Yoi-yoi!

Oi-oi!

Mind your backs, pIease.

Oi-oi.

(NightingaIe) Joe!

I've just been teIIing the inspector about your Iatest findings

and, er...he'd Iike to have a word with you.

What's the idea, son?

I thought I'd done you a good turn.

You have too.

Then why do you keep on wasting my time?

AII this nonsense about crooks and codes.

But it ain't nonsense, Inspector.

There's a racket being worked. Here's the codes they're using.

Check that out with the "London PostaI Guide"

and have a Iook at this story too.

Did you make this code up?

- Me? No, course I didn't. - Who did?

Who made up this code?

- It was in a story in the "Trump". - I thought so.

- I've just about had enough of this. - I ain't sprucing!

It was in "The Case Of The Limping SkeIeton"

Cut it out!

I've been very patient with you,

but you're going to get into serious troubIe.

The next time I come here it won't be simpIy to warn you.

You beIieve me don't you, guv?

Yeah.

Sure, Joe. Sure.

I beIieve you.

I even beIieve in Santa CIaus.

(Laughs)

Can I carry your bag, Miss Davis?

No thank you, Norman, dear.

Do you work on the "Trump", mate?

- Do you work on the "Trump", mate? - Yeah, why?

Have you got a date with her or something?

No, sometimes we go the same way, see.

Why? What do you want?

- A peek at next week's story in advance. - You ain't asking much.

Wait tiII you've heard what I know.

(Train whistIe)

I reckon Joe ought to have his head examined,

bIowing the gaff to some CamberweII kid.

And bringing him aIong here.

How eIse couId we find who's changing the stories?

We'd be proper stuck.

For aII we know, that kid's in the racket hisseIf.

Joe says he's aII right.

Did I ask you? We don't want you.

- Who said so? - I said so!

(Mimics seaguII cries)

Here they come.

(Chattering)

BIimey, dapper IittIe beggar, ain't he?

(Puts on posh accent) I say, what a shocking pIace to bring a feIIow to!

Turn it up, Roy. This is him, feIIers. Norman PeIIey.

Come on.

Who's the crook on your paper?

Be nice to know, wouIdn't it?

There's no one at the office aItering them stories.

I made sure. And it can't be the comps.

- That means the printers. - And Joe said it couIdn't be WiIkinson.

- Now who are we Ieft with? - It doesn't matter about that now.

We've got next week's paper.

- He gave it to me. - In code?

- We worked it out. - Is there a job?

Them crooks are going to bust into Ritchie's.

In the West End?

What, that big pIace in Oxford Street?

(Excited shouting)

That's it. Ritchie's, the big department store in Oxford Circus.

- Get out! - How does the next bit start?

- Buzz off, this ain't no reading circIe. - Get on with it, then.

There's Tattoo Jack and his gang

and they're going to break in, eight o'cIock tomorrow night.

Thanks to Norman, we've got haIf a day's start to pIan.

They won't get a dekko at this untiI tomorrow morning.

Boxing.

(Reads sIowIy, Iike a chiId) "It was apparent to SmiIer

"that he had been...misIed

"for...the newcomer...was...Tattoo Jack!"

Right.

That's aII we want to know. Tattoo Jack is doing the job this week.

Working tonight, dear?

- No, not me. Tattoo Jack. - Good, we can go to the pictures.

OK, boys.

We're running tonight.

- Why? Who's doing the job? - Tattoo Jack.

Must be something speciaI.

(Phone rings)

Detective Sergeant FothergiII.

Who?

I see.

Carry on.

MacIean.

This evening?

Do you mean Ritchie's at Oxford Circus?

Yes.

Yes, thanks for the tip. We'II foIIow that up.

- WaIIis, Meadows. - Sergeant?

Anonymous tip-off, for what it's worth.

- PossibIe job at Ritchie's. - Do you want us to go?

Yes, I'II come with you. Eight o'cIock.

- Any idea who? - Bunch of kids, so the nark said.

- Detective Sergeant FothergiII. - OK, sir.

(CIocks chime)

'Six stone, two pounds.'

(CIock chimes)

'17 stone, 4 pounds.'

(CIattering)

(Grunting)

(GeneraI cries of panic)

'30 stone, 5 pounds.'

(Boys shout and cIamour)

'40 stone.'

(Running out of power) '40...stone.'

'...40...stone.'

(CIamouring continues)

- Come 'ere! - Dicky, heIp me!

(Dicky) I've got him!

(Boy) Oi! Come on!

(CIamouring continues)

Keep hoId of him!

(CIarry) In here!

'Ere, get off me!

Get him, Joe!

Let me go! Ow!

Lay off! Stop it!

(Shouting continues)

Get hoId of him!

That net there! Come on.

Joe, get him on the floor.

(Scream)

Oi, get down!

(Shouting continues)

(Shouting) Let me out of here, pIease!

HeIp, heIp!

HeIp!

(WhistIe bIows)

- What's up? - Kids!

Big kids, IittIe kids, tough kids, thousands of them aII over the pIace!

(Confused shouting)

- (AIec) Let me go! - (PoIiceman) Hey!

What's going on here?

Here y'are, we caught the Iot.

- PhiIIips! - Sergeant FothergiII!

Don't stand there gaping, man! Get us out of this!

Beat it, beat it!

Beat it, out that way!

(Night watchman whistIing)

Come here!

- (PoIiceman) Right, Sergeant. - We've got them trapped!

For Pete's sake, get me out of this!

(Night watchman's whistIe continues)

We're done for.

Oi, come 'ere, quick!

- Give us heIp. Anybody got a torch? - I've got one, Roy.

(Hurried whispers)

Last one put the Iid back.

(Echoed mutterings)

(Roy) Get down there before the cops come!

- Come on! - Get down there!

- Coo, don't it pong. - What do you expect in a sewer? VioIets?

This is where my dad works.

Where do we go from here?

Where do you want to go? PiccadiIIy? Strand?

They run just Iike the streets.

WeII, come on.

(Echoed chatter)

They can't have got out this way. They must be somewhere.

Might have doubIed back inside, sir.

Take a Iook round the basement. I'II try the furnace room.

Get on the bIower and warn the patroI car to keep a Iookout.

You come with me.

- (Shouts) Here it is! - (Boys) Hurray!

(Joe) Good oId Roy!

(Excited shouting)

(Grunts)

- What's up? - It's stiff.

(Both grunt)

(Panting)

It's no use.

We'd better find another one.

It's aII right, AIec.

We'II get out, won't we Joe?

What?

Oh, sure.

Come on.

I can't go on, I can't go on, I can't!

- It won't be for Iong, AIec. - I can't!

I can't, I can't!

(Crying) I can't, I can't!

(Chatter)

Shut up, aII of you!

(Shouting dies down)

- Let's have a go at it. - It's no use.

(Radio) 'FY caIIing 12A.

'Oxford Circus, vicinity of Ritchie's.

'Number of boys seen '

Cor, fresh air.

My mum didn't haIf go off the deep end.

I toId my oId man I rescued a kid from the canaI.

- Did he beIieve you? - Dunno. He cIouted me.

They can't send me to borstaI, I'm too young.

Oh, shut up. Nobody is going to borstaI.

Break into a West End store, beat up the watchman,

tie down the cops and expect to get away with it?

- Don't make me Iaugh. - How're they going to know?

Don't take any notice, Joe.

Them coppers wasn't after us, they was after the crooks.

- Then why didn't the crooks turn up? - Joe!

Joe!

There's a coupIe of coppers standing round by the ruins.

I did, I see 'em!

What did I teII you? Come on, I'm getting out of here quick.

Where's that water?

- You going, Roy? Where you going? - Any pIace'd be heaIthier than here.

- Why don't they come here and get us, eh? - Figure that out for yourseIf.

That CamberweII paI of yours is a nark.

- He knows about the ruins, don't he? - The dirty IittIe rat.

- What are we going to do? - (Mimics CIarry) What are we going to do?

If we couId find them crooks...

Or maybe we ought to go to the poIice.

Shove it down there, Dicky.

- Out of the way. - Who you shoving?

Take your fancy ideas somewhere eIse.

(Shouting and cIamouring)

(CIarry) Hit him!

Come on, Joe!

Hit him, Joe!

Dicky, you bring that bowI back, this minute.

Go on, bash him, bash him!

BIimey, Iook who's here!

Norman the nark!

(Norman) Joe!

Hey, feIIers, turn it up!

Joe!

- Norman! What's up? - I've got a cIue. I've seen WiIkinson.

- You have? - Yeah.

- My boss wanted the story earIy. - Did you get it?

- Lap it up. - No.

WiIkinson says he posted it Iast night, he aIways puts it in the post on Sundays.

- (Joe) So what? - We don't ever get it before Tuesday.

- Are you sure of that, Norman? - Course.

Miss Davis opens it and I take it to the oId man.

- Miss Davis. Does she open aII Ietters? - Yes, but she's aII right.

- Not so fast... - It can't be her.

- Is she good-Iooking? - She's a smasher.

'Ere, come off it. What's the idea?

- I swear... - How do you reckon she works it?

Supposing she puts the story in her pocket first thing Monday.

She can take it home, muck it about and send it back by Iast post.

I'II bet ya that's it!

- That dirty, doubIe crossing... - Now we've got to get some evidence.

He's off again.

It's our big chance, AIec.

If we can find them crooks, we don't have to worry.

- Where does this bird Iive, Norman? - Hampstead way somewhere.

- I'II try and find out. - Might make her suspicious.

- We'II traiI her. - Six o'cIock tomorrow.

- Yeah. - Biggest Ioad of buII I've ever heard.

Poor oId Roy.

He don't finish work untiI seven.

- Coming on my bus, Miss Davis? - Yes, Norman, I am tonight.

Hurry aIong, hurry aIong, pIease! One more onIy.

Oh no, you go, Norman. You've got further to go than me.

- What did you do that for? - Where's she gone?

- We've Iost her now. - I couIdn't heIp it.

- That's a fine thing! - Let's get off.

It's no use yeIping, get off quick.

(Shouting)

- Look out! - Watch out!

(Joe) Across the road, feIIers, hurry up!

There she is.

(Joe) Taxi!

Taxi! Taxi, oi!

Taxi!

Hey, taxi!

(Joe) Taxi!

- Taxi! - Taxi!

Taxi!

That's torn it.

- No it hasn't, we'II take a bus. - Where to, you siIIy IittIe shrimp?

Number 31 , Moyne Road.

That's where the Iady toId the driver.

I was hoIding the taxi door.

Cor!

Good oId AIec!

Come on!

Shh!

(Whispers) Go on, AIec.

What do you want here?

Can you spare something for the choir outing?

What choir?

St Mark's, Miss.

Haven't I seen you somewhere before?

I don't know.

I expect you've seen me in church.

(Tapping of typewriter keys)

Ah yes, that must be it. Come aIong in, dear. I'II get my bag.

I want to teII you about the outing.

- You shaII. Come aIong. - No, I'II stop here.

Oh no you won't.

This was the one they use.

- We've got her. - Look out!

I get it.

I thought as much.

We'II see what the poIice have to say.

- (Joe) Good oId Dicky! - (CIarry) Round the chair, Dicky!

I'II break your necks!

Lay off, wiII you? Cut it out!

You'II get five years and the cat!

Take your fiIthy paws off me.

(Miss Davis) WeII, what happens now?

What now, Joe?

Don't you think you're going to get away with this.

(WhistIes)

What's happened?

We've tied her up.

What?

Here, quick. Have a Iook at this.

Was them stories done on the same machine?

I don't know.

Supposing she's seen me with you.

- What am I going to say to her? - She won't be there.

- You can taIk, I've got a job to Iose. - What's that bird's name?

Her? Rhona Davis.

Why is this addressed to Miss Rhona Watson?

Why don't she use her right name at your office?

I'm going to ring my boss and teII him we're reaIIy on to something.

- That's right, come on! - Dicky, AIec, watch her, make her taIk!

You get back on guard!

Do we go back in there?

You heard what he said.

We've got to make her taIk.

CouIdn't we tickIe her?

Don't taIk siIIy.

But it worked fine in "The Case Of The Cross-Eyed Chinaman".

No guv, I'm in a caII box.

SpeedweII 9446, it's about two minutes from her pIace.

I'm going to ring up Inspector Ford. Stop where you are and I'II caII you back.

They'II be OK. You stick where you are and don't Ieave that box.

Good Iad.

HeIIo.

HeIIo, Exchange.

HeIIo?

You're going to taIk if I stay here aII night!

Who's your boss?

(Sighs)

I'II scar you for Iife!

Oh, why don't you go home to Mother?

And you too, you siIIy IittIe squirt.

I don't know, it made OId Ming Po taIk aII right.

Go off to your paIs. They knew what was good for them.

They Ieft you to carry the can.

I wouIdn't Iike to be in your shoes when my paIs turn up.

AIec, come here.

They won't be Iong now, I'm expecting them any minute.

Water torture.

Then you'II know what it means to be tough.

(Sneers)

(Screams)

(Screaming) Get it away!

- Stop it. - Take it away!

- Do you want to taIk? - Yes, yes!

(Stops screaming)

- OK, who runs your racket? - It's...

(Man) DonaId Duck.

- You there, undo those cords. - Yes, sir.

Get a move on.

Hurry, hurry, come on.

Got him!

- Joe, Joe! - What's happened?

- A bIoke turned up. - One of the crooks.

I knocked him coId. Dicky's tied him up.

LoveIy grub. That'II show Ford.

- NightingaIe is trying to contact him. - We're not going to wait now, are we?

WeII, I don't know He toId me not to move.

You gave him the address, he'II find his way aII right, come on!

(Car revving)

Look!

Oh, they've got Dicky!

We'II never see him again, I know we won't.

He might have run for it.

We never ought to have Ieft him.

They'II find him in the river.

Nark it, can't ya?

Get a move on!

Who's going to teII her?

Joe, I suppose.

You don't think it's a woman's job?

- She don't Iike me. - She hates me.

Hey, Joe!

Dicky!

I got in the back of their car!

They're packing up, getting aII their stuff out of London.

- We thought you were dead. - Pipe down.

King's Cross, that's where they went.

The bIoke I tied up's gone to GIasgow.

Where've they got the stuff?

I know where they're shifting it. BaIIard's Wharf.

Cor, if you'd have seen me crouching there beside them...

(Dicky's mother) Here, what's aII this? I might have known it.

You ought to be ashamed of yourseIf hanging round the streets!

Grr, the oId mare!

Don't bother about her.

BaIIard's Wharf.

How many crooks' names do you remember out of the "Trump"?

Forget the "Trump".

- What's Ford going to do? - I've got a big idea.

- Again? - Give him a chance, Norman.

Larry the BuII and SIimy Sam.

HoIy Noakes and Chopper WiIson that used to bump off bIondes.

Come on, Norman.

PopIar Pete.

He tried to chuck SeIwyn Pike into a bath of acid.

What is this idea?

Benjamin CutIer, Eddie The Moose and Smoky Andrews.

He tried to pIug SmiIey with a poisoned dart in "Death Comes At Midnight".

Smoky Andrews.

Ford wiII have to beIieve us if we round up this Iot.

Us round 'em up?

Us and a Iot of others.

Listen, the heads know the game's up, see. But the other bIokes don't.

They'II be Iooking in their "Trump" next week.

For their orders.

That's it.

Listen, couId you pinch WiIkinson's story out of the post tomorrow?

- Same as Rhona used to? - I suppose I can, but...

You've got nothing to worry about.

There'II be another story aIong at your office.

- Are you going to write it? - Me?

No.

No, I won't do it.

It's asking too much.

I won't even consider it.

Then I'II have to Iet them crooks know you put us on to their code.

- (Whimpers) This is bIackmaiI. - That's right.

But if you write the story the way I've asked, no one wouId even know.

Such base ingratitude.

Larry the BuII, SIimy Sam, Chopper Do you want them aII incIuded?

Yes, and don't forget the password, "SeaguII".

- When do you want this done? - First thing.

I've never written a story of this Iength in under two days!

You'II have to bust your record.

Remember what happened to Nicky the Nark.

It'II mean missing aII my sIeep.

But aII of it.

Oh, how I Ioathe adventurous-minded boys.

Guv'nor, what happened?

Did he create? There was a bIoke, came and rescued 'em. If you'd...

Give us a chance. Do you mean Iast night?

Yes. Inspector Ford. Was he wiId when he found them gone?

- He was Joe, pretty wiId. - He's going to be thanking us.

- I think we are on to the boss. - You're onto the boss of the gang?

I reckon he got the others out.

I don't know 'is name yet, but I've got the number of his car, EMU 20.

Carry on, this is interesting.

I know where he's putting that stuff he pinched.

- How? - A paI of mine.

- Not bad, eh? - Very smart.

I don't know if you'II be abIe to get on to Inspector Ford again.

- He won't beIieve it? - After Iast night, of course.

- He wiII once we round up the gang. - What have you got in mind?

The boss is moving his swag to BaIIard's Wharf,

so we're having a speciaI story in the "Trump",

teIIing the others to pinch it.

And you catch them red-handed?

That's the idea. Making a reaI big do of it, Saturday afternoon.

- Reckon it'II work? - I'm sure it'II work.

I'm sure it'II work a treat.

- The BattIe of BaIIard's Wharf. - Yeah.

(Both Iaugh)

(NightingaIe Iaughs manicaIIy)

(Car door sIams)

Guv!

(Car revs)

Guv'nor!

Guv!

(Miss Davis) "Never had there been such an assembIy of desperados

"as met on the Saturday afternoon."

(NightingaIe Iaughs)

"Thieves, kidnappers, stick-up men, bIackmaiIers, buIIies, murderers..."

(NightingaIe continues to Iaugh)

"...aII Iistened eagerIy, their viIIainous faces agIow,

"as Larry the BuII outIined his eviI pIan."

(Laughs wiIdIy)

"'That kid, SmiIer,' announced Larry with a triumphant grin,

"'has pIayed right into our hands. He's Ied us aII unwitting to the pIunder.

"'Let us hie forthwith to number 401 , Crampton Street..."'

What? Let me see that.

- Why, what's the matter? - Those IittIe...

That's the code for my pIace, not BaIIard's Wharf. They've found out.

- What? - Heavens, don't be so dumb.

That I never shifted the stuff to the wharf.

They're sending aII our chaps to my warehouse.

- What wiII you do? What about me? - Oh.

(UnsettIing music)

(Music fades out)

Working overtime eh, Joe?

Where are the others?

Your paIs.

No use you hoIding out.

I've just been reading my "Trump".

Where are they, Joe?

BaIIard's Wharf.

Now, now. What's the good of you teIIing me Iies?

I know you've changed the story.

They're at BaIIard's Wharf.

- For the Iast time... - I'm teIIing you, at BaIIard's Wharf.

To catch them with the stuff, we toId them to fetch it and take it there.

I see.

WeII, I didn't get that far in the story.

So, you and I are aII aIone, eh?

That's fine.

- You've taken a tip from me, eh? - I have?

Sure. I put a phony story in the "Trump" to catch you, didn't I?

Sent you to Ritchie's, but you were too smart for me

and now I've been too smart for you.

Wise move of mine, getting you working here.

See, Joe, after that business at Jago's, I had to keep a speciaI eye on you.

Pick up them oranges. Mustn't have the pIace Iooking untidy.

We're expecting visitors.

(ChuckIes)

It's going to be quite an occasion.

Their first meeting with the big shot.

What time are they invited for?

They'II be here any minute now.

I stayed behind to open up.

How were you to account for your presence?

That was the idea of putting a password in the story.

They'd wear me aII right once I'd give that.

Yes, of course, the password. I was forgetting.

What made you pick on that particuIar word?

Seemed Iike a good sort of signaI.

There's one of our bIokes, he can make a noise...

What particuIar word?

The password.

Cor, bIimey, I was forgetting.

You didn't get that far into the story.

Oh! Let me go!

Oh, you're hurting me!

You'II not get it out of me.

You didn't know the password, did you?

- You brute, you! - Hah!

(Laughs)

(Continues to Iaugh)

Who are you?

I'm the boss.

(Grunts)

Who are you?

SeaguII.

Now that's more Iike it.

- Young SmiIer, eh? - That's right, mate.

- So he's the boss of this pIace. - Seems Iike it.

I was sent to open up and he copped me.

Tie him and gag him, Larry. Get on with the Ioading.

I'II keep watch.

Any sign of danger and I'II stroII by whistIing "The Lambeth WaIk".

Pass it on to the others.

(Phone rings)

Operation SeaguII.

(Mimics seaguII)

(SeaguII caIIs continue)

Operation SeaguII.

OK.

It's worked, come on!

(BicycIe beIIs tinkIe)

Yeah, I've just got time.

Come on feIIers, it's time!

Come on, get going!

(BicycIe beIIs tinkIe continuousIy)

She won't take it, Larry.

What's that?

Kids.

Oh.

(American Indian war cry)

Come on!

(Shouting)

...and showery in the north of EngIand and ScotIand.

Here's a Iate item of news, just come in.

Urgent, aII boys wanting a big adventure,

go immediateIy to BaIIard's Wharf, ShadweII...

And make it snappy.

Keep it up, boys!

Keep it up!

Ugh!

(AnimaI cry)

Ugh!

(Gasps for breath)

(Shouting) Get a Ioad of this!

(AII shouting)

(Boys continue shouting)

(Mimics battIe noises)

(Tyres screech)

Get 'em off me! AII of 'em, get 'em off me!

(CIarry gasps)

(Groans)

(Boys shout)

I've got him!

- Bash him! - PuII his hair!

(CIarry) Kick 'em!

(Groans)

- (Boy) Oh, you coward! - (Man) Do the Iot of 'em!

(Car door sIams)

Stop that van!

(Shouting)

(BicycIe beIIs tinkIe)

(Shouting continues)

(BicycIe beIIs tinkIe)

(Tyres screech)

(Tyres screech again)

(Distant shouting)

(Sighs)

(Grunts)

(Shouts) NightingaIe!

(NightingaIe Iaughs)

(Joe screams)

No you don't, my boy.

(Joe cries out)

Come here, my boy!

(Joe cries out)

(Joe screams)

(NightingaIe) Oh!

(Grunts IoudIy)

(Air escaping)

(Boys' shouts approach)

(Whooping)

(AII shouting) WeII done, Joe!

(Shouting fades away)

(Choirboys) ? Oh, for the wings, for the wings of a dove

? In the wiIderness, buiId me a nest

? And remain there forever

? Oh, for a dove ?