Original subtitles

Good night.

I'm sorry, Edward. I thought you'd left. No, I wanted to finish the Q7 report.

I isolated most of the elements.

Well, can't that wait?

He's working too hard.

We ought to find some way, Mrs. Lennon, to slow the man down.

It's this man's problem, Doctor.

No one can get him to do anything he doesn't want to do.

Yes, well, see you in the morning, Edward.

Say hello to Jeannie for me.

Thank you.

How's she feeling, by the way?

Oh, much better.

Good.

Any mail for me? No, sir.

Doctor, another present for Mr. Lennon's little girl. Bath soap this time.

John, how late does Mr. Lennon usually work at night?

Well, he likes to have lunch with his daughter, and if he's late getting back

from the hospital, he usually stays around here till about midnight.

Well, I may be back for a while this evening myself. I'd like to talk to him.

I don't seem to get a chance during the day.

Good night. Good night.

Okay.

Marie, I can't work miracles.

What do you want me to do, print the money?

I have borrowed.

You told me about some man you met last week. I can't go to him.

Couldn't he lend you half the money?

We could send her over to the clinic.

If we don't, Ed, she'll lose the leg.

Believe it or not, I understand.

I love you.

Everything will work out.

Good night, dear.

I'll be at the hospital.

Oh, Marie, wait, here's...

Thank you.

Mr. Lennon, I thought you were working tonight.

Oh, no, that's all right, sir. I've already cleared that.

Good night.

The FBI.

A Gwen Martin Warner Brothers production.

Starring Ephraim Zimbalist Jr.

Also starring Philip Abbott.

Stephen Brooks.

With guest stars Arthur Hill.

Edward Franz.

Peggy McKay.

Michael Straugh.

Tonight's episode, The Plague Merchant.

There was no turning back for chemist Edward Lemon.

Well aware that his theft might mean prison and the end of his career, it

a fair exchange for the chance that his child might walk again.

But Lennon did not know that instead of stealing the formula for a new hand

lotion, the fragile glass he was carrying contained the threat of a

death for millions of Americans.

matter of minutes after Lennon left the building, a routine security check

revealed the theft from Dr.

Keeler's office.

He was notified immediately, and Dr. Keeler lost no time in reaching the FBI.

Inspector Lewis Erskine was informed that if the flasks were open and the

organisms released, all forms of life in the vicinity, every living thing, would

be destroyed in a few hours.

It was vital that the thief be found at once.

How glad I was you called.

I can't tell you how sick it made me.

Sometimes it's a difficult world to live in.

Do you have the product?

In the car.

I won't take a check. I meant to mention that. Of course.

Cash. It was understood.

Do you do much of this kind of work, Jago?

I mean, stealing other companies' secrets?

Stealing?

Does buying sound better to you?

You aren't the first man who's ever sold an industrial secret.

You won't be the last.

Now, what harm's been done?

Fleischer will still be first on the market with their hand lotion.

It's just that my company won't be caught by surprise.

An advanced look at a new formula for me, and money to pay some medical bills

for you.

Fair exchange?

Any special instructions?

I don't know what the chemical components are.

Keeler kept it refrigerated.

I wouldn't let it go much longer without chilling it.

I'll find some dry ice.

Well, it's been a pleasure seeing you again, Lennon.

Hope we can do some business together again sometime.

No, never again.

In that case, Doctor, half a dozen people might have had access to that

Might have, yes.

All of my assistants.

I was going to have a change tomorrow.

How many people knew what the bottles really contained?

No one.

Except the head of the company.

Good and pleasure.

And your assistants?

No. They were told I was working on a base for a new hand lotion. It's the

procedure.

I originate 99 % of the research here, then...

assigned it to one of the men to be developed later on.

Most of your work, then, is concerned with commercial products, lotions,

Yes, although we develop drugs, too.

Vaccines.

That's why I was working on Staff 11.

My special interest is neoplasia.

Tumors.

Cancer research?

Let me see if I can explain.

Tumors are sometimes formed of cells that host a microorganism, Staphylococci

aureus. It's present in your skin, mine, everyone's.

I was looking for a way to make them destroy malignancies.

I see.

But under irradiation, a curious thing happened. The bacteria became

They built a sheath around themselves.

I couldn't tame them.

They're immune to biotics.

Can they be destroyed?

No.

Bake them in a thousand -degree oven. That will kill them.

But once it gets into your bloodstream, you can't kill them without killing the

body, too.

Dr. Keillor, would Staff 11 be suitable for bacterial warfare?

That isn't why I was working on Staff 11.

But it could be used for that purpose.

Yes.

This soap comes packed in a box.

Mr. Lennon was carrying one when I checked him out tonight.

Here.

Bring it with you.

Yes?

Lou, may I see you for a moment?

Oh, excuse me.

Security guard John Morris, Inspector Erskine. Thank you.

Mr. Morris was going through one of the assistant's labs with us. He found these

in room number two, Edward Lennon's lab.

They were sent over by the shipping department, a birthday present for Mr.

Lennon's daughter.

I didn't re -examine the package when Mr. Lennon left with it.

What did the package look like?

Mr. Morris said it was one of the regular soap cartons, a gray box with a

band wrapped in birthday paper.

Find Lennon. Yes, sir.

You have an assistant named Edward Lennon?

Yes. What sort of a man is he?

What sort of a man? He's 42, quiet, conscientious, and a very good

in chemistry. Why?

Are you absolutely certain he didn't know what you were working on?

Oh, absolutely.

Could Fleischer have given him a hint?

No, no, no, not Lennon. They'd never met.

Are you trying to tell me that you think Edward...

No, no, that's out of the question. Why, doctor?

Because I know him and I know he's not a thief.

Sometimes circumstances can make a man a thief.

No.

Did he need money?

A lot of money?

Well, yes.

For what reason?

His daughter.

Hospital surgery.

I knew he was under pressure, but... What happened to his daughter?

She fell off a motorboat.

And when the boat circled to look for her, she came up under the propeller.

Sock almost killed Edward.

He saw it happen.

He was piloting the boat.

Do you like that, honey?

It looks as if Daddy's present is the biggest hit of all.

I'm glad you could come by.

You look so tired.

Yeah, long day.

Well, I'd better go now.

Where, back to work?

No, no, it's just... Oh, incidentally, I got the money.

Ed. $5 ,000.

It's in an envelope in our bedroom.

Top bureau drawer.

The man who... Yeah.

Well, shouldn't we celebrate?

There's something I have to do, Marie.

We can celebrate later, huh?

Goodbye.

Goodbye? You sound as if you're setting off for the moon.

Ed?

Edward Lennon?

The FBI.

I'd like to ask you a few questions.

is half a million.

It goes up 10 ,000 a day until the deal is concluded.

Your terms are ridiculous.

Hold on a minute.

He wants half a million dollars.

But that is impossible.

And an increase of 10 ,000 a day until the deal is concluded.

The price originally mentioned was half of that. Of course.

But that was before he had the flasks in his hand.

If you were in his place, and I offered 250 ,000, no more,

what would you do?

I'd hang up on you.

I'd call some numbers in other world capitals.

All right.

Tell him to call our consulate on Thursday in Philadelphia.

But let the fish hang.

I don't want him to think that it was that easy.

You seem almost sympathetic to that Jago.

He's a professional.

But it's a shame that he isn't at a more convenient location where we could kill

him and take the flasks from him.

You will contact a man named Ibernesti.

He makes frequent trips to the United States.

He will verify the merchandise and make payment.

But I don't know this Hibernesti. You should.

He works two floors below you at the consulate.

A diplomatic courier.

With immunity.

Charming.

Jago is not the only professional in this transaction, Jules.

All right.

He's sweated enough.

Jacob, you will make contact in the usual manner.

That's very sensible of you.

Tell the colonel I'll meet his courier on Thursday, then.

Noon my time.

Usual place.

This is Mr. Lusk, 304.

When you have room service, send up about a pound of dry ice.

Yeah.

Have my bill ready, please.

I'll be checking out right away.

It was hand lotion.

Hand lotion.

But you admit taking the flasks.

I admit taking... Yes.

Dr. Keeler is here, sir.

Ask him to come in, please.

Harry, what are they talking about?

Did you find them?

It was an emollient.

No.

Harry.

What did you do with the flasks, Mr. Lennon?

I sold them.

To whom?

A man named Jago.

How do you spell that, sir?

I don't know.

J -A -G -O.

I never saw it written.

He worked for King & Prager, a drug firm in Minneapolis.

Jim Rhodes, would you verify an employee at the drug firm of King & Prager,

Minneapolis?

The employee's name is Jago. That's J -A -G -O.

We want to know his present whereabouts.

Yeah. Thank you.

Where'd you meet this Jago?

Well, he called me at home.

He seemed to know all about me.

He knew I needed money.

He knew about the hand lotion.

I just talked to Fleischer, the president of the company.

He says that he might have mentioned Staff 11 at his club, but he doesn't

remember.

Was Jago staying somewhere near the laboratory?

No, I don't think so.

We'd meet here in Washington. I got the impression that he was staying at a

Washington hotel.

Here's the phone number that he gave me.

Inspector, we've got to find this man.

You say you made the exchange in his car?

Yes, a blue sedan, 65, 66 model.

Now, hello, is this 628 -3097?

It's a public pay booth on J Street.

I'd like you to talk to one of our artists, Mr. Lennon. Give him a

of Jago.

Yes, of course. And start checking out the hotels, particularly those in the

vicinity of the J Street station.

Yes, sir.

One thing that might help.

He said he'd try to find some dry ice.

I told him that you kept the flasks refrigerated.

Well, thank heaven for that.

Staff 11 multiplies rapidly above 37 degrees.

Virulence increases.

Could you let me in, please? I have to buy some ice.

I'm closed. Can't you read?

You're open now, aren't you?

Couldn't you sell me a pound or two? I have to keep something cold.

Sorry. Well, uh, five dollars?

Ten? I close at eight. I'm closed.

Twenty.

What are you, drunk?

Now, look.

Please.

And how about the nobles?

Um, sharper, thinner.

How's he doing?

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Keeler's talking to some of our own chemists.

I've been sitting in with him.

The bacteria count as a million to a pinhead.

Over 37 degrees, they quadruple every hour.

If they're released, they could be scattered on the prevailing winds.

How far?

All over the United States.

Can you make the eyebrows heavier?

Will he be much longer?

I don't think so.

All the U .S. Marshals are waiting for him.

I'll go with him.

You can't recommend bail, Lewis, if that's what you've got on your mind.

I can state the facts.

All right.

By the way, we got in touch with King and Prager.

They never had an employee by the name of Jago.

I never even heard of him.

Yes, let's take off.

All right, send it out.

Yes, sir. Mr. Lennon.

The marshals are here to take you before the U .S. Commissioner for a

preliminary hearing.

Now?

He'll make sure you understand what the charges are and decide whether or not to

grant bail.

Now, this is a very unusual case, and he has no record.

None whatever, Commissioner.

Mr. Lennon, if you were admitted to bail, what would you do?

I have no money for bail, sir.

I asked what would you do, Mr. Lennon.

I'd like to... to help, to... Could he be useful to you, Inspector?

Possibly, Commissioner. He's been very cooperative.

You will appear in district court on the 14th of this month to answer the

charges against you, Mr. Lennon. Until that time, you're released on your own

recognizance.

That's all.

Yes, sir. Thank you.

Stafford Hotel.

A man named Lusk checked out at 7 .30.

He asked for some dry ice. He was driving a blue sedan.

Yeah, that's ought to do it.

You know what she is, really?

Mm -hmm. That's soda pop gas.

Carbon dioxide, compressed.

You don't say.

Uh -huh.

Out in there.

Got another?

Give me a hand, will you? Take a hold of this other side of the bag.

Watch it.

Stay away from it.

Hey, mister, what are you doing?

Stay away from that stuff. It'll kill you.

That's Mr. Lusk.

Had he stayed here before?

No, sir.

Did Mr.

Lusk sign any bar bills, restaurant checks?

No. Place any phone calls?

No, sir. He received several.

But, of course, we have no record of where they originated.

The ice you mentioned, how much did you send up?

Well, not very much.

He asked for dry ice, but we couldn't find any.

So room service crushed some cubes for him.

Oh, Floyd.

You wanted to see me, Mr. Thomas?

Yes, come in.

Inspector Erskine, this is Floyd Crane.

Floyd is in charge of our garage.

Hi, Inspector.

Mr. Crane, a man named Lusk checked out earlier tonight. Do you remember him?

Yes, sir. Blue 66 Ford.

Do you keep license numbers of the cars you service?

Yes, sir.

But this man didn't get any gas or oil.

Oh. Then you have no written record of his number. No, sir.

All right, Mr. Crane.

I remember it, though.

You remember it?

Yes, sir.

California JJZ111.

Sometimes we play a little license poker.

This was a pretty good hand.

Well, thank you, Mr. Crane.

Yes, sir. Miss Thomas.

All right, thank you.

Lou, I asked the phone company to check on any long -distance calls placed from

the J Street booth.

Were there any?

Yeah, there was one. It might not have been our friend, but it went to this

number in Rome.

early aid on in Rome is Jeff Rydell.

Tell him I want to run down this address as soon as possible.

Sooner. Yes, sir.

Operator, give me EX37100, please.

Oh, and add this to the description of the wanted car.

California JJZ111.

Has Erskine been briefed on this?

Oh, good. Then he's on his way here now.

We had Lennon picked up.

Well, he's waiting in my outer office now.

Ed?

How do you feel?

It's almost 11.

Where is he?

Darling, don't. You didn't know. It's not your fault. Of course it's my fault.

stole it.

Ed, where were you going when you started to leave the hospital tonight?

You couldn't have gotten away.

They said apparently you weren't trying to.

You didn't wear gloves.

Why did you tell me where you'd put the money?

Why did you say goodbye?

I can't even imagine a life without you.

It's going to change.

It's got to change. Now, don't ever give up.

Mr. Lennon, come with me, please.

Yes, I've ordered a plane.

What's happened?

A report from a service station outside of Philadelphia. A bottle was dropped

and broken.

The owner poured gasoline on it and set it on fire.

If it was Jago, would the fire kill the germs?

Depends how chilled they were.

We can't locate Keeler.

Let me go.

Ed!

I talked to Harry.

After he explained, I knew what to look for, what to expect.

I need some testing equipment.

Tell him to pull all firemen and police away from the area. Cordon it off. All

right. But, Ed, what if some of them are still alive? What if you're... You wait

in my office.

I'll have a car taking you home.

Well, there really wasn't much I could do. I was hollering at him to quit

spilling the gasoline all over the place.

Well, the next thing I know, the...

The whole place was on fire.

Perry, how are you?

Inspector. Perry, Mr. Lennon, Philadelphia SAC Thornburg.

Has my equipment arrived?

Yes, sir.

Was there an attendant on duty, somebody I can talk to? Mr. Bell, he's sitting

in the car.

Roy Bell, Mr. Lennon.

Inspector Erskine. You saw the flask drop, Mr. Bell?

Yes, I did.

Did you touch the flask before it broke?

Yeah, I did.

Was it cold?

Yes, it was.

Did the contents splash when the glass shattered, or...? Splash.

Well, now, that's a funny thing.

No, I don't believe it did. It looked more like jelly.

How far away were you?

Three, four feet.

How do you feel, Mr. Bell?

Well, to tell you the truth, sir, I feel kind of nauseous.

Thank you.

Yes, sir.

What would the symptoms be?

Nausea.

But shock could do that, too.

Mr. Lennon, shouldn't you wear a mask?

Staff 11 enters through the pores of the skin, Mr. Thornburg.

If there's some around still alive, mask them and keep them on.

Nope.

Got Rydell in Rome.

Firstly, go ahead.

The call in question, Inspector, was made to Apartment 5, Hotel Villagrande.

Yes? The room is registered to a man by the name of Pepin.

Is that Jules Pepin?

You know him?

I know him.

He's been mixed up in espionage and international con games since he was a

teenager. Always the middleman, always on the move.

Well, he seemed to have settled down lately.

He's been in Rome the past three months.

He's taken a job.

As what?

Secretary in the Code Green Consulate here.

All right, keep an eye on him. I don't want to report on any unusual activity.

Visitors, sudden travel arrangements?

Well, he's already made one interesting visit. He contacted a Code Green courier

by the name of Ibanezzi.

Ivan Esty flies regularly between Rome and the United States, once a week.

He's leaving for Washington in a few minutes.

Is this his usual weekly flight?

Special trip.

Why? Are you interested in rumors?

I just might be.

The word is he's being sent to pick up something, something special.

Not too hard a job when you have diplomatic immunity.

What's his consulate, New York?

No, sir.

Philadelphia. Well, thank you.

Ujago's found a customer for the second flask.

He may try to leave it at the Code Green consulate in Philadelphia.

I'll put some men on it right away.

He didn't have time to buy any more ice.

Bacteria may be multiplying.

I've started to check on the entire Philadelphia area.

Ujago wouldn't be dumb enough to keep that flask with him, would he?

He knows that fire will be investigated.

I don't think he'll keep it.

The problem is, where would he hide it? A flask that size, you could hide it

anywhere.

What will they do to him?

I don't know, Mrs. Lemon.

But don't you think it's a good sign that the commissioner let him out on...

What do you call it?

His own recognizance?

Well, it means the commissioner believes your husband will show up for his

trial.

Mr. Ward, my husband wouldn't know how to run away.

Not from anything.

I mean...

If they could only realize how many nights he's walked the floor, worrying

Jeannie, blaming himself.

If they could only understand why he... Ward.

All right.

There's a car waiting for you.

That's very kind of you.

Could they drop me off at the hospital?

I'm sure they can.

She'll be down in a couple of minutes.

It's a little early for visiting hours.

But I've been there so much, they treat me as part of the staff.

Good night, Mrs. Leonard. Good night.

Find anything inclusive yet?

You shouldn't be out here, Inspector.

Mr. Leonard, if any of those organisms are still alive, wouldn't the wind have

spread them around by now?

Probably.

Then we'd all be infected anyway, wouldn't we?

Yes? I, um, I spoke to Dr. Keeler.

He's trying to get here as soon as possible.

But he says you're competent to handle the investigation alone.

Where'd you find him? In Baltimore.

What was he doing in Baltimore?

He went to see a surgeon named Dr. Neustadt. You know him?

Yes.

The best in this field.

Well, Dr. Keeler told him about your little girl.

Neustadt wants to operate.

No fee.

He, um...

He's confident he can save the leg.

Well, that's... I

think we're all right here.

All the tests are negative.

The station attendant shows no sign of infection.

I think I'd better go over the whole place with a blowtorch.

Yet a possible lead on Jago. A delicate test owner reported the man bought some

dry ice.

At least the stuff's still cold.

And he's off and running.

We'll see you later, Mr. Lennon.

No, he wasn't from this neighborhood.

I never saw him before.

Is this the man?

It could be.

Was he by himself?

Yeah.

Do you have a package with him?

Package? No, I don't think so.

Did you see his car, sir?

No. Hey, wait a minute.

Come to think of it, I did.

He parked it right out front.

Blue, late model, a 66.

Hey, look, if you tell me what he did, what you want him for... How much ice

he ask for?

Half a pound.

Is that all he bought, just the ice?

Yeah.

He asked for some heavy wrapping paper, but I didn't have any.

So then he said he wanted some string and some stamps.

Stamps? Yeah, poster stamps.

I don't sell those.

So I gave him the string, and I told him to go over to the main post office.

They're open all night.

I said he could get the stamps from their machine.

Mike, Supervisor, have you got a phone?

Sure, right here.

Get a postal inspector over there. Yes, sir.

Information, please.

Box that size will be mailed in the bulk drop. Goes right onto a belt off a

slide. The load shouldn't be heavy this time of night, should it? It slacks off

some, but then there's a substation and railroad mail.

Up here on the second floor. That's where it all gets dumped together.

Gently, I hope. It's glass.

I hope it's well packed.

Over here. Give you an idea of what we're up against.

We have an indicator board that shows all the sections.

The green lights show the sections that are in use.

The mail enters here, where it's transferred to the dance floor, where

transferred to the endless conveyor belt.

You say dance floor?

Yeah, it looks like one.

It's for out of city.

The other one is for city and suburbs.

Let's hope it's city and suburbs.

When it reaches the battleship, that's the primary separation point. It starts

in the chutes according to location.

If it's in the system, it's got to be somewhere.

If we get it before it gets bad, here at one of these chutes.

Let's start with the dance floor.

Right.

Do you think it would be better if I shut off the whole operation?

We may have to as a last resort.

In the meantime, it might be easier to spot if it's moving.

Men!

We're looking for a gray box with a red stripe.

It's tied with string.

It's six by three and a half inches.

Anyone remember it?

Think hard. It's important.

We've gone through here.

Better check the battleship before it gets started.

Keep looking here.

Yes, sir.

Stop the belt, boys.

This is Inspector Erskine, FBI.

We're looking for a gray box with a red stripe tied with string.

Six by three and a half inches.

Everybody see it?

Nothing on the belt.

We see a lot of packages, Mr. Newman. It's hard to... Rain?

Red Stripe. You smoke?

Yeah, do you remember?

Yeah, I believe I do. It was just a couple of seconds ago. I tossed it.

Remember where?

Golly, there's so many.

Where were you standing?

Here.

About here, I think.

Could it have been local?

Yes, I believe it was.

Downstairs.

Yo, this meal package.

Great box, red stripe, six by three and a half inches.

Well, I don't know. Of course, it could be bagged by now.

Sorry, Joe.

Oh, that's all right.

Listen, if it's okay with you, I'd like to straighten that stuff out later. I've

got to stay ahead of the flow.

Well, it looks like I'd better get started. We've still got about 20 more

to search.

Jim, get going. It may have gone through to the outside loading platform.

We'd better cancel all truck departures. Yes, Inspector.

Parcel for MLJ, please.

Yes, sir.

Are you Mr. J?

Yes, I am. All right.

Let's see.

Pardon, Jago.

FBI. I have a warrant for your arrest.

I don't understand what this is all about.

This way, please.

Martin Jago was apprehended by the FBI in Kinney, Pennsylvania, and the

plague was recovered 16 hours after it was reported missing, and before it

be passed into hands unfriendly to the United States.

Jago was convicted and is now in the federal penitentiary in Atlanta.

Edward Lennon received a sentence of five years, which was suspended.

Thank you.