What happens
Captain Deere commands a ship carrying four hundred convicts from London to Australia, where they are bound for a penal colony. Finch, the brutal first mate, lashes the prisoners, and tension grows when a convict named Abbey is singled out. A hidden stash of money and a series of knifings stir unrest among the men below decks. Captain Deere is drawn into a dangerous arrangement involving Abbey and the hidden blades. This is an episode of the CBS radio series Suspense, first broadcast on June 19, 1956, starring Ben Wright and Abraham Sofaer.
A convict ship bound from London to Australia, in the nineteenth century, with four hundred prisoners held below decks.
Characters: Captain Deere, Finch, Jonathan Abbey, Wilkes, Mr. Darling
Listen for: Listen for the bargain Captain Deere strikes with Abbey and the knives hidden among the convicts.
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.