What happens
Earl French, a convicted embezzler being transported to prison by train, is handcuffed to a detective when the train crashes and catches fire. French seizes the chance to slip away, leaving the others to believe he died in the wreck. He is alone, with a fortune hidden away and his wrists still shackled. Desperate to free himself, French struggles to find a way to cut the chain, and he tries to get help from the people he meets along the road.
A passenger train and the countryside around the scene of a train wreck, followed by the roads and farms where French wanders in handcuffs.
Characters: Earl French, the detective
Listen for: The sound of the train crash and fire, and French's struggle with the handcuffs.
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.