What happens
Russ Thompson, a real estate agent, is uneasy about the old clay tree on a hill above town, where Elvira Clay placed a plaque honoring the hasty hands that hanged her son for a murder. Thompson has hidden incriminating evidence in the tree's hollow trunk and needs it to stay standing. When Elvira dies, he tries to keep the property from being sold to a buyer named Carson, first by courting Jennifer Clay and then by arranging for the tree to be propped with ropes. Jay Steblin, Elvira's attorney, is an important figure in these events. The Whistler series aired this episode on November 25, 1951, with Bill Forman in the title role.
A small town and the nearby hill where the old clay tree stands, including the Clay house, a real estate office and a corner lunchroom.
Characters: Russ Thompson, Elvira Clay, Jennifer Clay, Jay Steblin, Hank Thomas, Finley Carson, Frank
Listen for: Pay attention to the hollow in the tree trunk, the terms of Elvira Clay's will, and the ropes Hank fastens to the tree.
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.