The Blind Beggar Dies, April 17, 1938

This is the first of the summer season 1938 shows. It has a much longer musical opening than normal. It opens with a commercial for the Goodrich Safety Silvertowns with life-saver tread.

There's also an opening explanation of what and who the Shadow is.

The story opens with Singing Jim who is apparently sings to try and earn coins. Some thugs comes along and tells him Singing Jim has to pay them protection money. Singing Jim is blind. The thugs drag him into an alley and they beat him up.

Lamont and Margo are out walking around (shopping?) and they pass by the alley where Singing Jim was attacked. They realize somebody had beaten up the beggar; apparently everyone liked him.

They go to the hospital to see how Singing Jim is. He has a triple concussion. The doctor tells Lamont that the beggar was beaten with a blackjack. Lamont is able to talk to him. Singing Jim tells Lamont he was supposed to pay protection money ($1 a week). The beggar dies.

A meeting of beggars takes place. Apple Mary speaks to the group and talks to them about the death of Singing Jim. She says the she went to the police but they wouldn't believe her that someone was trying to lean on them for money.

Apple Mary said someone talked to her at her stand the previous night, late, and it was the Shadow. Some of them don't think that the Shadow would bother to help people like them. Suddenly they hear the voice of the Shadow. He offers to help them. The Shadow tells them that he thinks one of them is a spy, an informer. He tells that the informer can take a warning to the racketeers, and if they hurt any of the beggars they will answer to the Shadow with their lives.

The guy named Marty is the informer and he reports to Spike. He tells him about the Shadow. Spike says they won't back down. They will kidnap Apple Mary and get the Shadow to come to them, and they will set a trap for him.

Margo and Lamont are out driving and he's looking for any messages from the beggars. They drive near the address in the message; Lamont knows it's a trap.

Then there's a commercial, and this time its the voice of the Shadow that does part of the commercial about skidding on wet roads.

Marty meets with Spike where they have told the Shadow to come; Spike has a machine gun. The moment the Shadow opens the door Spike will open fire. Marty brings Apple Mary into the room with them.

They plan to kill her if she tries to help the Shadow. They hear steps coming down the hall. The Shadow enters the room and Spike opens fire. Marty and Spike leave the room. After they leave the Shadow talks to Apple Mary. He tells her to gather her friends together.

Lamont gets into the car with Margo and they follow the crooks while they are fleeing. He plans to telephone the commissioner when he knows where the crooks are going. Meanwhile the word goes through the beggars grape vine where they are all to meet.

The crooks are in a pool hall. The pool hall manager tells them that Apple Mary and the others are out in the street. They plan to leave out a back door, but they spot police out that way. Then the crooks can hear the Shadow. The Shadow has taken the key to the back door and the only way the crooks can get out is to go out the front door where the group of beggars is waiting.

The Shadow wants them to confess to the murder of Singing Jim.

Marty confesses but Spike won't. The Shadow tells the beggars to wait. He tells Spike to write his confession to the murder of Singing Jim and he does. He then tells them to walk out the door to the police. He tells them that a woman named Justice awaits them.

There's another rather longish musical interlude to close the episode.

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