Title: Message From the Hills
Air date: May 22, 1938
Plot summary: An isolated island in the South Pacific is home to an even more isolated diamond mine. The mine is so cut off from the outside world that it doesn't even have a radio, and the only contact is the plane that leaves once per quarter to take away the diamonds.
A gang of thieves plans to take advantage of the mine's isolation. They will land their own plane, steal the diamond shipment, kill all the white men at the mine, and take off.
But they don't count on The Shadow. Lamont Cranston and Margo Lane are visiting the island, and while there, The Shadow makes friends with Tanga, manservant to Major Whiteside, the manager of the mine. Lamont and Margo continue their journey, only to receive a telepathic message from Tanga: the thieves have invaded the camp and killed Major Whiteside. The Shadow must come, right away.
Tropes:
- Cassandra Truth: Lamont observes that shipping out your diamonds once per quarter is basically asking for someone to steal a shipment. Major Whiteside blows him off.
- Jungle Drums: Jordan, the head of the gang of thieves, makes his escape into the jungle, but then the ominous sound of drums is heard. Tanga says that it won't take long for the natives in the interior to find and kill Jordan.
- Leave No Witnesses: Jordan plans to steal the diamonds and then kill all the white people at the mine so that no one can identify them. The Shadow ruins his plans.
- Telepathy: Tanga is grief-stricken because his son has died. He knows this because his wife, a thousand miles away, was able to tell him by telepathy. The white folks at the mine sneer at this idea, except for Lamont, who knows a thing or two about telepathy and psychic powers. Later, after Lamont and Margo leave, Tanga contacts Lamont telepathically to tell him of the thieves. Telepathy seems to require only concentration and willingness, as Margo is able to do it when Lamont tells her to focus.
- Vacation Episode: Presumably this is why Lamont and Margo are gallivanting around the south Pacific.
- Villain Opening Scene: The episode opens with the gang of thieves going over their plan to land on the island, steal the diamonds, and kill all the white people at the mine.
