Old Time Radio Mystery, Suspense, & Horror · Dakoda Black

1117 - The Tricky Tankers (Green Hornet)

April 8, 2026·25 min·2 clips

A big gasoline dealer undersells everyone, but rumors say he's working a racket—and the Green Hornet is on the case.

The trail starts with freight. Robertson is selling gasoline for less than anyone can explain, and the Green Hornet thinks the answer sits inside his tank cars. The episode has fun with that setup: rattling cars, tense voices near the caboose, and men who sound one shove away from giving themselves up. Then the suspicion follows Britt Reid back to his apartment. He tells Cato the Robertson investigation proved nothing, even though he already knows more than he lets on. The wreck gives him something risky to work with. Since the Black Beauty was spotted at the accident, the Green Hornet takes the blame and uses it as cover. Cato gets the point. Reid prepares writing paper that cannot be traced, changes his handwriting, and sends Cato out so Lowry will notice the note. The whole move depends on noise. Cato has to bring the Black Beauty back loudly enough for Lowry to hear it and connect the car with the warning. It is a tidy little con. The Hornet does not clear himself with a speech; he nudges the crooks until they panic in front of the law. By the end, Robertson is cornered. The finish piles on gas, fear, a confession, and the Sentinel's promise to print the racket story. The Hornet slips away, but his shadow keeps doing the work.

As heard by us

A gasoline racket, a freight trail, and a Green Hornet sting that lands cleanly.

This Green Hornet episode keeps its focus on a gasoline racket that has been hiding in plain sight. Robertson is undercutting everyone else in the state, the tank cars look like the tell, and Britt Reid with Cato work the freight trail, check the factory-made tires, and build a…

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Why you'd press play

When a gasoline racket rides in tank cars, the Green Hornet goes freight hunting.

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