Presenting the transcription feature, Superman! Superman, courageous visitor from another world, champion of the weak and the oppressed, who came to Earth when the planet Krypton was destroyed by giant quakes, and who now mingles with ordinary men disguised as Clark Kent, a mild-mannered reporter for the Daily Planet newspaper. When an explosion wrecked Hans Holbein's doll factory in the manufacturing town of Melville, neither Clark Kent nor Lois Lane, sent to cover the story, suspected there was anything sinister behind the unfortunate accident that took a toll of 13 lives. But mysterious things soon began to happen. An attempt was made to stop Kent and Lois on the road, but Superman took a hand. Arrived in Melville, Kent remained at the ruins of the doll factory, while Lois went to interview Hans Holbein, the owner. Learning from Lois that Kent was at the factory, endeavoring to determine the cause of the explosion, Holbein immediately imprisoned her in his house and threatened her with death. If Kent discovered anything in the factory ruins. Leaving Lois bound and gagged in a closet, Holbein hurried to the factory, where Kent, as Superman, has already burrowed deep down into the pile of bricks, searching for evidence. Listen. Joe. Where are you, Joe? I hear you, Mr. Holbein. What's up? Keep that light out. Where's the reporter, Kent? Reporter? I ain't seen no reporter. Well, he's here, snooping around. You didn't see him? Say, wait a minute. I thought that guy was him. Who? Who? Who are you talking about? A guy came up the street about ten minutes ago, and he looked like the same guy I stopped on the road, that reporter. But he said he was a necktie seal. Now, you fool, it was Clark Kent. Where'd he go? I told him to feed it. They did. You sure? Positive. I seen him turn the corner. What's that noise? Noise? I don't hear no noise. Keep that light out. Now, listen. You hear it? Yeah. Now I hear it. Maybe it's rats. Give me that flashlight. Follow me quietly. You think it's that reporter, Mr. Holbein? Shh. I got my gun in case. Quiet, you fool. Don't move. Now, do you think it's rats? No. That ain't rats. It must be him. Kent, on the other side of that pile of bricks. I'll fix it, Mr. Holbein. One slug from this 38 now. There are other ways better ways to use it. They're kind of stupid. Back to the street, quickly. Yeah, the shadows. Now, listen to me. We must work fast. I'm listening. That wall. The one that's still standing. It has a crack in it, hasn't it? Yeah, a big crack. The fire inspector said it'll have to be torn down in the morning before it topples over. It'll topple over tonight. An accident. What? I don't get you. The wind could make it fall. And would it be our responsibility if that reporter, Kent, was underneath it when it fell? But the wind ain't strong enough to topple it. Then we'll help the wind with a small amount of dynamite. Have a stick placed in the crack. That'll make the wall topple, no? Sure. We can muffle it so nobody will hear the charge go off. You're a smart boy, Joe. Sometimes. Now, there's one more thing. That girl in this lane. She could be snooping around the factory, too, when the wall topples. Sure she could. All right. Take my car and go for her. She's like my hall closet tied up. Here are the keys. Now hurry. But don't let anyone see you. I'll wait on the corner. Okay. I'll be back before you know it. Oh, this is dusty work. I'm near the basement now. It would have been much easier to plow right through these bricks. But I had to be careful that watchman or whatever he is didn't hear me. Now to get these beams out of the way, that does it. All clear. What's this? Oh, the boiler, eh? The one that was supposed to have blown up. Didn't blow up at all. Evidently something else was responsible for that explosion. Something Holbein would like to keep undercover. Well, it won't be undercover very long. Not if I have anything to do with it. Ah, here. This looks like something. Broken packing case. Now I'll rip some of these boards off. Case of dolls. Most of them are crushed. And this is the pretty one. Blonde hair and a blue dress. Too bad the body's cracked or I'd save it for low... Hold on. Something queer about this doll. What's that inside the body? That's a metal cylinder. Wait a minute. They all have metal cylinders. Now I'm beginning to understand a few things and I think this is a job for the police. I'll just take some of these unusual dolls and discuss the matter with the chief of police as Clark Kent reporter. Holbein, things don't look so good for you. Well, up, up, and away. Red cape streaming in the night wind, Superman wings through the darkness, convinced he has stumbled on an important clue to the mysterious explosion in the doll factory. Five minutes later, as Clark Kent, Daily Planet reporter, he is talking with the local chief of police in the latter's office. As I said, Mr. Kent, there's not much we know about Holbein. Except that he rented the factory a year ago, set up machinery, and began making dolls. Harmless enough business, if you ask me. Harmless enough on the surface. What do you mean by that? Here, Chief. Look at these dolls. Let me open one. There. See what's in it? Yes. Powder. Grazed black powder. Looks like pepper. But I can assure you it isn't. Here, we'll just pour a few grains into this ashtray. Kent, it may be dangerous. Don't worry, Chief. Now we'll touch the flame to the few grains of black powder in the ashtray. Kent, be careful. Kent. Kent, are you all right? I'm all right. Chief, there's enough of this powder in each of these metal cylinders to blow a battleship apart. It's the most powerful explosive I've ever seen. And Holbein was packing it inside dolls. But why, Kent? Why? That's what we have to find out immediately. At least we know what caused the factory explosion. Someone must have set this stuff off accidentally. I'll have Holbein picked up and brought down here. He's got plenty to explain. No, no. No, wait. That's not the way, Chief. We mustn't let him think we know as much as we do. It would be better if you and I had a little private talk with him. Yes, maybe you're right. Chances are we'll find him at his house. You know, Kent, never in all my life would I have suspected anything like this. Clark Kent's plan is a good one. But unknown to him, Hans Holbein has already set his deadly scheme of destruction into action. At this very moment, he is huddled in the shadow of the factory wall that is still standing, while Joe, his helper, widens the crack in the wall with a mallet and spite. You say the girl, Miss Lane, painted Joe? Yeah. She was out cold when I opened the closet. Made it easy to handle it. You took off the ropes and the gag before you put her inside under this wall, didn't you? Sure. Good. It must look like an accident. Is that reporter still in there snooping around? He must be. He didn't come out on the street. There, now. She's ready for the dynamite. I wrapped the stick in cotton, bat, and muffled it. Here she goes. Put a long fuse on her, Joe. Five minutes. Time enough for us to get back to the house. Good. I'd better light the fuse. What time is it? Five minutes to ten. That means she'll blow a ten sharp. Here she goes. A car coming up the street. Quick. This way. Well, if Holbein isn't here at the factory, Chief, we can question his watchman. He's the same fellow who tried to keep Miss Lane and myself from entering Melville. I can't understand Holbein's not being home, Kent. Particularly since you say Miss Lane went up to interview him. That's what worries me. Her car was parked in front of Holbein's house, but the place was empty. We searched every room after we climbed in that open window. Well, don't worry. Let's look around here. Hello? Anybody here? No answer. Let me have your flashlight. I know the way over these bricks. Where's that watchman you were talking about? I don't know. It seems to have vanished. I don't like this. What do you mean? Well, Holbein gone, Miss Lane gone, and the watchman gone. We'll find them all. Chief, wait a minute. What is it? Do you hear something? A faint sputtering? No, I don't. Where's it coming from? Over there. Well, that's a blank wall. The only one left standing. Fire department condemned it. They're going to tear it down in the morning. You still hear that sputtering? Yes, Pinkley. You didn't leave your car running, did you? I can't remember. Chances are, I did. Say, you've got good hearing. If you can catch that motor riding, it's pretty quiet. No, it's not a motor. It's a sputtering, a hissing. I'm going over to investigate it. What's that? Town hall clock. What time is it? It must be 10 o'clock. Chief, what's that over there? It looks like a woman's shoe. It is a woman's shoe. One of Lois Lane's shoes. Chief, Lois is somewhere around here. Maybe behind that wall. She's in danger. 10 o'clock. And the fuse is burned down to its last fraction of an inch. Only a few seconds left for Superman to snatch Lois from disaster. What happens in these fleeting moments? Tune in next time and follow the thrilling story of Superman. Superman is a copyrighted feature appearing in Action Comics Magazine. So, I'll be right at who is? Oh, yeah. Yep, I'll be right at that.