Presenting the Transcription Feature, Superman! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman! Yes, it's Superman! Strange visitor from the planet Krypton, who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Superman, who can leap tall buildings at a single bound, raise a speeding bullet to its target, then steal in his bare hands, and who, disguised as Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, fights a never-ending battle for truth and justice! And now to our story. With the mystery of the Bartlett logging camp solved, and Nancy Harmon on her way to Metropolis to work at the Daily Planet, Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen, rather than cut their vacation short, have engaged a French-Canadian guide, Baptiste, to take them on a two-week dog sled trip. The first night out, they camp in a forest clearing, where Baptiste amuses them with tall stories of his prowess. But unknown to either Kent or Jimmy, they are being watched. Two hard-bitten men who occupy a cabin deep in the woods and seem to be engaged in a strange, secretive business are even now moving slowly toward the fire around which Jimmy, Kent, and Baptiste are grouped. Listen. Hold up a minute, Chuck. You see him in the clearing? Yeah, I see him. Which one's the Canuck driver? The one on the right. The other guy looks pretty big. He ain't so big. All right, now remember what I told you. Keep your mouth shut. Okay, well. Let's go. We got you covered. Don't nobody move. Who are you? Close in on him, Chuck. Hey, am I spreading those rifles the other way? Yes, we do, mine. Stand up, come on. I do nothing like this, monsieur. We're not interested in whether you like it or not. See what's in the sled, Chuck. Okay. May I ask why we're being held up this way? What have we done? I don't know what you've done, mister, but we're here to see that you don't do any more of it. I'm sorry, but I don't understand any more of what. Got a license to trap first. But we do not trap the first. You are crazy. Keep that big mouth of yours shut or I'll shut it for you. Not only me grateful, except some sleeping bags. You're pretty lucky we didn't catch you with no skin. Now pack up and get out of here. Why, we planned to camp here for the night. Well, your plans have been changed, mister. Don't give me no argument. Pack up and get. This I have never heard of. It is insult to Batiste. Why do we have to move? Because this is a government game preserve. You're not allowed to camp on it. Tell your driver to pack up. Chuck, put the fire on. Okay. Well, we'll have to move, Batiste. Hitch the dogs up. I've never heard of it. Are you gentlemen game wardens? That's it, mister. Where can we camp? Where does the preserve end? Five miles west of here. You mean we have to go five miles through the darkness? That ain't my headache, mister. Your driver should have known better. Fire out, Chuck. Yeah. Not but a couple of embers. Okay. Sorry we had to bust in on you like this, but orders is orders. Good night. Good night. That's a nice how-do-you-do. Batiste is ready to chew nails. Listen to him. So am I, Jimmy. I don't quite understand this. Well, there isn't much to understand. This is a game preserve, they said, and you're not allowed to camp on it. I wonder. You wonder what? I wonder whether it is a game preserve. Certainly Batiste should know. What did they think we were? Fur trappers? I guess so. Well, dogs are hitched up, Mr. Kent. Might as well start. I think we're going to stay right here, Jimmy. Good gosh, those game wardens said... I know what they said. Batiste! Well, monsieur, it's like a message. We're not moving, Batiste. We're staying right here. Unhitch the dogs. You mean this? Yes. Don't light any fires. What's the idea, Mr. Kent? Oh, just a hunch. You think there's something wrong? Yeah, Batiste thinks he will write the letter to the president. I don't know, Jimmy. Right now, it's only a hunch. We'll see. Maybe I'm mistaken. Get the dogs on hitch, Batiste, and be quiet. Hey, Batiste, he's quiet like me. How can we stay here without a fire, Mr. Kent? What about the animals? We'll take turns sleeping. You and Batiste, start off. I'll sit up and watch. What if those game wardens come back? I don't think they will. And if they do, the worst that can happen is they'll tell us to move on again. All right, come on. Let's get the sleeping bags out of the sled. It's getting late. We've got to make an early start in the morning. As the long northern night wears on, Jimmy and Batiste sleep comfortably in their fur-lined bags. And Clark Kent, alert to every sound, sits up in the darkness. Far off in the distance, a snow owl hoots mournfully. In the dense woods give forth the faintly heard rustle of prowling beasts, drawn near by the spore of human flesh. Suddenly, Kent sits bolt upright, his keen eyes centered on a tiny pinpoint of green light that seems to be moving across the sky. That light must be an airplane. Yes, it is. I can hear the sound of the motor. Inaudible to any ears but those of Superman, the hum of the approaching plane motor grows louder and louder, as the invisible ship, marked only by wing light, circles slowly not far from the forest clearing, where Kent, Jimmy, and Batiste have camped. Whoever's piloting that plane seems to be looking for something. I wonder what it is. Suddenly, as Kent watches the approaching plane, a gleaming ray of light stabs the darkness, reaching from the black depths of the forest beyond the clearing to the endless heavens above. Once, twice, three times, it flashes a wordless message to the circling plane. Dropping the guise of Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter, Superman comes to his feet, every muscle in his magnificent body tense. Well, looks like my suspicions were justified. Something is going on here. That plane and those signal lights must have some connection with those two game wardens. What was that? It sounded like an animal crashing through the brush. No, no, it couldn't have been. It stopped too suddenly. Wait a minute. I know what it was. That plane dropped something. Now, now it's heading back from where it came. I think this deserves a little investigation. I'll just sneak off and see whether I can find out who was responsible for that signal. Oh. Mr. Kent. Mr. Kent. Uh-oh. Jimmy's awake. I'd like to drop Superman for a while. Here I am, Jimmy. Oh. I got frightened when you didn't answer. Something woke me up. A funny noise, like a motor. Oh, you were probably dreaming. Go on back to sleep. Isn't it time for me to get up? No, no, no. You still have a good two hours. Oh, okay. Wait a minute. Look up there in the sky. What are those lights? No, just a couple of stars. Oh, no, they're not. They're moving. Don't get out of your sleeping bag, Jimmy. You'll freeze to death. I'll put my mackinac on. Mr. Kent, it was the airplane lights. That's what I heard, a plane motor. Well, what of it? Chances are it's a mail plane or maybe even a passenger transport. Flying over these woods? Why not? It has to fly over something to get to its destination. All right, come on now. Climb back into your bag. It's gone now and there's nothing more to see. Well, I'm not sleepy anymore. I'll sit up with you. Now, isn't that silly? It isn't necessary for both of us to be awake. Well, and you turn in. Jimmy, sometimes you can be very exasperating. Oh, gosh, what have I done? Just because I'm not sleepy anymore, does that mean I'm exasperating? Quiet. You'll wake Baptiste and then all three of us will be sitting up. Gee, Willikers, I don't get this. I mean to say just because I can't sleep... All right, all right. Keep your shirt on. It isn't because you can't sleep. It's because you woke up at the wrong time. I couldn't help that. The plane motor did it. I know. See, I was just about to sneak away when you started yodeling for me. I think away? You were going to leave us? Just for a few minutes. Oh, I suppose I might just as well tell you. Tell me what? That plane you saw wasn't carrying mail or passengers. How do you know? Did it land? No, but it circled five or six times, evidently looking for something. Then a powerful light flashed a signal to it from a spot deep in the woods. Gosh. A minute or so after the signal flashed, I think the plane dropped something. What do you think it dropped? A man? I doubt it very much. Anyway, now you know why your sudden awakening exasperated me. What are we going to do about the plane and whatever it dropped, Mr. Kent? Well, the plane's gone, so we can't do much about that. I know, but we could find out what it dropped and who flashed the signal to it. Well, that was my plan before you decided you'd had enough sleep. Well, now we can both find out. That's the trouble. You mean you don't want me to go with you? Well... Oh, I see. You think I'll get in the way. No, no, no. What isn't that, Jimmy? What is it? Well, sometimes you hamper my movements. You make it... Well, difficult for me to be myself. I don't understand what you're driving at, Mr. Kent. Forget it, Jimmy. It's not important. At any rate, I think we'd better wait until morning to do any prowling in these woods, so you can crawl back into your sleeping bag if you wish. Oh, no. Not a chance. I wouldn't close an eye now for a million dollars. I promise not to sneak away. Not and do it. Okay. You will be the one who will be nodding all day tomorrow. I'd rather nod than miss anything exciting. Well, for all we know, it's nothing to get excited about. Maybe that's how the United States Conservation Service drops supplies to its game wardens. Oh, I meant to ask you, Mr. Kent. What's a game preserve? Why, it's a tract of land, generally heavily wooded, set aside by the government to protect wild animals and birds. Oh, protect them against what? The people who shoot and trap them. You see, Jimmy, a country like the United States owes all its strength and power to its natural resources. Not just the birds and animals, but its rivers and forests and minerals. If any of these are abused or overworked, future generations won't have water power and wood and coal. Remember how they were cutting giant oaks at the logging camp? Yes. The government watches that pretty carefully. It has what's called a reforestation surface. New oak trees are planted to take the places of the ones cut down, so that a hundred years from now or so, America will still have mighty forests. And the government does all this? The government in Washington? Well, the government isn't only in Washington, Jimmy. It's in every state in the Union. It has game wardens, forest rangers, soil conservation experts, and... What made you stop, Reverend? I thought I heard voices. I don't hear anything. I think it's quiet. Give me listen. I hear them now. They're coming closer. Yes. Oh, you think we know how to drop them by this time. We're over too far, though. Gosh, Mr. Kent. They're looking for what the plane drove. Quiet, Jimmy. All right. Go on back this way. Okay. Oh! What's the matter? I turned my egg. Good gosh, Mr. Kent. These dogs are barking. Those men will know we're here. Keep low, Jimmy. Right on the ground. Don't move on muscle. With their presence revealed by the barking of Batiste huskies, the two men searching for the package dropped by the mysterious plane cannot help but find Kent, Jimmy, and the Canucks sled driver. Who are these men? And what is the strange mystery surrounding their midnight activities? Evidently, Clark Kent has again stumbled on something exciting. Keep listening for further development. Don't forget. Tune in again for the next thrilling episode with Superman. It's a bird. It's a plane. It's Superman. Superman is a copyrighted feature appearing in Action Comics magazine.
