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, race a speeding bullet to its target, bend steel 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. When Duke Renard, warned by a mysterious woman that the police and district attorney were closing in on his hideout, bound Clark Kent and Editor Perry White to their chairs and set the frame building on fire, he was certain it was the end of them. But Kent, as Superman, rescued Editor White from the blazing inferno a moment before the police arrived, although he was forced to knock him out in order to assume his real identity. Meanwhile, Renard and his two henchmen, Curly and Spud, got away in a high-powered car and are on their way to the Conway Turnpike, a deserted stretch of road where they plan to intercept the car carrying Henry Benson and his guards. Kent and Perry White are back in the latter's office at the Daily Planet. White is nursing a badly swollen jaw and complaining bitterly about it. Listen. I still don't see what right you had to haul off and sock me. I can't even talk. Sorry, Mr. White, but it was the only way. You wanted to jump out the window. Certainly a slightly painful jaw is better than a couple of broken legs. I wonder. What'd you hit me with, a sledgehammer? No, just my fist. It's for your own good. Next time, trying not to be so good to me. Oh. If we'll just keep that ice bag on the swelling, I'm sure it'll go down. I don't know why I haven't sent you packing. Incidentally, how did we get out of that burning building? Why, through the hall. Through the hall? Yes. You're crazy. It's like the inside of a furnace. Oh, well, I managed to find an opening where there wasn't any flame. What happened to the police? Did they ever get there? Oh, yes. It's just as we left. Did Warren, the district attorney, see you? No, I slipped around the back of the house, hailed a taxi cab, and brought you to the office. No, no, Kent. Sometimes I can't figure you out. The stories you tell are a little fantastic. Well, now, there's certainly nothing fantastic about hailing a cab, is there? No, but I saw that hallway. It was blazing. And yet, you carried me through it, down the steps, around to the back of the house, and hailed a cab. All without even scorching a shoe. Well, what's the difference? We've certainly made a mess of things. Instead of rounding up Duke Renard and his gang of cutthroats, we came close to losing our lives. Oh, we'll round them up yet. Benson is being transferred from the city jail at nine o'clock. Renard's men are going to intercept the car on the Conway Turnpike. I'll be there to see that they don't. Oh, don't be a stupid fool. That's a job for the police. I'm not going to be responsible for anything happening to you. Now, look, we've gone through all that, Mr. White. Nothing's going to happen to me. I've got it all figured out. What do you mean? There'll be two jail guards in the car with Benson. One at the wheel and one in the back seat. I'm going to be the third. The third what? The third guard. There's only one difficulty. I need a uniform. Are you mad, Kent? What is all this nonsense? It isn't nonsense, Mr. White. If I can get a prison guard's uniform, I'll make the trip in Benson's car. Naturally, knowing that Duke Renard's men are lying in wait for us, I'll be in a position to handle them. Well, why can't the police do it? You're a newspaper reporter, not a cop. At least, I'm paying you to be a reporter. Oh, you'll get your money's worth in an exclusive story, an eyewitness account of an attempt made on Henry Benson's life. Sure, sure. Unless you stop a bullet. If I stop a bullet, it'll stay stopped. What? Well, I, uh... I mean, I won't get in the way of any bullets. Well, that's a bright remark. I suppose if one of those mugs fires point blank at you, you'll just catch the bullet and flip it back at him, huh? I'm afraid only Superman can do that, Mr. White. Ah, Superman. You're beginning to sound like that copy boy, Jimmy Olsen. Well, that's not getting us anywhere. The point is simply this, Mr. White. Someone is trying to silence Henry Benson for fear he'll spill the beans about that million-dollar shortage. Yeah, that much I know. All right. Now, I told you earlier this evening that I suspected District Attorney Warren. Yes, and I told you you were crazy. Warren prepared the case against Benson, and Warren hooked Duke Renard with an $85,000 fine and some crooked building deal. You may be right. Probably Warren himself isn't involved, but someone on the inside is. Otherwise, Renard wouldn't be tipped off to confidential information the way he is. Now, wait a minute. Wait a minute. I seem to remember you were telling me that a woman called Renard and warned him that the police were closing in. That's right. Well, how does a woman get mixed up in this? I don't know. Well, whoever she is, she certainly has some way of knowing what's going on. That's why it might be dangerous to tell the police about this 9 o'clock affair. See, it may get back to Renard that the police are wise, and, well, then where are we? Well, you may have something there. What do you propose to do again? Get hold of a prison guard uniform, present myself as representing the state prison, and go along in the car with Benson and the two guards. And where do you think you can find a uniform at this hour? Yeah, that's the problem. Oh, wait a minute. Wait a minute. I've got a friend in the theatrical costuming business. He carries all kinds of uniforms. Oh, they're leaving the city jail with Benson at 9. Is that right? Yes, we've got just about an hour. It's 10 of 8 now. Okay, I'll call it. Oh, the switchboard is closed, Mr. White. You'll have to dial the number. Yeah, well, I remember it. Now, let's see. Metropolis 4873. I think that's it. M-E-4-H. As editor White attempts to contact his friend in the theatrical costume business, unaware that the hour of Henry Benson's departure from the city jail has been changed from 9 to 8, the car carrying Duke Renard and his two henchmen, Curly and Spud, turns off the Conway Turnpike and comes to a stop on a well-hidden wagon road. Okay, this is fine. Shut off the motor. What time is it, Duke? Duke, just stayed. Well, that means we've got a good 40 minutes. It'll take them that long to get here. And on the radio, get some music. Do you mind if I cop a little snows, Duke? No, go ahead, Spud. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Jack Ranson bringing you the latest up-to-the-minute news. Do you want to hear the news, Duke? Yeah, keep it on. Metropolis. Local police and fire officials are trying to explain the cause of the mysterious blaze that leveled a two-story frame house at 10th Street and Marlowe Avenue early this evening. Hey, listen to that. Shut up. Police have been tipped off that the house was being occupied by Duke Renard, wanted for questioning in the Benson case. However, upon arrival, they found it in flames. Residents of the neighborhood reported to the police that they had seen a black sedan parked outside the house for more than an hour before the fire started. Police are in possession of the license number, but have not yet revealed the car's ownership. District Attorney Warren, in a statement issued at the scene of the fire, said he would order an investigation. Hey, they got our license number, Duke. What do we do? Turn that off. But you hear what he said? I heard it. I mean about the license number. That's not what bothers me. He didn't say anything about Kent and White. No, nothing at all. They couldn't have gotten loose. Oh, no, not a chance. But if they did, there'll be trouble. What do you mean? Kent knows we got Benson on the spot. If he tips the cops, we won't have a chance. There'll be a million of them following that car. Well, what do we do? Now, wait a minute. I gotta think. I don't like mixing with cops. Not out here. You won't have to mix with them. That bridge up ahead is a draw, isn't it? It's a what? A drawbridge. It opens up to let boats through. Yeah, I think so. Well, if it is, I got the answer. We can get Benson without even pulling a gun. How? I'll show you. Wake up, Spud. Hey, what's the matter? Drive the car across the bridge. Park off the road on the other side. Okay. What do you got up your sleeve, Duke? You'll see. Take it easy, Spud. Keep your lights down. Right. Yeah, it's a drawbridge, all right. The kind that opens sideways. Ah, that suits me swell. I don't get it, Duke. Hold your horses. Okay, Spud. This is far enough. Pull off the road. Kill the motor. Turn the lights out. You stick with the car, Spud. Curly's coming with me. What's the setup? I'm going to tell you. The car carrying Benson has got to cross this bridge to get to the state prison, see? Yeah. Well, instead of taking any chances on shooting it out with cops, we're going to drop that car into the river. Drop the car into the river? How? You see that little house back on the bridge on the right-hand side? Yeah, I see it. That's the bridge keeper's house. He's the guy who opens and shuts the drawer when a boat goes through. Sometimes there's two guys, but it don't matter. No, I still don't get it, Duke. Ah, you got a head like a tack. We're going to take over the bridge, and when the car with Benson in it comes rolling along, we'll open the bridge up and the car will drop into the river. Yeah, you sure are smart, Duke. No. If we handle it right, it won't matter how many cops are following that car. They won't even be able to cross the bridge because it'll be open and we can make an easy getaway. Oh, that can't miss. There's only one thing. What? How do we know which is Benson's car? Two ways. Number one, it'll be a sheriff's car with a red light on it. Number two, we can figure the time. It left the jail at eight. That means it'll hit this bridge at about 8.40. Go on, we've got to work fast. Follow me, Curly. Keep your gun handy. Right. I only see one guy in the house, Duke. He's an old teaser. Yeah. I guess he's alone. Well, that makes it easier. Wait a minute. Yeah. We're not going to mess around with the guy in the house. What do you mean? We can't take any chances. He's liable to knock over a telephone or maybe press a button. It'll jam the whole work. So what do we do? Slug him fast. I'll go in first and you sneak in behind me. Just tap him with the butt of your gun. Not too hard, but enough to put him to sleep. Okay. Come on. All right, here's the door. He's reading the magazine. This will be a cinch. You ready? Yeah. Let's go. Good evening. Let him have it, Curly. Eh? Eh? Oh, he's out cold. Good. Ah, let's see how these levers work. This one's marked open, full speed. I guess that means the draw. Well, here goes. Well, it doesn't look very hopeful with Duke Renard in control of the drawbridge, and Clark Kent still under the impression that Henry Benson is to leave the city jail at nine o'clock. Unless a miracle happens, a miracle that only Superman can create, Henry Benson is doomed. What will the outcome be, and who is the mysterious, unknown power behind Renard? Listen to the smashing climax of this story in the next episode of Superman. 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. It's a plane.
