Mighty being from space, stronger than steel, free to roam the world on his lone patrol for the benefit of mankind. Superman, in his guise of Clark Kent, finds himself unable to reveal his true identity and so forestall disaster as he, Lois Lane and young Ralph Marlowe wait for Matt Goulden's deadly trap to be sprung. Ralph, when did Goulden say the logs would be started downriver? In less than half an hour, Mr. Kent. If it'd be up here, the whole shack would be swept away, with us in it. But why? The shack's on the bank of the river. We're less than ten feet from the water, Miss Lane. And when logs pile up, they go everywhere. They shoot up on the bank as much as a hundred feet sometimes. And with Goulden arranging the jam, we'll certainly be in their path. That's right, Mr. Kent. Unless we get out of here in a hurry, we won't have a chance in the world. Unaware that they were being led into a trap, Clark Kent and Lois Lane had followed Matt Goulden to an abandoned timber camp on the edge of a river some distance out of town. They were hoping Goulden would lead them to young Ralph Marlowe, whom they believed could help solve the secret of Stone Ridge. However, no sooner had they found Ralph than Goulden reappeared gun in hand and bound Kent, Lois, and Ralph securely to chairs in the rickety old shack. A shack which would certainly be swept away in a log jam which Goulden had already arranged. Now, as precious moments tick away, Kent tries to think of some way to free himself, some way to resume his true identity of Superman and save Lois and Ralph from death. If only I wasn't right in front of them. If only they couldn't see me. I could clean up this mess in a minute. There must be some way. How long have we been here, Clark? Clark! What? Oh, sorry. What did you say, Lois? I asked you how long we've been here. Oh, uh... About ten minutes. That means in twenty minutes the logs will start rolling down river. And how long before they get here? Not very long. The current's pretty strong and the camp's only a mile or two upstream. I can't understand how Goulden can arrange for the jam here. Oh, it's easy. The river's narrow here and not too deep. Anchor a couple of logs in the middle and the rest will pile up against them. Matt used to be a timber man before he started working for Cass Stryker. He knows all the tricks. Listen, Ralph, exactly what is Goulden's position with Stryker? What does he do? He's sort of a, well, right-hand man, I suppose. Goulden does all of Stryker's dirty work. Is that what you mean? I don't follow you. Cass never did anything underhanded in his life. And this isn't underhand? Trying to murder us? What? You don't think Cass put Matt up to do this, do you? You just said yourself that he was Stryker's right-hand man. Yes, but Cass doesn't know anything about this. Matt's double-crossing him. He's been doing it for over a year. Now, wait a minute, Ralph. You've got to believe me, Miss Lennon. Cass is one of the finest men that ever lived. He wouldn't hurt anybody. Ralph Stryker must know what Goulden is doing. He doesn't. Honestly, he doesn't. Cass is the kind of person who trusts everybody. He's known Matt for years. They worked in the timber camp together. I tried to warn Cass, but I couldn't get anywhere. He laughed at me. What about this meeting at the high school and the way the teachers are being persecuted? Miss Lennon, Cass appointed those teachers himself. Why should he want to ruin them now? I don't know, Ralph. That's just exactly what we're trying to find out. Cass got the money to build the school. It's one of his pet projects. He wouldn't want to wreck it. Ralph, answer me one question. Yes, Miss Lennon. Did you send that telegram to Perry White in Metropolis? Well, come on, Ralph. Yes, but he didn't tell Matt to wreck the paper. He'd never... Yes, I sent it. Why didn't you tell me before? I was afraid Cass would be angry with me. He always wanted to handle his troubles himself. Said he didn't want to wash Stone Ridge's dirty linen in public. Well, now we're getting somewhere. And when you said the voice of youth was being stifled, you were referring to this meeting about the teachers, weren't you? Yes. We like our teachers. They're good men. Not a bit like old man Hamilton the principal says they are. Then why did Stryker permit the meeting? He didn't know what it was all about. Hamilton told him some story of the teachers falling down on their jobs and holding a meeting to straighten things out. Cass didn't pay much attention and let it go through. Well, what about Howard Lasher's paper, the Stone Ridge Examiner? Stryker objected to Lasher's editorials, didn't he? Yes, but he didn't tell Matt to wreck the paper. He'd never do a thing like that. Cass always told everybody to say what they wanted to say. It's their right. Ralph, why didn't you tell me all this in the beginning? Oh, I don't know. I was afraid, I suppose. I thought perhaps Cass would talk to you and tell you everything. That's why I took you to him, Miss Lane. He's spoken to us at considerable length. But we don't know whether to believe him or not. You've got to believe him. He's done so much. He saw that the timber men got decent wages from the mills. He built the high school and made them clean up the valley where the timber men live. You ask any one of them, they'll tell you. Well, Ralph, who then is Goulden's boss? He's certainly not operating by himself. No, he isn't. I'm not sure who's behind him. But if we ever lose Cass Stryker, Stone Ridge won't be a fit place to live in. What was that? Sounded like an explosion. It was. I just blasted open the boom that holds the logs back upstream. Now the logs are on their way down the river. His throat suddenly dry and tight with fear, Ralph falls silent as he and Lois listen for the first deadly sounds of advancing destruction. But Kent twists and turns against his bonds, his mind in a turmoil. I could snap these ropes in a second and save Lois and Ralph, but then they'd know that I'm Superman. But there's only a few minutes left. I've got to do something soon, one way or the other. Meanwhile, back in Stone Ridge, in his office at the town hall, Cass Stryker receives a most unexpected visitor. Mr. Stryker? Cass Stryker? That's right. I'm Perry White from Metropolis. Perry White? Why, sit down, Mr. White. When did you arrive? A few minutes ago. I came here at once. Well, you should have let us know. It isn't often the mayor of a city like Metropolis visits a small town such as ours. I'm not here in my capacity as mayor, Mr. Stryker. I'm also the editor of the Daily Planet. Yes, yes, I know. I sent two of my reporters here the day before yesterday, and I haven't heard a word from them. I've come to find out what's happened. Two of your reporters? Why, you must mean Kent and Miss Lane. Yeah, that's right. You've seen them? Yes, yes. I spoke to them early this afternoon, in fact. But, uh, I don't quite know where they are now. You, uh, might try Howard Nash's office over at the Stone Ridge Examiner. I've already been there. His offices are closed. I've also heard a lot of talk, Stryker. Now, exactly what's going on here? Why, uh, nothing. You call a wrecked newspaper office nothing? You call a riot in your local high school nothing? Well, uh, the news gets around quickly, doesn't it? News like that, yes. And what about these meetings you're conducting with the high school faculty? Why are the teachers being put on trial? They're not on trial. No? I bought a copy of the Stone Ridge Examiner. Nash claims you're holding what he calls undemocratic meetings. The teachers are being pushed out of their jobs because they're not teaching the things you want them to. That's a lie. Nash also claims that the local population, made up mostly of timber men and their families, I understand, regard you as some kind of king god. And you've inflamed them to a point where they're ready to start lynching parties. Lies, lies, all of it. Mayor White, believe me, none of it's true. I believe cold, hard facts. Now, that's Nash's story. What's yours? Well, I have no story. Frankly, I don't know what's going on here. Everything seems to be blowing up in my face. Now, look here, Stryker. Look here. I'm not exactly a fool. I didn't even know what was going on in these school meetings until I sat in on one of them today. I had absolutely no idea. No idea? Well, what are you going to do about it? I'll try my best to stop them. Although the school board's up in arms, they insist on continuing the meeting. Now, look here, Stryker. Now, you appointed the board members, didn't you? Of course. But that doesn't mean I have any power over them. I've never put a man in a job in order to tell him what to do. I see. You don't believe me, do you? Well, I... Ask your reporters. Ask Kent and Miss Lane. I've had a slight rush with them, but I'm sure they'll back me up. I'd be glad to talk to them. That's why I'm here. Now, where are they? Well, they must be around the town somewhere. Oh, excuse me. Yes? Matt, where are you, anyway? I've been phoning everywhere for you. Look, we've got to... What? Well, what are you doing there? Well, why should they have gone to the old timber camp? Oh, I see. Hold on. Mr. White. Huh? My assistant, Matt Goulden, says he followed Kent and Miss Lane to an old timber camp about ten miles out of town. What in the dickens are they doing away out there? Get them back here. Hello? Matt? Get hold of them and tell them to come back to Stone Ridge at once. Mayor White's here and he wants to... What? What's that? Well, can't you help them? Well, do something. All right. Do what you can and call me back. I'll be here. Mayor White, I... I hardly know how to tell you this. Why, what's the matter with you? You're as pale as a ghost. Kent and Miss Lane have had an accident. What? Matt saw them go into an old shack. And when they didn't come out, he started to investigate. Then all of a sudden, a run of logs came down the river, jammed up, tore into the shack and swept it away. Shwept it away? With Lewis and Kent inside? Yes. Matt says he's sure they're... They're dead. Cass Stryker's voice trembles as he breaks the news to Perry White. But is it true? Did Gulden really see the shack swept away? When we left Lois, Kent and Ralph Marlowe, they had just heard the muffled boom of the explosion that released the logs down the river. It is a steep and swift river, and in a matter of minutes, the log will cover the distance downstream to the shack, a mere ten feet from the bank and just twenty feet from where Matt Gulden arranged for the logs to bank up. As Gulden himself boasted, the logs would come ripping through the shack like pile drivers, crushing everything in their course. And now the rolling and crashing fill to the air as the leading logs in a mad, swirling dance come nearer and dearer to the spot opposite the shack where they will be jammed. Listen! The logs are coming down the river! Don't jam up in a minute! Ralph's warning cry is almost drowned out by the crashing thunder of hundreds of massive logs rolling down the river, piling headlong into the barrier set by Matt Gulden. With a splintering, grinding roar, they jam up, one against the other, and as a powerful current presses against them, they jump the riverbank, shooting wildly towards the flimsy shack. As Lois screams, Kent makes a decision. I can't wait another second. I've got to save Lois and Ralph. There! I've broken the ropes! Oh, Superman will take over! But even as Kent snaps his bones and assumes in a flash his true identity of Superman, the wall of the shack collapses under the pile-driving force of the logs, and Lois and Ralph disappear. Has the man of steel waited too long? Has he delayed one second too many? We'll know in the next action-packed episode of Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman! Superman!
