Detective Comics #6

Issue Details

Synopsis

SPEED SAUNDERS AND THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST APE A ship from Borneo brings a gorilla for the city's zoo, but on the beast's first night there, it is stolen. The animal is taken to an old farmhouse where a mad scientist has set up his lab. He places a human brain into the gorilla's body just to prove it's possible. Back in the city, the gorilla's disappearance is all over the news. The mayor assigns Speed Saunders to handle the case. Back at the farmhouse, the ape wakes from its induced sleep, with a sudden understanding of the human language. His captors have retired for the night, so the gorilla makes good his escape. Hopping a train, he reaches the city, where people all start screaming at the sight of him. Finding a box of dynamite at a construction site, he hurls it in anger, blowing a hole in the street and igniting some sewer gas. The explosion kills many people, and creates an even bigger panic, which angers the gorilla. He believes that their screams and running away means they all must hate him, so he will have to fight them. He makes his way down to the waterfront, where Speed Saunders catches up to him. Speed moves to get the ape's attention so that the police can grab him from behind. Out of the gathered crowd comes the mad scientist. He assures Speed and the police that he can get the creature to calm down. But as soon as he gets close, the enraged gorilla recognizes the man as the one who did this to him and charges. He grabs the mad scientist and they both plunge off the pier into the water below. Neither ever come back up. MYSTERY OF THE WHOLESALE KIDNAPPINGS PART 2 Larry has just learned that his mother was sick, and his father had left for New York to see her. Now he had even more of a reason to go. Bill Graham meets Larry at the airport, where Bill's friend Tom has agreed to fly them out. Danger hits them during the flight when their plane is attacked by another. The enemy pilots shoot at them with Tommy guns, sending Larry and crew crashing to the ground. Larry and Tom manage to escape the wreckage relatively intact, but Bill is badly injured. Luckily a kind stranger has seen their plane go down and offers to give the boys a ride to the hospital. While Bill stays overnight at the hospital, Larry and Tom go grab a bite. Meanwhile, the men who shot down the plane survey the wreckage. Satisfied at their handiwork, Dutch and Squinty go into town for a drink. At a small diner, Larry makes a quick call to his mom to see how she is doing. But when he talks to her, she seems completely clueless to what he is saying. She had never been sick, and his father wasn't there. Larry becomes worried, if this were true, where was his dad? Could he have been kidnapped as well? Just as he's talking it over with Tom, Squinty and Dutch arrive and spot them! THE DISAPPEARING DIAMONDS On his way home from India, Cosmo visits his friend Bruce Shaw at the Superior Diamond company office in Cape Town, Africa. He takes Cosmo for a trip to one of his mines. On the way, he tells Cosmo about how some of their most precious gems are disappearing and they haven't been able to figure out how. Cosmo is intrigued so he decides to help investigate. Bruce introduces Cosmo to the manager in charge, Jaeger, and he is shown the pit where the diamonds are mined. The labor force is mostly made up of natives from the Zulu, and other tribes. They carry the diamonds to the sorting room, where the most skilled appraisers weigh and grade the stones before sending them to be put away in the vault. Bruce says that some of the diamonds go missing somewhere between the sorting room and the vault. The high walls and guard points surrounding the site make it nearly impossible for anyone to carry them out. Cosmo returns to the city and dons an old sailor disguise, and begins checking around in the darker corners of the city. In every ill-reputed bar and gambling joint he comes across, Cosmo would ask about buying some diamonds for cheap. Eventually he meets Lunt, a bar owner, who informs him that he's expecting some large stones from his contact at the Superior Diamond company, that should arrive tomorrow. Cosmo promises to come back, then as soon as he leaves, he calls Bruce. Bruce meets Cosmo at the gate to the mining site just before quitting time. They watch as each worker is searched thoroughly before stepping out. They wait until everyone has left, and then wait some more. Their patience pays off, Cosmo spots an arrow being shot over the wall! They hurry inside and see the manager, Jaeger, holding a bow. The guards are informed; two of them soon return with Lunt, who they have caught out in the bush, retrieving the arrow with a small bag of diamonds attached. Jaeger and Lunt are arrested for the diamond theft. THE CLAWS OF THE RED DRAGON PART 6 Bruce found Sigrid, but now she wanted him to find her father too. He convinced her instead that going for help was the best option, as they were currently outnumbered. They crept downstairs into the kitchen, passing a guard who was too strung out on opium to give notice. But before they could get through the kitchen exit, footsteps sounded from outside. Bruce and Sigrid hurried down the cellar stairs, then through the darkness to the door that Bruce used to sneak in. He noticed that the body that had been there had vanished, not a good sign. The hatch opened and Bruce poked his head out, to be met with the cold steel of a gun. Stucchi pressed the muzzle into Bruce's cheek, causing instinct to take over; Bruce knocked the gun away and grabbed for his own firearm! Stucchi fell to the ground, dropping his weapon. Bruce picked that one up as well. He failed to notice the man above him, in the second story window, with a heavy vase. Bruce was smashed over the head, and fell unconscious! Bruce awoke, alone in a room. His ring with the jade dragon was gone from his finger. A member of the Tong then entered and held a gun on Bruce, commanding him to follow. He was led down the steps and through hallways until they reached a lavishly decorated room. Chin Lung sat at a desk in the center of the room, he beckoned for Bruce to join him. Chin Lung asked if Bruce would cease fighting and join forces with his master, Lu Gong. Bruce declined, asking instead what happened to his ring. Chin angrily retorted that the ring was a copy, to which Bruce said that was because he would never bring the real thing to enemy territory. Chin ordered the guard to summon Lu Gong; it was time for the American to face his master's wrath. Suddenly shots were heard on the outside grounds. The gong was struck in alarm as members of the Tong, including Chin Lung, scurried outside to investigate. Two guards were left to watch over Bruce as he paced the room. There was a phone on the desk, that he turned his back to, using his body to shield the guards' view at his hands, which were dialing. Muttering in English, in a way that made it look like he was simply talking to himself, Bruce asked for the police to trace this number and send backup. Bruce sneakily hung up the phone, just as Chin returned. Chin took his seat at the desk and waited as the guards brought Sigrid's father, Erick, into the room, making him and Bruce stand next to each other. Chin addressed the two of them, saying that his master would give them until ten o'clock, two hours, to decide whether to side with them, or die. A BUM DISGUISE The chief tells Gus to capture Trigger Slatspants, who was said to be hiding out in the County Looney Bin. Gus disguises himself as an old hobo and hops the gate. But his disguise works too well and he is wrapped in a straight jacket and put in his own room. THE INVESTIGATION OF CAPTAIN HANLEY Bart Regan and Sally Norris are sent to the Hotel Royale to investigate Captain Hanley, who is suspected of selling government secrets to foreign powers. In the hotel lobby, the captain is seen talking with the desk clerk. Bart sneaks upstairs to search Hanley's room while Sally detains him with her 'feminine charm'. Unfortunately, her attempts to woo Hanley are rebuffed as he becomes annoyed and heads back to his room. Bart has made little progress in his search so far. When he hears footsteps approach, he hides in the closet just as Hanley enters. Then, several minutes later, he receives a visitor who is a foreign agent. He asks about the plans, and Hanley tells him they're in the closet. Bart checks around and spots a suitcase full of valuable government documents. He bursts out the door, knocking the captain aside. But the foreign spy pulls out a gun before Bart can get away. Before a shot can be fired, Sally appears behind the spy and shoves a gun into his back. With both men held up, Bart ties them up with ties and scarves and calls the authorities. The plans are recovered and Hanley and his accomplice are sent to prison as traitors to their countries. MR. CHANG AND THE MAD SCIENTIST A series of fatal car crashes are being made to happen, out on Miller Road, in which the victims' bodies all vanish, and later are found drained of blood. Inspector Daniels is stumped, and calls on Mr. Chang, who has been following the case in the newspapers and already has a plan of action. He and Wu drive down the twisty, hilly Miller Road, at night, and encounter the same booby trap as several prior drivers: a large mirror placed across the highway. They crash, and are captured by gunmen, and brought to a farmhouse's basement laboratory. There, Dr. Hugo Von Gratz, eminent scientist, has been draining the blood from captured live crash victims, and injecting his own secret life-giving formula, causing the subjects to double in size, hoping to create an army of giant slaves. Seemingly captured, Chang and Wu turn out the lights, outfight the henchmen, and set off some signal flares. Inspector Daniels and a squad of cops have followed Chang's car, and they now charge in and take charge of the hideout. Von Gratz makes an ill-timed attempt to shoot Mr. Chang, and is killed by a shot from Inspector Daniels. IN MEXICO Mexican gold-mine owner, Mr. Cortez, meets Slam Bradley on his American trip. He and his daughter Rosita become good friends with Slam and Shorty. A week after their departure back to Mexico, Slam receives a message from Rosita telling them that her father has been kidnapped by bandits. Slam and Shorty head south, by train, to help out. At an isolated water stop, the train is raided by four bandits. They are there to abduct Slam Bradley, and will kill every passenger if he doesn't go with them. Bradley bare-handedly outfights all of them and they run away. At San Puerto, Slam and Shorty are met by Rosita Cortez, and they repair to her hacienda. That night shorty spots one of the train robbers lurking around the grounds. He trails the bandit but gets outwitted and captured by the gang. Shorty fast-talks his way into joining their gang. They don't trust him but they assign him to murder Slam Bradley, or die. Shorty climbs into the Cortez hacienda via a second-story window, and meets up with Slam, who decides that they should fake Slam's murder so Shorty can accompany the gang back to wherever Senor Cortez is being held. The bandits are fooled into riding homeward with Shorty among them. It's still dark when they get back to base. Their hostage hasn't been telling them what they want to know so Shorty is assigned to torture the info out of him. Cortez and Morgan whisper out a plan of action, which is to tell them where the mine is and then count on Slam Bradley to come through and save the day. Meanwhile Bradley has trailed Morgan to the bandit camp, and he lurks nearby as the gang saddles up and rides away. He takes out the lone guard and frees Cortez. They ride to the mine as fast as they can, but with two of them on one horse, they're not likely to catch the gang. This worries Cortez, who confides that he has set a deadly trap at his secret mine, and that it could wipe out Shorty along with the bandits. At the mine, the bandits are very pleased with their new wealth, and Don Carlos tells his knife man Pedro that it's time to kill Shorty. By improbable accident, a dynamite charge is set off, which seals the entrance to the mine, with all of them inside. There is an opening, but only Shorty is small enough to wriggle thru it. When Pedro tries to follow he gets vengefully face-punched by Shorty. Pedro struggles his way free of the rockslide, and goes after Shorty with his knife, but just then Slam shows up and punches him into a wooden retaining wall, which breaks. Soon the Rurales arrive, along with lovely Rosita; Slam gets a big smooch and shorty gets cold-shouldered yet again.