Nick Peron

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Captain America Comics #14

The Horde of the Vulture

Credits

Steve, Bucky and Duffy accompany an explosives supply convoy to Arizona's Camp Mojave. On the way, the Vulture and his men attack. Cap and Bucky drive them off. At Camp Mojave, Steve overhears businessman Hugh Bradley tell an officer about the Vultures' alleged roots at an "Indian secret society." Bradley offers to ferret out membership, but Cap proceeds on his own with Bucky. They contact their friend Little Moose, who reports mysterious activities in an abandoned village. Cap and Bucky investigate a campfire, but find only would-be gold prospector Pete. The Vulture and his men capture all three and take them to a subterranean hideout.

Bucky and Pete are shackled in a dungeon, but Cap escapes and returns to Little Moose's reservation, where Camp Mojave's Lt. Stewart reports that Moose, a Vulture mask planted in his possessions, has been arrested. Cap vouches for Moose and Stewart departs to summon backup from Camp Mojave, but a Vulture kills him. Meanwhile, Cap tells Moose's fellow Mojaves that the Vultures are 'foreign sneaks" hiding behind "the name of the First Americans," and they agree to help. Meanwhile, Vulture's men place Bucky and Pete in a hole which is filling with water, to drown them. Finding the hideout entrance blocked, Cap scales a ladder and discovers Japanese soldiers. As the Mojaves fight the Japanese, Cap confronts Vulture, then frees Bucky and Pete. After Cap knocks out Vulture, the Japanese soldiers surrender, and Cap unmasks Vulture as Bradley.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Bucky, Imperial Japan, Sgt. Duffy

The Petals of Doom

The Yellow Claw declares war on US defense, killing officers and destroying government facilities. Cap and Bucky spy Claw and his underlings killing an officer, and stealing his plans. They pursue, but MPs unwittingly interrupt, allowing the villains to escape. Back at Camp Lehigh, Steve is supposed to meet Betty at a dance, but Duffy assigns him and Bucky to KP. Duping Duffy, Steve attends the dance, finding Betty dancing with Captain Elliot, a recently assigned intelligence officer. Later, Cap and Bucky tackle two intruders, claiming to be messengers delivering flowers to Major Adams. The next day, Adams is reported dead, and the "messengers" enter a lieutenant's quarters. Steve and Bucky find the lieutenant dead and pursue, arriving at the Yellow Claw's hideout. They quickly defeat the villains, but Bucky smells the assembled flowers and collapses, poisoned. Cap rushes Bucky to a hospital, saving him.

Retrieving a flower from the lieutenant's quarters, Steve has it tested to confirm that it secretes poison. After Bucky leaves the hospital, the duo crash a military ball, warning those present that the flowers are poisoned. Elliot tries to shoot Cap but Betty stops him. When General Berry drops dead after smelling a flower, Betty realizes Cap's warning is true, but Yellow Claw has an underling abduct her, then sends Steve a note, ostensibly from Betty, implying she is eloping with Elliot. Later, Claw sends another letter to Steve, threatening Betty's life. Cap and Bucky return to Claw's hideout, and knock Claw into the poisoned flowers, killing him. Cap unmasks him as Elliot.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Bucky, Betsy Ross, Sgt. Duffy

The Three Man Blitzkrieg

Roddy Colt is out making his usual runs of delivering newspapers and selling Defense Stamps when he runs into his rival Spud Sickles. Sickles bets Roddy that he can sell more Defense Stamps and rushes off hoping to undercut Roddy on his sales by approaching his customers first.

Roddy goes about his business, uninterested in competition, and delivers a paper to Mr. Lentz's house. When he asks Lentz to buy some Defense Stamps, he angrily rejects the offer and slams the door in the boys face. Finding this suspicious, Roddy decides to investigate Mr. Lentz — as the Secret Stamp. As it turns out Lentz is really a Nazi spy and the Secret Stamp witnesses one of Lentz's comrades enter his home through a secret passage and decides to follow. Inside the secret tunnel he overhears Lentz and his allies talk about how they intend to detonate the local power plant in Freetown as a test for a much larger scale attack on New York City.

The Secret Stamp attacks the spies, however when Spud wanders into the tunnel his presence distracts Secret Stamp long enough for Lentz to shoot the boy in the arm. Thinking the boy will bleed to death, Lentz has one of his men drag the Secret Stamp out of the secret tunnel and they tie up Spud so he doesn't interfere with them when they blow up the power plant.

Left alone to die, Secret Stamp stops playing possum and puts a tourniquet on his bullet wound. Calling his reporter friend Jerry Dash and tipping him off to spy activities from his bike radio, Secret Stamp then rushes back into the tunnel after the crooks. Learning where they went from Spud, the Secret Stamp rushes down to confront them. He stops them just before they can pull down the plunger to their explosives, and knocks the men out with a single punch each. Leaving his trademark of Defense Stamps on the spies' foreheads, the Secret Stamp flees before Jerry and the police arrive on the scene.

Later, Jerry thanks Roddy for the scoop. Later still, Roddy runs into Spud who tells him that Secret Stamp is a close personal friend. Smiling to himself, Roddy asks Spud to introduce them sometime.

Recurring Characters

Secret Stamp, Spud Sickles, Jerry Dash