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The Copperhead was about to be squashed to death (again) at the end of last week’s enthralling chapter. This time it was his own friend – Speed – who was going to do the squashing. This week…
…which is the principle that a man cannot be run over twice for the same reason. Ok, after the longest recap of the serial this far we join fresh action with this look from Bob.
His plan – the lack of superpowers notwithstanding – is to lie very still and hope Speed drives over him safely.
So far so good.
Still going well.
It was a plan and a half in no mistake. The Copperhead has balls of steel. Or copper at the very least.
Speed checks everyone is ok. "Keep going" urges the Copperhead. Speed does as he’s told.
The men fire guns at each other until they have no more bullets.
Then the baddies decide to toss the tungite at our heroes. That too sounds like a mysterious euphemism. Still, Speed and the Copperhead wanted to stop Dr Satan getting the tungite and this is as good a way as any. Thank goodness for stupid lackeys. That’s what I always say.
A tire bursts and the chase is over. Speed takes his jacket off. That’s how annoyed he is that they lost.
"Bob – you missed out on a lot of excitement" says Speed. IF ONLY HE KNEW~!
Bob phones Lois. Rather charmingly she starts speaking before the receiver gets anywhere near her mouth. The moment she lifts it from the cradle, she’s giving it plenty.
She tells Bob that Panamint Pete – the bumpkin who was shot last week – drew part of a map. Bob rushes over to Pete’s shack to see if it is still there. The station master overhears Bob and Speed’s conversation and, when they’ve gone, nips to his car with suspicion etched across his lined face.
That doesn’t look like standard station master issue equipment. He must be in league with someone.
This is the radio owned by whoever he is in league with. They are giving nothing away.
It’s Dr Satan’s number one henchman. And its still dress down day.
The lackey sends two burly young chaps to intercept Bob and Speed. The ruffians.
The lackey in turn passes his message on to Dr Satan via the miracle of radio.
Dr Satan points out the flaw in his assistant’s plan to capture Bob and Speed and bring them back to the mine for questioning. Firstly, they are evil and don’t take people in for questioning and secondly, they don’t want Bob to know where the mine is. The sidekick realises what he must do – he gathers up two more burly young men and they go after the two he sent previously.
Meanwhile, at Panamint Pete’s, an ambush is being set.
"Is there anybody in there?" shouts Bob. Well, the owner is dead and anyone else would probably keep quiet. Not Bob’s best plan. Speed comments that it’s "awful quiet". Yes, except when Bob is shouting fatuous questions. That’s probably why Pete chose to live there until your machinations got him killed.
Bob is rightly suspicious and he and Speed split up. They each go round the side of the shack and Speed shoots through a side window.
A gun battle breaks out on two sides. Split screen excitement… would be par for the course sixty years later. As it is we can manage without thank you very much.
Bob starts a fire. Which is fair enough I suppose.
He’s laid some kind of flammable trail so the fire quickly spreads to the shack. What a nice man.
Inside, though their shack is burning, the two hoodlums continue shooting. You just can’t help some people.
Eventually the men surrender. Hurrah for the triumph of good over evil.
The four men – bonded forever by trying to kill each other – ride together to the tungite mine.
Henchman Number One and his boys are waiting. "They gottem all right" he says with a smile. Boy has he ever got hold of the wrong end of the stick. I wouldn’t like to be stood behind him when he fires that rifle.
Their evil plan is to kill Bob and Speed before they can reach the mine. They open fire. But being dumb they assumed Bob and Speed would be captives in the middle and their two boys would be guarding them on the outside. Hence the baddies are killed and our chaps are fine. Incompetence is a virtue sometimes.
Bob and Speed are rumbled and the gun men turn on them. So they in turn turn and run. Say that three times and you’ll win a coconut.
Bob realises with horror that they shot Speed. He watches as his loyal sidekick who he only met a few days ago is taken away by the forces of darkness. What will Bob do next?
Yes – that’s right- he’ll turn green and you wouldn’t like him… no, wait, that’s a proper super hero. Bob will put a manky bag over his head and blunder into some more trouble.
The Copperhead
In the mine, Speed is put to work loading sacks of tungite.
Copperhead Bob spots they have only left one guard on duty. He jumps on him.
A fight breaks out.
In the mine, the baddies are about to shoot Speed.
When the Copperhead introduces himself with a bang.
A fight breaks out.
During the struggle, a pile of barrels of gun powder is knocked over. One of them rolls ominously. As long as it doesn’t get anywhere near a naked flame…
…they’ll be fine. Damn.
The fight continues and Bob loses again.
The torch is nudged during the heel’s escape and unless health and safety step in to close this mine down immediately, Bob is going to be blown up again.
BANG.
Bob is trapped beneath
The fire is getting closer and closer to the pile of barrels of gunpowder.
There is no way this can end happily.
See.
Next week – killer rabbits.
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