Batman #26 - Story 4

October 11, 1944

"Crime Comes to Lost Mesa"

Monk Bardo and Randy Roose escape from jail, steal a plane with pilot and fly to Lost Mesa where Monk knows they can set up a criminal gang there with ease. The pilot is killed as the two parachute from the crashing plane. The next day, Bruce reads about the escape of the two convicts that he and Dick had a hand in capturing.

Taking off in the Batplane, Batman points out how he is knows Randy once hunted for gold in the area as they head to Lost Mesa. Once they land, they try to figure out a way to get into the valley within the mesa. They are aided by a boy Batman rescues who shows them the secret entrance into the mesa, saving them a great deal of time.

Once they reach the village, the two are attacked by the medicine man and his warriors. Turns out that the two convicts got their first and with the help of the medicine man, who remembers Roose from when he robbed the village of its treasures years ago while gold hunting, they are able to convince the villagers that other white men are coming to take their treasures. And Batman and Robin are considered the two.

They are thrown into a deep pit and it looks from the way they landed, they should be dead. Meanwhile, the boy tricks the two convicts into thinking there's gold in the temple. The two head to the temple by the boy warns the village's chief. The medicine man makes his move to take over as leader by ordering the chief be thrown into the pit with Batman and Robin where fire will rein down on them. Before it can be done, Batman hurls an explosive that takes out the fire, sending the warriors running. The boy lowers a ladder to free the two and asks that they help the chief.

The four race to the temple with the medicine man in pursuit. There, the convicts shoot wildly as Batman and Robin take them out. One of the bullets strikes the medicine man and kills him.

With the convicts caught, the warriors give their allegiance back to the chief as the story wraps up. It's not a bad little piece. I had never seen a picture of a mesa before, so it was interesting to see it all play out in this story. And we're back to Detective Comics for our next entry, Citizens!