Buck Rogers War With The Planet Venus 1938 BLB

i ) A T O r f U P Y ; ;VD
mm,
1 25th *
CE NTURY A.D.
IN THE
WAR WITH;
I n t h e THE PLANET
WAR WI TH
THE PLANET
V ENUS
' n VENUS i
'BY P H T L ; Tsl O W L I n
i' i 4^47
LT D IC K C AL K I NS
J H£^
BE T T E R S
LITTLE;
VBOOKy
BUCK ROGERS
25th Century A. D,
in the
Interplanetary War with Venus
Story by PHIL NOWLAN
Pictures by LT. DICK CALKINS
Based an the Famous Newspaper Strip
W HITM AN PUBLISHING COMPANY

Racine, Wisconsin
Copyright, 1938, by
JO H N F . D IL L E C O M P A N Y
Chicago, 111
Licensed by
S T E P H E N S L E S IN G E R , Inc.
New York, N . Y
Printed in U .S.A .
LIST OF CHAPTERS
CHAPTER
I W a r D e c la r e d ....................
II A S tra ta g e m ......................
HI A D isa p p e a ra n c e !............
IV R e w a rd e d ! ........................
V A N e w K in d o f S h i p . . .
VI T h e P lu n g e to E a rth .
V II The T ra itre s s ..............
V III T h e T a n k F le e t ..........
IX In the R a ze d W o o d . .
X R eu n io n ......................
XI B ack in C u s t o d y ____
X II D ou ble T r i c k e r y . . . .
X III A Stran ge M e ssa g e . .
X IV T h e T r a p ............................
XV T h e T a b le s T u r n e d . . . .
A Terrible Crisis
BUCK ROGERS
in th e In te r p la n e ta r y W a r w ith V e n u s
CHAPTER I
W AR DECLARED
“ Rogers! It’s come! Without

warning!”
It was the voice of the President
speaking, as he rushed excitedly
from his private sanctum with an
important-looking paper in his
hand. It was plain to see that some
terrific crisis was facing the world
in the 25th century A. D.
9
10_________ BUCK ROGERS___________
“ Wh-what’s come, sir?” stam

mered Buck Rogers in amazement.
“ W AR! Interplanetary war!”
thundered the President, as he
waved the paper in Buck’s face.
“With the planet Venus!” ex
claimed Buck.
So at last it had come, in spite of
all they had been able to do to avoid
it. This meant action at once.
“They’ve stolen a march on us!”
said the President sternly. “ Our
air fleet has been attacked with
shattering impact and virtually
wiped out!”
Interplanetary W a r!
i2_________ BUCK ROGERS___________
“ You mean that the Venusians

have already taken possession H’
cried Buck in new alarm.
“ Yes. Last night millions of
them rained down all over the
earth!” explained the President.
“ They’ve been followed by huge
disintegrators and supplies, and
they’ve dug themselves in there so
that our armies are helpless to com
bat them. We must concentrate on
saving our cities!”
“ But won’t they attack and des
troy our cities?” questioned Buck.
“ I don’t believe so,” said the
False Moonlight on the Prairie
14 BUCK ROGERS
President thoughtfully. “They

want to preserve our cities and
save them for themselves. They
will try to capture them, yes, but
they will not destroy them.”
Captain Buck Rogers lost no
time in reporting for duty.
“ Rogers,” said the Comman
dant, “ in each city we’re leaving a
few picked troops! You’re to go
to Ohio City. Here’s a chart of its
secret underground passages.”
Meanwhile, far out on the west
ern plains, Earth’s armies were
evacuating their precarious posi-
Reporting for Duty
i6 BUCK ROGERS
tions. Huge transports waited to

conduct the troops to more strate
gic points.
“ Get your detachment aboard,
Lieutenant Deering,” came the or
ders. “ You’re bound for Ohio
City.”
“ Then it is a general retreat,”
said Wilma Deering sadly. “We’ve
been beaten!”
Little did she know that soon she
would be fighting side by side with
her beloved friend Buck Rogers, at
Ohio City.
Meanwhile the arch-villains, Kill-
W ilm a’s Assignment
t
i8 BUCK ROGERS
er Kane and Ardala, had thrown

in their lot with the Venusians,
seeing greater opportunity for per
sonal gain and profit by fighting on
the winning side.
Outside of Ohio City, they were
about to defy the orders of the
high command o f the Venusians
and attack the city. Ardala had
discovered an entrance to one of
the secret tunnels which led into
the town.
“Then you really think we can
capture the city?” she asked Kane.
“ How can they defend it with
Killer Kane and Ardala Plot
20 BUCK ROGERS
less than fifty men?” snapped back

Kane. “Tonight—we attack!”
At that moment, the plotters
were rudely interrupted by the
news that a royal Venusian air
ship was approaching.
“ A Royal Venusian craft?” re
peated Ardala incredulously. “ But
—King Sethor is still on Venus!”
“ But it IS a royal ship,” insisted
their orderly, “ and heading for
our camp.”
They spotted the ship and knew
the man was right.
“ But who can it be, Kane?” ask-
A Venusian Craft Is Sighted
22 BUCK ROGERS
ed Ardala. “ No royalty came to

Earth with the invading expedi
tion !”
“ Well, one of ’em’s sure here
now !” muttered Kane grimly.
‘"That means complications!”
said Ardala with disappointment
in her tone.
“ Just when we’re all set to grab
the city!” cursed Killer Kane.
“ He’ll step in and take the eredit—
and the loot!”
A few moments later, when the
Venusian ship had landed, the dig
nified procession which disembark-
Heading for the Cam p
24 BUCK ROGERS
ed was greeted with unpleasant

news by a soldier of the camp.
“ Highness!” bowed the man to
Prince who led the procession.
“ Kane and Ardala took our troops
to capture the city. They outrank
ed us! We had to obey!”
The Prince was furious.
“ What? Those Earth turncoats!
Termites—both of them!” he cried.
“ I’ll handle their case!”
The Prince was not long in seek
ing out Kane and Ardala, and he
advanced upon them angrily.
“ It’s Blasko!” exclaimed Ardala
Blasko, Prince of Venus
26 BU CK RO GERS
... ■ — — — 1— * ............................................................ —■— *
as they saw the Prince approach

ing. “ Settlor's son!”
“ The Prince of Venus!” mutter
ed Kane. “ Leave him to me! He
goes for flattery—and can I flat
ter!”
But Blasko was in no mood for
flattery.
“ How now, you insects!” he
burst out. “ Explain all this!”
Kane and Ardala were imme
diately transformed into two fawn
ing and humble servants. Although
they did not like the Prince and
felt that his arrival was thwart-
Ardala and Kane Get a Shock
28 BUCK ROGERS
ing their best-laid plans, they knew

that he was too all-powerful for
them to oppose.
“Ah, Highness,” bowed Ardala.
“ What lucky chance brings you
here ?”
“ To lead our attack on the city!”
suggested Kane. “You honor us!”
“ Silence!” demanded Blasko. “ It
is forbidden to attack cities. We
need them—you are under arrest!”
While all this was going on, the
defenders of Ohio City were not
idle. Wilma herself had spotted the
arrival of the Venusian ship from
Twa paw ning and Humble Servants
30_________ BUCK ROGERS___________
her post outside the city.
“ It’s landing at the Venusian
camp!” she told her Commandant.
“ Tell Captain Rogers to report
to me at once/’ the chief ordered.
In a few minutes, Buck was sa
luting his superior and getting his
instructions.
“ Take as many men as you wish,
Rogers,” came the order. “ But
GET THAT SHIP I”
Buck picked his men carefully,
being sure to include Black Barney,
one of the most experienced and
courageous war dogs of them all.
W ilm a Watches the Arrival
32_________ BUCK ROGERS___________
“ Barney!” confided Buck, “we’ve
got orders to capture a Royal ship
of the Venusians! It’s a dangerous
job. I must ask for volunteers!”
“Th’ boys is all with you, Cap’n,”
returned Barney with conviction.
“They’ll have to draw lots—we
can’t take ’em all!”
It was not long before Buck and
his picked detail had taken to the
air and were streaking away to
the craft’s landing place.
“ That the place, Cap’n ?” inquir
ed Barney at last, as they skirted
over the countryside. “ Them woods
Asking for Volunteers
34 BUCK ROGERS
right over there?”

“ Right, Barney!” announced
Buck who was flying in the lead.
“ Deploy the men! Have them close
in on the ship from above.”
But search as they might, Buck
Rogers and his men were unable to
find the ship that had been so easily
visible a short time ago.
“Where is the ship, Barney? See
it?” inquired Buck, circling around
to question his right-hand man.
“ No sir!” reported Barney. “ I’ve
sent a couple of scouts forward.
Here comes one of ’em back!”
The Scouting Party
36_________ BUCK ROGERS___________
They watched as their man
zoomed into the air and approach
ed them. Then they all dropped to
the ground to talk things over.
“ Well, soldier, speak up!” order
ed Buck. “ What’s the situation?”
“ It’s gone!” reported the scout.
“There’s no ship there!”
Buck and Barney were com
pletely puzzled. They couldn’t for
the life of them figure out what
had become of the strange ship
after it had landed. Buck scratch
ed his chin.
“ We can’t capture the ship if it
T h e Ship H ad Vanished
3$ BUCK ROGERS
isn’t here, Barney,” he announced.

“That’s pure logic.”
“ I guess you’re right, Cap’n,”
agreed Barney with a puzzled sigh.
‘"That sounds reasonable!”
“ It can’t have gone fa r !” contin
ued Buck hopefully. “ We’d have
seen it, if it got up very high. Must
be just hedge-hopping!”
“ If it’s anywhere near, the boys
will find it, Cap’n,” asserted Bar
ney. “ They’re out now, lookin’
around!”
But Buck and Barney were due
for a welcome surprise. Before
N o Ship to Capture
40 BUCK ROGERS
very long, there was a slight com

motion and Barney, after going to
investigate, came back to report
that a Venusian prisoner had been
brought in.
“ He sez the ship is over there,
Cap’n,” he reported to Buck, point
ing to the west. “And who do you
think’s in command—Blasko him
self !”
Buck grinned with pleasure over
this stroke of good fortune.
“ What a break!” he chuckled.
“ Sethor’s son! Here’s our chance!”
“ What’s your plan, Cap’n ?” ask-
A Captive Speaks
42 BUCK ROGERS
ed Barney after they were alone.

“ Can’t you see, Barney?” ex
plained Buck enthusiastically.
“Would the Venusians go ahead
with this war, if their own king’s
son were in our hands—a hos
tage ?”
“ N o!” agreed Barney emphati
cally. “ So we’ve got to find that
ship and capture it !”
“ Right!” said Buck. “ Get the
men together!”
But they had no chance to move,
before another surprise caused
them to change their plans.
“ Get the Men Together!”
C H A P T E R II
A STR ATAG EM
Barney pointed to the sky and

cried excitedly. “ Look, Cap’nP
“ Blasko’s ship coming back!”
cried Buck in dismay.
Apparently the capture of the
Venusian scout had been reported,
and Blasko was making the first
move before the Earthlings had a
chance to attack him.
“ Scatter, men! Take cover P or-
44
Blasko’s Ship Returns
46 BUCK ROGERS
dered Buck. “ Don’t let ’em catch

us bunched together!”
“ You bet we won’t, Cap’n!” as
sured Barney, hastening to obey.
Aboard the enemy craft, the
lookout had spotted Buck and his
men.
“ Ha! Earthlings below!” cried
Blasko when he was given the
news. “ Dive—let them have it!”
“ Battle stations!” came the
sharp command. “ Forward bat
teries commence firing!”
A second later, the deadly rays
blasted away.
48 BUCK ROGERS
In response to Buck’s orders his

men had scurried to cover, whej'e
they now manned their guns, but
the rival aircraft dove straight at
the group and stabbed at them
with its battery of deadly rays.
“ It’s sagging! Lurching!” cried
Buck as the ship dove crazily at
them. “ Is it out of control?”
He kept blasting away at the
ship as did his other men.
“ It is!” he yelled a moment lat
er. “ But it’s in a slanting dive!
Straight at me!”
The great ship screamed toward
Returning the Fire
50 BUCK ROGERS
the ground, and, although Buck

stood his ground, he could not
check its progress.
“ Inertron-armored, I bet!” he
muttered to himself. “ I can’t check
i t ! I’m cut off from escape!”
In fact, so swiftly did the enemy
ship zoom to the ground that Buck
could not turn in time to avoid it.
With his gun blasting vainly at its
armor, it looked as though he were
about to be annihilated.
“ Good night!” he cried. “ This is
my end! My number is up!”
The next instant, everything
52 BUCK ROGERS
went blank. The ship crashed into

the ground only a few feet from
where Buck stood. Miraculously,
he was not crushed beneath it.
As it was, the nose of the ship
plowed up the ground for yards
around, and Buck was tossed into
the air by the impact amidst a
shower of earth and flying rocks.
For some seconds, he lay complete
ly stunned. When he came to, he
saw his men running headlong for
the ship.
“ Hurry, Barney!” called Buck,
still flat on his back.
54 BUCK ROGERS
“ C’mon, men!” Barney was urg

ing. “That crash must have stun
ned ’em ! We’ll bag ’em all.”
Suddenly a storm of rays from
the forward battery blasted forth
and drove Barney and his men
away. Buck sat up dizzily.
“ All those Venusians haven’t
been stunned!” he said to himself
as he saw the rays blasting forth.
“ If I can only reach that for’ard
port!”
Meanwhile, in the doomed ship,
Ardala and Killer Kane were be
moaning their poor luck. Ardala
T o the Rescue!
56 BUCK ROGERS
particularly was broken up by the

crash that had put them in enemy
hands.
“This is the end—the pay-off,
Kane!” she sobbed. “ We’re
through!”
“ Don’t you believe it, Ardala,”
muttered Kane with determination.
“ If I can only get this door open!”
He struggled and pulled at the
door which would enable them to
escape from the ship. At last, it
gave before his weight.
“ H a! It’s open!” he cried. “ Come
on, Ardala, we’ll get out yet!”
Kane, the Life-Saver 1
58 BUCK ROGERS
But the two traitors still had

Buck Rogers to reckon with. At
that moment, Buck was hurling a
gas grenade through the forward
port of the ship to silence the ray
guns.
As Kane and Ardala leaped from
the ship, they saw the deadly gas
fumes forming behind them.
“ Gas!” cried Kane.
“We just escaped it!” returned
Ardala. “ But they’ve got us sur
rounded. How can we break
through?”
“ We can’t!” ground out Kane,
Escape in the N ick of Tim e
6o BUCK ROGERS
hastily surveying their position.

“ Blast it! But—Flop! Play ’pos
sum! Pretend we’re gassed!”
“ I get you!” answered Ardala,
following Kane’s example and
throwing herself to the ground.
Barney and his men were about
to rush the ship once more.
Joined by Buck, they were pro
tected by headgear against their
own gas, and they surged over the
prone forms of Kane and Ardala
in their eagerness to reach the
ship.
“ What about these punks?” ask-
Playing Tossum
62 BUCK ROGERS
ed one of the men.

“Leave ’em lay!” suggested an
other. “They ain’t stoppin’ us.
We’ll look ’em over later!”
In another moment, they had
crashed into the Venusian craft,
the interior of which was now
flooded with gas fumes.
“ Out! Gassed!” cried Barney as
he beheld the prone occupants.
“Every one of ’em, Cap’n !”
“ Right, Barney!” returned Buck.
“ But—we want Blasko! Where is
he ?”
Barney had spied one of the fall-
In the Gas-Filled Plane
64 BUCK ROGERS
en figures and rushed over to ex

amine the man more closely.
“ This must be him, Cap’n,” he
suggested. “ Look at his trick uni
form !”
“ Hooray!” cried Buck, satisfied
that Barney was right. “ Maybe
this will put a new twist into the
w ar!”
Things had happened exactly to
Kane and Ardala’s liking. Buck’s
men had swarmed into the ship
without giving them a second
thought. Now, they looked around
cautiously.
T h e Capture of Blasko
66 BUCK ROGERS
“ Ardala!” whispered Kane.

“ They’ve all gone inside the ship!”
“Are you sure?” cautioned A r
dala. “ We don’t want a couple of
rocket bullets chasing us!”
The next moment, they were
both on their feet and Kane was
dashing away as fast as his legs
would carry him.
“ Scram, Ardala, scram!” he ur
ged.
“ I’m with you, Kane!” breathed
Ardala, who was close on his heels.
Barney emerged from the cap
tured ship too late to stop them.
68 B U C K ROGERS
“ Hey! Hey!” he yelled, whip

ping out his rocket gun. “ There’s
a couple o’ them Venusian rats es
caping !”
“ Cut ’em down, Barney!” urged
Buck from inside the ship.
But Kane and Ardala had too
good a start. Barney fired at them
but missed.
As they disappeared into the
woods, Kane called to Ardala.
“ Duck, Ardala!” he said. “ It’s
Black Barney!”
“ Do you think he recognized
us?” inquired Ardala.
7° B U C K ROGERS
Black Barney was totally un

aware of the prize that he had
missed.
“Only a couple of them Venusi-
ances got away/’ he reported.
“ Well, we have Blasko!” said
Buck. “ We’ll streak for Ohio City
and turn him over to Colonel
Krag.”
Kane and Ardala were not
through. At a safe distance, they
sat down.
“ They’ve got Blasko!” said Kane.
“If we could only rescue him!”
“ The future ruler of Venus!”
»
“ W e Must Rescue Blasko!
72 B U C K ROGERS
breathed Ardala, her eyes lighting

up. “ He’d give us the Earth!”
While Kane and Ardala plotted,
Blasko was lodged safely in a pris
on.
Buck was in serious conversation
with Colonel Krag.
“ But, Colonel Krag,” he argued.
“ How are we going to get him to
Niagara through the Venusian
lines?”
“ Rogers,” returned the Colonel
with finality. “ I leave that to you
and Lieutenant Deering.”
A Tough Assignment
C H A PT E R H I
A D IS A P P E A R A N C E !
That night, Kane and Ardala

were spying at a distance while the
Earthling ground crews worked to
recondition the Venusian craft.
They had guessed that it would be
used to transport Blasko to a safe
place.
When the workers had quit for
the night, leaving only one watch
man on the scene, Kane and Ardala
74
Using the Stypefying Beam
76 B U C K ROGERS
made their move. Creeping stealth

ily forward, Kane trained a stupe
fying beam on the man.
Suddenly the guard threw up his
arms in a sleepy gesture and yawn
ed wearily.
A moment later, as the guard
crumpled where he stood and went
into a deep slumber, Kane and Ar-
dala scrambled on board the ship.
When the sentry awoke, he re
ported to headquarters that all was
well, never dreaming that Kane
and Ardala were hidden in the
ship.
The Sentry Reports
78 B U C K ROGERS
Next morning, Buck and Wilma

were on hand bright and early to
get their orders from Colonel
Krag.
“The ship is ready to fly—and
fight, Rogers,” explained the Colo
nel. “ Get the prisoner aboard—
and good luck!”
“ Thanks, sir!” replied Buck
grimly. “ W ell need it!”
Both of them knew that their
mission was a hazardous one but
the success of their trip with the
highly prized prisoner was imper
ative. They were soon headed for
Ready for Flight
8o BUCK ROGERS
the parked ship with Blasko in

tow.
“ What are you going to do with
me?” inquired Blasko as they waft
ed along in the air.
“ Take you to Niagara for court
martial,” announced Wilma curtly.
When they reached the ship,
Buck leaped aboard and called to
the guard.
“We’re taking over, Corporal,”
he announced. “You’re relieved
from duty.”
“ Watch out for the Venusian
scouts,” warned the sentry.
T h e Start of the Journey
82 B U C K ROGERS
“ They’re as thick as fleas where

you’re going!”
Soon the big ship was streaking
aloft.
“ Got Blasko safely stowed
away, Buck?” asked Wilma.
“ Yeh! In the crew quarters!”
answered Buck. “ Plain sailing
from here in if we don’t run into
the whole Venusian air force!”
“ Our danger is that we’ll be
taken for Venusians by our own
troops!” cautioned Wilma.
Little did they realize that right
in the rear compartment of the
8 4 B U C K ROGERS
ship they were flying, lurked an

even greater danger.
“ Well, Kane, the time has come,”
Ardala was whispering to her com
panion. “ Shall we signal the Venu-
sians?”
“ Nah-h-h!” exclaimed Kane.
“ And give them the credit for res
cuing Blasko?”
“ What WILL we do then?” in
quired Ardala.
“ We’ll sneak up on Buck and
Wilma and finish them first,” an
nounced Kane, creeping toward
the forward part of the ship.
Traitors Aboard
86 B U C K ROGERS
Possibly it was fortunate for

Buck and Wilma that the two plot
ters were deterred from their ori
ginal purpose when they passed
some lockers amidships.
“ I wonder what’s in these lock
ers?” said Kane. “ I have an un
comfortable feeling.”
“ Well, why don’t you open them
and see?” suggested Ardala. A
moment later, when Kane had rip
ped open one of the lockers, she
added, “ A flying belt!”
“ Give it to me!” said Kane with
a grin. “ Get one for yourself and
Flying Belts for A ll
88 B U C K ROGERS
an extra one too!”

“ What’s the idea?” asked Ar-
dala as she followed Kane’s ex
ample and strapped on the belt.
“ I’ve changed our plan,” explain
ed Kane, who seemed to be very
well pleased with this new discov
ery. “ We’ll snoop around—find
Blasko—and then— !”
His sentence trailed off into
nothing as he thought of the re
ward that their rescue of Blasko
would bring.
They found Blasko securely
bound in the crew quarters.
A Change in Plans
/
9° B U C K ROGERS
“Highness !” cried Ardala.

“We have come to rescue you!”
announced Kane.
Blasko was so bound that he
could not at once see who they
were.
“ Huh?” he answered in startled
surprise. “And who are you?”
There was no chance for an im
mediate answer. Up forward in
the control room, Wilma thought
she had heard voices and was about
to investigate.
Kane and Ardala heard her ap
proaching the rear of the ship,
T o the Rescue!
92 B U C K ROGERS
however, and they lost no time in

making themselves scarce.
“ Someone is coming!” warned
Kane. “ Hide!”
“ In the bunk!” said Ardala as
she leaped head first into one of
the sleeping bunks maintained for
the crew of the ship.
Kane lost no time in following
her example. When Wilma burst
into the compartment a moment
later, she found only Blasko sitting
on the floor, bound as before.
“ I’m sure I heard someone talk
ing, Blasko!” she said, looking at
94 BUCK ROGERS
the prisoner queerly and holding

her rocket gun in readiness. “What
is it?”
“ I did not call, Earthling,” re
plied Blasko. “ I want to be alone!”
Wilma returned to the control
room, still a little puzzled.
“ No, Blasko’s all right,” she said,
in answer to Buck’s quick inquiry.
“ He’s sullen—but safe. Still—I’m
positive that I did hear—”
“Forget it, Wilma,” interrupted
Buck sharply. “ You’re not getting
jittery, are you?”
His words were almost cut off by
W ilm a Investigates
96 B U C K ROGERS
a sharp ringing noise from the

rear of the ship. There could be no
doubt about it this time and even
Buck looked somewhat alarmed,
“ What’s that!” cried Wilma,
thoroughly convinced now that her
suspicions had not been ill-founded.
They both turned and looked at
the door which led to the rear of
the ship. The sound they had
heard had a very familiar ring.
“ Sounded like an airlock door
slamming!” said Wilma.
“Take a look, Wilma,” suggested
Buck who was obliged to stay at
A Startling Noise
9« B U C K ROGERS
the controls. “ Maybe it wasn’t fas

tened securely—and swung open!”
The grave concern on his face as
he said the words showed that he
felt reasonably sure that the doors
had been carefully checked as us
ual before they had taken off.
It did not take long for Wilma
to investigate again. She ran to
the rear of the ship and was back
in almost no time with very dis
tressing news.
“ Buck! Buck!” she cried, as she
neared the control room.
“ What’s the matter, Wilma?”
"'Sounded Like an A ir-Lock D o o r!”
100 BU CK ROGERS
asked Buck in alarm, “ Was it the

door?”
“ The door’s okay, Buck,” return
ed Wilma. “ But Blasko’s gone!”
Buck was thunderstruck. It did
not seem possible that their pris
oner, the only other person on the
ship, could have escaped.
“ What!” he thundered. “ You
mean—he isn’t even on the ship?”
Wilma assured him that Blasko
was not in the compartment where
she had left him a few moments be
fore, nor could she find him else
where.
“Blasko Is Gone!”
C H A PT E R IV
REW ARD ED !
On Wilma’s first visit to the rear

compartment she had completely
overlooked Kane and Ardala, who
were hiding breathlessly just a few
feet away in one of the bunks. The
minute she had gone, they had leap
ed out and untied the prisoner.
“ Come, Highness!” urged Ar
dala. “ We can’t waste a minute!
Put on this flying belt!”
102
The Rescue!
104 BUCK ROGERS *
“ Who—me?” inquired Blasko,

eyeing the strange-looking con
traption dubiously. “ Why, I never
used one in my life l”
“ Well, there’s always a first
time,” said Kane, helping to strap
on the belt. “ And this is it !”
For once, Blasko was taking or
ders. In another moment, as the
nearest door was flung open, Ar-
dala gave him a vigorous shove.
“ Ohhh!” groaned Blasko. “ How
will I stop when I reach the
ground?”
“ Blast you, Ardala!” gritted out
The Escape
io 6 B U C K ROGERS
Kane as the three fell through

space. “ You slammed that airlock
door!”
It was several minutes before
Buck connected the sound of the
slamming door with Blasko’s es
cape. He rushed quickly to one of
the visors and scanned the space
below them.
“ Wilma!” he cried at once. “ Look
down below!”
“ Three people on flying belts!”
murmured Wilma as she followed
Buck’s pointing finger. “ One of
them is Blasko! And . . . ”
Buck and Wilma Look On!
io8 BU CK ROGERS
“And the other two are Kane and

Ardala!” interrupted Buck.
“ Then it was they who released
Blasko!” said Wilma in dismay.
“They must have been hidden on
board.”
“ Quick, Wilma!” urged Buck.
“ The depressor-rocket lever! Cut
all anti-gravity switches. We’re
going down after them.”
“ Buck! You’re crazy!” cried
Wilma. “We’re directly over the
Venusian lines!”
Indeed, a Venusian observer had
already spotted them.
Venusian Observers
no BU CK ROGERS
“ One of our ships up aloft, sir!”

he advised his superior.
“ Ah, you’re right,” agreed the
officer. “And, by Tamur, three of
her crew overboard. Throw a re-
pellor ray at them—perhaps we
can save them.”
“ W ait!” cried the observer, look
ing at the figures through a glass.
“ They wear flying belts! Must be
Earthlings—prisoners escaping!”
“ Open fire on them, then!” or
dered the officer without further
ado.
Thus, as Kane, Ardala and
In Line of Fire
112 B U C K ROGERS
Blasko neared the Earth, they were

suddenly subjected to a withering
Venusian fire.
“ Hey, what’s the matter with
those boneheads?” demanded
Kane.
“ Shooting at me—their Crown
Prince!” said Blasko angrily. “I’ll
have their very lives for this!”
Fortunately for the gunners be
low, however, they soon got a bet
ter look at their targets through
the giant magnifiers on the guns.
“There’s some mistake here!”
shouted the officer suddenly. “ Hold
IT4 BU CK ROGERS
your fire! They’re not all garbed

as Earthlings!”
“ Huh?” stammered the sur
prised gunner.
“ One is in Royal Venusian uni
form !” went on the officers. “ It’s
his Royal Highness!”
“ Blasko?” cried the gunner in
dismay. “ And we fired on him?
We’ll be flayed alive!”
The Venusians quickly changed
their target and now started firing
at the ship which was diving down
in an effort to overtake the trio.
“They’re firing on us, Buck!”
W ilm a and Buck Down
n6 B U C K ROGERS
warned Wilma as bomb explosions

rocked the ship.
Buck and Wilma had no other
choice but to flee as they saw their
escaped prisoner and his rescuers
reach the ground behind the lines.
“ Safe at last!” breathed Kane, as
the three plunged to the earth.
“ Now, Highness, how about. . . ”
“ Our reward!” interrupted Ar-
dala in the same breath.
“ It shall be great,” assured Blas-
ko, throwing out his hands to break
his fall, “ as I shall show you in a
moment!”
Th e Fugitives Land
n8 B U C K ROGERS
Just then, the officer who had

made the grievous error came
running forward and bowed low.
‘‘Highness! Mercy!” he begged,
“ We did not know it was you!”
“ You do well to grovel!” said
Blasko sternly. “ Now—bow to my
personal deputies— Kane and Ar-
dala!”
Later, when the Prince was out
of earshot, Kane vented his wrath.
“ Bah! Personal deputies!” he
muttered. “ What a reward! We
save his life and he puts us to
w ork!”
CHAPTER V
A NEW K I N D O F S H IP
When Buck and Wilma reported

the strange escape of their pris
oner, Blasko, they were requested
to report to General Headquarters
at Niagara.
In that city, a secret conference
was going on high in the Tower of
Science. Doctor Huer, old friend of
Buck and Wilma, was arguing
with several of the officers of the
120
“ Degravitator” Huer
122 B U C K ROGERS
High Command.
“ But, Huer!” one of them was
saying. “This degravitator ship of
yours has never been tested!”
“Tut, sir!” returned Huer. “ Let
us not get excited! I do not ask for
your precious army. Give me two
volunteers—just two, mind you—
and I’ll show you how to end the
w ar!”
The officers looked dubiously
from one to the other. It was plain
to see that they had no great hope
for the success of the plan.
When, a few moments later, he
“ I W ant Tvtfo Volunteers,’'
124 B U C K ROGERS
stepped from the Tower of Science,

Huer was delighted to bump into
Buck and Wilma, his two old
friends.
“ Why, Huer!” exclaimed Buck.
“ Hell!” grinned Huer delighted
ly. “ Just the two I’ve been looking
for—I have a surprise for you!”
Almost pushing the two sur
prised friends before him, he made
his way to a near-by hangar.
“The war office doesn’t believe
in my new invention, Buck,” he ex
plained as they went along. “ Dyed-
in-the-wool army men! They have
A n Unwelcome Interruption
12 6 B U C K ROGERS
no vision, my boy—no imagina

tion !”
Buck Rogers wondered just
what the funny little doctor
might be working on this time.
“ What’s on your mind, Doctor?”
he asked, as Huer began to pull
open the doors of the great hangar.
“ A basic idea!” explained Huer.
“ If it works, we can end this war
—without bloodshed!”
When the door of the hangar
had been opened, Buck rushed for
ward eagerly at the sight that met
his eyes.
Huer Explains His Idea
128 B U C K ROGERS
“A flying degravitator!” he
shouted, recognizing the purpose
of the peculiar little ship.
“ Here is where you come in!”
suggested Doctor Huer. “ We need
two volunteers to test it out! Of
course, you may be shot down—
but we must take that risk.”
Buck and Wilma looked at each
other wonderingly. They were in
deed anxious to revenge themselves
on Kane and Ardala, who, at that
moment, were enjoying new hon
ors at the hands of Prince Blasko.
Killer Kane was being greeted
A Flying Degravitator
130 B U C K ROGERS
by an orderly from the Prince.

“ Great One!” announced the or
derly. “It is the Royal command of
Blasko the Mighty that you be
commissioned Officer-in-Chief of
the Disintegrator Division!”
Nor did Blasko forget Ardala.
He had heaped honors upon her al
so.
“ Ah, how is my new Chief-of-
Staff?” he was asking her as they
met in the corridor of his head
quarters building.
“ Sire!” replied Ardala. “ You are
too good to me!”
A N ew Job for Kane
132 B U C K ROGERS
But later, when Ardala met

Kane, she found the Killer in poor
humor.
“ Blasko be blasted!” he ground
out. “ He gives us honors and then
works us like slaves! We’ve got to
get some dough, Ardala!”
“ Leave it to me, Kane!” said Ar
dala softly. “ I ’ve got his Royal
Nibs wrapped around my little
finger!”
Doctor Huer had by this time
persuaded the War College at Ni
agara to let Wilma and Buck test
out his invention, and the two were
The Plotters Get Together
134 BUCK ROGERS
at the air field, ready to take off.

“ Any news from our detector di
vision?” inquired Wilma.
“ Not y et/’ announced Buck, “but
the minute we get the word we’ll
take off! So—put on your flying
belt”
In a few minutes, however, they
got news of an important nature
from a member of the detector di
vision.
“ What? A Venusian space
transport approaching?” question
ed Wilma in response to his an
nouncement
136 B U C K ROGERS
“ Yes, lieutenant,” said the man.

“ A thousand miles above the
stratosphere!”
“ But—at that distance, our de
tectors couldn’t pick up the vibra
tions!” argued Buck.
“ They didn’t,” agreed the man.
“ Our dope came from a spy!”
“ Sounds like a fake!” returned
Buck, clambering into the ship.
“ But stand clear—we’re going u p!”
With Buck at the controls, the
little ship was soon climbing high
into the sky. Wilma was acting as
observer.
44Above the Stratosphere
13 8 B U C K ROGERS
“ Low ceiling, Buck,” she an

nounced. “ Strato-cumulus clouds
at six thousand.”
“ Great!” returned Buck who was
pleased with the manner in which
the ship handled. “ They’ll screen
us from Venusian ground bat
teries.”
Circling and circling, the ship
was soon high above the clouds.
“ No sign of that enemy space
ship,” said Wilma scanning the sur
rounding space with a glass.
“ Put on your mask, Wilma!”
ordered Buck promptly. “ I’m go-
After a Space Transport
140 BU CK ROGERS
ing up another thirty thousand

feet!”
Meanwhile, out in space, a great
Venusian ship was nearing the
earth. Its crew, in strange gear
and special oxygen masks, was
making observations on their posi
tion.
“Switch off main rocket power,
Borro!” ordered the man at the
controls. “ We’re coming into
Earth’s stratosphere!”
“ Cosmic pulse shows rocket vi
brations below us!” warned Borrow
“ May be a trap!”
142 B U C K ROGERS
Thus the Venusians were aware

of impending danger before Wilma
was able to spot them.
“ It begins to look like we’re on a
wild-goose chase!” she was telling
Buck. “ The sky is empty!”
“ Use your sun filter, Wilma,”
suggested Buck, “ This glare is
blinding!”
Suddenly, after following Buck’s
instructions, Wilma pointed ex
citedly.
“ Up there!” she cried. “ A black
speck—against the sun!”
Now they could see the big Ve-
The Sky Is Empty
144 BU CK ROGERS
nusian ship plainly as it began to

drop from its glaring background.
Buck brought his tiny ship up and
about, zooming in a wide circle to
meet the oncoming enemy.
“ Load the projector!” he in
structed Wilma. “ Fm going to try
attacking that ship from the side!’'
“ They’re heading this way!” re
turned Wilma. “ They see us!”
A clash between the two rival
ships was inevitable now. Buck
wondered how their little ship, not
much more than a flying gun,
would stand up in its first battle.
Heading into Trouble
14 6 B U C K ROGERS
As the two ships drew close to

each other, Wilma became impa
tient.
“ Fire, Buck!” she urged. “ What
are you waiting fo r?”
“ Our first shot has got to be a di
rect hit!” said Buck patiently.
“ This range is too long!”
Aboard the enemy craft, mean
while, the observer was reporting.
“ Enemy craft off the port turret,
sir!” he announced.
“A sky-flea of the Earthlings?”
scoffed the commander. “ Bah!
Blast it out of existence!”
W aiting for Short Range
CH APTER VI
TH E PLU N G E TO EAR TH
A moment later, a terrific shock

filled the air in the vicinity of the
small Earth ship. It wavered and
fell for some distance.
It was all that Buck and Wilma
could do to keep from being thrown
clear into space.
“ Hah!” gloated the gunner on
the Venusian ship. “ Our shock
ray lives up to its name!”
14 8
Receiving a Shock Ray
I 5° B U C K ROGERS
“ Excellent!” agreed his com

mander. “ Proceed on your
course!”
But Buck and Wilma were not
through. While only their mag
netic safety-belts held them in the
cockpit of their tiny ship, Buck us
ed a full lateral rocket blast to
right the ship.
“ Watch yourself, Wilma!” he
shouted, as the little craft righted
itself and again shot upwards.
“ Their next burst will—Ah, I’ve
got them in the sights now!”
As a blast from Buck’s ship
The Degravitator W orks!
152 B U C K ROGERS
struck the Venusian air-liner, the

Venusians were suddenly thrown
into a panic.
“ We’re shooting aloft!” scream
ed one member of the excited crew.
“The ship’s weightless — we’re
lost!”
“ Fool!” reprimanded an officer.
“ Man the gun! Blow that Earth
ling apart!”
Buck was delighted with the re
sult of his perfect hit on the Venu
sian craft. He stood up in the cock
pit and watched the huge ship
winging high into space above.
i54 B U C K ROGERS
“ Our degravitator worked!” he

yelled. “The Venusian is soaring
for outer space. See—Wilma?”
But, at that moment, a chance
shot hit their ship and they were
thrown clear. Buck turned to see
Wilma plunging head downward.
“Falling—out of control,” Buck
said to himself. “ Must be stunned
—I’ve got to catch her—before she
hits the ground!”
For thousands of feet, Buck pur
sued her plunging form. Then,
suddenly, she vanished from his
view.
Falling out of Control
15 6 B U C K ROGERS
“ She’s disappeared into the

clouds!” muttered Buck. “ Only six
thousand feet to the ground. One
chance in a million to locate her!”
It was by sheer luck alone, as
Buck tore through the clouds and
came out into open view of the
Earth, that he found his out
stretched arms almost within
Wilma’s grasp.
She was falling faster and fast
er, but Buck had almost reached
her by now. Turning on a great
burst of speed, he managed to
grasp Wilma’s hands as she turned
W ilm a’s Oxygen Mask Is Gone
158 B U C K ROGERS
completely over in the air.

“ Got her!” he breathed with
great satisfaction. “ Now, to check
this drop! Don’t dare stop too
quickly—she’d jerk loose and
crash! Her oxygen mask is gone!”
He eased up on his downward
speed gradually and soon they
were headed Earthward at a more
leisurely speed, with Wilma a dead
weight on Buck’s hands. He kept
fumbling at her flying belt and fi
nally found the control switch.
But Buck, in the great excite
ment of the clash with the Yenu-
Rescue at Last
160 B U C K ROGERS
sian ship and the subsequent chase

to save Wilma from certain death,
had lost sight of the fact that they
were falling in enemy territory. As
he reached the treetops, he sudden
ly looked around him in alarm!
Fortunately the detail had not
as yet noticed the falling Earth
lings. Buck cautiously settled into
a near-by tree, hidden from their
sight
“ Dee-tail—H A LT!” came the
ringing words below them.
For an instant Buck thought
their number was up.
Behind the Venusian Lines
I<J2 B U C K ROGERS
He looked carefully through the

foliage and saw that the Venusians
were still unaware of his presence.
They were merely deploying to
take up near-by positions.
Perching Wilma in a large
crotch in the tree, he turned to ob
serve the actions of the Venusian
patrol.
“ You—Perigo,” an officer was
saying, “take your post at this spot.
Radio reports indicate that the
Earthlings and their strange new
craft fell in this sector!”
So, they had been spotted in the
Treed Like a ’Possum
164 B U C K ROGERS
air! Buck watched the sentry at

his post for many passing minutes,
that turned into one hour, two
hours—
“A lonely spot!” the Venusian
was muttering to himself. “ Two
hours more of this solitude and I’ll
be talking to myself!”
Meanwhile, Buck was getting ex
tremely impatient. As long as the
man stayed on duty below, Buck
knew that they eventually must
have a showdown. Carefully, he
drew his rocket gun and started to
descend.
A Scouting Party Below
166 B U C K ROGERS
“ Blast the luck!” he was saying

to himself. “ We can’t stay perch
ed in this tree all day !”
The sentry was right below him
now. As Buck descended noiseless
ly, he kept an eye glued on the man,
ready for immediate action.
Suddenly, the branch to which
he clung with one hand gave way
with a rending crash. Buck’s pis
tol was thrown from his free hand
and he plunged to the ground.
Fortunately for him, however,
the Venusian was so startled by
this sudden disturbance that he
1 68 B U C K ROGERS
was still gazing up into the tree

when Buck’s hurtling body crash
ed down immediately above him.
Luck was with Buck once more.
He landed squarely on the man’s
shoulders and brought the broken
limb of the tree down on the man’s
head with a resounding crash.
The Venusian crumpled to the
ground and Buck, a little groggy
from the impact, landed on his
chest.
“Whew!” breathed Buck with
relief. “ Now what?”
C H A P T E R V II
T H E T R A IT R E S S
Buck began to scout around in

the vicinity. Before very long, he
came across their fallen degravi-
tator ship.
“ The degravitator!” he exclaim
ed with pleasure. “ I f the enemy
finds it they’ll learn the secret of
its construction. I’ll just have to
disintegrate it!”
Suiting his action to the words,
170
Disintegrating the Degravitator
172 B U C K ROGERS
he pulled out his gun and trained

it on the ship, blasting its remains
into eternity.
This action, while it served
Buck’s purpose of keeping a se
cret from the Venusians, also re
sulted in his discovery by the
enemy.
At Blasko’s camp, an observer
was on watch at the detector.
“ What’s that?” he said sudden
ly. “A disintegrator being used!
Must be the Earthlings we are
looking for.”
Rushing into the presence of the
“ Send out the Mosquito Fleet!”
i74 B U C K ROGERS
Prince he sounded the alarm:

“ Blasko, sir! I report that our de
tectors have picked up distinct dis
integrator vibrations north of Hill
Nine!”
“ Send the mosquito fleet! Scour
the vicinity!” ordered Blasko.
“ Bring the user back alive!”
Ardala was standing near by as
the order was issued.
“ Hmmm!” she murmured. “ I
think Buck will be paying us a
visit!”
Buck was soon detected and
caught flatfooted as the ships
R W M B B B H H H M M B IM B B H M H H nM B M M B M U U B IH M SnraM H fllH M M M M B n
On the Trail of Buck

17 6 B U C K ROGERS
closed in on him. He was forced to

surrender against tremendous
odds.
“Where is that degravitator?”
demanded an officer when they had
Buck securely bound and were
leading him to one of their tiny
ships. “ Describe it !”
“ Nothing doing, buddy!” snap
ped back Buck. “ I know nothing
about anything!”
Once inside the enemy ship, when
Buck still refused to answer the
continued questions of the officer,
the Venusian finally lost his tern-
Buck Rogers Captured
17 8 B U C K ROGERS
per. Although Buck was soundly

tied and helpless, the Venusian
dealt him a cowardly blow.
“ Won’t talk, eh?” he growled.
“ Well—just wait! Blasko will
make you squeal—he has methods
I hate to mention!”
The other men joined in this
effort to intimidate Buck, but
Buck refused to be bullied and was
soon in the presence of Blasko.
“ I’m not talking about degravi-
tators, Blaskp!” he blurted out.
“ Hmmm! Stubborn, eh?” said
Blasko thoughtfully. “ Well, that’s
Buck Faces Torture
i8o B U C K ROGERS
too bad! Our Royal torturer will

be here soon. Until then—”
“ Better lock him up!” suggested
Ardala.
Buck was thrown into a prison
camp near by, bemoaning his luck
at having fallen into the hands of
the enemy.
“ What a jam this is!” he mutter
ed. “ No flying belt! No weapons!
Cooped up in a wire cage—and
Wilma out there unconscious in a
tree!”
Buck was not left entirely alone
for long. Waiting for the first op-
Ardala Pays a Call
182 B U C K ROGERS
portunity, Ardala made her way

to the prisoner's cage.
“ Buck! Sh-hhh!” she whispered
slyly. “I want to talk to you!”
The sight of this villainess who
had caused him so much trouble
in the,past was too much for Buck.
His blood began to boil.
“Ardala !” he burst out. “Get out
of here, before I—”
“ Now*, Buck,” returned Ardala
smoothly. “ Is that any way to talk
to someone who wants to help you
to escape?”
“ Huh?” scoffed Buck. “ Escape?
18 4 B U C K ROGERS
You help ME—to escape?”

“ Yes! Certainly!” answered Ar-
dala. “ I know I’ve given you every
reason to distrust me, but— ”
Buck gave the girl a withering
look. He hated a traitor.
“ But I mean it,” insisted Ardala.
“At a price, of course!”
“ Oh, I see!” returned Buck caus
tically, his eyes lighting up with
sudden understanding. “ At a price,
eh? This ought to be good. Well,
go on, what is the price?”
Ardala drew closer and became
more confidential than ever.
Getting Down to Prices
1 8 6 B U C K ROGERS
“You needn’t be scared!” she as

sured Buck. “It’s just interplan
etary money—and—and—some
thing else!”
“ Something else?” said Buck
turning away abruptly. “ I thought
there was a catch in it !”
Ardala held out a restraining
hand.
“ No, really, Buck,” she insisted.
“ Please! I have a serious proposi
tion to make—that I’m sure you
won’t object to!”
Buck was getting a little curious
by this time, but he suddenly no-
188 B U C K ROGERS
ticed a figure approaching and he

gave Ardala a silencing look.
“ Easy, Ardala!” he warned.
“ Here comes a sentry!”
Ardala turned away a little
startled. Then, with a last look at
Buck, she turned on her heel and
departed, muttering while she did
so:
“ I’ll—I’ll be back!”
“ Now, I wonder what kind of a
crooked deal she is thinking up?”
he asked himself.
A Sentry Approaches
C H A P T E R V III
THE TANK FLEET

While Buck Rogers was being
taken captive into the camp of the
Venusian enemy, Wilma was left
unconscious in the treetop where
they had crashed.
Suddenly, Wilma regained her
senses and looked about her.
“ Where am I ? ” she murmured
in amazement. “Wh-what happen
ed ? How did I get in this tree ? And
19 0
W ilm a Comes to Life
19 2 B U C K ROGERS
Buck—where is he?”
Gradually the memory of the
preceding events came back to her
and she stood up in alarm to call
Buck’s name.
“ Buck! Buck!” she called. “ Why
don’t you answer me?”
Despite her search in the vicinity
she could find no trace of Buck.
“ He’s gone! Gone!” she said in
despair as she noticed the marks
where Buck had destroyed the re
mains of their ship to hide its se
cret. “ And there—there are disin
tegrator marks in the ground out
Buck Does N ot Answer
194 B U C K ROGERS
there!—They got him—I know it !”

From all indications, Wilma’s
friend and protector had met a ter
rible fate at the hands of the foe.
Wilma wondered how Buck had
been able to conceal her so that she
had gone unmolested by the enemy.
Wilma dropped from her perch
in the tree to the ground below.
“ I’ll wait until dark,” she told
herself. “ Then I’ll try making my
way through the Venusian lines.”
Keeping to the cover of the
woods which surrounded her, Wil
ma scanned the surrounding ter-
Down to Earth Again
19 6 B U C K ROGERS
rain with her field glasses.

After some time, she picked out
a group of enemy machines in close
formation, coming over the near
by hills.
“Venusian tanks!” she muttered.
“ Coming this way!”
She gave a terrific start as the
powerful magnifying glasses
brought up the detail of the crews
before her eyes.
“And their commander!” she
breathed. “It’s—it’s Killer Kane!”
It was Killer Kane himself,
proudly standing on the bridge of
lUiim ntm htUi+i!
Killer Kane Approaches

198 B U C K ROGERS
the flag tank which headed this

fleet of monsters.
“ Brigadier,” Kane was saying to
one of his officers. “ Are your men
ready for action?”
“ With one exception!” replied
the man. “ Target practice was
omitted today.”
“Then, there’s your target!”
snapped Kane, pointing. “ That
wood! Blast away at it !”
“ It shall be done, Highness P re
turned the Brigadier with a bow.
The tanks were brought into
battle formation and lined up in
200 B U C K ROGERS
readiness to blast away at the

small wooded section on the near
by hill.
Unknown to Killer Kane, this
selfsame wood was at that mo
ment serving as a hiding place for
Wilma, where she was awaiting the
fall of night to attempt an escape.
The marksmanship of Kane’s
gunners was exceedingly good.
Trees and stumps flew wildly be
fore the hail of blasts that struck
the woods and showered about Wil
ma in all directions.
The center of such a terrific holo-
W ilm a as a Target
202 B U C K ROGERS
caust, Wilma knew that her end

might come at any minute, either
from a direct hit or a piece of fly
ing debris. She ducked and dodged
among the trees with agility.
“ I’ve—I’ve got to get out of
here—at any risk!” she told her
self. “ It means death to stay!”
As she dashed madly away from
the direction of the blasting tanks,
she hurdled stumps and low-hang
ing trees.
“ What are they shooting at?”
she asked herself in bewilderment.
“ They can’t know I’m here!”
Facing Venusian Death Rays
204 B U C K ROGERS
As the shots seemed to come

nearer and nearer, however, Wil
ma began to wonder if perhaps
they were not aware of her pre
sence.
“ They must have seen me!” she
breathed. “ They’re aiming right at
me! Oooh! They’ve got me!”
Wilma crumpled to the ground
beneath the gigantic root of a tree.
Killer Kane was finally well sat
isfied with the work of his men.
“ Cease firing!” he ordered. “ Nice
shooting, Brigadier!”
“ Not bad!” admitted the Brig-
Trapped at Last
206 BUCK ROGERS
adier, giving the signal and put

ting the flag tank into action.
“ Shall we take a closer look at the
damage?”
Kane and his men were anxious
to see just what effect their shots
might have in actual battle. They
proceeded to the wood to examine
the condition of the terrain.
When they had reached the spot,
Kane and the Brigadier dismount
ed and started to look around.
“Well, well!” observed Kane as
he pulled at some torn fragments
of tree stumps. “ Our new dis-ray
“ Nice Shooting, Brigadier.”
208 B U C K ROGERS
guns should give the enemy plenty

of trouble!”
“They made kindling wood out
of these trees, Highness,” said the
Brigadier, proudly surveying his*
handiwork.
The two men wandered hither
and thither in the demolished
woods and noted all the havoc
which their guns had wrought.
“And when are we going to see
some real action against the Earth-
men?” asked the Brigadier at last,
feeling Kane out.
“ Soon!” announced Kane with-
Trees into Kindling W ood
210 B U C K ROGERS
out hesitation. “ I have it from

Blasko himself that we’re about to
start a big push against their most
vulnerable spot!”
The men now stood only a few
yards away from the spot where
Wilma lay wounded. She was hid
den by the huge tree root and lay
in a hollow in the ground, but
she was still perfectly conscious.
“ Killer Kane!” she breathed to
herself as she recognized the voice
of her enemy. “If he discovers me
“ Are we going to attack in full

Plans for a Big Push
212 B U C K ROGERS
force?” she heard the Brigadier

pressing Kane for additional in
formation.
“ Yes!” answered Kane, proud to
display his inside knowledge.
“Tanks and aircraft—supported
by ground troops—and drive a
wedge straight through to Ni
agara.”
Wilma’s heart beat a little fast
er as she heard these words.
“ If I can only get out of this
alive,” she thought, “ with THAT
information!”
“ Then, we’re moving up to the
“ — A W edge Through to Niagara.”
214 B U C K ROGERS
front,” said the Brigadier.

“ Right away!” agreed Kane.
“ Brigadier, we better get back to
our tanks and start—”
Kane’s voice trailed off and Wil
ma could hear no more. She knew
that the men were leaving.
“ They didn’t see me!” she sigh
ed happily. “ They’ve gone—but I
can’t get out from under this tree
—I’m stuck!”
She struggled to free herself and
as she did so, she could not help
letting out a groan of agony as
a pain shot through her arm.
Safe but Stuck
216 B U C K ROGERS
Kane and the Brigadier stopped

in their tracks and the Brigadier
held up a warning finger.
“ Listen!” he said. “I thought I
heard something!”
“ Pooh!” scoffed Kane after lis
tening carefully. “ Just the wind
moaning in the dead trees! But
take a look if you wish!”
Wilma hardly dared breathe as
the Brigadier foraged around in
the woods once more. But at last,
he gave up.
“ I guess you were right, High
ness !” he admitted with a shrug.
G iving up the Search
C H A PT E R IX
IN THE RAZED WOOD

Wilma was safe again for the
time being. But to Buek, fretting
in the Venusian prison camp, the
fate of Wilma was of very grave
concern.
“ Wilma!” he was saying to him
self. “ Anything could have happen
ed to her! And here I am—helpless
to aid her! If I could only escape.”
He stood up as Ardala once more
218
In the Venusian Prison Cam p
220 B U C K ROGERS
approached his cage.

“Sh-hh!” she whispered. “The
sentry will be back any minute.
Fve got a pair of wire clippers for
you !”
“Well—give them to m e!” urged
Buck. “ I’ll have to work fast!”
“ Oh, no! Not yet!” said Ardala.
“ If I help you to escape, you must
agree to my terms!”
“ Terms?” snapped Buck. “ More
trickery? What are they?”
“ Kane and I will sell you the
plans of the next Venusian cam
paign for one million dollars!”
Battle Plans for Sale
222 BUCK ROGERS
came back Ardala’s bold reply.

“ But, Ardala!” argued Buck.
“ How can I promise that the au
thorities at Niagara will agree—”
“ Idiot!” interrupted Ardala.
“ That’s why I’m turning you
loose! To find out! Here are in
structions—how to get in touch
with me!”
“ Okay!” agreed Buck, eager to
get out at all costs. “ I’ll do it !”
“ Meet me in the woods where
you were captured,” she told
Buck. “ To get a flying belt and
weapons!”
On the W a y Out
224 BUCK ROGERS
In another minute, Ardala had

disappeared and Buck was work
ing feverishly with the wire clip
pers.
In a matter of seconds Buck had
ripped open a large enough hole in
his cage to crawl through and dash
for safety.
Cautiously, he crept past the
Venusian outposts and was soon
in the clear.
“ Now to reach open country and
streak it for the rendezvous,” he
told himself, eager to get back to
see what had become of Wilma,
Rushing to the Rendezvous
But when he reached the vici

nity of his capture he gasped.
“W hy! The wood has been blast
ed to splinters!” he burst out.
Buck kept running till he was ac
tually in the midst of the debris
left by Kane’s blasting tanks in
target practice, but Buck had no
way of knowing just what had
caused the demolition of the woods.
“ Was Wilma in here when it
happened?” he asked himself in
dread. “ And where is Ardala ? She
said she’d be here!”
He could find no trace of either
Where Is W ilm a?
228 B U C K ROGERS
girl—but suddenly he stiffened as

he heard a sound.
“ Groans!” he exclaimed, “ and
they came from over there some
where !”
He proceeded cautiously, unarm
ed, as he was and unwilling to fall
into any more traps. Climbing over
fallen trees and debris, he drew
nearer and nearer to the sound.
“ They were faint,” he said to
himself, “ but it sounded like a
girl’s voice. Could it have been
Wilma—or— ?”
Buck was amazed a moment lat-
O n the T rail of a Groan
230 BUCK ROGERS
er to stumble over the fallen form

of—not Wilma—but, of all people,
Ardala! He was even more amazed
at the strange accusation which
Ardala hurled at him when she
saw him.
“ You—you coward!” she flung at
him. “ Hitting me from behind—I
might have known it!”
Buck was flabbergasted at her
accusation. Ardala had certainly
been laid low by some mysterious
blow but Buck was at a loss to
know what she was talking about.
“ Hit you?” he exclaimed. “ Ar-
Ardala Down but N ot Out
232 BUCK ROGERS
dala—what are you raving about?”

He started helping Ardala to her
feet.
“And besides,” he added, “ I had
no reason to hit you. I agreed to
your terms when you helped me to
escape, didn’t I?”
“Well, somebody hit me!” Ardala
argued. “ I was waiting for you!”
“ Hmmm!” murmured Buck.
“And you didn’t see or hear any
body? I suppose you just saw stars
—and everything went black?”
“ Why, yes!” agreed Ardala. “ But
how did you know?”
Getting D own to Business
234 BUCK ROGERS
“ That’s the way they always de

scribe it!” returned Buck, chang
ing the conversation because he
had an idea just what may have hit
Ardala. “ Now—where is the flying
belt and the guns you were going
to bring me?”
“ When I woke up they were
gone!” Ardala answered, holding
out her hands to show Buck that
she had no equipment with her.
“Whoever hit me must have taken
them. Honest, Buck, I’m playing
fair with you—believe me!”
But Buck was sure that this was
“Everything Went Blank.’"
236 BUCK ROGERS
just another of Ardala’s tricks.

“ Believe in you!” he shot back.
“ Don’t make me laugh!”
“All right, Buck!” said Ardala.
“ I’ll prove it to you! You stay
right here and I’ll go back and get
you another flying belt and gun!
I guess that will show you I’m on
the level!”
“ It sounds okay,” said Buck,
doubtfully, as he felt that he had
nothing to lose anyway. “ But— oh,
well—go ahead.”
As Ardala made her departure,
Buck sat down on a near-by tree
trunk to rest. His vigil was not a

short one. Time wore on and on, till
at last he began to despair for her
return.
“ It’s been hours and she hasn’t
come back!” he muttered to him
self. “What can her game be, any
way?. Oh, what’s the difference?
Does it matter? With Wilma gone
—I just can’t—”
His thoughts trailed off as he
thought of Wilma. Buck had nev
er felt more dejected and unhappy
in his life. He was ready to give
up.
In a Blue Mood
C H A PT E R X
REUNIO N
Buck was aroused from his leth

argy by a quick snapping noise
which made him jump bolt upright
to his feet. Then came a sharp
command from behind him.
“ You there!” it ordered. “ Hold
it—don’t move—or else!”
Buck had no weapons and no
means of putting up resistance. He
figured that Ardala had tricked
240
A Sharp Command
242 BU CK ROGERS
him and sent the Venusians to pick

him up once more. His hands went
slowly up in surrender.
“ That’s right!” came the voice
again. “ Keep them up—whoever
you are!”
Buck noticed a strange tremor
in the voice as it came nearer—
a girl’s voice, strained and un
natural, yet with a familiar sound.
The girl was just behind him
now and he could sense that she
had a weapon trained on his back.
He did not dare turn around be
cause he knew that she was highly
A Voice out of the N ight
244 B U C K ROGERS
nervous and might shoot at the

slightest motion.
“ Not a move!” ordered the voice
of the girl, “ or I’ll blow you to
atoms!”
But this time, Buck did move.
There was no mistaking that voice
now. He whirled in his tracks to
face the girl—and Wilma fell in
to his arms.
“ Buck!” she cried hysterically.
“ It’s you!”
“ Wilma!” echoed Buck. “ You’re
alive!”
“ Oh, Buck,” said Wilma at last,
Together A gain !
246 BUCK ROGERS
“ I thought you had been killed.

Then the enemy blasted the wood—
a tree fell—and pinned me down!
“Killer Kane passed near by but
didn’t see me!” went on Wilma.
“ Then I wriggled fre e !”
“ Killer Kane—that rat?” snarl
ed Buck, getting an angry look in
his eyes. “If he had— !”
“ Then someone came along with
a flying belt!” said Wilma, inter
rupting Buck’s muttered threat.
“ And I socked him ! Only it wasn’t
a him—it was a her! Ardala!”
“ Sh - hh - hh!” Buck suddenly
Comparing Notes
2 4 8 BUCK ROGERS
warned. “ Someone’s coming!” ■

“ Who can it be?” asked Wilma.
“A Venusian patrol?”
Buck had everything to fight
for now that he had found Wilma
again.
“ Here, Buck!” said the girl
handing Buck her weapon. “Take
my gun! You can shoot straighter
than I can!”
“Take cover!” ordered Buck
looking cautiously about. “ I’ll try
to lead them on a false trail!”
“Take cover nothing!” sang back
Wilma, determined that she and
“ Someone’s Com ing!”
250 B U C K ROGERS
Buck would not be parted again.

“ I’m sticking with you! Challenge
them!”
“ Who’s there?” called Buck with
his weapon in readiness.
He was greatly relieved when
the answer came back in Ardala’s
voice.
“ Don’t shoot! It’s only me!”
In a moment Ardala was in their
midst and Wilma eyed her coldly.
“Ardala!” she said. “So it’s
you !”
“ Of course, my dear!” Ardala
answered. “And it was you who
✓
liiv.
Preparing to Fight
252 BUCK ROGERS
socked me, was it? I owe you one

for that!”
“ Easy there, sister!” interrupted
Buck. “You’ve got to play ball
with us if you want your sell-out
money!”
He had no sooner finished the
sentence than a sharp command
rang out.
“ Hands up, everyone!” yelled a
stern voice. “You’re covered!”
“I’ve been followed!” hissed Ar-
dala in alarm.
“ W hat!” cried Buck in dismay.
“ Who’s there ? Who are you?”
A “ Happy Reunion”
254 BUCK ROGERS
“ None of your business!” snap

ped the voice. “ Step out, men—and
keep them covered!”
“ Hmmm! That voice sounds fa
miliar !” murmured Ardala.
Several Venusian soldiers now
stepped from the darkness and
covered the trio with their omi
nous-looking weapons. Buck eyed
them carefully.
“ What’s the matter with your
commander?” he demanded of the
men. “ Is he scared to show him-
■self?”
“ Scarcely that!” came back the
Trapped!
256 BUCK ROGERS
prompt reply from the rear. “ Dis

cretion is the better part of valor!”
The Venusians closed in quiekly.
Producing bonds, they proceeded
to truss their three prisoners up
securely.
“ This looks bad!” murmured
Wilma.
“ Who is your officer?” Buck
snapped at the Venusians. “ I de
mand—”
“ Silence, Earthworm!” came
back the stern answer from the
darkness. “You are hardly in a
position to make any demands!”
Captured by the Venusians
258 BUCK ROGERS
At that, the man stepped into

their view.
“ Blasko!” burst out Buck.
“In person!” returned the
Prince. “ And I’ve heard you prom
ise our military secrets to the
enemy, my dear Ardala!”
Prince Blasko stepped proudly
down to face his prisoners.
“ So it was you, Ardala,” he said
narrowly, “ who let Rogers escape!
And followed him here!”
“ Highness, you don’t under
stand !” pleaded Ardala, who knew
that she was in a precarious spot.
Blasko in Command
260 BUCK ROGERS
“ Oh, yes, I do, my little trait
ress,” returned Blasko. “ I follow
ed you!”
“ But Blasko!” argued Ardala. “ I
have not betrayed you!”
“ She’s thinking up a good lie!”
whispered Wilma to Buck. “ Lis
ten !”
“ So it’s not treason to free my
prisoner?” barked Blasko. “And
reveal military secrets?”
“ But I didn’t reveal any se
crets !” insisted Ardala. “ I knew if
I turned Buck loose he’d lead me to
Wilma. That’s the reason—”
Ardala Thinks Fast
26 z BUCK ROGERS
It was a clever lie but Blasko re
fused to fall for it.
“ What? You expect me to be
lieve that?” he demanded.
“ Well, haven’t you both Buck
and Wilma now?” questioned Ar-
dala. “ Doesn’t that prove it?”
Blasko was not easy to convince.
He gave a terse order.
“ Tie them up, men!” he said.
“ The three of them—neck and
neck!”
“ But, Blasko!” cried Ardala,
thoroughly scared now. “ You don’t
mean me, too? Why, surely—”
2&4 BUCK ROGERS
“ Blasko doesn’t seem to think
much of her story,” said Wilma.
“ You shut up!” thundered Blas
ko, losing his temper with Ardala
at last. “ I’ll attend to you when
we get back to headquarters!”
“ You’ll regret this, Blasko!”
snapped Ardala, changing her
smooth tone. “ I am not a common
criminal!”
As a soldier threw a rope about
her neck, Ardala eyed Blasko.
“ Perhaps I’d better use different
tactics on the fat b oy!” she said to
herself. “ He’s got a sentimental
Bksko Gives Commands
266 BU CK ROGERS
streak in him-—”
“ Quit muttering to yourself!”
snapped the soldier who was
throwing the noose around her.
“ Do you want me to pull this cord
tight?”
In another few minutes, the
three prisoners were being march
ed back to headquarters with
Blasko taking keen delight in
taunting them.
“ Left—right! Left-—right!” he
mocked as they walked along.
Things Look Black
t
C H A PT E R X I
BACK IN CUSTODY
Back at Blasko’s headquarters,

things looked dark indeed for Buck
and Wilma, but Ardala was still
making her strongest bid for
clemency.
“ Perhaps I was wrong in letting
Rogers loose!” she told Blasko in
confidence. “ But I had your in
terests at heart!”
“ Don’t try that game on me, Ar-
268
270 B U C K ROGERS
dala,” returned the Prince firmly.

“You know I won’t fall for it!”
“ Oh, Highness!” begged Ardala
falling to her knees. “ Pm only a
weak girl and you are so strong!
I made a mistake—-but be merciful
to me—please!”
“ Hmmm! I really should have
you—ah—disposed of,” said Blas-
ko, seeming to weaken a little.
Ardala saw her chance. She
rushed at him, throwing her arms
about his neck and pleading.
“ No—no—no,” she cried. “ I’ll
do anything—I’ll never fail you
“ You Know the Fate of Spies!1’
272 BUCK ROGERS
again. Just give me one more
chance!”
“ Here! Here!” said Blasko.
“ You’ll make me the laughing
stock of the whole army. I’ll for
give you ! I have t o !”
But he was not so merciful to
Buck and Wilma.
“ We have been treated shame
fully,” complained Wilma when
they had been ushered into Blas-
ko’s presence. “We are honorable
prisoners of war!”
“ Honorable?” questioned Blas
ko. “ Well, I call you spies! And you
W ilm a’s Desperate Plan
274 BUCK ROGERS
know the fate of spies!”

In the next breath, Blasko was
pronouncing their sentence.
“ To be disintegrated at sunrise!”
he announced coldly.
“ I won’t stand for it!” cried
Wilma suddenly.
Before anyone could restrain her
she had broken for the door.
As the guard grabbed her, Blas
ko rushed forward in his excite
ment and Buck saw his opportu
nity. With a sudden blow of his
good right arm he caught Blasko a
stinging knock-out blow which
‘T U Crown Your Prince!”
276 B U C K ROGERS
laid him on the floor.

“ Nice work!” cried Wilma
struggling in the arms of the
guard.
“All right, you!” snapped Buck
at the guard as he whipped out a
pistol from Blasko’s belt. “ Let the
girl go—raise your hands—and
face the wall—or I’ll crown your
Prince!”
It was a thrilling, swift victory
for Buck and Wilma. The guard
quickly obeyed and stood against
the wall, as Blasko sat up in a daze.
“That’s the stuff, Wilma!” said
Buck and W ilm a in Command
278 BU CK ROGERS
Buck. “ Tie him up with his own

belt. If he makes a peep I’ll let
him have it!”
“ I’ll have him so he can’t wriggle
—in a minute!” said Wilma.
“And that goes for you like
wise, Blasko!” added Buck, seeing
the Prince staring dizzily. “ One
yip out of you will be your last!”
Blasko showed no signs of fight,
however.
“ There!” said Wilma. “ It’ll take
that guard hours to get loose and
give the alarm!”
“ Good work! Now for the es-
Buck Has a Plan
i 8o B U C K ROGERS
cape!” breathed Buck. “We’ll have

to be doggone clever about it too
“ I’ll say so,” interrupted Blasko,

rising to his feet. “ Don’t forget
you’re still in the middle of the
Venusian army. You won’t get
away with this, Rogers!”
“That’s what you think, Blasko!”
snapped Buck. “ Because you don’t
know how we’re going to work it !”
“ We’ve got you trapped, Blas
ko !” reminded Wilma.
“ Yes, for the moment,” admitted
the Prince. “ But you can’t keep
“ You’ll W rite Us a Pass!”
282 B U C K ROGERS
that gun on me forever!”

“ Who can’t? ” asked Buck.
“Some of my officers are bound
to walk in here any minute!” said
Blasko. “They’ll—”
‘They won’t find us,” advised
Buck. “ You’re going to write us a
pass. Get over to that desk!”
Blasko obeyed grudgingly. He
knew the odds were against him,
but he was expecting help to arrive
at any moment.
“Also, we need an order for a
ship!” said Buck. “ Make it snappy
if you want to stay healthy!”
Blasko Plans Treachery
284 B U C K ROGERS
“ Oh, well—if I have to— I have

to!” said Blasko slowly.
“ Shake a leg!” snapped Buck
angrily. “ We haven’t got all day!”
“ The poor fools!” thought
Blasko. “As soon as they leave I’ll
countermand the order by radio!”
He sat down at his desk and
wrote out the orders deliberately.
“ There you are,” he said finally,
handing some papers to Wilma.
“ Your pass and the order for a
ship—blast you!”
Wilma took the papers and ex
amined them carefully. She gave
A Delay in Escape
286 B U C K ROGERS
Buck a nod to indicate that every

thing seemed to be in perfect order.
“ Thanks, Blasko!” said Buck
grimly. “ Now, Wilma, tie his Roy
al Nibs up good and—gag him !”
“ All right,” agreed Wilma, ap
proaching the Prince. “ Hold still
and behave—or I’ll—”
“ You can’t do this to me!” or
dered the Prince, highly incensed
to think that one of royal blood
should be treated so unceremo
niously.
“ Snap it up, Wilma!” barked
Buck. “ It’s almost time for the
The Tables Are Turned
288 B U C K ROGERS
officer of the day—”

As Buck spoke, Blasko suddenly
grabbed Wilma around the waist
and swung her about, using her as
a shield.
“ Why—the rat fights back, does
he?” said Buck.
“ Ha! Now, Rogers, the tables
are turned,” cried Blasko. “ Go
ahead—why don’t you shoot?”
With that, Blasko hollered loud
ly to the guards for help.
“Well, Blasko,” muttered Buck,
determined that, come what may,
he would at least have the satis-
290 B U C K ROGERS
faction of giving Blasko his just

deserts. “ I don’t need a gun for
what I’m going to do to you!”
Buck dropped his weapon and
advanced against his adversary.
“ It would be a sad waste of am
munition,” he added, as his arm
shot over Wilma’s shoulder and
crashed once more against the
royal jaw.
With a groan, Blasko sank to the
floor in a stupor.
With Blasko out of the way,
however, there were new perils.
“And now to get a ship,” said
Asleep for a Lon g Tim e
292 B U C K ROGERS
Buck, “ and beat it out of here!”

“Will I ever be glad to get back
where I can take a deep breath!”
whispered Wilma.
Suddenly, as they reached the
door, it burst open and a huge
guard barred their way.
“What’s the meaning of this?”
he demanded.
“ Sh-hh!” whispered Wilma,
thinking fast, and pointing to
Blasko who was reclining on a
stone bench. “ His Highness is
sleeping!”
“ Sleeping? Huh!” muttered the
A n Unexpected Visitor
294 BU CK ROGERS
guard. “ His Highness looks more

like he’d passed out!”
“ He always sleeps like that!”
said Buck nervously. “ His tremen
dous responsibilities wear him
out!”
“ Here, read this!” said Wilma,
offering the guard their pass.
“ Hmmm! That’s Blasko’s signa
ture all right!” admitted the
guard. “ This is all very strange!
Who are you? Your uniforms—”
“ Oh, we can explain that!” said
Buck. “ You see—”
“ We’re going into the Earth
A Suspicious Guard
296 B U C K ROGERS
lines,” said Wilma. “As spies!”

The guard was looking at them
narrowly. He knew that something
was amiss.
“ Spies? Spies?” he echoed. “ Yes,
you are spies—Earth spies!”
Buck was at him like a flash. It
was now or never, and before the
startled guard could recover from
the sudden attack, Buck had laid
him low with the same dispatch
which had floored Blasko.
“ Get going, kid!” he ordered
Wilma. “This spot will be hotter
than a firecracker in no time!”
A Personal Greeting
C H A PT E R XXI
DOUBLE T R IC K ER Y '
Buck and Wilma were able to

get outside the building without in
terference but they were soon
challenged by a sentry near the
gate.
“ Hey! What’s going on here?”
demanded the Venusian. “You two
went in there under guard!”
“ It’s all right, sentry!” assured
Buck, holding his breath and
29 8
X c p Q jtatpony
300 B U C K ROGERS
flashing the official-looking docu

ment. “ We’ve got a pass!”
“Signed by Blasko himself!”
added Wilma nervously.
“ Yeah? But you’re wearing
Earthling uniforms!” said the
man, looking the pass over. “ I’ve
gotta see His Highness!”
“ The pass is all right, isn’t it?”
demanded Wilma.
“ And His Highness gave orders
not to be disturbed!” said Buck.
“ Well, then,” insisted the guard.
“ I got to report this to my captain.
Anyhow, get along there!”
In Deeper and Deeper
“ All right,” agreed Buck, trying

to appear nonchalant. “ But make
it snappy!”
“ Oh, Buck, we’re getting in
deeper and deeper!” whispered
Wilma.
Soon they were brought before
the Venusian captain, a big ugly-
looking fellow, but one whom
Buck figured might be easy to fool.
“ It’s an outrage, Captain!” said
Buck after he had explained
things. “ To be held up this way by
this thick-witted sentry of yours!”
“ You’re right!” agreed the Cap-
A Convincing Story
3 »4 BU CK ROGERS
tain. He knew the pass was good.

“ I f there’s anything I can do—”
“ You can!” burst out Wilma ea
gerly. “ This order calls for a ship.
Get one here for us at once!”
Although it was only a few min
utes before a fast little plane was
rolled out, it seemed like years of
waiting to Buck and Wilma.
“ If Blasko regains consciousness
before we get clear!” fretted Buck.
“ We’re sunk!”
Just as they were about to enter
the little ship a voice sang out:
“ Stop! Hold that ship!”
A Countermanded Order
3 °6 BUCK ROGERS
“ Good night!” gasped Wilma.

“Just as we feared!”
“ Blasko must have recovered
and countermanded his order!”
said Buck in complete dismay.
Buck and Wilma could not see
the person who had called out the
sharp order, but they could now
hear her arguing with the captain
on the other side of the ship.
“ But it’s for those two—over
there!” insisted the officer.
“Who is that girl?” Wilma asked
Buck. “ Her voice sounds famil
iar !”
So Near to Escape
3°8 B U C K ROGERS
Buck was pulling out his gun as

the argument continued.
“We can’t let her get that ship,”
urged Wilma.
“ If we want it,” said Buck quiet
ly, “ we’ll have to fight for i t ! Come
on!”
“ Go easy, Buck!” begged Wilma.
“You’ll have the whole Venusian
camp on our necks!”
At that moment, a figure stepped
from the other side of the ship.
“ Buck! Wilma!” said the sur
prised voice.
“ Ardala!” cried Buck. “Say,
3 io B U C K ROGERS
what’s the idea of putting that gun

on me?”
“ HmmmI” thought Wilma. “ Is
she with us or—against us?”
There was a moment of suspense
as Ardala stood there looking them
over. Buck was ready to fight.
“ How about it, Ardala?” he de
manded. “ Want to shoot it out?”
“ We’re taking this ship!” insist
ed Wilma.
The two comrades tensely watch
ed Ardala’s next move. Abruptly
she dropped her gun and turned to
the captain, who had followed her
“ Is She W ith Us or Against U s?”
312 B U C K ROGERS
to the side of the machine where

the argument was in progress.
“It’s all right, Captain!” Ardala
said. “There won’t be any quarrel!
These two are friends of mine!”
“ That suits me!” said the cap-*
tain. “ Settle it among yourselves!”
When the officer had left them,
Ardala turned to Buck and Wilma.
“ Escaping, huh?” she said.
“ That alters things! Put away
your gun, Buck!”
“ Then our deal is still on?” ques
tioned Buck.
“ We’ll see what price we can get
Ardala W ants to Bargain
3*4 B U C K ROGERS
you for Blasko’s battle plans,” said

Wilma.
“That will be fine—just fine!”
said Ardala, tossing her head. “ But
first I have a favor to ask you!”
“ Why, sure, Ardala,” started
Buck, “well be glad to do any
thing—”
“Then, put your hands up!”
snapped Ardala whipping out her
gun unexpectedly. “ Thanks! You
fell for that one very obligingly!”
“ Why, you crooked little—,”
Buck blurted out in anger.
“We might have known it,
Treachery A gain
3i 6 B U C K ROGERS
Buck,” muttered Wilma. “ Now

what?”
“ You fools!” Ardala was saying.
“ With Blasko suspicious of me al
ready, would I stick my neck out
by letting you g o ?”
“ But, Ardala—,” argued Buck.
“ Well, Buck,” said Wilma, “ if she
insists on getting in bad—why
should we w orry?”
“ What do you mean by that, Wil
m a?” asked Ardala with curiosity.
“ I mean something you know
nothing about,” explained Wilma,
pulling forth the official pass. “ He
W ilm a Tries a Pass
318 B U C K ROGERS
gave us a pass! Do you dare to

countermand it? Here! Take a
look!”
Ardala was nonplussed when she
saw this document with Blasko’s
own signature. Buck and Wilma
took immediate advantage of her
indecision by jumping into the ship
and taking off.
“ This is funny!” Ardala was still
saying to herself. “ The pass is
okay! But why should Blasko—”
“Thanks for the ship, Ardala!”
called out Wilma. “ I knew you
would understand!”
Getting out of Range
32 0 B U C K ROGERS
As they shot upward at terrific

speed, Wilma breathed more free
ly-
“ Step on it, Buck!” she urged.
“ If she gets wise before we get out
of range—”
“We’ll get a blast in the back!”
finished Buck.
Soon they were far from the
ground and Wilma turned back to
look.
“ We’re out of range now,” she
said, “ and she’s still standing down
there trying to figure it all out!”
“ And we proved Huer’s little de-
Homeward Bound
322 B U C K ROGERS
gravitator ship would work,” cried

Buck exultantly.
“ And I heard Kane in the
woods,” added Wilma, “ spilling all
Blasko’s attack plans.”
The two friends were delighted
with their work. Now that they
had safely escaped from Blasko
and his cohorts, they would be able
to take much valuable information
back to their superiors.
“ Buck! What’s happening back
there in Blasko’s camp?” cried Wil
ma. “An awful commotion! Look!”
Buck took the glasses and peer-
Commotion Below
324 B U C K ROGERS
ed through them for a few seconds

in the direction of Blasko’s head
quarters, which were fast disap
pearing from their view. He could
see that there was indeed a great
deal of excitement among the
Venusians and could only assume
that Blasko had come to at last and
rushed out to spread the alarm—
just too late!
“ Why w orry?” said Buck. “ We’re
on our way!”
The voice of Doctor Huer sud
denly came in over their radio.
“ Huer calling Rogers and Deer-
Leaving Blasko Behind
326 B U C K ROGERS
ing!” it said. “Did degravitation

ship work? Report at once! You
are holding up production!”
“ For mercy’s sake!” smiled Wil
ma. “ All Huer thinks of is effi
ciency !”
Buck was instantly all business.
“ Yeah, Huer!” he was reporting
by radio. “ Longeron brace coup
lings a bit weak—that’s why—
—yeah, a little more dynamic fac
tor of safety—yeah!”
“ Fine, my boy,” came back
Huer’s parting words.
“Well, you didn’t have to talk so
“Doctor Huer Calling.”
328 B U C K ROGERS
long, did you?” complained Wilma

when Buck had finished. “ If Huer’s
old ship is so much more important
than our being alone together for
the first time in ages!”
“Aw, honey, don’t be like that!”
returned Buck with a grin.
Reporting by Radio
C H A PT E R X III
A STRAN GE M ESSAGE
When Buck and Wilma departed

from the camp of Blasko, Ardala
puzzled over the pass which they
had used to obtain a flying ship.
Finally, not fully convinced, she
made her way to Blasko’s quar
ters.
She found him just coming to
his senses.
“ Why, Highness!” she exclaim-
330
Blasko Wakes Up
332 BUCK ROGERS
ed. “What under the sun— ?”

“Ardala!” groaned the Prince.
“ Rogers made me sign a pass—he
hit me—and then— !”
Blasko was interrupted by an ex
cited messenger who burst into the
room.
“A message from Venus!” he an
nounced. “ And it’s unbelievable!”
“ What!” yelled Blasko when he
had read the message. “ Orders
from Venus to abandon the con
quest of Earth! Bring my armies
back home?”
“ Why, Blasko!” sympathized Ar-
Ordered Back to Venus
334 B U C K ROGERS
dala. “Just when your plans were

ready!”
“ I don’t understand!” said Blas-
ko. “ I’ll talk to father myself on
the phono-vision!”
Blasko was soon in contact with
the King of Venus.
“You dare question my orders?”
came his father’s voice. “ I tell you
—get every last one of your men
off Earth within a month—or—”
Blasko was crestfallen. To Ar-
dala he poured out his disgust.
“To be called off this way!” he
raved. “ On the eve of my triumph!
On the Eve o£ My Triumph
336 BUCK ROGERS
If I only knew the reason!”

Ardala was just as much put out
as was the Prince of Venus.
At the first opportunity, she
took off by flying belt to locate Kill
er Kane and tell him the dis
appointing news.
“ Blasko’s got to attack!” she
told herself. “ Or Kane and I will
lose the price of his battle plans
we’re selling through Buck!”
She had no difficulty in locating
Kane at his sector of the front.
“Why certainly!” grinned Kane
when he heard the whole story.
^v\
338 B U C K ROGERS
“ I’ll tell you what to do, Ardala!”

“ Well—tell me then!” snapped
Ardala. “ Don’t stand there grin
ning like an ape!”
“ It’s easy, kid,” explained Kane.
“ Play to Blasko’s vanity—flatter
him! Then—do as I told you to!
We can’t lose!”
“Yes, it sounds good!” admitted
Ardala after Kane had outlined his
plan. “ Your ideas always do!”
She hurried back to Blasko to
find him still in a raging fit.
“ All my hopes!” he was crying.
“The union of two worlds—my
Blasko’s Disappointment
340 BU CK ROGERS
dreams of conquest—all vanished

into empty space!”
“ Highness!” said Ardala. “ They
are not! Listen! I have an idea!”
In his private quarters, Blasko
was a picture of despair.
“ Sethor ordered you to Venus
within a month!” said Ardala.
“ You are a great strategist, Blasko
—a marvelous field marshal! You
have plenty of time if you act at
once!”
“ Impossible—Ardala!” moaned
Blasko. “ If I conquered Earth ten
times over it would still be futile—
“ There W ill Be N O E A R T H !”
342 B U C K ROGERS
for now I know why we were or

dered home!”
“ Huh? W hy?” exclaimed Ar-
dala.
“ I am sworn to secrecy!” said
Blasko, “but believe me—it is hor
rible—there will be no Earth—no
Earth!”
It was now Ardala’s turn to reg
ister dismay.
“ But what is to become of m e?”
she whined. “When you go back to
Venus and safety—I don’t want to
die!”
Blasko’s sympathetic nature got
“ W ould You G o W ith M e ?”
344 B U C K ROGERS
the best of him. He rose to his feet

and started to comfort Ardala.
“ It is true I may take no Earth-
men with me,” he said, “for those
are father’s orders. But you are a
girl! Girls were not mentioned.
Perhaps I could save you—if you
would go with me!”
“ Ohhh, Blasko!” sighed Ardala
slyly. “Would I!”
By this time, Buck and Wilma
had arrived safely in Niagara City
and made their way immediately to
headquarters.
“ You’ve got to report Blasko’s
346 B U C K ROGERS
battle plans, Wilma, and I’ve got to

see Huer!” Buck said.
When Buck called on Doctor
Huer in the Science Building, he
was thinking that, after all, life
was not all a matter of war and
degravitators. He loved Wilma—
if he could only find time to—
“ Thanks, Buck, great report,”
the Doctor was saying. “ We’ll
start the factories and shipyards
turning out degravitators by the
—heh! He’s not even listening!”
Buck’s mind indeed was up in
the clouds as Huer raved on. He
Buck’s M ind W as on W ilm a
348 BUCK ROGERS
could not wait till he saw Wilma
again, and, once he had left Huer,
he tried to find her at headquar
ters.
“ No, sir, Lieutenant Deering is
not here!” reported one of the offi
cers. “ Detailed to special duty, I
believe—she’s already gone!”
“ Special duty, eh?” whistled
Buck. “ Where did she go?”
“ Sorry, Captain,” replied the
man, “but I’m not at liberty to tell
you! Official secret!”
Buck knew he could not press
the man further, so he left the
W ilm a Is Gone A gain
building still wondering where

Wilma was.
“Hi, sir! Cap’n Rogers!” called
a voice at that moment. “ I got a
note for yuh!”
Buck turned to see an orderly
chasing down the street after him.
“ From Wilma?” he inquired.
“ Here—give it to me—quick!”
“ Yes, sir!” said the man. “ There
you are, sir! I guess it’s import
ant, sir!”
The man seemed quite nervous.
Buck stared after him as he im
mediately turned on his heel and
A n Important Message
352 BUCK ROGERS
- ............................................... ........................ - - - ............ ............. ................. - ~ -------------* ----------------------------------— ---------------------------------------
ran in the opposite direction as fast

as he could go.
“Say!” mused Buck to himself.
“ He’s in an awful hurry—after
giving me that note from Wilma!”
He tore open the envelope and
hastily scanned the message.
“ It’s in teletype!” he said to him
self. “ Huh? ‘Meet me at Edna’s
apartment—quickly—need your
aid.’ And it’s signed with Wilma’s
secret code number!”
Buck was puzzled by this strange
message and stood for some min
utes trying to figure out just what
A Note From W ilm a
354 BUCK ROGERS
it could possibly mean.
“ That’s funny!” he thought.
“Still—they told me she’s on a se
cret mission.”
The next moment, he had broken
into a run. Where Wilma was con
cerned, he was always ready for
service.
“ If she needs me, I’d better get
on the job,” he said, making his
way to the hangars on the lower
level. “Wilma wouldn’t call for
help unless it was urgent!”
When Buck came to the lower
ramp, he immediately searched out
356 BUCK ROGERS
the Major in charge of the head

quarters ships.
“ Some distance—I’d better fly,”
he told himself. “ Oh, Major, can
you give me a ship?”
“ Sure, what kind?” inquired the
Major readily.
Buck had soon selected a small
ship and was on his way to the
rendezvous.
“ But why did Wilma pick Edna’s
for a meeting place?” he wonder
ed. “When Edna’s away—at the
front?”
When Buck had at last reached
Borrowing a Ship
358 BUCK ROGERS
the place, he pulled to the 213th

level and hooked his drift anchor
onto the railings that fronted the
row of apartments in that vicinity.
“ Here’s the place,” he said to
himself. “ I’ll just hook onto the
balcony and find out from Wilma
what this secret mission is all
about.”
As Buck walked confidently into
the apartment, he was scarcely pre
pared for the strange reception
that was to greet him.
Buck Anchors to the Railing
C H A P T E R X IV
THE TRAP
“Hi, Wilma!” Buck called hap
pily as he entered the hall. “ Here
I am—now what— ?”
He stopped as he perceived a
strange silenee throughout the
place. Getting no answer to his
calls, he slammed his helmet back
on his head.
“Huh! She’s not here! Nobody’s
here!” he said, completely puzzled.
360
Nobody to Meet H im
362 BU CK ROGERS
"Yet, Wilma certainly told me to

meet her.”
He began to look slowly around.
Suddenly, as he passed a door
leading into another room, there
was a soft knock. Again came the
knock and Buck turned happily.
“ Oh, there she is!” he said to
himself. “ That’s it—I got here
ahead of her! Come in, honey!”
The next moment, the door burst
open and the surprised Buck was
confronted by two masked ruffians
who rushed at him with murderous
threats.
mm
A n Unexpected Reception
364 BUCK ROGERS
“ Honey, nothing—you m ugg!”

snorted one of them, wielding a
wicked-looking club.
Buck was totally unprepared for
the swift and furious assault that
followed. He was carried to the
floor by the first rush and fell heav
ily under the weight of the two
men as the club descended on his
head.
When he came to, he sat up in
bewilderment.
“ So it was a trap!” he said. “ Wil
ma’s not here?”
“She was!” grinned one of the
“So It Was a Trap!”
366 BUCK ROGERS
men. “ But she ain’t now!”

“ What have you done with her—
you heels!” cried Buck angrily,
struggling to his feet.
“ Tut! Tut! Such langwich!” ad
monished one of the men. “Whad-
da you care?”
“ You can’t do nothin’ about it!”
said the other, grabbing up a large
porcelain urn from the table. “ We
got other plans for you!”
With his hands tied behind him,
Buck was helpless to defend him
self as the urn crashed down on his
head.
3 68 BUCK ROGERS
“ We’re takin’ you for a ride!”

gloated the men. “ In yer own
ship!”
A few moments later, the uncon
scious form of Buck Rogers was
being lifted none too gently into his
own ship, which was parked out
side.
The ship was soon on the way
and they lost no time in getting out
of the city.
“Where are we takin’ him?” one
man asked. “ Same place as the
girl?”
He received no answer because,
Starting on a Journey
37» BUCK ROGERS
at that moment, his companion

stood up and started pointing.
“Hey? What’s that?” he de
manded. “A patrol ship?”
Sure enough, the patrol ship had
spotted them and started in pur
suit.
“ Better check that craft, Sarge!”
suggested a member of the patrol
crew. “ It’s beyond military limits!
Acting suspicious too. One of our
ships all right—but we’ll have to
stop her!”
The thugs discarded their masks
in a vain effort to fool the patrol,
A Patrol Ship Spots Them
372 BUCK ROGERS
but the faster ship bore down on

them and ordered them to ground
their craft.
As soon as the two ships had
landed side by side, the patrol
sergeant hurried over to Buck’s
ship.
“ Now who you got there, huh?”
he demanded.
“Just a pal, Sarge,” lied one of
the men. “ He got hurt.”
“And we’re takin’ him—” began
the other.
But Buck had been coming to.
He sat up and looked around him
T ryin g a Bluff
374 BUCK ROGERS
for a moment in bewilderment.

“ He looks familiar!’7 said the
Sergeant. “ Why—you punks! It’s
Captain Rogers!”
“Right, Sergeant!” agreed Buck
weakly. “ I’ve been—”
The two kidnappers saw that the
jig was up and made a break for
freedom.
“ Stop them!” yelled Buck.
“ They’ve kidnapped Wilma Deer-
ing
Buck was after the men as quick
ly as the patrol crew.
“ They know where Wilma is!”
“ Th ey’ve Kidnapped W ilm a D eering!”
376 BUCK ROGERS
explained Buck, as they hotfooted

it after the fleeing pair. “ Don’t let
’em get away. It’s our only chanee
to find her!”
Into the wild rocky country, they
tracked the pair, until they came
to a small ridge.
“We’ve got ’em cornered!” said
the Sergeant at last.
“ Spread out!” ordered Buck.
“ Close in on ’em from both sides!”
But the villains, momentarily
hidden behind the rocks, were not
ready to give up yet.
“ Cornered, huh?” exclaimed one.
Closing in on the Traitors
378 BUCK ROGERS
“ They ain’t goin’ to take me alive,

Butch!”
A moment later, there was a
burst of fire and Buck and his com
panions had to move quickly to
avoid being hit.
“ Look out! They’ve opened fire!”
yelled the Sergeant.
“ Take cover!” called Buck.
“ They mean business! Those thugs
are desperate! We’re in for a
fight, men!”
Before they could reach cover,
however, the other man in the pa
trol crew took the full force of a
T h e Thugs Fight Back
3 8 0 BUCK ROGERS
direct hit from the thugs and

crumpled in his tracks.
“ They got Danny!” called the
Sergeant. “ We need cover!”
“ Right!” agreed Buck. “ Back to
the ship, Sarge! We can get ’em
with that!”
A moment later, they were scur
rying back to the place where they
had left the ships, hoping to pick
their enemies off from above.
“ They snatched Wilma right aft
er she was assigned to a secret mis
sion !” explained Buck to the
Sergeant as they zoomed aloft.
Heading for Cover
382 BUCK ROGERS
“Yeah, that sounds like Kadzo’s

w ork!” returned the Sergeant.
As the Sergeant spoke, the vil
lainous Kadzo was far above them
in his own ship, watching the bat
tle below.
“ Bah! Our men let Rogers es
cape!” he fumed. “The incompe
tent f umblers!”
“ Which shall I blast first?” de
manded his companion. “ Rogers—
or our two men?”
“ Destroy our two men!” snapped
Kadzo without hesitation. “ I can’t
tolerate failure!”
Kadzo Raves at the Fumblers
3 8 4
BUCK ROGERS
“ But they got the girl—Wilma—

for us!” reminded the other.
“ Idiot!” rasped Kadzo. “They
might talk—if captured. Have you
got them covered?”
“ Yes — Commander,” answered
the other.
Kadzo was carefully observing
the scene below. As yet, Buck and
the Sergeant had not discovered
the presence of the ship above
them, so high was it in the clouds.
“Then, fire!” Kadzo was saying
to his companion at that moment.
There was a blast from Kadzo’s
386 BUCK ROGERS
ship and a devastating ray, begin
ning with needle-point fineness,
shot from the moving ship, widen
ing out into a destructive rain
when it struck the ground.
Buck and the Sergeant were just
approaching their two fugitives,
flying close to the ground, when the
detonation struck ahead of them.
“A devasto ray!” cried Buck at
once.
“ From above!” announced the
Sergeant, turning to look aloft.
“The rock—and those men—are
gone!” said Buck in the next in-
A Dcvasto Ray From Above
388 BUCK ROGERS
stant, staring at the scene of de

struction below. “Vanished!”
“ That blast came from the
clouds!” announced the Sergeant,
scanning the heavens. “ Kadzo’s
ship, I bet!”
“ Then, up after him, Sarge!”
ordered Buck without a moment’s
hesitation. “ If those were his men
—then, he knows where Wilma is
too!”
“ I get it !” assented the Sarge, as
he turned the nose of the ship into
a steep climb. “ He blasted them
down for fear they’d squeal!”
T h e Men H ad Vanished
/
CH APTER X V
THE TABLES TURNED
But Kadzo saw Buck and the

Sergeant coming and he was pre
pared for just such an emergency.
“ They’re coming up after us!”
announced his companion, as he
peered down through the clouds.
“ Fine! Splendid!” returned
Kadzo grimly.
“ Shall I give them the devasto
too!” asked the other eagerly.
390
392 B U C K ROGERS
“ No !” ordered Kadzo firmly, and

there was a wealth of meaning in
his harsh voice. “ I want Buck
Rogers alive!”
“ Who is Kadzo?” Buck was ask
ing the Sergeant. “ If he has harm
ed Wilma, Fll—huh ? What’s the
matter?”
“We’re not climbing any more!”
reported the Sergeant suddenly.
“Yet the gauge shows full lifting
power!”
“ That’s funny!” agreed Buck,
standing up to look over the gadg
ets in the ship. “ The generator is
Rogers Checks the Plane
394 B U C K ROGERS
all right—I don’t see why—”

“ But we’re sinking, Captain!”
cried the Sergeant. “ Fast!”
The ship was indeed losing alti
tude at an alarming rate. The
Sergeant had never experienced
anything like it before.
“ I don’t understand it, Captain
— he began.
“ I d o !” snapped Buck. “ Who
ever is up there in the clouds above
us is playing a force ray down on
us. And we’re.going to—CRASH!”
Buck just had time to say the
words, when the ground rushed up
A Crash!
396 B U C K RO G E RS
at them with amazing speed. Their

little ship hit with terrific force,
but, thanks to the open cockpits,
Buck and the Sergeant were
thrown clear.
Badly shaken but not seriously
hurt, the two were dumped flat on
the ground, side by side. After a
moment, the Sergeant spoke.
“They crashed our ship! And
they’re still playing that force ray
down on us! I’m pinned flat, Cap
tain !”
“ If I could just roll over!” groan
ed Buck in a vain struggle.
39^ B U C K ROGERS
“ Maybe it’s Kadzo,” said the

Sergeant, “ but he’d be more likely
to blast us into eternity!”
“ We’ll know soon!” muttered
Buck. “ Here comes the ship!”
Just as soon as the men felt the
force ray relax, they leaped to their
feet, ready for the fray. But they
were too late. Before them stood
Kadzo, supported by his compan
ion with a wicked-looking weapon.
“ Hold it! You’re covered!”
snapped Kadzo. “ Now, Rogers—”
“You know me?” inquired Buck
in surprise. “ Who are you?”
Kadzo Pays a Call
400 B U C K ROGERS
“ Of course I know you,” return

ed Kadzo. “ Since I sent my two
men to snatch you and your pretty
little friend Wilma! I need you—
to make her talk!”
“ It’s Kadzo right enough, Cap
tain!” whispered the Sergeant to
Buck. “ Head of the Venusian
spies!”
“ You won’t get any information
out of me, Kadzo!” snapped Buck.
“ N o?” inquired Kadzo lightly.
“ But when the girl—Wilma—sees
what I am going to do to you—”
A dark look came into Kadzo’s
A Threat of Torture
402 B U C K ROGERS
eyes and he hesitated to let his

words sink in thoroughly before he
added:
“ SHE WILL TA LK !”
As Buck was wondering just
what the next move might be, there
came a loud screeching from the
ship of the Venusian spy.
“ Eh?” jumped Kadzo. “ Radio
alarm!”
“ From your transmitter relay on
the ship, Commander!” reported
Kadzo’s companion.
Leaving his man to keep Buck
and the Sergeant covered, Kadzo
Blasko’s Emergency Signal
4°4 B U C K ROGERS
rushed over to his ship and listen

ed.
“ Blasko’s emergency signal!” he
whistled. “ That sounds bad!”
The next moment, the emergen
cy message was coming in over the
air.
“ That message is in Venusian
lingo!” said Buck, as he listened.
“ I can’t believe it!” said the as
tounded Kadzo as he heard the ter
mination of the message and its
full meaning dawned on him.
He turned and spoke to his com
panion, who also seemed startled.
A Venusian Message
40 6 BUCK ROGERS
“ Then—the war is over?” asked
the man incredulously.
“ Yes!” barked Kadzo. “ Into the
ship with you!”
Buck and the Sergeant couM not
believe their ears as they heard this
startling news, but, the next in
stant, Kadzo turned to them.
“ Earthworms, you are free!” he
remarked stonily. “We’re leav
ing !”
He was about to turn away, but
Buck was at him like a flash, grab
bing him by the tunic and pulling
him back so fiercely that Kadzo’s
408 BUCK ROGERS
face turned white.

“ Not before you tell me what
you’ve done with Wilma!” insisted
Buck, and there was a look in his
eyes that seldom came there, even
in the most heated battle.
At the same time, the Sergeant
had taken advantage of the un
guarded moment when the news
struck, to leap upon the pilot of
Kadzo’s ship and wrest the weapon
from his grasp. Seeing the tables
thus turned, Kadzo was stricken
with fear. Instead of answering
Buck, he struggled to free himself.
4 io BUCK ROGERS
Buck, in his anger, began to shake
the man until he was about to
choke.
“ What have you done with Wil
ma?” he thundered.
With a sudden jerk, Kadzo twist
ed away, leaving a part of his tunic
in Buck’s clenched fists. Finding
himself loose for a moment, Kadzo
turned on his heel and started to
run.
“ What? Trying to escape?” ex
claimed Buck, who was after him
like a shot. “ But you can’t get
away with that, Kadzo!”
i
Kadzo Decides to T alk
412 B U C K ROGERS
Buck bore down on the fleeing

spy and brought him crashing to
earth with a pretty flying tackle.
With his hands at Kadzo’s throat,
he demanded action.
“ Now—you dog—speak!” he de
manded.
“ I’ll talk—I’ll talk!” spluttered
Kadzo, and as Buck released him,
he pulled out a paper. “ The girl
Wilma is unharmed. I left her in
a cave! It is marked on this
chart!”
“ Give it to me!” yelled Buck,
grabbing the map and looking at
Buck Gives Commands
it. “ Guard these two punks, Ser

geant! I’m taking their ship!”
“ Okay, Captain,” agreed the
Sergeant. “ I’ll get ’em back to the
lines.”
He marched his two captives
away, as Buck departed.
Kadzo’s ship probably never
traveled as fast as it did that day
with Buck at the controls. Al
though the cave indicated on the
chart was some distance away,
Buck covered the route in record
time.
“ There’s the cave!” he shouted to
“ W ilm a! A re You There?’'
4x6 BUCK ROGERS
himself suddenly, as he winged

past at terrific speed. “Whew! I
almost missed it! Now, if Kadzo
told the whole truth, I’ll find Wil
ma!”
He was soon on the ground and
running toward the mouth of the
cave.
“Wilma!” he cried as he ran.
“Are you in there?”
Calling her name louder and
louder, he ran through the cave,
getting back nothing but echoes for
answers.
Suddenly, however, he came
She H ad Left a T rail
418 B U C K ROGERS
across a small object on the ground.

“ Wilma’s handkerchief!” he ex
claimed half aloud. “ It’s a cinch
she’s in this cave. But where?”
A little farther on, he stooped to
pick up another object from the
floor and examine it carefully.
“ Her flying harness!” he said.
“She’s dropped these things to
leave a trail!”
As he went along he found many
other belongings that he recog
nized as Wilma’s.
“ Handkerchief, belt, pistol hol
sters, shoes!” he said to himself.
A Cruel Deceit
420 BUCK ROGERS
“ How much longer is this trail go

ing to last? Ah—there’s her hel
met. What next?”
He rushed forward. He thought
he saw Wilma standing there in the
shadows. But it was merely her
helmet and an old flying jacket,
propped up on a few rough tree
branches, very much like a grue
some scarecrow.
Attached to it, was a note sign
ed by Kadzo himself.
“ My compliments to the great
Captain Rogers!” it said.
“ Tricked!” muttered Buck. “ But,
Buck Reports Back
422 B U C K ROGERS
thank goodness, Kadzo is in our

hands—back to Niagara for me!”
An hour or so later, Buck burst
into the office of the High Com
mand to tell his story.
“Ah Rogers!” greeted the Chief.
“ Great news, my boy! The Venu
sian invaders have left earth! The
war is over!”
“ Not for me, it isn’t,” said Buck
—and he told his story.
“ Hmmm!” said the Chief, smil
ing slightly as he heard about Wil
ma’s disappearance. “ Our scouts
brought in a refugee from that
Reunited
424 BUCK ROGERS
area. Why don’t you question her ?

She’s in the next room !”
Buck rushed to open the door
and as he did so, Wilma fell into his
arms and smiled up at him happily.
“Wilma!” cried Buck.
Now the war really was over—
and Buck soon found some time to
tell Wilma some of the tender
things that had been so long post
poned.
Read These IN T E R ES T IN G B O O K S Too!
Airplanes!— Pirates!— Superscience!
Captain Frank Hawks, Famous A IR A C E , and

the League of Twelve
Black Silver and His P IR A T E CREW
The B U C C A N E E R : Story of Lafitte the Pirate
T A IL S P IN T O M M Y and the Hooded Flyer
F L A S H G O R D O N in the Forest Kingdom of
Mongo
P A T N E L S O N , Ace of Test Pilots
M A C O F T H E M A R IN E S in W ar-Tom China
B A R N E Y B A X T E R in the Air With the Eagle
Squadron
T E R R Y A N D T H E P IR A T E S Shipwrecked on a
Desert Island
JA C K A R M ST R O N G , All-American Boy, and the
Ivory Treasure
Read These T H R ILLIB 6 BOOKS Too!
Cowboys!— Indians!— Horses!
T H E LO NE RAN GER and the Menace of

Murder Valley
B U CK JO N E S in the Rock Creek Cattle W ar
T O M M IX and the Hoard of Montezuma
G U N S in the Roaring West
K E N M A Y N A R D in Western Justice
T IM M cC O Y on the Tomahawk Trail
T E X T H O R N E Comes out of the West
BRO N C PEELER , the Lone Cowboy
The T E X A S K ID
Riders of LO N E T R A IL S
W E L L S FA R G O : Thrilling Tale of the O LD
W EST
G E N E A U T R Y in "Public Cowboy Number One”
Junior Nebb on the D IA M O N D -B A R R A N C H
Bead These E X O IT iia BOOKS To o !
Mysteries!— Thrills!■— Adventures!
Little O R P H A N A N N IE and the Mysterious

Shoemaker
Coach B E R N IE B IE R M A N ’S Brick Barton and
the Winning Eleven
T A R Z A N ?3 Revenge (Edgar Rice Burroughs)
K A Y D A R C Y and the Mystery Hideout
JA R A G U of the Jungle (Rex Beach)
Blaze Brandon With the FO R E IG N L E G IO N
Little A N N IE R O O N E Y on the Highway to
Adventure
K A Z A N , Story of a Great Dog (J. Oliver Cur-
wood)
M A R Y L E E and the Indian Bead Mystery
W A S H T U B B S and Capt. Easy Hunting for
Whales
S K E E Z IX at the Military Academy
P E G G Y BR O W N and the Runaway Auto Trailer
IN T E R N A T IO N A L S P Y ; Dr. Doom Meets
Death at Dawn
BASED ON T H E F A M O U S NEWSPAPER STRIP 1

Buck Rogers War With The Planet Venus 1938 BLB

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Buck Rogers War With The Planet Venus 1938 BLB

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What is the setting and time period of the story?

What is the setting and time period of the story?

What event triggers the start of the story?

What event triggers the start of the story?

i ) A T O r f U P Y ; ;VD

Story by PHIL NOWLAN

Pictures by LT. DICK CALKINS

Based an the Famous Newspaper Strip

W HITM AN PUBLISHING COMPANY

“ Rogers! It’s come! Without

“ Wh-what’s come, sir?” stam­

“ You mean that the Venusians

President thoughtfully. “They

tions. Huge transports waited to

er Kane and Ardala, had thrown

less than fifty men?” snapped back

ed Ardala. “ No royalty came to

ed was greeted with unpleasant

as they saw the Prince approach­

ing their best-laid plans, they knew

right over there?”

isn’t here, Barney,” he announced.

very long, there was a slight com­

ed Barney after they were alone.

Barney pointed to the sky and

dered Buck. “ Don’t let ’em catch

In response to Buck’s orders his

the ground, and, although Buck

went blank. The ship crashed into

“ C’mon, men!” Barney was urg­

particularly was broken up by the

But the two traitors still had

hastily surveying their position.

ed one of the men.

en figures and rushed over to ex­

“ Ardala!” whispered Kane.

“ Hey! Hey!” he yelled, whip­

Black Barney was totally un­

breathed Ardala, her eyes lighting

That night, Kane and Ardala

made their move. Creeping stealth­

Next morning, Buck and Wilma

the parked ship with Blasko in

“ They’re as thick as fleas where

ship they were flying, lurked an

Possibly it was fortunate for

an extra one too!”

“Highness !” cried Ardala.

however, and they lost no time in

the prisoner queerly and holding

a sharp ringing noise from the

the controls. “ Maybe it wasn’t fas­

asked Buck in alarm, “ Was it the

On Wilma’s first visit to the rear

“ Who—me?” inquired Blasko,

Kane as the three fell through

“And the other two are Kane and

“ One of our ships up aloft, sir!”

Blasko neared the Earth, they were

“ Wh-what’s come, sir?” stam

as they saw the Prince approach

very long, there was a slight com

“ C’mon, men!” Barney was urg

en figures and rushed over to ex

“ Hey! Hey!” he yelled, whip

Black Barney was totally un

made their move. Creeping stealth

the controls. “ Maybe it wasn’t fas

no vision, my boy—no imagina

“ Low ceiling, Buck,” she an

“ Excellent!” agreed his com

“You needn’t be scared!” she as

adier, giving the signal and put

But when he reached the vici

“ That’s the way they always de

Buck was aroused from his leth