Out of the blue it struck––that dread, mysterious force, dealing death, destruction and misery to millions. America found herself stripped of her strongest defenses as battleships, huge guns, skyscrapers, factories and transportation systems crumbled to dust before the voracious flame. No one could tell where it came from; where it would next strike; no one was safe from its hot, devouring maw. An entire nation stood crippled, paralyzed by panic as Operator #5, alone, fought to save America from the red ruin loosed upon it.

From out of the pages of Operator #5 magazine steps a dramatic hero who pits himself against threats to national security from all origins. Whether it’s a subversive internal threat, or a full-scale invasion from an enemy land, James Christopher stood ready and resolute to defeat it.

They called him Operator #5—undercover agent, man of many identities, patriotic protector of America’s sacred shores. Working for the U. S. Intelligence Service, his job is to root out subversive elements and stand as the first line of defense against foreign invasions from all quarters. Aided by street-smart Tim Donovan and newspaperwoman Diane Elliott, Jimmy Christopher was the James Bond of the 1930s!

James Christopher did not technically belong to the U. S. Secret Service. He was a top agent for an America’s unnamed counter espionage agency. It was in his blood. His father, John Christopher, retired from the same agency years before. Answerable only to his superior, Z-7, and carrying a letter from the President of the United States identifying him as Operator #5, Jimmy Christopher played for keeps. He carried a rapier sewn into his belt, and in a golden skull hanging from his watch-chain was a reservoir of deadly poison to be taken in the event of capture.

The Melting Death was originally published in the July, 1934 issue of Operator #5 magazine. Read with tightly-wound tension by Milton Bagby.