The Spider #10 Audiobook
The Corpse Cargo
by Norvell W. Page writing as Grant Stockbridge
Read by Nick Santa Maria
Thundering far beneath Manhattan’s thronging streets came the Death Express — a crack New York Central train bearing a gruesome cargo of lifeless men, women and children — their bodies stripped of valuables, naked and mutilated! A grim warning of the terror-reign that threatened America — at the hands of Twentieth Century land-pirates, whose weapon was neither gun nor sword, but the stunning, body-shivering force which lies in electricity! Can the Spider, using mortal weapons, fight the numbing power of the thunderbolt — and survive?
During his ferocious first year fighting crime, The Spider faced the most amazing array of supercriminals ever spawned. The Black Death. The Red Mask. The Tarantula. The Fly. Few were as memorable as the 20th Century corsair called Captain Kidd. She—yes, she!—embarked on a campaign of cruelty unmatched in pulp history.
It began with the torture-killing of a innocent young boy—a loyal member of the Spider Club. The weapon employed was a knife with eerie electrical properties. Discovering the hapless body, Richard Wentworth vowed to avenge this insult to The Spider's power.
But Captain Kidd struck first! When a train roars into Grand Central Station, out of control and crashing to a brutal halt, authorities discover that everyone aboard, from the engineer and crew to the passengers, are cold corpses—electrified by a weird new weapon called the Green Fire!
Out of this rolling charnel house come the first clues to the Pirates—a roving band of modern-day buccaneers out to pillage greater New York. At their head, the deadly woman who has taken the feared name of Captain Kidd.
Nick Santa Maria once again brings the Spider to life in The Corpse Cargo. Originally published in The Spider magazine, July 1934.
Chapter 1: A Mysterious Summons
Chapter 2: The Torture Knife
Chapter 3: Green Fire of Death
Chapter 4: Trail of Death
Chapter 5: The Murder Queen
Chapter 6: Modern Piracy
Chapter 7: Fire Trap
Chapter 8: Wholesale Slaughter
Chapter 9: Strands of the Web
Chapter 10: The Death Beacon
Chapter 11: A Corpse Crawls
Chapter 12: The Spider Turns Fly
Chapter 13: Surrender ... or Nita Dies!
Chapter 14: The Third Trap
Chapter 15: Prisoner of Disgrace
Chapter 16: The Second Act
Chapter 17: The Spider's Coffin
Chapter 18: The Coffin Opens
Chapter 19: The Pirates Are Coming!
Chapter 20: The Green Fire
Chapter 21: Zero Hour
Nick Santa Maria Nick was born early in life in Brooklyn, NY. His theatrical background is based in Comedy Improv. He was a long standing member of the late lamented Miami based, Mental Floss, where he served as head writer/composer. From there he began his career in commercials, voice-overs, TV, Film, and theatre. He has performed in many roles on the stage including his award winning turn as Nick in Over The River And Through The Woods, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, as Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls, in The 25th Annual Putnam Country Spelling Bee as Mr. Panch (3-D Theatricals), Mr. Bromhead in No Sex Please, We’re British at The Norris, and as Pseudolus in, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at the Norris Theatre. Television: The Buffalo Bill Show, B.J. Stryker, and two Disney Christmas Specials. Off Broadway: Writer/Composer/Performer on Secrets Every Smart Traveler Should Know, Soundtrack on RCA Victor. Broadway: Vince Fontaine in Tommy Tune’s production of Grease. He also appeared in every domestic company of Mel Brooks’ The Producers, understudying everyone from Nathan Lane and Jason Alexander, to Tony Danza and David Hassellhoff. He was the original Genie in Disney’s Aladdin, a Musical Spectacular, soundtrack on Disney Records. Nick is a resident of Los Angeles and is currently writing a book about classic film comedians, Nick’s been a long time film historian, and has written several articles on the topic.
