Arc 1:  Versus The Scorpion at the Panama Canal

Written by Frank Martinek (writer), Leon Beroth (artist)

Strips: D1 - D202

Dates: 03/05/1934 - 10/25/1934

Daily Arc 001.
There is so much going on in this opening arc that it needs to be broken down in subsets:
001: Introduction - One strip welcome to the series setting up the action of Don Winslow against the Scorpion.
002-012: Attack on a Navy Dirigible - The Scorpion demands two of his men take to the air in horrid weather to find and destroy a US Navy dirigible on a secret test run. The airship is gunned down and all but one crew member lost in the waters south of San Diego.
013-021: Winslow Gets His Orders - Don Winslow gets his first assignment in Naval Intelligence and shows Pennington around the interesting headquarters' secret laboratories.
022-041: Memory Loss and Mistaken Identity - The dirigible sole survivor's is rescued by Mexican fishermen but has total memory loss results. When word comes to the Scorpion that there was a survivor, they mistakenly think it is the man, not the Navy's.
042-048: Escape From the Law - The Scorpion demands that one of his agents, captured by authorities, be rescued. That was accomplished with the help of a low-flying plane and a rope ladder.
049-054: On the Search for Winslow and Pennington - Somehow the Scorpion knows that Winslow and Pennington are now on their hunt for him so agents are sent to identify them, though apparently they only have Pennington's name. They efforts include abducting a black steward and going out in black-face disguise. Luckily a friendly Japanese secret agent, who does know their identities, alerts them to the situation.
055-068: Trouble in the Windy City: A planned stop-over in Chicago gives Winslow and Pennington a chance to visit the home and laboratory of the deceased Admiral Warbuton. This is on the grounds of the Great Lakes Naval Training Station. There they learn that a plane has been routinely surveilling the place for days. They also learn that the Admiral's plans and research are missing.
069-073: The Interest of the Beautiful Woman - A good looking but mysterious lady arrives in Chicago and makes sure she is on the same train as Winslow and Pennington, even going so far as to identify them from photos she has. She does not, however, make contact.
074-078: Pierre and Yvonne Enter the Picture - Aboard an arriving liner into New York are two new people. Pierre Le Fort is a pipe-smoking trench-coat wearing fellow and Yvonne is apparently his assistant. They are on some assignment for which they need to report to the Prefect of Police in Paris. They do not linger in the City long, though, before heading to St. Louis on a private plane.
079-086: Imposter Physician - As Pierre and Yvonne await the departure of their plane, a bearded and sun-glassed man begs to be given a ride with them, claiming he is a prominent physician needed urgently in Kansas City. Pierre spots his phony credentials and a holstered pistol. On him they find plans apparently stolen from a drilling company where the owner is also developing a new type of anti-aircraft gun for the Navy. Before they can question the fake doctor again, he is carted off on a stretcher suffering from 'a stroke of apoplexy'.
087-091: Sabotage Awaits the Train: Soon after Pierre and Yvonne resume their flight,  the pilot notices unusual activity on a set of train tracks below. The plane lands next to the track and Pierre discovers it has been sabotages. Luckily they are able to stop the train in time by flying over the train and dropping a flare.
092-093: Plot Thickens - The stopping of the train awakens Winslow and Pennington who join the search of the tracks. After learning they had narrowly escaped likely death, they are again surprised when a steward hands them a note from the mystery train beauty which has the image of the Scorpion and the ominous words "Death Overtakes All Foes of The Scorpion!"
094-097: Chinatown - The action switches to Chinatown in San Francisco and a tiny lantern shop of Lee Weng. Weng receives a summons to "Come in haste to fill your place at the Council - the Scorpion speaks". Weng then moves down steps and ladders to a subterranean area that predated the Fire. In a shrine to Buddha he activates a hidden switch to open a secret doorway. Inside, the formerly bent and heavily clothed Lee Weng shrugs off the disguise to reveal "the haughty features of a beautiful half-caste - Lotus - high in the Scorpion's command". She sits with two men already there, a male Oriental and a White who wears a mask over his eyes. The trio are "the three highest in the Scorpion's Council". Earnestly they listen to their leader on the radio phone as he berates them for the failure of their 'witless underlings' and insists that the three, Lotus, Cho San, and the Masked One, must finish the task of eliminating Winslow and Pennington themselves.
098 - 100:The Next Phase - after a one-panel recap of all that has gone on before, in which we learn that Pierre and Yvonne are from the French Intelligence Service and are also on the Scorpion case, we find Don and Red arriving in Kansas City where meeting with the French agents they learn that implicated in the affair is a New Mexico dude ranch owner named Osterman.
101 - 105: On To The Dude Ranch - Don and Red sneak out of their hotel to head to New Mexico. They are buy equipment to take the roles of vacationing fishermen to try to check into the dude ranch. They are immediately suspected.
106 - 108: At Anchor In Shanghai - A temp shift of view to Shanghai where a US squadron is spending time awaiting further orders. Two sailors discuss an AWOL tar who talked of the entire US Navy was going to be annihilated. The Japanese secret agent from before reveals a 'devilish plot' by the Scorpion to force America 'into war with a great nation'.
109 - 112: To The Ranger Station - Back at Osterman's dude ranch, Don and Red mingle with other guests and learn of Osterman's strange journey the night before with a little black bag heading in the mountains. They decide to ride horses to head to a ranger station they had been told earlier had intel on Osterman. Hearing a gunshot, they find the ranger dying in his cabin. His final words talk of the Holy Ghost Canyon.
113 - 117: The Holy Ghost Canyon - Don and Red want to head to the canyon but know they need a guide and are told that no guide would be available because the area is haunted. Back at the ranch, Don decides someone is using a radio so sneaks into Osterman's room to use his nifty radio apparatus. He intercepts a coded message from the Scorpion which he decrypts to learn of a planned attack.
118 - 123: To Destroy New Bombers - That attack is on the Universal Aviation Company off Lake Erie to keep a shipment of new naval bombers from being delivered. The men in the gang are aboard a ship in the harbor who sneak ashore and head to the facility where a team of police await them thanks to Winslow's warning.
124 - 128: The History of the Scorpion - With the aid of truth serum, Winslow questions the leader of the attackers who then relays the history of the Scorpion. There is also a recap told at Naval Intelligence HQ ending with news that Don is heading back to New Mexico.
129 - 130: Only Ghosts Allowed - Back in Santa Fe, Winslow goes in search of someone to take him to Holy Ghost Canyon. One prospect warns that only a ghost can get in there and others who try all get killed. Meanwhile, Osterman learns of Don and Red's earlier lie to get rooms in his dude ranch.
131 - 132: Osterman's Courtship - Osterman is smitten by Yvonne and goes out of his way to woo her by taking her on a horseback ride while recounting how important he is. After 'agreeing to marry her' Osterman assures her he is rich with a secret store of gold in the hills. 
133 - 136: The History of the Canyon - an old native recounts to Don and Red the history of Holy Ghost Canyon and how a swift river keeps people out of it.
137 - 139: To The Canyon! - Don and Red mount an excursion to the canyon but as they near it, one of those hired to help turns out to be an Osterman minion and tries to kill them in his sleep.
140 - 145: At the Canyon! - Osterman and Yvonne arrive at the canyon's entrance. Also just showing up but unseen so far are Don and Red. They see how Osterman's men have created a safe way to cross the rapid river. Inside the canyon they find a pre-historic city. There with the use of a clever device for using radio impulses to detect metal, Osterman has uncovered the hidden gold from the inhabitants of centuries before. When confronted by Don, Osterman slips and falls to his death.
146 - 148: Alert The Scorpion - A member of Osterman's team races back to the ranch with word of the boss's death. The Scorpion is unhappy when told and orders a trap for Don and friends as they return.
149 - 163: Trouble On The Way To Frisco - Winslow and co. head by car to Denver where they plan to fly to San Francisco but a Scorpion minion takes the place of their transport's co-pilot. That man manages to take control and land at a mountain ranch. When trying to escape, the plane they wanted to use is blown up.
164 - 168: Back To The Skies - Again on their way to the coast, Don and Red see a biplane take a nosedive. They land to investigate and find on the dead pilot's body a red code book showing he was a Scorpion agent named Count Borg heading to Frisco to meet up with Lotus. He also has an amazing resemblance to Winslow. A new plan comes to them.
169 - 176: A Date With Lotus - Lotus is eagerly awaiting the arrival of Count Borg who has a secret crush, it seems, for Don Winslow. Don decides to take the place of Borg and enter the lair of the beautiful Lotus. They hit it off very well immediately but Don/Borg earns the enmity of fellow Scorpion lieutenant and rival suiter Cho San. Lotus gives Don a tour of the facility (impressive place) and he finds a message hidden in a hollow tooth ready to be inserted into someone.
177 - 184: Impatient Red - Pennington begins to fret over the absent Winslow and heads in search of him but is immediately recognized and captured by Cho San's men. Don is confronted by Cho San who prepares to torture Red, forcing Don to announce himself. Only the surprise intervention by Lotus gets them free but she pays for it by being sentenced by the Scorpion to 'death by the three fangs'. With Don's help she herself is freed. When Don reads the message in the tooth, he and Lotus realize the Scorpion's plan for the destruction of the US fleet i while in the Panama Canal is about to begin.
185 - 188: Precursor to Attack - Under the direct control of Scorpion lieutenant known as the Baron. Upon learning that Winslow knows about the overall plan, he unleashes a radio-controlled plane to do surveillance. When it malfunctions and crashes, newly-arrived Winslow is able to examine it. Don is able to determine that these craft could be used to drop dynamite onto the fleet ships but that they must be coming from some hidden base nearby.
189 - 198: Attack The Base - Don and Red fly out to scout for the hidden base but are slowed when encountering a powerful electric ray used to protect the Scorpion's base. They nevertheless eventually find the hidden base with its submarine pen and direct Navy bombers to destroy it.
199 - 202: Against The Baron - Inspecting the rubble for possible survivors, Don and Red are accosted by the injured and irate Baron who captures them and is about to shoot. They are saved by a previously unseen huge puma leaping from a tree "maddened by the smell of blood". It kills the Baron, ending the whole affair. Winslow is congratulated for having saved the fleet and then told he has orders to catch a ship to China for his next mission.