Black Rider #12 (1951)

The Black Rider is on the tail of Juan de Lupo and his gang when the hero suddenly takes a bullet to the shoulder, knocking him off his horse and allowing the bandits to get away. Changing back into Matthew Masters, the Black Rider then begins treating his wound when he is confronted by a posse that is also out to get Juan de Lupo and his men. They explain that de Lupo and his gang rode into New Mexico from all points and began killing a path along the way, including the slaughter of innocent women and children. After the posse leaves, Masters finishes treating his wound and climbs back up on his horse Ichabod. As he rides off after de Lupo he recalls how he cornered the outlaw in Pond City, and he managed to escape by holding a girl hostage. The Black Rider lose ground that time when de Lupo wounded the girl he took prisoner in order to slow the hero up. As he continues on his hunt, Masters begins to become dizzy from his wound and swears that he can hear the sound of beating drums. Not to far away, de Lupo and his men have come to the location they have been seeking out: the ghost town of La Muerto, where Lupo's ancestor was said to have hidden gold somewhere in the year 1554. As they approach the town to rendezvous with other outlaws, they are surprised when they see a band of Native Americans killing some of their men. De Lupo and his men seek cover in the village and are surprised to see more of de Lupo's outlaws wearing old Spanish armour and carrying ancient guns. De Lupo is furious when they call him the name of his ancestor, but before Juan can get answers the Natives attack, forcing a counter attack. Hearing the shots, Matthew Masters changes into the Black Rider once more and rides into the thick of battle. Entering the building where the Spanish conquistadors are he realizes that the men are not from the year 1854, but ghost that apparently have lived in the town since 1554. Gaining the trust of the Spanish spirits, the Black Rider learns that the silver has been hidden in a nearby church and that is where Juan has gone. He follows after his target he confronts Juan and his gang below the town where the treasure has been hidden for over 300 years. During the course of the fight a stray shot from Juan hits some barrels of TNT that causes a massive explosion that destroys the whole town and kills Juan and his gang. Surviving the blast, the Black Rider crawls out of the cavern and into the laps of the posse that was after Juan. They believe the town was swallowed up by an earthquake as opposed to an explosion. In the aftermath of the battle, the Black Rider can't be too sure if what he experienced was real, or if it was all a hallucination brought on by his bullet wound.