Mesa of Lost Women
Dr. Aranya is experimenting with reciprocal transplants of pituitary glands between spiders and humans. He carries out his work in remote underground labs located on the Zarpa Mesa in the Mexican desert. He wants to create a master race of hybrid superwomen and spiders through his procedures. He invites Dr. Leland Masterton, a famous entomological scientist, to see his creations. Masterton is horrified and subsequently becomes the next candidate for experimentation. The techniques work better on females than males, and Masterton is released and is quickly institutionalized. More outsiders become involved with Dr. Aranya when a plane carrying wealthy financier Jan van Croft and his bride-to-be, Doreen Culbertson, crashes on the mesa. Also aboard is Masterton, who has forced the pilot to fly the plane despite its need of engine repairs. The survivors are captured in hopes of using them for additional experiments. Masterton, determined to put an end to the experimentation, mixes an explosive concoction and sends the pilot and Doreen down a side passage to escape. They get picked up by an oil-company surveyor as they are about to perish of heat exposure and thirst. Written by Garon Smith
