Batman #25 - Story 2
August 9, 1944
"The Sheik of Gotham City"
The comic opens with an old man telling a group of children how the current sheik of their tribe came into power. Their sheik, a good and wise man, was once left for dead as a child in the dessert. He survived and wound up in the United States. The evil sheik found out he was alive thanks to the keen eyes of one of his people who read a newspaper from Gotham City where the man obtained a taxi cab license. The evil sheik knew he had to make sure that the cab driver never returned to their village to take control. He sent his men off to the United States.
Meanwhile, in Gotham, Sidi finds his cab being commandeered by a police officer to help in the pursuit of criminals by Batman and Robin. The gang is cornered and a shootout happens. Sidi finds himself shot, but he's only slightly injured. After rounding up the gang, Batman takes the cab back to the cab company while Robin brings the injured Sidi to the hospital. (Once again, Robin driving the Batmobile. He's not a young teen then, right?)
Batman picks up a passenger standing in the rain, an Arab. The man leaves his wallet behind, deliberately Batman notes. He finds the man's hotel address and dresses up as the cabbie to return the wallet. He is quickly attacked and captured.
Tied up, Bruce feigns being semi-conscious in order to learn the story of Sidi from his captors. Here's another moment of character building as Batman knows enough Arabic in order to understand what they are saying. Once he realizes the situation, he manages to activate his radio belt and in what they think is a delirious state, he hums songs to Robin to give him a clue to the hotel he's trapped in. Robin gets to the hotel in time as they are about to kill Batman. He manages to free Batman from his bonds and the two go on the attack.
