National Comics #53

When escape artist Scramolo arrives at Colonel Lane's Mammoth Circus offering to revitalize their sagging ticket sales with his death-defying act, The Barker and the Colonel jump at the chance—and the crowds come roaring back. But as the circus rakes in money hand over fist, trouble brews behind the scenes, and The Barker must figure out what Scramolo's real game is before disaster strikes.

Policewoman Sally O'Neil is assigned to guard the legendary Red God Ruby—a sacred stone with a deadly history—at a high-society wedding, but a mysterious turbaned stranger crashes the reception with theft in mind. When he strikes with tear gas and makes off with the jewel, Sally's quick thinking pays off: she'd already switched the real ruby for an imitation, and now she must outmaneuver both the intruder and an unexpected traitor in the household to keep the precious stone safe.

Quicksilver pursues the mastermind criminal Lonesome after a daring prison break leaves a trail of bodies in its wake. Using cunning and detective work, Quicksilver traces the coldhearted fugitive through the city as Lonesome executes his twisted endgame—eliminating his former associates and chasing a singular obsession. The chase culminates when Quicksilver corners the dangerous loner at an abandoned lighthouse out in the harbor.

Windy Breeze finds himself broke and hatches a scheme to rent out a dog as a retriever for two hundred dollars a day—trouble is, the dog doesn't exactly understand what "retriever" means. When a skeptical customer demands a demonstration, Windy's big talk collides with the dog's complete inability to fetch, leading to some humbling lessons about tall tales and man's best friend.

When Lassie and Laddie swear they've seen Martians in the park after a trip to the observatory, their wild theory leads to a playful misunderstanding—only to be debunked by the real (and very human) guests at a Futurist mask party.