Captain America Comics #8
The Strange Mystery of the Ruby of the Nile and Its Heritage of Horror
As Sgt. Duffy and Betty Ross are having a lunch date, Betty tells Duffy about how she was invited to her friend Marina Bates' home where her father is throwing a party to celebrate his recent purchase of the supposedly cursed Ruby of the Nile. When two soldiers come to blows a pie is thrown and it strikes Duffy in the face. With those responsible fleeing, Duffy presumes that it is Steve Rogers and is about to lose his temper with the private but Betty talks him out of it and escorts him out of the building. Deciding that there might be trouble at the party that Betty is attending, Steve and James decide to keep an eye on things as Captain America and Bucky.
That night, Betty arrive at the Bates home where Mr. Bates unveils the Ruby of the Nile to his awed visitors. Among the audience is archeologist Henry Sanders, who is glad to be rid of the ruby since he liberated it from a previously undiscovered pyramid in Egypt. Telling them that there were warnings that the ruby was cursed, Sanders tells them that he has been plagued with bad luck the entire time it has been in possession. Later that night as Mr. Bates is returning the ruby to his safe his room suddenly fills with smoke and he is confronted by an Egyptian garbed individual calling himself Ra the Avenger. Ra attacks Bates for the ruby, and fatally stabs him. Seeing the smoke coming from the mansion, Captain America and Bucky swing into action but arrive too late to stop Ra, who flees before he can steal the ruby. With Ra escaped, Captain America and Bucky make their presence known to Betty and tells her that they will be around should there be any more trouble.
Later family friend Mr. Parker decides the ruby would be safer in his possession. The lights are doused and he and Sanders are attacked by Ra in the darkness. Ra escapes in the commotion, however Captain America prevents him from making off with the ruby as he had removed the ruby before the attacker could obtain it deciding that if Ra wished to get it, he would have to attack Cap directly. When Ra attacks Parker again, Captain America and Bucky arrive too late to stop him from murdering the guest. When they hear gun shots, they rush to Betty's aid who managed to scare Ra off with her shots. When Sanders enters the room and says he was also attacked by Ra, Betty decides to call FBI headquarters and run a background check on Sanders.
When they call back for more information, she is once more attacked by Ra, but this time Captain America and Bucky are waiting for him. Captain America easily overpowers Ra, and knocks him out. Unmasking him, Ra is revealed to be none other than Sanders. Deducing that he caused the murders to reclaim the ruby, Cap turns Sanders over to Betty to give to the authorities.
Recurring Characters
Captain America, Bucky, Betsy Ross, Sgt. Duffy
Murder Stalks the Maneuvers
When some joker puts itching powder into some of the soldiers beds at Camp Lehigh a fight breaks out attracting the attention of Sgt. Duffy. When Duffy enters the barracks he is doused by a bucket of water placed atop the door frame. When Steve Rogers enters the room, Duffy assumes that Rogers is responsible and has him locked up in the guard house as punishment.
When a man claiming to be a member of the French resistance arrives to pay a visit to Colonel Carter to give them all of France's war patents, Bucky sees it as an opportunity to get Steve out of the guard house. Sabotaging the visitor's car, James suggests to the visiting Frenchman that there is only one man who can fix the problem. When Steve manages to repair the car he is rewarded by being released from his punishment, allowing him to participate in the upcoming war games. Later that night when out for a walk before going to bed, Steve comes across some strange men wandering around. Suspicious of what Steve might have seen they attack him, but Steve easily beats them all before retiring for the night, however he cannot help but wonder what the men were up to that night.
The following day when the war games begin, Steve is horrified to find that he and his fellow soldiers are firing live rounds. When nobody listens to their warning, Steve and James change into Captain America and Bucky. They then rush to their "enemy's" camp and capture the captain, tie him up in the nearby trees and leave to change back into their civilian guises. They then "discover" the "enemy captain" and end the game so that they can tell their commanding officer about the live ammo rounds being used. With the game abruptly stopped and casualties low, Steve and James go back out as Captain America and Bucky to find out what happened.
They spot the Frenchman, Pierre Dumort talking to another man in the woods. Deciding to follow him back to his hideout, they overhear how Dumort is really a Nazi spy who was hoping to eliminate as many soldiers as possible. Captain America and Bucky get the drop on the spies and then easily best them in battle, leaving them for the authorities to take into custody.
Recurring Characters
Captain America, Bucky, Sgt. Duffy
The Strange Riddle of the Plague of Death
After people in Britain become mysteriously ill, the editor of the affiliated press sends Headline Hunter to investigate and learn what is causing these sudden deaths. When Hunter happens to be at the scene of another strange death, he spots two Germans skulking away from the scene and decides to follow them. They lead him to the countryside where he learns that they are using a crop duster to douse the growing produce with a lethal poison. Hunter is discovered and briefly captured, but he manages to escape.
He then steals the crop duster and gives the Nazi spies a ironically fitting end: he dumps their own poison onto them, killing them and ending their threat.
Recurring Characters
Headline Hunter, Nazis
Case of the Black Witch
Captain America and Bucky are on their way back to Camp Lehigh after a case when they hear a scream coming from nearby Hagmore Castle. Investigating they find young Karin Lee being attacked by some goons. After fighting the goons off her and sending them packing the two heroes learn that she is in the process of inheriting the property from her late uncle's estate, and that the conditions are that she spend three full nights on the property. They are then greeted by Mr. Feritt, the lawyer in charge of managing the late Mr. Lee's estate and tells everyone gathered that the property is supposedly haunted by the Black Witch, and that if Karin fails to stay for the three days it is to be auctioned off. Captain America, sensing something suspicious decides to watch over the castle for the night.
The next morning when Steve Rogers and James Barnes report for duty, they are overtired from the sleepless night and are given grief from Sgt. Duffy. That night they return to Hagmore as Captain America and Bucky and spot what appears to be the Black Witch flying out of the castle. Coming to Karin's aid they are shocked to see what appears to be ghost that appear out of nowhere and empty suits of armor that seem to come to life on their own. The haunting ends as quickly as it starts and it's another sleepless night for the duo and more grief from Sgt. Duffy the next morning.
Before taps, Steve sends Bucky ahead to Hagmore castle, and along the way James comes across an old lady he doesn't realize is the Black Witch. Offering to read his fortune, she tricks him to get close enough to toss him in a nearby river. By this point Steve has changed into Captain America and comes to Bucky's rescue and they both notice that the water has an oily taste to it. Arriving at the castle they are attacked by minions of the Black Witch.
Fighting their way into the castle, Captain America is captured and placed on a torture device while Bucky finds a secret control room that controls special effects that created the ghostly encounters they had encountered in the previous nights. Freeing Cap, the two heroes clash with the Black Witch and her cohorts again. During the battle, the Black Witch falls to her death, and after the battles end Cap unmasks her as Feritt the lawyer. Cap then tells Karin that Feritt had learned that the property had a rich oil deposit and sought to scare Karin away from the property so that he could buy it cheap when it was auctioned off. With Feritt dealt with, Captain America and Bucky depart before Karin has a chance to thank them.
Recurring Characters
Captain America, Bucky, Sgt. Duffy
Carnival of Crime
Speedy Scriggles decides to check out the local carnival, and his mentor Hurricane decides to follow after his sidekick to make sure that he doesn't get into any trouble. Upon arriving at the carnival, Hurricane notices that the midway games have been rigged so that it's impossible for a normal person to win. Hurricane then uses his superior strength and speed to win.
When Hurricane and Speedy notice that the roller coaster is in disrepair, Hurricane points out the danger to the carnival owner. Sick of the heroes meddling, the owner knocks Hurricane and Speedy out and tosses them in a lion cage. However the swift hero manages to fend off the lion and break them free. Seeing that the owner has allowed people to ride on the roller coaster, Hurricane comes to their rescue, saving them from a fatal accident.
When the owner and his minions attempt to attack Hurricane, he and Speedy easily defeat them despite the odds and lock them up in a cage for the authorities to come and take away.
Recurring Characters
Hurricane, Speedy Scriggles
The Young Allies Deal a Blow for Justice
Knuckles runs across Betty Ross, having been taken prisoner by a gang of crooks, so he calls in the rest of the Young Allies, who then call on Captain America to help save Betty.
Recurring Characters
Young Allies (Bucky, Jeff Vandergill, Tubby Tinkle, Knuckles O’Toole, Whitewash Jones), Captain America, Betsy Ross
Vault of Doom
Larry Scott is doing some banking when suddenly some criminals burst in and attempt to rob the bank. When Scott tries to stop them, they knock him out and rob the bank, trapping the remaining bank staff and customers inside the vault. By the time the authorities arrive and open the safe, all those inside have suffocated to death. Larry, horrified by this turn of events, vows to capture the murderers as Father Time.
Tracking the crooks to an gold shipment in an armored car, Father Time tries to get the drop on them but is outnumbered. The crooks then try to slay the hero by placing him in the vault they are robbing. Having come around, Father time uses his scythe to jam the locking mechanism so that he can escape from the vault. Catching the crooks by surprise, he easily bests them in combat and leaves them for the authorities.
Recurring Characters
Father Time
