Jack J. Gross

An agent of Mexico poses as a pirate to foil a would-be emperor in 1820s California.

Communists blackmail a shipping executive into spying for them.

Army Lieutenant Halliday, accused of stealing the Army payroll, pursues the real thief on a frantic chase through Mexico aided by the thief's ex-girlfriend and is in turn being chased by his accuser, Capt. Blake.

George Steele, an art critic and forgery expert at a Manhattan museum, experiences a bizarre mental breakdown after surviving what he vividly remembers as a terrifying train wreck. When Steele tries to report and talk about the accident, he discovers that no one else remembers it, and police records show no train crash ever happened, leading everyone–and eventually Steele himself–to question his sanity.

Egbert Sousé becomes an unexpected hero when a bank robber falls over a bench he's occupying. Now considered brave, Egbert is given a job as a bank guard. Soon, he is approached by charlatan J. Frothingham Waterbury about buying shares in a mining company. Egbert persuades teller Og Oggilby to lend him bank money, to be returned when the scheme pays off. Unfortunately, bank inspector Snoopington then makes a surprise appearance.