Charlie McCarthy #5

Charlie and Mortimer turn getting lost in the Arctic into pulling a job as circus workers. Then, the boys try to pull a stunt as Indian rainmakers.

Synopsis

Lost in the Arctic Circle

Instead of an intended desert, Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd find themselves lost in the Arctic (they had gone too far north). Before they can figure out where they went wrong, a polar bear attacks and chases them around until it loses sight of them after they jump into a snow bank.

The boys gather themselves and find an igloo. It is vacant and they build a fire. A noise interrupts them before they can get too comfortable. They find that it is only a man looking for animals for his circus. The man is one of the Bungling brothers from the Bungling Brothers' Circus. He promises the boys passage on his ship if they can find him a seal. He also promises them jobs in his circus. They happily agree.

The next day, the boys bait a seal by carrying a fish. They lure the seal closer to the ship over a frozen lake. The lake begins to break up and the boys are forced to split up. Mortimer gets stuck on an ice pad with the polar bear. He evades the bear and eventually hops in the water and swims to Charlie. Their troubles aren't over, however, as a shark tries to eat the boys. They play some trickery and the shark ends up knocking itself unconscious, an action that scares the seal so bad that it passes out. With their seal secured, the boys get a ride home. During the voyage, Charlie lies about being a world-class lion tamer.

At home, the boys arrive at the circus and request a job. Not one to go back on his word, Mr. Bungling tells the two to go look around while he finds something for them to do. They visit the elephants and Mortimer gets a face full of water. Meanwhile, Mr. Bungling hatches a plan to get rid of the boys - he'll make them lion tamers. He tells the boys and they get cold feet. In fact, Mortimer runs away to hide in a cage. The cage, however, has a lion in it. The lion escapes while Mortimer hides. Mr. Bungling encourages Charlie to tame the lion (which is a tame, albeit very loud, lion). He refuses and he and Mortimer quit the circus.

Rainmaker

Charlie's taxi business is all dried up -- and so is business all around town. He pushes his car down a hill and crashes while trying to avoid Mortimer's chicken. He tries to con his friends into buying his heap but gets distracted when Schuyler informs him of an Indian rain maker coming to town.

The boys race to the train station in time to see the Indian chief leaving the train on the opposite side of the train station. He explains to the boys that he told the town that he did not want a big reception because hates large groups and he is now sneaking out of town since they didn't listen to this demand. He leaves and forgets his suitcase, which the boys take. They don the clothes and present themselves as the delegation from the reservation to make the rain.

Schuyler tries his best to out the two boys but no one will listen. The town takes the boys to Grampaw Snerd's house. Grampaw suspects that the boys are his charges but says nothing. After some poor attempts to make it rain, Mortimer runs off and says he knows how to make it rain. A few minutes later, rain begins to fall. Mortimer explains from his picnic blanket that it always rains when he has a picnic.