Charlie McCarthy #9

Synopsis

The Wolf of Cave Canyon

It has been a while since Mortimer visited his Aunt Birdie so he and Charlie decide to visit her in Wild Valley. As they approach, however, a wolfman pops out and threatens them with a gun. The boys turn around and speed away. The wolfman shoots a hole in the gas tank and lights a fire to follow the boys. Mortimer tries to plug the hole but it is of no use. Seeing that the fire is going to reach them, the boys abandon the car just in time for it to explode. Thinking the boys are dead, the wolfman moves on.

The boys walk to town and find the sheriff. He doesn’t believe a word of their story. Mr. Simon Saddlehorn approaches and looks surprised to see the two boys. He storms off declaring that he can’t wait to buy Bertie Snerd’s ranch and rid the valley of vermin, like the boys.

The boys sneak to the ranch to look for clues as to where Mortimer’s aunt could be. They come up empty and decide to get some sleep. The boys are awakened by shooting and they creep out to investigate. They see the wolfman’s shadow. They also see a scared calf. They catch the calf and read what appears to be a message on where to find the aunt.

The boys take the calf and show the message to the sheriff. He kicks them out of his office and hooligans begin shooting at them. They run out of town in hopes of finding the mysterious place the calf’s hoof told them about.

In the forest, Charlie and Mortimer are stumped. The only thing they find that resembles a cave is a little whirlpool in the creek. The settle down for a nap. They awaken to a herd of cows being driven into the whirlpool. Stymied, the boys wonder if they should go down after the cows. Too late, they fall in and are met by the wolfman. Aunt Birdie uses this surprise to her advantage and the wolfman is hurt and tied up. Charlie and Mortimer then dress up as the wolfman to try and fool the bandits into letting them take Aunt Birdie back to her ranch. The bandits don’t buy it and accompany the boys and Aunt Birdie to the ranch. At the ranch, the bandits discover the identity of the wolfman and begin shooting at the boys. They enter Aunt Birdie’s house while she goes for the sheriff. The bandits shoot the house to pieces but are finally stopped by the sheriff. The sheriff fears for the safety of the boys but is relieved to see that they took refuge in the old iron range oven.

The Dancing Grizzly Bear

Charlie and Mortimer see a sign requesting help in locating the Minstrel Man’s dancing bear. The boys set out collect the reward, but not before Mortimer gets his squeezebox. The boys get separated and a grizzly bear corners Charlie. Just then, however, Mortimer begins playing and the bear rushes off and begins dancing with Mortimer. The boys lead the bear to the Minstrel Man but he claims that he already has his bear, plus a couple other people have found. He sees the grizzly bear and runs away in fear.

Intent on using their bear for profit, the boys take the bear to town. He first dances with a German street band. They laugh at the bear and embarrass it. The bear smashes their instruments. The boys decide to give the bear lessons so that people don’t laugh at it (and then get killed). The lessons go horribly and boys are back to square-one.

Charlie gets the idea to approach a television station and he leaves Mortimer with the dancing grizzly. The grizzly gets offended and leaves after he hears Mortimer talking bad about the dancing. Charlie rejoins Mortimer and they find the bear at a talent show. They get run off by hired hunters and sneak aboard a ship bound for Cuba. It is there that the bear finds its true calling in life: dancing the rhumba.