Who gave Sardo the mysterious chest? How come only Rush could open it? And where was the spooky cemetery as shown in the haunted spyglass? With everyone eager to find out, Frank and Gary submit, for the approval of the Midnight Society, “The Tale of Cutter’s Treasure” - part two.
Rush hurries back to Sardo’s Magic Mansion. Sardo, unable to provide answers, hands him a business card, which directs him to the Wild Boar Coiffure.
Across town, Rush finds the barbershop, and enters. Past a shelf of exotic lotions, in a swivel chair is Dr Vink.
Rush utters a correctly pronounced echo of the name. Dr Vink happily approves, and gets down to business: he knows about Max’s abduction. Dr Vink recounts the career of "Captain" Jonas Cutter. A galley slave who led the bloodiest revolt in maritime history, he reputedly took the name Cutter for his love of the blade, and what it could do to flesh. In a book, Dr Vink shows Rush a woodcut of Max’s chief abductor, whom Dr Vink has finally tracked down. The police won’t be able to catch him, as Cutter has been dead for two hundred years.
In the chest from Sardo’s Magic Mansion. Cutter’s one defier left in a key; a spyglass and a dagger, each empowered by the souls of Cutter’s victims, by which a worthy champion might some day defeat him. According to legend, such worth will be proven by whomsoever opens the chest.
Dr Vink asks Russell’s full name: Russell Ian Keegan, and shows the base of the chest to be inscribed with the name of Ian Keegan: Rush’s ancestor.
Having followed the spyglass, Rush leads an excited Dr Vink to the cemetery. If all goes well, a few pieces of treasure should help fund some of Dr Vink's... endeavours. He then leaves Rush to find the crypt.
By a tree, Rush hears the ethereally echoing, Irish-accented voice from his dream - the ghost of his ancestor, Ian Keegan, glides towards him. Ian gestures to the crypt, advises that the dagger to have some kind of power, and warns Rush not to be fooled:
- Ian: What he wants is not what he desires.
Inside the crypt, Rush lifts the lid of a sarcophagus, beneath which lies a nautically dressed skeleton. The skull jerks to face him. As its jaw moves, it issues the discarnate voice of Jonas Cutter, which, with a laugh, welcomes Rush aboard.
Beneath Rush, the flagstones beneath split apart. He falls into an earthen chamber, where a net breaks his fall.At the end of a tunnel, the ghost of Mr Noise ignites a cannon, whose discharge Rush narrowly evades.
Along the tunnel, in a dazed trance, walks Max. Relieved, Rush takes his hand. When he looks back, he finds not his brother, but Mr Noise, who draws a cutlass. With no other defence, Rush lifts the dagger. Its blade suddenly blazes with white light, a bolt of which floats hastily forth to envelope Mr Noise. The murderous ghost vanishes.
Beyond the tunnel lies an expansive, candlelit chamber, in which lies a huge chest, laden with goblets, pearls, and gold coins. Across the hall hangs a wooden cage, in which sits Max. With a mutual thrill of relief, the brothers reunite.
From across the hall, seated atop a table, the corporeal spirit of Jonas Cutter laughs mockingly.
As Cutter advances, Dr Vink steals in. For the long-awaited battle, Cutter draws his cutlass. As Cutter lunges with the blade, Rush flees backward, laying any available barrier. Dr Vink pops up behind him, and urges use of the dagger.
Rush creeps into the open. As a booted foot lands on his hand, he drops the dagger. Meanwhile, Max busies himself with the rope binding the cage door.
As Cutter raises his cutlass, Max distracts him. Rush raises the dagger, from which flies a bolt of heavenly light. It surges through Cutter, who staggers backwards and falls into his chair, across which vines strategically creep to bind him in place.
Dr Vink arrives, congratulates Rush, and urges him to complete the task: he must run the pirate through with the dagger.
With the dagger, Rush uneasily approaches. Cutter mocks his fear, and threatens him and Max with future harassment.
Rush raises the dagger - but remembers Ian’s words: what he wants is not what he desires. Cutter, Rush realises, has, for centuries, guarded his treasure, but from no one - which is why he kidnapped Max. Condemned to guard the treasure forever, Cutter wanted one last battle.
Running Cutter through, agrees Dr Vink, may release his soul from this prison. Across his knee, Rush snaps the dagger.
An ominous rumbling fills the air. Dust falls from the ceiling. With Dr Vink having suddenly vanished, Rush and Max flee. As rocks and dust rain on him, Cutter furiously denounces his challengers as cowards - then, realising his fate, begs not to be left alone...
Outside, the crypt door slams behind them. From nearby calls the voice of Ian Keegan. He congratulates Rush on wise use of the dagger, bids his grandsons farewell, and with a wink, fades from view.
Back on their lawn, Dr Vink approaches the boys from behind with a word of congratulation. Rush commiserates his failure to get any treasure. Dr Vink heartily notes the real gain to lie in the adventure - although, a little treasure never hurt. And with that, he drops a keepsake gemstone into each boy’s hand.
Just then, an indignant Sardo arrives, demanding his promised fee. Dr Vink assures him of double-payment. In the distance sounds the horn of the Keegan family car. As Max runs to greet his parents, Rush bids farewell to his mysterious aids.
As Dr Vink walks fondly on, the ever-enterprising Sardo follows him, and suggests further financially beneficial adventure.
Gary and Frank conclude that the brothers never shared their story, lest someone once more rouse the vengeance of the pirate Captain. With their tale heartily received, they high-five, and Frank has the honour of dousing the flames.
This episode provides examples of:
- Affably Evil: Sadistic as he is, Cutter maintains a jovial sense of fun.
- Arch-Enemy: Even in death, Ian seeks to contain the violent vengeance of Cutter.
- Arc Words: "What he wants is not what he desires."
- Blood Knight: Cutter is constantly driven by the joyous prospect of carnage.
- Ghostly Glide: Ian.
- Gosh Dang It to Heck!:Dr Vink: I’ve tracked the beggar down!
- "Beggar," in this context, is a milder substitute for "bugger."
- Hair-Trigger Temper: When Rush shows reluctance to give him a battle, the initially jovial Cutter flies into a rage.
- Herald: Dr Vink, having anticipated the call of Rush to Max’s rescue, nurtures his acquisition of the tools.
- Ironic Hell: Having butchered many in protection of his treasure, Cutter must now guard the treasure indefinitely, with no one on whom to exercise his blood lust.
- Ironic Nickname: Cutter mockingly addresses Rush as "Skipper."
- Must Make Amends: Rush regrets his spiteful dismissal of his now-kidnapped brother.
- Occult Detective: Amidst his various endeavours, Dr Vink has uncovered the legacy of a murderous ghost, and the enchanted tools left to defeat him.
- Offscreen Teleportation: Dr Vink once again shows his fondness for sudden, instant disappearances.
- Only in It for the Money:
- Subverted. While Dr Vink aims to use any available treasure to fund more of his endeavours, he stresses that the deeper value lies in the adventure - although he does get a little treasure, some of which he gives Rush and Max as a souvenir.
- Played Straight with Sardo.
- Please, Don't Leave Me: A villainous, yet still rather poignant, example in Cutter, condemned to untold solitude.
- Precision F-Strike:Cutter: Come on, Skipper! Use the bloody dagger!
- Reverse Psychology: Dr Vink inversely suggests to Rush that Max isn’t worth the risk. It works.
- Rousing Speech: Dr Vink earnestly urges Rush to rise to the challenge of his preordained responsibility.
- Slasher Smile: Cutter and Mr Noise.
- The Smart Guy: Dr Vink has a masterful grasp of what’s going on.
- Spikes of Doom: Lethal spikes spring from the walls of Cutter’s crypt.
- Thousand-Yard Stare: The ghost of Ian.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Dr Vink. His gleeful absorption in his endeavours, previously used vindictively, is here channelled into a hearty respect for Rush’s preordained adventure, and thereby, to see justice done. He even shares some treasure with Rush and Max.
- Turn the Other Cheek: Rush, being a young boy with no sword fighting experience, or, indeed, sword, defies Cutter’s demand to fight him. When the dagger magically restrains Cutter, Rush refuses to stab the corporeal ghost, consummation of whose blood lust would free him from the vault he murderously defended against invasion. Denied one last battle, Cutter remains imprisoned in the solitude his violence begat.
