Life is like a hurricane for Rupert Bear. He's out to visit his Uncle Grizzly, a prospector searching for gold in The Wild West. Grizzly's been digging and panning for gold in Fool's Canyon for 30 years, with nothing to show for it except the Goose Egg— uh, one large gold nugget, a small gold nugget he makes into a necklace for his nephew, and a mountain of fool's gold so high, everyone in the nearby town laughs at him for being a crazy old dreamer. The worst people in town are the McSwines, two brothers who rob everyone blind just for fun whenever they feel like it, and their leader and mother, who owns every business and all the land in town except for Grizzly's claim, which she's not happy about. When his young nephew arrives, she sees the perfect opportunity to force his hand.
The only episode where Rupert visits the United States, and the second and last episode to feature a female antagonist. Coincidentally or not, it plays like a love letter to a certain other adventure comic book series.
This episode provides examples of:
- Artistic License – History: The Wild West Era was good and over by 1920 at the latest. The first Rupert comic premiered in 1920. Even setting the story back as far as the comic's earliest possible setting, you wouldn't find a town operating like this. The law, fashions, and culture are at least 30 years behind the times.
- Breaking the Bonds: Once again, Rupert breaks out of the ropes after he's tied up. He's really gotten good at this.
- Chekhov's Gun: The McSwine brothers assume the nugget necklace they stole from Rupert is made of fool's gold. Big Ma discovers it’s real — proof that Grizzly’s land is even more valuable than she thought.
- Chekhov's Skill: Rupert's practicing lassoing at the start of the episode. He gets to put it to use for real twice later.
- Determinator: According to McSwine, she's tried "buying him out, tricking him, scaring him, and plain old hurting him," but nothing could make Grizzly abandon his claim or give up his search for the gold.
- Dramatic Necklace Removal: When Rupert stands up to the McSwine brothers, they rip off his gold nugget necklace. Later, Grizzly steals it back from Big Ma the same way.
- Expy: Big Ma McSwine and her Stupid Crook sons are nothing more than Ma Beagle and the Beagle Boys as a different species.
- I Have Your Nephew: How do you make a prospector who never gives up surrender the deed to his gold claim? Kidnap his nephew! (Common knowledge, really.)
- I Own This Town: McSwine owns every business and every plot of land in town. She wants Grizzly's claim before she even knows it contains real gold simply out of sheer pride.
- In the Blood: Everybody notices or jokes about how much Rupert takes after his uncle.Grizzly: You know, Rupert? You might be a little too much like your old uncle for your own good.
- Knows the Ropes: Rupert can really handle a lasso well. He uses it to tie up the McSwines, allowing himself and his uncle to escape their house, and he lassos a cart full of lit dynamite and sends it right back at his attackers.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: The McSwines are their own worst enemy. First, they seal Rupert and his uncle in a cave, which leads to them finding the gold deeper inside as they look for a way out. But the gold's on the McSwines' property! They therefore have no reason to keep fighting with Grizzly or Rupert, but they still try to kill them with dynamite again anyway... which only succeeds in blowing up the cave and sending the gold into the stream and onto Grizzly's land.
- Papa Wolf: When the McSwines kidnap his nephew, Grizzly storms in like a force of nature, grabbing them by their collars and ready to tear the place apart.
- Shout-Out: A resourceful, thrill seeking young boy's gold prospector of an uncle who owns a huge gold nugget takes him on a treasure hunt fighting a crime ring led by a woman and her sons... WOO-OO! Indeed, McSwine and Grizzly quickly go through the motions of kidnapping his nephew and turning over the deed without even discussing it, as if they both know exactly how the story is supposed to go. The climax would be perfectly appropriate in a Carl Barks comic.
