Chapter 9: The Billionaire of Dismal Downs
Dates: 1898-1902
After his various businesses in Whitehorse turn him from a millionaire into a billionaire, Scrooge finally returns home to his father and sisters (now living in Castle McDuck) to make his ancestral Scotland the home base for his planned worldwide financial empire. Two days among the locals, their customs, and their games, however, make Scrooge feel so out of place that he doesn't think he could ever prosper here. He tells his family about the land he bought in some settlement called Duckburg and asks them to move with him to America. His sisters are only too eager to go, but his father claims he's too old to move again. He agrees Scrooge has outgrown the life they knew in Dismal Downs but tells his children to go start a new life in America without him. The next morning, the McDuck siblings unknowingly wave good-bye to the spirits of their parents before they go to eternal rest in an ending Don Rosa was surprised got past the radar.
This chapter provides examples of:
- Bullying a Dragon: Soapy Slick refuses to sign a receipt to prove that Scrooge's debt has been paid for, and insults him in the process, forgetting that he is talking to the "King of the Klondike". One punch to the stomach latter, and the receipt is signed.
- Continuity Nod: Related to the above; Scrooge buries a cache of nuggets in the ground before leaving his claim "in case of emergency", the cache that Goldie would find in the first story featuring her by Carl Barks.
- Covered in Mud: Scrooge jumps into a quicksand bog to retrieve a two shilling golf ball.
- Died Happily Ever After: Fergus dies peacefully in his sleep, on the day Scrooge and his sisters set out to Duckburg. His spirit, along with their mother, sees the siblings off before happily departing to the afterlife.
- Eat the Rich: The people of Dismal Downs antagonize Scrooge because of their jealousy of his wealth and a perceived slight from his part.
- Eccentric Millionaire: Half-way name-checked and discussed after Scrooge demonstrates that he likes to bathe in cash in front of his family:Fergus: (looks to the sky with a horrified expression) Downy, dear — our son is as crazy as a loon!
Hortense: Poor people are crazy, papa! Rich people are eccentric!
Matilda: Scroogey's as eccentric as a loon! - Face Fault: A truly epic example
◊ that involves a triple backflip. - Freudian Slippery Slope: Scrooge's sisters find the lock of Goldie's hair that Scrooge has kept, and start teasing him about it; while he tries to talk about his property in America:Matilda and Hortense: Scroogey's got a gir-ruhl! Scroogey's got a gir-ruhl!
Scrooge: The girl — I mean, the land — is in the state of Goldiesota — I mean Calisota — in a small settlement called Goldieburg — I mean Duckburg! Drat! - Ghost Reunion Ending: At the end of the chapter "The Billionaire of Dismal Downs", the spirits of Scrooge's parents look at him as Scrooge and his sisters leave their ancestral home, and they reunite with one of their ancestors before passing on.
- Grave-Marking Scene: Upon returning to the McDuck ancestral castle with his father and sisters, Scrooge takes a quiet moment to visit his mother's grave.
- Healthy in Heaven: When we see Fergus' ghost seeing his children off as he reunites with Downy in the afterlife, he is young again, having the same appearance as he did in the very first chapter.
- Hypocrite: The people of Dismal Downs somehow complain about Scrooge having a bad temper, when they started the argument first.
- Iconic Outfit: Scrooge obtains his famous red coat in a hilariously low key Inversion of the Suit Up of Destiny. A cheapstake salesman offers him 5 British pounds and the red coat for a fancy suit he got for free, of course Scrooge takes the quids.
- Loan Shark: Downplayed, Scrooge's prices for a loan are outrageously high (half of one's gold in a claim) but he is honest about it, and actually makes sure that when someone asks for a loan, his employees will be paid fairly.
- Never Accepted in His Hometown: The Townspeople resent Scrooge for his newfound wealth, and Scrooge in turn comes to despise them for their hostility. Since Scrooge was raised in Glasgow and has spend most of his life outside Scotland, he does not seem to have any friends among them.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Scrooge participates in a sheep clipping contest, where his long-time enemy Argus Whiskerville is holding the sheep. Scrooge plays the overeager contestant part, in order to shave not only the sheep, but also Argus' beard and hair and get away with it.
- An Offer You Can't Refuse: When Soapy refuses to sign Scrooge's receipt for completing his loan payments, Scrooge punches him with the gold nuggets stored in his wooly glove. Soapy relents before a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown will ensue.
- Pooled Funds: Scrooge decides to indulge in it and brings barrels of money wherever he goes. His family thinks he is eccentric at best, a loon at worst.
- Self-Made Man: After striking it rich thanks to his efforts and brains, Scrooge becomes a millionaire by tackling several businesses at the same time.
- Shout-Out: Right after a Scottish man has insulted Scrooge, he responds with "grumble Peasant!"
- The commentary directly states that the end scene was inspired by The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.
- So Proud of You: Fergus tells Scrooge this when he explains why he won't be joining the rest of the family for the journey to America.Fergus: Scrooge, take your sisters to a new life in America! Ye're right — ye've ootgrown the life ah've known.
Scrooge: But—
Fergus: (smiles warmly) No arguin, lad! Joost promise me you'll always be true to yourself and know ah'll always be prood o' ya! - Stranger in a Familiar Land: Although Scrooge spent his time in Scotland, a lifetime of tribulations around the world changed him too much to fit in his native town.
- Suckiness Is Painful: In the Highland Games, singing good poetry is one way to gather points, but Scrooge's song is so bad (and implied to be extremely explicit), that the female judges faint. In-story, the judges seem to be rather prudish Victorian ladies, and Scrooge chooses to sing lyrics from songs that were popular in Klondike saloons. He is again forgetting that this is not Dawson City, and he is not surrounded by miners and saloon girls.
- Together in Death: It turns out that Scrooge's father had passed away in the night, and it was his spirit bidding him goodbye from the window. He is reunited with Scrooge's mother, Downy, who had died five years before (in 1897).
- Town Contest Episode: Scrooge participates in the Highland Games to try to fit in.
- Unskilled, but Strong: Scrooge's physical prowess could make him win the Highland Games by a landslide, but unfortunately for him, there are rules and the contest also requires skill in areas Scrooge never trained. For instance, a fishing competition requires the use of a rod whereas Scrooge uses his hands alone.
- Wham Shot: Two within the last two pages.
- The first comes when Scrooge and his sisters unknowingly ride by Scottie, revealing he's not the second figure standing with Fergus.
- The second comes right at the end, as it shows what is clearly Fergus' lifeless body underneath his bedsheets, cementing that he has passed away and revealing the one shown in the last two pages is his ghost.
