"Looks like florid acid," Tawny observed the clue that the others had brought to her. "We use it as a pesticide. But I dunno why it would've been where ya found it, that's right peculiar."
"Do you know of anyone who has a grudge against you or the ranch?" Katrina asked.
"Oh, I sure hope not," Tawny frowned. "We're struggling enough as it is. I've worried about losin' the ranch for a long time. It's the only home I've ever known. This ghost is just the last straw."
"Well, don't worry," Lil coaxed. "We'll take care of it."
"Thanks, partners," Millie replied. "We could use all the help we can get."
"I'm not afraid of any ghost, right, Scoob?" Shaggy asked.
"Reah," Scooby nodded. "Re reither."
Carol moaned and groaned as she had a bucket on her head and she was covered in milk as she wandered around. Shaggy and Scooby screamed and jumped into Jess's arms as he was coming back.
"I got you! I got you good!" Carol teased her sister.
Sharon took the bucket off her head with a smirk. "You totally got me! You got me good!"
The two sisters soon laughed to each other.
"And I'll get you a mop and some cleaning rags so you clean up that paint." Millie told the sisters.
"She totally got us." Carol and Sharon pouted before walking away together.
The Gunderson family soon came into a carriage.
"Hey, ain't you the cook?" Chicken asked.
"Well, I'm also the stagecoach driver." The cook replied as he walked to the stagecoach.
"Sorry about that," Shaggy told the others after the cook dropped them. "I just wish there was something I could do. If only Dapper Jack hadn't been so evil, maybe people wouldn't be so afraid of him."
"We'll figure this out, Shag," Mike promised. "Don't worry."
"Like, I sure hope you're right, Mike." Shaggy replied.
"Trust me on this one." Mike soothed.
"Hogwash!" Zeke muttered. "The whole town has been nuked around the legend of Dapper Jack! But that's all it is, a legend, it's all just a bunch of stories, but it's not true... None of it!" he then began to brush against the stables. "Take it from someone who knows the truth."
"Uh, do you know that you're brushing a fence?" Mike asked the old man.
"No good talkin' candy cane." Zeke muttered.
Meanwhile in town...
People all over were getting ready to leave as it looked like a literal ghost town now. The girls, minus Mike, Lil, and Katrina, noticed everyone was putting signs up.
"What kind of museum sells bait?" Ellody asked.
"One that's near a fishin' shop, and wants to make money?" Jade suggested.
"Well, yeah, it's a tourist town," Cindy added. "Come on."
"Actually, why don't you, Velma, and Ellody see what you can learn about Dapper Jack in there and Daphne and I can ask the local merchants?" Jade suggested as she looked at a dress shoppe.
"Daphne, you want that outfit, don't you?" Cindy asked.
"IT'S SO CUTE!" Daphne gushed.
"Oh, my gosh, it totally is!" Lisa added.
"All right, fine." Brianna gave in.
Daphne and Lisa squealed in response.
"Just don't take too long!" Ellody told them.
"Come on!" Daphne giggled as she ran with Lisa into the shop.
"I better go in there too." Jade said before following after the two girls.
Brianna, Ellody, Cindy, Velma, and Trish went inside of the museum.
"Hello?" Velma called out. "Hello!"
"Oh, um, hi," Cindy said as she found a clerk who was putting worms inside of a cup. "We have some questions."
"$5 to look all you want, flash photography's okay, but no video." The clerk replied.
"Well, here's my money, but we're curious about Dapper Jack." Velma said as she held out a five dollar bill.
"Dapper Jack was the foulest, vilest, lowdown, dirtiest, no account human being ever to walk the Earth and you will find many fascinating artifacts of his life and times presented here in," The clerk replied. "$5 to look all you want, flash photography's okay, but no video."
"No, no, I got that, but we're just wondering if you could tell us more about him." Velma put her dollar down.
"Lady, this is what we got," The clerk told her. "You got money, you go through the stuff, that's it."
Some of the worms fell onto Cindy's face which made her squirm nervously.
"Come on, there must be more to the museum than that." Ellody told the clerk.
"Yeah, there's bait," The clerk replied. "Night crawlers or red worms?"
The doors soon opened to show Daphne and Lisa in their new cowgirl outfits.
"Howdy, partners!" Daphne greeted.
"Lookin' good, Daph." Brianna approved.
"Thanks." Daphne smiled.
"Phew!" Jade sighed as she came into the shop as well. "I've never seen 'em shop like that."
"Well, howdy, ladies." The clerk greeted as he handed the can of worms to Cindy.
Cindy shuddered about the worms.
"Exhibit's $5, look at all you want, flash photography and video are okay." The clerk told them.
"You told us no video!" Velma folded her arms with a glare.
The clerk glared back at the genius girl.
Daphne winked and pulls out five dollars, then clears her throat. "I was wondering if you could tell us any more about Dapper Jack?"
"I don't know much myself, ma'am," The clerk smiled as he took the money from her and put it in his pocket. "You can look around back if you'd like. There's some stuff from the exhibit."
"Why, thank you kindly." Jade replied as she slammed his fingers in the table.
"You're right welcome, OW!" The clerk replied before groaning and pulling out his hand. "Man, look at that... That ain't gonna heal right."
Cindy giggled as something bad happened someone other than her for a change.
They all came into the back and were surrounded by boxes.
"Ugh, I give up," Velma complained. "This place is messier than Shaggy's closet. There's nothing interesting here!"
"Are these fish real?" Cindy wondered as she picked up one fish before fishing poles fell on top of her. "That didn't hurt! Maybe today must be my lucky day..."
"Hold that thought, look at this." Daphne said as she moved a box to show a locked trunk on top of another box.
"Rufus Carmichael's diary." Cindy realized.
"That's the sheriff who caught Dapper Jack." Trish memorized.
"Reading that should shed a little light on Shaggy's ancestor." Brianna suggested.
"Someone broke into it!" Ellody gasped.
"They must've used bolt cutters." Cindy said as she took the lock which looked broken.
The box was then opened only to be empty.
"It's gone!" Velma and Ellody gasped.
"They stole the diary!" Lisa added.
"Someone's really going to some effort to keep Dapper Jack's past a mystery." Brianna stated.
"Let's see if our new buddy knows anything." Jade suggested.
They then came back to the front to talk with the clerk about Rufus Carmichael's missing diary.
"Someone stole the sheriff's diary, huh?" The clerk asked as he bandaged up his hand. "I didn't even know we had that, I really focus on the bait side of things. We got minnows now. Bass really go for minnows."
"Any idea of who could have taken it?" Ellody asked about the diary.
"Just about anyone," The clerk shrugged. "I don't even lock the place up anymore. I've been fixing to sell out to that Black Rattler company that's been buying up the town and it'll probably just sell all this old junk out. Now, can I interest you nice ladies in some leeches?" he then took out a cup of the blood sucking critters.
The girls groaned and walked out of the store.
"We couldn't get a thing out of that clerk until you and Lisa showed up." Velma said to Daphne.
"Oh, forget that guy; let's just dress up and have some fun," Daphne replied as she put her hat on Velma's head. "It'll be like going undercover."
"No way, maybe you guys can, but there's no way I'm dressing like that!" Ellody winced.
"Let's invite my Uncle Penn so he can be the bull!" Cindy laughed as she took out her jump-rope.
"Challenge accepted." Daphne stated.
"I knew I shouldn't have said that." Ellody groaned.
"Yer darn tootin' you shouldn't have." Lisa giggled as she practiced a Southern drawl.