CHAPTER THREE
All the kids started to follow Minnie's lead. They had made their way into the neighbourhood.
But before they knew it, they were caught a big beam. They all appeared to be frozen in midair.
"I knew my tractor beam would be a success," said Brain Duane as he walked out in front of the prisoners with a big smile on his face.
Then the other Dandy Town citizens came out; Dianah Mo, Cuddles and Dimples, Bully Beef and Chips, Sneaker, Molly and Winker Watson.
"We got em Buenos people!" cried Cuddles.
"They forry it now!" cried Dimples.
"Well, well, if isn't our good chums, The Beanotown folk," said Sneaker.
"You lot are gonna pay for what you did to us!" said Dinah Mo cracking her knuckles.
"And we'll get a very smashing great amount of reward money for reporting you, dear chums," said Watson.
Just then Beryl The Peril arrived and saw what was happening. Minnie was delighted.
"Hey, pen pal!" she cried.
"Min min!" cried Beryl as she walked over to the Beano kids caught in the beam.
"You're friends with these Beanotown scum?" asked Molly.
"Yeah, you know those YouTube videos I made of myself doing stunts," said Beryl. "Minnie loved them and subscribed to me. She follows me on Twitter and we're mates. So, you managed to escape from The Home, that's hardcore, Min."
"Well, I couldn't have done it without my mates," said Minnie. "Anyway Beryl, we need your help. We were all framed for that robbery and we need your help finding the culprit."
"Okay," said Beryl.
"Oh no!" barked Dianah Mo. "We're not helping these morons after what they did to us."
"If you help us, we'll make it worth your while," said Roger.
"So what do we get in return?" asked Duane.
Roger looked at them for a few seconds and said "I don't have an answer for that, but you will….."
"Rubbish!" barked Watson.
They all began to argue with the Beano kids. This was not going to well at all. The Beano kids' hope was just impossible.
That was until they saw Bananaman flying in the sky. He then landed beside the commotion.
"What's the story here?" he asked.
"The Beano freaks have escaped the Home and we caught them. We're gonna make 'em pay!" said Dinah Mo cracking her knuckles again.
"Bananaman, we're innocent!" cried Danny. "We didn't cause that crime, we were framed. Somebody set us up!"
"Lair!" accused Sneaker.
"Oh that's funny coming from a liar like you, Sneaker," said Toots.
Then they all began to argue again.
"QUIET!" bellowed Bananaman.
This caused everyone to shut up.
"Now, I'm not fond of the people of Beanotown myself," said Bananaman. "But we need to see if they are telling the truth. As my duty as a crimefighter, I will help you find the culprit. Duane, turn off the beam."
Duane turned off the beam and the Beano kids were free.
"So, have you any evidence to prove that you're innocent?" Bananaman asked them.
The Beano kids all stood there. Speechless.
"Not one piece of evidence," sighed Minnie.
"Haven't thought this plan of yours through, 'ave you?" said Sneaker with that smirk that would make you want to punch him.
But then they all heard the sound of a motorbike revving. They all looked down the road and saw Granny on the motorbike with Gnasher, Gnipper and Rasher in the sidecar.
"Granny!" cried Dennis with delight.
Granny drove the motorbike over to the others and Dennis' pets jumped out of the sidecar and ran over to him.
"Gnasher! Gnipper! Rasher!" cried Dennis as he spread his arms. As the pets reached him, he gave them a big hug. They all licked him in the face.
"Oh how I missed you guys!" said Dennis. "I especially missed your turnip breath, Rasher."
Everyone else held their noses as Rasher's turnip breath all surrounded them.
Granny looked at Bananaman and suddenly became attracted.
"Why, hello there," she said giving him a flirtatious look. "Haven't you got big muscles?"
Bananaman got nervous.
"Er, madam, I'm only…. er, I mean. I'm not who you think I am."
"Oh, you just playing Hard to get," said Granny. "Oh by the way, kids, we went to the scene of the crime and found this."
She pulled out the thorn and shown it to everyone.
"According to the 3 Bears, this is from a Cactus in here in Dandytown. It must come from your Wild West district."
"Trust somebody from Dandytown to frame us!" boasted Roger.
Dinah-Mo was about to make her way over to Roger to pound him, but Bananaman held out his hand to stop her.
"Don't forget, violence is a crime," he told her. "Whether the victim is a criminal or not."
Dinah-Mo understood.
"Gnasher, Gnipper and Rasher's strong scent will pick the thorn up from here," said Dennis.
"They'll find the location of where this thorn was at."
Dennis held the thorn in front of Gnasher, Gnipper and Rasher. They all sniffed and
immediately knew where to go to. The three of them ran off to the Dandytown Wild West district.
"Wait for us, boys," Granny called to them.
The Beano kids, Granny and Bananaman all followed the pets into the district.
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After a few minutes, they arrived at Desperate Dan's house.
"Desperate Dan? Could he be the culprit?" asked Minnie.
Bananaman knocked on the door and Desperate Dan answered it.
"Howdy folks, what can ah do for ya?" asked Dan.
The Beano kids told Dan their story and how the pets' scent brought them here.
"Do you know where this thorn belongs?" asked Bananaman.
He held up the thorn in front of Dan. He studied it for a couple of seconds.
"Say, that thorn looks awfully familiar," said Dan. "Why, hang on. Ah'll be back in a doggone minute."
Dan went back inside the house for a few seconds and came back out with another pair of his trousers. The trousers appeared to have a thorn sticking into the backside of it.
"That thorn looks similar to this one," he said as he pulled the thorn off the backside of the trousers.
"Why did you keep that thorn in there?" asked Minnie.
"I gotta lot on mah mind, I just forgot about it," answered Dan.
"A lot on your mind, yeah right," snarked Roger quietly. He knew about Dan's reputation of being an idiot. "More like nothing in your mind."
Dan gave the other thorn to Bananaman. He held up both thorns and wondered if they both had a connection. He held the thorns in front of Gnasher, Gnipper and Rasher. The three of them sniffed the thorns and realised they both smelt the same.
"They're the same," said Bananaman. "Where did you get this thorn from Dan?"
"Why I got that thorn the last time I had an encounter with….."
Everyone's eyes lit up.
"THE CACTUSMAN!" they all shouted.
The good news was that they found the culprit.
But the bad news was that they could hear sirens. They saw police cars from a distance. It was the Dandytown police.
"Run!" cried Granny.
"But we won't outmatch the fuzz!" said Danny.
"Don't worry, I'll reason with them," said Bananaman. "I'm sure they'll understand."
But the others weren't optimistic. Could you blame them?
Bananaman confronted the police and tried to tell them the truth…. but it didn't work.
They drove right past the puzzled Bananaman.
The cops were getting closer and closer. What could the Beano folk do?
Billy Whizz looked around and saw a wagon that was outside the house. He had an idea.
Sure enough, all the Beano folk and Desperate Dan got into the wagon and Billy was at the reigns. Like the fastest mule in the west, he pulled the wagon at top stop speed away from the police. He was so fast, that the cops couldn't catch him.
Billy was racing across the desert at top speed.
"Head for that cave!" cried Dennis. "They'll never find us in there!"
Billy ran towards a massive cave. He stopped and all the passengers got out of the wagon. But then they realised another problem.
"They'll follow the tracks that lead into the cave!" cried Minnie.
"I have an idea," said Dan.
Dan lifted up the wagon and put it in the middle of the desert, then he walked behind the wagon and pushed the back of it with his foot. He pushed it so hard with all his might, that it sped off at super sonic speed into the desert, leaving tracks for the police cars to follow it.
Dan went back inside the cave and the police cars whizzed by not noticing the Beano folk inside.
"That was lucky," said Spotty.
"That's what I need, a big strong man about the house," Granny said to Dan flirtatiously. Dan got nervous.
Suddenly, Gnasher, Gnipper and Rasher's scent went crazier than ever. The Cactusman must be nearby.
"Looks like we'll find the culprit before the day's out," said Roger.
"Lead on, boys," Dennis said to his pets.
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The three pets followed the scent further down the cave. But then the Beano folk and Dan noticed that the ground was getting wet, squishy and sticky. They all looked down.
"QUICKSAND!" they all cried as they all found themselves sinking into a giant pool of quicksand. Rasher didn't mind though.
Billy tried to run. But his legs were stuck. Everybody was up to their waists now. Wilfred was up to his shoulders and Smiffy was upside down with his feet sticking out.
How is he able to breathe is anyone's guess.
Then they could hear the sound of boots walking followed by an evil laugh.
"I know that laff," said Dan.
From the other end of the pool of quicksand, they saw none other than The Cactus Man.
"Welcome fools. Nice of you to come in for a dip," he cackled.
"Cactus Man, long time, no see," said Dan.
"You're the culprit that framed all these kids and my grandson," said Granny.
"Guilty," said The Cactus Man. "Over the last few months, I had sneaked into Beanotown incognito. I managed to secretly steal all of your belongings and plan the perfect heist. You all knew it was me all along, but I will be the hero of the hour tonight at 8 O'Clock when I hand you all back to the Home. And you will be all stuck in the Home for life this time."
"As if the authorities will give you a full pardon on all the crimes you did," said Curly.
"I will with my trusty disguise," said The Cactusman. "They won't suspect a thing."
Ivy was in despair.
"That's right, Ivy," sneered the Cactus man, "you will never see you precious mommy or daddy ever again!"
He cackled evilly. Ivy burst into tears. The others thought that this was unfair.
"And as for your Granny, Dennis, she and Dan will be sent to prison," said The Cactusman. "They would be accused as accomplices."
Dennis reached into his pockets to find something that he could use. He realized that his yo-yo was in pocket.
Good thing I decided to put it in my pocket, he thought to himself.
He looked above the ceiling of the cave and saw that there was a big pointy rock coming from it. He held up his yo-yo and spun it around and around and around like a lasso. He then threw it up at the rock and it tied itself around it. Then Dennis grabbed Ivy who was in front of him.
"Everybody, grab hands! I'm gonna pull us out!" cried Dennis.
Ivy grabbed Minnie's hand and she linked onto Gnasher, Gnipper, Rasher, Roger, Plug, Toots, Sidney, Danny, Wilfred, Erbert, Smiffy (with his ankle), Billy, Spotty, Granny, Pie-Face, Curly, Dan and Fatty.
Using the yo-yo, Dennis managed to pull himself and everyone else out of the quicksand and up to the rock.
But Fatty's weight was too heavy for Dennis to lift. Try with all his might, he couldn't lift the whole chain. He was able to hold onto Ivy, but her other hand slipped and she accidentally let go of Minnie and everyone fell back into the pool of quicksand.
SPLOSH! GLOOP!
They were back to square one. But Dennis and Ivy were up on the rock. The Cactus Man took off his thorns from his body and began firing them like darts at Dennis and Ivy.
"Get back in the quicksand, squirts!" he shouted as he tried to hit Dennis and Ivy.
The two dodged the firing thorns. Using the yo-yo, Dennis, whilst holding onto Ivy, managed to swing off the rock and land onto the other side of the pool of quicksand.
"Don't worry! I'll get you all out of there now!" cried Dennis.
"Run, Dennis! Get help!" cried Granny. "Don't worry about us!"
"But Granny!" cried Dennis.
As quick as a flash, The Cactusman pulled out a remote control and pressed a button. A big steel door came down in front of Dennis and Ivy. They stood there and looked at the big door.
They had no choice, but to run out of the cave.
When Dennis and Ivy ran out of the cave, Dennis tried to think hard of how he was going to rescue Granny and his friends. And worst of all, the Dandy police were looking for him and Ivy.
"I wish Roger were here," he said. "He always came up with the best ideas."
"We could ask the people of Dandy town," said Ivy.
"No, they hate us," said Dennis. "Who could I ask more than anybody in the world?"
He thought for a minute and then he had an idea. He and Ivy raced back to Desperate Dan's house.
Half an hour later, Dennis and Ivy reached Desperate Dan's home. His Aunt Aggie and Uncle were looking for him.
"Young man, have you see Dan anywhere?" asked Aunt Aggie. "He seems to have disappeared."
Dennis told Dan's aunt and uncle of what happened. He then told them he needed a ride back to Beanotown but incognito. Dan's aunt and uncle and they dressed him and Ivy in their own Wild West style clothes along with cowboy hats. They actually belonged to Dan when he was little.
They secretly took Dennis and Ivy out of the district and to the Dandytown bus stop. They needed to go back to Beanotown whilst in their disguises.