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The Terror of the Transvaal

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"The Terror of the Transvaal"
Original cover of The Terror of the Transvaal. Art by Don Rosa.
Story codeD 92273
StoryDon Rosa
InkDon Rosa
HeroScrooge McDuck
Pages12
Layout4 rows per page
AppearancesScrooge McDuck

"The Terror of the Transvaal" is a Scrooge McDuck comic story by Don Rosa. It is the sixth of the original 12 chapters in the series The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck. The story takes place from 1887 to 1889.

Plot

Scrooge goes to Transvaal, South Africa in search of gold. His cart is passed by a galloping Cape Buffalo with a Boer duck lashed to its back, screaming for help. Scrooge rescues the duck and befriends him, not knowing that the duck was sent into the veld by diamond miners he was trying to steal from. Scrooge happily accepts his new "friend"'s offer to keep watch when they camp for the night, but when he wakes up, his wagon, horse and gear have all been stolen, and he has been left alone surrounded by wild animals.

Just as the animals are about to pounce, Scrooge's hurt gives way to fury, and he makes a lifetime vow: "Nobody double-crosses Scrooge McDuck!" He tames the animals with his bare hands, then bridles a lion and rides it into the nearest town. Finding his cart, Scrooge retrieves his pistols and confronts the young Boer in a bar, then humiliates him by shooting jars of molasses and a pillow over him, producing the local equivalent of being tarred and feathered. Furious, the Boer runs back to the cart to grab Scrooge's rifle, but does not notice the lion in the stable until it's too late, and Scrooge has to save him from a severe mauling, before dragging him to the nearest jail. As Scrooge is leaving town, the young Boer yells from his cell that one day he'll be rich enough to take revenge on Scrooge and people like him. Scrooge dismisses this, but concedes that the young duck, whose name he still does not know, has taught him a valuable lesson: never trust anyone completely.

The story's closing narration reveals the young Boer's name to be Flintheart Glomgold, who will grow up to be the world's second richest duck, and Scrooge's nemesis.