Crabe aux Pinces D'Or Book

[ But eventually Tintin and Captain Haddock are rescued and taken to the French Outpost of Afghar, where they meet the hearty "Lieutenant Delcourt". (He plies them with drink, but Tintin insists that they will not join in, much to Captain Haddock's disgruntlement - and our delighted amusement). The three hear on the radio that the "Karaboudjan" has sunk in a violent storm, and Lieutenant Delcourt provides Arab guides and camels to help them on their journey to a Moroccan port.

On the way they are attacked by armed raiders near "Kefheir", but Captain Haddock is magnificently brave, fighting them off as much with his extraordinarily eccentric and elaborate use of language, and aggressive postures, as anything:

"Swine! Jellyfish! Tramps! Troglodytes! Toffee-noses!… Savages! Aztecs! Toads! Carpet-Sellers! Iconoclasts! … Rats! Ectoplasms! Cowards! Baboons! Parasites! Pockmarks!"

and so on. Captain Haddock has shown himself as a force to be reckoned with - and to have a very short fuse.

However, once at the port of "Bagghar", they keep getting separated as they try to find the harbour master. Then the worthy and valiant Captain Haddock is kidnapped, after he and Tintin recognise the disguised ship, the "Karaboudjan". Various other diversions are provided by a mad dog (Snowy acting the part) and a stooge of a businessmen, Tintin disguised as a blind beggar, and the Thomson twins reappearing heavily disguised in Arab robes. They tell Tintin of a wealthy merchant, "Omar ben Salaad", who is selling the crab tins. Together they decide to discreetly investigate, and despite much confusion and bumbling, manage to trap some of the gang in a cellar and call the police. Both Tintin and Captain Haddock (and Snowy) unfortunately become intoxicated by the fumes from wine barrels which had been shot with holes by the villains, but eventually Captain Haddock chases a member of the gang from the cellar to an entrance behind a bookcase in Omar ben Salaad's house:

"Harlequin! Hydrocarbon! Polynesian! Gyroscope! Anthropithecus! Blackbird! Invertebrate! Liquorice" "Tiddley-om-pom-pom" (this last merrily sung by Tintin).

Gradually sobering up, Tintin discovers a necklace of a crab with golden claws on the owner of the wine cellar, who is of course Omar ben Salaad, now lying senseless, heavily stunned by the falling bookcase. They realise that he is the leader of the drug cartel. Allan, Captain Haddock's mate and leader of the gang steals a boat and tries to escape, but the two set off in hot pursuit, aided by the Thomson twins (still in their robes) and the Moroccan police. After more hilarious capers, Tintin captures him, and he is arrested.

A Japanese man introduces himself to Tintin. He is "Bunjo Kuraki", a police detective who had been trying to warn Tintin of the drugs gang. He had been kidnapped but managed to sent Tintin a note, of which only the scrap with the word "Karaboudjan" was found. Bunjo Kuraki had been investigating a sailor, "Herbert Dawes", who had been a member of Captain Haddock's crew. He had boasted to the detective that he could get him some opium, but had since drowned.

Turning on the radio a few days later, Tintin learns that, thanks to him, the entire drug cartel "the Crab with the Golden Claws" is behind bars. Captain Haddock has been invited to give a talk about the dangers of drink, but there is a curious lull in the radio programme. The story ends on an amusing note. Apparently the gap in the broadcast was due to the shock Captain Haddock experienced on drinking a glass of a most unfamiliar beverage - water! (hide spoiler)]