Going Bovine Chapter 47 Summary

In Which We Are Unprepared for the Unexpected

  • As the sun sets, Balder is convinced he can see Ringhorn approaching, but Cam and Gonzo can't see it. Everyone has their own brand of crazy, we guess.
  • Cam runs to the car to get Balder's stuff for him and is ambushed by a United Snow Globe Wholesalers SWAT-type guy. He evades him by yelling, "You're not my daddy!!" which attracts the attention of some impressively tough looking motorcyclists who intervene.
  • It's not enough, though Cam gets to the beach in time to alert Gonzo and Balder. Balder elects to stay behind and distract the growing number of bounty hunters from USGW (United Snow Globe Wholesalers). Gonzo breaks left to head for a taco shack, and Cam goes right, but that's when his mad cow disease decides to have a flare-up.
  • Dulcie is suddenly there, picking Cam up off the beach just in time. They're flying away when she gets shot in the wing. Ouch.
  • The two of them run down a pier, and when they get to the end Dulcie pushes him into the water.
  • Employee #457 from USGW catches up with her, and shoots Dulcie, which turns her into a snow globe.
  • Cam flashes back to the moment he jumped off the boat on the Small World ride—this will be the second time he almost drowns.
  • Cam makes it back to the beach in an attempt to save Dulcie.
  • Employee #457 is about to shoot him when the motorcyclist towing a few bike cops shows up to save poor little Cam.
  • Cam sees Dulcie, and the scene is an exact replica of the broken snow globe in his dad's office. Interesting…
  • Gonzo reappears to grab Cam while the USGW guy is distracted.
  • Balder is still on the beach fighting guys off with a piece of driftwood. His immortality is serving him well—well, until he gets stabbed in the back with driftwood while he's distracted because he sees Ringhorn getting closer. The wood goes all the way through him, which is out of the ordinary, though it doesn't stop him from running into the waves toward a ship no one else can see.
  • The USGW vigilantes drag him back ashore and then leave him there since, you know, he's just a yard gnome. The bad guys figure the fight's over and head across the street to the hotel casino, taking Dulcie-the-snow-globe with them.
  • Gonzo and Cam emerge from their hiding place to get Balder, who is now being buried in the sand by a young girl.
  • They pull the driftwood out only to discover that Balder is actually bleeding. As it turns out, the wood was mistletoe, which was the one god who was too young to pledge his protection. It's like Balder kryptonite. And now he's dying.
  • The boys stand vigil with Balder overnight, waiting for Ringhorn.
  • Come morning, Balder is dead. Cam and Gonzo arrange for a Viking funeral for Balder, making a raft to set afire and push out to sea. They name it Ringhorn.
  • A little while later the boys leave, following the truck carrying Dulcie-the-snow-globe.