Arthur Accused!

Despite Buster's various interests (baseball, eating, watching Bionic Bunny, and generally just goofing around), his main ambition in life is to one day be a private detective. However, his first case came sooner than he thought, and his first client was someone surprisingly close to him: Arthur!

It was just a typical schoolday, like any other. Arthur had acquired his first position of authority in school -- he had volunteered to help raise money in order that the school might buy a dalmatian puppy for Elwood City's Fire Department. So far, things were going well -- Arthur had already acquired a substantial number of quarters. He’d even been able to squeeze one out of Binky, who takes his finances very seriously.

As the end of school was nearing, Buster came by Arthur's collection table to see him -- he was dressed in a large hat and an oversized trench-coat.

Arthur: What's with the goofy hat, Buster?

Buster explained how he'd been honing his detective skills by doing some "snooping". So far, he'd obtained some "secret" information on the possibility of a third grade picnic.

Arthur: Everyone knows that, Buster. There's posters up all over the school!

It seems Buster's detective skills perhaps needed a rest.

Buster: Arthur, my Mom’s taking me to the arcade after school -- wanna come?

Arthur: Sure - I've just got to take these quarters to Mrs. MacGrady.

Buster: Okay, but hurry up - my Mom's waiting in the car.

Arthur emptied his quarters into a paper bag and set off for the cafeteria. When he got there he found Mrs. MacGrady chatting on the phone - she was discussing dog names with the Fire Chief. Arthur was having great difficulty attracting her attention to let her know that he'd brought the quarters, and so in the end he decided just to leave them on one of the kitchen surfaces - she shouldn't have any problems finding them later.

On the way to the arcade, Buster was putting his detective skills into practice again, much to the dismay of his over-protective mother (Bitzi Baxter). At the arcade, Buster, instead of playing any games, decided to spend the whole time looking for clues, and making himself something of a nuisance to all the other gamers in the process. Arthur, on the other hand, was busying himself on the pinball machine and was doing quite well -- there was now a large crowd around the machine. Buster rushed over to see what all the fuss was about.

Buster: Arthur! You've hit the high score!

Next day Arthur was modestly basking in the glory of his recent achievement.

Buster: Hey, Arthur - you rocked last night! (aloud) Make way, everybody! Pinball king coming through!

On the way to lessons, the two bumped into the school principal, Mr Haney.

Mr Haney: Arthur, did you give those quarters to Mrs. Macgrady yesterday?

Arthur: Yes, Mr Haney.

Mr Haney: Hmm... That's strange. She says she never got them. Are you sure you didn't take them home with you, by mistake?

Buster: No. He was at the arcade last night with me -- Arthur hit the high score. I did that once -- took like a hundred quarters!

(Mr Haney and Buster look shocked, Arthur looks understandably worried - could that be where the quarters ended up?)

Arthur receives a grilling from Mr. Haney and vice-principal Ms. Tingley (Thanks to Ben for that detail) -- if he doesn’t return the quarters by tomorrow afternoon, he'll have to spend a week in detention and miss the third grade picnic. Somehow he has to find out what happened to those quarters, and prove his innocence. He consults Buster at lunch time.

Arthur: I can't believe it. The first important job I've had and now people think I'm a thief. I'm innocent! I need a lawyer.

Buster: (almost chokes on his drink) Are you kidding?!? You can't afford a lawyer! What you need is a detective, like... say... me.

Given Buster's recent success as a detective, Arthur is unsure as to whether his best friend has what it takes to crack this particular case. Buster, on the other hand, is inspired by this new challenge and sets to work on it immediately. First he visits Mrs. MacGrady, who asserts that she never set eyes on the money -- she was busy preparing the brownies for the third grade picnic. She suggests that Buster pays a visit to the school janitor, as he had to clear up the mess when Mrs. MacGrady's mixing machine overflowed, for reasons unknown. Buster does, but he knows nothing either -- despite the suspicious jingling in his pockets (it turns out to be a bunch of keys). Buster realises this leaves only Arthur - could it be that his best friend is actually a criminal mastermind? He decides to visit the suspect's home.

Buster: D.W., did Arthur bring home any big, jingling bags recently?

D.W.: Buster! You're talking about my brother. Arthur would never take other people's money home... he'd hide it some place! I say we dig up the lawn!

Buster: (not wishing to face responsibility for the destruction of Mr. and Mrs. Read's front lawn) Err -- that’s okay D.W., I'll know where to find you if I need you.

On the way out, Buster bumps into Arthur. Arthur is starting to get frantic, Buster makes his excuses and leaves -- it really wouldn't help matters if Arthur knew he was the prime suspect in Buster's investigation.

That night Buster trawled over the details of the case -- that is until his Mom told him to go to bed.

Bitzi Baxter: Buster! Why are you still awake? It’s ten o'clock. You need your rest, you’re not a robot.

Buster: A robot... that's it! Mom, I love you!

The next day, Buster shared his new found inspiration with Arthur. He had come to the conclusion that the only possible explanation for the disappearance of the quarters, was that an army of metal-eating alien robots had descended to Earth, digested the quarters, and escaped unnoticed because they could change into any shape.........

It seemed like a good idea at the time, but on reflection both Arthur and Buster realise it is quite unlikely.

Arthur: You might be a lousy detective, but you're still a good friend.

When they get to school, the bus is waiting to take the third graders to their picnic -- all except Arthur, who is led away by Mr. Ratburn to serve his detention.

Brain: Poor Arthur, I hope he's okay.

Buster: I tried to crack the case but my mind is just full up with information.

Brain: I know what you mean. When I'm trying to solve a tough math problem, it feels like my brain is overflowing with data.

Buster: Overflowing! That’s it!

Buster rushes over to Mr. Haney, who is directing the flow of children, and drags him through the school to Mrs. MacGrady's kitchen. There, Buster explains how Mrs. MacGrady must have accidentally mixed in the bag of quarters with the ingredients for the brownies, causing the machine to overflow. Buster breaks open one of the brownies - lo and behold there's a quarter inside, there's quarters in all of them! Buster rushes outside to spread the good news...

Buster: (through Mr Haney's megaphone) Arthur is innocent! And it's all thanks to the great detective work of Buster Ba... (Mr Haney takes the megaphone from Buster)

Inside an empty classroom, Arthur is sitting down at a desk, looking sad. Muffled shouts are getting louder as a mob of people heads towards the classroom.

Arthur: What? It sounds like a mob! (Arthur slides down behind his desk)

Buster: Arthur! I did it!

Arthur: Buster -- you're the best detective I know!

So, that's how Buster cracked his first case, and Mrs. MacGrady learned to be a bit more careful in future... (with the help of the janitor scanning her cooking pots with a metal detector.)

It's interesting that Mr. and Mrs. Read don’t make an appearance. I know they’re supposed to be "liberal" parents, but letting Arthur sort out a situation as serious as this on his own is, in my opinion, quite reckless. If I had ever found myself under a charge of theft at school, my parents would have been notified immediately in order to negotiate the affair, and help determine my innocence/guilt. Arthur's Mom and Dad have always had something to say when Arthur and D.W. have their occasional differences, but where are they here, during an event that could have been extremely damaging to Arthur's academic career?

Take note of the bigger kids at the arcade, they resurface as the rival gang in #10702 - "Arthur Goes to Camp".

D.W. must keep a shovel stored in her room -- it didn't take her long to get ready to dig up the lawn...

How could you possibly mix a load of quarters into a batch of brownies anyway? They'd make a lot of noise scraping around in the bowl, and you'd notice them if they spilled all over the floor... very suspicious... :)

I wonder what other things Mrs. MacGrady has unwittingly included in previous culinary delights? :)

Buster's not the only detective in Arthur's class -- Fern has a go at it in #21502 - "Fern's Slumber Party" a few episodes later...

Another example of the series' humanized-animal versus real-animal identity crisis: Binky, who clearly is a dog, mentally 'weighing' (through a rather clever thought balloon) the merit of a puppy. The fact that he opts to give money for this cause might suggest solidarity towards canines as part of his being a member of that race.