Dougal MacGregor's aging tugboat goes on the blink. As he and Billy leave the boat to buy some new parts, a sailor from an Iron Curtain ship deserts and steals the ailing tug.

Pete, Billy and Roger run into trouble with a hermit who mistakes them for hostile intruders.

Billy and Pete are on a guiding expedition when they discover strange signs along the trail. Following these clues, they discover an embittered man has kidnapped a wealthy boy and is holding him for ransom in the bush.