Tintin and the Golden Fleece pendulum, Calculus insists that the gold is still right above them. Cutting away at the paint on the ship's railings Tintin realizes that they are in fact the camouflaged gold. The chest contained the real railings, and was just a red herring. Haddock finally returns the gold to Tetaragua. The main square in the capital is renamed Paparanic Square, and Haddock receives Tetaragua's highest decoration, the Order of the Scarlet Cheetah. Back home at Marlinspike Hall, Haddock hires Clodion as his cook, and Calculus keeps Romulus as a pet and a test subject for his inventions of a flying birdcage.
Tintin and the Picaros to go alone. Once there, the Captain and Professor are taken to a rural villa, where they are closely monitored by the security services. Tintin joins his friends a few days later, where he points out to Haddock and Calculus that their villa is bugged. He recognises one of the staff as Pablo, a man who had saved his life in "The Broken Ear". From Pablo, Tintin learns that the entire scenario is a plot organised by Colonel Sponsz, a figure in the Bordurian military who is assisting Tapioca's government in order to gain revenge against Tintin for the events