In book three of the Harlie Series, ‘A RACCOON ON THE RUN’, Elmo Cotton is forced, through a series of unfortunate events which he still doesn’t quite understand, to make the most difficult decision of his life.  As the prime suspect in the murder of Red-Beard ‘Rusty’ Horn (and possible seven other men), and under the squinting eye of a sceptical sheriff, he leaves his wife and child behind and becomes a fugitive from Justice; or, if you prefer, a raccoon on the run.  

Before he leaves, however, Elmo is given some sound advice from his Uncle Joe, an old black sailor who dies suddenly in his rocking chair one day shortly after he looks into the mysterious Motherstone.  He leaves his nephew with a few intriguing hints of the past, a suitcase and a pair of ‘sailin shoes’ which he hopes Elmo will find useful along the way. 

The Harlie heads south, along with the Motherstone, and before long finds himself living among a tribe of ancient Redmen, or Indians, who promptly and for reasons that soon become obvious, bestow upon him the coveted but sometimes precarious title of ‘The Great Raccoon’ and demi-god deluxe!  But he is not alone; for ever since he ran away from home, the raccoon has been stalked by someone who not only knows what really happened up on the mountain when Red-Beard was killed, but moreover, what it is that Elmo has brought back down with him, the Motherstone.    

Coming to the sad but inevitable conclusion that he is not a demi-god after all, and still very much a raccoon on the run, Elmo continues his journey south. Along the road, he comes across his best friend and neighbour, Mister Sherman Dixon, another poor sharecropper from Elmo’s home town who bears the uncanny resemblance to a big fat turtle.  He is on his way to Old Fort Pierce with a wagon-load of Harley beans, of course, which so happens to be where Elmo is going.  Shall we go?