From: Superman Family #188-189 (March-June 1978)
A new secret identity for Krypto - no longer the movie star Jocko, he is Kapper, the white mutt who hangs out with Ed Lacy, private eye on the trail of his missing nephew, falsely accused of murder and on the run. Krypto's super-nose leads the duo to railroad tracks and they board the next one, hoping to get closer to Tommy. The trail leads them all the way up to Oregon, still hopping trains (indeed, steam locomotives you would have expected to be out of service in 1978) and meeting hobos.
Krypto defuses the situation by being a cute pupper, and we soon learn the difference between a bum (asks for handouts) and a hobo (pays his way with work), a work ethic put to the test when negligent engineers dynamite a mountain, covering the tracks with rocks. Krypto to the rescue.
The last car unlatches however, and the train's driver, Ed, and the hobo push it back onto the tracks with minimal (i.e. secret) help from Krypto. See? The hobo did work for his fare.
The trail next leads the duo to a country estate where it grows cold, but Krypto spies a picture of Tommy with another boy, in a frame. Before they can get much further, however, they are caught trespassing by the estate's master and his prize-winning race dog Commotion.
As a bit of distraction, Ed enters into a bet with Lord Whatever, that "Kapper" can win a race against the greyhound. If Commotion wins, Ed will give up a dollar. If Kapper wins, they get a meal. A friendly bet. But one that causes Krypto a crisis on conscience:
Commotion is a simple soul who only thinks about running. That means it's Krypto's responsibility to think about the ethical ramifications of using his powers to win the contest. He chooses not to, and Ed's fine with it. Furthermore, the rich guy is so impressed with Kapper, he offers them the meal anyway. It's during this meal that the guy's servant is revealed to be the mother of Tommy's friend (the other kid in the picture frame), who coincidentally, looks just like him. It's not a racist thing (oh, isn't it?), it's a plot point.
Looks like the other kid may be actually responsible for the murder, and the APB on Tommy is just a big misunderstanding. So Tommy is basically tracking the real culprit, and our heroes are tracking HIM. But before the investigation can go any further...
Looks like another writer needed Krypto for another story ASAP and just pulled a God move on Bob Toomey's little strip. I guess we're gonna have to take a break from Ed for a week! Is that playing fair, I ask you?
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