When a Fellow Needs a Friend

Edward Haverford Randall's leg braces prevent him from playing with other kids, saddening his parents, Tom and Margaret. Though he can't play with people his own age, Eddie enjoys the company of his beloved uncle, Jonas Tucker, a kindly old streetcar conductor who lets Eddie drive the streetcar and tells him tale tales. Jonas, who lives with the Randalls, is lame himself and thinks that exercise is the way to cure Eddie, so he buys the boy baseball equipment. Margaret, however, tells Jonas that she and Tom know what is best for Eddie. Soon Margaret and Tom adopt Margaret's orphaned nephew Frederick so that Eddie will have a nice playmate, but "Froggie," as he likes to be called, is a two-faced little hellion who enjoys teasing and tormenting Eddie, especially in front of other children. Eddie's fear of his cousin even causes him to take Froggie's side against Jonas when Jonas tries to tell Tom and Margaret about the teasing. One day, Tom decides to take Froggie fishing, and tries to sneak away so that Eddie won't see them and be disappointed. Eddie awakens, however, and is hurt when he sees them, precipitating a family argument when Margaret and Jonas beg Tom to take Eddie along. After Tom leaves with Froggie, Jonas decides to sneak Eddie out of the house and take him fishing himself, delighting the boy, who adores listening to Jonas' stories. When they return late that night and Eddie is dripping wet and sneezing from a tumble into the lake, Tom is furious. Some time later, Eddie and Froggie fight over who is going to take Diana Manning, a pretty neighbor girl, to a dance. Though Diana wants to go with Eddie, Froggie threatens to beat him up if he goes. Jonas convinces Eddie to go and tells him that the boxing training he has secretly been receiving from Jonas make him ready for anything Froggie might give. After delighting the other children at the party with some slight-of-hand tricks, Eddie is socked by Froggie, but is afraid to retaliate. When Jonas scolds Eddie for not even trying to fight back, Eddie cries to his father and blames the entire incident on Jonas. Angered at what he thinks is Jonas' injurious influence on Eddie, Tom orders his uncle out of their house. Soon, Jonas is fired from his job for violating company rules by allowing Eddie to drive the streetcar. Although he is now destitute, Jonas is too proud to accept charity, even from some kindly women in town, and is on the point of starvation. Meanwhile, Tom has summoned a specialist from Germany to help Eddie, but the family is crushed when the doctor reveals that there is nothing he can do. After Jonas is ordered to the poor farm, a distraught Eddie arrives to apologize and tell him about the doctor's prognosis. When Froggie and some of the boys arrive to taunt Jonas for being a pauper, Eddie socks him and bests him in a fistfight, which Tom and Margaret see through Jonas' cabin window. Proud and surprised that Eddie is victorious, Tom apologizes to Jonas and asks him to come back home. Soon Jonas gets his job back, and is assisted by Eddie, who welcomes his family and the gang as they ride the streetcar to their favorite fishing spot.