The Bashful Bachelor

Lum Edwards, the meek proprietor of the Jot 'Em Down General Store in Pine Ridge, Arkansas, lacks the fortitude to propose to his longtime sweetheart Geraldine. Convinced that if he were a hero, Geraldine would consent to marry him, Lum enlists his partner, Abner Peabody, in the task of transforming himself into a knight in shining armor. In exchange for Abner's help, Lum allows his partner to keep the horse that a band of gypsies had swapped in exchange for the store's delivery truck. When the Widder Abernathy, who has targeted Lum to be her new husband, orders a grocery delivery, Lum sends Abner to her house. Along the way, a confidence man tricks Abner into trading the groceries for a useless pair of eyeglasses. When Cedric, the store's dimwitted handyman, tells Lum about a play in which the hero saves a damsel in distress from an onrushing train, Lum decides to tie Abner to the railroad tracks and then rescue him. Meanwhile, Squire Skimp, the owner of the fastest horse in town, examines Lum and Abner's new steed and pronounces him worthless. Marjorie, the Squire's niece, disagrees with her uncle's assessment and after naming the horse Sky Rocket, offers to train him for the upcoming sweepstakes. Later, Lum and Cedric tie the bewildered Abner to the railroad tracks. With the engine approaching, Lum desperately tries to untie the knots and finally faints in fear as the train derails. For his next heroic quest, Lum hires two hoboes to pretend to kidnap Abner so that he can come to his rescue. When the hoboes discover that Lum has written a $10,000 ransom note for Abner's return, however, they decide to kidnap him in earnest. According to plan, Lum leads the posse to the hillside where Abner is being held, and when the kidnappers begin to shoot at him, he thinks that they are firing blanks and charges up the hill. When the hoboes flee in fear, Lum is hailed as a hero and Geraldine invites him to her house for a visit. Emboldened, Lum pens Geraldine a proposal in verse and entrusts it to Abner to deliver. His vision impaired by his new eyeglasses, Abner mistakes Widder Abernathy for Geraldine and hands the proposal to her. After the Widder gleefully accepts, the local judge rules that she can sue Lum for breach of promise if he fails to marry her, and the ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, the day of the race. When the Squire disparages Sky Rocket's ability, Lum and Abner bet him their store that he will win the race. Before the race, the Squire sidetracks Cedric, Sky Rocket's jockey, by getting him lost in a carnival fun house. Knowing that Abner is also eligible to ride in the race, the Squire then presents evidence that the horse has been stolen, and the sheriff arrests Abner for horse theft. Desperate, Lum breaks Abner out of jail and Abner spurs Sky Rockey to victory. Defeated, the Squire convinces the sheriff to release Abner. At the wedding that night, the judge is about to pronounce Lum and the Widder man and wife when the sheriff shows up with the Widder's longlost husband. Later, Lum is once again on the verge of proposing to Geraldine when he loses his courage.