Billy Van Deusen was reading in his den an invitation he had received that day when two of his friends burst in. They were looking for excitement, and tried to get Billy to join them, but Billy refused. They leave Billy, wondering what sort of a disguise he would assume at the ball. He finally decided to impersonate a tramp. Lefty Larry and Kokeye Louie, two crooks, were snooping around the Van Deusen residence when Billy’s two full dress friends strolled out. The crooks meandered in and discovered Billy with a prop gunny sack about to make his exit. They deducted that they had been beaten to it by one of their own clan and proceeded therewith to relieve Billy of the swag. There is honor among thieves and Larry and Louie would not leave Billy to the cops, so each took him under the arm and threw him into a cab, and told the driver to take Billy to a fictitious address. The cab driver was thirsty, so he stopped at Macey’s for a little refreshment. Billy’s two friends came out about then, full of everything but excitement. They spotted the empty cab. One climbed into the box and the other sported on top of the cab, and they drove away. O’Goorty, the cab driver, reported the missing cab to the police and they were on the lookout for it. While the cab wended its way through the hills and dales, a coming automobile offered new excitement for the two excitable ones, and they did a flying leap into the machine leaving their friends. That was the end of Billy’s guardians, and the cab went on. When morning came, Billy awoke. He wondered what had happened. Nearby was a farmhouse and Billy decided that he would request aid of them. When he spotted Betty, the farmer’s daughter, he was certain that he would ask aid of her. He explained his predicament and the country girl fell for the sob stuff. She introduced him to Dad and Squeezicks, the little brother. Dad had heard glib tramps talk before and told Billy that if he wanted fodder he would have to work for it. Billy decided that he would work. The morning paper arrived in the country mail and Farmer Jones read it. When he came to the article describing the mysterious disappearance of O’Goorty’s cab, and offering $50.00 for information pertaining to it, he resolved to coop Billy. He told Squeezicks to get the shotgun and keep his eye on the tramp while he went for the constable. Finally he made a false move and the kid shot him. Billy had been shot in the seatus and the kid fell into the trough from the recoil of the gun. Billy was satisfied when the constable and the farmer came. In spite of his wounds Billy was forced to meander to the lockup. As the gang neared the lockup, they came upon a stalled automobile. They investigated and found Billy’s friends and the driver cussing because they could not get the machine started. There was great rejoicing when Billy was recognized, but it took a lot of money to impress the hicks that Billy was O.K. and had been the victim of circumstances.