Barnie loves Lima desperately, so it hurts him deeply to see her courtship with Rister James, the town rake. Particularly after Barnie strikes up a friendship with a widower known as Ollie, who cannot help loving Rister and believes Lima only sees him as valuable because another woman already loves him. The two make a pact to break up the happy couple and marry their respective unrequited loves. Barnie views Rister visiting Lima through her window to have premarital sex. Understanding how his small town would react to this knowledge, he crafts a plan. One night, he enters the window in Rister's stead, but as he crawls into Lima's bed she recognizes his hair and screams. Her parents awake at the noise and fire at Barnie while he runs from Lima's room. The entire town awakes the next morning to the scandalous news that Rister ruined Lima the night before. Rister moves away to work in another state, and the widow Ollie follows him, where she eventually earns his love and marries him. Barnie stays by Lima's side while she carries a child from wedlock, much to the scorn of the town. When the baby is born, he asks her to marry him, and they live together happily for many years.