The farmers of Flora have gathered to watch their first threshing machine arrive at the train station. The man who captained the purchase of the machine, Jay Westwright, tells the station agent the machine is a Red River Special. Prior to the machine’s arrival, an expert from its factory had come to the town, Mr. Kenyon. Once the threshing machine is delivered, one of the farmers, Burl Teeters, immediately begins obsessing over it. He climbs into its seat and declares himself its engineer. Soon, with the separator attached to the engine, he steers it through Flora’s streets to Bert Helker’s farm. As the machine begins harvesting, more wagons arrive to take on loads. While Burl operates the thresher, Kenyon, Westwright and Helker are watching the machine’s progress on the wheat below them from the top of the separator. Suddenly, the separator lurches into the air, sending the men toppling over. The men on the separator hear a loud snap, then see one of the thresher’s belts flying through the air. The engine has veered toward them. Kenyon leaps off the separator and barely manages to stop the engine before it reaches Westwright and Helker. Burl refuses to admit to causing the accident in any way, instead blaming the machine’s supposedly malfunctioning levers and belts. He then blames Westwright for leading the men to buy the machine, daring him to object to his claims and threatening him.

That night, after Burl has left, Kenyon, Westwright, Helker, and a few other farmers meet in Helker’s barn. Kenyon says that Burl must have pulled a lever and pushed it too far to cause the belt to rip. The other farmers tell him that Burl, just like the other members of his family, is incorrigible and tangles himself in tasks he has no familiarity with. Seeing that Burl will inevitably return to the thresher, Kenyon proposes forcing Burl out of his share of the thresher’s ownership. The other men don’t believe Burl will surrender. Instead, Westwright suggests Kenyon stay and operate the thresher himself. Though Kenyon fears this might make the dynamic between the farmers uncomfortable, he agrees to stay to ensure the machine satisfies their needs. Suddenly, a shrill call arises from outside. One of the farmers identifies it as Burl calling his hogs. As the call continues, the men grow uneasy and leave. However, it grows louder and clearer still, an incessant challenge.