On an August night, Harold is surprised by a masked man in his kitchen, pointing a gun at him. Harold’s wife Mildred then comes into the room, and the masked man points his gun at both of them, exclaiming, “This is it!” Harold moves quickly, retrieving his own gun from a drawer and shooting the other man in the face, below the eye. In shock, Milred tells Harold not to touch anything and calls the sheriff to their home.  The sheriff asks Harold to explain how the shooting unfolded, and Mildred has to take over when he cannot properly retell the events. They soon realize that the masked man’s gun was empty of bullets, and the sheriff says Harold killed a man with an empty gun. Harold’s shock intensifies, and the sheriff takes the body with him.  In a few days, Harold learns the name of the masked man: Vernon Smith. He visits the morgue with the sheriff and sees the body, thinking to himself that the man’s face seems familiar but it may be because his features are so commonplace. As Harold tries to leave the morgue, he meets Vernon Smith’s father and family. Assuming that Harold is with the police, Vernon Smith Senior tells him that his son was never “quite right,” but his mother always doted on him. Harold apologizes to Vernon Smith Senior, who continues to talk about his son, saying that he tried to join the army and he hadn’t known his son would ever get in trouble for having an empty gun.  Harold finally escapes to be alone at a cafe, sees his own face in the papers, and laments that he looks like a stranger to himself.