Sam Johnson is by no means a coward, but he certainly lacks confidence in himself and lets Bully Bill put it all over him. Sam and Bill both love Mattie, or perhaps Bill just butts in to be contrary. In a paper Sam sees an advertisement of the Courage Corporation which professes to teach bravery by mail. He puts up five dollars and sends a letter telling the swindler (who perhaps was not a swindler) what the trouble is. All he gets for his fifty dimes is the assurance that he can kill Bill if he wants to. Sam thinks that is a great joke and he goes to tell Mattie. On the way he meets Bill and gets another mussing up. Bill enjoys it so much that he follows Sam down to Mattie's and orders him out of her yard. That gets Sam so sore that he commences to believe the letter. He sails in and before the astonished Bill quite realizes the situation, he has been chased up a tree and had his pants pulled off. Sam lays the pants at Mattie's feet as a trophy of love and his cup of joy spills over at the sight of Bill being led off to jail in a barrel. He decides, perhaps, he was not swindled after all. A nice, hardworking laundress is worth five dollars any day.