Ne'er-do-well Homer Cavender ventures to the city from Mainsville in an effort to find fame and fortune. Both elude him, and after clerking for two years, Homer returns home for a vacation. Impressed by his flashy clothes, the townspeople assume that Homer has achieved success. Attempting to win Rachel Prouty from his rival, Arthur Machim, Homer continues the deception by announcing that his employer, Kort and Bailly, has dispatched him to enroll stockholders for a proposed new plant to be built in Mainsville. Machim discovers the sham and denounces Homer as a crook.
The question is, would the young tramp really have fallen in love with the groceryman's daughter if he had not caught her in the heart struggle? Be that as it may, she could not find it in her to drown the unwelcome visitor to the pantry, so she let it go and the silent little drama witnessed by the tramp greatly impressed him. Not so the strict aunt, she declared the whole thing to be in exact accordance with everything else in the family. Their hearts ran away with their heads. That was why they lost money on credit, could not pay off the mortgage and send the sick sister to a better climate. As for the tramp, they had no business to take him in. He could not pay for his keep. But the tramp surprised them all.
A first-born baby girl is sent away and placed in the care of Gretchen, a trusted peasant woman, who is the widowed mother of a child about the same age. The two children grow up as sisters. Later, upon her deathbed, the noble lady repents and sends for her child to reinstate her. Gretchen takes this opportunity to make a great lady of her own daughter Lena, the goose girl, by sending her to court instead of the real heiress. Hence Lena is taken before the noble lady, happy in the belief that she has made reparation. Lena is now a great lady, but the title does not fit well-- She longs to be back with Gretchen and her "geeses".
A Mexican is thrown out of a bar by a young prospector and swears to get even. Later, he kidnaps the prospector's wife. In the meantime, a group of drunkards shoot and kill an old Indian; The son, a brave, vows revenge and asks the tribal chief for help. When the Indians attack both prospector and Mexican, these two make a temporary truce and join forces against the common enemy.
The Goddess, the prettiest and best-natured girl that ever graced that little mining town, meets the tenderfoot prospector and leaves him another worshiper of her. His chances, however, are slim for Blue-grass Pete has won her affections, he having at an opportune moment saved her from the fangs of a snake which was about to attack her. Pete's affections turn to the Goddess's sister, while Pete's friends plot to rob.
A story about a poor young man who falls ill, while his wealthy employer ignores his plight and instead spends lavishly on a pearl necklace for his wife. The poor man recovers with the help of his community, while the rich wife falls ill and dies, the necklace ultimately proving useless
A father, anxious for his son's financial well being, develops a special soda pop called Dopokoke which is laced with cocaine. Dopokoke is advertised as relief "for that tired feeling." The drink is a success, but the son becomes addicted to it, much to his father's regret. Loosely based on the allegations that the Coca-Cola company and other soft drink manufacturers laced their soda with dope.