Luke figures a circus is a good money-maker and goes into the business with that idea in mind. But things don't pan out exactly as he had figured, and the net result is nil. He gathers around him all the necessary freaks that go with a modern, up-to-date, honest-to-goodness circus: the bearded lady, the fat girl, the royal something-or-other band, the smallest man in captivity, and so on. But when the beard falls off the bearded lady and a young man, the fat girl proves also to be a boy, the royal band simmers down to a two piece affair, and the dwarf's fake legs are discovered the City Fathers determine on drastic action. The would-be Barnum realizes what drastic action is generally decided on by City Fathers, and determines to save them the trouble. He then "lights out" as fast as his legs will carry him, and the last we see of him is when he leaves the confines of the village far in the rear and vows never to return.