The Bumsteads decide to spend a safe and sane 4th of July at Aunt Hannah's ranch. After missing their station, they hitch a ride with a young couple who are getting ready to elope. The young man, Charlie, sprains his ankle, so Dagwood is enlisted to carry the girl off for him. Dagwood climbs into her father's window by mistake, and just as the old man is about to explode with rage, Baby Dumpling explodes a firecracker which turns out to be a stick of dynamite. As the action reaches its peak, a gusher of oil suddenly springs up in the yard.