Crumley Cogwheel has been buried in the accounting department for twenty years. When Mr. Blunt, the company president, asks his secretary to send Crumley to his office, her response is: "Who's he?" He's a shy, timid little man with no guts, according to Mr. Blunt. And that's not the kind of person Michigan Nuts & Bolts wants working for them. Why, he asks Crumley, in all the twenty years he has worked for the company, has he never once asked for a raise? Blunt demands that Crumley demand a raise. But the timid little nobody can't muster up the courage, even with the boss standing over him and shouting for him to do it. The boss gives Crumley an ultimatum: ask for a raise within the week, or he's fired.