Rev. Jimson, pastor of the Little Flock in Cragville, loves Samanthy Spriggins, the village spinster, and the two are engaged to be married. One morning old farmer Tightwad misses some wood from his pile and cannot account for it. That night the cause of the shrinkage is revealed in the person of old uncle Ephraim, an old darky. Next night Tightwad loads one of the pieces of wood with gun powder thinking to catch the thief when the explosion occurs. As ill luck would have it Uncle Ephraim sorts out this very stick as bad wood and throws it in Jimson's back yard. Good parson finds it and, of course puts it in the grate and starts a fire. The powder explodes and the room is wrecked, likewise Jimson, he is found by the terrified neighbors and several days later is barely able to hobble around on crutches because of his injuries. Meanwhile Old Tightwad suspects Jimson of having stolen the wood and, being chairman of the church committee, draws up a petition demanding his resignation. Determined to catch the real thief and save his job, the thrifty parson and Samanthy guard old Tightwad's wood pile that night and succeed in capturing Uncle Ephraim. The old darky confesses to the thieving and is lodged in jail. Sometime later the thrifty parson and Samanthy, now man and wife, return home from their wedding ceremony and are besieged by the neighbors who fill the room with presents. Among these is a big chocolate cake and the kind parson feels certain it would be relished by the poor old darky languishing in jail. So the whole wedding train flocks down to the jail and delight the old fellow's heart with the big cake, then start back up the road toward home while Ephraim eats away contentedly.