When peat-cutter Barry Drone tries to woo the widow Betty Queen, landlady of The Beehive Inn, he finds Mrs. Queen very unresponsive to his love-making. In order to be near Betty, he spends every afternoon and evening in The Beehive. Fast becoming financially insolvent (and addicted to Mrs. Queen's real ale), he enlists the aid of wayfarer Ben Wasp. Barry devises that Ben, pretending to be a burglar, should break into The Beehive after hours. Drone hiding in the garden, hearing Betty Queen scream, would then rush in and knock down Wasp, who'd escape. Ben agrees to the plan on the condition that Barry signs a statement that declares that the whole affair is a joke. The deal is struck, but neither take into account the firm and well-able character of Mrs. Queen who is not easily scared. When Ben breaks into the pub, Mrs. Queen confronts him with a shotgun. Betty locks him in a cupboard and telephones Bert Bumble the local constable. Meanwhile Ben pleads that it is all a joke, and passes the statement under the door. When Mrs. Queen reads that Barry Drone is at root of the going-ons, she decides to teach Drone a lesson. She takes Ben upstairs and fires off her shotgun. Barry Drone in panic breaks into The Beehive. When Mrs. Queen comes down stairs, Drone wants to know what has happened to Wasp. Mrs. Queen says she doesn't know what he is talking about. By the time Constable Bumble has arrived, Drone is convinced that Betty Queen has murdered Wasp and tells Bumble so. But Bumble arrests Drone for breaking into The Beehive, and Mrs. Queen says nothing to make Bumble think otherwise. Bumble takes Drone away. With dawn about to break, Mrs. Queen lets Wasp come down stairs. Pleased with the night's events, she entertains Wasp to breakfast. She is rather taken by Ben's charm and agrees to take a walk with him that evening.