After Sara Louise finds a local spinster from Hiram's generation (Trudy) suffering from a stroke that necessitates sending her to the inland hospital, Call, Sara Louise, and Hiram work to clear Trudy's house for her return. Hiram tells the children how Trudy may have a fortune hidden in the building, which is filthy and overrun by a starving feral cat colony. Unable to keep the cats, Hiram determines the most humane thing would be to drown them. This horrifies Sara Louise, who protests vigorously, but her friends overrule her. Unable to go through with it, Sara Louise jumps from the rowboat on the way to perform the deed and swims to shore. Call and Hiram reveal they could not bring themselves to kill the cats after Sara Louise's display, and Caroline steps in to introduce herself. Going door to door and charming the locals into taking in the mangy cats, Caroline is lauded by Call and Hiram as the cats' savior, forgetting Sara Louise's role.