- A hard, wounded man with gun in hand comes to Mayberry looking for Andy. Barney, aiming to keep their sheriff alive, deputizes Otis and Gomer.
- Andy receives a letter from an ex-con whom he shot in the leg, years ago, in a gas station robbery attempt. The ex-con has lost most of the function of that leg and writes that he is coming to Mayberry to set things straight. Barney assumes the worst. When Andy won't take a vacation or at least carry a gun, Barney deputizes Gomer and Otis to keep watch and protect Andy 24 hours a day.—miller_m_r
- Andy gets a letter from Luke Comstock, a man he shot in the leg ten years earlier in a gas station hold-up, saying that he wants to come and visit him to settle some business. Barney is sure that Luke is coming to gun Andy down, but Andy isn't so sure, so Barney secretly swears in Gomer and Otis as temporary deputies to keep an eye on him. Over and over, they keep bungling the job, and Andy even catches on to what they're up to. As the days go by, Andy and Barney get reports that Luke is headed to town, and worse, he's carrying a leather shotgun case. Andy even receives a phone call from Luke saying that he's coming by to see him. Nervous, he sends Opie and Aunt Bee over to Clara's house. When Luke arrives, his intentions turn out to be very benign. He tells Andy that after the hold-up he began rethinking his life, then began studying engineering and mathematics. Today he owns his own business and thanks Andy for effecting a change in his life. As gratitude, he gives Andy a shotgun as a way of saying thank you. Meanwhile Barney and his posse rush in to save the day and end up capturing each other.—J. Roberts <armchairoscars@hotmail.com>
- Andy receives a letter from Luke Comstock, someone he shot during an arrest ten year before, telling Andy that he's coming to town to settle some unfinished business. The letter is vague but has an ominous tone to it. For Barney, it's clear that Comstock is out for revenge but Andy isn't so sure. With Andy refusing to take any special measures other than to send Aunt Bee and Opie to the neighbors, Barney recruits some of the locals to stand guard at Andy's house. On the announced day, Luke Comstock steps off the bus, carrying what appears to be a rifle case.—garykmcd
- Mailman Billy Ray brings letters to the courthouse. Andy goes to take the letters but Billy insists they must go through the door's letter slot as human beings are not "authorized receptacles." Andy is willing to let that go, but Barney gets into an argument with Billy, which escalates until the mailman walks off. Barney, still in a huff, goes back in to open the letters with Andy. Among the many pieces of mail, Barney receives a dividend check for twenty-seven cents, while Andy receives a letter that furrows his brow.
Andy passes it to Barney, who reads it. It's from Luke Comstock, an ex-con. Eleven years ago, Comstock attempted an armed robbery that turned into a shootout with police, whereby Andy wounded him in the leg, permanently leaving the man with a bad limp. Andy has not seen Comstock or heard anything of him since the news that he never would walk properly again. The letter says that Comstock has been wanting to see Andy for a long time to set things straight between them. The letter is vague enough for Barney to interpret this as a threat to kill Andy, but Andy isn't so sure that's what it means. Well what then, asks Barney, to thank Andy with a medal for saving the gas station? It's clear to Barney what Luke's coming for, and he spells it out - "reveng." He suggests Andy leave town for a week, then insists he start wearing his gun and let Barney deputize a few people for his protection. Andy flatly refuses all three ideas.
Mrs. Peterson calls. Her cat, Fluffy, is on the roof again. Concerned for Andy, Barney offers his gun for Andy to take. Andy says he won't need it, as he and Fluffy have been friends for years. Barney angrily yells after him that, if he gets all shot up, he doesn't want to hear about it.
Soon after, behind Andy's back, Barney swears in Otis and Gomer at the courthouse to give Andy twenty-four-hour protection. Gomer is enthusiastic at getting guns and riding in the squad car, but Otis has no desire to take part in a confrontation that could get him hurt, possibly killed. Barney reminds him that if anything happens to Andy, they might get a new sheriff who will start cracking down on little things Andy has let slide, including Otis' not being more severely punished for his repeated drinking. Barney gives them the option to walk away if they find the task against their liking. Otis, then Gomer (now sobered by the thought they could get shot by a vengeful ex-con) both start to walk away, but Barney stops them angrily and calls them back, upset, and forces them to be sworn in as deputies. He gives them orders to protect Andy without Andy knowing. Hearing Barney call it a plain clothes operation, Gomer figures his brown suit should be pretty plain enough. One of them should follow Andy and be near at all times. Otis points out that none of them, not even Barney, would know what to do it real shooting broke out. Barney says not to worry, since Andy will be there to protect them.
Barney spends the evening at Andy's house until about 11:00 PM, playing dominoes and refusing to leave. When Gomer arrives outside and whistles (a signal), Barney hops out of his chair ready to leave, arousing Andy's suspicions. He thanks Barney for not even once bringing up the Comstock letter, which Barney tries to brush aside, nervously trying to get out the door quickly.
Once outside, Barney, looks for his relief deputies. Gomer stands up from behind a bush; Barney gasps and falls backwards in fright into another bush. Gomer reports that Otis is watching in back and frets that his own suit, with a white thread running through it, may not be plain enough. Barney says it's fine and to call if anything suspicious happens. Gomer points out that there's no phone outside by which to call Barney, and Barney openly despairs that civilians just don't know how to think on their feet.
Andy, after putting away the dominoes, hears Otis' footsteps outside and peeks through the window to spot him moving around. Andy smiles, amused, decides not to do anything about it and goes to bed. Unfortunately, Otis' clumsy subterfuge is overheard by Aunt Bee as well. She thinks he is a person at first, then a cat (when Otis meows), and drops a brass pot on him to get him to go away.
The next morning, Barney is all innocence to hear that Andy thinks Otis and Gomer hung around outside his house all night, denying any knowledge of it. Andy is certain Barney is behind it and demands Barney explain himself and call off the bodyguards instead of forcing them to stay out all hours of the night; but, Barney doesn't crack, keeping up an impressive face of innocence (which would be credible had Barney not suggested bodyguards to Andy the very day before). Exasperated that his interrogation is getting nowhere, Andy heads out to the post office. The second Andy's out the door, Barney signals using the window blinds. Andy comes back in, catches him and demands to know who Barney is signaling to. Caught, Barney angrily admits that he can't stand the thought of Andy not taking care of himself, so they're doing what they can to save their friend. Andy, unable to stay mad, tells him he appreciates what they are doing, but reminds him they have no proof Comstock is actually planning to come to Mayberry to contact Andy in person at all.
At a bus depot, Comstock descends the bus steps, carrying a satchel and a rifle case. Walking with a pronounced limp, he rounds the corner of a building as ominous music plays.
That night at dinner, Barney is at Andy's house with startling news. The bus brought in a man from out of town walking with a severe limp. Alec the bus driver noticed particularly because he was a hard-looking man, whom Gomer and Otis also saw get off the bus. All three report distinctly seeing the man carrying a leather shotgun case. Aunt Bee is immediately distressed, but Andy tells Barney to stay calm. They still have no proof it's Comstock. He still thinks this can be handled calmly. Barney refuses to hear anything more against him and his boys protecting Andy and storms out. Aunt Bee tells Andy that she knows Barney overreacts, but this DOES sound serious - serious enough to take SOME precaution, but Andy doesn't know what he really can do besides wait.
The phone rings and Andy answers it. It's none other than Luke Comstock, who wants to know if he can come over and talk to Andy. Andy agrees, not having any excuse to say no, and hangs up the phone. Mulling over the situation, he asks Aunt Bee to go out and visit their neighbor Miss Clara for a while, and to take Opie with her. He also tells Aunt Bee under no circumstances to call Barney, because he is sure he can handle the matter himself. Though deeply worried, she guesses he knows best and complies. As Andy smokes a cigarette, Opie enters and asks if he is scared that trouble's coming, understanding why he and Aunt Bee are being sent over to Miss Clara's. Andy says he and Mr. Comstock just have some business to talk over, and, upon Opie's further inquiry, tells Opie lots of things scare him, and that it's normal. Opie is impressed, saying it's impossible to tell that Andy's scared, and he - looking as if seeing his father for the last time - leaves with Aunt Bee. Andy moves to the sofa, stubs out his cigarette, picks up the newspaper to read it, and waits.
Breaking her promise to Andy, Aunt Bee alerts Barney, asking him not to do anything rash but to keep an eye on Andy. Barney says he'll handle it and to stay calm.
Several tense minutes follow as Andy waits for his guest. At one point, he considers pulling out his hand gun from atop the hutch. He begins to load it, but then decides not to and puts it away.
Barney, meanwhile, arms himself, Otis and Gomer with rifles. Playfully excited, Gomer points his rifle at Otis, saying "Could get you real good, Otis." Barney admonishes Gomer for pointing guns at people, and Otis begs to be released from duty. Barney says he'll spread it all over town that Otis is a yellow-bellied chicken, asking if he wants to be known as one; Otis doesn't mind that at all. Barney turns to find Gomer, still playful as a pup, grinning and pointing his gun right at Barney's head. "PUT THAT DOWN!" He's ready to lead his posse out, but Otis doesn't want to carry a gun and proposes the idea of picking them up some sandwiches and meeting them at Andy's later. Barney will have none of this idea, and they proceed to Andy's house to catch Comstock in the act.
Andy hears the step-and-slide gate of Comstock approaching his front door. The doorbell rings. He is indeed a small (only a few inches taller than Andy), hard-looking man with a bad limp. Andy invites him inside, and Comstock says what he came for won't take long.
Outside, Barney quietly pulls up in the squad car along with Gomer (with a rifle) and Otis (with a coil of thick rope). Gomer ruins their quiet arrival by shutting his door loudly.
As Comstock begins to explain himself, it turns out Barney's sarcastic suggestion that he wanted to thank Andy for shooting him is actually correct. While laid up for six month in the hospital, he got to thinking of how he'd wasted his life, how it had come to him being in jail with his leg ruined and nothing good to show for it. He started studying mechanics and electricity, determined to make something of himself, and now owns a chain of TV repair stores in Cleveland. He came to tell Andy there were no hard feelings, and thank him for stopping him that day. Comstock then presents Andy with the shotgun (which is not a weapon of revenge but an offering of gratitude). Andy is impressed by the shotgun and says it'll help him bring down some of the big geese they've been having fly through lately, and shows Comstock, with his hands, the wingspan of some of the bigger ones he's seen.
Watching through the window, Barney, Otis and Gomer - unable to hear what is said - all think the worst, that Comstock has got the drop on Andy. Moving away from the window before seeing Andy accept the gun, Barney messes with the fuse box to kill the lights.
Tossing the gun aside, Andy and Comstock go out the front door to fix the fuse box an instant before Barney and company barge in from the back. In the dark, however, they all attack one another, so when Andy and his guest come back inside upon fixing the lights, they see Barney, Otis and Gomer all tangled up the floor in a mass of men, rope, and Gomer's gun (pointed right at Barney's face once again). Dismayed then amused, Andy introduces them to Luke as Mayberry's knot-tying class that meets at his home every Tuesday.
The next morning, Andy (more so) and Barney (less so) agree just to drop the matter as Barney's repeated guilty apologizing and explaining his actions, and Andy's repeated insistence he isn't mad at him, isn't getting them anywhere; however, just as they stop talking about it (or try to), Otis enters, apologies for his part in last night's fiasco, and starts angrily laying the blame on Barney, saying he had never wanted any part in the whole fiasco in the first place. Barney says the matter's closed and Andy conveys that he and Barney have agreed to "take a lock" and not talk about it anymore. Otis turns to go, but at the door he turns back to again lay fault on Barney. Barney shouts him down to just shut up. Wincing, Otis leaves. Andy starts to say something, but Barney - with the subject changed from justifying himself to accepting blame - insists that Andy "take a lock," thereby finally ending the discussion.
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