Lum is busy selling advertising time on the Voice of Pine Ridge when Abner enters with news. He has been making advertising sales as well. Now it’s time to figure out what programming the new sponsors want.

What’ll it be, dramatic, mystery, musical, or something else? Mose Moots wants the program that he’s paying for to be about a Northwest Mounted Barber. Ben Withers sold some air time as well. Can he help figure out what format to program?

What kind of local talent might be rounded up? Mose keeps changing his mind about his show, and now wants the show to be a live remote from his shop. Cedric enters after selling air ime to his dad’s black smith shop. Suddenly, complications in the time slots are exposed.

Note: Through the show, the cast seem a little distracted, and the flow in the action is a little disrupted. Though we don’t exactly learn why, the title, and the opening statements from the next show will fill you in.

Abner seems to be having some regrets at the rearranged division of labor at the new radio station. Lum has taken control, and it’s only moments before Cedric and Abner go on the air with a few announcements. As Abner mans the generator, Cedric is coached by Lum in reading the advertisement.

The first of the ads goes live, but it looks like a few more rehearsals might be needed. After a mistake in the price is made, phone calls pour in to order salmon at only a nickel per can. How can the store stay in business at those prices?

After the hard work of making the deliveries, it’s enough to make Lum want to get out of the radio business. The sales campaign leads to an unexpected source of income though, and Lum’s spirits are energized once again. Radio station VPR lives on.

With a new business opportunity staring at them, Lum sets himself up as the program director of the Voice of Pine Ridge radio station. What kind of shows does he have planned? Will he allow Abner to take on that executive role instead?

Ben Withers enters. Will he have any input on running a radio station? He has been having troubles of his own with a fire at the jail house, and with his new bloodhound, but Abner tries to pick his brain about radio topics.

Lum keeps muddying the waters, and interupting Abners questions to Ben. It’s all Lum’s ploy to forse Abner to come to him to ask executive advice. The reverse psychology seems to be working. Maybe it’d just be better to let Lum take over as president of theradio station.

After doing a lot of talking, Lum has finally drawn up papers to incorporate as a radio broadcasting company, the Voice of Pine Ridge. Abner is upset over his position in the partnership. Can he work out some better terms for himself?

Of course, Lum paints himself as the business manager, while Abner is in charge of operating the radio equipment. What about the financial investments? Is that going to be fair as well?

Lum has a way of creating a lot of paper jobs for himself, and writing in high salaries, while all Abner has going for him is the ownership of the radio equipment. Will Abner play his game, or take matters into his own hands to make the deal more fair?

Note: In the legal language of Lum’s proposed radio partnership, he reads out his real name, Columbus Edwards.

The tranciever seems to be set up, but Lum figures that Abner isn’t holding up his end of the bargain and not turning the generator fast enough. Maybe Lum hasn’t quite figured out the operating procedure yet? I hope there’s no safety hazards he hasn’t studied up on that could hurt Abner.

To make sure the tranciever is broadcasting OK, Lum gets Cedric to listen in on his radio at home. Will Lum’s mike check broadcast OK? The reports over the phone from Cedric don’t offer any positive signs.

Ben Withers enters to tell about the troubles that he’s having with his new bloodhound. He never realized how hard it is to be a constable. As Abner takes over the tranciever broadcasting, Cedric enters to verify what he did to listen to the radio. What did he overlook?

Note: I once had a Quality Control inspector tag one of my pieces of electronic as inoperable. The tag read: “Does not work in the OFF position.” True story. I think Lum may be in the same boat.

As Lum studies up on the manual for the tran ciever that had recently been sent, Abner takes care of the store. Ben Withers is on hand, and we’re reminded of his recent appointment as town constable.

The new job also means that Ben will be moving out of his place in the feed room. With goodbyes said, Ben takes off to the jail, where he’s expecting a new bloodhound.

Lum and Abner turn their attentions back to the tranciever, and wonder at the detailed instructions to set it up and operate it. It sounds like it’s going to take three hands to run this thing. What’s all that jargon, and all those initials stand for?

Ben comes back with news about more changes. Is there a problem down at the jail? What’s the snag with his new job?

Henry Lunsford is still mad at all the attention that Ben Withers has recieved over catching the Voice. When grandpap enters the store, he and Abner try to figure out exactly what a tranciever is. That’s what the gents learned that Little Pearl sent Abner in the mail.

Lum has some feelers out to convirm his thought about how to use a tranciever. Will he share what he learns with Abner? Banquet preparations get rushed, as the final moments for it draw near.

Fastforward a little bit, and we find Lum giving the recognition speech to introduce Ben. Let’s listen in and enjoy the festivities as Ben shares a rambling story about his success. Words just can’t express his feelings about the friends he made here. Will he still be planning on moving along? Lum has a last moment offer from Mayor Seastrunk to appoint a new constable after Henry walked off the job.

The package from Pearl has turned out to be a jumple of metal, and wires, and Abner is having trouble in figuring it out. He was so excited to unpack the box, he accidentally threw away the instructions.

Lum thinks it’s some kind of radio, but second guesses himself to wonder if it might not be some other new fangled appliance. Is it a pinball machine? A jukebox? where would you put in a nickel or dime, if it is? Ben Withers arrives, and tries his hand at guessing. He seems to know what the contraption is, but does he?

We learn that Sheriff Henry Lunsford is upset that the banquet for catching the Voice isn’t for him. Finally, a friend of Ben Withers arrives to clear up the mystery surrounding what that mystery machine is. Now that Lum and Abner know what it is, what does it do?

Abner is still waiting for that package from Pearl to arrive. Lum tries to convince him that all his worrying won’t make it come any quicker, but will it calm Abner down? Can he distract himself by getting busy with the banquet the town has planned to honor Ben Withers for his role in capturing the Voice?

A little confusion ensues as Abner begins to focus on the banquet preparations, and the menu to serve. Should they invite Squire Skimp? Isn’t he the whole reason the Voice ran rampant through the town?

Cedric suddenly enters to report that the package went to the blacksmith shop instead. What is it? What is it? It’s about the biggest… And it’s the best looking… Um… What is it any way? Well, Little Pearl did say that Abner would never guess what it was.

Abner is expecting an important package in the mail from his daughter, Pearl. He’s jumpy, and nervous as he anticipates what secret present might be in the package. Does Lum have any idea of what it is? Can he help calm Abner down?

Grandpap enters to do his cantankerous best to pick a fight with Abner. He also has a bone to pick with Ben Withers about the Voice, and the lack of action Sheriff Henry Lunsford took in figuring out who it was.

Ben_Withers nters, and has someconfusing news about the vacation brochures he has with him. Is he going camping? Lum shares his ideas about a vacation to Alaska. Though he’s a free wheeling guy, now that he lost his job as the town’s vetinarian, he can come and go as he pleases. Nobody wants to see him go, and it’d mess up grandpap’s plans for that honor for capturing the Voice.