Just as Rainie and Rubin Pritchard predicted, Billy’s hounds chase the raccoon to the tree where it usually loses the hounds. Moreover, when Billy and the Pritchards reach the tree, the raccoon is nowhere in sight. Old Dan is at the base of the tree, barking wildly. Little Ann, on the other hand, is still following the raccoon’s scent along a fence near the tree. The Pritchard boys, who have seen the raccoon evade capture many times, ask Billy to concede his loss and pay the bet.

Billy is not convinced that his hounds have completed the hunt, especially because Little Ann has not barked “treed.” He climbs the tree to see if the raccoon is hiding in a hollow or on the limbs. He cannot find the raccoon and returns to the ground. Billy reluctantly pays Rubin the two dollars, conceding his loss.

As the boys prepare to leave the tree, the wind begins to blow and Little Ann gains the raccoon’s scent again. She directs her attention to a gatepost. Upon investigation, Billy discovers that the post is hollow. He uses a long, slender tree branch to force the raccoon out of the hollowed post. Billy’s hounds attack the prey as soon as it exits the post. The experienced old raccoon, fighting for its life, escapes from the hounds and returns to the tree.

Billy’s hounds immediately circle the tree, and Billy agrees to climb the tree and force the old raccoon out. When he reaches the limb, however, the raccoon emits a plaintive cry that touches his heart. He tells Rubin and Rainie that he does not want to kill the raccoon. When Rubin threatens to climb the tree and force the raccoon to the ground, Billy unyieldingly informs him that he will not allow Old Dan and Little Ann to kill the creature. The Pritchards tell Billy they will beat him up if he does not allow his hounds to kill the raccoon.

As the boys argue over the fate of the ghost coon, the Pritchards’ blue tick hound appears, having gnawed through the rope that bound him. The dog is dragging a sizable limb from the tree to which it was fettered. As the dog enters the area, it begins to circle Old Dan, growling threateningly. Billy warns Rubin and Rainie that Old Dan will not tolerate an attack from the blue tick hound.

The Pritchards tell Billy that they do not need him or his hounds. They say Rubin will climb the tree and force the raccoon off the limb. Then their own dog will kill it. Billy realizes he cannot save the ghost coon, so he asks for his two dollars and prepares to go home. The Pritchards refuse to give him his money, although his hounds did tree the raccoon, winning the bet. Instead, they shove him to the ground, pin him down, and threaten to knife him if he tells his grandfather about the money.

As the Pritchards prepare to let Billy go, they hear Old Dan fighting with their dog. The action between the dogs prompts Rubin to slap Billy’s face with his cap again and again. He stops, however, when Rainie yells to him. Old Dan and Little Ann are mauling their hound. Rubin grabs Billy’s ax and rushes to attack his dogs. Billy screams, fearing that Rubin will kill his hounds. However, Rubin trips and falls before reaching the dogs.

Billy runs to his dogs and pulls them away from the blue tick hound. He has to pry Little Ann’s jaws open to free her grasp on the...