 Barney is acting sheriff when Andy goes to Centerville, and he s just itching to throw his weight around. When Andy returns eight hours later, half the townsfolk are in jail on flimsy charges. Andy dismisses every charge and sends them all home and Barney becomes the town s laughingstock and his morale is soon so low that even Hilda Mae fails to raise it. Andy starts hinting that he can t have a deputy who folks make fun of and is going to fire Barney. When Barney tries to quit, the folks he arrested put themselves back in jail and praise him for upholding law and order in Mayberry. Barney feels vindicated and his confidence returns.