 Cliff is driving down a country road when a young girl, Rosie, flags him down and asks for a ride to Rawlins. He tells her that he is going to Hollywood, and she wants to go all the way. Then they are stopped by a sheriff, who throws the book at Cliff. Cliff cannot restart his car, so it is towed to Mr. Davis  repair shop. Cliff takes a room at the nearby hotel and diner, run by Rudolph Bitzner, while he waits for his car. Rudolph shows his home to Cliff, which is filled with photographs from his career in vaudeville. Rudolph s only employee is Rosie, who pleads with Cliff to help her escape from Rudolph, who plans to marry her in one week, when she attains her eighteenth birthday. When the car is finally ready, Cliff comes to take Rosie away, but Rudolph says that she is rehearsing in the auditorium. As Rudolph and Rosie sit together on the stage, Cliff asks Rosie whether she wants to stay or leave for Hollywood. Rosie repeatedly insists that she wants to remain with Rudolph. After Cliff exits, the camera reveals that Rosie has a dagger in her back, and that Rudolph is a great ventriloquist.