The Schooner Bay Historical Society decides to place a statue of a local hero in the town square. The president of the society, Miss Elvira Grover takes it upon herself to choose the person without the voting of the other members, and decides upon her ancestor--Captain Horatio Figg, a supposed hero of the Mexican War who died at sea.

The Captain is overcome with rage at this choice, which Carolyn takes for jealousy because he himself was not picked. Not so he says, at least not in part, Captain Figg was a coward who demanded to be put off the ship, fled from all combat and actually returned to Schooner Bay and died there. Carolyn, who is writing an article on Figg, tells the Captain she must have proof of his accusations. Triumptly, the Captain takes her to Figg's gravestone, situated in the pet cemetary on the old Figg homestead but he can not prove that the seaman's medals were fakes or that he was not hero at the Battle of Vera Cruz.

Carolyn takes the historical society to vie