Lum in Hiding from Birdie

Originally Aired: April 22, 1938 Lum #24, "Lum in Hiding from Birdie," Lum finds himself in a predicament of his own making when a woman named Birdie Collins arrives in Pine Ridge expecting to marry him. The trouble began when Abner sent out photographs of Dick Huddleston, Mose Moots, and Ezra Seastrunk to applicants of his Lonesome Heart Matrimonial Bureau without their permission. To keep one particularly eager woman from visiting Dick, Lum impulsively wired her claiming he had fallen in love with her picture and wanted to marry her. When Birdie immediately wired back that she was on her way, Lum panicked and went into hiding. Now Lum is holed up in a barn loft while Birdie stays at Abner's house, patiently waiting for her intended to return from what she believes is a business trip. Abner attempts to manage the increasingly complicated situation as Birdie settles in, inspects Lum's furniture, and shows no signs of leaving. Meanwhile, Lum desperately tries to devise a plan to send her away, even suggesting he's moved to Alaska, while Lizabeth grows tired of their unwelcome houseguest and the entire town slowly learns of Lum's predicament.