Gildy is invited to join a club that requires new members to remain silent for twenty-four hours as an initiation rite. If he speaks, he'll be refused entry, but if he doesn't he could get fired or thrown in jail.
Gildy encourages Leroy to build a raft and float down river from Summerville like a modern-day Huck Finn. The plan backfires when the raft is discovered broken up downstream and Leroy can't be found.
Gildy's plan to impress his girlfriend by hiring a bright young man backfires when the mayor objects to the number of people on the Water Commissioner's staff.