Two Weeks to Live

Abner Peabody becomes the sole owner of the C&O Railroad after inheriting stock from his uncle. Lum Edwards quickly steps in as a partner and proposes selling stock to the town to raise money. Their plan is to buy the land around the railway and its surroundings to secure their stake.

Lum's scheme raises nearly $10,000 from selling stock to local residents. With the funds in hand, they travel to Chicago to confront Ernest's attorney, hoping to culminate the purchase. They believe they are backing a genuine Chicago and Ohio Railroad venture.

In Chicago they discover the assets are virtually useless, worth no more than about $200. The land has already been bought, and their telegram to Pine Ridge telling them not to buy arrived too late. The dream begins to crumble as reality intrudes.

The two partners leave the attorney's office in despair after the discovery of the shabby assets. Abner trips on the stairs and is urged to see a doctor. A case of mistaken identity at the doctor's office leads to the shocking news: Abner is dying and has only two weeks left to live.

Back at the hotel, a window-washer named Gimpel enters through the window with his imaginary dog and proposes risky schemes. He argues that Abner should take high-risk jobs since he is near the end of his life. The idea is to squeeze as much money as possible while time remains.

Abner's first dangerous assignment is to test a drug that is said to have a personality-changing effect. The project promises big pay, but the risks are high and unclear. The encounter marks the beginning of a string of reckless gigs.

Next, he is hired to perform a death-defying gorilla dance, a stunt that pushes his nerves and courage to the limit. The pay is good, but the danger is real and immediate. It continues the pattern of desperate, high-stakes gigs.

A mysterious offer puts him at a haunted house for a night for $1,000, but Abner refuses, citing fear of the dark. A more dangerous dare follows: a risky aerial stunt where the organizer disappears with $5,000, forcing a fresh start. The scheme to monetize fear continues to backfire.

Gimpel pushes for a lawsuit against the building for unsafe stairs, appointing Lum as Abner's legal representative. Lum's inexperience shows as he misreads a settlement offer, thinking $10,000 is only $10 and ends up settling for a mere $65. The case highlights their mounting missteps.

Elmer Keaton, a representative of the stock buyers, comes to demand their money back. Lum convinces Abner to spend a night in the haunted house to raise funds, while Mrs. Carmen hatches a plan to profit from life insurance by blowing up the house.

Mrs. Carmen outfits Abner with a violin case and a good luck charm before sending him into the haunted house. Unbeknownst to Abner, the case hides a bomb and the charm bears the name of her deceased husband for a corpse's identification.

Abner ends up at the wrong house, which is occupied by Nazi spies. When he spots the spies, he throws the case and flees as the bomb detonates, annihilating the house and killing the spies inside.

With two weeks almost up, Abner is offered $10,000 to ride a rocket to Mars. He initially accepts, then hesitates, realizing he may not live long enough to complete the mission. The offer gnaws at him as time ticks away.

Lum comes down with a bad cold and a doctor concludes Abner is healthy, but Lum himself is dying. Lum decides to take the rocket ride instead of Abner, hoping for a final chance at fortune.

Gimpel answers the phone to news that Stark has sold the land for $20,000. Stark heads to the launch pad while Lum sits in the rocket, and Abner, hearing the news, accidentally sits on the launch button, sending Lum into space. The launch fails spectacularly as the rocket crashes back to Earth.

The malfunctioning rocket crashes and lands in Mars, Iowa, ending Lum's ill-fated voyage. Abner's fortunes have shifted entirely due to the land sale, leaving Pine Ridge to ponder the strange chain of events that began with a simple stock inheritance.