In Panama, Civil War veteran and avid adherent of the Confederate cause Doc Milliken (John Carradine) befriends a young Northerner (Charles Bronson) when he becomes ill. Bronson turns soldier of fortune, joins a failed coup attempt, and is sentenced to the firing squad. O. Henry relates the story and twist ending to his publisher back in New York over lunch and just before the start of the annual Confederate Memorial Day Parade.