In the dead of winter, street musicians Stanley and Oliver aren't getting much business in a run-down neighborhood, and then their instruments are smashed in a run-in with a formidable woman. Their luck seems to turn when they find a wallet full of money, but are about to lose it to a thief when a passing policeman chases the thug off. The boys treat the officer to a meal, but when Stanley pulls out the wallet to pay, the cop recognizes it as his own. Rather than running them in as pickpockets, he pays his own tab and leaves Stanley and Oliver at the mercy of the gruff headwaiter.