Bloomer, a cadet at a Military Academy, almost disrupts the morning drill, when he rushes through the lines exclaiming, "Look at the balloon!" While the men are in derision for his action, a hazing is planned for Bloomer. He is quickly tied up in a bag and he first experiences a rough ride in a wheelbarrow, after which he is dumped into a bay-mound. He is next suspended in midair at the end of a rope, where he is left to dangle until he is released by his superior officers. After many such painful subjections, he is finally given a note to deliver to the landlady, which upon reading, she begets herself into such a passion that before Bloomer leaves the room, he is a sorrowful looking spectacle.