Pimple inspects a poster, advertising a reward of £500 for the recapture of an African black snake that has escaped from the zoo. After a title declaring "'Tis an ill wind that blows nobody any good", a lady is seen talking to a gentleman and in a high wind her black feather boa blows away. The boa is carried by the wind past Pimple who gives chase assuming it must be the snake. There follows a sequence of disastrous encounters between Pimple, in pursuit of the snake, and various other people on the street: a policeman, a man in a wheelchair, a concertina player, a couple on a bench, a nurse with baby, and a fisherman as the snake /boa blows along the street. Finally, Pimple catches the boa and realises his mistake as his pursuers catch up with him and beat him.