Barnabo is a young forester. Though he leads a boring life, guarging a powder magazine in the remote shadow of the great mountains, the heart of a hero beats in his chest. One day, the old major is found dead, murdered by smugglers.Patrols of foresters and peasant scour the mountains, but they find no trace of the killers. Barnabo’s big chance suddenly comes when they give up the search. He manages to track down the smugglers, but is too scared to fight them…