René is in the café, when Edith and Mimi comes in, returning from a shopping round. They are soon followed by Michelle, who demands money for the resistance, since they are very low on funds. When René and Edith do not want to give her any of the money earned on the café, she urges them to, unless they want an "accident" befalling the café. She shows what kind of accident by blowing a whistle. In comes one of her girls and machine guns the bar, fortunately with all of them ducking, so they are not hit. In desperation, René opens the till, but as there are only a few coins in there, Michelle asks them for valuables to sell. Mimi then mentions the painting, which she has given to Herr Flick and whose existence Michelle has not heard of until now. When Mimi says it must be worth millions, Michelle leaves the café, determined to make a plan to steal it from Herr Flick's safe. René says he and Edith then will think of a way to steal it from Michelle.
In Herr Flick's headquarters, Von Smallhausen delivers him a letter, in which his godfather Himmler writes that he has heard about the "cockup" with the telephone pole and that he will not send any more money. Secondly, he urges them both to stop consorting with "women of the opposite sex". When Helga arrives at the next moment, he therefore terminates their relationship rather abruptly. As he does not tell her why and talks to her in a very superior manner, she becomes very angry with him and tells him off rather severely. He says he will not share the proceeds from selling the painting (which he reveals is in his safe) with her and he also forces her to return the spare key to his headquarters, which he had given her. She leaves, pouring a vase of water over him.
René and monsieur Alfonse are standing in the newspaper office, looking at pictures of lightly clad, beautiful young women. Those pictured have all sent in their photographs to compete in the "Spirit of Nouvion" contest, where the paper is looking for a woman with "beauty, strength and virtue". Suddenly, Edith comes in and wants her picture taken, so that she can also enter the contest. René is a little hesitant to this, since he thinks she only possesses one of the three qualities required, but as she looks at the other photos, she hardly thinks there is any competition against her. She is soon followed by Yvette, who also wants to be in the contest and René is more inclined to this idea, since he thinks she has at least two out of the three qualities. When they have also been joined by Mimi, monsieur Alfonse informs them, that he has only got one photo plate, so they will have to have their picture taken together. When the picture has been taken, monsieur Alfonse goes to develop it in his dark room and Mimi and Yvette go back to the bar. The next moment, officer Crabtree walks in, giving René and Edith a note from Michelle. It says they will tunnel into Herr Flick's headquarters that same evening. In order to lure Herrs Flick and Von Smallhausen away, René will make an anonymous telephone call to Herr Flick and tell him, that a secret message will be delivered in the café that same evening. Crabtree also gives them a note to serve as the secret message (false of course). Michelle will then rendezvous with them in the square at half past ten.
Colonel Von Strohm and lieutenant Gruber are sitting in the colonel's office, playing chess, with captain Bertorelli watching. They are however soon interrupted by Helga, who tells them that Herr Flick has the painting in his safe and that she had to return the key to his headquarters. The colonel then decides they must think of a way to get the painting back. Helga suggests they disguise themselves as "resistance desperados", blow down Herr Flick's door and hold him and Von Smallhausen up at gunpoint. This way, they get the painting back and the resistance gets the blame. It is decided they will do it that same evening.
René makes the anonymous telephone call to Herr Flick and he immediately decides he and Von Smallhausen shall go to the café. They will be disguised as a "debonair man about town" and his lady companion. As they enter the café in this disguise, the café gang immediately recognise them (but do not tell them this). Mimi then signals monsieur LeClerc to come in, which he does, dressed as a match seller. The first time, the Gestapo officers do not notice them, so he is forced to come in a second time. Everybody tries to act as if the match seller is a complete stranger, except for when Fanny comes down and asks him to come upstairs with her. Even so, they manage to fool the Herrs and when LeClerc is handing over the note to René, Herr Flick reveals himself and grabs it. Its message is about where "the two birds" can be found at midnight (in a tree). As he thinks this means the British airmen, he decides they will go to the spot at midnight and apprehend them. When they go there, they find two pheasants in the tree.
René, Edith, Michelle and Ernest (who is a well-known safe breaker) have managed to almost tunnel their way into Herr Flick's headquarters. They come up under the safe in the wall. As Ernest is about to go in and cut through the metal of the safe, he accidentally knocks over a sack of flour on a shelf, which falls on René, making him completely white. Meanwhile, Von Strohm, Gruber and Bertorelli are about to blow down Herr Flick's door, when Crabtree walks in on them, wondering what they are doing. Some of Bertorelli's men show up, however, and render him unconscious. Then, the Germans blown down the door and storm into the headquarters, being rather surprised not to find the Gestapo officers there. However, they bring in one of Bertorelli's men, who is a safe breaker and who gets the safe open. As Ernest has come through the bottom of the safe, but not taken the painting, René goes to get it. Just as he sticks his head up through the safe, Gruber opens it. Seeing René in there, completely in white, makes him think it is the ghost of his dead twin brother, making him rather scared. He runs away, screaming, but the colonel does not believe him. He opens the safe himself to have a look, but when he also sees René's white head, he is convinced and the Germans all leave, without the painting. René tells the other that the Germans have seen him and Edith becomes somewhat hysterical at this. If they are caught, she will say it was all René's idea, to which he replies that that lessens her chances of winning the competition. However, René has taken the painting and puts it down one of his trouser legs, before they leave. As they are about to, Edith threatens René that if she does not win the competition, she will tell Michelle of the forged painting which he has down his other trouser leg and which he intends to give to her. Thus, he is forced to give in and as editor of the newspaper, let her win the competition.