52 pages • 1 hour read
Larry WatsonMontana 1948
Fiction | Novella | Adult | Published in 1993A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Chapter 3Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 3 Summary
Marie’s funeral takes place out of state in North Dakota, and the family sends flowers rather than attend the service. However, Sheriff Hayden plunges with renewed energy into investigating Marie’s accusations against Frank.
Three days later, Sheriff Hayden arrests Frank and locks him in the basement of his home. He tells his wife that Frank didn’t want the public scandal of being put into the county jail, and his brother agreed to put him in the house quietly. Gail Hayden is not happy with the arrangement: “You’ve turned my laundry room into a jail!” (Chapter 3, p. 103).
Sheriff Hayden leaves to inform Frank’s wife, Gloria, of his arrest. When he returns, he takes David outside for a private talk. At first, he avoids the real subject at hand, but eventually he asks David to watch out for trouble and to get Len to help if anything happens.
That night Julian and Enid Hayden arrive at Sheriff Hayden’s house. Wesley’s father is furious at him for arresting his brother and accuses him of doing it out of jealousy. Sheriff Hayden is forced to tell his father that his brother has committed sexual assault. Julian Hayden dismisses this accusation because the victims were only Native Americans. Sheriff Hayden finally tells his father that Frank is suspected of murder.
David is surprised and frightened when his father stands up to his powerful grandfather, who says threateningly, “My God. My God, boy. Stop this before I have to.” However, Sheriff Hayden knows he is doing the right thing: “This isn’t for any of us to stop or start. This has to go its own way” (Chapter 3, p. 114).
David has been listening through a heating grate. He comes downstairs to see his father on his knees seeking comfort from his mother “Help me with this Gail” (Chapter 3, p. 115).
The next day, David’s grandfather sends four of his cowboys to bust Frank out of Wesley’s basement. David searches frantically for his father and Len but cannot find them. His mother loads the shotgun they keep in the house and fires a warning shot at the intruders. At the sound of the shot, Len comes to the rescue and forces the men away at gunpoint.
David’s father says he will call his father and get him to stop trying to rescue Frank. However, David’s mother has had enough; she just wants Frank out of her home so she can feel safe again.
Sheriff Hayden agrees to release Frank and goes down into the basement. However, he returns alone. “He’s guilty as sin, Gail. He told me as much. . . . Maybe a jury will cut him loose. I won’t. By God, I won’t.”
During the night Frank starts breaking all of the glass canning jars in the root cellar. The sound of this destruction heightens David’s family’s anxiety.
In the morning, Sheriff Hayden prepares to take Frank to the county jail. He goes down to the basement with two cups of coffee. David hears his father cry out “Oh, no. Oh my God, no!” (Chapter 3, p. 153). David goes down the steps to find his uncle in a pool of blood. Uncle Frank has committed suicide by slashing his wrists.
David has mixed feelings about his Uncle’s death, but the overriding emotion is relief that the scandal, tension and danger are over. “I felt something for my uncle in death that I hadn’t felt for him in life. It was gratitude, yes, but it was something more. It was very close to love” (Chapter 3, p. 156).
Chapter 3 Analysis
Chapter Three includes two events significant to the development of the plot. In the first, David’s grandfather sends four cowhands to the house to break Frank out of confinement. In the face of this threat, David’s mother loads a shotgun, although she has never fired such a weapon before. She is willing to resort to violence to defend her home and herself and her son.
When David’s father arrives, the men are gone and the immediate threat is over. However, David’s mother is frightened and exhausted. She insists that her husband get the prisoner out of their home, even if it means releasing a criminal. This is a major shift for her character who up until this point has insisted that Frank be held accountable for his crimes.
David’s father agrees to release Uncle Frank to avoid further endangering his home and family. However, when he talks to Frank he changes his mind. Frank has admitted his guilt and shown no remorse. Frank is a racist who believes killing a Native American is not a crime. Both Gail and Wesley undergo a significant change in attitude in this chapter. Gail had previously demanded that Frank should pay the price for his crimes but is willing to let him go to ensure the safety of her family. Wesley, on the other hand, has been reluctant to enforce the law where his brother is concerned until he realizes that Frank is not only guilty but he feels no remorse. Confronted with this fact, Wesley chooses legal justice over his family loyalty.
The second major event in Chapter Three occurs the next morning. When David’s father goes into the basement to take Frank to jail, he finds that his brother has committed suicide. This reinforces the idea that the Hayden family live by their own rules; Frank would rather take his own life than face the consequences of his actions like an ordinary person.
David’s father is crushed by the loss of his brother. Surprisingly, however, David is relieved and grateful that the family’s problems have been solved raising questions about where he stands on the moral scale the novel has established.
