There was a stark pause.  Abner stiffened, grew tense, as one becomes at the moment of bursting into dynamic action, but he did not stir.  Scattergood was surprised, but he was more surprised by Abner’s next words.  “I hain’t goin’ to half kill you on account of your lyin’ to father, nor on account of her—­it’s on account of her.”  The sentence seemed without sense or meaning, but Scattergood placed it with his other collected sentences; he did not perceive its meaning, but he did perceive that the first ‘her’ and the second ‘her’ were pronounced so that they became different words, like names, indicating, identifying, different persons.  That was Scattergood’s notion.

Asa turned on his heel and walked into the square, removing his coat as he went; Abner followed.  They faced each other, crouching.  Abner’s face depicting wrath, Asa’s depicting hatred....  Before a blow was struck, a girl, tall, slender, deep-bosomed, fit mate for a man of might, pushed through the circle of spectators.  Her face was pale and distressed, but very lovely.  Her brown eyes were dark with the emotion of the moment, and a wisp of wavy brown hair lay unnoticed upon her broad forehead....  She walked to Abner’s side and touched his arm.

“Abner!” she said, gently.

He turned his blazing eyes upon her.  “Not this time” he said.  “Go away, Mary.”  Even in his rage he spoke to her in a voice of reverence.

“Abner!” she repeated.

He turned to his brother.  “You get off this time,” he said, evenly, “but there will be another time....  Asa, I think I am going to kill you....”

Asa laughed mockingly, and Abner took a threatening step toward him, but Mary touched his arm again.  “Abner!” she said once more; and obediently as some well-trained mastiff he followed her through the gaping ring, she still touching his arm, and together they walked slowly up the road.

Two days later, about eight o’clock in the morning, Sheriff Ulysses Watts bustled down the street wearing his official, rather than his common, or meat-wagon, air.  He paused, to speak excitedly to Scattergood, who sat as usual on the piazza of his hardware store.

“They’ve jest found Asa Levens’s body,” he ejaculated.  “A-layin’ clost to the road it was, with a bullet through the head.  Clear case of murder....  I’m gatherin’ a posse to fetch in the murderer.”

“Murderer’s known, is he?” said Scattergood, leaning forward, and eying the sheriff.

“Abner, of course.  Who else would ‘a’ done it?  Hain’t he been a-threatenin’ right along?”

“Anybody see him fire the shot, Sheriff?  Any witnesses?”

“Nary witness.  Nothin’ but the body a-layin’ where it fell.”

“What was the manner of this shootin’, Sheriff?”

“All I know’s what I’ve told you.”

“Gatherin’ a posse, Ulysses?  Who be you selectin’?”

“Various and sundry,” said the sheriff.