Summary

As Lemuel walked home from his meeting with Mr. Whipple, he saw Betty Prail, “a girl he was in love with in a boyish way” being chased by a large rabid dog (12). He takes a stick and hits the dog on the head until it is dead. In his conversation with Betty directly after saving her, Lemuel humbly downplays his decision to step in. The dog’s owner and the town bully, Tom Baxter, arrives on the scene and is aggravated by his dog’s death. Lemuel explains the situation but Baxter only becomes more infuriated. They begin to fight and Lemuel lands several blows despite being unevenly matched in strength. Baxter calls him the better man, reaches to shake his hand and then chokes him unconscious. Betty faints and Baxter rapes her while Lemuel lies in the bushes.

We then learn that...