Act 3 Summary

With Vince gone, Shelly tries to make herself at home and even tries to be kind to Dodge. Shelly stays overnight, even though she is afraid of Bradley. Halie and Father Dewis have returned, and Dodge threatens to tell the family secret, which frightens Halie. Vince finally returns, drunk and angry, throwing whiskey bottles at the wall of the porch. Halie finally acknowledges him, saying he had been a sweet little boy, like an angel. In the ruckus following Vince's return, Dodge bequeaths the house and the farm to him, everything except the farming tools, which Dodge declares are to be burned in a bonfire and his body thrown on top of it.

Now the secret is revealed—Tilden and Halie had been involved in an incestuous relationship that resulted in the birth of a baby boy. Dodge had been so angry that...