Summary

Thirsk wakes up to learn that Willowjack, Master Kent's mare, is dead. It appears that someone has used a square stone as a mallet to hammer a metal spike into the horse's brain. Thirsk runs through a list of possible killers in his head, but he cannot come up with a convincing theory.

Master Jordan, searching for the perpetrator, arrives in the threshing house where all of the villagers are gathered for the day's harvest work. He tells the villagers that one of them will be found responsible for Willowjack's death and subsequently executed for the crime. Although none of the villagers know yet who Master Jordan is, his fine clothes and attending servants suggest his authority, especially because Master Kent, who has accompanied him to the threshing house, remains silent. Thirsk observes that no one in the village has seen Master Kent act...