Summary

An unknown amount of years has passed between the events of the previous chapter and the events of this chapter. The opening line of "Death Insurance" that Jane is old enough to be at "note quite the end of childhood" (123). The chapter begins with Jane noticing that Lacey Temple, the wife of the Chisolm farm tenant, has a bruise on her face. This plot point will be picked up later in the chapter.

A few days later the Chisolm family is visited by one of Jane's uncles, Virgil McClure, who offers Sylvester a life insurance package for anything that may happen to him or anybody else who works on the Chisolm property. Sylvester agrees to purchase the package, paying with money from a jar in the kitchen.

Some time later, on "a spring afternoon" (132), Jane happens upon Sylvester and Lon having a heated...