1922

The following morning, Wilf decides to use Elphis to create a reason to fill in the well. With Henry’s help, he ushers Elphis onto the well cap. The cap breaks, and Elphis falls in. Henry panics at the sounds of her distress, so Wilf forces him back inside the house.

Wilf retrieves his gun. He looks into the well and is horrified by the sight, as rats have returned and Arlette’s face is still visible. As he watches, the weight of the rats breaks her jaw. He shoots Elphis.

Wilf sends Henry to get a pile of dirt, then the two begin filling in the well. They get most of the way through when they see dust on the road from a coach approaching.

When Sheriff Jones gets to the house, Wilf and Henry are sitting on the porch. Jones apologizes for interrupting their work, then informs them that Lester sent him. Feeling as though Jones will be friendly, Wilf allows him to come into their home.

Jones checks each of the rooms, then pauses in the bedroom. Wilf explains that Arlette took a suitcase, clothes, and $180 he had been saving. He guesses that she tried to walk to Omaha and was picked up by a trucker. Jones seems satisfied with the conversation.

Back outside, Jones tells Henry that he spoke with Shannon’s family. Her mother was upset that Henry told Shannon about a fight he had with his mother the night before she left when she got drunk and slapped Henry. Henry confirms the story, and Wilf is proud of his son for delivering their lie so well to Shannon.

Before Jones leaves, he asks Henry what he wants them to do about Arlette. He suggests that they put out a notice that she is missing, then “drag” her back to Wilf.

Wilf and Henry finish filling in the well. When they look down into it, the soil moves, reminding Wilf of a beating heart. Henry screams, but then a rat emerges from the dirt. Henry angrily kills it with his shovel. He insists that Arlette now “owns” the rats and is sending them to haunt them. Wilf dispels his fear as nonsense despite feeling uneasy himself.

The next day, Wilf and Henry work on the farm. When Wilf comes to the house for lunch, there is a casserole from Shannon’s parents, Harlan and Sallie. Sallie left a note offering her condolences to Wilf as well as a promise not to charge him for using their harvester. Wilf smiles, thinking that their “life after Arlette had begun” (54).

The rest of the summer goes smoothly on the farm. It is hot, there are no severe thunderstorms, and the price of corn is high enough for a profit. Lester returns twice, both times without any concrete evidence. The second time, in July, he openly accuses Wilf of killing his wife. In response, Wilf kicks him off the land then threatens to harm him for trespassing if he ever returns.

Wilf begins to care deeply for Shannon, mostly because of how she treats Henry. She comes every Tuesday and Thursday with food to cook for them both, then, while Wilf cleans up, they sit on the porch and hold hands and talk. On one Tuesday, however, she comes early to talk to Wilf. She asks if Henry seems different, noting how he always seems distracted or upset. Wilf reassures her, insisting that they are just busy on the farm and that Henry is in love with her. Inwardly, he realizes that Arlette’s murder is having more of an impact on Henry than he wants to admit.

One night in August, Wilf wakes up to the sound of a cow in distress. In the barn, he finds Achelois stomping around her stall. He realizes that a rat is hanging from her udder. Achelois flails until the rat finally falls, still with a piece of her udder in its mouth. Wilf tries to smash it with his gun, but the rat runs to a pipe at the end of the barn. Wilf realizes that it leads to the well. When he tries to stop the rat, he is overwhelmed by the putrid smell, vomiting on the floor of the barn. Wilf bandages Achelois’s wound. He then takes a large piece of canvas and crams it down into the pipe, using a broom handle to push it far inside.

In the morning, Wilf lets Henry drive his truck and sends him to Hemingford Home for supplies. Henry is excited, as he is still too young to drive. Wilf is hopeful that it will change his overall mood for the better. Once Henry is gone, Wilf puts cement in the pipe, not wanting Henry to see the rats. He is certain that the rest will die now that there is no way out of the well.

One night in late September, Henry comes home from school upset. Shannon had not been there for two days, and when Henry tried to stop by to see her, her father sent him away. Henry confesses that Shannon is pregnant. He wants to marry her, but Wilf is adamant that they are too young. Henry responds angrily that he wishes they had let his mother sell the land, as it would give them money for him to support Shannon and his baby. He also wishes that his mother were still around, as she would help him better than Wilf will. Wilf is bothered by the comment, but he sends Henry inside when he sees Harlan’s car approaching.

Harlan gets out of his new car wearing a suit with a new belt buckle. Despite being friends, Wilf realizes that he harbors anger for Harlan that is rooted in jealousy. Harlan is one of the wealthiest farmers in the county, with indoor plumbing, a new silo, and, most upsetting of all to Wilf, a happy marriage.

Wilf invites Harlan to sit on the porch with him. As Harlan talks about the pregnancy, blaming his daughter, Henry, and even Wilf, Wilf forces himself to remain quiet. At the end, Harlan tells him that he plans to send Shannon to St. Eusebia, a Catholic home for girls. He is hopeful that Shannon can have the baby, give it up for adoption, then return to finish school so that she can become a teacher. He demands that Wilf give him $75 to pay for Shannon’s tutor while she is gone, and Harlan will pay the other $300 for the cost of the home. Wilf protests, insisting that he can’t afford to pay it. When he asks what will happen if he doesn’t pay, Harlan gives Wilf a look of “contempt” that still haunts him. Harlan tells him that they will no longer have a relationship, leaving Wilf without a harvester or any help on the farm.

After Harlan is gone, Henry comes out to the porch. He is adamant that he can’t let Shannon give up the baby, instead suggesting that they may run away together. However, Wilf advises him against it, insisting that they have no money to support themselves. When he tells Henry that he will “lose respect” for them if they run, Henry angrily responds that Wilf knows nothing, as he “couldn’t even cut a throat without making a mess of it” (75).

When Henry goes to school the next day, Wilf searches the house, hoping that Arlette hid money. He eventually finds $40 hidden in the closet in the band of one of her hats. He notes how the remaining $35 still haunts him to this day, as his pursuit to get it ultimately led to his downfall.

The rest of the week, Wilf contemplates what to do. On Monday, when Henry goes to school, he goes to the bank in Hemingford Home in his truck. He meets with Mr. Stoppenhauser, who immediately agrees to give him a loan. He tries to talk Wilf into taking out another mortgage on his house, pointing out that he can make home improvements that will allow him to sell it later for more than the $750. Wilf is tempted by the idea, promising Mr. Stoppenhauser to talk it over with Henry.

When Wilf leaves the bank, he does not realize that he no longer has the truck. Henry came and switched it for the Model T. When Wilf gets into the car, he finds a note from Henry. In the note, Henry tells his father that he is going to get Shannon from the home in Omaha. He warns Wilf not to send the police after him, or he will tell them about Arlette. At the end of the note, he tells Wilf that he loves him even though “everything [they] did has brought [him] mizzery” (81).

As Wilf drives back to the farm, he becomes genuinely afraid that he will end up in the electric chair, as Henry will likely get caught and tell the police. Wilf briefly considers running away to Colorado. What stops him is the thought of leaving his farm, the thing that he killed Arlette for.