Across Five Aprils

Ellen begins suffering from severe headaches after running out of coffee, so Matthew sends Jethro to Nancy’s house to borrow some. Jethro is still awkward around Nancy, but he observes that she is lonely and anxious without John. She asks Jethro to come and play with her two boys sometimes since they no longer have their father to play with.

The next morning, Matthew decides to let Jethro take the wagon into Newton by himself for supplies, a momentous responsibility for the 10-year-old. On his ride, he passes by the home of an old man named Jake Roscoe, who asks him for the latest news of the war. Roscoe then asks Jethro if Bill really chose to fight for the Confederacy, and Jethro gives him a vague answer. Changing the subject, he promises to bring Roscoe back a newspaper from Newton. Jethro also passes by the Burdows’ decrepit farm, which fills him with dread.

In Newton, Jethro’s shopping goes smoothly at first. He notices some men gathered in Sam Gardiner’s general store: among them is Ross Milton, the local newspaper editor who suffers from arthritis, and Travis Burdow’s father, Dave. Another man named Guy Wortman approaches Jethro, hounding him with questions and becoming confrontational about Bill. Wortman suggests that the Creightons are “Copperheads,” or Southern sympathizers. He comments to Dave Burdow that if an angry mob were gathered today, they’d be more likely to go after the Creightons than his son Travis; this remark causes Burdow to leave the store. Meanwhile, Ross Milton tells Wortman to leave Jethro alone. Wortman asks Jethro if his father taught him that Bill was a “skunk that deserves shootin’ fer goin’ aginst his country” (75). Jethro speaks up defiantly in Bill’s defense, which further enrages Wortman, and Sam Gardiner orders him to leave. Milton, seeing that Jethro has been rattled by this confrontation, invites the boy to have supper with him at a restaurant in town. During the meal, Milton offers Jethro a book to help Jethro learn how to speak more properly.

Jethro begins his journey home as night falls. As he passes the Burdow farm, he feels an even greater sense of dread than before, and soon sees a man with a horse waiting for him in the road—Dave Burdow. Burdow climbs into the seat of the wagon, declaring he’s going to ride with Jethro. Jethro is terrified, but Burdow assures him that he won’t hurt him; he suspects a trap is waiting for Jethro further down the road. As they are crossing a bridge, a shadowy figure leaps out and cracks a whip across the back of Jethro’s horses. The horses panic, and the attacker flees. Burdow is able to regain control of the horses, and a tragedy is narrowly avoided. Burdow and Jethro stop to deliver Roscoe’s newspaper, but Jethro is too dazed to talk. Once Burdow is sure Jethro will be safe, he leaves him. Jethro arrives home, and at first, he does not tell his family about the incident. Before going to bed, however, he confesses everything.

The next day, Matthew and Ellen agree that Matthew should go thank Dave Burdow for saving Jethro. However, Matthew has a sudden heart attack and collapses. Although he survives, he is very weak, and Jethro observes that he is never quite the same afterward.

It’s planting season again, so with Matthew incapacitated, Jethro is forced to become the man of the house. He and Jenny take turns plowing the fields together, and their relationship grows stronger. Several neighbors also come by to help with the farm work.

A letter arrives from Shad, and it’s full of romantic sentiment toward Jenny. When reading it aloud to the family, Jenny omits several parts, which makes Jethro angry. He goes outside to sulk, and Nancy comes by and talks to him, telling him that it wouldn’t be right for Jenny to share Shad’s private words with everyone. Jethro is still bitter, though, and Jenny notices. That night, she apologizes and offers to let him read the letter, but Jethro finally admits that it’s her private business, and they return to being on friendly terms.

One night, a group of drunken rabble-rousers comes by the house, calling the Creightons “Copperheads,” and leaves them a threatening message. This makes the family paranoid, and for the next few weeks, they and the neighbors take turns keeping watch all night for a possible attack. Nothing happens, though, and after a while, the family begins to suspect that the threats were empty. One night, after they’ve let their guard down, they wake up to find that their barn is burning and their well water has been tainted with coal oil.