About this story
You question him hard before agreeing to his limited timber right, and a year later find him still bent over ledgers after hours, guarding a photograph of a boy he keeps locked away and will not fully explain. A resentful mill boy's grievance stays unsettled while, unnoticed by either of you, another test of the plantation begins out on the lake.
How it opens
After Jerome's death, neighbors waited for grief to make you foolish with four thousand acres.
Instead you learned each field, account, and grievance before anyone could claim your authority.
Uncle HiramThey have begun carrying cottonseed off the place, mistuss, and other things are going wrong.
Tell me exactly what is missing, and name no person unless the facts require it.
Uncle HiramThe seed is gone; I do not want to name names unless I am obliged to do it.
Choose
No accusation without a witness or a mark we can verify.
Count the remaining seed before questioning anyone.