Let The Circle Be Unbroken

Cassie talks with her father about Hammer’s lecture on white boys. To her surprise, David backs up his brother. He cautions his daughter, “There’s gonna be white boys looking at you too—for no good, but they’ll be looking. I don’t want you looking back” (179). When Bud leaves that evening, Mary is still upset with Hammer for his interference. He does his best to apologize and mend fences with his sister-in-law, but this doesn’t change everyone’s opinion that marriage between Black and white individuals is a bad idea.

On Saturday, the entire family is out in the fields sowing cotton seeds. They are visited by the new county extension agent, Mr. Peck, and Sheriff Dobbs. The sheriff has come to introduce the new agent and vows to find the white men who were responsible for beating Farnsworth. The sheriff attributes the violence to union agitators in the vicinity. In passing, he mentions a knife fight between Jake Willis and another Black man over a card game. Willis is the inquisitive stranger who took an interest in Hammer earlier. Hammer says he doesn’t know the man.

After their visitors leave, David confides to Hammer that he will allow a meeting in his barn for the Black contingent of farmers in favor of unionizing.