Red River

Israel and Spenser pull McCully inside, but he has been shot through the throat. While Spenser refuses to accept that his father will die, Israel picks up McCully’s gun and fires at the white men outside three times. His shots miss, and “he wants is to be done with this place and to get back to his cabin, and to Lucy and his children” (169). The smoke from the rooftop fire grows worse, and the men must prepare to vacate the building.

Israel tells Spenser that it’s time to surrender. They make a white flag out of Spenser’s sleeve and call for the shooting to stop. However, Spenser warns: “don’t trust them” and pulls Israel back (170). He then takes the flag and rushes to be first out of the door, shouting their surrender. The group follows. The white men shoot Spenser and begin shooting the rest, who rush back into the burning courthouse. Some jump through windows to try to escape but are then shot.

Israel leads a small group of men into the storeroom and reveals the crawlspace that Lucy previously discovered. Warren Bullitt pushes ahead of Israel into the hole, and then others follow. After an hour, the smoke subsides, and there is the sound of men walking above.