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pg 19

Assumption: David's father never wears his badge because he doesn't want to call attention to himself.

"No, if there had been a six-shooter ir a Stetson or a pair of hand-tooled cowboy boots around for my father to put on with his badge, I would have known about it. (I must correct that previous statement: my father never wore his badge; he carried it in his suit-coat or shirt pocket..." (Watson 19)

- David's father is the sherrif, and, naturally, a sherriff would wear a badge. In contrast, his father never wears his badge; he carries it in his pocket. David thought at first that "it was part of his self-effacing way", which means that his father had a modest personality and he never wanted to call attention to himself (Watson 19). David also may have thought that his father never wore the badge because he had a weak personality and didn't feel as though he generated enough power to wear something that is a universal symbol of power. However, later in David's life after his father's death, his mother set his father's badge to him, and, after analyzing the makeup of the badge, he realized that the badge was much too heavy to wear on a shirt. His father wouldn't have wanted large holes in his shirt. "But now that the badge is mine- my mother sent it to me after my father's death and I have it pinned to my bulletin board- I realize there was another reason, connected not to character but to practicality. The badge...is heavy and its pin as thick as a pencil's lead. My father would have been poking fair-sized holes in his suits and shirts, and the badge's weight could have torn fabric" (Watson 19).

Truth: David's father didn't wear the badge because of its weight and its potential to tear fabric.

pg 25

Among my friends the rumor was that Frenchy kept locked in his storeroom a fat old toothless Indian woman whom anyone could have sex with for two dollars.  (One of my friends hinted that this was Marie's mother, but I knew that wasnt true" (Watson 25).

This shows the ways in which deciet is present in the town of Mercer and how rumors start.  Perhaps, if guessing from the description of Mercer County, lies such as these may devoid the minds of the community and maybe these lies add interest to the people's lives.

After Gail tells Wes about what Marie said to her (about Frank and his rapes of female Indian patients), Wes doesn't seem to be as shocked as Gail is. This is disconcerting because one would think that if someone found out something that disturbing about one of their family members, that person would show a lot more emotion or have a stronger reaction. David realizes this and then figures that his father probably knew about Frank's activities. "Just one thing Wes. You never said you didn't believe it. Why is that? Why?....But he didn't say a word. He simply picked up his fork and continued to eat Daisy McAuley's rhubarb cake. That was when it came to me. Uncle Frank was my father's brother, and my father knew him aas well as any man or woman. And my father knew he was guilty" (Watson 54). Wes has known for a long time about what his brother does to his Indian female patients, but he chooses not to tell Gail that he knows about it.

On pages 58 and 59, David's father was hanging out with Ollie Young Bear, even though we have been shown that he is racist towards the Native Americans. Ollie is actually married to a white woman, and the other Indians do not respect him because they think he wishes he were a white man. On page 58, David's father says Ollie is "a testimony to what hard work will get you" and he is refering to how Ollie is a close as an indian can get to being a white man. This shows that David's father tries to look like he is not racist by being with an Indian, but he is hanging out with an Indian who does not follow the usual Native American traditions.

Wes asks Gail and David to go for a walk after he says that he has to talk to Marie again (officially). When the two of them leave the house, David asks his mother what is going on, but Gail doesn't reveal anything. Instead, she says that there is trouble with the Indians and Marie might have some information. "What's going on, anyway?..."Oh, there's some trouble going on with the Indians. Possible trouble I should say." Now she was as cautious as my father. "Why doese he have to talk to Marie? When she's sick." She took a long time in answering. Obviously her mind was elsewhere, somewhere off with the wind. "He thinks Marie might have some information" (Watson 64). Gail lies to David when he asks what his father is interrogating Marie about.

On page 65, David asks his mother if Marie or Ronnie are in trouble. when she answers she replies, "What? Oh no. No nothing like that. Your dad just wants to see if she can give him some information. Answer some questions." His mother is covering for the truth that there is trouble within the family and she does not know what is going to happen. She knows that there is going to be trouble for Frank because of Marie's revelation.

"Tell him, I thought. Tell grandfather. Tell him, and he will take care of everything" (Watson 71). David wants the secrets out of his family, and he wants everyone to know the truth about his uncle. He thinks that if the truth is out, everything will be better.

" The silence was so sudden and complete I thought at first that they saw me and that was why they quit talking" (Watson 72). At this point in the story Davids Father and Grandfather are talking about how Uncle Frank has had affairs with Indian girls. The truth is it is more common knowledge than David thought that his unlce has raped and molested Indian women and girls.

On pages 72 and 76, Julian comments on Frank and Indian girls. When he does this, he is stating facts about Frank (the truth) "Come on Wesley. Come on boy. You know Frank's always been partial to red meat. He couldn't have been any older than Davy when Bud caught him down in the stable with that little Indian girl" (Watson 72). "Then Grandfather said, "Now he's got himself a good-looking white woman for a wife. That better keep him off the reservation" (Watson 76). Grandfather states the truth about Frank and Indian girls.

In the section between pages 84 and 85, Mr. and Mrs. Hayden are talking about how he had talked to Uncle Frank. The whole time the mother is trying to make the father stop talking because she does not want David to hear. The father is talking in a way that if David had not secretly known the problem with his uncle, he would have had no idea what was going on. It is almost like they were talkiing in code. They were trying to keep Uncle Frank's activites a secret from David (they didn't want David to see Uncle Frank in such a different way (as a rapist instead of an uncle))

When the Haydens come back from the Grandparent's ranch, David is able to talk to Marie for a little bit (because she is getting better). Marie asked him if he had gotten to ride Nutty, and David said he did. "Did you ride far? I nodded again. "And did you see a coyote?" How did she know I was given a pistol for hunting coyotes? "No", I said, "but I was looking." "He's hard to see when you look for him" (Watson 86). When Marie is referencing a coyote, she means Uncle Frank (the coyote is a symbol). Marie is also saying that Frank's true character is hard to see because of his charming personality. Marie is saying that Frank is deceptive in revealing his true personality.

"No one else knew, and I could keep going until I found a place where I could bury that secret forever" (Watson 87). LAter in the book we find out that David had seen his uncle at the house the day Marie died. At this point, it seems that David is not going to tell anyone that he knows that unlce Frank had to do with Marie's murder.

Daisy tells David to go over to her house to get some blueberry pie in the time after the family found Marie dead. There, David runs into Len, who has been drinking. After talking to Len, David realizes that Len also saw Uncle Frank escaping the Hayden's house after he most likely killed Marie. "I leaned forward. "Did you see something, Len?" He sat up straight and peered at me as if he weren't sure of my identity. "Did you?" he asked" (Watson 94). Len and David are both keeping the fact that they saw Frank leaving the house earlier in the afternoon secret from eachother.

The night that Marie dies, David finds that he can't sleep. He goes into his parents room and tells them that he saw Frank around the house at around 3 o'clock that afternoon. "I drew a deep breath and with its exhale let the secret out. "I was going fishing with Charley and Ben and we had just come from Ben's house and we were riding our bikes along the tracks. We were going out to Fuller's gravel pit. Then I had to go to the bathroom. I didn't want to go all the way back to our house to go, so I used Len and Daisy's outhouse....I told Charley and Ben to go on ahead and I'd catch up. While I was sitting there I saw someone cutting across our backyard...I was pretty sure it was Uncle Frank. Then I got out and watched him go down the tracks. He was going towards town. I'm pretty sure it was him" (Watson 97). David had kept it a secret that he knew that Marie was murdered by Uncle Frank.

Wes and Frank come home one afternoon and go down in to the basement. Wes comes up alone shortly after, saying that he had imprisoned Frank in the basement (instead of sending him to jail- in order to protect the family name and keep the truth off the streets of Bentrock) "He's in the basement. God****** it! Don't you get it? I've arrested hin. He's down there now" (Watson 109). Wes arrests Frank and keeps him in the basement so the fact that Frank has been arrested doesn't get out and the reason that Frank has been arrested is kept a secret.

David's grandparents come to the house after they heard that Frank had been arrested from Gloria. Julian thinks that Frank has been arrested for beating up an Indian. "He's supposed to have beaten up some Indian," Grandfather said. "What?" asked my father. "What are you saying?" "That's what Gloria said. Something about assaulting a god**** Indian. Since when do you get arrested in this part of the country for taking a poke at a man, red or white, that's what I-" (Watson 117). "Mom. Dad. I didn't arrest Frank for simple assault. I don't know what Gloria told you. This is for sexual assault. I arreseted Frank for...for taking liberties with his patients. His Indian patients" (Watson 118). Gloria lied to Julian about the circumstances under which Frank was arrested.

On page 128, David tells of some of the strange happenings that happened in Bentrock. (See paragraph 1 on pg. 128). "How many other secrets had our town agreed to take?" (Watson 128).

pg 166: The cover up of Frank's death (DECEPTION!) to maintain the family name and respect of Frank (the Hayden's didn't want any controversies circling about Frank's death).

pg 174: David didn't tell his future wife about what happened when he was a boy in Bentrock.