It's Thursday.

The dark crept slowly all around the house. The wind cried mournfully and owls said who-oo. A wolf howled, and Jack growled low in his throat. Mary and Laura sat close to Ma in the firelight. They knew they were safe in the house, because Jack was there and Ma had pulled the latch-string in. Next day was empty like the first. Jack paced around the stable and around the house, then around the stable and back to the house. He would not pay any attention to Laura. That afternoon Mrs. Scott came to visit with Ma. While they visited, Laura and Mary sat politely, as still as mice. Mrs. Scott admired the new rocking-chair. The more she rocked in it, the more she enjoyed it, and she said how neat and comfortable and pretty the house was. She said she hoped to goodness they would have no trouble with Indians. Mrs. Scott had heard rumors of trouble. She said that land knew, they would never do anything with this country themselves, and all they did was roam around over it like wild animals, and treaties or no treaties, the land belonged to folks that would farm it, and that was only common sense and justice. She did not know why the government made treaties with Indians. The only good Indian was a dead Indian. The very thought of Indians made her blood run cold. She said that she couldn’t forget the Minnesota massacre, and her Pa and her brothers had gone out with the rest of the settlers, and had stopped them only fifteen miles west of them, and she had heard Pa tell often enough how they... When Ma made a sharp sound in her throat, Mrs. Scott stopped. Whatever a massacre was, it was something that grownups would not talk about when little girls were listening. After Mrs. Scott had gone, Laura asked Ma what a massacre was. Ma said she could not explain that now; it was something that Laura would understand when she was older. Mr. Edwards came to do the chores again that evening, and again Jack treed him on the woodpile. Ma had to drag him off. She told Mr. Edwards she couldn’t think what had got into that dog. Maybe it was the wind that upset him.