Charles's money, a wreath of ice

The Ford makes it to King City, where the postmaster hands Adam a letter from Connecticut lawyers: Charles is dead, buried under no stone, and has left over a hundred thousand dollars to be divided equally between Adam and his wife. Adam pockets the letter without reading it aloud, and then cannot remember how to start the car. In the wagon shed Cal bets Aron his deer's-leg whistle that they will be sent to bed straight after supper, threatens to accuse him of stealing their father's knife, and is stopped cold when Aron asks quietly why he does the sneaky things and what good they are. That evening Lee reads the letter, reads Charles's daguerreotype — love and murder both in the face — and lays the cards out: Cathy could not claim the money without Adam's help, and Adam has no real choice. Adam denies it; Lee says "Bull shit" amiably and goes out. Cal, who has listened at the door, prays not to be made mean, then tells his brother their father is sending their mother a wreath of carnations packed in ice.

Charles's will is his last joke, and the chapter is about what a good man does when handed one. Lee's method is to refuse to help Adam deliberate about something already decided, which is harsher than sympathy. Cal gets the eavesdropped truth and the prayer in one night, and spends the truth on a lie invented to comfort his brother.