Florence's cry meets Gabriel's ears not as his sisters voice, but as the voice of any number of sinners, including his own, when crying out for God's mercy. In the silence following her cry, Gabriel is transported back to the days before he was saved.
Gabriel's mother refused to die until she saw the last of her children saved. Sometimes, Deborah would sit with Gabriel's mother, and she and his mother would watch in silence as Gabriel got ready to go out drinking. He felt guilty about what he was doing, but did it nonetheless.
Coming home from a night spent with a woman from out of town and having drunk too much whiskey, Gabriel felt that all the world stood still to look at his sins and see him cast away from God. He fell against a nearby tree, calling for mercy, but felt that he had sinned for too long and that God had turned away from him. Suddenly, he heard his mother singing for him. He praised God, turned from sin, and felt himself reborn.
Gabriel began to preach, and Deborah began to look after him following his mother's death. She cooked his meals, did his laundry, and encouraged him with her praise of his sermons. Deborah had no husband nor even any suitors. The memory of her rape was a barrier between her and the community. She was perfectly suited to take care of the sick and dying, but no respectable man would dream of making her his wife. Still, she was a pillar of strength for Gabriel by helping him through his new life and vocation as minister.
