When Ester told him of her pregnancy, Gabriel questioned whether they baby was, indeed, his. Offended, Ester insisted that she had not been with so many men that she could be confused about the child's parentage. Then she suggested that the two of them run away. When Gabriel refused, Ester demanded money to go away by herself and threatened to tell that Gabriel was the father of her unborn baby if he refused her the money. That night, Gabriel stole money that Deborah had been saving and gave it to Ester. A week later, Ester left for Chicago, telling her parents that she was looking for a better life.
On the road again preaching, Gabriel did not find the peace he sought; in fact, he found just the opposite. He saw the suffering of others much more clearly and saw how far they had strayed from the word of God. He began to pray for Ester, and although he saw the bleakness in the lives of others, he found in himself a new faith and vowed never to wander into a life of sin again.
Ester died in childbirth, and Ester's mother brought her daughter's body and her grandson home. Gabriel and Deborah attended Ester's funeral, where Ester's stepfather held Gabriel's son, Royal. Still Gabriel did not claim the child. Deborah became more friendly with Ester's family and reported how the boy was loved and spoiled by his grandparents. Gabriel watched his son grow up and into the life of sin that Ester had led. Gabriel found that whenever Deborah spoke of Royal, he was afraid that she knew the truth, and he had often thought to confess and unburden his heart. He wanted to tell her that he was Royal's father and that he hated Deborah for her inability to have children.
Royal left town but returned inauspiciously soon after a black soldier had been found lynched just outside of town. Gabriel ran into Royal on the street that night and warned him of the danger of being out at that hour and advised Royal to find his way home. Royal, however, didn't share Gabriel's fear because, he said, the white's appetite for blood had been satisfied.
