The same evening, the townspeople congregate on the courthouse lawn for Reverend Brown’s prayer meeting. All the major characters are present, except for Cates. Brady sits on the wooden platform. Drummond and Hornbeck are at the edge of the crowd.
When Brown becomes overzealous as he prays and asks that Cates, as well as anyone who supports him (including his daughter, Rachel), be destroyed and damned, Brady interrupts him and ends the payer meeting. Left standing alone with Drummond, Brady questions him about their relationship, once cordial, and wonders why Drummond has “… moved so far away from me.” Drummond tells Brady that perhaps he, Brady, is the one who has moved away “ … by standing still.”
