The setting of this one-act play is a farm kitchen in the Midwest. In place of modern appliances, there is a hand pump in the sink for water and a wood stove for heating and cooking. From the kitchen there are three doors: one leading to the living room, one to the upper floor, one to the garage and then to the outside. In the center of the room is a rustic dining table and chairs. The room was not cleaned and it appears someone was interrupted while preparing a meal. Dirty pans are piled under the sink, a loaf of bread sits outside the bread bin and a tea towel is on the table. The shed door opens and Sheriff Peters, County Prosecutor Henderson, and Lewis Hale, a neighboring farmer, enter the kitchen. followed by the sheriff's wife and the neighbor's wife. The sheriff and county attorney begin questioning Mr. Hale about the events that occurred the previous day. Mr. Hale told them he was going into town and decided to stop and ask John Wright to accompany him at the cost of a telephone line for the party. She had asked him in the past but he had said no, so Mr. Hale wanted to tell her about it in front of his wife with the hope that she might have some influence. When Mr. Hale knocked on the Wrights' door, there was no answer there. It was after eight, so he knew they were up. When he knocked a second time, he thought he heard an answer, so he entered. He found Mrs. Wright rocking in a rocking chair and folding her apron in her hands. He asked to speak to her husband, but she told him no because he was dead. He indicated that he was upstairs and that he had been strangled with a rope. When he asked her who had done such a thing to her husband, she said she didn't know because ... middle of paper ... seeing the bird singing in the house, the silence would be oppressive. Mrs. Peters could identify with the stillness, remembering being alone on a farm after the death of her first child. Mrs. Hale once again expresses regret at not visiting Mrs. Wright and understanding of how things are for women. The women agree that Mrs. Wright should not be told about the smashed jars of fruit just as the men return downstairs. The county attorney comments that the case is quite clear, except that no concrete evidence has been found. He briefly examines the personal effects the women have collected to bring to Mrs. Wright and approves them. Mrs. Hale hides the beautiful box with the dead bird in her jacket pocket to dispose of later. The last part of the conversation consists of the men questioning the women again about quilting, one of many feminine nonsenses.