In the middle of the night, some of the sharecroppers on the Hall farm suddenly vanish. There are footsteps the next day, and Goodwife Ryla swears she heard footsteps, men's footsteps, a lot of men's footsteps --
-- the constables who investigate find, buried under the willow tree, a box of weapons and plans to attack Rhaena Olwak's home.
They do not, however, find the sharecroppers.