While John Boy is out on an errand for his father, he sees Yancy Tucker stealing some chickens from a neighbour's house. He is then torn between keeping quiet for his friend's sake, and reporting what he witnessed to the Sheriff. Yancy explains that he was just taking the chickens, not for himself, but to give to others who were very poor. John Boy learns that his neighbour was shot though, and so he and his father go to speak to Yancy to try to persuade him to turn himself in. It is whilst John Boy is at his neighbour's place helping out, that he learns that he was shot with a different type of gun to the one Yancy has, and the neighbour admits to shooting himself accidentally.