Pete grabs the rifle out of Jim’s hand and throws it on his shoulder and fires twice and says Elmer must have started the deer. Jim’s been following Pete through the snow and Pete says he doesn’t think he hit anything and heads home. Jim hopes Pop will let him go out with Pete, his nearest neighbor, again tomorrow. He’d only let Jim come out today because Elmer Tracey, a Senior Selectman like his Pop, was too, but Elmer is going to Concord tomorrow. 

Pete shouts out to Elmer and a dull echo reverberates back from Mill Ridge and Pete continues walking home. Jim follows the path he sets and they work their way down the west slope of Prospect towards his house where they’d meet Elmer. Pete tells Jim to come out again tomorrow so he can get around the loophole of only one deer a season per person and attribute the second kill to Jim. At Pete’s house, Pop’s sleigh and mare are in the woodshed and they hear Pop shouting at Pete’s almost-deaf wife, Christina. Pop and Jim drive down to their house and Pete tags along to look at the deer tracks. They discuss how Pete and Elmer overcame their feud after a few years back Pete sold Elmer a barren cow because he didn’t like that Elmer was raising the taxes. They call for Elmer but there is no answer and Pete and Pop grow concerned and they walk over to the end of Mill Ridge. 

Jim wishes he was back home with his Mom and baby brother, Don. Suddenly, Pete stops and his lantern illuminates Elmer’s head half-buried in the snow. Pop examines the man and finds a hole in Elmer’s right breast. Pete says he mistook Elmer’s waving white glove for a buck’s tail and shot. When Pete leaves to get his horse to carry the body, Pop shakes his head and says it’s a big loss because Elmer was so good at handling the town’s money. He asks Jim if he’s sure it was an accident and Jim nods. Pop looks troubled and asks Jim if he knew anything about Elmer’s planned trip to Concord. Jim says Elmer and Pete discussed the taxes on Pete’s place and said Pete should be all set. They find an envelope with a ticket and check and hands it to Jim and tells him to lie and say Elmer gave it to him earlier. When Pete returns, Pop declares it an accident.