The setting of this one-act play is a farmhouse kitchen in the Midwest. Instead of modern appliances, there is a hand pump by the sink for water and a wood stove for warming and cooking. From the kitchen, there are three doors: one to the living room, one to the upper floor and one to the shed and then to the outside. In the middle of the room is a rustic dining table and chairs. The room hasn't been cleaned and it looks like someone was interrupted preparing a meal. Dirty pans are stacked under the sink, a loaf of bread sits outside the breadbox, and a dishcloth sits on the table. The shed door opens and Sheriff Peters, County Attorney 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 of the day before. Mr. Hale told them he was on his way to town and decided to stop and ask John Wright to accompany him for the cost of a party phone line. He had asked her in the past but she said no, so Mr. Hale wanted to talk to her about it in front of his wife in the hope that she could have some influence. When Mr. Hale knocked on the Wrights' door, there was no answer. It was after eight, so he knew they were up. When he knocked a second time, he thought he heard a response, 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. She said he was upstairs and had been strangled with a rope. When he asked her who did this to her husband, she replied that she didn't know because ...... middle of paper ...... seeing the bird sing in the house, the calm would be overwhelming. Mrs. Peters could relate to the calm, remembering being alone on a farm after the death of her first child. Mrs. Hale again expresses her regret for not visiting Mrs. Wright and her understanding of how things are for women. The women agree that Mrs. Wright should not be informed of the broken fruit pots just as the men are coming back downstairs. The county attorney comments that the case is pretty clear, except that he hasn't found any concrete evidence. He briefly looks at the things the women have gathered to bring to Mrs. Wright and approves them. Mrs. Hale hides the pretty box with the dead bird in her jacket pocket to dispose of it later. The final part of the conversation consists of the men again asking the women about quilting, one of many women's trifles..