On his visit home from the Army, what did Russell Thomas learn about the “big of trouble” involving the Avery family during the past summer?

Talk turns to the trouble of T.J. Avery, a young boy who, with the two white Simms boys, robbed a store. The proprietor was killed and no one wants to believe it was the Simms boys. T.J. will probably not get a trial since he is a colored boy, the adults speculate.