The Able McLaughlins · Chapter
The Homecoming explained
The chapter opens with a serene description of the prairie and the McLaughlin homestead, where children play and await the return of older siblings from school.
What happens
The chapter opens with a serene description of the prairie and the McLaughlin homestead, where children play and await the return of older siblings from school. Their quiet is broken when they spot a team of horses approaching, carrying a soldier in blue—Wully McLaughlin, returning from the Civil War. The family reunites with joy and relief, but Wully's wounded foot reveals the cost of war. That night, he shares with his parents the trauma of battle and the death of his brother Allen, a grief that overshadows his homecoming.
Themes in this chapter
Pioneer Hardship and Resilience
The McLaughlins endure the isolation of the prairie, the dangers of losing children in tall grass, and the physical toll of farming, yet they build a home and community.
Family and Community Bonds
The family's joyful reunion with Wully, the communal prayer, and the stranger Mr. Knight's kindness highlight the strength of family and neighborly ties.
Violence and Trauma
Wully's war experience, including the death of his brother Allen and his own physical and psychological wounds, underscores the lasting impact of violence.
Characters to notice
- Wully McLaughlin
Returns home from the Civil War, wounded in foot and haunted by the death of his brother Allen.
- Chirstie
Not directly present in this chapter.
- Isobel McLaughlin
Not directly present in this chapter.
- Peter Keith
Not directly present in this chapter.
- Dod
Not directly present in this chapter.
- John Keith
Not directly present in this chapter.
- Barbara McNair
Not directly present in this chapter.
- Jeannie McNair
Not directly present in this chapter.
- John McLaughlin
Not directly present in this chapter.
- Wee Johnnie
Not directly present in this chapter.
- Alex McNair
Not directly present in this chapter.
- Mrs. McLaughlin
The mother, who tends to Wully's wounds and shares in the family's joy and grief.
- Allen
Wully's brother, killed in battle; his death is a central trauma in Wully's homecoming.
- Squire McLaughlin
Not directly present in this chapter.
- David McDowell
Little David, one of the children playing outside, who spots the approaching team.
- Houghton
Not directly present in this chapter.
- Andy McFee
Not directly present in this chapter.
- Hughie
A ten-year-old boy at home due to fever; he explains the calf's tail-frisking as praising the Lord.
- Mr. Knight
A stranger from Tyler who drives Wully home, later treated as a guest.
- Geordie Sproul
Not directly present in this chapter.
- Gib McTaggert
Not directly present in this chapter.
- Jimmy McTaggert
Not directly present in this chapter.
- Mary
The oldest child, a teacher, who first identifies the soldier's blue uniform.
- Andrew McLaughlin
Fifteen-year-old Andrew, working in the field, witnesses the emotional homecoming and later carries sleeping children to bed.
- Flora
One of the children returning from school.
- Sarah
A little girl playing outside, who waddles after the boys to see the approaching visitor.
- Lammie
Not directly present in this chapter.
- Joseph
Not directly present in this chapter.
- Janet Price
Not directly present in this chapter.
- Nellie
Not directly present in this chapter.
Key passages
“The prairie lay that afternoon as it had lain for centuries of September afternoons, vast as an ocean; motionless as an ocean coaxed into very little ripples by languid breezes; silent as an ocean where only very little waves slip back into their element.”
The prairie stretched out endlessly, calm and quiet like a still ocean, unchanged for centuries.
Sets the scene of the vast, silent prairie before the family's arrival.
“Ten years ago the children’s father had halted his ox team there, finishing his journey from Ayrshire, and his eight boys and girls alighting upon the summer’s crop of wild strawberries, had harvested it with shrieks of delight which broke forever the immediate part of the centuries’ silence.”
A decade earlier, the father had stopped his oxen here after traveling from Scotland, and his eight children had joyfully picked wild strawberries, ending the ancient quiet of the land.
Describes the family's arrival and their first act of settlement.
“He had a real house now. The log cabin in which he and his nine, his brother and his ten, his two sisters and their sixteen had all lived that first summer, was now but a mere woodshed adjoining the kitchen.”
The family now lived in a proper house; the original log cabin where dozens had crowded together was reduced to a woodshed.
Shows the family's progress from cramped pioneer conditions to a more established home.
“Hugged, and kissed, and patted and loved, the bearded Wully turns to the stranger. 'This is Mr. Knight, of Tyler, mother. He brought me all the way.'”
After being embraced by his family, Wully introduces the man who drove him home, Mr. Knight from Tyler.
Highlights the gratitude toward the stranger who helped Wully return.
“He had never told her, of course, how Allen’s sweet singing mouth had been destroyed. For Allen had been a gay lad, playing the fiddle, and singing many songs, sometimes little lovable ones he made as he sang, about pumpkins, or the old red rooster, or anything that might please the little children.”
Wully spared his mother the horrific detail that Allen's face had been shot away, remembering his brother as a cheerful musician who made up songs for the children.
Reveals the depth of Wully's trauma and his protective love for his mother.
