In a flashback to Oxford, Massachusetts, on December 19, 1754, young Martha watches Billy Crane die on the gallows from a hidden spot on a hill with Ephraim Ballard. Ephraim forces Martha to keep looking so she will see justice carried through to the end. Martha is horrified by the hanging, sees her parents below among the crowd, and breaks down once Crane is finally cut down.

Martha reflects that her father had forbidden her to leave the house until Billy Crane was buried, but Ephraim came for her after her parents left, and she could not refuse him. When Martha mentions that her father said Ephraim testified, Ephraim answers only that he told the town elders what he saw. Martha understands that five men, including her father, met the previous night and decided Billy Crane's fate.

As Martha worries that her parents will discover she came, Ephraim tells her to wait because someone is coming. Joseph North climbs the hill, and Ephraim thanks him for coming and confirms that he still needs Joseph that evening at four o'clock with documents to make something official. Joseph reveals he is leaving the next morning with his regiment for Fort Beause9jour to drive natives out of Acadia, then leaves after greeting Martha.

Once Joseph is gone, Ephraim explains that he has asked Joseph North to marry them when he brings Martha home. Martha is stunned, and Ephraim awkwardly raises the real reason: Martha's monthly cycle has not come since what happened two weeks earlier. Martha strikes him, furious that he might be offering marriage out of pity, but Ephraim insists his feelings for Martha have not changed and asks whether hers have.

When Martha admits by gesture that she still wants him, Ephraim embraces her in relief. He tells Martha she must marry him that night so that, if she is pregnant, no one can question the legitimacy of the child. Martha, strong-willed but resolved, tells Ephraim to take her home so they can be married.