On Tuesday, December 1, Martha arrives at Ballard’s Mill and realizes Joseph North is inside with Ephraim. Listening at the door, Martha hears North press Ephraim to repeat a land survey for the Kennebec Proprietors, even though Ephraim has already completed it and found the property to be frozen bogland unfit for farming. North makes the threat plain: Ephraim still holds only a lease to the mill, not the deed, and North suggests the family’s home and income depend on Ephraim’s cooperation.

Martha enters the mill under the pretense of looking for her ink and finds North with his dog, Cicero, while Percy the falcon watches from the loft. North is openly hostile to Martha after her disruption of his court, and Martha refuses to placate him. During the exchange, North reveals he has taken one of Martha’s ink disks and makes a pointed remark about her supposed drawing, then casually mentions that his wife, Lidia North, may soon need another tonic for her worsening headaches.

North leaves after telling Ephraim he expects the new survey by the end of the month. Once he is gone, Ephraim vents his anger, first with a Shakespearean insult and then by driving a hooked blade into the drafting table. Martha jokes that the knife looks like revenge, and Ephraim accepts the name, showing how deeply North’s visit has provoked him.

Martha then asks whether Ephraim will do the survey, and Ephraim says he likely has no choice. He explains that North is not only punishing Martha for speaking out in court but also trying to send Ephraim hundreds of miles away before Martha testifies. Because coverture would prevent Martha from testifying in this case without her husband present, Ephraim realizes North’s real aim is to strip Rebecca Foster of her only witness and have her accusations dismissed.