Chub witnesses Merle Sanderson drop by Enid and Eugene’s house. It turns out, he is in on the burl poaching.

The newspaper blames the destruction at Damnation Grove on “unknown” vandals. The local policeman is in Merle Sanderson’s pocket. Colleen informs Rich about Eugene’s poaching operation after Chub spilled the beans to her. Rich shrugs off the issue.

Rich cannot ignore the threat to the family’s water supply though. The three of them trudge over the ridge to inspect the situation at Damnation Grove. Mud and timber have damned up the creek above their intake pipe. Rich tries to cut a channel through the build-up, but he releases a sudden torrent of mud that, for an instant, sucks him under. He claws his way out, escaping death by a narrow margin.

Rich helps Eugene fix his roof, but the situation between the two families is tense. Eugene needles Colleen, who waves a knife at him, her nose again bleeding from the secondhand spray she inhaled with Joanna. Enid steps in. They leave after dinner, Colleen still distant and angry.