GALLOWS WAY
By
It takes the lovely, if dense Marietta, owner of the Galloway tobacco plantation, an inordinate length of days in that 1840s South to discover the worst about her brother and sister-in-law and the best about the man she weds. It would seem obvious to the merest child that brother Oren, Marietta's first love, was rigging books and lining his pocket, while sister Caroleen's parasol was twirling with jealousy when Marietta was courted by handsome Lafe. Lafe is supposedly a roving tobacco buyer but he is actually a prime mover on the underground railroad. Tiresome Marietta remains loyal to Oren even after her marriage to Lafe--a ploy to keep Oren at home. Meanwhile upsetting things happen--from the death of a cat to the murder of a slave. The couples' enemies close in for the kill and Marietta is goosed by Truth. Hoecake hum.