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contest, Kehoe stopped by Ellsworth’s place. “I like that rifle of yours,” Kehoe said. “Will you give me twenty-five dollars difference for that rifle of mine?”
    Kehoe’s offer took Ellsworth by surprise. “No,” he told Kehoe. “I wouldn’t give that much difference because I have no use for them.” Ellsworth suggested giving a ten-dollar difference, a counteroffer Kehoe turned down. “That gun cost me fifty dollars, and they didn’t have the sights I wanted,” Kehoe said, adding that he had paid an extra eleven dollars for a special gun sight from a Detroit company.
    No deal was made. Kehoe went home. 34

    The end of school year always meant fun for the children; this year’s classes were no exception. Bernice Sterling, the first-grade teacher, telephoned Kehoe. She asked if she could have a picnic with her students in the grove on the edge of Kehoe’s farm.
    “When are you going to have the picnic?” Kehoe asked her.
    “Thursday,” she said.
    In retrospect Sterling felt Kehoe’s response was both forthright and enigmatic. “Well,” he told her, “if you’re going to have a picnic, you’d better have it right away.” 35

    In the afternoon, as David Harte was driving his hay-filled wagon over to his son’s place, he heard a horn behind him. This wasn’t unusual, particularly in a town like Bath, where horses and wagons shared the road with trucks and automobiles.
    The machine swung around Harte’s wagon. Harte recognized his neighbor. Kehoe continued down the road, raising his hand in silent greeting. 36

    One of the Price sisters called the Kehoe residence to see how Nellie was doing. There was no answer.
    They heard from Kehoe that evening. “Have you been trying to get us on the telephone?” he asked. “Yes,” was the reply, expressing concern about Nellie.
    “Nellie is over to Jackson,” Kehoe said. “She was lonesome here, and we have some friends by the name of Vost who we used to know at Tecumseh, and it occurred to me to take Nellie over there because I thought it would be a good thing for her.
    “I am to go back for her on Thursday,” he added, and then hung up. 37
    Come evening, David Harte saw something a little odd across the road. Andrew Kehoe’s arms were full of straw as he walked into his henhouse. Wasn’t he doing the same thing yesterday when Harte and Champion came to see him about the horse? Harte knew Kehoe had no birds; he’d sold his brood some time ago. Why would he spend so much time filling the coop with straw?
    Maybe he’s going to start chicken farming again, Harte thought. 38

    Fordney Hart, a freshman at Bath Consolidated, finally was leaving school at 8:30 p.m. Although it was well past the end of the school day, the building was bustling with adults attending a Parent-Teacher Association meeting where Fordney had performed as part of a small orchestral ensemble. 39
    Someone was in front of the school. He wasn’t doing anything in particular, just standing, looking at the building. Fordney thought this person looked familiar.
    The teenager caught a glimpse of the man’s gold front teeth. Fordney recognized him. He was always in and out of the school, that handy guy who had solved the bee problem and did other odd jobs.
    Andrew Kehoe. That was the man’s name. Now Fordney knew exactly who he was. Every once in a while, Fordney’s parents went to play cards over at a neighbor’s. Card games were boring to the teenager; instead he would drop by the Kehoe farm. Kehoe had a radio set he’d let Fordney play with now and again. Yes, that definitely was the same man now standing there in the dark. And wasn’t it just a month ago that Kehoe had dynamited some old stumps out of a relative’s fields? 40
    The two apparently never acknowledged each other. Fordney headed home. Kehoe remained in front of the school, alone. 41

Chapter 7

ELECTRICITY

     
    The morning of May 18, 1927, began with electricity. Lightning hovered over Bath during an early