Journeying to Yellow Sky aboard the train as it whizzes across the Texan landscape, Potter and his new wife, beautifully attired in a blue dress, joyfully chatter with each other. Potter splurges a dollar for dinner in the dining car; the couple receives special care from the waiter.
Other passengers and train staff watch the couple with knowing amusement. Yet these knowing looks pass undetected by the newlyweds, for “to the minds of the pair, their surroundings reflect the glory of their marriage.”
As the train approaches Yellow Sky, Potter grows more and more nervous. He wonders how he will tell the citizens of Yellow Sky about his wedding. When he left for San Antonio, he told no one in Yellow Sky that he would return with a wife. He now comes back to “an innocent and unsuspecting community.” Such a betrayal of societal expectations makes Potter feel like a heinous criminal.
Boarded Up Town
The main street is boarded up and empty. A very drunk Scratchy Wilson is shooting up the town, again. The townsfolk of Yellow Sky, even the customers at the Weary Gentleman saloon, are in hiding.Hearing Wilson’s drunken shouting getting closer, everyone in the saloon takes cover on the floor or behind a wall in anticipation of the shooting. Even drunk, Wilson is a good shot. Wilson bangs on the saloon doors and shoots a few rounds at them. He then turns toward the marshal’s new home, just as Potter and his bride exit the train.
Unaware of anything else except each other, Potter and his wife laugh nervously, and hurry home as fast as they can. As they round the corner, they come face to face with Wilson. Wilson pulls out his two guns, pointing one at Potter’s chest, and challenges the marshal to a duel. Potter has no gun.
In this story, Crane echoes Harper Lee’s words from “To Kill a Mockingbird”: “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.”
The people of Yellow Sky do not know why their respected marshal went to San Antonio, but they do know why they want him back. The lawless West was discovering the benefits of law, order, and domestic virtues, and Jack Potter represents the brave men who willingly sacrifice their lives for such benefits to flourish.
