The man tries to get revenge on the lawyer by attacking his children. One of the kids was hurt by this man and the other get to escape. The child that was hurt is saved by this other neighbor. The man that tried to hurt the children is killed in this event and this event later gets to the to be known by the father and sheriff. The sheriff does not want to let this event to be known by the whole community so he asks the father to not tell anyone ,but the father wants his child to be tried for murder because he thinks that his child kills the man that tried to hurt them. This shows the children that there are crazy and evil humans out in the world. This shows the reader that the children are aware about the dangers in the world. The children in the novel lose their innocence as they encounter these events.
In conclusion the children are pointing out some injustices in their community and the world. The author show the reader how the children are aware about the errors in this world and how the children are losing their innocence little by little due to the incorrect acts done by some