But Mrs. Mitchell thought enlisting in the militia was a good idea, which neither violated the law nor broke any oaths.
Gerard Mitchell and Ellen Mitchell had a huge fight, and Winters, who was staying with the Mitchells, could hear Gerard's roaring and Mrs. Mitchell's crying even from outside the mansion.
The youngest Mitchell daughter still unwed, Scarlett Mitchell, hid in the gazebo in the backyard with a lieutenant's arm around her, desperately covering her ears and sobbing.
"It's normal for a husband and wife to quarrel, I saw it myself when I was young," Winters had to comfort the terrified young miss: "Haven't you seen it before?"
Miss Michel sobbed in response, "They never used to fight... Is my dad going to kill my mom?"
"No... Don't worry, he won't..." The girl's imagination left Winters dumbfounded.