A couple of family memories introduce this chapter. The first is a trip Moses takes to Rhode Island and his subsequent visit to a Jewish synagogue. Moses says “they didn’t seem any different from Presbyterians” (52) and expresses admiration for their intellect. The second memory is of Moses’s disputation with a local militia captain named Jonas Parker. Adam’s father, disliking all things martial, takes issue with Parker’s desire to be in charge of the community militia. Moses also dislikes the interpretation of dreams, considering it to be superstition. Parker, desiring to muster the militia on a certain day, claims that a dream showed him the weather would be fine. Moses believes the meteorological signs indicate otherwise. Moses’s prediction proves to be correct, vindicating his pragmatic approach over the interpretation of dreams.

Adam is similarly skeptical of prophetic dreams and is therefore not frightened when Levi comes into his bed that night, saying he dreamed of a red sky and that he (Levi) had died in the dream. To comfort Levi, Adam has him look out the window to see that the sky is not red. However, Levi hears racing hoofbeats in the darkness. Then they both hear a rider yelling, although the distance is such that they cannot make out his words.