John is furious with Elisabeth and threatens to cut down all the trees on his property, which would also damage the neighboring Murray property that those trees protected from the cold north winds. Emily is desperate, and she goes to Father Kessedy, a friend of John's, in Bright River so that she can persuade him to give up. John had actually been acting in a fit of rage, and he had no intention of actually cutting down the trees; finally the relationship between him and Emily, which had cracked, is mended.