- In the present day July heat at the Glenmore, Mattie feeds Hamlet, a Great Dane belonging to Mr. Palmer, one of the guests at the hotel. When Mr. Palmer told her the dog's name and the reason behind, Mattie commented on his cleverness because, since working at the hotel, she has learned about when to speak her mind and when not to. And because of Mattie's supposed admiration, she takes care of Hamlet for an extra dollar a week. Way to work a situation, girl.
- Mattie has another way to get rid of the letters. She takes Hamlet on his nightly walk, and they go down to the lake with the intent of throwing the letters in the water.
- But as Mattie nears the end of the dock, Weaver startles her. He's sitting on the dock's edge, looking at the boat Grace Brown and her beau took out on the lake. He cries and tells Mattie that he hates "this place… it kills everything" (8.25).