oof of witchcraft and what is mere superstition is never resolved in the play, and Arthur Miller is almost totally silent about it. So we too will have to reserve judgment, and just take note of these "proofs" as they are presented.^^^^^^^^^^THE CRUCIBLE: ACT I, SCENE 3Just before they leave, the Putnams' maidservant Mercy Lewis comes in with further word on Ruth's condition: "She give a powerful sneeze... another like it will shake her wits together, I'm sure." This sounds like good news, and for a moment it looks as if the trouble might clear up by itself.As soon as the grownups are gone, Abigail becomes all business. They've got to get their stories straight: they're in trouble for sure, but if they're careful they can keep it from getting worse. Mary Warren, the Proctor's maidservant, runs in in a panic, ready to blab everything. Mercy and Abigail close in on her menacingly, when suddenly little Betty wakes up. Abigail tries to soothe her, but Betty streaks for the window, crying out for her dead mama. And at last we find out what Abigail was really up to last night. "You drank blood, Abby!" Betty cries. "You drank a charm to kill John Proctor's wife!" Abigail smashes her across the face to shut her up, and makes a naked threat to the other two:Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word... and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you. And you know I can do it; I saw Indians smash my dear parents' heads on the pillow next to mine, and I have seen some reddish work done at night, and I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down!If any shred of innocence has clung to Abigail up until this point, it now is vaporized. It's possible she's just scared and is trying to scare the others into keeping quiet. It's also possible she drank the charm against Goody Proctor "for sport." But even if that's true, it's pretty nasty sport. Whether you believe ...
