Broken Window

Sarah Prachett finds Alex Jefferson hiding in the bushes behind Whit's End with a baseball bat. Alex explains that he is avoiding Rodney Rathbone. The previous day, Alex had accidentally flipped a french fry into Rodney's milkshake, and Whit had thrown Rodney out when he became angry. Alex fears that Rodney may now want revenge against both of them.

As Sarah and Alex approach Whit's End, they discover a shattered window. Moments earlier, they had seen Rodney and another boy walking away and laughing, so they immediately assume that Rodney broke it to get even with Whit. They report their conclusion to Connie even though neither of them actually saw the window break.

Rodney soon enters and denies any responsibility. He turns the accusation against Alex, claiming that he saw Alex playing baseball near Whit's End. The window was intact when Rodney first passed, but it was broken when he returned, and Alex had disappeared. As the children argue, Whit intervenes. Since everyone believes someone else is guilty, he decides to let them settle the case in court. Connie becomes the judge, and each accused person must defend himself.

While everyone prepares, Connie tries to find Mitch. He has twice postponed a planned dinner because of work, then apparently failed to appear for their latest arrangement. Connie waited alone at the restaurant for nearly an hour and now believes he has stood her up. She insists she does not know whether the dinner counts as a date, but Alex and Sarah's teasing only increases her embarrassment.

Mitch arrives while Connie changes into a choir robe for court. Whit appoints him bailiff, and Connie is annoyed to see that Mitch has time for the trial after failing to meet her. She waits for an apology or explanation, but he does not seem to know that anything is wrong.

The trial begins with Rodney serving as both prosecutor and his own first witness. He says he heard glass break shortly after seeing Alex hit baseballs outside. Alex's bat, found in the bushes, becomes evidence against him. Rodney also claims that the rounded edges of a glass fragment prove a baseball caused the damage, although his theory has little real foundation. Alex counters by establishing that Rodney had wanted revenge after being expelled from Whit's End.

Alex calls Sarah, who admits seeing Rodney laugh with another boy but cannot place him at the window when it broke. Whit testifies that he was sweeping a few feet inside the window. His back was turned when the glass shattered, and when he looked outside he saw no one. Alex points out that a baseball flying through the window should have continued far enough to strike Whit.

Rodney calls Mitch as a character witness because Mitch barely knows him. Mitch's honest description of Rodney's recent riot and arrest does not help, but Rodney twists his words into an argument that he always admits wrongdoing once he is caught. The confusing testimony accidentally introduces an important clue. Mitch drove past Whit's End at nine o'clock and saw Sarah out front appearing to juggle, even though Sarah has claimed she arrived later.

Alex accuses Sarah of lying. Since she entered by the back and noticed the broken window before reaching the front, she must have known about the damage already. He concludes that one of her juggling balls broke it. Sarah responds that Alex was hiding his bat and acting equally suspicious. Each has concealed information that makes the other look guilty.

During her closing demonstration, Sarah tries to prove that her soft juggling balls could not damage a window. One of them promptly breaks a glass pitcher. With evidence pointing in several directions, Connie calls a recess and examines the broken window for herself.

When court resumes, Connie finds Alex, Rodney, and Sarah not guilty. The real culprit is Whit. Connie has noticed that most of the shattered glass lies outside. If a ball or rock had struck the window from outdoors, the glass should have fallen mainly inside. Instead, something inside Whit's End pushed it outward. Whit admits that he stepped backward while sweeping and accidentally struck the window with his broom handle.

Whit never intended to let an innocent person take the blame. He allowed the investigation to continue because everyone had already chosen a culprit without learning the facts. Once the truth is known, the remaining mysteries become simple. Sarah had left to feed her dog after juggling outside, then returned and feared she would be blamed. She pretended she had only just arrived. Alex had hit the window with his baseball without breaking it, moved to the side of the building, and later worried that the glass had somehow cracked after a delay. Their efforts to hide the truth made both appear guiltier. They apologize, and Connie sentences them to restore the courtroom to its usual soda-shop arrangement.

After court, Connie finally confronts Mitch. He remembers postponing their earlier plans but has no idea why she believes he missed the latest dinner. As they compare dates, Connie realizes that she went to the restaurant on Friday even though they agreed to meet on Saturday. Her complaint against Mitch has rested on another mistaken assumption. He still plans to pick her up at six that evening, and Connie happily accepts. Alex cannot resist announcing that it is a date, even if he cannot spell the word correctly.