The unnamed sheriff of the county that includes Mottstown in "That Will Be Fine" is going to question Uncle Rodney about the bond theft and forgery. He later watches for Uncle Rodney's attempt to abscond with Grandpa's neighbor's wife and "all the jewelry" (281).
Mr. Pruitt is President of the Compress Association and a recent arrival in Mottstown. He discovers Rodney's theft of the bonds and forgery of Grandpa's check. He seems like a decent man, if one as yet unfamiliar with extent of Rodney's duplicity, when he agrees in the spirit of Christmas to give Rodney's family more time to replace the money. But if, as is most likely, he is also the "man" who later catches his wife planning to run away with Rodney and decides to use her and "the jewelry" to bait a trap for him (283), it's clear that there are limits to his kindness.
John Paul is the servant who drives the hack for Georgie's family and is willing to speak sarcastically about Uncle Rodney's behavior. He is observant and witty: "John Paul said he bet papa would like to give Uncle Rodney a present without even waiting for Christmas . . . a job of work"; "John Paul quit laughing and said Sho, he reckoned anything a man kept at all the time, night and day both, he would call it work no matter how much fun it started out to be" (270).
He is the husband of Rodney's earlier Jefferson conquest, Mrs. Tucker. Rodney makes clear to Georgie, the story's very young and uncomprehending narrator, that Mr. Tucker is not involved in the "business" he does with Mrs. Tucker while Georgie watches for her husband outside the Tucker house (268).
In "That Will Be Fine," this is the Fred who is Georgie's uncle and Aunt Louisa's husband; he lives with his wife's parents in Mottstown. Fred is aware of Rodney's crimes but unable to do much about them.
Aunt Louisa is married to Uncle Fred and mother to Cousin Louisa, Cousin Fred, and an unnamed baby. As Rodney's older sister, she repeatedly rationalizes her brother's behavior. She hides his misdoings from their father, and she cries when Rodney asks her for two thousand dollars to cover his theft from the Compress Association: "Aunt Louisa begged Mr. Pruitt for Grandpa's sake and . . . gave Mr. Pruitt her oath that Uncle Rodney would stay right there in the house until papa could get there, and Mr.
Grandma is married to Grandpa and is mother to Aunt Louisa, Sarah, and Uncle Rodney. She is Georgie's maternal grandmother, but Georgie pays little attention to her.
