Why was Mattie unable to find the sheriff or the undertaker?

• A. The sheriff and the undertaker were away on business.
• B. They were on vacation.
• C. They were at the hanging.
• D. They had resigned.

Answer: (C)

Understanding what keeps Mattie from finding them hinges on recognizing that a hanging is a major event that pulls officials away from their offices. In that moment, the sheriff and the undertaker are occupied with the hanging and its aftermath, not available in the usual places, so Mattie can’t locate them right away. This scene shows how frontier towns treated public executions as communal happenings that command attention and labor, leaving routine duties unattended for the duration. The other possibilities don’t fit the situation because they describe ordinary or unrelated circumstances, whereas the story centers the sheriff and the undertaker at the hanging, explaining their absence.