Pine trees are what his neighbour is growing
Not telling the truth; lying
This is taken from “The Minister’s Black Veil” written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The minister in this short story is Mr. Hooper, who covers half of his face with a black veil, which gets the community to gossip about him. On his deathbed Reverend Clark lets him keep the veil on his face because he thinks he hides his face because he has committed a crime.
Reverend Clark’s reaction to Father Hooper’s keeping the veil from being removed supports the theme of:
Answer: A. forgiveness
They use more persuasive language and facts and not "believe" or wishy-washy words. They sound confident.