At the end of Montana 1948, things start to go downhill. The Haydens listen to Frank rustling around in the basement and when checked upon, the come to find that he is dead. By breaking the jars in the basement, Frank made his approach in a negative way to deal with the situation. 

After the incident, Wes sits down with David and explains that when he was little, Frank had chanced away the 'mean brothers' over a mistake due to golfballs. Wes had been grateful for Frank's strength to stand up for the boys, and if it weren't for him, who knows what would have happened to Wes. This is a time in the book that Wes looks back on the positive years he shared with his brother.