"all right, then—not a word about any sell. go along home, and advise everybody to come and see the tragedy."

based on the excerpt, the townspeople of arkansas are afraid of being seen as
gullible.
serious.
dishonest.
uneducated.

The correct answer to this is:

Based on this passage, they want everyone to see or witness the real thing. They don’t want to give the impression that they are easily willing to believe what other people say.

the answer is Gullible.

Explanation:

just  took the test

the anecdote makes readers feel sorry for the man’s lack of heritage, then reminds readers that the man has an equally valuable heritage.