Complex sentence: Later, when Patricia discovers from Julie that McKay has bought the Big Muddy, she goes into town to try to make up with him, on the pretext of returning a gift that McKay gave to her father, a pair of duelling pistols.
Split into simpler sentences: Later, when Patricia discovers that McKay has bought the Big Muddy, she goes into town to try to make up with him. She returns a gift that McKay gave to her father, a pair of duelling pistols.