Summary

Chapter 9.

After two weeks with Aunt Alma, Anney and the girls return to the house and Daddy Glen. He swears he will never hurt Bone again, but Bone knows sooner or later he will justify his actions and the beatings will resume. She begins going to Alma’s after school to avoid being around him. While there she tells horrible stories to her cousins—all dealing with children killed in violent, gory ways. The kids love it, but when Aunt Alma hears the tail-end of one of them, she mentions it to Anney telling her that Bone is getting “mean-hearted.”

Anney, worried about Bone, asks her to go stay with her ailing Aunt Ruth. Bone doesn’t see the urgency as Ruth has been ill forever, but she agrees. The two of them spend their days on the porch listening to gospel music while Ruth...