Part 2, Chapter 11 Summary

Miss Amy is furious with Joel for running away and laments the fact that no one has remembered that it is her birthday. Joel manages to get through dinner knowing that he and Idabel have plans to run away for good tonight. Joel finds a private moment with his father to tell him that he is leaving the Landing and then leaves Randolph's requested bottle of sherry in the hallway before escaping the house to where Idabel waits by the mailbox.

As Joel and Idabel run through the woods they encounter a Negro couple making love, a sight which makes Idabel tighten with repulsion but one that rivets Joel for its tenderness and connectedness between two people.

Before long, Joel and Idabel reach Noon City and find themselves in the middle of the traveling carnival. Among the sideshow events, Idabel and...