Part 2: Chapters 39 and 40 Summary

In the library, Mr. Halloway decides that the carnival people do not "hold all the cards," and that they are as afraid of Mr. Halloway and the boys as they are of the carnival people. Will's father describes the carnival's method as zeroing in on the weaknesses of the people they encounter and then taking their souls through manipulation and deception. Mr. Halloway talks at great length to the boys, describing how the carnival snares people looking for escape from their sins and the harsh realities of life as one gets older and faces mortality. Then, as he finishes talking and decides that it is time to formulate a plan, they all hear the front door of the library open. Someone (or something) enters. Will's father tells the boys to hide, and he sits and waits for whoever it...