Chapter 8 & 9 Summary

In Chapter 8, Qwill is worried when Clem does not show up for work on Monday, so he phones the Cottle farmhouse, and Clem's father states that Clem is out of town and hangs up. When Qwill heads toward Grandpa Huggins' General Store, he sees Clem's truck parked on the side of the road but the driver is missing. Qwill loses interest in going to the store and returns home to find Maryellen waiting for him. She does not believe that Clem left town for a last fling before settling down, as his father does. She goes to Qwill because she has no one else to go to and Clem told her that Qwill is an important man in the county. Qwill tells Maryellen about finding Clem's truck and suggests reporting the disappearance to the sheriff. Since Qwill does not have rapport with the...