Summary

In Chapter 12, the family prepares for church. Grady is surprised that Frank and Emmett are waiting for them outside. Frank reassures Grady that he does not need to fear the leopard. Danny and Grady are too young to take part in all aspects of the church rituals. Grady is happy to mimic the adults as they kneel, stand, and return to their seats, only because it allows him to move around for a moment. Grady watches as Frank joins the prayers. He feels Frank is forcing himself to believe in order to fit into this family. The priest directly addresses the leopard on the loose, talking about the “leopardlike creature that John the Apostle refers to in the Apocalypse” (123). Grady and Danny remain in their seat for communion, as always, but this time Frank and Emmett remain seated as well, having not yet...