After school, Carrie and Zora walk Teddy home. Teddy’s older brothers greet them and tease Teddy, while Teddy’s mother gives them buttered bread and fresh milk. Neither of Teddy’s brothers were able to attend high school, though they do not hold Teddy’s education against him. Carrie and Zora continue on their way to Joe Clarke’s store to run errands for Mrs. Hurston. Zora likes to listen to the talk of the adults at the store. Mr. Clarke commends the girls for helping to rescue Old Lady Bronson, and Zora asks if he really believes that she fell. She believes that an alligator knocked Bronson down with its tail. She tells a politely disbelieving Clarke that she has seen Mr. Pendir turn into an alligator with her own eyes. 

Mr. Clarke warns the girls that it is not nice to spread stories about people, especially lonely people. He believes that Mr. Pendir has nothing to hide. Mr. Clarke gives Carrie and Zora licorice to reward them for helping Bronson. Before they leave, a man arrives to tell Mr. Clarke that something terrible has happened.