The Poisonwood Bible Book 4, Chapter 9 Summary

How It All Goes Down

Leah

  • Ruth May cries out, but Leah can't tell where it's coming from. "Not one of us looked at Ruth May. I can't say that Ruth May was even there with us, in that instant. Just for the moment it was as if she'd disappeared, and her voice was thrown into the trees" (4.9.2).
  • Screaming and shaking her, Leah demands that Ruth May tell her what she saw.
  • Fearing something else, Nelson grabs Ruth May and pulls open her shirt, revealing her death sentence—a snake bite.