Hazel caught Scipio by the hand.
The boy moved forward into the light, leaving the little girl in the shadow. He held her hand tight.
“Let her alone,” he said.
“Deliver us from the fire of hell and take us into the kingdom of heaven,” called the preacher.
“Amen, Hallelujah,” came out upon the night.
The strange man advanced another step toward Hazel. Scipio stood still, his chin forward like a bulldog. The man muttered a curse and turned away.
A hymn was sung and the service broke up. Granny was among the first to leave the building.
“I’s glad to find you, child,” she said as Hazel came up to her. “Where you done gone?”
“I felt faint, Granny, and came out to get a breath of fresh air,” Hazel explained.
At that moment old man Lee called roughly to his son, “Come here, you lazy hound,” and moved as if to strike him.