The Lions Of Little Rock

On Saturday, Marlee visits the zoo. Thinking she might meet Liz there, she runs down to the lion cage where she sees Red and a buddy drinking beer and pelting the lions with rocks. Just as Liz strides forward, about to intervene, Marlee pulls her aside and warns her about Red. He doesn’t know what Liz looks like yet. Realizing that the dynamite is still in Red’s trunk, the girls see Red’s jacket and key ring sitting on a park bench. 

When the boys go to the restroom, Marlee and Liz steal the trunk keys from the ring. They run up to Red’s Chrysler Windsor and open the trunk. Liz grabs the bag containing the dynamite while Marlee jumps inside to retrieve two sticks that have rolled out of the bag. Just then, the lid accidentally slams shut. Liz flees with the dynamite as the boys approach. Marlee can’t escape because she’s still holding the trunk key in her hand. She states, “They walked straight to his car. I could feel it lurch as they climbed inside. Red started the engine and drove off. With me in the trunk” (242).

Terrified, Marlee remains concealed in the trunk while the boys drive off to a lake that is miles from town. They meet up with another friend, and the three go down to the water to catch fish. Once the coast is clear, Marlee remembers that her purse contains the engraved letter opener her mother gave her for her birthday. Even though the tip snaps off, Marlee is able to pop the trunk lid and escape.

Not recognizing her whereabouts, Marlee runs down the road until she comes to a farmhouse. Nobody is home, but Marlee enters anyway. She says:

Now, usually I’d hesitate […] before I went into someone’s house without permission. But I’d already stolen some dynamite and jumped into a car trunk today—what was a little breaking and entering? So I opened the door and went inside (246).

Marlee immediately calls Liz and asks her to get in touch with David. He might be able to pick her up. Not knowing the location, she checks a piece of mail for the address and gives Liz the directions. After hanging up, an elderly woman enters. Marlee begins to cry, which gains the old woman’s sympathy. Noticing a segregationist flyer on the counter, Marlee realizes that the old woman is a KKK sympathizer. She flees and continues down the road until she sees David approaching to pick her up. She makes him promise not to tell their parents about her escapade and then gives him the whole story: “He shook his head. ‘It’s always the quiet ones who are the craziest.’ But he was grinning” (251).  

At school on Monday, JT confronts Marlee about stealing the dynamite. He points out that two sticks remained in the trunk, and Marlee admits she forgot to grab them when she ran away. Red doesn’t suspect it was her, but he’s been talking to his father quite a bit about the recent bombings of colored homes in Alabama.

JT thinks Red might use the remaining dynamite to intimidate a colored family in Little Rock. Every day as Mr. Nisbett drives Marlee to school, she longs to tell him about her adventure: “I wanted to get it off my chest, wanted him to reassure me that two sticks were nothing, no real harm could be done. But every time I opened my mouth to tell him, I stopped” (254-55).

On May 24, the day before the school board election, Marlee and her mother stop by Pastor George’s house to drop off sample ballots. Much to Marlee’s delight, Liz is there. Mrs. Nisbett finally gets to meet Liz, and Curtis is introduced as well. Marlee chances to glance out the window and sees Red’s Chrysler drive past the house. She immediately urges everyone to get out. Although skeptical, the entire group moves to the backyard. When nothing happens, they are about to head back inside, but “There was a crash and the sound of breaking glass. A screech of wheels, driving off. And then, an explosion” (260). 

When they all inspect the living room, it appears that a brick has been thrown through the front window, followed by two sticks of dynamite that landed on the couch. When the police arrive, they don’t believe Marlee’s story about getting stuck in Red’s trunk and seeing two sticks of dynamite. Red is a star football player. Marlee says, “The police didn’t believe me. They weren’t going to do anything. They were acting like Betty Jean should be grateful to only have a broken window and a burnt-up couch” (264).

The following day, Marlee tries to call Liz, but her mother refuses to let them speak. At school, nobody says anything about the bombing. That afternoon, Marlee has a tense conversation with Betty Jean about what happened at her house. The girl apologizes for causing so much trouble. That evening, the school board election is held. The vote is so close that the result isn’t announced until the following morning, but the integrationists win.

That afternoon, Liz calls Marlee to tell her they each need to find other friends. It’s too dangerous for them to continue to see each other. Marlee realizes that people like Red are the reason that Liz is afraid. She thinks, “Red. He was only one part of the equation, but he was a large part. If I could deal with him, maybe it would help, at least a little” (272).

That evening, Marlee convinces her parents to go with her to the Dalton home to confront Red about what he’s done. When they arrive, Mr. Dalton isn’t pleased to see them. He denies his son would have thrown dynamite. Marlee insists on examining the trunk of Red’s Chrysler. She’s able to find a fragment of the broken letter opener with her name engraved on it. When Dalton sees this evidence, he reads his son the riot act. Mrs. Dalton agrees that the Nisbetts need to inform the police.

On the last day of school, JT tells Marlee that Red has been sent away to the army and that things at home are a lot better with him gone. JT then asks Marlee out on a date. She declines but tells him Sally would like to go out with him. When Marlee sees Jimmy at lunch, she suggests they meet at the pool during the summer. She explains, “Little Jimmy hadn’t grown a bit, but now when I looked at him, he seemed kind of cute. I wasn’t thinking about getting married or having kids or anything like that at all. Just about sharing a Coke with a friend on a hot summer day” (281-82).

During the summer, life settles back into a routine. The new school board votes to allow integration, and schools will reopen in the fall. Judy comes back from Pine Bluff. Even though Marlee can’t speak to Liz on the phone because the number has been disconnected, she writes her friend a long letter and encloses the crow feather. Pastor George agrees to deliver it.

On August 12, the high schools reopen, and segregationist protesters arrive to demonstrate. Mr. Nisbett fears a repeat of the protests in 1957, when the police did nothing to stop student harassment. Marlee says:

Before we could run back to the safety of our car, the police moved in and began arresting people. Daddy and I stood and watched, frozen. ‘It’s not going to happen again.’ And when he grabbed my hand, I thought he was going to cry (286).

The following Tuesday, Marlee visits the zoo as she always does. Much to her surprise, she sees Liz sitting on the bench by the lion exhibit. Liz says this will be the last time she’ll be able to see Marlee. Mrs. Fullerton is keeping a watchful eye on them from a distance. She agreed to the visit after Liz showed her the journal about the time her daughter spent with Marlee. Both girls realize that they have expanded their circle and that the two of them will always be friends, whether they see each other again or not.

When Liz leaves, she writes in the magic square book giving Marlee her new phone number so that they will always be able to stay in touch. After their brief visit, Marlee goes to the pool and tackles the high dive: “And when I took that first deep breath and saw the clear summer sky, and heard my sister and Little Jimmy and Nora and even Sally and JT cheering for me, I swear I heard the lions roar” (291).