This event doesn't seem to have anything to do with the rest of the plot. We are curious why it is there?
Is this the passage you're asking about?
Before services begin, however, there is a minor panic at the church as a young girl, Doris Anne, is seen playing on the rope that rings the church bell in the belfry. Everyone rushes to the belfry and finds the girl being held by Wordell Lees, a local boy most people view as simple. David calmly convinces Wordell to give him the child, and though others believe Wordell to be responsible for the scare with Doris Anne, David thinks that Wordell was actually trying to help. Before church begins, Cassie sees Joe, the one who was actually responsible for the situation involving Doris Anne, dash into the woods.
http://eolit.hrw.com/hlla/novelguides/hs/Mini-Guide.Taylor.pdf
This is actually the introduction of Wordell and Joe in the story. What do you infer about theses characters from this occurrence?
