Alice Pringle

Alice Pringle is a student who helps spread wild rumors about the private Kirban family. Although she claims to have entered their mysterious house, she later admits she only reached the front porch while selling cookies for the school band. Alice then adds her brother Peter's early-morning observations to the growing tale, suggesting that Mr. Kirban's large bundles might even contain bodies. Her nervous storytelling gives Jack Davis and Lucy Cunningham-Schultz more reason to suspect their unfamiliar neighbors. In truth, the bundles hold handmade carpets, and the Kirbans' privacy has ordinary explanations. Alice's part in the gossip shows how quickly fear grows when people repeat guesses as facts. Her imagination makes a quiet family seem dangerous before anyone takes time to know them.