To Kill a Mockingbird Page #7

Jem, you don't have

to hold me.

- What's the matter?

- Hush a minute, Scout.

I thought I heard somethin'.

Come on.

Wait.

Are you trying to scare me?

You know I'm too old.

Be quiet.

- I hear an old dog bayin'.

- It's not that.

I hear it when

we're walkin' along.

When we stop,

l don't hear it anymore.

Oh, yeah, my costume rustlin'.

Halloween's got ya.

I hear it now.

I'll bet it's just old

Cecil Jacobs tryin' to scare me.

Cecil Jacobs is a big, wet hen!

Come on.

Run, Scout!

Run, Scout! Run! Run!

What happened?

I don't know.

I just don't know.

- Tell Dr Reynolds to come over.

- Yes, sir.

- You all right?

- Yes, sir.

- Are you sure?

- Yes, sir.

Sheriff Tate, please.

Atticus, isJem dead?

No. He's unconscious.

We won't know how badly he's hurt

until the doctor gets here.

Heck? Atticus Finch.

Someone's been after my children.

He's got a bad break,

as far as I can tell.

Like somebody tried

to wring his arm off.

I'll be right back, Atticus.

- How's the boy, Doc?

- He'll be all right.

SheriffTate.

What is it, Heck?

Bob Ewell's lyin' on the ground

under that tree down yonder...

with a kitchen knife

stuck up under his ribs.

He's dead.

- Are you sure?

- Yes, sir.

He's not gonna bother

these children anymore.

Miss Scout, you think

you could tell us what happened?

I don't know.

All ofa sudden somebody grabbed me,

knocked me down on the ground.

Jem found me then.

Then Mr Ewell, I reckon,

grabbed him again, and Jem hollered.

Then somebody grabbed me.

Mr Ewell, I guess.

Somebody grabbed him...

and then I heard someone

pantin' and coughin'.

Then I saw someone carryingJem.

Who was it?

There he is, Mr Tate.

He can tell you his name.

Hey, Boo.

MissJean Louise,

Mr Arthur Radley.

I believe he already knows you.

Heck, let's go out

on the front porch.

Would you like to say good night

toJem, Mr Arthur?

You can pet him, Mr Arthur.

He's asleep.

You couldn't if he was awake, though.

He wouldn't let you.

Go ahead.

Let's go sit in the swing,

Mr Arthur.

I guess the thing to do is--

Good Lord.

I must be losin' my memory.

I can't remember

whether Jem is 1 2 or 1 3.

Anyway, it'll have to...

come before the county court.

Of course, it's a clear-cut

case ofself-defence.

I'll run down to the office--

Mr Finch...

do you think Jem

killed Bob Ewell?

Is that what you think?

Your boy never stabbed him.

Bob Ewell fell on his knife.

He killed himself.

There's a black man

dead for no reason.

Now the man responsible

for it is dead.

Let the dead bury the dead

this time, Mr Finch.

I never heard tell it was

against the law for any citizen...

to do his utmost to prevent

a crime from being committed...

which is exactly what he did.

Maybe you'll tell me it's my duty

to tell the town all about it...

not to hush it up.

You know what'll happen then.

All the ladies in Maycomb, includin'

my wife, will be knockin' on his door...

bringin' angel food cakes.

To my way of thinkin',

takin' one man...

who done you and this town

a big service...

and draggin' him

with his shy ways into the lime light--

To me, that's a sin.

It's a sin.

And I'm not about

to have it on my head.

I may not be much, Mr Finch...

but I'm still sheriff

of Maycomb County...

and Bob Ewell fell on his knife.

Good night, sir.

Mr Tate was right.

What do you mean?

Well, it would be...

sort of like shooting

a mockingbird, wouldn't it?

Thank you, Arthur.

Thank you for my children.

Neighbours bring food

with death...

and flowers with sickness...

and little things in between.

Boo was our neighbour.

He gave us two soap dolls...

a broken watch and chain...

a knife...

and our lives.

One time Atticus said

you never really knew a man...

until you stood in his shoes

and walked around in them.

Just standin'

on the Radley porch was enough.

The summer that had begun

so long ago had ended...

and another summer

had taken its place...

anda fall.

And Boo Radley had come out.

I was to think

of these days many times...

of Jem and Dill...

and Boo Radley and Tom Robinson.

And Atticus.

He would be in Jem's room

all night...

and he would be there

when Jem waked up in the morning.

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