TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD Chapter 29
Chapter 29
The Sheriff, Heck Tate, is in the room. He is talking to Scout and Atticus. Scout is still wearing parts of her ruined ham costume. Jem is asleep and not moving. Atticus is standing by Jem’s bed.
Sheriff Tate asks Scout to tell him everything that happened on the dark road. “Tell me, Scout, who attacked you?” the Sheriff asks. Scout starts to tell the story from the moment Jem yells, “Run!” She describes the wind, the dark night, the sounds of fighting, and how she fell. She also talks about her big, thick costume.
“I was inside the costume, and I was on the ground,” Scout says. “Jem was fighting someone big. I could hear them wrestling.” Sheriff Tate asks, “Can you tell me which way the person was facing? Did he hit Jem?” “Yes, sir,” Scout says. “I heard him hit Jem. And then Jem screamed. It was a terrible scream.” Scout then remembers the second person, the person who saved them.
“Then I saw a second person,” Scout says. “I couldn’t see their face, but they were big. They fought the attacker.” The Sheriff asks, “Did you see the second person clearly?” “No, sir. It was too dark,” Scout answers. “But then the fight stopped. The attacker fell down hard. And the second person picked up Jem and carried him home.”
Sheriff Tate looks over at the corner of the room, where a strange man is standing in the shadows. This man is very quiet and tall. Scout finally turns to look at the man who carried Jem. He is pale and thin, and his clothes are old. He looks at Scout with kind, gray eyes.
Scout steps closer to him. She reaches out and touches the man’s clothing with her hand. She looks at his pale face. She suddenly realizes who he is. She has never seen him clearly before, but she knows the quiet, strange presence. Scout speaks only one name, softly: “Hey, Boo.” The man standing in the shadows is Arthur “Boo” Radley. The ghost the children have always tried to see has finally come out of his house to save them.
Sheriff Tate leaves the room for a moment. He comes back and speaks quietly to Atticus. He shows Atticus a dirty knife. “Atticus,” the Sheriff says, “I found this knife on the road. It belongs to the attacker. It is Bob Ewell’s knife.”
Atticus and the Sheriff confirm that Bob Ewell is dead. He is lying on the path near the big oak tree where the fight happened. The Sheriff tells Atticus that Ewell was found with a knife stuck in him. “Bob Ewell is dead,” the Sheriff says.
Now, the room is full of great relief, fear, and confusion. Tom Robinson’s death led to Bob Ewell’s anger, and now Bob Ewell is dead, and Boo Radley is standing right there in the room.
