The Verdict — To Kill a Mockingbird

Calpurnia arrives at the courthouse with a folded note. The children have been missing all afternoon, and Atticus finds Scout, Jem, and Dill in the balcony with Reverend Sykes. He does not scold them in front of the crowd. He sends them home to eat. Alexandra is shaken that they sat through the hearing. Atticus has already allowed the rest: once they have eaten, they may come back. They race through the evening streets and climb the gallery stairs again. The jury is still out.

Waiting becomes the whole evening. In Maycomb, cases of this kind often end in a short retirement and a ready verdict. This jury stays away for hours. Jem sits forward sure the evidence was strong enough. He is sure twelve men cannot ignore Tom Robinson's left arm, Mayella's bruises, and the holes in the Ewell story. He talks as if an acquittal were a matter of reason. Reverend Sykes is gentle with that hope and does not share it. He has watched white juries close ranks before. Scout dozes and wakes. The balcony stays quiet and tired. No one goes home.

When the jury returns, Scout reads the news on their faces before a word is spoken. The men do not look at Tom Robinson. The word is guilty on every count. Atticus gathers his documents with the same care he would use after a win, speaks to Tom about an appeal, and starts down the centre aisle. The Black spectators stand as a body while he walks out, not cheering, only on their feet. Reverend Sykes tells Scout to stand as well. She understands that the people who had most to lose are giving Atticus the respect the jury refused Tom.