Aftermath and Bob Ewell's Threat — To Kill a Mockingbird

Jem does not take the verdict as adult business that can be filed away. On the walk home he cries in a way Scout has not seen. He cannot fit the guilty word into the rules Atticus taught them about evidence and fairness. If the facts were as clear as Jem believed, twelve men should not have been able to say guilty. Atticus is worn to the bone. He names the night a defeat and will not treat it as the last word. There will be an appeal. Alexandra is angry that he let the children sit through the hearing. He will not add a lecture to a night already too heavy. He goes to bed with nothing left to perform at home.

The next morning the kitchen tells a different story. Calpurnia finds the table crowded with food from Maycomb's Black community: chickens, rolls, scuppernongs, dishes left as thanks. Atticus looks at the spread and is moved in a way that hurts him. He tells Calpurnia to thank every person who cooked, and he tells her they must not do this again. The gifts land as a kindness he did not win. Miss Maudie calls the children over and gives them cake. She will not let Jem drown in the idea that the whole town is of one mind. Some people here do try. Judge Taylor knew whom to appoint. The jury staying out for hours is not justice, but it is a sliver of change: at least one mind had to be argued with. Dill talks about becoming a clown so he can laugh at people before they laugh at him.

Miss Stephanie arrives with the news the white side of town is already passing. That morning at the post office Bob Ewell spat in Atticus's face and swore he would get him if it took the rest of his life. Atticus wiped his face and walked away. Stephanie tells it as spectacle. The children hear the threat under the gossip.