Contents
Chapter 6
Overview
On Dill’s last night, Scout, Jem, and Dill trespass at the Radley place to glimpse Boo. A menacing shadow appears, Nathan Radley fires a shotgun, and the children flee, with Jem losing his pants.
To avoid Atticus’s punishment, Dill claims they were playing strip poker, and later Jem bravely returns alone to retrieve his pants, marking a maturing shift in him.
Summary
On Dill’s last evening in Maycomb, Scout, Jem, and Dill meet by Miss Rachel’s fishpool. Dill proposes a nighttime walk that masks his true aim: to spy on Boo Radley. Despite Scout’s protests, Jem taunts her into joining. They slip under the Radley fence, quiet the squeaky gate with spit, and creep to a back window to peep inside.
As Jem tests the porch steps and peers through a window, a man’s shadow crosses the moonlit porch, pauses near Jem, and withdraws. Terrified, Jem leaps down and the children bolt through the collards. A shotgun roars behind them. They escape through the schoolyard fence, but Jem’s pants snag; he kicks free, leaving them behind.
Trying to appear innocent, they join the gathering neighbors at the Radley gate. Nathan Radley, holding a shotgun, says he fired at a prowler. When Atticus notices Jem’s missing pants, Dill quickly fabricates a story that he won them in a strip-poker game with matches. The adults accept this, and Atticus sends Jem to retrieve his pants from Dill’s.
Later that night, Jem decides he must recover his pants from the Radley fence to avoid disappointing Atticus and being whipped for lying. Despite Scout’s pleas and fear of Nathan Radley’s “other barrel,” Jem sneaks back alone through the dark yards. After a tense wait, he returns silently, holding his pants, and lies trembling on his cot until he is calm.
Who Appears
- Jem FinchLeads the nighttime raid at the Radley house, loses his pants, then bravely retrieves them to avoid disappointing Atticus.
- Scout FinchNarrates the episode; reluctantly joins the raid, fears for Jem, and witnesses his growing sense of responsibility.
- Dill HarrisInstigates the plan to spy on Boo; invents the strip-poker cover story to explain Jem’s missing pants.
- Atticus FinchConfronts Jem about his missing pants; his potential disappointment motivates Jem to retrieve them.
- Nathan RadleyStartles the children by firing a shotgun at a prowler near his collards; unknowingly triggers Jem’s lost-pants crisis.
- Miss Stephanie CrawfordSpreads details at the scene, repeating Nathan’s warning and stoking the children’s fear.
- Miss RachelDill’s guardian; alarms at the mention of strip poker, then is calmed by Atticus.
- Miss Maudie AtkinsonNeighbor present at the commotion; asks where the children were and relays what happened.
- Mr. AveryNeighbor referenced for porch habits; appears at the Radley gate after the gunshot.