Chapter 19 Chapter Nineteen

Thomas Robinson wrapped his right hand around the left side of his body, lifted his left arm up, and reached for the Bible on the table, trying to touch the black cover with his rubbery left hand.When he raised his right hand to take the oath, the restless left slipped from the Bible and hit the clerk's desk.He was about to try again when Judge Taylor said in a gruff voice, "Tom, that's all." Tom swore, walked up to the witness stand, and sat down.Atticus quickly leads Tom to introduce himself: Twenty-five years old, married, with three children; once violated the law - was sentenced to 30 days in prison for disturbing public order.

"Since it is determined that it is disturbing the public order," Atticus said, "what is the specific behavior?" "Fighting with someone, he wants to stab me with a knife." "Did he succeed?" "Yes, sir, a little hurt, not too bad. You know, I..." He moved his left shoulder. "I see," Atticus said. "Have you both been sentenced?" "Yes, sir, I couldn't pay the fine, so I had to serve my time. The fellow paid." Dill leaned over me and asked Jem, What's Atticus doing?Jem said Atticus was showing the jury that Tom had nothing to hide.

"Did you know Mayella Violette Ewell?" Atticus asked. "Yes, sir. I go to work in the field every day, and I have to pass her house back and forth." "Whose land?" "I work as a picker for Mr. Link Deas's." "Is there still cotton to be picked in November?" "No, sir. I work in his yard in autumn and winter. I basically work for him all year round. He has a lot of walnut trees and things like that." "You say you go to work every day, and you have to pass Ewell's back and forth. Is there any other way?" "No, sir. Not so far as I know."

"Tom, has she ever talked to you before?" "Oh, I did, sir. I raised my hat to her every time I passed to say hello. One day she called me into the yard and asked me to help her open a big chest of drawers." "When did she call you to crack that—the big cabinet?" "It was a long time ago, Mr. Finch, last spring. I remember it well, because it was cotton season, and I had a hoe with me. I told her I only had a hoe, She said she had an ax. She handed me the ax and I hacked open the big locker for her. She said, 'Look, I gotta give you a nickel?' And I said, 'No, ma'am , I don't take money.' And I went home, Mr. Finch. It was last spring, more than a year ago."

"Have you been to her house again since then?" "Yes, sir." "when?" "Well, I've been there many times." Judge Taylor instinctively reached for the gavel, but put it down again.Before he could show his power, the buzz downstairs disappeared by itself. "Under what circumstances did it go down?" "What do you say, sir?" "Why have you been to her yard so many times?" Tom's forehead stretched out. "Sir, she called me in. Every time I pass by her house, she seems to ask me for a little help-like chopping firewood, fetching water. She waters the red flowers every day. water……"

"Are you paid for this work?" "No, sir. The first time she offered to give me a nickel, she hasn't brought it up since. I'd love to help her, and Mr. Ewell doesn't seem to help her much, nor do the other kids, and I know she has no spare money." "Where are the other children?" "They were just around the house, running around. They were watching while I was working, and a few were hanging on the windowsills." "Did Miss Mayella speak to you?" "Say, sir, she's talking to me." Tom Robinson's testimony gradually made me realize that Mayella Ewell must be the loneliest person in the world, lonelier even than Boo Radley, who is already twenty-five years old. Years stay at home.When Atticus asked her if she had any friends, she seemed at first to have no idea what he meant, and then decided that Atticus was making fun of her.I think she's a wretch, like Jem's mulattos: white people don't want to deal with her because she's with pigs, and black people don't want to deal with her because she's white.Mr. Dolphus Raymond liked the company of Negroes, but it was something she could not emulate, for she had no land on the banks of the river, nor did she come from an old family with good traditions.When it comes to the Ewells, no one says, "That's just the way they live." The men, women and children of Maycomb don't give a damn about the family except for the annual Christmas baskets and handouts.Tom Robinson was probably the only one who showed her any respect, and she said Tom had her.She stood up and looked into Tom's eyes as if she were looking at the dirt beneath her feet.

"Did you," Atticus interrupted my thoughts, "go into the Ewell's yard at any time—did you ever trespass without an express invitation from anyone in the family? Their house?" "No, sir, Mr. Finch, never. I wouldn't do that, sir." Atticus once said that one way to tell whether a witness is lying or telling the truth is to listen to what he says, not to look at him.I used his method on Tom: he denied it three times in one breath, but his tone was calm, without dragging or whining.Although his vehement denials were a bit too much, I found myself believing him.He looked like a decent Negro, and a decent Negro would never ask himself into someone's yard.

"Tom, what happened to you on the evening of November 21st last year?" The audience downstairs held their breath and leaned forward.The black man behind us did the same. Tom had black velvet skin, not shiny, but soft velvet.The whites of his eyes glistened on his face, and when he spoke, his white teeth shone brightly.If there is no physical damage, he will be a standard man. "Mr. Finch," he said, "I came home from work that evening as usual, and as I passed the Ewell's, I saw Miss Mayella on the front porch—just as she said. It seemed very quiet in there, and I don't know why. As I was walking, wondering what it was, Miss Mayella called to me to come over and do me a favor, and said it would be just a minute. So I went into the yard, She looked here and there to see if there was any firewood to chop, but she saw nothing. She said, "It's not chopping firewood, but there is work in the house that needs your help. The hinges of the broken door are loose. Look, it's very easy." It's almost fall.' I said, Miss Mayella, do you have a screwdriver? She said, yes. So I went up the steps and she gestured me in and I went into the front room , looked at the door. I said, Miss Mayella, the door looked fine. I turned the door back and forth a few more times, and the hinges were all right. At that moment, she closed the door in front of me. Mr. Finch, I've been wondering why it's so quiet in her house, and then suddenly it dawned on me that none of the other kids were home, not a single one. I said, Miss Mayella, where are the kids?"

Tom's black velvet skin began to shine and he ran his hands over his face. "I asked her where the kids were," he continued, "and she told me—she almost laughed out loud at the time, she said they'd all gone to town for ice cream, and said, 'I It took a whole year to save them nickels apiece, but I did it. They all went to town.'” Tom looked a little uneasy, but that had nothing to do with the humidity and heat. "How did you answer her, Tom?" Atticus asked. "I was saying like, Oh, Miss Mayella, it's wonderful of you to treat them like that. She said, 'You really think so?' I don't think she got what I meant—what I meant was, The way she saves money is brilliant, and rewarding them with ice cream is very thoughtful."

"I see what you mean, Tom, go on," said Atticus. "Oh, I said, I'd better go, because there's nothing I can do to help. But she said, Oh, of course you can help, and she made me step on the chair and put the box on the top of the big chest Take it down." "Isn't that big chest you broke?" Atticus asked. The witness smiled slightly. "No, sir, there was another one, almost as high as the house. I did as she said, and was about to reach for the box, and who ever thought of her—she hugged my legs, she hugged me legs, Mr. Finch. I jumped down in such a fright that I knocked over the chairs—that was the only thing, the only piece of furniture I messed up in that room before I left, Mr. Finch. I dare Swear to God."

"What happened after you knocked over the chair?" Tom froze there, unable to utter a word.He glanced at Atticus, then at the jury, then at Mr. Underwood, who sat across from him. "Tom, you swore under oath to state the truth without reservation. Tell it all, will you?" Nervously, Tom covered his mouth with his hands. "Answer the questions," Judge Taylor said.A third of the cigar was gone from his mouth. "Mr. Finch, I jumped out of the chair, and as soon as I turned around, she jumped on me." "Pounced on you? Was it a sudden pounce?" "No, sir, she—she hugged me. She hugged me around the waist." This time Judge Taylor's gavel did not hesitate,