TKAM Post #3

Journal #3
Chapters 8 & 9
Perspective of Atticus


“Baby, get up.” I was holding Scout’s bathrobe and coat. “Put your robe on first.”
Jem was standing beside me. I had just woken him up, also. His hair was tousled and his eyes were still half-closed.
“Hurry, hon. Here are your shoes and socks.”
Scout sat up. “Is it morning?” She asked groggily.
“No, it’s a little after one. Hurry now.” I responded quickly.
Scout began to understand that something was not right. “What’s the matter?”
I said nothing. The silence was broken by the sounds of people running about.
“Whose is it?” Scout asked.
I told her it was Miss Maudie. This woke her up. We headed outside. The front door had a perfect view to Miss Maudie’s house. It had fire shooting out of the downstairs windows. I heard fire sirens.
“It’s gone, ain’t it?” Jem dreadfully asked.
“I expect so. Now listen, both of you. Go down and stand in front of the Radley Place. Keep out of the way, you hear? See which way the wind’s blowing?” I needed them out of harm’s reach.
“Oh. Atticus, reckon we oughta start moving the furniture out?”
“Not yet, son. Do as I tell you. Run now. Take care of Scout, you hear? Don’t let her out of your sight,” I warned Jem. He nodded.
The two of them walked over to the Radley place and I joined the crowd of other townsmen. Every man I could think of was there. We took turns entering the flaming building to retrieve Miss Maudie’s furniture. I brought her heavy oak rocking chair outside.
Mr. Avery thought it would be smart to get her mattress outside. Despite people telling him how unsafe it would be to do that, he still went into the house and ventured upstairs. His face appeared in a window up there. It promptly disappeared, and a mattress took its place. He pushed it through the window. It was followed by other various items of furniture. A chair, a footrest, a stool, and more came sailing through the window.
After a minute though, we realized; the fire was probably travelling upwards and would consume the entire top floor soon. “Come down from there, Dick! The stairs are going! Get outta there, Mr. Avery!”
He tried exiting through the window- not one of his better ideas. He got stuck.
I looked back at my children. They looked honestly frightened for the poor fellow.
When I looked back, I saw him laying on one of Miss Maudie’s bushes.
The fire had eaten its way to the roof, the window Mr. Avery had just left showed us just how intense the fire was.
I was standing with a whole group of neighbors. I tried as hard as I could not to show much emotion, because I knew my children were playing Monkey See-Monkey Do. They wouldn’t get upset until I did.
More fire trucks came and water began being dumped onto nearby houses, just in case.
At around dawn, the fire went out and everyone went home.
Miss Maudie. Who was standing beside me the entire time, was silent. Scout and Jem walked over but I shook my head as if to say that she needed to be alone for a while. Her house was one of her only belongings, anyway.
We went home and I told the kids that Miss Maudie was going to stay with Miss Rachel for the time being.
We drank hot chocolate and as we did, I noticed Scout was wrapped in a brown, woolen blanket. “I thought I told you and Jem to stay put.”
“Why, we did. We stayed-“
“Then whose blanket is that?” I asked, eying it.
Scout acted as if she had no idea she was wearing a blanket. “Atticus, I don’t know, sir… I-“
Jem seemed to have less of an idea that Scout as to where the blanket came from. He started babbling on about something in a tree and Mr. Nathan and how he has never hurt them.
“Whoa, son. You’re right. We’d better keep this and the blanket to ourselves. Someday, maybe Scout can thank him for covering her up.” I said calmly.
“Thank who?” Scout asked.
“Boo Radley. You were so busy looking at the fire you didn’t know it when she put the blanket around you.”
Jem thought this would be a good time to shake Scout up a little. “He sneaked out of the house-turn ‘round- sneaked up, an’ went like this!”
I looked at him. “Do not let this inspire you to further glory, Jeremy.”