But someone was booming again. โMayella Violet Ewell-!โ
A young girl walked to the witness stand. As she raised her hand and swore that the evidence she gave would be the truth, the whole
truth, and nothing but the truth so help her God, she seemed somehow fragile-looking, but when she sat facing us in the witness chair she became what she was, a thick-bodied girl accustomed to strenuous labor.
In Maycomb County, it was easy to tell when someone bathed regularly, as opposed to yearly lavations: Mr. Ewell had a scalded look; as if an overnight soaking had deprived him of protective layers of dirt, his skin appeared to be sensitive to the elements. Mayella looked as if she tried to keep clean, and I was reminded of the row of red geraniums in the Ewell yard.
Mr. Gilmer asked Mayella to tell the jury in her own words what happened on the evening of November twenty-first of last year, just in her own words, please.
Mayella sat silently.
โWhere were you at dusk on that evening?โ began Mr. Gilmer patiently.
โOn the porch.โ โWhich porch?โ
โAinโt but one, the front porch.โ
โWhat were you doing on the porch?โ โNothinโ.โ
Judge Taylor said, โJust tell us what happened. You can do that, canโt you?โ
Mayella stared at him and burst into tears. She covered her mouth with her hands and sobbed. Judge Taylor let her cry for a while, then he said, โThatโs enough now. Donโt be โfraid of anybody here, as long as you tell the truth. All this is strange to you, I know, but youโve nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to fear. What are you scared of?โ
Mayella said something behind her hands. โWhat was that?โ asked the judge.
โHim,โ she sobbed, pointing at Atticus. โMr. Finch?โ
She nodded vigorously, saying, โDonโt want him doinโ me like he done Papa, tryinโ to make him out lefthandedโฆโ
Judge Taylor scratched his thick white hair. It was plain that he
had never been confronted with a problem of this kind. โHow old are you?โ he asked.
โNineteen-and-a-half,โ Mayella said.
Judge Taylor cleared his throat and tried unsuccessfully to speak in soothing tones. โMr. Finch has no idea of scaring you,โ he growled, โand if he did, Iโm here to stop him. Thatโs one thing Iโm sitting
up here for. Now youโre a big girl, so you just sit up straight and tell the- tell us what happened to you. You can do that, canโt you?โ I whispered to Jem, โHas she got good sense?โ
Jem was squinting down at the witness stand. โCanโt tell yet,โ he said. โSheโs got enough sense to get the judge sorry for her, but
she might be just- oh, I donโt know.โ
Mollified, Mayella gave Atticus a final terrified glance and said to Mr. Gilmer, โWell sir, I was on the porch and- and he came along
and, you see, there was this old chiffarobe in the yard Papaโd brought in to chop up for kindlinโ- Papa told me to do it while he was off
in the woods but I wadnโt feelinโ strong enough then, so he came by-โ โWho is โheโ?โ
Mayella pointed to Tom Robinson. โIโll have to ask you to be more specific, please,โ said Mr. Gilmer. โThe reporter canโt put down gestures very well.โ
โThatโn yonder,โ she said. โRobinson.โ
โThen what happened?โ
โI said come here, nigger, and bust up this chiffarobe for me, I gotta nickel for you. He coulda done it easy enough, he could. So he come in the yard anโ I went in the house to get him the nickel and I turned around an โfore I knew it he was on me. Just run up behind me, he did. He got me round the neck, cussinโ me anโ sayinโ dirt- I foughtโnโhollered, but he had me round the neck. He hit me agin anโ agin-โ
Mr. Gilmer waited for Mayella to collect herself: she had twisted her handkerchief into a sweaty rope; when she opened it to wipe her face it was a mass of creases from her hot hands. She waited for Mr.
Gilmer to ask another question, but when he didnโt, she said, โ-he chunked me on the floor anโ choked meโn took advantage of me.โ
โDid you scream?โ asked Mr. Gilmer. โDid you scream and fight back?โ
โReckon I did, hollered for all I was worth, kicked and hollered loud as I could.โ
โThen what happened?โ
โI donโt remember too good, but next thing I knew Papa was in the room aโstanding over me hollerinโ who done it, who done it? Then I sorta fainted anโ the next thing I knew Mr. Tate was pullinโ me up
offa the floor and leadinโ me to the water bucket.โ
Apparently Mayellaโs recital had given her confidence, but it was not her fatherโs brash kind: there was something stealthy about hers, like a steady-eyed cat with a twitchy tail.
โYou say you fought him off as hard as you could? Fought him tooth and nail?โ asked Mr. Gilmer.
โI positively did,โ Mayella echoed her father.
โYou are positive that he took full advantage of you?โ
Mayellaโs face contorted, and I was afraid that she would cry again. Instead, she said, โHe done what he was after.โ
Mr. Gilmer called attention to the hot day by wiping his head with his hand. โThatโs all for the time being,โ he said pleasantly, โbut
you stay there. I expect big bad Mr. Finch has some questions to ask you.โ
โState will not prejudice the witness against counsel for the defense,โ murmured Judge Taylor primly, โat least not at this time.โ Atticus got up grinning but instead of walking to the witness stand, he opened his coat and hooked his thumbs in his vest, then he walked slowly across the room to the windows. He looked out, but didnโt
seem especially interested in what he saw, then he turned and strolled
back to the witness stand. From long years of experience, I could tell he was trying to come to a decision about something.
โMiss Mayella,โ he said, smiling, โI wonโt try to scare you for a while, not yet. Letโs just get acquainted. How old are you?โ
โSaid I was nineteen, said it to the judge yonder.โ Mayella jerked her head resentfully at the bench.
โSo you did, so you did, maโam. Youโll have to bear with me, Miss Mayella, Iโm getting along and canโt remember as well as I used to. I might ask you things youโve already said before, but youโll give me an answer, wonโt you? Good.โ
I could see nothing in Mayellaโs expression to justify Atticusโs
assumption that he had secured her wholehearted cooperation. She was looking at him furiously.
โWonโt answer a word you say long as you keep on mockinโ me,โ she said.
โMaโam?โ asked Atticus, startled.
โLongโs you keep on makinโ fun oโme.โ
Judge Taylor said, โMr. Finch is not making fun of you. Whatโs the matter with you?โ
Mayella looked from under lowered eyelids at Atticus, but she said
to the judge: โLongโs he keeps on callinโ me maโam an sayinโ Miss Mayella. I donโt hafta take his sass, I ainโt called upon to take it.โ Atticus resumed his stroll to the windows and let Judge Taylor handle this one. Judge Taylor was not the kind of figure that ever evoked pity, but I did feel a pang for him as he tried to explain.
โThatโs just Mr. Finchโs way,โ he told Mayella. โWeโve done business in this court for years and years, and Mr. Finch is always courteous to everybody. Heโs not trying to mock you, heโs trying to be polite.
Thatโs just his way.โ
The judge leaned back. โAtticus, letโs get on with these proceedings, and let the record show that the witness has not been sassed, her views to the contrary.โ
I wondered if anybody had ever called her โmaโam,โ or โMiss Mayellaโ in her life; probably not, as she took offense to routine courtesy.
What on earth was her life like? I soon found out.
โYou say youโre nineteen,โ Atticus resumed. โHow many sisters and brothers have you?โ He walked from the windows back to the stand. โSebโm,โ she said, and I wondered if they were all like the specimen I had seen the first day I started to school.
โYou the eldest? The oldest?โ
โYes.โ
โHow long has your mother been dead?โ โDonโt know- long time.โ
โDid you ever go to school?โ
โReadโnโwrite good as Papa yonder.โ
Mayella sounded like a Mr. Jingle in a book I had been reading. โHow long did you go to school?โ
โTwo year- three year- dunno.โ
Slowly but surely I began to see the pattern of Atticusโs questions: from questions that Mr. Gilmer did not deem sufficiently irrelevant or immaterial to object to, Atticus was quietly building up before the jury a picture of the Ewellsโ home life. The jury learned the
following things: their relief check was far from enough to feed the family, and there was strong suspicion that Papa drank it up anyway-he sometimes went off in the swamp for days and came home sick; the weather was seldom cold enough to require shoes, but when it was, you could make dandy ones from strips of old tires; the family
hauled its water in buckets from a spring that ran out at one end of the dump- they kept the surrounding area clear of trash- and it was
everybody for himself as far as keeping clean went: if you wanted to
wash you hauled your own water; the younger children had perpetual
colds and suffered from chronic ground-itch; there was a lady who came around sometimes and asked Mayella why she didnโt stay in school-
she wrote down the answer; with two members of the family reading and writing, there was no need for the rest of them to learn- Papa needed them at home.
โMiss Mayella,โ said Atticus, in spite of himself, โa
nineteen-year-old girl like you must have friends. Who are your friends?โ
The witness frowned as if puzzled. โFriends?โ
โYes, donโt you know anyone near your age, or older, or younger? Boys and girls? Just ordinary friends?โ
Mayellaโs hostility, which had subsided to grudging neutrality, flared again. โYou makinโ fun oโme agin, Mr. Finch?โ
Atticus let her question answer his.
โDo you love your father, Miss Mayella?โ was his next. โLove him, whatcha mean?โ
โI mean, is he good to you, is he easy to get along with?โ โHe does tollable, โcept when-โ
โExcept when?โ
Mayella looked at her father, who was sitting with his chair tipped against the railing. He sat up straight and waited for her to answer.
โExcept when nothinโ,โ said Mayella. โI said he does tollable.โ Mr. Ewell leaned back again.
โExcept when heโs drinking?โ asked Atticus so gently that Mayella nodded.
โDoes he ever go after you?โ โHow you mean?โ
โWhen heโs- riled, has he ever beaten you?โ
Mayella looked around, down at the court reporter, up at the judge. โAnswer the question, Miss Mayella,โ said Judge Taylor.
โMy pawโs never touched a hair oโmy head in my life,โ she declared firmly. โHe never touched me.โ
Atticusโs glasses had slipped a little, and he pushed them up on his nose. โWeโve had a good visit, Miss Mayella, and now I guess weโd better get to the case. You say you asked Tom Robinson to come chop up a- what was it?โ
โA chiffarobe, a old dresser full of drawers on one side.โ โWas Tom Robinson well known to you?โ
โWhaddya mean?โ
โI mean did you know who he was, where he lived?โ
Mayella nodded. โI knowed who he was, he passed the house every day.โ
โWas this the first time you asked him to come inside the fence?โ
Mayella jumped slightly at the question. Atticus was making his slow pilgrimage to the windows, as he had been doing: he would ask a question, then look out, waiting for an answer. He did not see her involuntary jump, but it seemed to me that he knew she had moved. He turned around and raised his eyebrows. โWas-โ he began again.
โYes it was.โ
โDidnโt you ever ask him to come inside the fence before?โ She was prepared now. โI did not, I certainly did not.โ
โOne did notโs enough,โ said Atticus serenely. โYou never asked him to do odd jobs for you before?โ
โI mighta,โ conceded Mayella. โThere was several niggers around.โ โCan you remember any other occasions?โ
โNo.โ
โAll right, now to what happened. You said Tom Robinson was behind you in the room when you turned around, that right?โ
โYes.โ
โYou said he โgot you around the neck cussing and saying dirtโ- is that right?โ
โโtโs right.โ
Atticusโs memory had suddenly become accurate. โYou say โhe caught me and choked me and took advantage of meโ- is that right?โ
โThatโs what I said.โ
โDo you remember him beating you about the face?โ The witness hesitated.
โYou seem sure enough that he choked you. All this time you were fighting back, remember? You โkicked and hollered as loud as you
could.โ Do you remember him beating you about the face?โ
Mayella was silent. She seemed to be trying to get something clear to herself. I thought for a moment she was doing Mr. Heck Tateโs and my trick of pretending there was a person in front of us. She
glanced at Mr. Gilmer.
โItโs an easy question, Miss Mayella, so Iโll try again. Do you remember him beating you about the face?โ Atticusโs voice had lost its comfortableness; he was speaking in his arid, detached professional voice. โDo you remember him beating you about the face?โ
โNo, I donโt recollect if he hit me. I mean yes I do, he hit me.โ โWas your last sentence your answer?โ
โHuh? Yes, he hit- I just donโt remember, I just donโt rememberโฆ it all happened so quick.โ
Judge Taylor looked sternly at Mayella. โDonโt you cry, young woman-โ he began, but Atticus said, โLet her cry if she wants to, Judge. Weโve got all the time in the world.โ
Mayella sniffed wrathfully and looked at Atticus. โIโll answer any question you got- get me up here anโ mock me, will you? Iโll answer any question you got-โ
โThatโs fine,โ said Atticus. โThereโre only a few more. Miss
Mayella, not to be tedious, youโve testified that the defendant hit
you, grabbed you around the neck, choked you, and took advantage of you. I want you to be sure you have the right man. Will you identify the man who raped you?โ
โI will, thatโs him right yonder.โ
Atticus turned to the defendant. โTom, stand up. Let Miss Mayella have a good long look at you. Is this the man, Miss Mayella?โ
Tom Robinsonโs powerful shoulders rippled under his thin shirt. He rose to his feet and stood with his right hand on the back of his
chair. He looked oddly off balance, but it was not from the way he was standing. His left arm was fully twelve inches shorter than his right,
and hung dead at his side. It ended in a small shriveled hand, and from as far away as the balcony I could see that it was no use to him. โScout,โ breathed Jem. โScout, look! Reverend, heโs crippled!โ
Reverend Sykes leaned across me and whispered to Jem. โHe got it caught in a cotton gin, caught it in Mr. Dolphus Raymondโs cotton gin when he was a boyโฆ like to bled to deathโฆ tore all the muscles loose from his bones-โ
Atticus said, โIs this the man who raped you?โ โIt most certainly is.โ
Atticusโs next question was one word long. โHow?โ
Mayella was raging. โI donโt know how he done it, but he done it-I said it all happened so fast I-โ
โNow letโs consider this calmly-โ began Atticus, but Mr. Gilmer interrupted with an objection: he was not irrelevant or immaterial, but Atticus was browbeating the witness.
Judge Taylor laughed outright. โOh sit down, Horace, heโs doing nothing of the sort. If anything, the witnessโs browbeating Atticus.โ Judge Taylor was the only person in the courtroom who laughed.
Even the babies were still, and I suddenly wondered if they had been smothered at their mothersโ breasts.
โNow,โ said Atticus, โMiss Mayella, youโve testified that the defendant choked and beat you- you didnโt say that he sneaked up behind you and knocked you cold, but you turned around and there he was-โ Atticus was back behind his table, and he emphasized his words by tapping his knuckles on it. โ-do you wish to reconsider any of your testimony?โ
โYou want me to say something that didnโt happen?โ
โNo maโam, I want you to say something that did happen. Tell us once more, please, what happened?โ
โI toldโja what happened.โ
โYou testified that you turned around and there he was. He choked you then?โ
โYes.โ
โThen he released your throat and hit you?โ โI said he did.โ
โHe blacked your left eye with his right fist?โ
โI ducked and it- it glanced, thatโs what it did. I ducked and it glanced off.โ Mayella had finally seen the light.
โYouโre becoming suddenly clear on this point. A while ago you couldnโt remember too well, could you?โ
โI said he hit me.โ
โAll right. He choked you, he hit you, then he raped you, that right?โ
โIt most certainly is.โ
โYouโre a strong girl, what were you doing all the time, just standing there?โ
โI toldโja I holleredโnโkickedโnโfought-โ
Atticus reached up and took off his glasses, turned his good right eye to the witness, and rained questions on her. Judge Taylor said, โOne question at a time, Atticus. Give the witness a chance to
answer.โ
โAll right, why didnโt you run?โ โI triedโฆโ
โTried to? What kept you from it?โ
โI- he slung me down. Thatโs what he did, he slung me downโn got on top of me.โ
โYou were screaming all this time?โ โI certainly was.โ
โThen why didnโt the other children hear you? Where were they? At the dump?โ
โWhere were they?โ No answer.
โWhy didnโt your screams make them come running? The dumpโs closer
than the woods, isnโt it?โ No answer.
โOr didnโt you scream until you saw your father in the window? You didnโt think to scream until then, did you?โ
No answer.
โDid you scream first at your father instead of at Tom Robinson? Was that it?โ
No answer.
โWho beat you up? Tom Robinson or your father?โ No answer.
โWhat did your father see in the window, the crime of rape or the best defense to it? Why donโt you tell the truth, child, didnโt Bob Ewell beat you up?โ
When Atticus turned away from Mayella he looked like his stomach hurt, but Mayellaโs face was a mixture of terror and fury. Atticus sat
down wearily and polished his glasses with his handkerchief. Suddenly Mayella became articulate. โI got somethinโ to say,โ she said.
Atticus raised his head. โDo you want to tell us what happened?โ
But she did not hear the compassion in his invitation. โI got
somethinโ to say anโ then I ainโt gonna say no more. That nigger yonder took advantage of me anโ if you fine fancy gentlemen donโt wanta do nothinโ about it then youโre all yellow stinkinโ cowards,
stinkinโ cowards, the lot of you. Your fancy airs donโt come to
nothinโ- your maโaminโ and Miss Mayellerinโ donโt come to nothinโ, Mr. Finch-โ
Then she burst into real tears. Her shoulders shook with angry sobs.
She was as good as her word. She answered no more questions, even when
Mr. Gilmer tried to get her back on the track. I guess if she hadnโt been so poor and ignorant, Judge Taylor would have put her under the jail for the contempt she had shown everybody in the courtroom.
Somehow, Atticus had hit her hard in a way that was not clear to me, but it gave him no pleasure to do so. He sat with his head down, and I never saw anybody glare at anyone with the hatred Mayella showed when she left the stand and walked by Atticusโs table.
When Mr. Gilmer told Judge Taylor that the state rested, Judge Taylor said, โItโs time we all did. Weโll take ten minutes.โ
Atticus and Mr. Gilmer met in front of the bench and whispered, then they left the courtroom by a door behind the witness stand, which
was a signal for us all to stretch. I discovered that I had been
sitting on the edge of the long bench, and I was somewhat numb. Jem got up and yawned, Dill did likewise, and Reverend Sykes wiped his face on his hat. The temperature was an easy ninety, he said.
Mr. Braxton Underwood, who had been sitting quietly in a chair reserved for the Press, soaking up testimony with his sponge of a brain, allowed his bitter eyes to rove over the colored balcony, and they met mine. He gave a snort and looked away.
โJem,โ I said, โMr. Underwoodโs seen us.โ
โThatโs okay. He wonโt tell Atticus, heโll just put it on the social side of the Tribune.โ Jem turned back to Dill, explaining, I
suppose, the finer points of the trial to him, but I wondered what
they were. There had been no lengthy debates between Atticus and Mr. Gilmer on any points; Mr. Gilmer seemed to be prosecuting almost reluctantly; witnesses had been led by the nose as asses are, with few objections. But Atticus had once told us that in Judge Taylorโs
court any lawyer who was a strict constructionist on evidence usually wound up receiving strict instructions from the bench. He distilled this for me to mean that Judge Taylor might look lazy and operate in his sleep, but he was seldom reversed, and that was the proof of the pudding. Atticus said he was a good judge.
Presently Judge Taylor returned and climbed into his swivel chair.
He took a cigar from his vest pocket and examined it thoughtfully. I punched Dill. Having passed the judgeโs inspection, the cigar suffered a vicious bite. โWe come down sometimes to watch him,โ I explained. โItโs gonna take him the rest of the afternoon, now. You watch.โ
Unaware of public scrutiny from above, Judge Taylor disposed of the severed end by propelling it expertly to his lips and saying,
โFhluck!โ He hit a spittoon so squarely we could hear it slosh. โBet he was hell with a spitball,โ murmured Dill.
As a rule, a recess meant a general exodus, but today people werenโt
moving. Even the Idlers who had failed to shame younger men from their
seats had remained standing along the walls. I guess Mr. Heck Tate had reserved the county toilet for court officials.
Atticus and Mr. Gilmer returned, and Judge Taylor looked at his watch. โItโs gettinโ on to four,โ he said, which was intriguing, as
the courthouse clock must have struck the hour at least twice. I had not heard it or felt its vibrations.
โShall we try to wind up this afternoon?โ asked Judge Taylor. โHow โbout it, Atticus?โ
โI think we can,โ said Atticus.
โHow many witnesses you got?โ โOne.โ
โWell, call him.โ