"Listen," he said, "I won't hurt you. My name is Arthur Radley. I'm sure you've heard of me, Nathan Radley's brother. Well today, I ran off. I ain't stayin' cooped up in that old house no longer. If you don't want to help me, say so æn' I'll leave, but please, don't scream."

He put his hand slowly down to let me talk then asked, "Well?"

It took me a minute to take in everything he said. Then I replied in a squeaky whisper, "How could I help you?" It sounded kind of dumb, but I didn't realize how I could help him.

"Just let me stay here for a few days until things die down and I can move on. I don't know where I'll go, just somewhere away from here. I sure don't wanna go back home."

I wasn't sure what to do, but one thing was for sure. I needed to tell Atticus. I learned that sometimes Atticus must know, and this was one of those things.

"Wait here. I'm gonna get my dad. I know you wanna keep this quiet, but I can't keep you here without him findin' out," I said.

"Will he tell my brother?" he asked.

"No, probably not," I lied. I knew this was wrong, but he would have run off if I told the truth.

As I walked down the hall toward Atticus' room, I heard a knock at the door. Before even thinking about it, I reached over and opened the door. What I saw was so startling I couldn't talk.

"Is your daddy home?"

I nodded as I looked up into the face of Mr. Nathan Radley.

by William Crabtree

9th grade student

Minford High school

(Teacher's Note: Above writing is unedited.)

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