Scout notices a bug on the porch and tries to harm it, but Jem stops her and says it didn't do anything wrong. Scout reflects on Dill telling her about he and Jem encountering Atticus after swimming, and how they saw Helen Robinson collapse after hearing her husband Tom was killed. The town discusses Tom's death, with most agreeing it was rational for a black man to try to escape, while the newspaper editor condemns it as the murder of an innocent man. Bob Ewell is overheard threatening more deaths in response. Summer ends with Dill's departure.