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           Jemtriedtohelpme,butallhedidwasdropmycostumeinthedust.Ididn’tfall,though,andsoonwewereonourwayagain.

           Weturnedofftheroadandenteredtheschoolyard.Itwaspitchblack.

           "Howdoyouknowwherewe’reat,Jem?"Iasked,whenwehadgoneafewsteps.

           "Icantellwe’reunderthebigoakbecausewe’repassin’throughacoolspot.Carefulnow,anddon’tfallagain."

           Wehadslowedtoacautiousgait,andwerefeelingourwayforwardsoasnottobumpintothetree.Thetreewasasingleandancientoak;twochildrencouldnotreacharounditstrunkandtouchhands.Itwasfarawayfromteachers,theirspies,andcuriousneighbors:itwasneartheRadleylot,buttheRadleyswerenotcurious.Asmallpatchofearthbeneathitsbrancheswaspackedhardfrommanyfightsandfurtivecrapgames.

           Thelightsinthehighschoolauditoriumwereblazinginthedistance,buttheyblindedus,ifanything."Don’tlookahead,Scout,"Jemsaid."Lookatthegroundandyouwon’tfall."

           "Youshouldhavebroughttheflashlight,Jem."

           "Didn’tknowitwasthisdark.Didn’tlooklikeit’dbethisdarkearlierintheevening.Socloudy,that’swhy.It’llholdoffawhile,though."

           Someoneleapedatus.

           "Godalmighty!"Jemyelled.

           Acircleoflightburstinourfaces,andCecilJacobsjumpedingleebehindit."Ha-a-a,gotcha!"heshrieked.