Poor Scout! With as much fun as she has being a tomboy and running around with the boys all summer long, she's still a girl, and therefore isn't allowed to go skinny-dipping with them. The boys probably told her they were "going in naked" just to keep her away. By chapter 24, though, Scout is older and maturing. In fact, she's going into the third grade, which makes her around 8 years old. Aunt Alexandra is hosting one of her missionary teas that day as well, which is a perfect time for Scout to put on a cute little dress and join the party.
After the missionary business is over, Aunt Alexandra invites neighbors over for refreshments. It's during this tea party that Atticus comes home unexpectedly early and Scout notices that his face is white. As he goes into the kitchen to speak with Calpurnia, Scout goes in and overhears what's going on. Atticus needs Cal to go with him to Helen Robinson's home to inform of the following:
"Tom's dead. . . . They shot him. . . . He was running. It was during their exercise period. They said he just broke into a blind raving charge at the fence and started climbing over. . . . They fired a few shots in the air, then to kill. They got him just as he went over the fence" (235).
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