Scout's antagonistic cousin, Francis Hancock, "the most
boring child I ever met," made the mistake of repeatedly taunting her with the epithet
"nigger-lover"--referring to Atticus. Scout wasn't quite sure what it meant, but she
could tell from Francis' tone that it wasn't good. But Francis kept it up, running into
the kitchen each time, where he was protected by Aunt Alexandra. So Scout waited
patiently, pretending to take a passive stance, until Francis made the mistake of going
out into the yard, beyond the scope of Alexandra's protection. When he thought Scout
"sufficiently subdued," he once again
...crooned softly,
"Nigger-lover..."
This time I split my knuckle to the bone on his front
teeth.
Scout received a
spanking from her Uncle Jack for her pugilistic display, but after Scout explained her
reasons to him, Uncle Jack was ready to deal out some punishment to Francis
himself.
,
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