Disclaimer: All characters mentioned are property of Harper Lee, with the exception of my three original characters.

Black or White: Which is Right?

Atticus was anxious. His client was outnumbered in witnesses two to one. Three to one if you counted the sheriff. No matter what Atticus did, poor Tom Robinson would be convicted of a crime he did not commit, and Bob Ewell would be free to beat his daughter whenever he drank. And Tom would more than likely be lynched before he even got to the jail. Atticus was contemplating his next move, when a note suddenly flew his direction. Atticus smiled as he read it, and immediately spoke up.

"Your Honor," Atticus said, "would it inconvenience you to take a recess? I believe Miss Mayella needs to calm down."

"No, not at all, Mr. Finch. I hereby call a two hour recess of the court." After his reply, the judge pounded his gavel to signal the start of the recess.

Atticus had just left the courtroom, he was approached by three men. The first was tall, skinny, and had a spirited demeanor. The second, slightly shorter and not quite as skinny, had a determined look about him. The third was a sort of mix of the first two, with a very open-minded expression. It was obvious that these three meant no harm. In fact, Atticus was sure that they wanted to help.

"The name's Larry Carlson," the first man said. "These are my buddies, Tim Belmont and Ryan Keyes. We've been doing some investigating of our own, and Bob Ewell's gone and rigged the whole trial! He threatened the jurors with bodily harm both to themselves and their families. We'll get Ewell yet, Mr. Finch, just call one of us as witnesses and we'll do the rest. Well, we'd better tell the judge that we plan to testify, so we'll see you after the recess."

Once everyone had taken their seats, and the court was once again in session, Atticus made his move. He called Ryan Keyes to the stand. Ryan had some trouble getting to the witness chair, due to his visual impairment, but he managed to reach it and take the oath of honesty. Once that was done, he began to testify.

"Well, Your Honor, my friends and I were suspicious of Mr. Ewell ever since Tom was arrested. When we went to see Mayella, he told us to go away because he didn't want anything to do with anyone else until he saw the guilty verdict. So, we came back when we knew that Mayella was home alone and asked her about what had transpired between her and Tom. What she told us was exactly what Tom Robinson said before the recess of this court two hours ago. On top of that, we found that on the night the crime allegedly occurred, Robert E. Lee Ewell had purchased and consumed several glasses of his favorite liquor before heading home. The most disturbing thing is that he had the nerve to rig this trial by threatening the jurors with bodily harm! Not just to the jurors themselves, but to their families as well. I rest my case."

The judge was furious. He had the bailiff immediately arrest Bob Ewell and dismissed the jury. Bob Ewell didn't give up without a fight however. He tried to escape from jail several times, but was unsuccessful every time.

At Mr. Ewell's trial, Atticus testified, "Tom Robinson's case was one of black against white, but which one is right? The answer is both. It is up to us to make sure that we can coexist with people of a different race, and it's people like Bob Ewell that keep us from doing so. It is good that we have good folks like Ryan Keyes to depend on to ensure equal rights for all. For saving the life of my client, I thank Ryan, and his friends, on behalf of all those who have become the victims of racism."