in Chapter six of tequila Mockingbird it's the night before dill leaves pea and gem planned to peek into the Radley house Scout tries to stop them but decides to join them after Jem says she's acting more like a girl every day as they try to peer into the windows they see the shadow of a man approaching they start running away and a shotgun is fired behind them they barely escaped through a fence but Jim's pants get stuck and are left behind when they get home the whole neighborhood is abuzz with excitement the children sneak into the crowd to listen to the commotion the adults believe nathan Radley scared off a black man who is trying to steal from his garden standing in the crowd Stephanie Crawford points out that Jem isn't wearing any pants dill quickly comes up with a story he won them in a game of strip poker by the fishing pond later that night Jem decides that he has to get his pants back to keep their life from being exposed Scout tries to persuade him not to but he's determined and manages to retrieve them without any further trouble the action in Chapter six keeps the Boo Radley subplot alive tension rises as the children's attempts at getting Blue Radley out of the house become more daring at the same time the author also builds the foundation for what will become the central plot Atticus's participation in the Tom Robinson case the theme of race and racism is central to this chapter Nathan Radley makes a hasty assumption that the intruder is black he doesn't even consider the possibility that the intruder might be white or that it's just neighborhood kids messing around another significant aspect of the chapter is gems determination to retrieve his pants rather than have Atticus know he lied Jim takes pride in the fact that Atticus and Calpurnia trust him with caring for Scouts he's becoming a thoughtful boy developing a moral code