What occurs as Scout and Jem walk home from the pageant in To Kill a Mockingbird?

This climactic scene is one of the most exciting portions of the novel.  Jem and Scout are returning home on Halloween night after the school held a pageant for Maycomb’s children.  Scout’s part in the play about the agricultural history of Maycomb is that of a ham.  She is in a ham costume that is bulky and hard to remove, so she decides to walk home with it on.  As they are walking, Jem suddenly starts struggling with someone, but Scout can’t see who it is because of the costume.  She hears Jem fall and then realizes that there is another fight going on.  Boo Radley has stopped Bob Ewell from harming the children, and in the struggle with Boo Radley, Bob Ewell is stabbed by his own knife between his ribs.  Scout hears Boo (at this time she doesn’t know it’s Boo) pick up Jem and run toward her house.  Scout follows and discovers that Boo saved Jem and her from Bob Ewell’s attack.  Jem is knocked out and has a broken arm, and Scout mentions how disappointed Jem will be because he didn’t get to meet Boo Radley.

As the book wraps up, Heck Tate tells Atticus that there will not be any charges pressed against Boo because he feels it will be an injustice to prosecute Boo.  Heck Tate convinces Atticus to say that Bob Ewell fell on his own knife.  Boo truly becomes a hero in the story and puts the superstitions surrounding him to rest by this selfless act.

What happens when Scout and Jem walk to the school for the pageant?

It is a dark, warm, overcast night as Jem and Scout head to the school for the Halloween pageant. Jem says it might rain later. The moon is not out. The children can hardly see, but Scout notes that they are over being afraid of supernatural creatures haunting the night.

Jem carries Scout's ham costume, for which she is grateful. She trips over a tree root. In the schoolyard, Cecil sees them. He has come by car and thinks they have come with Atticus. When he realizes they are alone and don't know he's there, he takes advantage of the opportunity to leap out at them, shine a light on them, and try to scare them. It works. They are startled, if only for moment. Scout admits that Cecil:

had given us a fright, and he could tell it all over the schoolhouse, that was his privilege.

All of this sets the scene for what is to follow when Jem and Scout meet real danger in the form of Mr. Ewell after the pageant.

Scout and Jem are on their way to the Halloween pageant at the high school auditorium. As they approach the Radley residence, Cecil Jacobs suddenly jumps out at them, giving Scout and Jem a bit of a fright. This particular scene is an example of foreshadowing, as it gives us a taste of what's about to happen.

On their way back from the Halloween pageant, Scout and Jem are attacked. This time, it isn't Cecil Jacobs playing a silly prank; this is much more serious. Scout doesn't know it at the time, but they've been attacked by Bob Ewell, still sore at Atticus for publicly humiliating him on the witness stand. In the midst of the ensuing melee, Scout is aware of someone pulling the attacker off her. She assumes it's Jem, but she finds out later that it was Boo Radley. Scout also sees the figure of a strange man carrying Jem to their front door. Once again, she doesn't know who the man is. But as before, it turns out to be none other than Boo Radley.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, what happens when Jem and Scout return from the costume party?

The school holds an autumn pageant.  They have a Halloween costume contest with a cash prize (a quarter).  Jem accompanies Scout, who is dressed up as a ham hock.  On the way home, they cut through the woods to head home.  Jem is the first one to hear a sound as they walk.  They assume it is Cecil, trying to sneak up on them.  The sounds continue as they walk home.  Scout and Jem stop, and hear that "he [is] running, running toward [them] with no child’s steps" (To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 28).  They know that it is not Cecil who has been following them.  The stalker is Bob Ewell and he attacks them with a knife.  Boo Radley comes from out of nowhere to fight off Bob.  Jem is injured, and Boo scoops him up into his arms to take him home.  Scout escapes from her ham costume and follows.