One day, when walking home from school, Jem and Scout notice a ball of twine sitting inside the knot hole in the tree at the Radley's. Scout wants to take it but Jem thinks they should leave it alone. After some time, Jem takes the ball when he notices it is still there. A few moths later, the kids find two figures, a boy and a girl, that look exactly like Jem and Scout. They find many things in the knot hole: a pack of showing gum, a spelling bee medal, and a broken pocket watch. The next day, Jem and Scout find that Nathan Radley is filling the knot hole in with cement. Jem sakes why he is doing that. Nathan Ridley says, "The tree is sick.". The knot holes symbolize the communication and connection between the Finch kids and Arthur Radley. When Nathan fills the knot holes in, it symbolizes the end of their connection. The gifts that Arthur put in there for Jem and Scout, shows how he was building a connection with them. Arthur was hinting the kids he was going to be coming out soon.