Dill is a storyteller. When Scout finds him underneath her bed in chapter 14, he first tells her that he left Meridian because his step-father chained him up in the basement and left him to die. Once he pulled himself free from the chains, he left and found a small animal show where he was retained to wash a camel. When he came near Maycomb, he walked over and hid under Scout's bed. The real story, though, is that he took thirteen dollars from his mom's purse and took a train for most of the way. He walked about ten miles and hopped the back of a cotton wagon, too.
When Scout and Dill get some time alone away from adults, she asks him why he left his home. Dill had told her the previous summer that he and his new dad were going to build a boat together and things were happy. Unfortunately, Dill said that the boat never got built, but that his dad had only mentioned it. The fact is, Dill felt neglected. His mother seemed to be more interested in her new husband rather than Dill. The couple would go out on dates for a really long time and leave him all alone at home. Or, his parents would lock themselves in their room and not come out. Dill even feels like his parents are happier without him there, so he left. He decided to go to Maycomb where he would feel accepted and loved--not neglected like at home with his mother.
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