TheAdventuresofTomSawyerandtheAdventuresofHuckleberryFinn 10123147

TH E A D V E N T U R E S O F
TO M SAW Y E R
AND
!
TH E A D V E N TU R E S O F
H U C K LE B E R RY FI N N
BY
MA R K TW A IN
THE MOD ERN LIBR ARY

NEW Y ORK
TH E A DVENTURES OF TO M SA WY ER
COPYR IG H T, 18
75 , 1 89 9 A N D 1 90 3 BY SAM U E L L CLE M E NS
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COP Y R IG H T, 1 9 1 7 , BY CLARA GABRILOW ITSCH

COPYRIGH T, 1 9 1 7 , 1 920 , B Y TH E M ARK TW AIN C OM P A N Y
C OP Y RIG H T, 1 922, BY TH E M AR K TW A IN COM PA NY
THE ADV ENTU RES OF HU C K LEB ERRY FINN
C OP Y RI G H T, 1 8 84 , B Y SAM U E L L CLE M E N S
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C OPYRIG H T, 1 8 96, 1 899, TH E R S BY H A RP E R BR O
C OPY RI G H T 1 9 1 2 BY CLARA G AB RILOW ITSC H

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COP Y RIG H T 1 9 1 8 B Y TH E M A RK TW AI N C OM PAN Y

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TH E MOD E R N LI BR ARY
P U B L I S H E D B Y
R A N D O M H O U S E ,
I N C .
B E N N E TT A . CE RF DO NA L D S . K LO P FE R R O B E RT K . HAA S
M f
a n u a ctu re d i n tb e Un ited States of A m erica
P r i n ted by P a r k way P r i n t ing C o mp a ny y H
B ou n d a . W olf
HAROLD B LE E LIBRARY .
BRIG HA M YO UNG UNIVE R S I

TY
PRO V O UTA H ,
S A M UE L LANGHOR N E CLE ME NS
( M ar k Tw ain )
5- 0
( 13 3 19 1 )
A N OTE ON TH E AU TH OR OF
The Adven tu res o f Tom Sawyer
an d
The Adv en tu res of Hu c k l e berry Fin n
TH E deriv ation of th e pe n n am e , Mark

Twain fro m a pilot s call while ,
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mak ing soun din gs on th e M ississippi in di c ates Sam u el Clem en s dev otion ’
to the riv er o f his you th To it an d th e b o ats an d perso n aliti es it b ore

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Am erica s w orld-ren own e d writer o w e d a life lon g alle gian c e H is par tici
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patiou in the riv er s colo rfu l li fe an d his lov e o f its own b ran d o f hu mo r
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provide d the bac k grou n d for th ose stori es which h av e forev er m ade the
world rich e r Beg in n in g w ith h is e arly hu m oro u s w o rk s o f pion eerin g ad
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v en tu re M ark Tw ain dev elop ed a career w ith ou t parallel in Am eric an

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letters an d exten de d it in his late r dee ply earn est Th e M ys terious

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Stran ger an d h is rev e ren t P ersonal R e co ll ec tion s ofJ oan of Arc .
Samu el Clem en s was b orn in Florida Mo o n Nov em be r 3 0 18 3 5 At

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the age o f fou r h e w as tak en to Han n ib al M o w h ere his f ath er died ,

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fou r years later Thru st u pon the w orld the boy learn ed to set type and
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v e ry e arly in li fe b ecam e a j ou rn e m an p rin te r A fter w ork in g in v arioi l s

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c ities in the Mi ddle West an d E ast h e le ft h is trade wh en h e w as sixteen

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years old to b ec o m e a M ississippi Riv er pil o t Du rin g th e C ivi l War h e .
prospec ted for gold in Nev ada an d v oyaged to the San dw ich Islan ds .
Fro m a pos t o n th e Virg in ia C ity E n terprise he w en t to San Fran cisco ,
an d fou n d w elc o m e there am on g a c ircle o f w riters th at in clu ded B ret
Harte Artemu s Ward an d o thers

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The story th at b rou gh t him e arly n ation al fame was Th e J u m pin g

F rog of Calav eras C oun ty His first b ook Inno cen ts Abroad followed a
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A NOT E ON THE AUTHOR
trip to the M editerra

n ean an d t
th e Orien ; th en h is me
na was m ade on
b o th sides Atlan tic At th is tim e h e was settled in the E ast , liv in g

o f th e .
in E lm ira , N Y Su b se qu en tly h e m ov ed to Hartford, Conn , Wh ere h e

. . .
mad e his ho m e fo r m an y ye ars In 18 7 5 , he . pu b lish ed his m ost famous

bo o k , The Adv en tu res of Tom Sawyer ; its
. se qu el Th e Adv en tu res of
,
Huc k le berry Fin n, appeare d in 18 8 2

By this tim e a h ighly su c c ess ful au thor M ark Twain v en tu red in to,
th e b oo k -pu b lishin g b u sin ess b y b u yin g a m aj or in tere st in th e firm o f

Charles L Web ster an d Com pan y On e o f h is first editorial c o n tribu tion s
—his persu as ion o f Gen eral Ulyss es S Gran t to write his m em oirs
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m ade a fortu n e fo r h is c o m pan y an d for the Gran t f am ily A disastrou s

in v estme n t in a c ru de typ e-settin g m achin e—th e predecessor o f m odern
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lin o type w iped o u t all o f M ark Tw ain s m on ey an d saddled him with
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deb ts Y ears o f writin g an d le ctu rin g wen t to pay off his obligation s B y
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th e tu rn o f the c en tu ry th e slate w as cl ean He took u presiden ce in N ew

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York City w here h e b ecam e a b elov e d an d fam iliar figu re dressed en

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tirely in white In 19 06 h e m ov ed to a coun try home in Readin g Con n

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an d th ere he died on April 2 19 10 ,

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T h e A dv e n t u re s o f T o m S aw ye r
C ON T E N T S
CR AP .
P R EF AC E
T OM PLAY S F IGHT S AND HIDE S
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T HE GL ORIOUS WH I TEWA S HER

BU S Y A T WAR AND L OVE
S HOW IN G O FF IN S U N D AY SC HOO L
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T HE P IN C H -B U G AND HI S PREY
T O M M E E T S B E C KY
T I C K-RU NNIN G AN D A HE AR TB RE AK
A P IRA TE B O L D T o BE
TR AGEDY IN T HE GRAVEYARD
D IR E P R OP H E CY O F THE H O WL IN G DOG
C O N SC IE N C E RAC K S T O M
T HE CAT AND THE PAIN -KIL L E R
T HE P IR ATE CRE W S ET SAIL
HAPP Y CAMP O F THE FRE E B OOTE R S
T OM S STEA L TH Y V I S IT H OME
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F IR S T P IP E S— I VE L O S T M Y K NI F E
“ ’
P IRATE S AT T HE IR OWN FU N ERA L

T O M R E VE AL s HI S D REA M SE CRET
T HE CRUEL TY O F I D ID N T T H IN K
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TO M TAKE S B E C KY S PU NI S H M EN T
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E L O QU E N CE—A N D THE M A S TER S G ILD ED DOME

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HU C K F INN QU OT ES S CRIP T URE S

T HE SALVAT ION OF M UFF P OTTER
S P LE N D ID DAY S AN D F E AR S O M E N I GHT S
S EEKIN G TH E BURIE D T R EA SUR E
XXVI . REAL R OBB ER S S E I! E THE B ox OF G OLD
v ii
CO N TEN TS
c m .
XXVII TRE MB LI N G ON TH E TRA IL

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XXVII I I N THE LAIR O F IN J U N J OE

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HU C K SAVE S TH E WID O W
T OM AN D B E C KY IN T HE CAVE
F O UN D AN D LO S T A GAIN
T U RN OU T ! T HEY RE F OU N D !
“ ’ ”
T HE FATE O F IN J U N J OE
FL OODS O F G O L D
XXXV RE SP E CT AB LE HUC K J O IN S THE GAN G
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T h e A dv e n t u r e s o f H u c k l e b e rr y Fi n n
C ON T E N T S
N OTI CE
EXP LAN ATORY
I I D I S C OV
. ER M O S E S AND THE BU LRU SH E R S
II O UR GAN G S D AR K OAT H
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II I WE A MB USCAD E THE A RA B S
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IV T HE HA IR -B AL L OR A CL E
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V PAP STAR T S IN O N A NEW LI FE

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VI PAP S TRU GGL E S W ITH THE D EA TH A N GEL

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VII I F OO L PAP AND GE T AWA Y

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VI II I SP AR E MIS S WAT S ON S JIM

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IX T HE HO US E O F D EATH FL OA T S BY
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X WH AT C O M E S O F
. H A ND LI N NAKE S KI N
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XI TH EY RE AF TER U s !
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XII B ETTER LET BLAME WE LL A L O N E

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XIII HON E S T LOO T FR O M TH E WA L TE R SC OTT

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XIV W A S SO L OM O N WI SE ?
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F OO LI N G P OOR O L D J I M
XVI TH E RA TT LE S NA KE -S KI N D OE S ITS WOR K
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XVII T HE GR A N GE R F OR DS TA KE M E IN
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XVIII WHY HARNE Y R OB E AWAY F OR H I S HA T

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XIX TH E DUKE A N D TH E DA UP H IN C OM E AB OARD

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W H AT R OY A L TY D ID T O P AR KVILLE
AN AR KA N S A W D IFF I CU L TY
WHY TH E LYN CH IN G B E E FA ILE D
XXIII TH E OR N E R IN E SS O F K I N G S
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XXIV TH E K IN G TURN S PAR S O N

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A LL FULL O F T E AR S AN D F LA P D OOD L E
ix
C R AP .
I S TEAL THE K IN G S PLUN DER

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XXVII . DE AD P ETER H A S H I S G O L D
XXVIII . O VERRE A C H IN G D O N T P AY
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I LIGHT OU T IN THE STOR M

T HE G OLD SAVE S THE T H IEVE S
XXXI . Y OU C AN T P RAY A L I E
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XXXII . I HA VE A N E W NAME
T HE P I T IFUL E ND IN G O F ROYAL TY
WE C HEER UP J IM
XXXV . DAR K D EE P -L A I D PLA N S
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XXXVI . TRYIN G T O HE L P JIM

XXXVII . JIM GE T S HI S WI T C H -P IE
XXXVIII . HERE A C AP T IVE HE AR T BUS TE D
XXXIX . T O M WRITE S N ON N A M OU S LE TTE R S
A MIXED -U P AND SP L E N D ID RE SCUE
M US T A B E E N SP E R ITS
’ ’ ”
XLII . WHY T HEY D IDN T HAN G J I M

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C HAP TER THE LAS T N OTH IN G M ORE

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THE AD VE NT U R E S TOM SAWY E R
TO
M Y W I FE
THIS B OO K AFF E C TIO NA TE LY EDI CATED
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Is D
PR E FA C E
M OST o f th e adv entures recorded in this book really occu rr e d ;

o n e or tw o were experiences of my o w n the rest those O f boys
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w h o were schoolmates o f mine Hu ck F i r m is drawn from

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life ; To m S awyer also but n o t from an individual h e is a
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combination o f the characteristics of three boys whom I knew ,
an d t herefore belongs to the composite order o f architectur e .
Th e o dd superstitions touched upon were all pr ev alent

among children and Slaves in the West at the period o f this
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story that is to say thirty o r forty years ag o
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Al though my book is intended mainly fo r th e entertain

ment o f b OyS and girls I hope it will n o t be shunned by
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men and women o n that account for part o f my plan h as

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been to try to pleasantly remind adults o f what they once

were themselves and o f how they felt and thought and talked ,
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and what queer enterprises they sometimes engaged in .
TH E AU THOR .
HARTFORD , 18 7 6 .
C HAP T E R I
TOM «P L AYS FIG HTS , AND HIDE S
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TOM !
N0 answer .
“ i)
To m
N0 answer .
“
What s go n e with th at b oy I wonder ? Y o u TOM !
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N o answer .
The o ld lady pulled her spectacles down and loo ked over
th e m about the room ; then she put them up and look e d ou t
under them She seldom o r ne ver looked thro u g h the m for so
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small a thin g as a boy ; they were h e r state pair th e p ride o f ‘
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h e r he art and were built for style
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not service s he could ,
have seen throug h a pair o f st ove lids just as well Sh e looked

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p erpl e xed for a moment and then said not fiercely

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but still , ,
loud e nough fo r the furnitur e to hear :

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Well I lay if I get hold o f you I ll
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S he did not finish for by this time she was bending down
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and punching under the b e d with the broom an d so sh e ,
n eede d breath to punctuate th e punches wi th S he resurrected .
n othin g but the cat .
“ ”
I never did see the beat of that boy !
She went to the open d oor and stood in it and lo o ked o u t
“ ”
amo ng the tomato vines and jimpson weeds that co nsti
tu ted the gard en N o Tom So she lifted up her voice at an
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angle calcula te d fo r distan c e and shouted : ,
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Y o -u -u To m 1
There w as a slight nois e behind her an d sh e turn ed just in
8 T H E A DV E N T U R E S OF TOM SAWYER
time to seize a small boy by the slack of his roundabout and

arrest his flight .
“
There ! I might a thought of that closet What you been .
”
d o In g In there ?
“ ”
N othing .
N othing ! L ook at your hands And look at your mouth . .
”
What is that truck ?
I don t know au nt
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— .
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Well I know It s j e m that s what it is F orty times I v e ’
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said if you did n t let that j am alone I d skin you Hand me
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that swi tch .
—
The switch hovered in the air the peril was desperate
“ ”
M y ! L ook behind you aunt ! ,
Th e Old lady whirled round and snatched her skirts out o f ,
d anger The lad fled o n the instant scrambled up the high

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board fence , and disappeared over it .
His aunt Polly stood surprised a moment and then broke ,
into a gentle laugh .
“ ’
Hang the boy can t I never learn anything ? Ain t he
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played m e tricks enough like that for me to be looking o u t fo r

him by this time ? But Ol d fools 15 the biggest fools there IS .
C an t learn an o ld dog new tricks as the saying is But my

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goodness he never plays them alike two days and how is a

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body to know what s coming ? He pears to know just h ow ’ ’
long he can torment me before I get my dander up and he ,
knows if he can make o u t to put me off for a minute or make

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me laugh it s all down again and I can t hit him a lick I ain t
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doing my duty by that boy and that s the L ord s truth good ,
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ness knows S pare the ro d and spile the child as the Good
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Book says I m a laying up sin and suffering for us both I

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know He s full o f the O ld S cratch but laws a me ! he s my
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o w n dead sister s boy poor thing and I ain t got the heart to
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lash him somehow E very time I let him off my conscience

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does hurt me so and every time I hit him my o ld heart most

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T OM P LAYS , FIGHTS ,
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breaks Well well man that is b orn o f woman is o f fe w days

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-a-
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and full o f trouble as the S cripture says and I reckon it s so , ,

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He ll play hookey this ev e n in g f and I ll just be oblee g e d to
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make him work to morro w to punish him It s mighty hard
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to make him w ork S aturdays when all the boys is hav ing holi ,
day but he hates work more than he hates anything else an d

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I v e g ot to do som e o f my duty by him o r I ll be the ruination

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o f th e ch ild .
To m did play hookey and he had a very good ti me H e g o t

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back home barely in season to help Jim the small colored b oy ,

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saw next day s wood and split the kindlings b e fo re su ppe r
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at least he was there in time to tell his adventures to Jim while

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m did three fourths o f the work Tom s younger brother o r .
rather half brother ) S id was already through with h is part

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o f th e work ( picking up chips ) for he w as a quiet b oy an d , ,
had n o adventurous troublesome ways ,

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While Tom w as eating his supper and stealing sugar as ,
Opportunity o ffered Aunt Polly as ked him questions tha t ,
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were fun o f guile and very deep for Sh e wanted to trap him ,
into damaging revealments L ike many other simple hearted - .
souls it was her pet vanity to believe she was endowed with
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a talent for dark and mysterious diplomacy and she loved to ,
contemplate her most transparent devices as marvels of lo w

cunning S aid she : .
“ ”
To m it was middling warm in school warn t it ?
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Y es m .
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Powerful warm warn t it ? ,
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Y es m .
’
D idn t you want to go in swimming To m ? a-
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A bit o f a scare Shot through Tom a touch of uncomfort
able suspicion He searched Aunt Polly s face but it told .
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him nothing S o he said .
“ —
No m well no t very much
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S thw t f ft
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ou es ern or a ern o o n .
1° TH E A DV E N T U R E S OF TOM S AW YER
The old lady reached o u t her hand and felt Tom s shirt ’
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and s aid :
’ ”
But you ain t too warm n o w though An d it flatter e d he r ,
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to reflec t that Sh e had disc overed that the shirt was dry with
ou t any bo dy knowing that that was what she had in her
mind But in spite o f her To m kn ew where the wind lay

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n o w S o he forestalled what might be the next move :

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S ome o f us pumped o n o u r heads min e s damp yet See ? ” ’
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Aunt Polly was vexed to think sh e had overl o oked that

bit o f circumstantial evidence and mi ssed a trick Th e n she , .
had a n e w inspiration :
Tom yo u didn t have to undo your shirt collar where I
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se w e d it to pump on your he ad did you ? U nbutton your

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j acket !
The trouble v anished ou t o f Tom s face He opened his ’
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j acket His shirt collar was securely sewed

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“ ’ ’ ’
Bother ! Well go long with you I d made sure you d
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playe d hookey and been a swimming But I forgive ye Tom

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I reckon you re a kind o f a singed cat as the saying is

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be tte r n you look This time
’
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S he was half sorry her sagacity had miscarried and half ,
glad that Tom had stumbled into obedient conduct for onc e .
But S idney said :

“
Well now if I didn t think you sewed his collar with
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white thread but it s black ,

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“
Why I did sew it with white ! Tom !
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But Tom did not wait for the rest As he went out at the .
door he said :
“
Siddy I ll lick you fo r that
’
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In a safe place Tom examined two large needles whi ch were

thrust into the lapels of his j acket and had thr e ad bou nd ,
—
about them one needle carried white thread and the other
black He said :
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“
She d never no ticed if it hadn t been for S id Confound
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TH E A DV E N T U R E S OF T OM S AWYER
even wore a necktie a bright bit o f ribbon He had a c itifi e d
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ai r about him that ate into Tom s Vitals The more Tom ’
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stared at the splendid marvel the higher he turned up h is ,
nose at his finery and the Shabbier and Shabbier his o w n o u t

fit seemed to him to grow N either boy spoke If on e mov ed . .
,
—
the other moved but only sidewise in a circle ; they kept ,
face to face and eye to eye all th e tim e Finally Tom s ai d .
“ ”
I can lick you !
“
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I d like to see you try it .
”
Well I can do it
,
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N0 yo u can t either ’
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”
Yes I can .
”
N0 you can t ’
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”
I can .
” ’
Y o u can t .
”
C an !
’ ”
C an t !
An uncomfortable pause Then Tom said .
“ ”
What s your name ? ’
Tisn t any of your business maybe

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Well I low I ll m ak e it my business ’
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”
Well why don t you ? ’
If you s ay much I will ,

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M uch much m u c h There now . .
O h you think you re mighty smart d on t you ? I c ould

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lick you with one hand tied behind me if I wanted to ,
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”
Well why don t you d o it ? You s ay you can do it
’
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Well I w ill if you fool with me ,
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O h yes I ve s een whole families in the same fix
’
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S marty ! You think you re s am e now d on t you ? Oh ’

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what a hat !
“ ’
You can lump that hat if you don t like it I dare you to .
—
knock it off and anybody that 11 take a dare will suck ’
eggs.
T OM P L AY S , FIGH TS , AN D HIDE S 13
’ ”
You re a liar !
You re another ’
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You re a fighting liar and dasn t take it up
’
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Aw — take a walk ! ”
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Say i i yo u give me much more o f your s as s I ll tak e
’
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an d bounce a rock o ff n your head
’
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“
Oh of c ou rs e you will
,
”
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”
Well I w ill .
Well why don t y o u do it then ? What do you keep sayin g’
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d
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y ou will for ? Why don t y o u o it ? It s becaus e you re
”
a fraid .
“ ”
I ain t afraid ’
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”
Y o u are .
”
I ain t ’
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Y o u are .
Another pause and more eying and sidling around each ,

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o ther Presentl y they were shoulder to shoulder To m said :

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“ ”
Get away from her e !
”
G o away yourself !
”
I won t ’
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I won t eith er
’
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So they stood each with a foot placed at an angle as a ,
brace and both shoving with might an d main and glower

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ing at each other with hate But neither could get an adv an .
tage After struggling till both wer e hot and flush e d each
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relaxed his strain with watchful cau tion and Tom said
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“
You re a coward an d a pup I ll tell my big brother on
’
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’
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you and he can thrash you with his little finger and I ll
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mak e him do it too ,
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“ ’
What do I care for your big brother ? I ve g o t a brother
’ —
that s bigger than he is and what s more he can throw ’
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him over that fence to o ! Both brothers were imaginary ] ,

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“ ”
That s a lie ’
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You r saying so don t make it so ’

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4 TH E A DV E N T U R E S , OF T OM SAWYER
To m drew a line in the dust with his big to e and sa d ,

“
I dare you to step over that and I ll lick you till you ,
’
’ ” ’
can t stand up Anybody that ll take a dare will ste al sh ee p
. .
The new boy stepped over promptly and s aid ,

“
N ow y o u said you d do it now let s see you do it
’ ’
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’ ”
D on t you crowd me now ; you bette r look out .
—
Well yo u said you d do it why don t you do it ? ’ ’
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”
By jingo ! for two cents I w il l do it .
The new boy took tw o broad coppers out of his pocke t

and held -them out with derision To m struck them to the .
ground In an instant both boys were rolling and tumblin g

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in the dirt gripped together like cats ; and for the space o f a
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’
minute they tugged and tore at each other s hair and cloth e s ,
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punched and scratched each other s noses and covered them ,
selves with d u st and glory Presently the confusio n t ook .
form an d through the fog o f battle Tom appeared seated ,
ast ride the new boy and pounding him with his fists
,
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“ ’
Holler nuff said he .
The b oy only struggled to free himself He was crying .
mainly from rage .
“ ” —
Holler nuff and the pounding went o n
’
.
”
At last the stranger got out a smothered Nu ff ! an d
To m let him up and said :
l
“
No w that ll learn you Better look out who you re fool
’
.
’
”
ing with next time .
The new boy went o ff brushing the dust from his clothes ,
sobbing sn u fflin g and occasionally looking back and shaking

, ,
his head and threatening what he would do to Tom the

next time he caught him out To which Tom responde d .
with jeers and s tarted Off in high feather and as soon as

, ,
his back was turned the new boy snatched up a stone threw ,
it and hit him between the shoulders and then turn ed tail
and ran lik e an antelope Tom chased the traitor home and .
,
thus ound out where he lived He then held a position at

f
.
TO M P L AY S , FIGHTS , AND HIDE S 1 5
the gate for some tim e daring the enemy to come ou tsid e
, ,
b u t the en e my only made face s at him through the window

’
and declin e d At last the e n emy s mother appeared an d
.
called T om a bad V1C10 u S vulgar child and ordered him

, , ,
” ”
away So h e w e nt away but he said he
.
,
lowed to lay ’
fo r that b oy .
He g o t home p retty l ate that night and when he Iclim b e d

, ,
cautiousl y in at the window he uncovered an ambuscade

, ,
in the person o f his aunt ; and when Sh e saw the state his
cloth es were in her resolution to turn his S aturday holiday
into captivity at hard labor became adaman tine in its fi rm ~
HE SS .
C HA P T E R II
TH E GLORIOUS W H ITEWA S H ER
SATURDAY morning was come and all the summer world w as

,
bright and fresh and brimming with life There was a song
,
.
in every h eart ; and if the heart w as young the music issued

at the lips There was cheer in every face and a spring in
.
every step The locus t trees were in bloom and the fragrance
.
of the blossoms filled the air C ardiff Hill beyond the vil
.
,
lage and above it was green with vegetation and it lay just
, ,
far enou gh away to seem a D electable L an d dreamy re pose , ,
ful and inviting

,
.
Tom appeared on the sidewalk with a bucket o f white

wash and a long han dled brush He surveyed the fence
- .
,
and all gladness left him and a deep melancholy settled

down upon his spirit Thirty yards of board fence nine feet
.
high L ife to him seemed hollow and e xistence but a burden

.
, .
S ighing he dippe d h is brush an d passed it along the topmost

plank ; repeated the operation ; did it ag ai n ; compared the
insignificant whitewashed streak with the far reaching c o n
-
-
tin e n t o f unwhitewashed fence and sat down o n a tree box
,
discouraged Jim came skipping ou t at the gate with a tin

.
“ ”
p ail and singing Buffalo Gals Bringing water from the
,
.
’
town pump had always been hateful work in Tom s eyes ,
before but now it did not strike h im so He remembered

,
.
that there was company at the pump White mulatto and .

, ,
negro boys and girls were always there waiting their turns ,
resting trading playthings quarreling fighting Skylarking

, , , ,
.
And he remembered that although the pump was only a

16
TH E GL ORIOU S W HITEWAS H ER I 7
hundred and fifty yards o ff Jim never got back with a buck e t ,
o f water under an hour

— and even then somebody generally
had to go after him To m said .
S ay Jim I ll fetch the water if you ll whitewash some

, ,
’ ’
.
Jim shook his head and said

C an t M ars Tom Ole missis she tole me I g o t to g o an
’
,
.
,
’
Sh
’ ’
g i t dis water an not stop foolin roun wid anybod ’
y e .
’
s ay sh e spec M ars To m gwine to ax m e to w h ite w ish an
’
,
5 0 sh e tole me g o long an —
tend to my ow n business sh e ’ ’ ’
’
’
lowed s h e d tend to de
’
“
O h never you mind what she said Jim That s the way
, ,
.
’
s h e always talks Gimme the bucket — I won t be gone only

.
’
” ’
a minute Sh e won t e v er know
. .
“
O h I d asn t M ars To m O le missis she d take an tar
,
’
,
.
’ ’
”
de head o ff n m e D eed sh e would
’ ’
. .
“ —
Sh e ! S he never licks anybody whacks em o v er the
’
—
h e ad with her thimble and w h o cares fo r that I d like to ,
’
—
.
’
know She talks awful but talk don t hurt anyways it
.
,
don t if sh e don t cry Jim I ll give you a marv el I ll gi ve

’ ’
.
,
’
.
’
”
y o u a white alley !
Jim began to waver .
’
White alley Jim ! And it s a bully taw ,
.
’
My ! D at s a mighty gay marvel I tell you ! But M ars ,
T om I S powerful fraid o le missis

’ ’
“ ’
And besides if you will I ll sh o w y o u my sore to e
'
.
,
—
Jim was only human this attracti on was to o much for
him He put down his pail took the white al ley and bent
.
, ,
over the toe with absorbing interest wh ile the bandage w as

being unwound In an other moment he was flying down the
.
street with his pail and a tingling rear To m was whitewash ,
ing with VIg o r and Aunt Polly was retiring from the fi eld
,
wi th a slipper in her hand and triumph in her eye .
’
But Tom s energy did not last He began to think o f th e .
fun he had planned for this day and his sorrows multiplied ,
.
18
T H E A DV E N T U R E S OF T OM SAWYER
S oon th e free boys would come tripping along o n all sorts o f

delicious expeditions an d they would make a wo rld o f fu n
,
o f him for having to work — the very thought o f it burnt

him lik e fire He got o u t his worldly wealth and exami ned it
.
—bits o f toys marbles and trash ; enough to buy an ex

, ,
change o i w ork mayb e but not half enough to buy so much

, ,
as half an hour o f pure freedom S o he returned his straitened .
means to his pocket and gav e up the idea of trying to buy

,
the boys At this d ark and hopeless moment an inspiration

.
burst upon him ! N othing less than a g reat magnificent ,
I nsp i ration .
He took u p his brush and went tranquilly to work Ben .
—
Rogers hove in sight presently the very boy of all boys , ,
whose ridicule he had been dreading Ben s gait was the hop .
’
- - —
skip and jump proo f enough that his he ar t was light and
his anticipations high He w as eating an apple and giving a
.
,
long melodious whoop at intervals followed by a deep toned

, ,
-
,
ding dong dong ding dong dong for he was personating a

- - -
,
-
,
steamboat As he drew near he slacke n ed speed took the

.
, ,
middle o f the street leaned far over to starboard and round ed

,
to ponderously and with laborious pomp an d circu mstance

for he was personating the B ig M issou ri and considered ,
himse lf to be drawing nin e feet of water H e was boat an d .
-
captain and engin e bells combined so he had to im agine ,
-
himself standing on his own hurricane deck giving the orders
and ex ecuting them
“ - - -
S top her sir ! Ti g a lin g ling ! The headway ran almos t
n
,
ou t and he drew up slowly toward the sid ew alk

— —
.
S hip u p to back ! Ting a lin g lin g ! His arms straightened

-
and sti ffened down his Sides .
“
S et her back on the stab b o ard ! Ting a ling ling ! Chow !
- - -
w o w ! Chow ! His right h and meantime describin g

- - ”
e h chow
—
, ,
stately circles for it w as representing a forty foot wheel

- .
2° TH E A DV E N T U R E S OF T OM S AWYER
That put the thing in a new lig ht Ben stopped nibbling .
his apple Tom swept his brush daintily back and forth
.
—
stepped back to note the effect added a touch here and
— —
there criticized the effect again Ben wa tching ev ery move
and getting mor e and more interested more and more ab ,
sorbed Presently he said :

.
“
S ay Tom let m e whitewash a little
, ,
.
T om considered was about to consent ; but he altered h is

,
mind
“ — —
No no I reckon it wouldn t hardly do Ben You se e ’
, .
,
—
Aunt Polly s awful particular about this fence right her e
’
o n the street —
you know but if it was the back fence I
,
wo uldn t mind and she wouldn t Yes she s awful particular

’ ’
.
,
’
’
about this fence ; it s got to be done very careful ; I reckon
there ain t o n e boy In a thousand maybe two thousand that
’
, ,
’
can do it the way it s got to be done .
“ — —
No is that so ? O h come now lemm e just try O nly ,
.
—
just a little I d let you if you was me Tom ’
, ,
.
“
,
’ —
B en I d like to honest In j un ; but Aunt Polly well Jim
, ,
wan ted to do it but she wouldn t let him ; S id wanted to do

,
’
it and she wouldn t let S id N ow don t you see how I m

,
’
.
’ ’
fixed ? If you was to tackle this fence and anything was to

happen to it
O h shucks I ll be just as c areful Now lemme try S ay
, ,
’
. .
”
I ll give you the core o f my apple
’
.
Well here N 0 Ben now don t I m afeard

, , ,
’
.
’
“ ”
I ll give you all of it !
’
T o m gave up the b rush with reluctance in his face but ,
alacrity in his he art An d while the late steamer B ig M iss ou ri

.
worked and sweated in the sun the retired artist sat o n a ,
barrel in the shade close by dangled his le g s mun ched his , ,
apple and planned the slaughter o f more innocents There

,
.
w as no lack o f material ; boys happened al ong every little

TH E GL ORI OU S W HI TEWAS H ER 21
while ; they came to jeer but remained to whitewash By th e

,
.
time Ben was fagged o u t Tom had traded the next chance to
,
Billy F isher for a ki te in good repair ; and when h e played

,
ou t,Johnny M iller bought in fo r a dead rat and a string to

—
swing it wi th and s o on and so o n hour after hour And
, ,
.
when the middle o f the afternoon came from being a poor ,
poverty-stricken boy In the morning Tom was literally rolling ,
in wealth He had beside the things be fore mentioned twel v e

.
,
’
-
marbl e s part of a jews harp a piece o f blue bottle glass to
-
, ,
’
look through a spool cannon a key that wouldn t unlock
, ,
anything a fragment o f chalk a glass stopper o f a decanter

, , ,
a tin soldier a couple o f tadpoles six firecrackers a kitten

, , ,
,
- —
with only o n e eye a brass doo r knob a dog collar but n o
-
,
—
do g the handle o f a knife four pieces o f orange peel and a
-
, ,
dil apidated Old window sash- .
, ,
—
He had had a nice good idle time all the while plenty o f
—
company and the fence had thre e co ats o f whitewash on it !
If he hadn t run o u t of whitewash he would have bank
’
,
ru pte d every b o y in the village .
To m said to himself that it was n o t such a hollow world ,
after all He had discovered a great law o f human action

.
,
W ithout knowing it — namely that in order to make a man o r

,
a b oy covet a thing it is only necessary to make the thing diffi

,
cult to attai n If he had been a great and wise philosopher

.
,
like the writer o f this book he would n o w have compre ,
hended that Work consists o f whatever a body is o blig ed to

do and that Play consists o f whatever a body is not obliged
,
to do And this would help him to understand why con

.
s tru c tin g artificial flowers o r performing o n a treadmill is
work while rolling tenpins o r climbing M ont Blanc is only

,
amusement There are wealthy gentlemen in E ngl and w h o

.
drive four horse p assenger coaches twenty o r thirty miles on

- -
a d ai ly line in the summer because the privilege costs the m

, ,
TH E ADVE N TU RE S OF TOM SA WYER
co nsiderable money ; but if they were O ffered wages for th e
s ervice that would turn it into
,
and then th ey would
r esign
.
The boy mused awhile over the substantial change which

h ad tak en place in his worldly circumst ances and then
,
w ended toward headquarters to report .

C HAP T E R III
B USY AT W AR AND LOVE
TOM pre sented himself before Aunt Polly w h o was sitting by ,
an ope n window in a pleasant r earward apartment which ,
was b edroom breakfast room dining room and library com

,
- -
, , ,
b in ed The balmy summ er air the restful quiet the odor o f

.
, ,
the flowers and the drowsing murmur o f the bees had had
,
their e ffect and sh e was nodding over her knitting

,
— fo r sh e
had n o company but the cat and it was asleep in her lap He r ,
.
spe c ta c le s w e re propped up o n her gray head for safety Sh e .
had thought that of course To m had deserted long ago an d ,
she wondered at se e in g him place himself in her power again

s
in this intrepid way He said : M ayn t I go and play n o w

“
.
’
,
”
aunt ?
“
What a ready ? How much have you done ?
,
’
”
’
It s all done aunt ,
.
’ —
Tom don t lie to me I can t be ar it ’
.
”
I ain t aunt ; it is all done
,
.
Aunt Polly placed small trust in such evidence S he went .
o u t to see for herself ; and she would h ave been content to
find twenty per cent of Tom s statement true When she

.
’
.
found the entire fence whitewashed and not only white ,
was hed but elaborately coated and recoated and even a ,
streak added to the ground her astonishment was almost u n ,
speakable S he said.
“
Well I never ! There s no getting round it you c an work
,
’
,
’ ”
when you re a mind to To m And then she diluted the com,
.
“
p l im e n t by adding But it s powerf
,
u l seldom you ’
re a mind ’
23
24
TH E AD VE N TU RE S OF T OM S AWYER
’
to ,I m bound to say Well go long and play ; but mind you
.
,
’
”
get back some time in a week o r I ll tan you ,
’
.
She was so overcome by the splendor of his achievement

that she took him into the closet and selected a choice apple
and delivered it to him along W i th an Improving lecture upon
,
the added value and flavor a treat took to itself when it cam e
without Sin through virtuous effort And while she closed with .
“ ”
a happy S criptural flourish b e hooked a doughnut
,
.
.
Then he skipp e d out and saw S id just starting up the

,
outside stairway that led to the b ack rooms o n the second

floor Clods were handy and the air was full o f them in a
.
twinkling They raged around S id like a hail storm ; and-b e

.
-
fore Aunt Polly could collect her surprised faculties and sally
to the rescue six or seven Clods had taken personal e ffect an d
, ,
Tom was over the fence and gone There was a gate but as a .
,
general thing he was to o crowded fo r time to make use o f it .
His soul was at peace now that he had settled with S id for
,
calling attention to his black thread and getting him into

trouble
Tom skirt ed th e block and came round into a muddy alley
,
-
that led by th e back of his aunt s c o w stable He presently
’
.
got safely beyond the reach o f capture and punishment and ,
hasten e d toward th e public square o f the Village where tw o ,
military comp anies of boys had met for conflict according ,
to previous appointment To m was General of o n e o f these

.
armies J o e Harper ( a bosom friend ) General o f the other

,
.
These two great commanders did n o t condescend to fight in

—
person that being better suited to the still smaller fry but —
sat together o n an eminence and conducted the field opera
’
tions by orders delivered through aides de camp Tom s army
- - .
won a great victory after a ong and hard fought battle

,
l - .
Then the dead were counted s o u ers e xchanged the term s

, ,
of the next disagr e ement ag re e u upon and the day for th e ,
necessary battle appointed ; after whic h the armie s fell i n to

BU SY AT W AR AND L OVE 25
lin e and marched away , and Tom turned homeward alone .
As he was p assing by the hous e where Je ff Thatcher lived ,
—
he saw a new girl in th e garden a lovely little blue eye d -
creature with yellow hair plaited into tw o long tails white ,
s ummer frock and e mbroidered pantalettes The fresh .
crowned hero fell without firing a shot A certain Amy L aw .
re nce vanished out o f his he art and le ft n o t even a memory

"
o f herself behind He had thought he loved her to distra e

.
ti on he had regarded his pa ssion as adoration ; and behold it

,
was only a poor little e vanescent partiality He had been .
months winning her ; she had confessed hardly a week ago ;

he had been the happiest and the proud e st b oy in the world
only seven short d ays an d here in on e instant o f tim e sh e
,
had gone ou t o f his heart lik e a casual stranger whose Visit

is done .
H e worshiped this new angel with furtive eye till h e s aw ,
that sh e had di scove r e d him ; then he prete nded he did not

“
know she was pr e sent and began to Show Off in all sorts o f
,
absurd b oyish ways in order to win her admiration H e k ept

,
. .
up his grotesqu e foolishn e ss for some time ; but by an d by ,
while he was in th e m Ids t o f s o m e dangerous gym nastic pe r

fo rm an c es h e glanced asid e and s aw that the littl e girl w as
,
wending her way toward the house Tom cam e up to the .
fence and le an e d on it grieving and hopi n g she would tarry

,
-
,
y e t awhile longer S
. he h alt e d a mom e nt on th e steps and th e n
moved toward the door Tom heav e d a great sigh as she put
.
her foot on the threshold But his face lit up right away for
.
, ,
sh e tossed a pansy over the fence a moment before she d is
appeared .
The boy ran around and stopp e d within a foot or two o f

the flower and then shaded his eyes with his hand and began
,
to look down street as if he had discovered something o f in

te re st going on in that direction Presently he picked up a .
s traw and began trying to balance it o n his nose with his

,
26 T H E A DV E N T U R E S OF TOM S AWYER
head tilted far back ; and as he moved from side to side in ,
his efforts h e ed ge d nearer and nearer toward the pansy ;

,
fin ally his bare foo t rest ed upo n it his pliant toe s cl o sed ,
upon it and h e hopp e d away wi th the treasure and dis

appeared round the corner But only for a minute—only
,
while he could button th e flowe r inside his j acket next his ,
—
heart o r next his stomach possibly for he w as n o t much , ,
posted in an atomy and not hypercritical anyway , ,

.
He returned now and hung ab o ut th e fenc e till ni ghtfall

, , ,
”
Showing o ff as befor e ; but th e g irl never exhibited he rs el f
,
again though Tom co mforted himself a little with the hop e

,
that she had been near s o me window meantime and been , ,
aw are o f his attentions F in ally he rod e home re lu ctantly

.
,
wi th his po or head full o f vi sions .
Al l thro u gh supper his spirits w e re so high that his aun t

“ ”
wonde red what had got into the c hild He took a good .
scolding abo ut clo dding S id and did n o t seem to mind it in

,
l
the least He tried to steal sugar under his au n t s v e ry nose

.
’
,
and go t his knuckles rapped for it He s ai d : .
“
Aunt y o u don t whack S id whe n he t akes it
,
’
.
Well S id do n t torment a b o dy the way you do You d b e

’ ’
“
.
,
”
al ways int o that s ug ar if I warn t watching yo u
’
.
Presently she ste pped into the kitche n and S id happy in , ,
—
his immunity re ache d fo r the s u gar bowl a sort of glorying
-
,
’
over To m which was we ll nigh unbearable But S id s fingers
- .
slipped and the bowl dropped and broke Tom was in ec sta .
sies In such e cs tasies th at he eve n c ontrolled hi s to ngu e and

.
w as silent He said to himse l f that he would not spe ak a word

.
,
e v e n when his aunt came in but would sit p e rfectly still til l
,
sh e asked who did the mischie f ; an d then he would tell and ,
there would be nothing so good in th e world as to see tha t pe t

“ ”
model catch it He was so brim full Of exultation that h e
.
coul d hardly h old himself when the Old lady came b ack and
stood above th e wreck discharging lightnings o f wrath from
28
T H E A DV E N T U R E S OF TOM S AW YE R
and ran d own an d trickl e d from the end o f his nose An d .
s uch a luxury to h im was this petti ng o f his sorrows that h e ,
cou ld n o t b ear to have any worldly cheeriness o r any grating

d elight intrud e u pon it ; it was too sacred for such contact ;
and so pres e ntly wh e n his cousin M ary d anced in all ali ve
, , ,
wit h th e j oy O f s ee ing home again after an ag e -long visit Of

one we e k to th e country h e got up and mo v ed in clouds and
,
darkness o u t at o ne door as sh e brought song and sunshin e

in at th e oth er .
He wand e r e d far from th e accustomed haunts o f boys ,
and sought d e sol ate places that were in harmony with his
spirit A log raft in th e river invited him and he seated him

.
,
sel f o n its outer e dge and contemplated the dreary vastness

o f th e stream wishing the while that he could only b e
, , ,
d rowned all at once and unconsciously without undergoing

, ,
th e uncomfortable routin e devise d by nature Then h e .
thought Of h is flower He g o t it o u t rumpled and wilted and

.
, ,
it mightily incre ased his dismal felicity He wondered i f she .
wo u ld pity him if sh e knew ? Would she c ry an d wish that

‘
sh e had a right to put her arms aro u nd his neck and c o m
fort hi m ? O r wou ld sh e turn coldly away like all the hollow

world ? This picture brought such an agony o f pleasurable
suffering that h e worked it over and over again in his mind
an d se t it up in n e w and varied lights till he wor e it thre ad,
bar e At last h e ros e up Sighing and departed in the darkness

. .
About h al f p as t ni n e o r ten O clock he came along the de

’
ser te d stre e t to wh e re the Adored U nknown lived ; he paused
a mome nt ; n o so u nd fell upon his listening ear ; a candle was

casting a d u l l glow upon the curtain o f a second story win
-
'
dow Was th e s acr e d presence there ? He climbed the fence

.
,
threaded his s te althy w ay th ro u gh the plants till he stood

l
,
unde r that window ; h e looked up at it long and with e m o ,
ti on ; then h e l aid him down o n the ground under it dis

.
p o s ing hi ms el f u pon his back with h is hands clasped

,
upon his
BU SY AT W AR AN D L O VE 29
breast and holding his poor wilted flower And thu s h e w ould .
—
die o u t in the cold world with n o shelte r over his home
,
less head no friendly hand to wipe th e d e ath d am ps from his

,
-
brow n o loving face to bend pityingly o v er him when the

,
great agony came And thus sh e would se e h im when sh e

.
looked ou t upon the glad morning and Oh ! w ould sh e dr op

,
o n e little tea r up on his poor lifeless form would sh e h e ave

.
, ,
o n e little sigh to se e a bright young life s o r ud e ly blight ed ,
s o untimely cut down ?
The window went up a maid servant s discordant v oi ce

-
,
’
profaned the holy calm and a deluge Of wate r drench e d th e

,
’
prone martyr s remains !
The strangling h e ro sprang up with a re lie v ing snort .
There w as a whiz as Of a missile in th e air m ingl e d with the ,
murmur o f a curse a sound as Of s hivering gl as s followed

“
, ,
and a sm al l v ague form went ov e r th e fence and shot aw ay

,
in the gloom .
N o t alon g after as Tom all undressed fo r b ed was sn

/ , ,
r ,
é
v ey in g his drenched garments by th e light o f a t allow dip
S id woke up ; but if he had any dim id e a o f making any

”
references to allusions he thought better o f it an d held
,
“
his peace for there was d ang e r in Tom s e ye

,
’
.
Tom turned in without the add e d ve xation Of prayers ;
an d S id m ad e m ental note Of the o m i s sion .

C HAPT ER IV
S H OW IN G OFF IN SUNDAY-SC H OOL
TH E sun rose upon a tranquil world and beamed down u pon

,
the peace ful vill age lik e a b en ed iction Breakfast over Aun t
.
,
Po lly had family wo rship : it beg an with a prayer built

from th e gro und up o f solid cours e s o f S criptural quotations ,
we ld e d toge ther with a thin mortar o f originality ; and from

th e su mmit of this she deliver ed a grim chapte r o f th e
Mos aic L aw as from S inai
,
.
The n To m girded up his loins so to speak and went to

, ,
“
w o rk to get his verses S id had learned his lesson days
.
b e fore Torn bent al l hi s energies to the memorizing o f fiv e

.
ve rs es an d he chose part of the S ermon o n the M o u nt b e

, ,
caus e h e co uld find n o verses that were shorter At the end Of .
h al f an hour To m had a vag ue general idea Of his les so n but ,
n o mor e fo r his mind was traversing th e whole field o f h u

,
m an thought an d his hands were busy with distracting re e re

,
atiO n s M a ry too k his book to hear him recit e and h e tri e d

.
,
to fi nd h is way through the fo g

“ — —
Bl e ss ed are th e a a
Poor
—
Y e s poor ; blessed are the poor a a— —
In spirit
In spirit ; bless ed are the poor in spirit fo r they ,
77
Th eirs
Fo r theirs . Blessed are the poor in spirit ,
fo r th eirs is the
30
S H OW IN G OF F IN -
S U N D AY S C H O O L 3 1
k ingdom of heav en Blessed are they that mourn

.
,
fo r th e y
th ey
n
“
Sh
—
Fo r they a
S H A , ,
”
For they S HT O h I don t know what it
’
- is !
, ,
“ ”
S hall !
O h sh al ! for they shall
l ,
— f l
o r they sha l — a— a— shall
— — — —
mourn a a blessed are they that shall they that a —
— —
they that shall mourn fo r they shall a shall w hat ? Why
,
’ —
do n t y ou tell me M ary ? what do yo u want to be so mean
,
”
fo r ?
“
Oh ,
To m , y
o u poor thick headed
thing I m n o t te asm g -
,
’
y o u . I wouldn t do that Y ou must

’
go and learn it again
. .
D on t yo u be disco u raged To m you ll manage i t an d i f

’
— , ,
’
d
’
y o u o I ll give
, y ou something e ver so nice Ther e no w .
,
that s a good b o y
’
.
“
All right ! Wh at is it M ary ? tell me what it is ,
.
N ever yo u mind Tom Y o u kn ow if I say it s ni ce it is

,
.
’
,
”
nice .
“
Y o u bet you that s so M ary All righ t I ll tackl e it agai n
’ ’
.
, ,
” —
And he did tackl eit again
“
and under the double pres
sure Of curiosity an d prospecti ve gain he did it with such ,
spirit that he accomplished a shining success M ary gav e him

'
“ ”
a brand new Barlow knife worth tw elve and a half cen ts ;
-
and the convulsion Of delight that swept his system shook

him to his foundations True the knife would not cut any .
,
“
thing but it was a sur e en o u g
,
- Barlow and there w as in ,
—
conceivable grandeur in that though where the Wester n
boys ever g o t the idea that such a we apon could p ossibly b e
counterfeited to its injury is an imposing mystery and will ,
al ways remain so perhaps Tom contrived to scarify the c u

, p.
board with it and was arranging to begin o n the bureau

,
‘
when h e w as called Off to dress for S unday-school .

TH E AD VE N T U RE S OF T OM S AW Y ER
M ary gave him a tin basin o f w ater and a piece Of soap ,
and he went outsid e the door and set the basin o n a little
bench there ; th e n h e dipped the soap in the water and laid

it down ; turned up his sleeves ; pour ed o u t the water on the
gr ound ,
gently and t
,
hen entered the kitchen and began to
wip e his fac e dilig ently o n the towel behind the door But .
M ary remo ved th e towel and said :

“ ’
N ow ai n t you ashamed Tom ! You mustn t be so bad
,
’
.
’ ”
Water won t hurt you .
To m was a trifle disconcerted The basin was r efi lled and

.
,
th is time he stood over it a little while gathering resolution ;

,
took in a big br e ath and began When he entered the kitchen

.
pr e s e ntly with both e yes shut and groping for the towel with
,
his hands an honorable testimony o f suds and water was

,
d ripping from h is face But when he emerged from the towel

.
,
he was not ye t satisfactory fo r the clean territory stopped

,
short at his chin and his j aws like a mask ; below and b e
,
yond this li n e there was a dark expanse O f unirrigated soil

th at spr ead downward in front an d backward around his
n e ck M ary took him in hand and when she was done with
.
,
him h e was a man and a brother without distinction O f color

, ,
an d his saturated hair was neatly brush e d and its short ,
curls wrought into a dainty and symmetrical general effect .
! He privately smoothed out the curls with labor and d

,
iffi
cu lty and plas tered his hair close down to his head ; for he
,
held curls to b e e ffeminate and his o w n filled his life with

,
bitternes s ] Then M ary got out a suit o f his clothing that

—
had been used only o n S undays during two years th ey were
” —
simply called his other clothes and so by that we kno w
“ ”
th e size Of his wardr obe The girl put him to rights after
.
h e had dressed himself ; she buttoned his neat roundabout

up to his chin turned his vast shirt collar down over his
,
-
should e rs brushed him Off and crowned him with his speckled
,
straw hat He n ow looked exceedingly improv ed and u n c o m

.
S HO W I N G OF F IN -
S U N D AY S C H OOL 33
fortab le He w as . fully as uncomfortabl e as h e lo oked ; fo r

there w as a restraint about whole cl othe s an d c l e anli ness
that galled him H e hoped that M ary would forg et h is sh oes
.
,
but the hope was blighted ; sh e coated them thoro ughly wi th

’
tallow as was the custom and brought them ou t He lost h is
, ,
te mper and said he was always being m ad e to do e verythi ng

he didn t w an t to do But M ary said persuasive ly
’
.
,
.
“ —
Please Tom that s a good boy
,
” ’
.
SO h e got into the shoes snarling M ary w as s oon ready

'
.
,
-
an d the thre e children set o u t for S unday school — a place
that To m hated with his whole heart ; but S id and M ary w e re .
fond Of it .
S abbath -school hours were fro mnine to h al f p ast ten ; an d

then church service Tw o o f the children al ways remained fo r
.
the serm on v oluntarily and the oth e r always re main ed too ,
— fo r stronger reasons The church s high -backed u n cu sh .

’
,
ion e d pews woul d seat about thre e hundred persons ; th e e di ~
fi c e was but a small plain a ff ai r with a sort o f pin e board

, ,
tree box o n top Of it fo r a steeple At the door T om droppe d

- .
back a step and accosted a S unday dress e d c om rade

-
“ ”
S ay Billy got a yalle r ticket ?
, ,
Yes .
’ ”
What ll you take for her ?
”
What ll y o u give ?
’
i ri
Piece Of c s an d a s hook
l k h fi h - .
”
L ess se e em ’
.
To m exhibited They were satisfacto ry and th e property

.
,
changed hands Then T o m traded a co u ple o f wh ite al ley s

.
fo r three red tickets and some small t ri fle o r o th er for a ,
co uple o f blue ones He waylaid other boys as th e

y .c am e and ,
went on buying tickets o f various colors te n Or fi fte en rhin

u tes longer He entered the church n o w w i th a s w arm o f
”
.
, ,
c lean and noisy boys and girls proce eded to h h se at and

,
s tarted a quarrel with th e first b o

y that c ame h a n d y Th e .
34 TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF TOM S A W Y ER
t eache r , a grave elde rly m an interfered ; the n turned his
, ,
b ack a moment and To m pull ed a boy s hair in the next ’
bench, and w as ab so rbe d in his book whe n the boy turned

around ; stuck a pin in ano the r b oy pre se ntly in order to , ,
“ ”
h e ar him say O uch ! and got a ne w reprimand from his
’ —
teacher Tom s w hol e class were o f a patte rn restless noisy
.
, ,
and t rou blesome When they came to recite th eir lessons n o t

.
,
o n e Of them knew h is verses perfectly but ha d t o be prompted ,
al l alo n g Ho we ver they worried through and e ach g o t h is

.
, ,
—
re w ard i n small blue tickets e ach with a p as sage Of S crip
,
ture o n it ; each blue ticke t w as pay fo r tw o ve rses o f the

r ec itatio n Ten blue tickets equal ed a red o n e and could be
.
,
exch an g ed fo r it ; ten red tick ets e qualed a y ellow o n e ; for

‘
ten yell ow tickets the supe rintenden t g ave a v ery plainly

bound B ible ( worth forty cents in those e asy time s ) to the
pupil How man y o f my re aders would have the industry and
.
application to memo rize tw o thousand verses ev e n fo r a D oré ,
Bibl e ? An d yet M ary h ad acquir ed tw o Bibles in this w ay

—
it w as the patient work o f two years and a b oy o f Ge rman
parentage had w on four or fiv e H e o n c e recited three thou
.
sand v e rses without stopping ; but the strain upon his mental
faculti es w as to o g reat and he w as l ittle better than an idiot

,
—
from that day forth a grievous misfortune for th e sc hool ,
for o n gre at occasions b e fore compan y the superintendent

, ,
( as T o m e xpressed i t ) had always made thi s boy come o u t

“ ”
and sp re ad himsel f O nly th e Older pupils ma naged to keep
.
their ticke ts an d sti c k to their ted ious work long enough to

get a Bibl e and so the delive ry o f o n e o f the se prizes w as a
,
rare and noteworthy circu mstance ; th e successful pupil was

so great an d consp icu ous fo r that d ay that o n the spot every
schol ar s heart was fired with a fresh ambition that Often

’
’
lasted a couple Of weeks It is possible that Tom s mental
.
s tomach had never really hungered for o n e Of those prizes

,
36 T H E A DV E N T U R E S OF TOM S A W Y ER
—
somewhere perhaps up in o ne Of th e trees m ak ing a speech
to the little birds ! Applausiv e titter ] I want to tell you h o w
. .
good it makes me feel to see so many bright clean littl e face s ,
ass e mbled in a place like this learning to do right and be

,
”
good And so forth and SO o n It is not necessary to set
. . .
down the rest o f the oration It was o f a pattern which does

k
.
n ot vary and so it is familiar to us all The latter third o f

,
.
the speech was marred by the resumption Of fights and other

recreations among certain Of the bad boys and by fi dg e tin g s ,
and whisperings that extended far and wide washing e v en ,
to the b a ses o f isolated and incorruptible rocks like S id and

M ary But now every sound ceased suddenly with the su b si
.
,
dence o f M r W al ter s v 0 1ce and the conclusion Of the

.
’
,
speech was received with a burst O f silent gratitude .
A good part o f th e whispering had been occasioned by an

e vent W —
hich was more or less rar e th e entrance o f visito rs :
lawyer Thatcher accompani e d by a v ery feeble and aged
,
fi
man ; a n e portly middl e ag e d gentleman with iron gray
, ,
- -
hair ; and a dignifi e d l ady w h o was doubtless the latter s wife ’

.
The l ady w as leading a chi ld To m had been restl e ss and full

.
o f c h afi n g s and r e pin in g s ; c o n s c ie n c e s m itte n too — h e could

~
,
not m e et Amy L aw rence s e y e he could not brook her loving

’
,
gaze But when h e s aw th i s sm a l ew com er his soul was

. l n - /
all ablaz e with bli s s in a mom e n t Th e n e xt moment h e was.
“ ”
showing Off with all his m igh t c u ffl n g boys pulling hair
m
, ,
—
making faces ih a word using e very art th at s e emed likely
,
to fascinate a g irl and win h e r appl aus e His exaltatio n had .
b u t one alloy — th e memory o f his humi liation in this an gel s

’
gard e n and that r e c ord in sand was fast washing out ,
under th e waves of happi n e ss that wer e sweeping over it now .
Th e visitors wer e giv e n th e highe s t seat o f honor an d as ,
soon as M r W al te rs s speech was finished he introduced them

.
’
,
to the school The middle aged man turned out to be a prodi

.
-
g i o n s personage
— no less a o n e than the county judge al —
S H OW IN G OF F IN S U N D AY -S C H OOL 37
together the most august creation these children had ever

—
looked Upon and they wondered what kind o f material he
—
was made o i and they half wanted to hear him roar and ,
were half afraid h e might too He was from C o nstantinople

,
.
,
twelve miles away — S O h e had traveled and see n the world ,
these very eyes had looked upon the county courthouse

‘
which was said to have a tin roo f The aw e which these re fl ec .
tions inspired was attested by th e impressiv e Silence and the

ranks Of staring eyes This was the great Judg e Thatcher
,
.
,
brother o f their own lawyer Jeff Thatcher immediately went

.
forward to be familiar with the great man and be envi e d by

,
the school It would hav e be e n music to his soul to hear the

.
whisperings :
“ - ’
—
L ook at him Jim ! He s a g oing up th e re S ay look ! he s .
’
,
a going to shake hands with him

- — h e is shaking hands with
”
him ! By j in g s don t you wish you was j eff?
,
’
“ ”
M r Walters f ell to Showing Off with all sorts o f Official
.
,
bustling s and activities giving orders delivering judgments

, , ,
discharging directions h e r e ther e everywhere that he could

, ,
“ ” —
find a target The librarian showed Off
. running hither
and thither with his arms full o f books an d making a deal Of
the splutter and fuss that insect authority delights in Th e .
“ ”—
young lady t e achers showed Off bending sweetly over
pupils that were lately being boxe d lifting pr e tty warning ,
fingers at bad little boys and patting good ones lovingly The .
“ ”
young gentlemen teach e rs showed off with small scoldings
and other littl e displays o f authority and fine attentio n to
—
discipline and most o f the teachers o f both sexes found , ,
business up at the library by the p ul pit ; and it was business

,
that frequ e ntly h ad to b e done over again two or three times

(
“ ”
with much se e ming vexation ) The little girls showed
. Off
“ ”
in various ways and the little boys showed Off with such
,
diligence that the air was thick with paper wads and the
murmur of sc u fflin g s And above it all the great man sat and
.
38 T H E A DV E N T U R E S OF T OM S A W Y ER
beamed a majestic judicial smile upon all the house and ,
—
warmed himself in the sun Of his ow n grandeur for he w as
“ ”
showing o ff to o ,
.
There was only o n e thing wanting to make M r Walter s ,

.
’
ecstasy complete and that was a chance to deliver a Bible

,
prize and exhibit a prodigy S everal pupils had a few yellow

.
—
tickets but none had enough h e had been around among
,
the star pupils inquiring He would have give n worlds n ow

.
, ,
to have that German lad back again with a sound m i nd .
And now at this moment when hope was dead Tom S aw

, ,
e r cam e forward with nine yellow tickets nine red tickets

y , ,
and ten blue ones and demanded a Bible This was a thunder
,
.
bolt o u t o f a clear sk y Walters was n o t expecting an appli

.
cation from this source fo r the next ten years But there was .
n o getting around it -
here were the certified checks and they
’
were g ood for their face To m was therefor e elevated to a

.
place with the Judge and the o ther elect and th e gr e at news ,
was announced from headquarters It w as the most stunning .
surpris e Of the decade and so profound was the sensation

,
that it lifted th e new hero up to th e judicial one s altitude ’

,
and the school had two marvels to gaze upon in place O f one .
The boys were all eaten up with envy but thos e th at s u f

-
fe re d the bitterest pangs were those w h o perceived too lat e

that they themselves had contributed to this hated Splendor
by trading tickets to Tom for the wealth he had amassed in
s elli ng whitewashing privileges These despised themselv es
.
,
as being th e dupes o f a w ily fraud a guile ful snake in th e

'
g rass
.
The prize was delivered to Tom with as much effusion as

the superintendent could pump up under the circumstances ;
’
but it lacke d somewhat Of the true gush fo r the poor fellow s ,
instinct taught him that there was a mystery here that could
not w ell b e ar the light perhaps ; it was simply preposterous
‘
that this boy had warehoused two thousand sheaves Of S crip

S H OW IN G OF F IN -
S U N D AY S C H O O L 39
—
tural wisdom o n his pre mi ses a dozen would strain his capa
city without a doubt
,
.
Amy L awrence w as proud and glad and sh e tried to mak e

—
,
To m see it in her face but h e wouldn t look S he wondered ;

’
.
then She w as just a gr ai n troubled ; next a dim suspicion cam e

—
and went came again ; She watched ; a furtive glance tol d
—
her worlds and then her heart broke and sh e w as j ealous , ,
and angry and the tears came an d she hated everybody To m

,
.
most Of all ( she thought ) .
To m was introduce d to the Judge ; but his tongue w as tied ,
—
h is breath would hardly come his h e art quaked partly b e ,
«
cause Of the awful greatness Of the man but mainly becaus e ,
he w as he parent He would have liked to fall down and wor

r .
l
ship him,if it were in the dark Th e Judge put his hand o n .
’
Tom s head and called him a fine little man an d asked him ,
what his name w as The b o y stammered gasped and got it .

, ,
ou t :
To m .
Oh n o n o t, ,
To m — i t is
”
Thomas .
Ah that s it I thought there was more to it maybe

,
’
.
,
.
’ ’
Th at s very well But you ve another o n e I dare say and
.
,
” ’
you ll tell it to me won t y o u ?
’
,
“
Tell the gentleman your other name Thomas , ,
“
Walters and s ay sir Y ou mustn t forget your manners
,
.
’
.
“ —
Thomas S awyer sir ”
.
’
That s it ! That s a good boy F ine boy F ine manly little
’
. .
,
.
—
fellow Two thousand vers es is a great many very very ,
great many And you never can be sorry for the trouble yo u
.
took to learn them ; fo r knowledge is worth more than any

’
thing there is in the world ; it s what makes great men and
good men ; you ll be a great man and a good man yourself
’
,
some day Thomas and then you ll look back and say It s all
, ,
’
,
’
-
owing to the precious S unday school privileges o f my boy
4° TH E A DV E N T U R E S OF TOM S AW YER
hood it s all owing to my dear te ach e rs th at taught me to

- ’
—
‘
learn it s all owing to the good superintendent who e n c o u r

’
,
aged me an d watched over me and gave me a be autiful

, ,
— —
Bible a splendid elegant Bible to keep and hav e it all for
—
my o w n always it s all o w ing to right bringing up ! That is
’
,
w hat you will say Thomas — and you w ouldn t tak e any ’
,
—
money for those two thousand verses no indeed you
wouldn t And now you wouldn t mind telling me and this
’
.
’
—
lady some of th e th ings you ve learned no I know you ’
,
—
wouldn t for we are proud of little boys that learn N ow
’
.
,
no doubt you know the n ames of all the twelve disciples .
Won t y o u tell us th e names o f th e first two that were ap

’
”
point e d ?
Tom was tugging at a button hole and looking sheepish
- .
He blushed now and his eyes fel l M r Walter s heart sank

’
. .
, ,
with in him H e s aid to himself it is not possible that the boy

.
,
—
can answe r th e simplest question why did th e Judge ask
him ? Y e t h e felt obli g e d to speak up and say :
“ —
An swe r th e g e ntleman Thom as don t be afraid ”
’
.
,
Tom still h u n g fi re .
“
N ow I know you ll tell m e said the lady The names of
’
, .
th e first tw o discip le s were

“
D AVI D AN D G OL IA T H !
L et us draw the curtain of charity over the rest o f the scene .
C HA P T E R V
!
THE -
P IN C H B U G AND H I S PR EY
AB OU T half past ten the cracked bell o f the sm all church b e ~
gan to ring and presently the people began to gather for the
,
morning sermon The S unday school children distributed

.
-
themselves about the house and occupied p e ws with their

parents so as to b e und e r supervision Aunt Polly came and
,
.
,
—
T om and S id and Mary sat with her To m being placed
next the aisle in ord e r th at he might be as far away from
,
the open window and th e s e ductive outside summer scenes as '
possible The crowd fil e d up th e aisles : the ag e d an d needy

.
postmaster who had seen b e tt e r days ; the mayor and his

,
—
wife for they had a m avor ther e among other u nn e c es ,
s aries ; the j ustice of th e peace ; the widow D ouglas fair , ,
smart and forty a g e ner o u s good h e art e d soul and w e ll to

, , ,
~ -
do her hill mansion th e only palace in th e town and th e most

, ,
hospit able and much the most l avish in the matter o f fes
tiv itie s th at S t P e tersburg could boast ; th e b e nt and vener
.
able M ajor and M rs Ward ; lawye r R iv e rso n th e n e w notable

.
,
from a distance ; n e xt the belle o f th e villag e followed by ,
a troop o f lawn clad and ribbon d e cked young h e art bre ak

- - -
ers ; then all the young clerks in town in a body for they —
had stood in the v e stibule suck i n g th e ir can e he ads a circling
-
,
wall o f oil e d and simpering admirers till the last girl had ,
run their gantlet ; an d last of all came th e M odel B oy Willie ,
M u ffe rso n taking as heedful care of his m other as i f she

,
were cut glass He always brought his mother to chur ch and

.
,
was the pride o f all the matrons The boys all hated him he
.
,
41
42 TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF T OM S A W Y ER
was so good And besides he had been thrown up to them
.
,
s o much His white handkerchief was hanging out o f his

.
,
—
pocket behind as usual o n S undays accidentally Tom had .
n o h an dkerchief and he looked upon boys who had as snobs

,
.
,
The congregation being fully assembl e d now the bell rang , ,
once more to warn laggards and stragglers and then a solemn

, ,
hush fell upon the church whi ch was only b roken by the tit
tering and whispering of the choir in th e gallery The choir .
always tittered and whispered all through service Ther e w as .
h
o nce a c urch choir that was not ill bred but I have forgotten
-
,
w here it was now It was a great many years ago and I can
,
.
,
scarcely remembe r anything about it but I think it was in ,
some foreign country .
The minister gave o u t the hymn and read it through with ,
a reli sh in a peculiar style which was much admired in th at

,
part o f the country His voice b egan o n a medium key and

.
climbed steadily up till it reach ed a certain point where it ,
bore with strong emphasis upon the topmost wo rd an d then

-
plunged down as if from a spring board :
Sh all I b e c ar ri e d toe th e sk ies , on fl o w ry b eds o f e ase ,
’
- -
Whils t o th e rs fig ht to w in th e p riz e , an d sail th ro blo od y se as ?

’ -
He was regarded as a wonderful reader At church sociabl es .
he was always called upon to read po etry ; and when he w as

through th e ladies would lift up their hands and let them fall
,
“ ”
helplessly in their laps and wall their eyes and sh ak e their
, ,
heads as much as to say Words cannot express it ; it is too

, ,
”
beautiful t o o beautiful for this mortal earth
,
.
After the hymn had been sung the R ev M r S prague ,

. .
turned himself into a bulle tin board and read off notices o f
- “ ”
,
meetings and soci e ties an d things till it seemed that the list
—
would stretch out to the crack of doom a queer custom
which is still kept up in Am e rl ca even in ci ties away here , ,
in this age o f abundant newspapers O ften the less there is to .

,
justify a traditional custom the harder it is to get rid of it

,
.
instantly destroyed if he did such a thing while the praye r
was going on But with the closing sentence his hand began to
.
“ ”
curve and steal forward ; and the instant the Amen was
out the fly was a prisoner of war His aunt detected the act
.
and made him let it go .
The minister gave o u t his text and droned along m o

n o to n o u sly through an argument that was so prosy that many
—
a head by and by began to nod and yet it Was an argumen t
that de al t in limitless fire and brimston e and thinned the
“
predestined elect down to a comp any so small as to be hardly

worth the saving Tom counted the pages of the sermon ; afte r
.
church he always knew how many pages there had been but ,
h e seldom knew anything else about the discou rse However .

,
this time he was really inter ested for a little while The .
minister made a grand and moving pictu re of the assembling

together o f the world s hosts at the millennium when the
’
lion and the lamb should lie down together and a little child
should l ead them But the pathos the lesson the moral o f
.
, ,
the great spectacle were lost upon the boy ; he only thought
of the conspicuousness o f the principal character befor e the
onlooking nations ; his face lit with the thought and he said ,
to himsel f that he wished he could be that child if it was a ,
tame lion .
Now he lapsed into suffering again as the dry argumen t ,
was resumed Pres e ntly h e bethought him of a treasure h e had

.
and got it out It was a large black beetle with formidable

.
— “ ”
j aws a pinchbug he called it It was in a percussion cap -
,
.
box The first thing th e b e etl e did was to take him by the
.
finger A natural fillip follow e d the beetl e went floundering

.
,
into the aisl e and lit on its b ack and the hurt finger went into
,
the boy s mouth The b e etl e lay there working its helples s
’
.
legs unable to turn ov e r To rn eyed it and longed for it ; but

,
.
,
it was safe out of his reach O ther people uninterested in th e

.
sermon found relief in th e beetle and they eyed it too Pr es

, ,
.
:
TH E P IN C H -B U G AND HIS P RE Y
'
45
en tly a vagran t poodle dog came idling al ong sad at heart

-
, ,
lazy with the summer softness and the qui et weary o f cap ,
tiv ity si ghing for change He spied the beetle ; the drooping
,
.
t ail lifted and wagged He surveyed th e prize ; walked around

.
it ; smelt at it from a safe distance ; walked around it again ;

grew bolder and took a closer smell ; then lifted his lip and
,
made a gingerly sn atch at it , j ust missing it ; made another ,
an d another ; began to enjoy the diversion ; subsided to his
s tomach with th e beetle between his paws and continu ed his ,
e x periments ; gre w w e ary at last and then indifferent and,
absent minded His h ead nodded and little by little his chin
- .
,
descende d and touched the enemy who seized it There was a ,

.
sharp yelp a flirt o f the poodle s head and the beetle fell a
,
’
,
co uple o f yards away and lit on its b ack once more The
,
.
neighboring spectators shook with a gentle inward j oy sev ,
er al faces we nt behind fans and handkerchiefs and To m was ,
entirely happy Th e dog looked foolish and probably felt so ;

.
,
but there was resentment in his heart too and a craving for , ,
revenge S o he went to the beetle an d began a wary attack o n

.
it agal u ; j u m pm g at it from every point o f a circle lighting ,
with his fore paws within an inch of the creature making ,
even closer snatches at it with his teeth and j erking his head ,
till his ears fl appe d again But he grew tired once more after
.
,
a while ; tried to amus e himself with a fly but found no re

lief ; followed an ant ar ound with his nose close to th e floor
, ,
an d quickly wearied o f that ; yawned sigh ed forgot the , ,
beetle entirely and sat down o n it Then there was a wild

,
.
yelp o f agony and the poodle went sailing up the aisle ; the
yelps continued and so did the dog ; he crossed the house in
,
front of the alt ar ; he flew down the other aisle ; he crossed

before the doors ; he clamored up the home stretch ; his an
- - r
guish grew with his progress till presently he was but a

,
woolly comet moving in its orbit with the gleam and the
s peed o f light At last the frantic su fferer sheered from its
.
46 T HE ADVE N TU RE S or T OM S A W Y ER
course and sprang into its master s lap ; he flung it out o f
’
th e w m d o w and the voice o f distress quickly thinned away

,
an d died in the distance .
-
By this time the whole church was red faced and su ffo
cating with suppressed laughter and the sermon had come
,
to a dead standstill The discourse was resumed presently

.
,
but it went lame and halting all possibil ity o f impressivenes s

,
being at an end ; for even the gravest sentiments were c o n

s tan tly being received with a smothered burst o f unholy
mirth under cover o f som e remote pew back as if the poo r

,
-
,
p arson had said a rarely facetious thing It was a genuine.
relief to the whole congregation when the ordeal was ove r

and the benediction pronounced .
To m S awyer went home quite cheerful thinking to himself

,
that there was some satisfaction about divine service whe n

there was a bit of variety in it He had but o n e marring
.
thought ; he was willing that the dog should play with h is

pinchbug but h e did not think it was upright in him to carry
,
it o ff
.
CHAPT ER V I
'
TOM MEE T S B ECKY
MONDAY morning found To m S awyer miserable M onday .
—
morning always found him so because it began another
w eek s slow suffering in sch ool He generally began that day
’
.
w ith wishing he had had n o intervening holiday it made the ,
g o m g in to captivi ty and fetters again so much more odious .
To m lay thi nking Presently it occurred to him that he

.
w ished he was sick ; then he could stay home from school .
H er e was a vague possibility He canv assed his system N o

. .
ailment was found and he investigated again This time he

,
.
t hought he could detect colicky symptoms and he began to ,
e ncourage th e m w ith considerable hope But they soon grew .
feeble and presently died wholly away He reflected further

,
. .
S uddenly he discovered something O ne of his upper front .
t eeth was loose This was lucky ; he was about to begin to

.
“ ”
g roan a,
s a starter as,
he call e d it when it occurred
,
to h im
that if he came into court with that argument his aunt woul d ,
p ull it o u t,
and that would hurt S o he thought
. he would hold
the tooth in reser v e for the present and seek further No th , .
i ng offered for some little time and then he remembered ,
hearing the doctor tell about a certain thing that laid up a

patient for tw o o r three wee ks and threatened to make him
los e a finger S o the boy eagerly drew his sore toe from under
.
the sh e et and held it up for inspection But now he did n o t .
know the ne cessary symptoms However it seemed well .

,
worth while to chance it so he fell to groaning with c o ns id

,
e rab le spirit .
48 T HE ADVE N T URE S or TOM S AW YE R
But S id slept o n unconscious .
Tom groaned louder and fancied that he began to fe el ,
pain in the toe .
N o result from S id .
Tom was panting with his exertions by this time He took .
a rest and th e n swelled himself up and fetched a succession

of admirable groans .
S id snored on .
”
Tom was aggravated He said S id S id ! an d shook him .
, ,
.
This course worked well and To m began to groan again S id ,

.
yawned,stretched then brought himself up on h is elbow ,
w ith a snort and began to stare at Tom Tom went o n

,
.
g roaning S id. said .
“ ”
To m ! S ay Tom ! ! N o respons
,
e ] Here Tom ! To m ! ,
Wh at I S the matte r Tom ? And he shook him and looked m

”
,
his face anxiously .
Tom moaned ou t :
“
Oh don t S id D on t joggle me
,
’
,
.
’
.
Why what s th e matter Tom ? I must call auntie

,
’
,
.
—
No never mind It ll b e over by and by maybe D on t .
’
,
.
’
”
call anybody .
But I must ! D on t groan so Tom it s awful H o w long ’

, ,
’
.
”
you been this way ?
“
Hours O uch ! O h don t stir so S id you ll kill me
.
,
’
, ,
’
.
Tom Wh y didn t you wake me sooner ? O h Tom don t !

,
’
, ,
’
It makes my flesh crawl to hear you Tom what is th e mat .

,
”
ter ?
“
I fo rgiv e you everyth ing S id ! Groan ] E verythin g ,
. .
you ve ever done to me When I m gone

’
.
’
“
O h Tom you ain t dying are you ? D on t Tom o h - ’ ’
, , , , ,
don t M aybe
’
.
“
I forgive everybody S id ! Groan ] Tell em so S id An d ,
. .
’
,
.
S id you give my Window sash and my cat with one e ye to

,
-
that new girl that s come to town and tell her ’

,
TOM M E E T S B E C KY 49
But S id had sn atched his clothes and gone T o m was suf .
fe rin g in reality now so handsomely was his imagination

, ,
w orking and so his groans had gathered quite a genuine tone

,
.
S id flew down stairs and said

-
”
O h Aunt Polly come ! Tom s dying !
, ,
’
”
D ying !
Y e s m D on t wait
’
.
— come quick !
’ ”
”
Rubbage ! I don t believe it ! ’
But she fled u p stairs nevertheless with S id and M ary at

-
, ,
her heels And her face grew whit e too and her lip trembled
.
, ,
.
W hen she reache d the bedside sh e gasp e d out :

”
Y o u Tom ! Tom what s the m atter with you ?
’
, ,
O h auntie I m
, ,
’
—
What s the matter with you what is the matter with
’
”
y o u
,
child ?
“
Oh auntie my sore toe s mortified !
, ,
’
The old lady sank down into a chair an d laughed a little ,
then cri ed a little then did both together This restored her
,
.
a n d she said :
Tom what a turn you did give me N ow you shut up that

,
.
”
n onsense and climb o u t o f this .
The groans ceased and the pain vani shed from the toe The .
b oy felt a little foolish and he said : ,
Aunt Polly it s e e m ed mortified and it hurt so I never

, ,
”
minded my tooth at all .
“
Your tooth indeed ! What s the m
,
atter with your tooth ? ” ’
”
O ne o f them s loose and it aches perfectly awful
’
,
.
There there n o w don t begin that groaning again O pen

, , ,
’
.
our mouth W ell — your tooth i loose but you re not going ’
y . s ,
to die about that M ary get me a silk thread and a chunk o f

.
, ,
”
fire o u t o f the kitchen .
Tom said :
“
Oh ple ase auntie don t pull it o u t It don t hurt any
, ,
’
.
’
5° TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF TOM S AW YE R
more I wish I may never stir if it does Please do n t auntie I ’
‘
. . .
,
”
don t want to stay home from schoo l
’
.
“
'
’
O h you don t don t yo u ? so all this ro w was be c aus e y o u
, ,
’
.
’
thought you d get to stay home from school and go a-fi sh in g ?
To m Tom I lov e you so and you seem to try every w ay
'
, , ,
”
you can to bre ak my o ld heart with your outrageous ness By .
this time th e dental instruments were ready The old l ady .
made one end o f th e silk thread fast to Tom s tooth with a ’
loop and tied the other to th e bedpost Then she Seized the .
chunk o f fire and suddenly thrust it almost into the boy s ’
face The too th hung dangling by the bedpost now

.
,
.
But all trials bring their compensations As Tom wended .
to school after breakf as t he was the envy o f every b oy he ,
met because the gap in h is upper row o f teeth enabled h im

to e xpectorate in a new and admirable way He gathered .
quite a followi ng o f lads interested in the exhibiti o n ; an d

o n e that had cut his finger and had been a center o f fascina
tion and homage up to this time now found himself suddenly ,
without an adherent and sh o rn o f his gl ory His heart w as

,
‘
heavy and he said with a disdain which he did not feel tha t
, ,
it wasn t anything to spit like Tom S awyer ; but another b o y

’
“ ”
said S our grape s ! and he wandered away a dismantled hero .
S hortly Tom came upon th e juvenile pariah of the vill age ,
Huckleberry F inn son of the town drunkard Huckleberry

,
.
was cordially hated and dreaded by all the mothers of the

town because h e was idle and lawless and vulgar and bad
,
-
and because all their children admired him so and delighte d ,
in his forbidden society and wished they dared to be lik e him,

.
'
Tom was like th e rest o i the respectable boys in that he ,
envied Huckleberry his gaudy outcast condition and w as ,
under strict orders not to play with him S o he played with .
him every time he got a chance Huckleber ry was always .
dressed in th e c ast off clothes o f full grown men and they

- -
,
were in perennial bloom and fluttering with rags His hat w as .

N 0 ! Is that so ? I know some thing that s better ’
.
” ’
I bet you don t What is it ? .
”
Why spunk water
,
- .
S punk wat r I wouldn t give a d e rn for spunk water

- e ! - ’
.
”
You wouldn t wouldn t you ? D y o n ever try it ?
’
,
’ ’
”
N o I hain t But Bob Tanner did
,
’
. .
”
Who told you so ?
Why he told J e ff Thatcher and Je ff told Johnny Baker
, , ,
and Johnny told Jim Hollis and Jim told Ben R ogers and , ,
”
Ben told a nig ge r and the nigger told m e Ther e now !
,
.
“
Well what of it ? They ll all lie L eastways al l but the
,
’
.
nigger I don t know Iz im But I never see a nigger that

.
’
.
w o u ldn t lie S hucks ! N ow you t e ll m e how B o b Tanner

’
.
”
don e it Huck
,
.
“
Why he took and dipped his hand in a rotten stump
,
wh e re th e r ain water was

- .
“ ”
In the daytime ?
”
C ertain ly .
”
With his fac e to the stump ?
”
Yes L east I r e ckon so
. .
”
D id h e s ay anything ?
I don t reckon h e did I don t know
’
.
’
.
-
Ah a ! Talk about trying to cure warts with spunk water
such a blam e fool way as that ! Why that ain t a going t o do
- -
,
’
any good You got to go all by yourself to the middle of the

.
,
woods where you know there s a spunk water stump and

,
- ’
,
just as it s midnight you ba c k up against the stump and j am

’
your han d in and say :

B arley -c o rn B arle y-c o rn
‘
, ,
in j u n -m e al sh o rts ,
Sp u n k -w ate r pu n k -w ater th ese w arts ,

’
,
s ,
sw aller
and then walk away quick eleven steps with your eyes shut , , ,
and then turn around three times and walk home without
’
speaking to anybody Because if you speak the charm s
'
”
busted.
TOM M EETS B E C KY 53
Well that sounds like a good way ; but that a m t the

,
way B ob Tanner done .
“
No sir you can bet he didn t b ecu z he s the wartiest boy
, ,
’
,
’
in this town ; and he wouldn t have a wart o n him if he d ’ ’
’
-
knowed how to work spunk water I ve took o ff thousands o f .
warts off o f my hands that way Huck I play with frogs so ,

.
much that I ve always got considerable many warts S o me

’
.
times I take em o ff with a bean ” ’

.
“ ’
Yes bean s good I ve done that
,
’
. .
” ’
Have y o u ? What s your way ?
You take an d split the bean and cut the wart so as to get ,
som e blood an d then y ou put the blood on one piece o f the

,
’
bean and take and dig a hole and bury it bout mid nigh t at
the crossroads in the dark o f the moon and then you burn up ,
the rest o f the bean You see that piece that s got the blood .
’
on it will keep drawing and drawing trying to fetch the other ,
piece to it and SO that helps the blo od to draw the wart an d

, ,
”
pretty soon o ff she comes .
“ —
Yes that s it Huck that s it ; t hough when you re
’ ’ ’
, ,
burying it if you say D own bean ; o ff wart : come no mor e to ‘
’
bother me ! it s better That s the way J o e Harper do e s and
’
.
’
.
,
he s been nearly to C oonvill e and most everywheres But say

’
.
— h ow do y o u cure em with dead cats ? ” ’
Why y o u t ake your cat an d g o and get in the graveyard

,
’
long about midnight when somebody that was wicked has
been buried ; and when it s midnight a devil will come o r ’
,
’ ’
maybe two o r three but y o u can t see em y ou can only hear
, ,
something like the wind o r maybe hear em talk ; and when ,

’
’
they re taking that feller away yo u heave your cat after e m ,
’
‘
and say D evil follow corpse cat follow devil warts follow
, , ,
’ ”
cat I m done with ye ! That ll fetch an y wart
,
’ ’
.
“ ”
S ounds right D y o u ever try it Huck ? .
’
,
No but o ld M other Hopkins told me

,
.
Well I reckon it s s o then B ec u z they say she s a witch

,
’
,
.
’
.
S ay ! Why Tom I k n ow she is S he witch ed pap Paps ays
, ,
. .
s o his own self He come along o n e day and he s e e she was

.
,
a witching him s o he took up a rock and if she hadn t dodged

’
-
, , ,
’ ’ ’
h e d a got her Well that very night b e roll e d o ff n a Shed
’
.
,
’ ” ’
w h e r h e was a layin drunk and broke his arm
-
,
.
“ ’
Why that s awful How did he know Sh e was a witching
,
- .
”
h im ?
“
L ord pap c an tell easy Pap says when they keep looking
, ,
.
-
a t y o u right stiddy they re a witching y o u S pecially if th e y
’
.
,
m umble B e c u z when they mumble they re saying th e L ord s

’ ’
.
”
P raye rbackwards .
“ ”
S ay B ucky when you going to try the cat ?
, ,
-
To night I reckon they ll come after old Hoss Williams
.
’
”
t o night
- .
“
But they buried him S aturday D idn t they get him S atur .
’
”
day night ?
“
Wh y h ow you talk ! How co u ld their charm s work till
,
—
m idn igh t P and th e n it s S und ay D evils don t slosh around
’
.
’
much o f a S unday I don t reckon ,

’
.
“ ”
I never thought o f that That s so L emme g o with you ? .
’
.
—
O f course ii you ain t afeard ” ’
.
”
Afeard ! T ain t likely Will you meow ?
’ ’
.
—
Yes and y o u meow back if you get a chance L ast time ,
.
,
y o u kep me a
’
-meowing around till o l d Hays went to throw
ing rocks at m e an d says D ern that cat ! and so I hove a ‘ ’
—
brick through his window but don t you tell ’
.
“
I won t I couldn t meow that night b e cu z auntie was
’
.
’
,
w atching me but I ll meow this time S ay,

— what s that ? ” ’
.
’
“ ”
Nothing but a tick .
Where d you ge t him ? ’
”
O ut in the woods .
”
What ll you take for him ?
’
I don t know I don t want to sell him

’
.
’
.
All right It s a mighty small tick anyw ay

.
’
,
.
T OM M EE T S B E C KY 55
O h anybody can run a tick down that don t b elong to

,
'
’
”
them I m satisfi e d with it I t s a good enough tick fo r m e
.
’
.
’
.
“
Sh o there s ticks a plenty I could have a thousand o f e m
’ ’
- .
,
”
i f I wanted to .
Well w h v don t y ou ? B e c u z you know mighty w ell yo u

.
’
’
can t This is a pretty early tick I reckon It s the fi rst o n e
’
.
,
.
I ve seen this year

’
.
“
,
—
S ay Huck I ll give you my tooth fo r him ’
.
L es s s e e it .
T o m g o t o u t a bit of paper and carefully unroll e d it

'
Huckleberry viewed it wistfully The tempt atio n w as very .
strong At last he said :

.
“ ”
IS it g e n u wy n e ?
Tom lifted his lip and showed the v acancy .
“ ” “ ’
Well all right said Huckleberry it s a trade
, , ,
.
Tom inclosed the tick in the percussion cap b o x that h ad

-
lately been the pm ch b u g s prison and the boys separated ’

, ,
each feeling weal thier than be fore .
When To m re ached the little isolated frame Schoolhouse ,
he strode in briskly with the manner o f o n e w h o h ad come

,
with all honest speed He hung his hat o n a peg and flun g .
himself into his seat with businesslike al acrity The master .

,
thron ed o n high in his great splint bottom arm chair w as

- -
,
dozing lulled by the drowsy hum o f study The interruption

,
.
roused him .
“ ”
Thomas S awyer !
Tom knew that when his name w as pronounced in full it ,
meant trouble .
“ ”
Sir !
C ome up here N o w sir why are y ou late again as
.
, , ,
”
usual ?
T o m was about to tak e re fuge in a lie ,when he saw tw o
long t ails o f yellow hair hanging down a back that he t e
cognized by th e electric sympa thy o f lov e ; and by that form
‘
56 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF TOM S A W Y ER
was th e o n ly v ac an t l on the girls side of the school
’
p ac e
h ouse .He instantl y s ai d :

“ ”
I S T O PP ED To TALK W ITH HUCKLEBERRY FINN ! The
’
master s pulse stood still and he stared helplessly The buzz , .
o f study ceas e d Th e pupils wondered if this foolhar dy b o y

.
had lost his mind The master said : .
—
You you did what ? ”
S topped to talk with Huckleberry F inn ;

Th e re was no mist ak ing the words .
“
Thomas S awyer th is is the most astounding confessio n I
,
have ever listened to N o mere ferule will answer fo r this

.
”
o ffense Take o ff your j acket
. .
The mast e r s arm pe rformed until it was tired and the

’
stock of swit ches notably diminished Then the order fol .
lowed
“
N ow sir go and sit with the g irls ! And let this be a warn
, ,
”
ing to you .
The titter that rippled around the room appeared to abash

the b oy but in re al ity that result was caused rather more by
,
his worshipful awe of hi s un known idol and the dread pleas

ure th at lay in his high good fortune He sat down upon the .
end o f the pin e ben ch and the girl hitched herself away from
him with a toss o f her head N udges an d wi nk s an d whispers .
traversed th e room but Tom sat still wi th his arms upon the
, ,
long l o w desk before him and seemed to study his book

, ,
.
By an d by attention ceas ed from him and the accustomed ,
school murmur rose upon the d ul l air once mo re Presently .
th e boy began to steal furtive glances at th e girl S he o b .
”
served it made a mouth at him and gave him the back of
“
,
h e r head fo r th e space o f a minute When Sh e cautiously faced .
around again a peach lay before her S he thrust it away

,
. .
Tom gently put it back S he thrust it away ag ain but with .

,
less animosity Tom patiently returned it to its place Then

. .
“
she let it rem ain Tom scrawled on his slate Pleas e take it
.
,
T OM M E E T S B E C KY 57
I g o t more The girl glanced at th e words but made n o Si gn

.
,
.
Now the boy began to draw something o n th e slate hidin g ,
his work wi th his left hand F or a time the girl refused to .
notice ; but her hu man cu riosity pr e sently began to manife st

itself by hardly p e rc eptible Signs Th e boy worked o n appar .
,
ently unconscious The girl mad e a sort o f n on committal at

-.
tempt to see it but the b oy did n o t b e tray that he was aware

,
o f it At last she gave in and hesit atingly whispered :

.
“ ”
L et m e see it .
T o m partly unco v ered a dismal caricature o f a house with

two gable e nds to it and a corkscr ew o f smoke issuing from
the chimn ey Th e n th e g irl s inte r e st began to fasten itself
.
’
upon th e work and she forgot ev e rything else When it was .
finished sh e g az ed a mom e nt th e n whisp e r e d

—
, ,
“ ”
It s nic e mak e a m an
’
.
Th e arti st e r e cted a man in th e fro nt yard that resembled ,
a d e rrick He co u ld hav e st epped o v er th e ho u se ; but the

.
girl was n o t hype rcritical ; sh e w as satisfi e d with the monster ,
and whispe re d :
’ —
I t s a beau tifu l man n ow m ak e me comi ng along .
-
Tom dr e w an hour glass wi th a fu ll moon and straw limbs
to it and arm ed the spreadin g fingers with a portentous fan .
The girl said :

“ ’
—
I t s eve r so n ice I wish I could draw .
It s e asy , whispered T orn I ll learn you

’ ” “
,
’
.
”
O h will yo u ? When ?
,
At noon D o y o u go hom e to dinner ?

.
“ ’ ”
I ll stay if y o u will .
Good that s a whack What s your name ?

- ’
.
’
B e cky Thatcher What s yours ? O h I know It s Thomas .

’
, .
’
S awy er .
“ ’
That s th e name they lick me by I m Tom when I m good .
’ ’
You c all me To m will you ? ”

,
“
Yes .
5 8 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF TOM S A W Y ER
No wTom began to S crawl something o n the Slate hiding ,
the words from the girl B u t Sh e was not backward this time
. .
S he begged to see Tom said : .
“ ” ’
O h it ain t anything
,
.
”
Yes it is .
No it ain t Y o u don t want to see

’
.
’
.
Yes I do indeed I do Please let me

,
. .
”
You ll tell’
.
—
N o I won t deed and deed and double deed I won t
’ ” ’
.
”
Y o u won t tell anybody at al l ? E ver as long as you live ?
’
,
N o I won t ever tell anybody N ow let me

,
’
. .
”
O h y o u don t want to see !
,
’
”
N o w that you treat me so I w ill see And she put her ,
.
small hand upon his and a little scu ffle ensued Tom pre ,
tending to resist in earnest but letting his hand Slip by de

“ ”
grees till these words were revealed : 1 l o v e you .
“ ”
O h you bad thing ! And she hit his hand a smart rap
, ,
but reddened and looked pleased nevertheless ,

.
Just at this juncture the boy felt a slow fateful grip clos ,
ing o n his ear and a steady lifting impulse In that v is e he

,
.
was borne across the house and deposited in his o w n seat ,
under a peppering fire o f giggles from the whole school Then .
the m aster stood over him during a few awful moments and ,
finally moved away to his throne without saying a word But .
although Tom s ear tingled his heart was jubilant

’
,
.
As the school q u ieted down Tom made an honest effort to

study but the turmoil within him was too great In turn he
,
.
took his place in the reading class and made a botch of it ;

then in th e geography class and turned l akes into mountains ,
mountains into rivers and rivers into continents till chaos

, ,
“
was come again ; then in the spelling class and got turned ,
”
down by a succession of mere baby words till he brought
, ,
up at the foot and yielded up the pewter medal which he had

worn with ostentation for months .
0 TH E A DVE N T U RE S O F TOM S AW YE R
lapel and began to assist in exercising the prisoner The sport .
grew in interest momently S oon Tom said th at they were in .
te r fe rin g with each other an d neither getting the full e st ,
benefit of the tick S o he put Joe s slate on the desk and drew
.
’
a lin e down the middle o f it from top to bottom .
“ ” “
No w s aid he as long as he is o n your side you can
,
stir him up and I ll let him alone ; but if yo u let him get
away and g e t on my side , you r e to leav e him alone as long ’
”
as I c an keep him from cr o ssing over .
“
All right go ah e ad ; start him up
,
.
Th e tick escap e d from Tom presently and crossed the , , ,
equator Joe haras se d him awhile an d then he g o t away and

.
,
crossed back again This change o f base occurred often . .
While one boy w as worrying th e tick with absorbing interest ,
the other would look o n wi th interest as strong the two heads ,
bowed together over th e sl ate an d th e tw o souls dead to all ,
things el se At last luck seemed to settle and abide wi th J oe

. .
The tick tried this that and the other course and g o t as
, , ,
excited and as anxious as the boys themselves but ti m e and ,
ag ain just as h e would have victory in his very grasp so to ,

’
speak an d Tom s fingers would be twitchin g to begin Joe s
, ,
’
pin would de ftly head him o ff and keep possession A t last ,

.
Tom could stand it no longer The temptation was too strong . .
S o he reached out and lent a hand with his pin J o e was .
angry in a moment S aid he : .
Tom you let him alone

,
.
I only just want to stir him up a little Joe ,

.
”
N o sir it ain t fair ; you j ust let him alone
, ,
’
.
”
Blame it I ain t going to stir him much
,
’
.
”
L et him alone I tell you ‘
,
.
”
I won t ! ’
—
You shall he s on my Side of the line ’
.
”
L o ok here Joe Harper whose is that tick ?
, ,
TI C K RU N N I N G A N D A H E A R TB RE A K
- 61
I
’ —
don t care whose tick he is he s on my side ’
of th e
’ ”
line and yo u sh a n t t ou ch him
,
’
.
“
Well I ll just bet I will though He s my tick and I ll do
,
’
,
.
’ ’
”
what I blam e ple as e with him o r die ! ,
A tremendo u s whack came down on Tom s Shoulders an d ’

,
its duplicate o n Joe s ; an d fo r the space o f tw o minutes th e

’
dust conti nu ed to fly from the tw o j acke ts and the whole

school to enjoy it The boys had b ee n to o absorbed to notice
.
th e hush th at had stole n u po n th e school awhile befor e whe n

th e maste r came tiptoei ng down the r o om and stood ov e r
th e m He had contemplated a good part o f the perform an ce
.
b e fore he contributed his bit o f vari e ty to it .
When s chool broke up at noon Tom flew to B ecky Thatch ,
er and whispered in h e r e ar
,
“ ’
Put o n yo u r bonnet and let o n you re going home ; and
whe n you get to th e corn er g ive th e r e st o f em the slip an d ,
’
,
turn down through the lan e and com e back I ll g o th e oth e r

/
.
’
”
way and come it o v er em th e s am e way ’
.
So the o n e went o ff with o n e group o f s chol ars and the ,
other with another In a little while th e tw o m e t at th e b o t

.
tom o f the lan e and when they reached th e school th ey had it

,
all to the ms elv es Then they s at tog e th e r with a slat e before

.
,
them and To m gav e Becky the pencil and held her hand in
,
his guiding it and so created anoth e r surprising house Wh en

, , .
th e interest in art beg an to wane th e tw o fe ll to talking To m ,

.
w as swimming in bliss He said .
“
D o y ou love rats ?
”
N o ! I hate them !
—
Well I do too liv e ones But I mean dead ones to
, ,
.
,
swing round your head with a string .
“
No I don t care for rats much anyway What I like is
,
’
,
.
”
chewing gum - .
“
Oh I should say so I wish I had some now
,
. .
D o you ?
’
I ve g o t some I ll let you chew it awhile but .
’
,
y o u must giv e it back to me .
That w as agreeable so they chewed it turn about and , ,
dangled their legs agai nst the bench in excess o f contentment .
“
W as y ou e ver at a circus ? said Tom
”
Y e s and my pa s g o m g to take me again some time if

’
, ,
”
I m good
’
.
“ —
I been to the circus thre e o r four times lots o f times .
Church ain t Shucks to a circus There s things going on at a

’
.
’
’
circus all the time I m going to be a clown in a circus when
.
”
I grow up .
“
O h are y o u ! That will be nice They re so lovely all
,
.
’
,
”
spotted up .
“
Yes that s so And they get slathers o f money most a
,
’
.
—
d ollar a day Ben R ogers says S ay Becky was you ever
,
.
, ,
”
e ngaged ?
’ ”
What s that ?
Why engaged to be married
,
.
N0.
”
Would you like to ?
I recko n so I don t know Wh at is it like ?
.
’
.
L ike ? Why it ain t like anything You only just tell a b oy

’
.
won t ever have anybody but him ever ever r an d

’
y o u e v e , ,
”
then y o u kiss and that s all Anybody can do it ’
. .
“ ”
K iss ? What do you kiss for ?
,
—
Wh y that y o u know is to well they always do that
, , ,
.
”
E verybody ?
Why yes everybody that s in love with each other Do
, ,
’
.
”
you remember what I e te o n the Slate ?
“ —
Y e yes
”
.
”
Wh at was it ?
I Sha n t tell you
’ ’
.
”
Shall I tell you ?
— —
Y e yes but some other tim e .
TI C K RU N N I N G - AN D A H E A R T B RE A K 63
N0 now,
.
—
N 0 not now to morrow
,
- .
—
O h n o n ow Please B ecky I ll whisper it I ll whisper it
.
,
’
,
’
, ,
”
e v er s o e asy .
Becky hesitating Tom took Silence for consent and passed, ,
his a rm about her waist and w hispered the tale ever so s oftly ,
with his mouth close to her ear And then he added .
“ —
N ow y ou whisper it to me j ust the same
S he resisted fo r a while and then said
, ,
’
Y ou turn your face away so y ou can t s e e and then I ,
—
will But y ou mustn t ever tell anybody w ill y ou To m ? ’
.
,
”
No w y ou won t w ill y o u ?
’
,
“
No indeed indeed I won t N ow Becky
’
. .
, , ,
He turned his face away S he bent timidly around till her .
“ — —
breath stirred his curls and whispered I love y ou ! ,
The n she sprang away and ran around and around the
desks and benches with Tom after her and took refuge in a
, ,
corner at last with her little white apron to her face Tom
,
.
clasped her about her neck and pleaded

“
,
—
N ow Becky it s all done all over but th e kiss D on t
,
’
.
’
y o u be afraid o f that — it ain t anything at al l Please Becky ” ’

.
,
.
And h e tugged at her apron and the hands .
By and by she gave up and let her hands drop ; her face , ,
all glowing with the struggle came up and submitted To m ,

.
kissed the red lips and s aid

“
N ow it s all done Becky And al ways afte r this y ou
’
,
.
,
’
know you ai n t ever to love anybody but me and y o u ain t
, ,
’
ever to marry anybody but me neve r never and forever ,

.
”
Will y o u ?
“ ’
N 0 I ll never love anybody but you Tom and I ll never
, , ,
’
—
marry anybody but you and you ain t to ever marry any ’
body but me either ,

.
C ertainly O f course That s part o f it And always coming

. .
’
.
’
to school or when we re going home you re to walk with me
’
, ,
64 T H E A DVE N T U R E S OF TOM S A W Y ER
’ —
when there ain t anybody looking and y ou ch o ose me and I o
ch oose you at parties because that s the way y ou do when

,
’
”
you re engaged
’
.
“ ’
I t s so nice I never heard o f it before
. .
Oh it s ever so gay ! Wh y m e and Amy L awr e nce

,
’
,
Th e big eyes told Tom his blunder and he stopped co n ,
fu sed
“
O h T o m ! Then I ain t the first you ve ever been engaged
,
’ ’
”
to !
The child began to cry Tom said
“
.
“
Oh don t cry B e cky I don t care for her any more
,
’
, ,
’
.
—
Yes you do Tom you know you do .
, ,
T om tried to put his arm about her neck but Sh e pushed ,
him away and turned her face to the wall and went o n cryin g ,
.
To m tried again with soo thing words in his mouth an d w as

, ,
repulse d again Then his pride was up and he strode away

.
,
and went ou tside He stood about restless and uneasy for a

.
, ,
while glancing at the door every n ow and then hoping Sh e

, , ,
would repent and come to find him But she did not Then he . .
began to feel badly and fear that he w as in the wrong It was .
a hard struggl e with him to make new advances now but he , ,
nerved himsel f to it and entered S he was still standing back .
’
there in the corner sobbing with her face to the wall Tom s
, ,
.
heart smote him He went to her and stood a moment not

.
,
knowing exactly how to proceed Then h e said h esitatingly .
“ —
Becky I I don t care for anyb o dy but you
,
”’
.
—
No reply but sobs .
“
Becky — “
pleadingly B ecky w on t you say something ?
,
”
.
,
’
M ore sobs .
Tom g o t out his c hiefest jewel a brass knob from the top ,
o f an andiron and passed it around her so that she could see

it and said
,
“ ”
Please Becky won t you tak e it ?
, ,
’
S he struck it to the floor Then To m marched out of the .

TI C K -RU N N I N G A N D A H E A R T B RE A K 65
hous e and over the hills and far away to return to school no
,
more that day Presently Becky began to suspect S he ran to

. .
the door ; he w as not in sight ; Sh e flew around to the play

yard ; he was not there Then Sh e called :
.
“ ”
To m ! C ome back Tom !
,
She liste ne d int ently but there was no answer Sh e had

,
.
no compa n ions but S il ence and loneliness S o she sat down to

.
cry again and upbraid herself ; and by this time the scholars
began to gather again and Sh e had to hid e her griefs and still
,
her broken he art an d t ake up the cross o f a long dreary , ,
aching afternoon with none among the strangers about her

,
to exchange sorrows with .

CHAPT E R V III
A P IRATE B OLD TO BE
TOM dodged hither and thither through lanes u n t1l h e was

well o u t of th e track o f returning scholars and then fell into ,
a moodyj og He crossed a small branch two o r three times

.
”
,
because o f a prevailing juvenile superstition that to c rOss

water baffled pursuit Hal f an hour later he was disappearing
.
behind th e D ouglas mansion o n the summit o f C ardiff Hill ,
and th e schoolhouse was hardly distinguishable away o ff in

t h e valley behind him He entered a dens e wood picked his
.
,
pathless way to the center o f it and sat down o n a mossy spot

,
under a spreading o ak There was not even a zephyr stirring ;

.
the dead noonday heat had even stilled the songs o f the
birds ; nature lay in a trance that was broken by n o sound but
-
th e occasional far off hammering o f a woodpecker and this ,
seemed to render the pervading silence and sense o f loneliness

th e more profound The boy s soul was steeped in melan
’
.
c h o ly ; his feelings were in happy accord with his surround
ings He sat long with his elbows o n his knees and his chin
.
in his hands meditating It seemed to him that life was but a

,
.
trouble at best and he mor e than hal f envied Jimmy Hodges

, , ,
,
s o lately released ; it must be very peaceful he thought to , ,
lie and slumber and dream forever and ever with the wind ,
w hispering th ro u gh th e trees and caressing the grass and the

‘
flowers over the grave and nothing to bo ther and grieve

,
about ever any more If he only had a clean S unday school

,
.
-
record he could be willing to g o and be done with it all N ow

,
.
as to this girl What had he done ? N othing He had meant the

. .
66
‘
bones on it and hear with swelling ecstas y the whisperings
, ,
’
—
It s Tom S awyer the Pirate ! the Black Avenger o f the
”
S panish M ain !
Y e s it w as settled ; his career was determined He wou ld
,
.
run away from home and enter upon it He would start th e . \
very n e xt morning Therefore he must now begin to get ready

. .
He would collect his resources together He wen t to a rotten .
log near at hand and beg an to dig under o n e end o f it with

his B arlow knife He soon struck wood that sounded hollow
. .
He put his hand there and uttered this incantation impres

siv el y :
“ ’ ”
What hasn t come her e c o m e ! What s h e re s tay here ! ,
’
,
Then he scraped away the dirt and exposed a pine shingle , .
He took it up an d disclosed a shapely little treasure -house

whose bo ttom and sides were of Shingles In it lay a marble . .
’
Tom s astonishment was boundless ! He scratched his head
wi th a p e rplexe d air and said : ,
“ ”
Well that beats anyth ing !
,
Then he tossed th e marble away pettishly and stood cogi ,
tating The tru th w as that a superstition o f his had failed

.
'
, ,
here which h e and all his comrades had always looked upon
,
as infallible If you buried a marbl e with certain necessary in

.
c an t atio n s and left it al O

,
n e a fortnight and then opened the ,
place with th e incantation he had just used you would find ,
that all the marbles you had ever lost had g athered them
selves togethe r there meantime n o matter how widely they
, ,
had been separated But now this thing had actuall y and
.
,
unquestionably failed Tom s whole structure o f faith was.

’
shaken to its foundations He had many a time heard o f this .
thing succeeding but never o f its failing before It did not

,
.
occur to him that he had tried it several times before him ,
sel f but could never find the hiding places afterward He

,
- .
puzzled over the matter some time and finally decided that ,
some witch had interfered and broken the charm He thought .

A P IR A T E B O L D To BE 69
he would satisfy himself o n that point ; so he searched around

-
till he found a small sandy spot w i th a little funnel shaped
depression in it He laid himsel f down and put his mouth close
.
to this de pre ssion and calle d :

Do odle -bug doodle -bug tell me what I want to kn ow !
, ,
-
D oodl e bug dood le bu g tell m e what I want to know !
-
, ,
The sand began to work and presently a small black bug,
appeare d fo r a second and then darted under again in a fright .
He dasn t tell ! S o it w as a witch that d one it I just

’
‘
”
knowed it .
He well knew the fu tility o f trying to cont e nd ag ainst

witches so h e g ave up discouraged But it oc cu rred to him
,
.
that h e might as well have the marble he had just thrown

away and there fore h e we nt and made a patient search fo r it
,
.
But he could n o t fi nd it N ow he went back to h is tr e asure

.
house an d ca re ful ly placed himsel f j u st as he had been stand

ing when he tossed th e marble away ; then he to ok another
marbl e fr om h is pocket and tossed it in th e same way saying : ,
“
Brother go find your brother !
,
He watched where it stopped and went there and looked ,

.
But it must have fallen short or gone too far ; so he tried twice ’
more The last repetition was successful The tw o marble s

. .
lay within a foot of each other .
Just here the blast o f a toy tin trumpet came faintly down
the green aisles o f the forest To m flung o ff his j acket and .
trousers tu rned a suspe nder into a belt rak ed away some

, ,
br ush behind the rotten lo g disclosing a rude b o w and arrow

'
, ,
a lath sword and a tin trumpe t and in a moment had seized ,
these thin g s and bounded away barelegged with fluttering , ,
shirt He presently halted under a great elm blew an answer

.
,
ing blast and then began to tiptoe and look warily ou t this
, ,
—
way and that He said cautiously to an imaginary company
.
“ ”
Hold my merry men ! K eep hid till I blow
, .
7° TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF T OM S AW YE R
Now appeared Joe Harper as airily clad and elaborately ,
armed as T o m To m called : .
“
Hold ! Who comes here into S herwood F orest without
”
my pass ?
Guy o f Gu isb o rn e wants no man s pass Who art thou ’
.
that
‘
— tha
“
D ares to hold such language said Tom prompting— for , ,
”
they talked by the book from memory
“
,
.
“
Who art thou that dares to hold such language ?
I indeed ! I am R obin Hood as thy caiti ff carcass soon
, ,
shall know ”
.
“
Then art thou i ndeed that famous outlaw ? Right gladly
'
will I dispute with thee th e passe s o f th e merry wood Have .
”
at thee !
They took their lath swords dumped their other traps o n ,
the ground struck a fencing attitude fo ot to foot and began

, , ,
“ ”
a grave careful combat two up and two down Presently
, ,
.
To m s aid z k
“
N o w if you ve got the hang go it lively !
,
’
,
”
S o they went it lively panting and perspiring with the ,
work By and by Tom shouted :

.
“ ”
F all ! fall ! Why don t you fall ? ’
I sha n t Why don t you fall yourself ? You re getting the

’
' ’ ’ ’
worst o f it .
“
Why that ain t anything I c an t fall ; that ain t the way
,
’
.
’ ’
it is in the book The book says Then with one back handed
.
-
,
‘
stroke he Slew poor Guy o f G u isb o rn e You re to turn around .

’ ’
and let me hit you in the bac

There was no getting around the authorities so Joe turned , ,
received the whack and fell .
“
N ow said Joe getting up you got to let me kill y ou
, , ,
.
”
That s fair
’
.
“
Why I can t do that it ain t in the book
,
’
,
’
.
—
Well it s blamed mean that s all
’ ’
.
,
A P IRA T E B O L D TO BE 71
Well say Joe yo u can be F riar Tuck or M uch the mil

, , ,
ler s so n and lam m e with a quarter staff o r I ll be th e S heriff

’
,
- ’
o f N ottingham and you be R obin Hood 3 littl e while and .
”
kill me .
This was satisfactory and so these adventures were car

,
ried o u t Then To m becam e R obin Hood agai n and w as al

.
,
l owed by th e treacherous nun to b leed his strength away

through his n eglected wound A nd at last J oe repres enting
.
,
‘
a whol e trib e o f weeping outlaws dragged him sadly forth , ,

“
gave h is bow into his feeble hands and To m said Wher e this
, ,
arrow falls there bury poor R obin Hood under th e gr een

,
”
wood tree Then h e Shot th e arrow and fell back and would
.
have died but he lit o n a nettl e and sprang up too gaily fo r a

,
corpse .
The boys dressed themselves hid their accoutrements and

, ,
went o ff grie v ing that there wer e n o outlaws an y mor e and ,
wondering what modern ci vilization could claim to hav e don e

to compensate fo r their los s They said they would rather be
.
outlaws a year in S h erwood F orest than President o f the

United S tates forever ;
C HAPT E R IX
TRAGEDY I N TH E GRAVEYARD
AT h al f pas t nine ,that night Tom an d S id were sent to bed , ,
as usual They said the i r praye rs and S id w as soon aslee p

.
,
.
T om lay awak e and waited in restl e s s i mpati ence When it , .
seemed to him that it must be n e arly daylight he h e ard the ,
clock strike ten ! Th is was desp ai r He w o uld have to ss e d and .
fi dg e te d as his nerves demanded but h e was afrai d he might

, ,
wake S id S o he lay still and stared up into th e dark E very

.
,
.
thing was di smally still By and by out of th e stillness little

.
, , ,
scarcely pe rceptible n o ises began to emphas ize themse lves .
The ticking o f the cloc k began to b ring itself into notice O ld .
beams be gan to crack mysterio usly The stairs creaked .
faintly E vidently spirits were abroad A m e asur e d muffled

. .
,
snore issued from Aunt Polly s chamber And now the tire ’
.
some chirping o i a crick et that no human ingenuity could

locate began N ext th e gh astly ticking of a death watch in the
,
.
-
' ’ —
wall at the bed s he ad made Tom shudder it meant that
somebody s days we r number e d Th e n the howl of a far o ff
e
’
- .
dog ros e o n th e ni ght air and was answered by a fainter howl

,
from a remoter distance Tom was in an ag o ny At last he w as

. .
satisfied that time had ce as ed and ete rnity b egun ; he began

to doze in spite o f himse lf ; the cloc k chimed eleven but he
, ,
did n o t h e ar it And then there came mingl ing with his half
.
,
form e d dreams a most melancholy ca t e rwauling The raising

,
.
“
of a neigh boring W i ndow disturbed him A c ry of S cat ! you .
”
devil ! and the crash of an empty bottle against the back of
his aunt s woo dshed brought him wide awake and a single
’
,
minute later he was dressed and out o f the window and creep
72
T RA GE DY IN TH E G R A VE YA RD 73
”
ing along the roof o f th e ell on all fours He m e o w d .
’
w ith caution once o r twice as he went ; then jumped to the

,
roof o f the wo o ds hed an d thence to the g round Huckleberry .
F inn w as there with his dead cat Th e boys m oved o ff and

,
.
d is app eared in th e gloom At the end o f h al f an hour they

.
we re wading thro ugh th e t all gr ass o f the graveyard .
It was a gravey rd a o f o -
the ld fashione d Western kind It .
w as o n a hill abo ut a mil e and a hal f from th e village It had

,
.
a c r az y board fe nce aroun d it which lean ed inward in places, ,
an d outward th e rest o f th e tim e but stood upright nowhere ,

.
Gras s and weeds gre w rank over the whol e ce metery All the .
old grav e s were sunke n in there was not a tombstone o n the

—
,
place ; round topp ed worm eaten boards staggered over the

-
,
g raves,
leaning fo r s up port and finding none S acred to th e .
- -
memory o f So and So h ad been p ai nted o n them once but it ,
could n o longe r hav e been read o n the most of them now , , ,
even i f there had b ee n li ght .
A fai nt w ind mo an e d thro ugh the trees and Tom feared it ,
might be the Spirits o f the d e ad complaining o f bei ng dis ,
tu rb e d The boys talked little and onl y under their bre ath
.
, ,
for the time and th e place an d th e pervading solemnity and

sil en c e oppressed their spirits They found the Sharp new heap
.
they were seeking an d e n sconce d themselves within th e pro

,
tec tio n o f three great elms that grew in a bunch within a few
fe et o f the grave .
Then they waited in silence for what seemed a long time .
The ho oting o f a distant o w l was all th e sound that troubled

the dea d stillne s s Tom s reflections grew oppressive He must
.
’
.
force so m e talk So he s ai d in a whisper :

.
“
Hu c k y do yo u believe the dead people like it for us to b e
,
”
here ?
Huckleberry whispered :
“ ”
I wisht I knowed It s awful solemn like ain t it ?
.
’
,
’
”
I bet it is
.
4 TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF T OM S A W Y ER
There was a considerable pause while the boys canvassed ,
this matter inwardly Th en Tom whispere d .
“ —
S ay Hu ck y do you reckon Hoss Williams hears us talk
,
”
ing ?
“
0 course he does L east his sp erri t does
’
. .
T o m after a pause,
“
I W ish I d said M ister Williams But I never meant an y
’
.
”
harm E verybody calls him Hoss
. .
“
A body can t be too p artic lar how they talk bout these
’ ’ ’
”
yer d ead people Tom ,
.
This was a damper and conversation died agai n ,

.
Presently Tom seized his comrade s arm and said : ’
sh l
7 3)
What is it Tom ? And the two clung together with beat

,
”
i n g hearts .
”
S h There tis again ! D idn t you hear it ?
! ’ ’
I
There ! N ow you hear it .
L ord Tom they re coming ! They re coming sure What ll

, ,
’ ’
,
.
’
”
w e do ?
“ ”
I dono Think they ll see us ?
.
’
O h Tom they can see in the dark same as c ats I wisht I

, , ,
.
”
hadn t come ’
.
’
Oh don t be afeard I don t believe they ll bother us We
,
’
.
’
.
ain t doing any harm If we keep perfectly still maybe they

’
.
,
”
won t notice us at all
’
.
“
I ll try to Tom but L ord I m all o f a shiver
’
, , ,
’
.
”
L isten !
The boys bent their heads together and scarcely breathed .
A muffled sound of voices floated up from the far end of the

g raveyard .
“ ” ”
L ook ! S ee there ! W hispered Tom What is it ? .
It s devil fi re O h Tom this is awful

’
- .
, ,
.
S ome vague figures approached through the gloom swing ,

6 T H E ADVE N TU RE S
‘
OF TOM S AW YER
”
They growled a response and went on diggi ng F or some .
time there w as no noise but the g rating so und of the spades

discharging their freight of mold and gravel It was very .
monotonous F inally a sp ade struck upon the coffin with a dull

.
woody accent and within another minute or tw o the m e n had

,
hoisted it out o n the ground They pried off th e lid with the ir
.
shovels got out the body and dumpe d it rudely on the g round
, .
The moon drifted from be hind th e clouds an d exp os e d the

pallid face The barrow was g o t ready and the corpse pl ac e d
.
on it co vered with a blanket and bound to its pl ace with the

, ,
-
rope Potter took o u t a large spring knife an d cut o ff the
.
dangling end o f th e rope and the n said :

“
N ow th e cussed thing s ready S aw bon es and you ll j u st
’
, ,
’
out with another five o r hereshe s tays ,

”
.
”
That s the talk ! said Injun J oe
’
.
”
L ook here what does this mean ? said the doctor Y o u
,
.
”
equired your pay in advance an d I ve paid you ,
’
.
“ ”
Yes and you done more than that said Injun j o e ap
, , ,
p r o a c h in g the d o ctor who was now,

standing F ive years ag o .
drove me away from your father s ki tchen n ight ’

y o u o n e ,
wh e n I come to ask for somethi n g to eat and y ou said I wa rn t ,

’
’
the r e for any good ; and when I swore I d get even with you
if it took a hundred years your father had m e jailed for a,
v agrant D id you think I d forg e t ? The Injun b l o od ain t in

’ ’
.
m e for n othing And now I ve g o t you and you got to s e ttle

’
.
, ,
”
you know !
H e was threatening the doc tor with his fist in his face by , ,
this time The doctor struck o u t suddenly and stretched the

.
ru ffi an on the ground Potte r dropped his knife and ex

.
,
claimed :
“
Here n o w don t you hit my pard and the next m o m ent
, ,
’
he had grappled wi th the doc tor and the two were stru g
gling with might and main t rampling t h e grass and te aring
,
the ground with their heels Injun Joe sprang to h is feet his
.
,
T RA GE DY IN TH E G R A V E Y A RD 77
e y e s flaming with passion snatch e d up Potter s knife an d,

’
,
we nt creeping ca tli ke and s too ping ro un d and round about

, ,
th e combatants seeking an oppo rtunity All at once th e d o ctor

,
.
’
flu ng himsel f free se i z ed the he avy he ad board o f Willi am s
,
-
rave and felled Potter t o th e ea r th with it— and in the same

g
i ns t ant the half breed saw his chance an d dr ove the kn ife to
-
’
the hil t in the young man s breast He reeled and fell partly .
upo n Potter flooding him with his bl o od and in the s am e

, ,
mo me nt the clouds blotted o u t th e dreadful spec tacle an d the

tw ofrighten e d boys we nt spe e ding away in the dark
Presently when th e moo n emerged ag ain Injun J o e was
, ,
standing over the tw o forms co ntemplating th e m The doctor , .
murmured inartic ulate ly gave a long g as p o r two and w as

,
-
still The half breed muttered :
—
Th at score is set tled damn y ou .
The n he robbed th e body A fte r w h ich he put the fatal .

'
knife in Potter s o pen right hand an d sat down on the dis

’
—
,
.
—
mantle d coffin Thr e e four fiv e minutes passed and then ,
Potte r be g an to s tir and m o an His hand closed upo n the .
knife ; he raised it glanced at it and le t it fall with a shud

, , ,
der Then he s at up pushing the b ody from him and gaz ed

.
, ,
at it and then aro und him confusedly His e yes met Joe s
, ,
.
’
.
“ ”
L ord ho w is this J o e ? he said
, ,
.
’ ”
It s a di rty busin e ss said Joe without movin g What
, ,
.
”
did yo u do it for ?
“ ”
I ! I ne ve r do ne it !
Lo o k he re ! Tha t kind of talk won t wash Potter trem ’
.
ble d an d g re w w hite .
“
I thoug ht I d g o t sober I d no busi ne ss to dri nk to -night
’
.
’
.
—
But it s in my he ad ye t wor se n whe n we starte d here I m
’ ’
.
’
all in a mudd le ; can t recollect anything o f it hard ly Te ll me

’
—
,
.
,
J o e h on e s t n o w o ld feller
, ,
— did I do it ? J o e I never meant
—
,
’
to pon my soul and honor I never meant to Joe Tell me , ,
.
78 THE A D VE N T U R E S OF T OM S A W Y ER
ho w it was J o e ,
.
,
—
O h it s awful and him so young and promis
’
ing 3)
Why you tw o was scu ffl in g an d h e fetched you o n e with

, ,
the headboard an d y o u fell flat ; and then up you come all ,
reeling and staggering like and snatched the knife and , ,
j ammed it into him j ust as he fetched you another awful ,
—
clip and here you ve laid as dead as a wedge till now
- ”’
, .
“
O h I didn t know what I was a doing I W ish I may die
,
-’
.
this minute if I did It was al l on acount o f the whisky ; and .
the excitement I reckon I never used a w e epon in my life

,
.
’
before Joe I ve fought but never with w eepo n s They ll all
,
.
,
.
’
s ay that Joe don t tell ! S ay you won t tell Joe

.
,
— ’
that s a ’
,
’
good feller I always liked you Joe and stood up for you too
.
, , ,
.
”
D on t you remember ? You w on t tell w ill you Joe ? And the
’ ’
, ,
poor creature dropped o n his knees before the stolid mur

derer and clas ped his app ealing hands
,
.
“
N o you ve al ways been fair and square with me M uff
’
, ,
’
Potter and I won t go back o n you There now that s as fair
,
.
, ,
’
”
as a man can say .
“
O h J o e you re an angel I ll bless you for this the longest
, ,
’
.
’
”
day I live And Potter began to cry
. .
C ome now that s enough o f that : This ain t an y time fo r

, ,
’ ’
blubbering You be off yonder way and I ll go this M ove

.
’
.
,
now and don t leav e any tracks behind you

,
’
.
Potter started on a trot that quickly increased to a run .
The half-breed stood looking after him He mutter e d : .
“
If he s as much stunned with the lick and fuddled with the
’
’
rum as he had the look of being he won t think o f the knife ,
till he s gone so far he ll be afraid to come back after it to such

’ ’
- —
a place b y himself chicken heart !
-
Two or three minutes later the murdered man the blan ,
k e te d corpse the lidless coffin and the open grave were under
, ,
no inspection but the moon s The stillness was complete ’

.
again too .,
CHAPT ER X
DIRE P RO P H ECY '
or THE H O W LIN G DOG
TH E tw o boys flew o n and o n toward the village speechl e ss , ,
wi th horror They glanced backward ov er their shoulders from

.
time to time apprehensively as if they fe ared they might be

, ,
followed E very stump that started up in their path seemed a

.
man and an enemy and made them catch their breath ; and
,
as they sped by some o u tlying cottages that lay near the vil
lage the barking o f the aroused watch dogs seem ed to g 1v e

,
-
wings to thei r feet .
“
If we can only get to the old tannery before we break
”
down ! whispered Tom in short catches between breaths
‘
, ,
’ ”
I can t Stand it much longer .
Huckleberry s hard pantings were his only reply and the

’
,
boys fixed their eyes o n the goal o f their hopes and bent to
their work to win it They gained steadily o n it and at last
.
, ,
breast to breast they burst through the open door and fell
,
grateful and exhausted in the sheltering shadows beyond By .
and by their pulses slowed down an d To m whispered : ,

” ’
Huckleberry what do y o u reckon 11 come o f this ?
,
If D r R obinson dies I reckon hanging 11 come o f it

.
,
’
.
D o you though ?
Why I k n o w it To m
, ,
.
T o m thought awhile then he sa1d ,

“ ’ ”
Who ll tell ? We ?
What are you talking about ? S pose something happened ’
and Injun J o e didn t hang ? Why he d kill us some time o r

’ ’
”
other just as dead sure as we re a laying here
,
- ’
.
79
0
THE A D VE N T U R E S or T OM S A W Y ER
That s just what I was thinking to myself Huck
’
,
.
If an ybody tells let M u ff Potter do it if he s fool en ou gh , ,

’
.
4
He s gen e rally drunk enough
’
.
—
Tom said nothing we nt on thin king Presently he w h is .
pered :
“ ”
Huck M uff Potter don t k n o w it How can he tell ? ’
.
”
What 5 the reason he don t know it ? ’
’
Because he d just g o t that whack when Inj u n Joe done it .
’
D you reckon he could see anything ? D you reckon he ’
”
knowe d anything ?
“
By h okey that s so Tom ! ,
’
,
- - —
And besides look a here maybe that whack done for ,
”
h im !
“
N o , tain t likely , Tom He had liquor in him ; I could see
’ ’
.
that ; and besides he al ways h as Well when pap s full you ,

.
,
’
,
might take and belt him over the head with a church and you
couldn t phase him He says so his own self S o it s the same
’ ’
‘
. .
,
with M uff Potter o f course But if a man was dead sober I ,

.
,
reck on maybe th at whack migh t fetch him ; I dono

After another reflective silence T om said : ,
“
Hu c k y you sure you can keep mum ?
,
”
To m ,we g o t to ke ep mum Yo u know that That Injun . .
de v il wo u ldn t make any more o f drownding us than a couple

’
.
o f cats if we w as to squeak bout this and they didn t hang

,
’ ’
him N ow look a here Tom less take and swear to one an

.
- -
, , ,
— —
other that s w hat we go t to do swear to keep mum
’ ”
.
“
I m agreed It s the be st thing Would you just hold hands
’
.
’
.
’
and swear that we
O h no that wouldn t do fo r thi s That s good enough for
, ,
’
.
’
—
little rubbishy co mmon things specially with gals cuz th ey ,
—
go back o n you anyw ay an d blab if they get in a huff bu t ,
”
there orter be writing bo ut a big thing like this And blood ’
. .
Tom s W hole being applauded this idea It was deep and

’
.
,
dark and awful ; the hour the circumstances th e surround

, , ,
D I RE P R OP H E C Y or T HE H OW LIN G D OG 81
i ngs were in keeping with it He picked up a clean pine shingle

,
.
“ ”
that lay in th e moonlight took a little fragment o f red keel
,
out o f his pocket g o t the moon o n his work and painfully

, ,
-
scrawled thes e lines emphasizing each slow down stroke by
,
clamping his tongue between his teeth and letting up the ,
pressure o n the u p strokes

- .
Huckleberry was filled with admirationo f Tom s facility in ’
writing and the sublimity o f his langu age He at once took a

,
.
’
pin from his lapel and was going to prick his flesh but To m ,
said :
“
Hold on ! D on t do that A pin s brass It might have verdi
’
.
’
.
”
grease o n it .
“
What s v e rdig re ase ?
’
’ ’
It s p i son That s what it is You just sw alle r some o f it
.
’
.
—
once you ll see ’
.
S o Tom unwound the thread from o n e o f his needles and ,

82 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF T OM S AW Y E R
each boy pricked the ball o f his thumb and squeezed out a
drop o f blood In time after many squeezes Tom managed to
.
, ,
sign his initials using the ball of his little finger for a pen ,
.
Then he showed Huckleber ry h o w to m ak e an H and an F ,
and the oath was complete They buried the shingl e close to .
the wall with some dism al c e re m o n ie s and incantations and

,
l
the fetters that bound their tongues Wer e considered to be

locked and the key thrown away .
A figure crept stealthily through a break in the other end

o f the ruined building now but they did not notice it , ,
.
To whispered Huckleberry does this keep us from

“ ” “
m , ,
e v er telling— alw ays ?

”
“
O f course it does It don t make any difference w hat hap .
’
pens we got to keep mum We d drop down dead d on t you

,
— .
’ ’
”
k now that ?
“
Yes I reckon that s so
,
’
.
They continued to whisper fo r some little time Presently .
—
a dog set up a long lugubrious howl just outside within ten ,
feet of them The boys clasped each other suddenly in an

.
,
agony o f fright .
“ ”
Which of us does he mean ? gasped Huckleberry .
—
I dono peep through the crack Quick ! ”
.
N0 y ou T o m !
, ,
—
I can t I can t d o it Huck !
’ ” ’
,
”
Please Tom There tis again ! ,
.
’
Oh lordy I m thankful ! whispered Tom I know his

,
”
,
’
.
” 1
voice It s Bull Harbison
.
’
.
“
,
—
O h that s good I tell you Tom I was most scared to
’
, ,
”
death ; I d a bet anything it was a s tray dog
’ ’ ’
.
The dog howled again The b oys hearts sank once more .
’
.
“
Oh my ! that ain t no Bull Harbison ! whispered Huckle
,
’
“
berry D o Tom !.
,
1
If M r H arbiso n
. h ad o w n ed a sl av e n am e d B ul l ,
To m w o u d l h av e s p ok en of
hi m as
“
H ar iso n b ’
s Bul l ”
, but a son or a dog of th at n am e w as
“
Bu ll Har iso n b .
Tom quailed But pres e ntly the temptation ros e up strong
.
again and the boys agre e d to try with the understanding that ,
they would take to their heels if the snoring stopped S o they .
went tiptoeing ste al thily down the one behind the other , .
When they had got to within five steps o f the snorer Tom ,
stepped on a stick and it broke with a sh arp snap The man

,
.
moaned writhed a little and his face cam e into the m oon
, ,
light I t was M uff Potter The boys hearts h ad stood still and
. .
’
,
their hopes too when the m an moved b u t their fears passed

, ,
away n o w They tipt o e d out

. through the broken weather ,
boarding and stopp e d at a little distance to exchange a part

,
ing word That long l u gubrious howl ros e o n the night air
.
,
again ! They turned and saw the strange dog standing within
a few feet of where Potter was lying and facin g Potter,wi th ,
his nose pointing heav e nward .
“ ”
O h g e e m in y it s him ! exclaimed both boys in a breath
, ,
’
,
.
—
S ay Tom they say a stray dog c ome howling around
,
Johnny M iller s house bout midnight as much as two week s

’
,
’
,
ago ; and a whippoorwill come in and lit on the banisters an d

sung th e very same evenin g ; and there al n t anyb ody dead
,
’
”
there yet .
“
Well I know that And suppose there ain t D idn t Gracie
,
.
’
.
’
M ill e r fall in the kitchen fire and b urn herself terrible the
”
very next S aturday ?
“
Y es but she ain t de ad And what s more she s getting
,
’
.
’
,
’
”
better too
,
.
“
All right you wait and see S he s a gon er just as dead sure
,
.
’
,
as M uff Potter s a goner That s what the niggers say and

’
.
’
,
”
they know all ab o ut these kind of things Huck ,
.
Then they separated cogitating When Tom crept in at his ,

'
.
bedroom window the n igh t w as almost spent He undressed .
with excessive caution and fell asleep congratulating himself,
that nobody knew of h is escapade He was not aware that th e .

D I RE P R O P H E C Y OF T HE H OW L IN G D OG 85
gently snoring S id was awake and had been so fo r an hour

,
.
When To m awoke S id w as dressed and gon e Ther e was a

,
.
late look in the light a lat e sen se in the atmosphere He was

,
.
—
startled Why had he not been called persecuted till he was
.
up as usual ? Th e tho u ght filled him with bodings Within

,
.
-
five minutes he was dressed and down stairs feeling sore and ,
drowsy The family was still at table but they had finished
.
,
breakfast There was n o voice o f rebuke ; but there were

;
averte d e yes ; there was a sil ence and an air o f solemnity that
’
stru ck a c hill to the culprit s heart He sat down and tried to
‘
.
Seem gay but it was u p hi ll work ; it roused no smile no re

,
-
,
spo n se and he lapsed into sil e nce an d let his heart sink down
,
to the depths .
A fter breakfast his au nt took hi m asi de and To m almost ,
brightened in the hop e that he w as goin g to be flogge d ; but

it was not so His aunt wept over him an d asked him h o w he
.
could go and br eak her old heart so ; an d fin al ly told him to

go o n and ruin himsel f and bring her gray hairs with sorrow
,
to the grave for it was n o use fo r her to try any more Thi s
,
.
’
was worse than a tho u sand whipping s and Tom s h e art was ,
sorer n ow than his body He cried he pleaded fo r forgive ness

.
, ,
promised to reform o v er an d over again and then r e ceived ,
his dismissal feeling that he had w o n b u t an imperfect fo r

,
g iv e n es s a n d established but a feeble co n fidence .
He le ft the presence to o miserable to even feel rev engeful

toward S id ; and so th e latter s prompt retreat th rough the
’
back gate w as unn ecessary He moped to school gloomy and

.
sad and too k his flogging al ong with J o e Ha rper fo r playing

, , ,
hookey the day before wi th the air o f o ne whose heart was

,
busy with h eavier woes an d wholly dead to trifl e s Then he .
be took him sel f to his seat rested his elbows o n his desk and
,
his j aws in his han ds an d stared at the wall with the

,
stony stare o f suffering that h as reached the limit and c an

no further go His elbow w as pressing against some hard sub
.
stance After a long time he slowly and sadly changed his p osi
.
tion and took up this object with a sigh It was in a paper He

,
. .
unrolled it A long lingering colossal sigh followed and h is

.
, , ,
h eart broke It was his brass andiron knob !

.
This final feather broke the c amel s back

’
.
CHAPT E R XI
CONSCIEN C E RA CKS TOM
CLOSE upon th e hour of noon the whol e village was suddenly

electrifi e d with the ghastly news N O need of th e as y e t u n
.
dreame d o i t elegraph ; the tale flew from man to man from

-
,
group to group from h o us e to hous e with little l e ss than

, ,
telegraphic sp ee d O f course th e schoolmaster gave holi d ay

.
for that afternoon ; the town would have thou ght stran g e ly of
him i f he had n o t.
A gory knife had been found close to the murder e d m an ,
and it had be en recognized by somebody as belonging to M u ff

—
Potter so the story ran And it was said that a belated citi
.
“ ”
zen had come upon Potter washing himself in th e branch
about o n e or two o clo ck in th e morning an d that Potter had
’
,
—
at once sneaked o ff suspicious circumstances especially the ,
washing which was not a habit with Potter It w as also said

,
.
”
that the town had been ransacked for this murderer ( the
public are not Slow in the matter o f sifting evidenc e and ar
riving at a v e rdict ) but that he could not be found Horse
,
.
men had departed down all th e roads in every direction and ,

“ ”
the S heriff was confident that he would be captured be fore
night .
All the town was drifting toward the graveyard Tom s .

’
heartbre ak vanished and he joined the proc e ssion not b e ,
cause h e would not a thousand times rath e r go anywhere else ,
but because an awful unaccountable fascination drew him

,
on Arrived at the dreadful place he wormed his small body

.
,
through th e crowd an d saw the dismal spectacle It seemed to .
87
88 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF T OM S A W Y ER
him an age since he was there before S omebody pinched his .
arm He turned and his eyes met Huckleb e rry s Then both
.
,
’
.
looked elsewhere at once and wondered if anybody had no ,
ticed anything in their mutual glance But everybody was .
talking and intent upon the grisly Spectacle before them

, .
“ ” “ ” “
Poor fellow ! Poor young fellow ! This ought to be a
” “
lesson to grave robbers !
- M u ff P o tte r ll hang for this if ’
th ey catch h im ! This was the drift o f remark ; and the mm

”
“ ”
ister said It was a j udgment ; His hand is here .
N o w Tom shivered from head to heel ; for his eye fell upon
the Stolid face of Injun Joe At this moment the crowd began .
“
to sway and struggl e and voices shouted It s him ! it s him !
, ,
’ ’
”
he s coming hims e lf !
’
“ ”
Who ? Who ? from twenty voices .
”
M uff Potter !
Hallo he s s to ppe d I L ook out he s turning ! D on t let
-
,
’
,
’ ’
”
him get away !
People in the branches o f th e trees over Tom s head said he ’
—
wasnt trying to get away h e only looked doubtful and per
’
pl e x e d .
“
Infernal impudence ! said a bystander ; wanted to come
—
and take a quiet look at his work I reckon didn t expe ct an y ’
,
”
company .
The crowd fell apart n o w an d th e S heri ff came through, , ,

’
ostentatiously leading Potter by the arm The poor fellow s .
face was haggard and his eyes Showed the fear that was upon
,
him When he stood before the murdered man he shook as

.
,
with a palsy and he put his face in his h ands and burst into
,
tears .
“ ’
I didn t do it friends he sobbed ;
’
pon my word an d
, ,
”
honor I never done it .
“ ”
Who s accused you ? shouted a voice
’
.
This shot seemed to carry home Potter lifted his face and .
C O N S C I E N C E R AC K S T OM 89
looked around him w ith a pathetic hopelessness in his ey es .
He saw Injun Joe and exclaimed

,
“
O h Injun Joe you promised me you d never
, ,
’
”
Is that your kni fe ? and it w as thrust before him by the
Sheriff .
Potter would hav e f al len if they had n o t caught him and

e ased him to the g rbu n d Then he said : .
“
S omething told me t if I didn t come back and get
’ ’
He shuddered ; then wav ed h is nerveless h and with a van

q u ish e d gesture and said Tell em J o e tell
,
em —it ain t ’
, ,
’ ’
,
”
any use an y mor e .
Then Hu ckleberry an d Tom stoo d dumb and staring and ,
-
heard the stony hearted liar reel o ff his serene statement they ,
e xpecting e v ery moment that th e clear sky woul d deliver
God s lightnings upon his head and wondering to see h ow

’
,
long the strok e was delayed And when he had finished and .
still stood alive a n d whole their wavering impulse to break

,
their oath and save the poor betrayed prisoner s life fad e d ’
and v anished away for plainly this miscreant had sold him
,
self to S atan and it would be fatal to meddle with the property

o f such a power as that .
“
Why didn t y o u leave ? What did y o u want to come here
’
”
for ? somebod y said .
“ ’ —
I couldn t help it I couldn t help it Potter moaned I ’
.
,
wanted to run away b u t I co uldn t seem to c ome anywhere

,
’
”
but here And he fell to sobbing again
. .
Injun J o e repeated his statement just as calmly a few , ,
m inutes afterward o n the inquest under oath ; an d the boys , ,
see ing that the lightnings were still withheld were confirmed ,
in their belief that Joe had sold himself to th e devil He was .
n o w become to them the most balefully interesting object

, ,
they had ever looked upon and they could not take the ir fas
,
cin ate d eyes from his face .

They inwardly resolved to watch him nights when o p , ,
p o r tu n i ty sho uld o ffer in the hope of getting a glimpse

,
o f his
dread master .
Injun Joe helped to rai se the body o f the murdered man and
put it in a wagon for removal ; and it was whispered through
the shuddering crowd that th e wound bled a little ! The boys
thought that this happy circumst an ce would turn suspicion in
the right direction ; but they were disappointed for more than ,
o n e Villager remarked :
“
It was within three feet o f M uff Potter when it done it .
Tom s fearful secret and k n aw in g conscience disturbed his

’
sleep for as much as a week after this ; and at breakfast one

morning S id said :
“
Tom you pitch around and talk in your sleep so much
,
”
that yo u keep me awake half the time .
Tom blanched and dropped his eyes .
“ ”
It s a bad Sign said Aunt Polly gravely What you got
’
, ,
.
”
o n yo u r min d Tom ? ,
“
Nothing Nothing t I know of But the boy s hand shook
.
’
.
’
so that he spilled his coffee .
And you do talk such stuff S id said L ast night you said ,
.
“
it s blood it s blood that s what it is ! You said that over
’
,
’
,
’ ’
—
and over And you said D on t torment me so I ll tell ! Tell
.
‘ ’ ’ ’
,
” ’
w h at ? What is it you ll tell ?
E verything was swimming before Tom There is no telling .
what might have happened now but luckily the concern , ,

’
passed o u t o f Aunt Polly s fac e and she c am e to Tom s relief ’
without knowing it S he said : .
“
Sho ! It s that dr e adful murder I dream about it most
’
.
”
every night myself S ometim e s I dream it s me that don e it
.
’
.
M ary s aid sh e had b e en affe cted much th e sam e way S id .
seemed satisfied Tom got out of the presence as quick as he

.
plausibly could and after that he complained of toothache for

,
a week and tied up his j aws every night He never knew that
,
.
C HA P T E R XII
°
-
TH E C A T A N D TH E P AIN K IL L ER
ON E o f the re a
’
son s why Tom s mind had drifted away from its
se cr e t troubles was that it had found a new and weighty mat
,
ter to inte r e st itself about B ecky Thatcher had stopped c om

.
ing to school Tom had struggl e d with his pride a few days
.
,
”
and tri e d to whi stle her down the wind but failed He he ,
.
g an t o find himself hanging around her fath er s house nights

’
, ,
and fe e ling very miserabl e Sh e w as ill What if sh e should

. .
die ! Th e re w as distraction in th e thought H e no longer took .
an inte re st in war n o r even in piracy The charm o f life w as

,
.
gone ; there was nothing but dreari ness le ft He put his hoop .
away and his h at ; there was no j oy in them any more His

,
.
aun t w as conce rned S he b e gan to try all manner o f remedies

.
o n him Sh e was o n e o f those p e ople w h o are inf atuated with

.
patent medicin e s and all new fangled methods of produ c m g

-
health o r mending it S he was an inveterate e xperimenter in

.
th es e thin gs When something fresh in this line came o u t she

.
w as in a fever right away to try it ; n o t o n hersel f for sh e

, , ,
w as never ailing b u t o n anybody el s e that came handy S he

,
.
”
w as a subscriber fo r all the Heal th peri o dicals an d ph re n o
logical frauds ; and th e solemn igno rance they were inflated
“ ”
with was breath to her nostrils All the rot they cont ai ned .
about ventilation and how to go to bed and how to get up

, , ,
and what t o eat and what to drink and how much exercis e
, ,
to t ak e and what fram e o f mind to keep one s self in and

’
, ,
What s ort o f clo thing to wear was all gospel to her an d sh e ,

TH E CAT AND TH E P AI N -K I L LE R 93
n ev e r observ ed that her current month

-
health j ournals o f the
customarily upset everyth ing they had recommend ed the
month b e for e Sh e was as simple hearted and honest as th e
.
-
d ay was long an d so she was an easy victim S he gathered to

, .
gether her quack periodicals and her quack medicines and ,
thus armed with death went about o n her pale horse met a
, ,
“
p h o rically spe aking with hell following
,
she nev e r
suspected that sh e was n o t an angel o f healing and the balm o f
Gilead in disguis e to th e suffering neighbors
‘
, .
Th e water treatment was new now and Tom s low condi , ,

’
tion was a windfall to her She had him o u t at daylight every

.
morning sto od him up in th e woodshed and drowned him

,
wi th a delug e o f cold wate r ; then sh e scrubb e d him down with

a towel like a file and so brought him to; then sh e r olled
,
him up in a w e t she e t and put him away under blankets til l

‘
“
sh e sw e ated h is soul cle an and th e yellow stains o f it came
”—
through his pores as To m s aid .
Yet n otwithstanding all this th e b oy grew more and more ,
m e lancholy and pale and dej ec t ed Sh e added h o t baths sitz .

,
baths shower baths an d plunges Th e b oy remain ed as dis

, ,
.
mal as a hearse She beg an to assis t th e water with a slim

.
o atmeal diet and blister -plaste rs S he cal cu lated h is capacity .
as sh e would a j ug s and fille d him up e ve ry day wi th quack

’
,
-
cu re alls .
Tom h ad becom e indi ffe ren t to persecuti o n by thi s time .
This phase filled the o ld lady s heart with conste rnation Thi s
’
.
indi fference must b e broke n up at an y cost N o w sh e heard o f .
Pain-killer fo r the first time S he ordered a lo t at o nce She

. .
tasted it and was filled with gratitude It w as simply fi re in a .
liquid form S he dropped the water treatment an d e ve rything

.
else and pinned her faith to Pain killer Sh e gave To m a te a

,
- .
spo onful and watched with th e deepest an xiety fo r th e result .
Her troubl e s were instantly at rest ; her soul at p e a ce again ;

94 TH E A DV E N T U RE S OF TOM S A W Y ER
fo r the indifference w as brok en up The boy could not have
“
.
shown a wilder heartier interest if she had built a fire under

,
him .
To m felt that it was time to wake up ; this sort o f life might

be romantic enough in his blighted condition but it was get , ,
ting to have too little sentiment and too much distracting

variety about it S o h e thought over various plans for relie f
.
,
a n d finally hit upon that o f professing to be fond of Pain
killer He asked for it so often that he became a nuisance and

.
,
his aunt e nded by telling him to help himself and quit bother
ing h e r If it had been Sid she would have had no misgivings
.
,
to alloy her delight ; but since it was Tom she watched th e ,
bottle clan d e stin e ly S he found that the medicine did really .
dimini sh but it did n o t occur to her that the boy was mending
,
the health of a crack in the sitting room floor with it

- .
On e d ay To m was in the act o f closing the crack when his

aunt s yellow cat came along purring eyeing the teaspoon
’
, ,
av ariciously and begging for a taste To m said :

,
.
“ ”
D on t ask for it unless you want it Peter
’
,
.
But Peter signifi e d that he did want it .
“
You better m a k e sure .
Peter was sure .
“
N ow you ve asked for it and I ll give it to you because
’ ’ '
, ,
’
there ain t anything mean about m e ; but if you find you don t
’
”
like it y ou mustn t blame anybody but your o w n self
,
’
'
.
Peter was agreeable S o Tom pried his m ou th open and .
poured down the Pain killer Peter sprang a couple of yar ds

- .
in the air and then delivered a w a whoop and set o ff round

,
r-
and round the room b an g m g against furniture upsetting , ,
flower-pots an d m ak in g general havoc Next he rose on his

,
‘
hind feet and pranced around in a frenzy of enjoyment with , ,
hi s hea d over his shoulder and his voice proclaiming his u n ap

p e asa b l e happiness Then he went tearing around the house
.
again spreading chaos and destruction in his path Aunt Polly .

96 T H E AD V E N T U RE S OF TO M S A W Y ER
Her eyes watered a little an d she put her hand o n Tom s head
,
’
an d said gently :
I was meaning fo r the best Tom And Tom it did doy ou ,
.
, ,
good ? ’
Tom looked up l n her face with just a perceptible twinkle

peeping through his gravity :
“
I know you was meaning for the best auntie and so was I , ,
with Peter It don e him good too I never see him get around
.
,
.
so since
“
Oh go long with you Tom before you aggravate me
,
’
, ,
agai n And y o u try and see if you can t be a good boy for
’
.
,
once and you needn t take any more m e dic m e

,
’
.
T o m reached school ahead of time It was noticed that this .
strange thing had been occurring every day latterly And n o w .

,
as usual o f late he hung about the gate o f the schoolyard

,
inste ad o f playing with his comrades He was sick he said .

, ,
and he looked it He tried to seem to be looking everywhere

.
—
bu t whither he r e ally was looking down the road Presently .
j e ff T hatcher ho v e in sigh and Tom s face lighted ; he

,
gazed ’
t moment and then turned sorrowfully away When Jeff

, .
“ ”
a rrived Tom accosted him an d
,
led up warily to opportuni
,
tie s for remark about Becky but th e giddy lad never could see ,
th e bait T o m watched and watched hoping whenever a frisk

.
,
in g frock cam e in sight and hating the owner of it as soon as

,
h e saw sh e was not the right one At last frocks ce as ed to .
appear an d he dropped hopelessly into the dumps ; he entered

,
the e mpty school hous e and sat down to suffer Then o n e

- .
more frock passed in at the g ate and Tom s heart gave a great ,
’
“ ”
bound The next instant he was ou t and going on like an
.
,
Indian ; yelling laughing chasing boys jumping over the

, , ,
fence at risk o f life and limb throwing hand springs standing

-
, ,
o n his head — doing all the heroic things he could conceive

of an d keeping a furtive eye out all th e while , to see if Be cky
, ,
Th atch er was noticing But she seemed to be uncons c ious of

.
TH E CA T AN D TH E P AI -
N K I L L ER 97
it all ; sh e never looked C ould it be possible that she w as n o t

.
aware that he w as there ? He carried his e xploits to h e r imm e

’
diate vicinity ; came war whooping around snatched a b oy s
-
,
cap hurled it to the roof o f the school house b roke throu gh

,
-
,
a group o f boys tumbling th e m l n every direction and fell

, ,
’
sprawling himself under Becky s nose almost upse tting h e r
—and she tu rn e d w ith her nose in the an and h e heard h e r
, , ,
t
, ,
s ay : l .
—
M i some people think they re mighty smart always’
sh o wing o ff!
Tom s cheeks burned He gathered himself up and sn e ak ed
’
.
of f crush e d and crestfallen

, .
CHAPT ER XIII
TH E PIRATE CRE W SE T S AIL
TOM S mind w a
’
s made up now He was gloomy and desperate
. .
He was a forsake n friendless boy he said ; nobody lov e d

, ,
h im ; when they found ou t what they had driv en him to per ,
hap s they would be sorry ; he had tried to do right and get

along but they would not let him ; since nothing would do
,
the m but to be rid o f him let it be so and let them blam e him
,
—
fo r th e consequences why shouldn t they ? What right had
th e friendless to complai n ? Yes they had forced him to it at
,
last : h e would lead a life o f crime There was no choice

. .
By this time he was far down M eadow L ane and the bell ,
“ ”
for school to take up tinkled faintly upon his e ar He .
sobbed , n o w to think h e should never never hear that old

, ,
—
familiar sound any more it was very hard but it was forced ,
on him ; since he was driven o u t into the cold worl d he must ,
—
sub mi t but he forgave them The n the sobs came thick and
.
fast.
Just at this point he met his soul s sworn comrade , Joe ’
—
H arpe r hard eyed and with evidently a great and dismal
-
,
purpose in his heart Plainly h ere were tw o souls with but a

.
”
sing l e thought To m , wiping his eyes with his sleeve , began
.
t o blubber o u t something about a resolution to escape from

h ard u sage and lack o f sympathy at home by roaming abroad
int o th e great world never to return and ended by hoping ,
that J o e would not forget him .
But it transpired that this was a request w h ich j o e had

just been going t o make o f Tom and had come to hunt him up
,
9 8
TH E A D VE N T U RE S OF T OM S A W Y ER
About midnight Tom arrived with a boiled ham and a few
trifl es and stopped in a dense undergrowth on a small bluff
,
overlooking the meeting place It was starlight and very still

- .
,
.
The mighty river lay like an ocean at rest Tom listened a .
moment b ut no sound disturbed the quiet Then he gave a

,
. t
low distinct whistle It was answered from under the bluff

,
. .
Tom whistled twice more ; these signals were answered in th e

same way Then a guarded voice said
.
“
W h o goes there ? ”
Tom S awy er the Black Avenger o f th e S panish M ain

,
.
Nam eyour names .
“
Huck F inn the R ed Handed and Joe Harper the Terror
-
,
”
o f the S eas Tom had furnished these titles from his fav orite
.
,
literature .
’
Tis well Give the countersign
. .
Two hoarse whisp ers delivered the same awful word simu l
tan e o u sly to the b roo dm g night
“ ”
BLOOD !
Then Tom tumbled his ham over the bluff and let himself
down after it tearing both skin and clothes to some extent in
,
the effort There was an easy comfortable path along the

.
,
shore under the bluff but it lacked th e advantages o f diffi

,
culty and danger so valued by a pirate .
The Terror of the S e as had brought a sid e o f bacon and ,
had about worn himself out with getting it there F inn the .
R ed Handed had stolen a s llet and a quantity o f half cured

- k i -
leaf tobacco and had also brought a few corn -cobs to make
,
“ ”
pipes with But non e o f the pirates smoked o r c hewed but
.
himself The B lack Av e nge r of the S panish M ain said it would

.
never do to start with o ut some fire That w as a wise thought ; .
matches were h ardly known th ere in that day They saw a fire .
smold e ring upon a great r aft a hundred yards above and they ,
went stealthily thither and helped themselves to a chunk .
“ ”
They m ad e an imposing adventure of it saying Hist ! every , ,
T H E P IRA TE CR E W SE T S AI L 10:
n o w an d then and suddenly halting with finger o n lip ; m ov

,
-
in g with hands o n imaginary dagger hilts ; and giving orders
“ ” “
in dismal whispers that if the foe stirred to let him hav e ,
” “ ”
it to the hilt because dead men tell n o tales They knew
,
.
well enough that the raftsmen w er e a ll down at th e vi llage

laying in stores o r having a spree but still that was no e xcus e ,
fo r their conducti n g this thing in an unpiratic al way .
They shoved o ff presently To m in command Huck at the

, , ,
after oar and J o e at the forward Tom stood amidships

r
.
,
g loomy -br e wed and with

,
folded arms and gav e h is ord e rs in ,
a low stern whisper :

,
“
L uff and bring her to the W ind !
,
- ”
Aye aye sir !,
S teady steady y y y !
,
- - -
S teady it is sir ! '
,
”
L et her g o o ff a point !
Point it is si r ! ,
As th e boys steadily and monotonously drov e th e raft

toward midstream it was n o doubt understood that these or
“
ders were given only for style and wer e not intended to ,
mean anything in particul ar .
“ ”
What sail s she carrying ?
’
Courses to ps ls and fl yin g j l b sir

,
’
-
, ,
.
S end the r y al s up ! L ay ou t al oft there half a doz en o f

’
, ,
y e — fo r e t o pm asts tu n s l Lively n o w
’
!
”
,
“ ”
Aye aye sir !
-
,
S hake o ut that m ain tog alan s l ! Sheets and braces ! N ow, ’
my hearties !
”
Aye aye sir !
-
,
- - —
Hellum a lee hard a port ! S tand by to meet her when
sh e comes ! Port port ! N o w men ! With a will ! S tead y y y !
, ,
- - -
“ ”
S teady it is sir ! ,
The raft drew beyond the middle o f the river ; the boys
pointed her head right and then lay o n th e ir oars The ri v er
,
'
.
T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF TOM S A W Y ER
was n o t high so there was not more than a tw o or th nee mile
,
current Hardly a word was said during the next three -quar
.
ters Of an hour N ow the raft was passing before the distant

.
town Two or three glimmering lights showed where it lay

.
,
peacefully sleeping beyond the vague vast sweep Of sta r

,
gemmed water unconscious of the tremendous event that was

,
happening The Black Ave nger stood still with folded arms
.
,
“
looking his last upon the scene o f his former j oys and his
“ ”
later sufferings and wishing she could see him n o w abroad
, ,
on the wild sea facing peril and death wi th dauntless heart

, ,
going to his doom with a grim smile o n his lips It was but a .
small str ai n on his imagination to remove Jackson s Island ’
“
beyond eye shot of the village and so he looked his last
-
,
with a broken and satisfi e d heart The other pirates were look
.
ing their last to o ; and they all looked so long that they came
,
near letting the current drift them out o f the range o f the
island But they discovered the danger in time and made
.
,
shift to avert it About tw o O clock in the morning the raft

.
’
grounded on the bar two hundred yards above the head Of the
island and they waded back and forth until they had landed
,
their freight Part of the little raft s belongings consisted O f an

.
’
Old sail and this they spread over a nook in the bushes for a
,
tent to shelter their provisions ; but they themselves would

sleep in the open air in good weather as became outlaws ,
.
They built a fire against the side of a great log twenty or

thirty steps within the somber depths o f the forest and then ,
cooked som e bacon in the frying pan for supper and used up
-
,
“ ”
half of the corn pone stock they had brought It seemed .
glorious sport to be feasting in that w ild free way in the virgin

forest of an unexplored and uninhabited island far from the ,
haunts of men and they said they never would return to civ
,
iliz atio n The climbing fire lit up their faces and threw its
.
ruddy glare upon the pillared tree trunks Of their forest tem
-
ple and upon the varnished foliage and festoonin gvines

, .
1 04 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF TOM S AW YE R
Why Huck you d h av e to How d you get arou n d it?’ ’ '
,
.
,
” ’
Why I just wouldn t stand it I d run away
, .
’
.
R un away ! Well you w o u ld be a nice Old slouch of a her

,
”
mit You d be a disg race
.
’
.
The R e d-Handed made no response being better em ,
ployed He had finished gouging out a cob and now he fitted a

.
,
weed stem to it loaded it with tobacco and was pressing a

, ,
coal to the cha rge and blowing a cloud of fr agrant smoke

h e was in the full bloom Of luxurious contentment The other .
pirates envied him this majestic vice and secretly resolved to ,
acqui re it shortly Presently Huck said : .
“ ”
What does p 1rates have to do ?
Tom said :
“ —
O h they have just a bully time take ships and burn
,
them and get the money and bury it in awful places in their
,
island where there s ghosts and things to watch it and kill

’
,
—
eve rybody in the ships make em Walk a plank ” ’
.
“ ”
And they carry the women to the island said Joe ; they ,
”
don t kill the women
’
.
N O assented Tom they don t kill the women they re

‘
,
’ — ,
’ ’
too noble And the women s always beautiful too

” ’
.
,
.
“
And don t they wear the bulliest clo thes ! Oh n o ! All gold
’
,
and silver and di monds said Joe with enthusiasm

’
, ,
.
“
W h o ? said Huck
”
.
Why the pirates ,

.
Huck scanned his own clothing forlornly .
“
I re ck o n I ai n t dressed fi tten for a pirate said h e with
' ’
, ,
“
a regretful pathos in his voice ; but I ain t got none but ’
”
these .
But the other boys told him the fine clothes would come
fast enough after they should have begun their adventures
,
.
They made him understand that his poor rags would do to

begin with though it was customary for wealthy pirates to
,
start with a proper wardrobe .

TH E P IRA T E C RE W SE T .
S AI L I 05
Gradually their talk died ou t and drowsiness began to steal

upon th e eyelids o f the little waifs Th e pipe dropped from
.
the fingers o f the R ed Handed and h e slept the sleep Of th e

-
, ,
co nscious-free and the weary The Terror o f the S eas and the
.
Black Avenger O f the S panish M ain had more di fficulty in

getting to sleep They said their prayers inwardly and lying
.
,
down since there was nobody there with authority to mak e

,
them kneel and recit e alo u d ; in truth they had a mind n o t to ,
say them at all but they wer e afraid to proceed to such

,
lengths as that lest they might call d own a sudden and special
,
thunderbolt from Heaven Then at once they reached and

.
—
hov er ed upon the imminent v erge o f sleep but an intruder
”
came n o w that would n o t down It was conscience They
, ,
. .
began to feel a v ague fear that they had been doing wro ng
to run away ; and next they tho ught o ft h e stolen meat and ,
then the real torture came They tried to argue it away b y

. .
reminding con science that they had purloined sweetmeats and

apple s sc o re s Of times ; b u t conscience was n o t to b e appe as ed
/
by such thin plausibilities ; it seemed to them ; 1n the end that ,
there was n o getting around the stubborn fact that taking

“ ”
sweetmeats was only hooking while taking bacon and ,
—
hams and such valuables w as plain S i mple s te alin g and there
was a command against that in the Bible SO they inwardly .
resolved that SO long as they remained in the busines s their ,
piracies should not again b e su llied with the crime Of stealing .
Then conscie nce granted a truce and thes e curio u sly in c o n

,
sis tent pirates fell p e ace fu lly to sl e ep .

C HAPT E R XIV
HAPP Y CA M P OF TH E FREEB OO TERS
W HEN Tom awoke in the morning he wondered where he ,
was He sat up and rubbed his eyes and looked aro und Then
. .
he comprehended It was the cool gray dawn and there was a

.
,
delicious sens e o f repose and peace in the deep pervading calm

and silence o f the woods N ot a leaf stirred ; not a sound Oh
.
tru de d upon great N ature s meditation B eaded dewdrops

’
.
stood upon the leaves an d grasses A white layer Of ashes c ov

.
ered the fire and a thin blue breath o f smoke rose straight
,
into the air Joe and Huck still Slept

. .
N ow far away in the woods a bird called ; another an

,
sw e re d ; presently th e hammering o f a woodpecker was heard .
Gradually the cool dim gray o f the m o rm n g whitened and as ,
gradually sounds multiplied and life manifested itself The .
marvel of N ature sh aking Off sleep and going to work u n

folded itself to the musing boy A little green worm came
.
crawling over a dewy leaf lifting tw o thirds of his body into

,
-
“ ”
the air from time to time and sni ffing around then proceed ,
—
ing again for he was measuring Tom said ; and when the ,
worm approach ed him of its o w n accord he sat as still as a

, ,
stone with his hopes rising and falling by turns as the crea
, , ,
ture still came toward him or seemed inclined to go elsewhere ;

and wh e n at last it considered a painful mome nt with its
curved body in the air and then came d e cisively down upon
Tom s leg and beg an a journey over him his whole heart
’
,
—
was glad for that meant that he was going to have a new
1 06
1 08 T H E A DV E N T U RE S OF TOM S A WY ER
going was something like burning the bridge between them
and civilization .
They came back to camp wonderfully refreshed glad ,
,
h
hearted and ravenous ; and they soon ad the camp fire blaz -
ing up ag aia u c k found a spring of clear cold water c lo se by ,
and the boys made cups Of broad o ak or hickory leaves and ,
felt that water sweetened w ith such a wildwood charm as

,
that would be a good enough substitute for coffee While J oe

,
.
was slicing bacon for breakfast Tom and Huck asked him to
,
hold on a minute ; they stepped to a promising noo k in th e

rive rbank and threw in their lines ; almost immediately they
-
had reward Joe had not had time to get impatient before
.
they were back again with Some handsome bass a couple Of ,
-
,
—
sun perch and a small c atfi sh provisions enough for quite a
family They fried the fish wi th the bacon and were aston
.
,
ish e d ; for no fish had ever seemed SO delicious b efore They .
did not know that the quicker a fresh water fish is o n the fire
-
after he is caught the bette r he is ; and they reflected little

-
up on what a sauce open air Sleeping open air exercise bath
-
, ,
ing an d a l arge ingredient Of hunger makes too

, ,
.
Th ey lay aro rm d in the Shade after breakfast whi le Huck

‘
, ,
had a smoke and then went Off through the wo o ds o n an ex

,
p lo rin g expedition They tra m ped.gaily along o v er decaying ,
logs through tangled underbrush among solemn monarchs

, ,
Of th e forest hung from their crowns to the ground with a

,
drooping r e galia Of grapevines N ow and then they cam e upon

.
snug nook s carpeted with grass and j ew ele d w ith flowers

‘
They found plenty o f things to b e delighted with b u t noth ,
in g to be astonished at They discovered that the i sland was

.
about three miles long and a quarter of a mile wide and that ,
th e shore it lay closest to was only separated from it by a nar

row ch annel hardly two hun dred yards wide Th ey took a .
swim about every hour so it was close upon the middle Of

,
the afternoon when they got back to camp They were to o .

H AP P Y C A M P OF TH E F RE E B O O T E R S I 09
hungry to stop to fi sh but they fared sumptuously upon cold

,
h am and then threw themselves down in the shade to talk

,
.
But th e talk soon began to drag and then died The stillness ,
.
,
th e solemnity that brooded in the woods and the sense o f ,
loneliness began to tell upon the spirits Of the boys They fell
,
.
to thinking A sort o f undefined longing crept upon them This

. .
—
took dim Shape presently it was budding homesickness
,
.
E ven Finn the R ed Handed was dre am 1n g O f his doorsteps

-
an d empty hogsheads But they were all ashamed Of their

.
weakness and none was brave enough to speak his thought

,
.
Fo r some time n o w the boys had been dully conscious o f a

, ,
peculiar sound in the distance just as o n e sometimes is o f th e ,
ti cking o f a clock which he takes n o distinct note o f But n ow .
this mysterious sound became more pronounced and forced a ,
recognition The boys started glanced at each other and then

.
, ,
each assumed a listening attitude There w as a long sile nce .

,
pro found and uhb rok e n ; then a deep sullen boom came fl o at ,
in g down Ol l t O f the distance

’
”
What is it ! exclaimed J oe under his breath ,
.
”
I wonder said Tom in a whisper
,
.
”
’
Tain t thunder said Huckleberry in an awed tone
’
, , ,
b e c u z thunder
“ ” —
Hark ! said Tom L isten don t talk .
’
.
They waited a time that seem ed an age an d then the same ,
muffled boom troubled the solemn hush .
“ ”
L et s go and see
’
.
They sprang to their feet and hurried to the shore toward

the town They parted the bushes o n the bank and peered o u t
.
over the water The little ste am ferryboat was about a mil e
.
below the Village drifting with the current Her bro ad deck
,
.
seemed crowded with people There were a great many ski ffs .
rowing ab out o r floating with the stre am l n the neighborhood

Of the ferryboat but the boys could not determine w hat the
,
men in them were doing Presently a great jet o f white smoke

.
n o THE ADVE N T U RE S OF T OM S AW YER
burst from the ferryboat s side and as it expanded and rose ’
,
in a lazy cloud that same dull throb of sound was borne to

,
th e listen e rs again .
“ ”
I know now ! exclaim e d Tom ; somebody s drownded ! ’
” ’
That s it ! said Huck ; they done that last sum m er ,
when Bill Turner got drownded ; they shoot a cannon over th e

water and that makes him come up to the t op Yes and they
”
, .
,
take loaves o f bread and put quicksilver in em and set e m ’ ’
’
afloat and wherever there s anybody that s drown e d they ll
,
’
,
’
”
float right there and stop .
“
Ye s I ve heard about that said Joe I wonder wha t
”
’
.
, ,
”
makes the bread do that .
“ ”
Oh it ain t the bread so much said To m ; I reckon it s
,
’
, ,
’
”
mostly what they say over it before they start it o u t .
“ ” “
But they don t say anything over it s ai d Huck I v e
’
, .
’
’ ’
seen em and they don t
“ ’
Well that s funny said Tom But mayb e they say it to
, ,
.
the mselves O f c ou rs e they do Anybody might know that

. . .
The other boys agreed that there was reason in what To m

said becaus e an ignorant lump o f bread uninstructed by an
, ,
incantation could not be expected to ac t v e ry intelligently

,
’
when sent upon an errand of such gr avity .
“
By j in g s I wish I was over there now said Joe
, , ,
.
I do too said Huck I d give heaps to k n o ww h o it is

“
,
.
’
.
The boys still listened and watched Presently a revealing .
thought flashed through Tom s mind and he exclaimed : ’

,
“ —
Boys I know who s drownded it s us ! ” ’ ’
,
They felt like heroes in an instant Here was a gorgeous .
'
triumph ; they were missed ; they w e re m o u rn e d ; hearts wer e

breaking -o n their accoun t; tears were being shed ; accusing
m emories of unkindnesses to these poor lost lads were rising
up and unavailing regrets and remorse were being indulged :
,
and best Of all the departed were th e talk Of the whole

,
town and the envy o f all th e boys as far as this dazzling

,
'
,
112
TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF TOM S A W Y ER
”
wrote something upon each o f these with his red keel ; on e
he rolled up and put in his j acket pocket and the other he
,
put in Joe s hat and removed it to a little distance from the

’
owner And he also pu t into the hat certain school boy treas
.
-
—
ures o f almost inestimable value among them a lump o f
chalk an India rubber ball three fi shh ook s an d o n e of that
,
-
, ,
“ ”
kind o f marbles known as a sure nough crystal The n he
’
.
tiptoed his w aycautiously among the trees till he felt that he

was ou t o f hearing and straightway broke into a keen run in
,
the direction Of the sand b ar

- .
C HAPT ER XV
TOM S S TEAL THY VIS IT H OME
’
A FE W minutes later Tom was in the shoal water of the bar ,
wading to w ard the Illinois shore B efore th e depth reached .
his middle he w as hal f way over ; th e current would permit

-
n o mo re wading now so he struck o u t confidently to swim

, ,
the re m arm n g hundred yards He swam quartering upstream

.
,
b ut still was swept downward rather faster than h e had e x

p e c t e d
. However he reached
,
the shor e fi nally and drifted ,
along till he found a low place an d drew himself ou t He put .
h is hand o n h isj acket pocket found his piec e o f bark s afe and
, ,
th e n struck through th e woods following th e shore w ith

,
, ,
’
s treaming garments S hortly be for e ten O clock he came ou t
.
into an open place opposite the Village and s aw the ferryboat ,
lying in the shadow o f th e trees and th e high bank E very .
thing was quiet unde r the blinking stars He crept down the .
bank , watching with all his eyes Slipped into th e water , ,
swam three o r four strokes and climbed into the Skiff that
,
“ ”
did yawl duty at the boat s stern He laid himself down’
.
u nder the thw ar ts an d waited panting ,

.
Pr e sently the cr acked be ll tapped and a voice gav e the o r

“ ”
d e r to cast o ff A mi n u te o r two later the skiff s head w as
’
.
standing high up ag ainst the boat s swell and th e voyage

,
’
,
w as be gun T o m felt happy in his success fo r he knew it w as

.
,
the bo at s l as t trip fo r th e night At the e n d Of a long twelve

’
.
o r fifteen minutes the whee ls sto ped and T o m slipped over

p ,
board and swam ashore in the dusk landing fifty yards down ,
s tream o u t Of danger Of possible stragglers

, .
1 13
1 14 TH E A D VE N T U RE S OF T OM S A W Y ER
He flew along unfrequented alleys and shortly found him ,
self at his aunt s back fence He climbed over app roached

’
.
,
“ ”
the ell an d looked in at the sitting room window for a
,
-
,
light was burning there There sat Aunt Polly S id M ary and
.
, , ,
Joe Harper s mother grouped together talking They wer e

’
, ,
.
by th e bed an d the bed was between them and th e door To m

,
.
went to th e door and began to softly lift the latch ; then h e

pre ss e d gently and the door yielded a crack ; h e continued
,
pushing cautiously and quaking every time it creaked till he

, ,
judg e d h e might squeez e through on his knees ; so he put his

head through and began warily ,
.
“ ”
What makes th e candle blow so ? said Aunt Polly Tom .
“
hurried up Why that door s open I believe Why o f cou rse
.
’
,
.
”
it is N O end of strange things now Go long and shut it S id
. .
’
,
.
Tom disappeared under the bed just in time He lay and .
”
breathed himself fo r a time and then crept to where h e ,
could almost touch his aunt s foot ’

.
“ ”
But as I was saying said Aunt Polly he warn t b ad , ,
’
,
so to say —. only m isch eev o u s O nly just giddy and harum .

,
s aru m you know He warn t any more responsible than a

’
c ,
.
colt H 6 never meant any harm and he was the best hearte d
.
-
,
”—
boy that ever was and she began to cry .
was just S O with my Joe — always full of his devilment

It
‘
,
and up to every kind o f mischief but he was just as unselfish ,
—
and kind as he could b e and laws bless me to think I went ,
and whipped him for taking that cream never once recollect ,
l u g that I throwed i t out myself because it was sour and I ,
never to see him again in this world never never n ever poor , , , ,
”
abused boy ! And M rs H arper sobbed as if her heart would
.
break .
“
I hope Tom s better Off where he is said S id but if h e d
’
, ,
’
been better in some ways

“ ”
Sid ! Tom felt the glare of the Old lady s eye though he
’
,
“ ’
could not see it Not a wor d against my Tom now that h e s
.
,
1 16 T H E A D VE N T U RE S OF TOM S A W Y ER
low presently ; but toward noon th e raft had been found
, ,
lodged against th e M issouri shore some five o r six mi les below

—
the villag e an d then hope perished ; they must be drown ed ,
else hunger would have driven them home by nightfal l if no t

sooner It was believed that the search for the bo dies had
.
-
been a fruitless effort merely because the drowning must have

occurred in mid channel since the boys being go od swim
-
, ,
mers would otherwise have escaped to shore This was Wed

,
.
n e sday night If the bodies continued missing until S unday

.
,
all hope would be given over and the funerals wo u ld b e ,
pre ached o n that morning Tom shuddered . .
M rs Harper gave a sobbing goo d night and turned to go

. .
Then with a mutual impulse the two bereaved women flun g

’
themselves into each other s arms and had a g o od con soling ,
cry and then parted Aunt Polly w as te nder far b eyond her
,
.
wont in her good night to S id and M ary S id sn u ffl e d a bit

,
.
and M ary went Off crying with al l her heart .
Aunt Polly knelt down and prayed for Tom so touchingly

‘
s o appealingly and with such measureless love in her words

,
an d her Old trembling vorce that he w as weltering in tears

,
again long before she was through .
He had to keep still long after she went to bed for sh e kept ,
making broken hearted ej aculations from time to time toss

-
,
ing unrestfully and turning over Bu t at last sh e was still

,
.
,
only moaning a littl e in her sleep N ow the bo y stole o u t rose .

,
gradually by the bedside shaded the candleligh t with his

,
hand and stood regarding her His heart was full of pity for
,
.
her He took o u t his sycamore scroll and placed it by the

.
candle B u t so m e th in g occurred to him and he linger e d con

.
,
s ide rin g His face lighted with a happy solution Of his

.
thought ; he put th e bark hastily in h is pocket Then he bent .
over and kissed the faded lips and straightway made his ,
stealthy exit latching the door behind him

,
.
He threaded his way back to the ferry landing found no ,

T O M S S T E A L T HY V I S I T H O M E
’
11 7
body at large there and wal ked boldly on board th e boat fo r

, ,
he knew Sh e was tenantless except that there was a watchman ,
who always turned in and slept like a g raven image H e untied .
the Skiff at the stern slipped into it and was soon row m g
, ,
cautiously u p stream When he had pulled a mile above th e

- . .
v illag e h e started quartering a c ross and bent himself stoutly

,
.
to his work He h it the landing o n the other Side neatly fo r

.
,
this was a familiar bit o f work to him He w as move d to cap .
ture the skiff arguing that it might be considered a Ship and

,
t herefor e legitimate prey fo r a pirate but he knew a thorough ,
search would be made fo r it and that might end in r evela ,
tions SO he stepped ashore and en tered th e wood

. .
He sat down and took a long r est torturing hims e lf m e an ,
time to keep awake and then started warily down the home
,
,
stretch Th e night was far spent It w as broad daylight before

. .
he found himself fairly abreast th e island bar He rested again .
u ntil h e su n was well up and gilding th e gre at river with its

t
splendor and then he plunged into th e stream A little later h e
,
.
paused drippin g u po n th e threshold Of th e camp and h e ard

, ,
\
,
J o e s ay
“
No , Tom s true blue , Huck , and he ll come back He w on t
’
- ’
.
’
desert He knows that would be a disgrace to a pirate , an d

.
’
Tom s to o proud fo r that sort o f thing He s up to something .
’
”
o r other No w I wonder what ?
.
“ ”
Well th e things is ours anyway ain t they ?
, , ,
’
Pretty near but not yet Huck The writing says they
, ,
.
’
are i f he ain t back here to breakfast .
“ ”
Which he is ! exclaimed To m with fine dramatic effect , ,
stepping grandly into camp .
A sumptuous breakfast O f bacon and fish was shortly pro

v ide d an d as the boys se t to work upon it T o m recounted
‘
, ,
( and adorned ) his adventures They were a vain and boastful .
company Of heroes when the tale was done Then To m hid .
himself away in a shady nook to sleep till noon and the o ther ,
pira te s g o t ready to fish and e xplore .

CHAPT E R XV I
F IRS T P IP ES — “
I VE LOS T MY
’
E N IE E
AF TER dinner all the g ang turned out to hunt for turtle eggs
o n the bar They went about poking sticks into the sand
.
,
and when they found a soft place they went down on their
knees and dug with their hands S ometimes they would take .
fi fty o r sixty eggs o u t Of one hole They were perfectly roun d

.
w hite things a trifle smaller than an E nglish walnut They had .
a famous fried egg feast that night and another o n F riday

-
,
morning .
After breakfast they went whooping and prancing o u t on

the bar and chased each other round and round shedding
, ,
c lothes as they went until they were n aked and then contin
, ,
u e d the frolic far away up the shoal w ater o f the bar against ,
the stiff current which latter tripped their legs from under
,
them from tim e to time and greatly increased the fun And .
n o w an d th e n they stooped in a group and splashed water in
each othe r s faces wi th their palms gradually approaching

’
,
each other with averte d faces to av oid the strangling sprays

, ,
and finally gripping and struggling till the best man ducked
his neighbor and then they all went under in a tangle of
,
white legs and arms and came up blowing sputtering laugh

, , ,
ing and gasping for breath at o n e and the same time

,
.
When they were well exhausted they would run out and ,
sprawl on th e d ry hot sand and lie there and cover them

, ,
selves up with it and by and by break for the water again

,
and go through the original performance once more Fin al ly .
it occurred to them that their naked skin represented fl esh

1 18
T H E A DVE N T URE S OF T OM S A W Y ER
up the sand with a stick and looking very gloomy F inally he .
said :
“
O h boys let s give it up I want to go ho m
, ,
e It s so lone
’
. .
’
some .
“
Oh no J oe yo u ll feel better by and by said Tom
, , ,
’
,
.
”
thin k Of the fishing that s here ’
.
“
I don t care for fishing I w ant to go home
’
. .
But Joe there ain t such another swimming place any

,
- ’
where .
éSwl m m l n g s no good I don t seem to care for it somehow

‘ ’ ’
.
, ,
when there ain t anybody to say I sha n t go in I mean to go

’ ’ ’
.
home .
“
O h Shucks ! Baby ! You want to see your mother I
, ,
reckon .
“
,
—
Yes I do want to see my mother and yo u would too if , ,
”
y o u had one I ain t any more baby
. th an you are ’
And J o e .
sn u ffl e d a little .
“
Well we ll let the cry baby g o home to his mother w on t
,
- ’
,
’
w e Huck ? Poor thing — does it want to see its mother ? And

’
so it shall Yo u like it here d o n t you Huck ? We ll stay
’
.
, , ,
”
won t we ?
’
Huck said Y e s —- -without any heart in it .
“ ’
I ll never Speak to you again as lon g as I live said Joe , ,
“ ”
rising There now ! And he moved moodily away and began
.
to dress himself .
“ ”
Who cares ! s aid Tom N obody wants you to G O long . .
’
home and get laughed at O h you re a n 1c e pirate Huck and .

,
’
.
’
me ain t cry babies We ll stay won t we Huck ? L et him g o
- .
’
,
’
,
if he wants to I reckon we c an get along without him per

.
,
”
’
aps .
But Tom was uneasy ne v ertheless an d was alarmed to se e , ,
J o e go sullenly on with his dressing And then it was disc o m .
for ting to see Huck eyeing Joe s preparations so wistfully ’

,
and keeping up such an ominous silence Presently without .

,
“ ” m
F I R S T P IP E S - I VE L O S T M Y K N IF E
’
a parting word J o e began to wad e Off toward th e Illinois

,
shore Tom s heart began to sink He glanced at Huck Huck

.
’
,
. .
could n o t bear the look and dropped his eyes Then he said : ,
.
“
I w ant to go to o Tom It was getting SO lonesom e an y , ,
.
”
way and n o w it ll be worse L et s us g o to o Tom
,
’
.
’
, ,
.
“
I won t ! You c an all g o if y o u want to I mean to stay
’
,
. .
”
To m , I b e tte r g o ‘
—
Well g o long who s h e n de rin g yo u ?
,
’ ’
Huck began to pick up his scattered clothes He said .
To m I wisht you d come to o N ow you think it over

“ ’
. .
,
, ,
”
We ll wait for y ou when we get to shore
’
.
“ ’
Well you ll wait a blame long time that s all
,
’
,
.
Huck started sorrowfully away an d Tom stood looking ,
after him with a strong desir e tugging at his heart to y1eld

,
his pride and go along to o He hoped th e boys would stop but .

,
they still waded slowly o n It suddenly dawned o n T om that .
it was become very lonely and still H e mad e o n e final struggle .
with his pride and then darted after his co mrades yelling :
/
, ,
“ ”
Wait ! Wait ! I want to tell y o u something !
They presently stopp ed and turned around When he g o t .
to where they were h e began unfold ing his secret and they , ,
“ ”
listened m o odily till at last they saw the point he w as driv
ing at and then they set up a war -whoop o f appl ause and said
,
“ ”
it was splendid ! and said if he had told them at first they ,
wouldn t have star ted away He m ade aplausible excuse ; but

’
.
his real reason had been the fear that not even the secret
‘
would keep them with him any very great length o f time ,
and so he had meant to hold it in reserve as a last seduction .
The lads came gaily back and went at their sports again
with a will chatt e ring all the time about Tom s stupendous
,
’
plan and admiring the genius Of it After a dainty egg and fish .
dinner Tom said he wanted to learn to smoke now Joe

, ,
.
caught at the idea and said he would like to try too SO Huck ,
.
m ade pipe s and filled them These novices had never smok e d
'
.
TH E A DV E N T U RE S OF T OM S AW YE R
a nything before but cigars made Of grapevine and they bit ,
the tongue an d were not considered manly anyway

,
.
N ow they stretched themselves out on thir elbows and b e

gan to puff charily and with slender confidence The smoke
, ,
.
had an unpleasant taste and they gagged a little but To m , ,
s aid
“
Why it s j ust as e asy ! If I d a knowed this was all I d a
,
’ ’
,
’
l e arnt long ag o ”
.
“
SO would I said Joe It s just nothing
’
. .
,
Why many a time I ve looked at people smoking and

,
’
,
tho ught well I wish I could do that ; but I never thought I

”
could said Tom
,
.
“
That s just the way with me hain t it Huck ? You ve
’
,
’
,
’
—
heard me talk just that way haven t you Huck ? I ll leave it ’
,
’
”
to Huck if I haven t
’
.
“ —
Yes heaps Of times said Huck ,
”
Well I have too said Tom ; Oh hundreds o f times
, , ,
.
O nce down by the slaughter h O - u se D on t you remember .

’
,
Huck ? Bob Tanner was there and Johnny M iller and Je ff , ,
Thatcher when I said it D on t you remember Huck bout

,
.
’
, ,
’
”
me saying that ?
“
Yes that s so said Huck That was the day after I lost
,
’
,
.
a whit e alley N O twas the day before

.
,
’
“ — ” “
There I told y ou so said Tom Huck recollects it .
,
.
”
I b le e v e I could smoke this pipe all day said Joe I ,
.
”
don t feel sick
’
.
“
Neither do I said T Om I could smoke it all day But I
,
. .
”
bet you Jeff Thatcher couldn t ’
.
Je ff Thatcher ! Why he d keel over just with two draws ,

’
.
”
Just let him try it once H e d see ! .
’
“ —
I bet he would And Johnny M iller I wish I could see .
_
”
Johnny M iller tackle it once .
” “
Oh don t I ! said J o e Why I bet you Johnny M iller
,
’
.
,
1 24 TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF TOM S A W Y ER
SO Huck sat down again and waited an hour Then he ,
.
found it lonesome and went to find his comrades They were

,
.
w ide apart in the woods both very pale both fast asleep
, , .
But something informed him that if they had h ad any trouble

they had got rid Of it .
They were not talkativ e at supp er that night They had a .
humble look and when Huck prepar ed h is pipe after the meal
,
and was going to prepare theirs they said no they were not , ,
—
feeling very well something they ate at dinner had dis
agreed with them .
About midnight Joe awoke and called the boys There was ,
.
a brooding oppressiveness in the an that sem ed to bode some

thing The boys huddled themselves together and sought the
.
friendly companionship o f the fire though the dull de ad h eat ,
o f the breathless atmosphere was stifling They sat still in .

,
tent an d waiting The solemn hush continued Beyond the

. .
light o f the fire everything was swallowed up in the blackness

Of darkness Presently there came a quivering glow that
.
vaguely revealed the foliage for a moment and then vanished .
By and by another came a little stronger Then another ,

. .
Then a faint moan came Sighing through the branches Of th e

forest and the boys felt a fleeting breath upon their cheeks,
and shuddered with the fancy that the S pirit o f the Night
had gone by There was a pause N ow a weird flash turned
. .
night into day and showed every little g rass blade separate
-
,
an d disti nct that grew about their feet And it showed thre e
,
.
whit e startled faces too A deep peal of thunder went rolling

, ,
.
and tumbling down the heavens and lost itself in sullen rum
blings in the distance A sweep o f chilly air passed by rustling
.
,
all th e leaves and snowing the flaky ashes broadcast about the
fire Another fierce glare lit up the forest and an instant
.
,
crash followed that seemed to rend the treetops right over the
boys heads They clung together in terror in the thick gloom
’
.
,
,
F IR S T P IP E S — “
I VE L O S T M Y K N IF E ’ ’
1 25
that followed A few big raindrops fell p attering upon the

.
leaves .
“
Quick boys ! go for the tent ! exclaimed Tom
,
”
.
They sprang away stumbling over roots and among Vines

,
in the dark n o tw o plu n g m g In the same direction A furious

,
.
blast roared through the trees m ak ing everything sing as it

!
,
went O ne blinding flash after anot her came and peal o n peal
.
,
o f deafening thunder And now a drenching rain poured down

.
and th e risin g hurricane drove it in sheets along the ground .
The boys cried o u t to each other but the roaring wind and ,
the booming th u n de rbl as ts drowned their voices utterly .
Howe v er o n e by o n e they straggled in at last and took shelte r

,
under the tent cold scared and streaming with water ; but
, , ,
to h av e c o m pan y in misery seemed something to be grateful

’
for They could n o t talk the Oil sail slapped S O fu riously even
.
, ,
if the other noises would have allowed them The tempest .
rose higher and higher and presently the sail tore loose from
,
its fas te nings and went winging away o n the blast Th e boys .
seized each other s hands and fled with many tumblings and
’
,
bruises to the shelter Of a great oak that stood upon th e

,
river bank N o w the battle was at its highest U nder the

- . .
ceaseless c o n fl ag ration o f lightning that flamed in the skies ,
everything below stood o u t in clean cut and shadowless dis

-
tin c tn ess ; the bending trees the billowy r1v e r white with , ,
-
foam the driving spray o f spume fl ak es the dim outlines o f
, ,
the high bluffs on the other side glimp sed through the drifting ,
cloud rack and the slanting veil Of rain E very little whil e
- .
some giant tree yielded the fight and fell crashing through
the younger growth ; and the u n fl ag g m g thunder peals cam e
-
now in ear splitting explosive bursts keen and sharp and

-
, ,
unspeakably appalling The storm c u lm m ate d in o n e match

.
less effort that seemed likely to tear the island to pieces ,
burn it up drown it to the treetops blow it away and deafen

, , ,
1 26
T H E A D VE N T U RE S OF T OM S AW YE R
every creature in it all at one and the same moment It was
, .
a wild night for homeless young heads to be out in .
But at last th e battle was done and the forces retired with
,
weaker and weaker thr e atenings and grumblings and peace ,
resumed h e r sway Th e boys went back to camp a g o o d d e al

'
.
,
awed ; but they found there was still something to be th ankful

for because th e great sycamore th e shelter Of their beds was
, , ,
a ruin now blasted by the lightnings and they were not

, ,
under it when the catastrophe happened .
E verything in camp was drenched the camp fi re as well ;

-
,
for they were but heedless lads like their generation and
, ,
had mad e no provision against rain Here was matter for .
dismay for they were soaked through and chill ed They were
,
.
eloquent in their distress ; but they presently discovered that

the fire had eaten so far up under the great log it had been
built against ( where it curved upward an d separated itself
from the ground ) t hat a handbreadth or so O f it had escaped
,
wetting ; so they patiently wrought until with shreds and ,
bark gathered from the under sides o f sheltered logs they ,
coaxed the fire to burn again Then they piled o n great dead
.
boughs till th ey had a roaring furnace and were glad hearted-

,
Once more They dried their boiled ham and had a feast and
.
,
after that they sat by the fire and expanded and glorified
their midni ght adventur e until morning for there was n o t a ,
d ry spot to sleep on anywh e re around

,
.
As the sun b egan to st e al in upon the boys drowsiness came

—
,
over them and th e y went o u t on the sand bar and lay down
to sleep They got scorched out by and by and drearily set
.
,
about getting breakfast After the meal they felt rusty and
.
,
sti ff jointed an d a little homesick once more Tom saw the

-
,
.
Si gns and
,
fell to cheering up the pirates as well as he could .
But they cared nothing for marbles or circus or swi mm ing , , ,
o r any thing He reminded them Of the imposing secret and

.
,
raised a ray Of cheer While i t lasted he got them interested

.
,
CHAPT ER XVII
PIRATES AT THEIR OW N F U NERAL
BU T there was n o hilarity in th e little town that same tranquil

S aturday afternoon The Harpers and Aunt Polly s family
.
,
’
,
wer e being put into mourning with great grief and many ,
tears An unusual quiet possessed the village although it

.
,
w as ordinarily quiet enough in all conscience Th e villagers

,
.
conducted their concerns with an absent air an d talked little ; ,
but they sighed o ften The S aturday holiday seemed a bur

.
den to the children They had no heart in their sports and

.
,
gradually gave them up .
In th e afternoon Becky Thatcher found herself moping

about the deserted school house yard and feeling very mel
-
,
anc h o ly But she found nothing there to comfort her S he

. .
soliloquized :
“
O h if I only had a brass andiron knob again ! But I
,
-
haven t got anything now to remember him by And sh e

’ ”
.
choked back a little sob .
Presently she stopped and said to herself ,

“
It was right here O h i f it was to do over again I wouldn t
.
, ,
’
s ay that — I wouldn t say it for the whole world But h e s

’
.
’
”
gone now ; I ll never n ever never see him any more
’
.
This thought broke her down and she wandered away ,
w i th the tears rolling down her cheeks Then q uite a group .
o f boys and girls — playmates of Tom s and Joe s cam e — ’ ’
by and stood looking over the paling fence and talking in

,
reverent tones o f how Tom did so and so the last time they
- -
,
saw him and how Joe said this and that small trifle ( preg
,
1 28
'
P IRA T E S AT T H EIR OW N F U N E RAL 1 29
nant with awful prophecy as they could e asily se e n ow ! )

,
—and each speaker pointed o u t the exact spot where th e

lost lads stood at the ti me and then added something like
,
“ —
and I was a standing just so j ust as I am n o w and as
-
,
— —
if you w as him I was as close as that and he smiled j u s t ,
—
this way and the n something seemed to go all over me like
—
,
—
awful you know and I never thought what it meant o f
, ,
”
course but I can see n o w !
,
'
Then there was a dispute about who s aw th e dead boys

l ast in life and many claimed that dismal distinction an d
, ,
offered evidences more o r less tampered with by the wit

,
ness ; and when it was ultimately decided who did se e the

departed last and exchanged the last words with them th e
, ,
lucky parties took upon themselves a sort o f sacred impor

tance an d wer e gaped at and envied by all the rest O ne poor
,
.
chap w h o h ad n o other grandeur to offer said with tolerably

, ,
manifest pride in the remembrance :

“
Well,To m S awy e r he licked me once .
But that bid fo r glory w as a failure M ost o f the boys .
c ould say that and s o that cheapened the distinction to o

,
much The group loitere d away stil l recalling memories o f

.
,
the lost heroes in awed voices ,

.
When the S unday school hour w as finished the next morn

-
,
ing the bell began to toll instead o f ringing in the usual

, ,
way It was a v ery still S abbath and the mournful sound

.
,
seemed in keeping with the musing hush that lay upon

nature The villagers began to gather loitering a moment
.
,
in the v estibule to converse in whispers about the sad event .
But there was no whispering in the house ; only the funereal

rustling o f dress e s as the women gathered to their seats
disturbe d the silence there N one could remember when .
the little church had been so full b e fore There was fi nally .
a w aiting pause an e xpectant dumbness and then Aunt

, ,
Polly ente red followed by S id and M ary and they by

, ,
3° TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF T OM S A W Y ER
the Harper family all in deep black and the whole congre
, ,
g a tio n ,
the old minister as well rose reverently and
,
stood ,
until the mourners were seated in the front pew There was .
another communing silence broken at intervals by muffled

,
sobs and then the m inister spread his h an ds abroad a n d

,
prayed A moving hymn was sung and the text followed :

.
,
“ ”
I am the R esurrection and the L ife .
As the service proceed e d the clergyman drew such pic

,
tures o f the gr aces the winning ways and the rare promise
, ,
o f the lost lads that every soul there thinking he recogniz e d

, ,
these pictures felt a pang in remembering that he had per

,
sis te n tly blinded himself to them always before and had ,
as persistently seen only faults and flaws in the poor boys .
The minister related many a touching incident in the lives

o f th e departed too which illustrated their sweet generous
, , ,
natures and the people could easily see now how nobl e
, , ,
and beautiful those episodes were and rememb e red with ,
g rief that at the time they occurred they had seemed ran k
ras calities well deserving o f the cowhide The congregation
,
.
became more and more moved as the pathetic tale went ,
on,
till at last the w hole company broke down and j oined
the weeping mourners in a chorus o f anguished sobs the ,
preacher himself giving way to his feelings an d crying in ,
th e pulpit .
There was a rustle in the g al lery which nobody noticed ;,
a moment later the church door creaked ; the minister raised

his streaming eyes above his handkerchief and stood trans ,
fixed ! First one and th e n another pair of eyes followed the

minister s and then almost with one impulse the congrega
’
,
tion rose and stared while the three d e ad boys came march
ing up the aisle Tom in the lead Joe next and Huck a ruin
'
, , , ,
of drooping rags sneaking sheepishly in the rear ! They had

,
been hid in the unused gallery listening to their o w n funeral

sermon !
C HAPT ER XVIII
TOM REVEA LS H IS DR EAM SECRE T
— ’
T HAT was Tom s great secret the scheme to return home
wi th his brother pirates and attend their o w n funerals They .
had paddled over to the M issouri shore o n a log at dusk ,
on S aturday landing five o r six miles below the village ;

,
they had slept in the woods at the edge o f the town till nearly
daylight and had then crept through back lanes and alleys
,
and finished their sleep in the gallery o f the church among

a chaos o f invalided benches .
At breakfas t M onday morning Aunt Polly and M ary

, ,
wer e very loving to Tom and very attentive to his wants ,

.
Th ere was an unusual amount o f talk In the course of it .
Aunt Polly said :

“
Well I don t say it wasn t a fine j oke Tom to keep every
,
’ ’
, ,
body su ffe rl n g most a week so you boys had a good time

’
,
but it is a pity you could be so hard hearted as to let m e

-
suffer so If yo u c o u ld com e over o n a log to go to your funeral

.
,
y ou could have com e over and give me a hint some way

”
th at you warn t d e ad but only run off
’
,
.
“
Yes you could have done that Tom said M ary ; and
, , ,
”
I believe you would if you had thought o f it .
“ ”
Would you Tom ? said Aunt Polly her face lighting
, ,
”
wistfully S ay now would you if you d thought o f it ?
.
, , ,
’
“ —
I well I don t know Twould a spoiled everything
’ ’ ’ ’
. .
,
”
Tom I hoped you loved me that much said Aunt Polly
, , ,
“
with a grieved tone that discomforted the boy It would .
13 2
TOM RE V EA L S HIS DR E A M S E C RE T 1 33
have been something if you d cared enough to thin k o f it ’

,
’
even if yo u didn t d o it .
“ “
N o w auntie that ain t any harm pleaded M ary ; i t s
’ ’
, , ,
—
only Tom s giddy way h e 1s always in such a rush that he
’
”
never thinks o f anything .
“
M ore s th e pity S id would hav e thought And S id would
’
. .
have come and ddn e it too To m you ll look back some ,

.
,
’
,
’ ’
day when it s to o late and wish you d cared a little more
, ,
'
”
fo r me when it would have cost y o u so little .
“
N ow auntie you know I do care fo r you said Tom
, , ,
.
“ ”
I d kn ow it better if you acted more like it
’
.
” ’
I wish n ow I d thought said To m with a repentant , ,
“ ’
tone ; but I dreamed about y o u anyway That s some ,
.
” ’
thing ain t it ?
,
“ — ’ —
It ain t much a cat does that much but it s better than ’
”
nothing What did y o u dream ?
.
“
Wh y Wed nesday night I dreamt that yo u w as sitting
,
over there by the bed and S id was sitting by the woodbo x , ,

”
and M ary next to him .
Well so we did S o we always do I m glad your dream s

,
. .
’
”
could take even that much trouble about us .
“
”
And I dreamt that J o e Harper s mother was her e ’

.
”
Why she w as here ! D id yo u dream any more ?
,
”
O h lots But it s so dim now
,
.
’
,
.
—
Well try to recollect can t yo u ?
,
” ’
—
S omehow it seems to me that the wind the wind blowed
—
the the
“ ”
Try harder Tom ! The wind did blow something C ome !
,
.
Tom pressed his fingers o n his forehead an anxious min

ute and then said :
,
“ ’ ’ ”
I ve got it now ! I ve got it n o w ! It blowed th e candle !
—
M ercy on us ! Go o n T o m g o o n ! ”
,
And it seems to me that yo u said Why I believe that ,

‘
,
that door
1 34
TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF T OM S A W YE R
”
Go on , To m !
—
Just let me study a moment just a moment Oh yes .
,
”
y o u said you believed the door was open .
“ ”
As I m sitting here I did ! D idn t I M ary ! Go o n !
’ ’
,
— —
And then and then well I won t be certain but it ,
seems like as if you mad e S id go an d an —

“
Well ? Well ? What did I make him do Tom ? What did ,
I make him do ?
“ —
Y o u m ade him y o u O h you made him shut it ,
.
Well for th e land s sake ! I n eVe r heard the beat o f that

,
’
i n all m y days ! D on t tell m e there ain t anything in dreams

’ ’
,
any more S ereny H arper Sh al l know o f this befor e I m an

.
’
hour older I d like to see her get around this with her rub
.
’
’ ”
bage bout superstition Go o n Tom ! .
,
O h it s all getting just as bright as day n o w Next you

,
’
,
.
’
,
—
said I warn t b ad only m isch e e v o u s and harum scaru m and ,
n o t any more responsible than — —

than I think it w as a colt ,
”
o r something .
“
And so it w as ! Well goodness gracious ! Go o n Tom ! , ,
”
And then you began to cry .
S o I did So I did N o t the first time neither And

. .
,
.
then
“
Then M rs Harper Sh e began to cry and said J o e w as
.
,
j ust the same and she wished she hadn t whipped him for
,
’
taking cream when she d throwed it out her o w n self ’
To m ! Th e spe rrit was upon you ! You was a prophesying

“ -
—that s what y o u was doing ! L and alive go on Tom !

’ ”
, ,
“ —
Then S id he said h e said
I don t think I said anything said S id
’
,
.
”
Yes you did S id said M ary ,
. .
Shut your heads and let Tom go on ! What did he say ,

”
Tom ?
“ —
He said I thin k he said he hoped I was better o ff where
I was gone to but if I d been better sometimes
,
’
336 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF TOM S AW YE R
th e
’
rough places there s few enough would smile here o r
,
ever enter into His rest when the long night comes Go .
’
, ,
— ,
—
long S id M ary Tom take yourselves o ff y ou ve h en ’
”
dered me long enough .
The children left for school and the o ld lady to c all on

,
M rs Harper and vanquish her realism with Tom s marvel

.
’
o u s dream S id had better judgment than to utter the thought

.
“
that was in his mind as he left the house It was this : Pret ty .
—
thin as long a dream as that without any mistakes in it !
,
”
What a hero Tom was become now ! He did not go skip ,
p ing an d prancing but moved with,

a dignified swagger as
became a pirate w h o felt that the public eye was on him .
And indeed it was ; he tried not to seem to see the looks

o r hear the remarks as he passed along but they were food ,
and drink to him S maller boys than himself flocked at his

.
heels as proud to be seen with him and tolerated by him

, , ,
as if h e had been th e drummer at the head of a procession

o r the elephant le a ding a menagerie into town Boys o f .
his o w n size pretend ed not to kn ow he had been away at

all ; but they were consuming with envy nevertheless They ,
.
would have given anything to have that swarthy sun-tanned ,
s kin o f his and his glittering notorie ty ; an d Tom would not

,
have parted with either for a circus .
At school the children made so much o f him and o f J o e ,
and delivered such eloquent admiration from their eyes that ,
the two heroes were not long in becoming insufferably

“ ”
stuck up They began to tell their adventures to hungry
.
—
listeners but they only began ; it was not a thing likely to
hav e an end with imagin ations like theirs to furnish material
,
.
And finally when they got out their p ipes and went serenely
,
puffing around the very summit of glory was reached

,
.
Tom decided that he could be independent o f Becky

Thatcher now Glory was sufficient He would live for glory
. . .
N ow that he w as distinguished maybe she would be wanting

,
TOM REVE A L S HIS DRE A M S E C RE T 13 7
to make up .
—
Well let her she Should see that he could
,
be as indifferent as some other people Presently she ar riv ed . .
To m pretended n o t to see her He moved away and j oined a .
gr oup o f boys and girls and began to talk S oon he observ ed .
that she was tripping gaily back and forth with flushed face
and dancing eyes pretending to be busy chasing schoolmates
, ,
and screaming with laughter when she made a capture ; but

he noticed that she always made her captures in his vicinity ,
and that she seemed to ca st a conscious eye in his direction '
at such times to o It gratified all the vicious v anity that

,
.
“
was in him ; and so instead o f w inning him it only set , ,
him up the more and made him the more diligent to avoid
betraying that he knew sh e was about Presently sh e gave .
ov er Skylarking and moved irresolutely about Sighing onc e

, ,
or twice and glancing furtively and wistfully toward To m .
Then Sh e observe d that n ow To m was talking more p artic u

larly to Amy L awr e nce than to any on e else S he fel t a .
Sharp p ang and grew disturbed and uneasy at once S he

’
tried to go away but her feet were treacherous and carried

”
, ,
her to the group instead S he said to a girl almost at Tom s .

’
—
elbow with sham v ivacity °
“
Why M ary Austin ! y o u bad girl why didn t you com e
, ,
’
”
to S unday school ?
-
“ —
I did come didn t y o u see me ? ” ’ -
Why no ! D id yo u ? Where did y o u Sit ?

,
I was in M iss Pe ters s class where I always go I saw ’

,
.
”
y o u .
“
D id you ? Why it s funny I didn t see you I wanted to ,
’ ’
.
”
tell you about th e p icnic .
’ ”
O h that s jolly Who s going to give it ? ’
‘
, .
’ ”
M y ma s going to let me have o n e .
Oh goody ; I hope she ll let m e come

,
’
.
Well Sh e will The picnic s for me S he ll let anybody

,
.
’
.
’
”
come that I want and I want you ,
.
138
’ ”
That s ever so nice When is it going to be ?
.
By and by M aybe about vacation . .
’
O h won t it be fun ! Y o u going to have all the girls and
,
”
boys ?
— ’
Yes every one that s friends to me o r wants to be ;
,
”
and she glanced ever S O furtively at Tom but he tal ked ,
right along to Amy L awrence about the terrible storm on

the island an d how the lightning tore the great sycamore
,
“ ”
tree all to fl in de rs while he was standing Wi thin three feet
Of it
“
O h may I come ? said Gracie M iller
, .
”
Yes .
”
And me ? said S ally R ogers .
”
Yes .
” ”
And me to o ? said S usy H arper And Joe ?
,
.
”
Yes .
And SO on wi th clapping Of j oyful hands till all the group

,
had begged for invitations but Tom and Amy Then Tom .
turned coolly away still talking and took Amy with him
, ,
.
’
Becky s lips trembled and the tears came t o her eyes ; she
hid these signs with a forced gaiety and w ent on chattering ,
but the life had gone ou t Of th e picnic now an d out Of , ,
everything else ; Sh e got away as soon as Sh e could and hid

“ ”
herself and had what her sex call a good cry Then she .
sat moody with wounded pride till the bell rang S he roused
, ,
.
up now with a vindictive cast in her eye and gave her

, , ,
plaited tails a shake and said she knew what s h e d do ’

.
At recess Tom continued his flirtation with Amy wi th

jubilant self satisfaction And he kept drifting about tofi nd
- .
Becky and lacer ate her with the performanc e At last he .
spied her but th ere was a sudden falling Of his mercu ry

,
.
S he was sitting cozily on a little bench behind the school

house looking at a picture book with Alfred Temple and
- - —
1 40 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF T OM S A W Y ER
Oh you do do you ? You holler nough do you ? N OW
, ,
’
, ,
”
then let that le arn yo u ! And SO th e imaginary flogging
,
/
w as finished to his satisfaction .
Tom fled home at noon His conscience could not endure .
any more Of Amy s grateful happiness an d his jealousy could

’
,
bear no more Of the other distress Becky resumed her pic .
ture inspections with Alfred but as the minutes dragged ,
along and no Tom cam e to suffer her triumph began to ,
cloud and Sh e lost interest ; gravity and absent mindedness

-
followed and then melancholy ; two or three times she

,
picked up her ear at a footstep but it was a false h Ope ; ,
n o To m came At last sh e grew entirely miserabl e and

.
wished she hadn t carried it SO far When poor Alfred seeing

’
.
,
that he was losing her he did not know h o w kept exclai m

, ,
“ ”
ing : O h here s a jolly One ! look at this ! she lost patience
,
’
“
at last and said Oh don t bother me ! I don t care for
, , ,
’ ’
”
them ! and burst into te ars and got up and walked away ,
.
Alfred dropped alongside and was going to try to comfort

her but Sh e said :
,
GO a
“ ”
way and leave me alone can t you ! I hate you ! ,
’
SO the boy halted wondering what he could have done

,
,
for she had said she would look at pictures all through
—
the nooning an d Sh e walked o n crying Then Alfred went ,
.
musing into the deserted school house He was humiliated

- .
—
and angry He easily guessed his way to the truth the girl
.
had simply made a convenience Of him to vent her spite U pon

To m S awyer He was far from hating Tom the less when
.
this thought occurred to him He wished th e re w as some

‘
way to get that boy into trouble without much risk to him
self Tom s spelling book fell under his eye Here was his
.
’
- .
Opportunity He gra tefully opened to the lesson fo r the after

.
noon an d poured ink upon the page .
Becky glancing in at a window behind him at the moment

, ,
saw the act and moved o n without disc o v e rmg hersel f Sh e

, ,
.
T OM RE VE A L S HIS DRE A M S E C RE T 14 1
started homeward now intending to find To m and tell him ;

, ,
To rn would be thankful and their troubles would be healed .
B e fore sh e was half way home however she had changed

-
, ,
her mind The thought Of Tom s tr e atment Of her when she

.
’
w as talking about her picnic cam e scorching back and filled

her with Shame Sh e resolved to let him get whipped o n th e
.
damaged spelling book s account and to hate him for e ve r

- ’
, ,
into th e bargai n .
CHAPT E R XIX
THE CRU EL TY OF I DIDN T THINK
’
TOM arrived at home in a dreary mood and the first thin g ,
his aunt said to him showed him that he had brought his
sorrows to an unpromising market :
“ ”
To m I ve a notion to skin you alive !
’
,
”
Aun tie what have I done ?
,
’
Well you ve done enough Here I g O over to S ereny
,
.
Harper like an Old softy expecting I m going to make her

, ,
’
believe all that rubbage about that dream when 10 and b e ,

’
hold you she d found out from Joe that you was over here
and heard all the talk we had that n ight Tom I don t know .
,
’
what is to becom e O f a boy that will act like that It makes .
me feel SO bad to think y ou could let me go to S ereny Harper

”
and make such a fool Of myself and never say a word .
This w as a new aspect Of the thing His smartness Of the .
morning had seemed to Tom a good j oke before and very ,
ingenious It merely looked mean and Shabby now He hung

. .
his head and could not think Of anything to say fo r a moment .
Then he said
“
Aunti e I wish I hadn t done it but I didn t think
,
- ’ ’
.
O h child you never think You never think Of anything

, ,
.
,
bu t your own selfishness You could think to come all the

.
way over here from Jackson s Island in the night to laugh

’
at o u r troubles and you could think to fool me with a lie

,
about a dream ; but you couldn t ever think to pity us and ’
”
save us from sorrow .
14 4 TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF T OM S AW YER
”
What did yo u kiss me for To m ? ,
B ecaus e I loved yo u so and you laid there moaning and

,
”
I was S O sorry .
The words sounded like truth The Old lady could not hide .
a tremor in her voice when she said :

“ —
K iss me again To m ! and be Off with you to school
, ,
”
now and don t bother me any more
,
’
.
The moment he was gone Sh e ran to a closet and got ou t ,
the ruin Of a j acket which Tom had gone pirating in Then .
s h e stop ped with it in her hand and said to herself :

, ,
“
N O I don t dare Poor boy I reckon he s lied about it
’ ’
.
, ,
’ ’
b u t it s a blessed blessed lie there s such a comfort come
, ,
.
—
from it I hope the L ord I k n o w the L ord will forgive him ,
because it was such goodheartedness In him to tell it But I .
’ ”
don t wan t to find o u t it s a lie I won t look ’
.
’
.
S he put the jacket away and stood by musing a minute ,

.
Twice she put out her hand to take the garment again and ,
twice Sh e refrained O nce more she ventured and thi s time

.
,
Sh e fortified herself with th e thought :

“ —
It s a good lie it s ’ ’
— ”
a good lie I won t let it grieve me SO she sought the jacket
’
.
’
p ocket A moment
. later she was reading Tom s piece Of
“
b ark through flowing tears and saying : I could forgive th e
”
boy n ow if he d committed a million sins !
, ,
’
C HA PT ER XX
TOM TA KES BECKY S P UN I S H MEN T
’
T HERE was something about Aunt Polly s m ann e r when She ’

,
kissed To m that swept away his lowspirits and m ade him

,
light hearted and happy again He started to school and had

- .
the luck Of coming upon Becky Thatcher at the head Of

M eadow L ane His mood always determined his manner
. .
Wi thout a moment s hesitation he ran to her and said :

’
“ ’
I acted mighty mean to day B ecky and I m S O sor ry
-
, , .
’
I won t ever ever do that way ag ain as long as ever I live
, ,
please make u p Won t you ? ”

,
’
Th e g irl stopped and looked him scornfully in the face

“
I ll thank you to keep yourself t o yourself M r Thom as
’
,
.
S awyer I ll never spe ak to you again

.
’
.
S he tossed her head and passed on Tom was S O stunn e d .
that h e had not even presence O f mind enough to say Wh o

“
”
cares M iss S marty ? until the right time to say it had gone
,
by SO he said nothing But he was in a fine rage n e v e rth e

. .
,
less He moped into the schoolyard wishing Sh e were a

.
b oy and imagining how he would trounce her if she were

,
.
He presently encountered her and delivered a stinging re

mark as he passed S he hurled one in return and the angry
.
,
breach was complete It seemed to Becky in her hot resent

.
,
“ ”
ment that she could hardly wait for school to take in she
, ,
was SO i mpatient to see Tom flogged fo r the injured spelling

b OOk fI f she had had any lingering notion Of exposing Alfred
Temple Tom s Offensive fling had driven it entirely away
,
’
.
Poor girl she did not know how fast she was nearing
,
145
14 6 T H E A DV E N T U RE S OF TOM S A W Y ER
trouble herself The master M r D obbins had reached
.
,
.
,
middle age with an unsatisfied ambition The darling Of .
his desires was to be a doctor but poverty had decreed ,
that he should be no thing higher than a village schoolmaster .
E very day he took a mysterious book out Of his desk an d

absorbed himself in it at times when no classes were reciting .
He kept that b ook under lock and key There was n ot an .
urchin in school but was perishing to hav e a glimpse of it ,
b u t th e chance never cam e E very boy and girl had a theory

.
about the nature Of that book ; but no two theories were

al ike and there was no way Of getting at the facts in the
,
cas e NOW as Becky was passing by the desk which stood

.
, ,
near the door Sh e noticed that the key was in the lock ! It
,
w as a precious moment S he glanced around ; found herself

.
alone an d the next instant Sh e had the book in her hands

—
.
,
Th e title page
- —
Professor S omebody s An atom y carri ed ’
no information to her mind ; SO Sh e began to turn the leaves .
Sh e cam e at once upon a handsomely engraved and colored

'
—
frontispiece a human figure stark naked At that moment ,
.
~
a shadow fell on the page and Tom S awyer stepped in at

the door and caught a glimpse Of the picture Becky snatched
,
.
at the book to close it and had th e hard l u ck to tear the pic

,
tu re d plate half down the middle S he thrust the volume into .
the desk turned the key an d burst out crying with shame
, ,
and v exation .
Tom S awyer you are just as mean as you can be to

, ,
” ’
sneak up on a person and look at what they re looking at .
“ ”
How c ould I know you was looking at anything ?
You ought to b e ashamed Of yourself Tom S awyer ; you ,
know you re going to tell o n me and Oh what shall I do

’
, , ,
what shall I do ! I ll be whipped an d I never was whipped

’
,
in school .
Then she stamped her little foot and said :

“ ’
B e SO mean if you want to I know something that s .
1 48 TH E A DV E N T U RE S OF TOM S A W Y ER
posed she would be g lad Of that and she tried to believe she ,
was glad Of it but she found she was not certain When
, .
the worst came to the worst Sh e had an impulse to get up ,
and tell o n Alfred Temple but she made an effort and forced
,
—
herself to keep still because said she to herself h e ll “ ’
, ,
tell about me teari ng the picture sure I wouldn t say a word .

’
,
not to save his life .
Tom took his whipping and went back to his seat n o t at »
all broken hearted for he thought it was possible that he

-
,
had unknowingly upset the ink on the Spelling-book him

—
sel f in some Skylarking bout h e had denied it for form s ’
,
sake and b ecause it was custom and had stuck to the denial ,
from principle
A whole hour drifted by the master sat nodding in his ,
throne the air w as drowsy with the hum Of study By and

,
.
by M r D obbins straightened himself up yawned then u n

,
.
, ,
locked his desk and reached for his book but seemed unde
‘
, ,
cided whether to take it out or leave it M ost Of the pupils .
g lanced up languidly but there were two among

,
them that
watched his movements with intent eyes M r D obbins fi n . .
g e r e d his book absently for a while then took it out and ,
settled himself in his chair to read ! Tom shot a glance at

Becky He had seen a hunted and helpless rabbit lOOk as
.
she did with a gun leveled at its head Instantly he forgot

,
.
his quarrel with h e r Quick something must b e done ! done

.
-
in a flash too ! But the very imminence Of the emergency

,
—
paralyzed his invention G o o d l he had an inspiration ! He
.
w ould run and snatch the book spring through the door ,
and fl y But his resolution shook for one little instant and
. .
—
the chance was lost the master opened the volume If Tom .
only had the wasted opportunity back again ! T OO late .
There was no help for Becky now he said The next moment ,
.
the m aster faced the school E very eye sank under his gaze . .
There was that in it which smote even the innocent with

TOM T A KE S B E C K Y S P U N I S H M E N T’
I 4:
fear There was silence while On e might count ten th e

.
,
m aster was gathering his wrath Then he spoke :

-
.
“
Wh o tore this book ? ”
There was not a sound O ne could have heard a pin drop

. .
The stillness continued ; the master searched face after face

fo r S i gns Of guilt .
”
“
Benj amin R ogers did yo u tear this book ?
,
A denial Another pause

. .
“ ”
Joseph Harper did you ? ,
’
Another denial Tom s uneasiness grew more and more
.
intense under the slow torture Of these proceedings Th e .
—
master scanned the ranks Of boys considered awhile then ,
turned to the girls

“ ”
Amy L awrence ?
A shake Of the head .
“ ”
Gracie M ille r?
The same Sign .
“
S usan Harper did you do this ?
,
Another negative The next girl was Becky Thatcher Tom

. .
w as trembling from head to foot with excitement and a sense

Of the hopelessness Of the situation .
R ebecca Thatcher ! To m glanced at her face it w as—

W hite with terror ] —“ —
did you tear n o look me in the face ”
,
! her hands rose in appeal ] — “

did you tear this book ? ”
A thought shot like lightning through Tom s brain H e ’

.
”
sprang to his feet and shouted I done it !
The school stared in perplexity at this incredible folly .
To m stood a moment to gather his dismembered faculties ;

,
and when he stepped forward to g O to his punishment the

surprise the gratitude the adoration that shone upon him
, ,
out Of poor Becky s eyes seemed pay enough for a hundred

’
fl ogg in g s Inspired by the splendor Of his o w n act he too k

. ,
without an outcry the most merciless fl ayin g that even M r .
D obbins had ever administered ; and also received wi th indi i

ference the added cruelty O f a command to remain two hours
—
after school Should be dismi ssed for he knew who would
wait for him outside till his captivity w as done and not ,
count the tedious time as loss either ,

.
Tom went to bed that night planning vengeance agains t

Alfred Temple ; for with shame and repent ance Becky had
told him all not forgetting her own treachery ; but even
,
the longing for v engeance had to give way soon to pleas , ,
anter musing s and h e fell asleep at last with Becky s latest

, ,
’
words lingering dreamily in his ear

“ ”
Tom how c ou ld you be SO noble !
,
52 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF TOM S A WY ER
occasions by getting pretty well fuddled and the sign ,
p a m te r s boy ’
said that when the dominie had reached the
“
proper condition on E xam ination E vening he would man
”
age the thing while he napped in his chair ; then he would
hav e him awakened at the right time and hurried aw ay to x
school .
In the fulln ess Of time the interesting Occasion arrived ,

.
-
At eight in the evening the s chool house was brilliantly
lighted and adorned with wreaths and festoons Of foliage
,
and fl owers The master sat throned in his great chair upon
.
a raised platform with his blackboard behind him He was

,
.
looking tolerably mellow Three rows Of benches o n each

.
sid eand Six rows in front O f him were occupied by the dig n i
taries Of the town and by the parents Of the pupils TO his .
left back Of the rows Of citizens was a spacious temporary

, ,
,
platform upon which were seated the scholars who were

to take part in the exercises Of the evening ; rows Of small
boys washed and dressed to an intolerable state Of disc o m
,
fort ; rows o f gawky big boys ; snowbanks Of girls and young

ladies clad in lawn and muslin and conspicuously conscious
O f their bar e arms their grandmothers an cient trinkets
,
’
,
their bits Of pink and blue ribbon and the flowers in their
-
hair All the rest Of the house was filled with non partici pat
.
ing sch olars .
The exercises began A very little boy stood up and

.
“
sheepishly recited You d scarce expect o n e Of my age to
,
’
” —
speak in public on the stage e tc accompanying himself,
W i th the painfully exact and sp a smodic gestures which a

—
m achine might have used supposing the machine to be a
trifle o u t Of order But he g o t through safely though Cruelly
.
,
scared and got a fine round Of applause when he made his

,
manufactured bow and reti red .
A little shamefaced girl lisped M ary had a little lamb ,

—
E L O Q UE N C E A N D T H E M A S T E R S GI L DE D D O M E ’
1 53
etc performed a
.
-
compassion inspiring
curtsy got her meed
, ,
Of applause and sat down flushed and h appy

,
Tom S awyer stepped forward with conceited confidence

‘
“
an d soared into the unquenchable and indestructible Give
”
me liberty o r give me death speech with fine fury and ,
frantic gesticulation ; and broke down in th e middle Of it A .
ghastly stage fright seized him his legs quaked under him
-
,
and he was like to choke True he had the manifest symp athy
.
,
.
Of the house — ’
but he had the house s silence too which , ,
was even worse than its sympathy The master frowned .

,
and this completed the disaster Tom struggled awhile and .
then retired utterly defeated There was a weak attempt

,
.
at applause but it died early

,
.
“
The Boy S tood o n the Burning D eck followed ; also
The Assyrian C ame D own and other declamatory gems
, .
Then there were re adin g exercises and a spelling fi gh t The

x - .
meager L atin class recit e d with honor Th e p rim e feature .
Of the evening was in order now — “

original compositions by”
the young ladies E ach in her turn stepped forward to the

.
edge Of the pl atform cleared her throat held up her manu

, ,
script ( tied with dainty ribbon ) and proceeded to read , ,

“
with labored attention to expression and punctuation .
The themes were the same that had b e en illuminated upo n

similar occasions by their mothers before them th e ir grand ,
mothers and doubtless all their ancestors in the female line

,
“ ” “
clear back to the C rusades F riendship was o n e ; M em
.
” “ ”
o rie s Of O ther D ays ; R eligion in History ; D ream
” ” “
L and ; The Advantages Of C ulture ; F orms O f Political
“ ”
Government C ompared and C ontrasted M elancholy ;
“
F ili al L ove “ ”
Heart L ongings etc etc ,
.
,
.
A prevalent feature in these compositions was a nursed

and petted melan choly ano ther was a wasteful and Opulent
°
“
gush Of fine language another was a tendency to lug in ‘
TH E A DV E N T U RE S OF TOM S A W Y ER
by the ears particularly prized words and phrases until th ey
were worn entirely ou t ; and a peculiarity that c o n spicu
o u sly marked and marred them w as the inveterate and in to l
e rab le sermon t hat wagged its crippled tail at the end Of
each and every one Of them N O matter what the su bj éc t .
might be a brain racking e ffort was made to squirm it in to

,
-
some aspect o r other that the moral and r eligious mind could
contemplate with e difi c atio n The glaring insincerity Of these
.
s ermons was not s u fficient to compass the banishment Of
the fashion from the schools and it is not sufficient to -day ; ,

t
it never will be sufficient while th e world Stands perhaps ,

.
There is no school in all o u r land where the young ladies

do not feel obliged to close their compositions with a se r
m o n ; and you will find that the sermon Of the most frivolous
an d t h e least religious girl in th e school is always the longest
and the most relentlessly pious But enough Of this Homely . .
truth is unpalatable .
L et us return to the E xamination The first composition .
“ ”
that was read was o n e entitled Is this then L ife ? Perhaps , ,
the reader can endure an extract from it :

In th e c om m o n w alk s O f l if e ,
w i th w hat deligh t fu l e m o tio n s do es the
y o u th u lf m in d lo ok fo rw ard to s om e p
an tic i ate d sc e n e Of festiv ity !
Im ag inatio n is b u sy sk e tc h in g ro se -tin te d p ic tu res O f j o y . In fan cy ,
th e .
v o luptu ou s v o tary O f fash ion sees h e rsel f am id th e festiv e th ron g th e ,

“
Ob serv e d O f al l Ob se rv ers H e r g race fu l fo rm arraye d in sn owy rob es

”
.
, ,
is w h irlin g th rou gh th e m az es O f th e j oyou s dan c e ; h e r eye is b rig h te st ,
h e r step is lig h test in th e g ay ass e m b ly .
In su ch delic io u s fan c ies tim e qu ick ly glides b y an d th e Welc om e h ou r ,
ar riv e s fo r h e r e n tran c e in to th e e lysian w o rld O f w h ich Sh e h as h ad su c h

,
b rig h t dream s H o w fairylik e do es ev e ryth in g app ear to h e r e n ch an te d

.
v is io n ! E ach n ew
s cen e is m o re c h arm in g th an th e las t . Bu t a fter a
w h ile sh e fi n ds th at b en e ath th is g o o dl y e x te rio r, all is v an ity : the fl atte ry

w h ic h o n c e c h arm e d h e r s ou l n o w g rates h arshly u p o n h er ear ; th e b all
ro o m h as lo s t its c h arm s ; an d w ith w aste d h e al th an d e m b itte re d h eart
sh e tu rn s aw ay w ith th e c o n v ic tion th at e arth ly pl e asu re s can n o t satis fy
th e lo n g in g s Of th e so u l !
co ns tan tly v ib rate d u p on th e
wh ilst th e te rrifi c ligh tn in g re v eled in
ear ;
g
an g ry m o o d th rou h th e c lou dy c h am b e rs Of
h eav en , seem n g to s co rn i
t
the po w er ex e rte d o v e r its e rro r by th e illu striou s Fran k lin ! E v en the
boisterou s w in ds u n an im ou sly c am e f orth f rom th e ir m ystic h o m es, an d
blu ste re d ab o u t as if to e n h an ce by their aid th e w ildn ess O f the sc ene .
A t su ch a tim e , 5 0 d ark , S O dre ary , fo r h u m an sym p ath y m y v e ry spirit

sigh e d ; b u t in stead th e re o f ,
“
M y dearest f rien d , m y c ou n selor m y c om fo rter an d g u ide
,
My j oy in g rie f , m y sec o n d b liss in j oy, c am e to m y Side

”
.
Sh e m o v e d lik e on e Of pic tu red in the su n n y w alk s

th o se b righ t b ein g s
O f fancy s E den by th e rom an tic and you n g a qu een O f b e au ty u n ado rn ed
’
,
sav e by h er o wn tran sc e n de n t lov elin ess SO so ft w as h e r step it f ailed

.
,
to m ak e e v e n a s ou n d , an d bu t fo r th e m ag ic al th rill im parte d by h e r ,
g e n i al t ou c h as o th e r u n o b tru s iv e b e au ties s h e w o u l d h av e g lide d aw ay

u n pe rc eiv e d—u n sou g h t A stran g e sadn ess reste d u p on h e r f e atu res , lik e
, ,
ic y tears u p on th e rob e O f D ece m b e r, as Sh e p o in te d to th e c o n te n din g

ele m en ts w ith ou t an d b ade m e c on te m plate th e tw o b ein g s p re se n ted
, .
This nightmare occupied some ten pages Of manuscript

and wound up w ith a sermon SO destructive Of all hope to
-
n o n Presbyterians that it took the first prize This composi .
tion was considered to be the very fin est effort Of the evening .
The mayor Of the village in delivering the prize to th e ,
author Of it m ade a warm speech in which h e said that it

,
'
“ ”
w as by far the most eloquent thing he had ever listened
to and that D aniel Webster himself might well be proud
,
Of it .
It may be remarked in passing that the number Of com

, ,
“
p ositions in which the word beauteous was over -fondled ,
“ ”
and human experience referred to as life s page was up ’
,
to th e usual average .
N ow the master mellow almost to the verge Of geniality

, ,
put his chair aside turned his b ack to the audience and
, ,
began to draw a map Of America o n the blackboard to ,
exercise the geography class upon But he made a sad .
business Of it wi th his unsteady hand and a smothered titter ,
rippled over the house He knew what th e matter was and

.
E L O QUEN CE — A N D T H E M A S T E R S —GI L DE D D O M E ’
1 57
se t himself to right it He sponged out lines and remade .
them ; but he only distorted them more than ever and the ,
tittering was more pronounced He threw his entir e atten .
tion upon his work n ow as if determined not to be put , ,
down by the mirth He felt that al l eyes were fastened upon

.
him ; he imagined he was succeeding and yet the tittering ,
continued ; it even manifestly increased And well it might . .
The re was a garret above pierced with a scuttle over h is ,
head ; an d down through this scuttle came a cat suspende d ,
aro und the haunches by a string ; sh e had a rag tied about

her head and j aws to keep her from mewing ; as sh e slowly
descended sh e curved upward and clawed at the string sh e ,
swung downward and clawed at the intangible air Th e

—
tittering ros e higher and higher the cat w as within six
—
inches Of the absorbed teacher s head down down a littl e ’
, ,
lower and Sh e g rabbed his wig with her de sperate claws

, ,
clung to it and was snatched up into the garret in an instant

,
with h er troph y still in her possession ! And how the li ght

’
—
did blaze abroad from the m aster s bald pate for the sign ’
painter s boy had gilded it !

’
That broke up th e meeting The boys were avenged V aca

“
. .
tion had come .
NOTE —Th e p reten ded co m p ositions qu o te d in t is h h pt c a er are t ak enh t w it ou
l
a te ration fro m l
a v o u m e e n ti t e d l “
P rose an d P
o e tr , y by W a es te rn L dy —b ut
a
”
thy e are e xact ly an d p re cisely aft er h l

th e sc oo -gi r l patte rn , an d h en ce are m u ch
happi er t h an any m e re im itati on s co u ld be .
CHAPT ER XXII
H UCK F INN QUO TES SCRIP TURES
TOM j oin ed the new order Of C adets Of Te mperance be i ng ,

“
attracted by the showy character Of their regalia He .
promised to abst ai n from smoking chewing and profanity

, ,
as long as h e remained a member N ow he found out a n e w

—
. .
thing nam ely that to promise not to do a th i ng 18 the

,
sur es t way in th e world to make a body want to go and do

that v ery thing Tom soon fOt md hims e lf tormented with a
'
desir e to drink and swear ; the desire grew to be S O intense

that nothin g but the hope Of a ch ance to display him self in
his red sash kept him from withdrawing from the order
—
.
F ourth Of Jul y was comi ng ; but he soon gave that u p gave

it up befor e he had worn his shackles over forty eight hours
-
—and fixe d his hopes upon Old Judge F razer justice Of th e ,
peace , wh o w as apparently on his deathbed and would have

a big public funer al since he was so high an O fficial D uring
,
.
’
thre e days Tom was deeply concerned about th e Judge s
c o ndi tion and hungry for news Of it S ometimes his hopes
.
—
ran high so high that he wo ul d venture to ge t o u t his
re galia an d practise before the looking glass But the Judge
- .
had a most discouraging way Of fluctuating At last he w as .
—
prono unced upon the mend and then conv al escent Tom .
w as disg usted ; and felt a sense Of injury too He handed,

.
in h is r e s ign a —
tion at once and that night the Judge suffered
a relapse and died Tom resol ved that he would never trust
.
a m an lik e that again .
Th e fu neral w as a fin e thing The C adets p araded in a

.
1 58
1 60
T HE A DVE N T U RE S OF TOM S AW YE R
world and its happenings He was very ill he was interested .
,
in nothing When he got upon his feet at last and moved

.
feeb y down town a melancholy change had come over every

l -
,
“ ”
thing and every creature There had been a revival and .
,
“ ”
everybody had got religion not only the adults but even , ,
the boys and girls Tom went about hoping against hope
.
,
fo r the Sight O f o n e blessed sinful face but disappointment ,
crossed him everywhere He found Joe Harper studying a .
Testament and turned sadly away fro m the depressing spec

,
tacl e H e sought Ben R ogers and found him visiting the

.
,
p oo r w i~
th a basket Of tracts He hunted up Jim Hollis who .
,
called his attention to the precious blessing Of his late measles

as a warning E very boy he encountered added another ton
.
to his depression ; and when in desperation he flew for refuge , ,
at last to the boso m Of Huckleberry F i r m and was receive d

wi th a S criptural quotation his heart broke and he crept ,
hom e an d to bed realizing that he alone Of all the town was

‘
lost fo rev e r an d forever

,
.
And that night there came o n a terrific storm with driving ,
rain awful claps Of thunder and blinding sheets Of lightning

,
.
He covered his head with the bedclothes and waited in a

horror Of suspense for his doom ; for he h ad not the shadow
O f a doubt that all this hubbub was about him He believed .
he had taxed the forbearance Of the powers above to the

extremity Of endurance and that this w as the result It .
might h ave seemed to him a waste Of pomp and ammunition

to kill a bug with a battery Of artillery but there seemed
, ,
nothing incongruous about the getting up such an expensive

thun derstorm as this to knock the turf from under an insect
like himself .
By and by the tempest spent itself and died withou t ac

complishing its Object The boy s first impulse was to be ’
—
.
grateful and reform His second was to wait for there

,
.
might not be any more storms ’
.
1 6!
HU C K FINN QUOTE S S C R IP T U RE
The n ex t day the doctors were back ; To m had relapse d .
The three weeks he spent on his back this time seemed an

e ntire age When he got abroad at last he w as hardly grat e ful
.
that he had been spared ,remembering h ow lonely w as his

e state h o w companionless and forlorn he was He drift e d
,
.
listlessly down the str e et and found Jim Hollis acti ng as

judge In a j uvenile court that w as trying a cat for murd e r ,
in the presence O f her victim a bird He found J o e Harp e r

,
.
an d Huck F inn up an alley eating a stolen melon Poor lad s !

— —
.
they like To m had suffered a relapse .

CHAPT ER XXIII
TH E SALVATION OF MUFF P O TTER
AT —
las t the sleepy atmosphere was stirred and vi gorously
th e murd er trial came on in th e court It became the absorb .
ing topic Of village talk imm e diately Tom could n o t get .
away from it E very r e ference to the murder sent a Shudder

.
to h is heart fo r h is troubled conscience and fears almost

,
p e rsuaded him that these remarks were put forth in his

“ ”
he aring as feelers ; he did n o t see h o w he could b e su s
p e c t e d o f knowing anything about the murder but still ,
h e co ul d not b e comfortable in th e midst Of this gossip It .
kept him in a cold shiver all the time He took Huck to a .
lo nely place to have a talk with him It would be some reli e f .
to uns eal hi s tongue for a little while ; to divide his burd e n .
Of distress with another sufferer M oreover he wanted to .

,
ass ure himsel f that Huck had remained discreet .
“ —
Huck have you e ver told anybody about th at ?
,
’ ”
Bout what ?
Y ou know what .
—
Oh cours e I haven t
’ ” ’
.
”
N eve r a word ?
Ne ver a solitary word SO help me What make s you ,
.
”
ask ?
W ell I w as afeard
,
.
Why Tom S awyer w e wouldn t be al ve two days if

, ,
’
i
”
that g o t found o u t You know that
. .
Tom felt more comfortable After a pause .
“ ”
Huck they couldn t anybody get you to tell could they ?
,
’
,
1 62
1 64
And they d do it too ’
,
.
The boys had a long talk but it brought them little com ,
-
fort As the twili ght drew on they found themselves hanging

.
,
about the neighborhood Of the little isolated jail perhaps ,
wi th an undefined hope that something would happen th at

might clear away their difficul ties But nothing happene d .
there seemed to be no angels or fairies intereste d in this

luckless captive .
—
The boys did as they had Often done befor e went to the
cell grating and gave Potter some tobacco and matches .
He was o n the ground floor and there were no guards .
His gratitude for their gifts had always smote their con
—
sciences before it cut deeper than ever this time They ,
.
felt c o w ardly an d treacherous to the last degree when Pot ter

’
said :
“ ’ —
You ve been mighty good to me boys b e tte r n anybody ,
’
else in this town And I don t forget it I don t O ften I says

.
’
,
’
.
’
to myself says I I used t o mend all the boys kites and
‘
,
things and Show em where the good fi shin places was and
,
- ’
,
’
befriend em what I could and now they v e all forgot Old
’
,
M uff when he s in trouble ; but Tom don t and Huck don t

’ ’
,
’
ey don t forget him says I and I don t forget them

-th ’ ’ ‘ ’ ’
,
.
,
—
Well boys I done an awful thing drunk and crazy at the
, ,
— —
time that s th e only way I account for it and now I got
’
to swing for it and it s right R ight and b es t too I reckon

’
,
’
.
, , ,
-hope
S O anyway Well we won t talk about that I don t
’ ’
. .
, ,
want to make y ou feel bad ; you ve befriended me But what ’

.
,
—
I want to say is don t y o u ever get drunk then you won t
,
’ ’
— —
ever get here S tand a litter furder west SO that s it ; it s
.
’ ’
a prim e comfort to see faces that s friendly when a body s ’ ’
in such a muck Of troubl e and there don t none come here ,

’
.
—
but yourn Good friendly f ac es good friendly faces Git .
’ ’
up o n one another s backs and let m e touch em That s ’
.
.
—
it Shake hands yourn ll c ome through the bars but mine s ’
,
’
T H E S A L V A TI O N OF MUF F P O T TER 4 65
to o big L ittle hands and weak

.
— but they ve helped M uff
,
’
’ ”
Potter a power and they d help him more if they could
,
.
T o m went home m i serable and his dreams that night were,
full Of horrors The next day an d the day after he hung

.
,
about the courtroom drawn by an almost irresistible impuls e

,
to g O in but forci n g himself to stay o u t Huck was having

,
.
the same e xperience They s tu diou sly avoided each other

.
fi
.
E ach wandered away from time to time but the same dismal
, ,
fascin ation always brought them back presently Tom kept .
his ears open wh en idlers sauntered o u t Of the courtroom ,
—
but invariably heard distressing news the toils were closing
more and more relentlessly around poor Potter At the e n d .
,
.
Of the second day the village talk was to the effect th at ,
h
Injun Joe s evidence stood firm and unshaken and t at ther e
’
,
w as n o t the slightest question as to what th e j u ry s verdict

’
.
would be .
Tom was o u t late that night and came to bed through ,
the wi ndow He was in a tremendous state O f excitement

. .
It was hours before he g o t to Sleep All the village flocked .
to the c o il rth o u se the n ext morning for this was to be the ,
g re at d ay Both sexes. were about equally represented in

the packed audience After a long wait the jury filed in and
.
took their places ; shortly afterward Potter pale and hag , ,
gard timid and hopeless was brought in with chains upon

, , ,
him and seated where all the curio us eyes could stare at
,
him ; no less conspicuous was Injun J o e stolid as ever There ,

.
was another p ause and then the judge arrived and the sheriff
,
proclaimed the Opening Of the court The usual whisperings .
among the lawyers and gath e ring together Of papers fol

lowe d These details and accompanying delays worked up
.
an atmosphere Of preparation that w as as impressive as it

was fascinating .
N ow a witness was called who testified that he found

M uff Potter washing in the brook at an early hour Of the ,
1 66 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF TOM S A W Y ER
morning that the murder was discovered and that he imme ,
diately sneaked away A fter some further questi o ning

f
.
,
counsel fo r the prosecution said

“ ”
Take the witness .
The p risoner raised his eyes for a moment but dropped ,
them again When his own counsel said :

“ ”
I have n O q uestions to ask him .
The next witness prove d the finding Of the knife near the
c orps e C ounsel for the prosecutio n said
.
“ ”
Take the witness .
I have no questions to ask him Potter s lawyer replied

,
’
.
A third witness swore he had Often seen the knife in

Potter s possession
’
.
“
Take the witness .
C ounsel for Potter declined to question him Th e faces .
Of the audience began to betray annoyance D id this atto r .
ney mean to throw away his client s life without an effort ?

’
S ever al witnesses deposed concerning Potter s g u ilty b e ’
havior when brought to the scene Of the murder They were .
allowed to leave the stand without being cross questioned

- .
E very detail Of the damaging circumstances that occurred

in the graveyard upon that morning which all present remem
,
b ered so well was brought o u t by credible witnesses but ,
none Of them Were cross examined by Potter s l aw y er Th e

- ’
.
'
perplexity and dissatisfaction Of the house expressed itself

in murmurs and provoked a reproof from the bench C ounsel .
for the prosecution now said

“
By the oaths Of citizens whose Simple word is above sus
i i n we have fastened this awful crime beyond all possi
p c o , ,
bility O f question upon the unhappy prisoner at the bar

,
.
We rest o u r case here ”

.
A groan escaped from poor Potter and he put his face ,
in his hands and rocked his body softly to and fro while ,
a painful Silence reigned in the courtroom M any men were .

1 68 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF T OM S A W Y ER
Yes Si r I went there with
,
.
—
Wait wait a moment N ever mind mentioning your
.
’
c ompanion s name We will produce him at the proper time
. .
D id you carry any thing there with you ? ”
Tom hesitated and looked confused .
“
,
—
S pe ak o u t my boy don t be diffiden t The truth is
’
.
”
always respectabl e What did you take there ?
.
“ — —
O nly a a dead cat .
Th e re was a ripple Of mirth which the court checked

,
.
“
W e will produce the skeleto n Of that cat NOW my boy .
, ,
tell us everything that occurred — tell it in your ow n way

”
don t skip anything and don t b e afraid
’
,
’
.
—
To rn beg an hesitatingly at first but as he warmed to ,
his subject his Words flowed more and more easily ; in a little
While every sound ceased but his o w n voice ; every eye fixed
itsel f upon him ; with parted lips and bated breath the
audience hung upon his words tak in g sn o note Of time rapt
, ,
in the ghastly f ascinations Of th e tale The strain upon pen t

.
emotion reached its climax when the boy said :

—an d as the doctor fetched the board around and M uff
P otter fell Injun Joe jumped with the knife and
,
-
C rash ! Quick as lightning the half breed sprang for a
win dow tore his way throug h all opposers , and was gone !
,
C HAPT ER XXI V
S P L E N bID DAY S AND FEARSOME NIGHT S
TOM —
was a glittering hero once more the pet Of Old th e ,
the envy Of the young His name even went into immortal.
print fo r the village paper magnified him Ther e wer e some

,
.
that believed he would be President yet if he escaped , ,
h anging .
As usual the fickle unreasoning world took M uff Potte r

, ,
to its bosom and fondled him as lav ishly as it had abused

him before But that Sort Of conduct is to the world s cre dit ;
.
’
there fore it 18 n o t well to find fault with it .
Tom ’s days were days Of splendor and exultation to

him but his nights were seasons Of horror Injun Jo e infe sted
,
.
all his dreams and always with doom in h is eye Hardly

,
.
any temptation could persuad e the boy to stir abroad afte r

nightfall Poor Huck was in the same state Of wretchedness
.
and terror for Tom had told the whole story to the lawyer
,
the night before the great day Of th e tri al and Hu ck w as ,
sore afraid that his Share in the business might leak o u t ,
yet notwithstanding Injun Joe s flight had saved him the

,
’
.
suffering Of testifying in court The poor fellow had got .
the attorney to promise secrecy but what Of that ? S ince

’
,
’
Tom s harassed conscience had man aged t o drive him to
’
the l awyer s house by night and wring a dread tale fro m ‘
lips that had been sealed with the dismalest and most fo rm id r
able Of oaths Huck s confidence in the human race was well~

,
’
nigh obliterated .
D aily M uff Potter s gratitude made Tom glad he had

’
1 69
1 7° TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF TOM S AW YE R
spoken ; but nightly he wished he had sealed up his tongue .
Half the time Tom w as afraid Injun Joe would never be

c aptured ; the other half he was afraid he would be He felt .
sure he never could d raw a safe breath again until that man
was dead an d he had see n the corpse .
R ewards had been Offered the country had been scour e d

, ,
but n o Injun Joe was found O ne Of those O mniscient and

.
-
awe in spiring marvels a detective came up from S t L ouis .
, , ,
moused around shook his head looked wise and made that
, , ,
so r t of astounding Success which members Of that craft

usually achieve That is to say he found a clew But you
.
,
.
“ ”
can t hang a clew for murder and S O after that detective
’
,
had got through and gone home Tom felt just as insecure
,
as he was before .
The Slow days drifted o n and each left behind it a slightly

,
lightened weight Of apprehension .

1 72
’ ”
D on t they come after it any more ?
N0 they think they will but they generally forget the
, ,
marks o r else they die Anyway it lays there a long time

,
.
,
and gets rusty ; and by and by somebody finds an Old yellow

—
pap e r that tells how to find the marks a paper that s g o t ’
’
to be ciphered over about a week because it s mostly s igns
and hy ro g lyphiCS’
.
’
He — W hich ?
—
Hy ro g lyph ic s pictures and things you know that don t
’
, ,
’
”
se em to mean anything .
“ ”
Hav e you got one Of them papers Tom ? ,
”
NO .
Well then how you going to find the marks ?

,
I don t want any marks They always bury it under a

’
.
~
ha nted house or on an island o r under a dead tree that s

’
,
’
got on e limb sticking ou t Well we v e tried Jackson s Island .

,
’ ’
a little and we can try it again some time ; and there s th e ’ “
Old ha n te d house up th e S till -House branch and there s ’

,
- —
lots O f dead limb trees dead loads bf em ” ’
.
IS it un der all O f them ?

“ ”
How you talk ! N O !

Then how you going to know whi ch one to g O for ?
”
G O for all O f em !
’
Why Tom it 11 take all summer

, ,
’
.
Well what O f that ? S uppose you find a brass pot with

,
a hundr e d dollars in it all rusty and gay or a rotten chest , ,

”
full Of di monds How s that ?
’ ’
.
Huck s eyes glowed ’

.
“
That s bully Plenty bully enough for me Just you gimme
’
. .
”
th e hundred dollars and I don t want no di monds
’ ’
.
“
All right But I bet you I ain t going to throw Off on
.
’
.
—
di monds S ome Of em s worth twenty dollars apiece there
’ ’ ’
”
ain t any hardly but s worth Six bits or a dollar
’
, ,
’
.
“ ”
N O ! Is that s o ?
S EE KIN G TH E B U R I E D T RE A S U RE 1 73
—
C e rt n ly anybody
’ ’
ll tell you SO . Hain t you e ver seen
’
”
o n e, Huck ?
N o t as I re member
“
.
Oh kings have slathers O f them

,
.
Well I don t know n o kings Tom

,
’
,
.
I reckon you dbn t But i f you was to go to E urope you d ’

.
’
”
s e e a raft Of em h Opp in g around
’
.
“ ”
D O they h o p ?
7’
Hop ? your granny ! N 0
- ‘
”
W ell what did you say they did for ?
, ,
,
—
S hucks I only me an t you d s e e em n o t hopping Of ’ ’
,
c ourse — —
what do they want to hop for ? but I mean you d ’
—
just see em scattered around you know in a kind Of a
’
, ,
g eneral way L ike that

. Old humpbacked R ichard .
“ ”
Richard ? What s his other name ? ’
He didn t have any other name K ings don t have any

’
.
’
”
but a given name .
”
NO ?
”
But they don t ’
.
Well if they like it To m all right ; but I don t want to

, , ,
’
b e a king and have only just a given name l ike a m gg e r ,

.
—
B u t s ay where y ou going to dig fi rs t ?
”
'
“
Well I don t know S pose we tackle that Old dead limb
,
’
- .
’
- ”
t re e o n the hill t other side Of S till House branch ?
’
“ ’ ”
I m agreed .
SO they got a crippled pick and a Shovel and set ou t on ,
t heir three -mile tramp They arri v ed h o t and panting and .

,
threw themselves down in the shade Of a neighboring elm

to rest and have a smoke .
“ ”
I like this said To m ,
'
”
SO do I .
S ay Huck if we find a treasure here what you going

, ,
”
t o do with your share ?
“ ’
Well I ll have pie and a glass Of soda every day and
, ,
I ll g O
’
to every circus that comes along I bet I ll have a .
’
g y
a
”
time .
“ ’
Well ai n t you going to save any Of it ?
,
”
S ave it ? What for ?
Why SO as to have so m
,
ething to 1iv e o n by an d by ,
,
O h that ain t any use Pap would come back to thish

,
’
.
y e r town some day and get his claws o n it if I didn t hurr y

’
’
up and I tell you he d clean it out pretty quick What you
,
.
”
going to do with yourn Tom ? ,
I m goin g to buy a new drum and a sure -nough sword

“ ’ ’
, ,
and a red n ecktie an d a bull pup and get married ,

.
”
M arried !
That s it ’
.
—
]
Tom you why you ain t in your right mind

, ,
’
.
—
Wait you ll see ’
.
Well that s the foolishest thing you could do L ook at

,
’
”
.
a
p p and my mother F ight ! W h y they used to figh.t all th e ,
time I remember mighty well

.
,
.
“
That ain t anything The girl I m goin g to marry won t
’
.
’ ’
”
fight .
Tom I reckon they re all alike They ll all comb a body

,
’
.
’
.
N ow you better think bout this awhile I tell you you better ’
. .
”
What s the nam e Of the gal ?
’
“ ’—
It ai n t a g al at all it s a girl ’
.
It s all th e same I reckon ; some says gal some says girl

’
—
, ,
both s right like enough Anyway what s her name Tom ?

’
,
.
,
’
,
“ —
I ll tell you some time not now
’ ”
.
—
All right that 11 do O nly if you get married I ll be more
’ ’
lo n e so m e r than e v er .
“
N O you won t You ll come and live with me N ow sti r
’ ’
. .
out Of this and we ll g O to digging ’

.
They worked and sweated for half an hour N O result They . .
toiled another half hour S till no result Huck sa1d :

- . .
“ ”
D O they always bury it as deep as this ?
1 76 T H E A DV E N T U R E S
, OF T OM , SA W Y ER
All right L et s hide th e tools in the bush es

.
’
.
The boys were there that night about the appointed time ,
.
They sat in the shadow waiting It was a lonely place and .

,
an hour made solemn by Old traditions S pirits whispered .
in the rustling leaves ghosts lurked in the murky nooks , ,
the deep baying o f a hound floated up out o f the distance ,
an o w l answere d with his sepulchral note The boys were .
subdued by these solemnities and talked little By an d ,

.
by they judged that twelve had come ; they marked where

the sh adow fell and began to dig Their hopes commenced
,
.
to rise Their inter est grew stronger and their industry kept
.
,
pace with it The hole deepened and still deepened but

.
,
every time their hearts jumped to h ear the pick strike upon
something they only suffered a new disappointment It was
,
.
only a stone or a chunk At last Tom said : .
“
It aint an y use Huck we re wrong aga in
’
, ,
’
.
Well but we c an t be wrong We spotted the sh adde r to

,
’
.
”
a dot .
“
I know it but then there s another thing
,
’
.
”
What s th at ? ’
Why we only guessed at the time Like enough it w as

,
.
”
too late or too early .
Huck droppe d his shovel .
“ “
That s it said he That s the very trouble We g o t
’
,
.
’
.
to g1v e this on e up We can t ever tell the right time and

.
’
,
besides this kind of thing s too awful here this time o f ’

,
-
night with witches an d ghosts a fl u tte rin g around so I .
’
feel as if something s behind me all the time ; and I m afeard
’
,
—
to turn around b e c u z maybe there s others in front a waiting ’
for a chance I been c re epl n g all over ever since I got here
.
,
.
“
Well I v e been pretty much so too Huck They most
,
’
, ,
.
always put in a dead man when they b ury a treasure under

”
a tree to look out for it
,
.
“ ”
L ordy !
S E E K I NG T H E BU RIE D T REA S U RE I 77
’ ”
they do I ve always heard that
Y es , . .
’
To m I don t like to fool around much where there s d e ad
’
,
’
p eople A bod
.
y s bound t o get into trouble with em sure
’
,
.
“ ’ ’
I don t like to stir em up either ; S pose this o n e here
’
,
”
w as to stick his Sk ull o u t and say something !
“ ”
D on t ,Tom ! I t s awful
’ ’
.
“
Well it just is Huck I don t feel comfortable a bit
,
.
,
’
.
'
S ay Tom let s give this place up and try somewhere s
, ,
’
,
7,
All right I reckon we better ,

.
”
What 11it be ? ’
Tom considered awhile and then said ,

“ ” ’
The ha nted house That s it !
’
.
’
Blame it I don t like ha nted houses To m Why th e r e s
,
’ ’
,
.
,
a dern sight worse n dead people D ead people might talk ’

.
,
’
maybe , but they don t com e sliding around in a shroud ,
when you ain t noticing and peep over your sho ulder all o f
’
,
a sudden and grit their teeth the way a ghost does I , .
’ —
couldn t stand such a thing as that To m nobody could ,
.
“
Yes but Huck ghosts don t travel around only at night
, , ,
’
.
They won t hender us from digging there in the daytime

’
.
“
Well that s so But y o u know mighty well people don t
,
’
.
’
’
g o about that ha nted house in the day n o r the night .
“ ’ ’
Well that s mostly because they don t like to g o wher e
,
’ —
a man s been murdered anyway but nothing s ever bee n ,
’
—
se en around that house except in the night just some blue
—
l ights slipping by the windows no regular ghosts ”
.
“
Well where you see one o f them blue lights flickering
,
a round Tom y o u can bet there s a ghost mighty close behind

’
, ,
i t It stands to reason B e c u z y ou know that they don t any

. .
’
”
b ody but ghosts use em ’
.
’
Yes that s so But anyway they don t come around in
,
.
’
” ’
the daytime so what s the use o f o u r being afeard ?
,
1 78 T H E AD V E N TU RE S OF TOM S A W Y ER
Well all right W e ll tackle the ha nted ho use if yo u
’ ’
—
,
.
”
s ay so but I reckon it s taking chan ces
’
.
They had started down the hill by this time There in .
th e middle o f th e moonlit valley below them stood the

“ ”
ha nted house utterly isolated its fences gone long ago
’
, , ,
rank weeds smothering the very doorsteps the chimney ,
crumbled to ruin the w m dow sashes vac ant a corner o f the

,
-
,
roof caved in The boys gazed awhile half expecting to

.
,
s e e a blue light flit past a window ; then talking in a low
ton e as b efi tte d the tim e and the circumstances they struck

, ,
far o ff to the right to give the haunted house a wide b e rth

, ,
and took their way homeward through the woods that

adorned the rearward Side o f C ardi ff Hill . .
80 T HE ADVE N TU RE S OF TOM S AW YE R
this thing for to d ay and play D O y o u know R obin H ood,
.
,
”
Huck ?
“ ”
N O Who s R obin Hood ?
.
’
W hy h e was o n e o f the greatest men th at w as e v e r i n

,
‘ ‘
—
E nglan d and the best He was a robber ”
. .
“ ”
C racky I wisht I was Who did he rob ?
,
.
O nly sheriffs and bishops and rich people and kings and ,
such like But he never bothered the po or He loved em

. .
’
.
”
He always divided up with em perfectly square ’
.
“ ”
Well he must a been a brick
,
’ ’
.
I bet you he was Huck O h he was the noblest man that ,

.
,
ever was They ain t any such men now I can tell you He
.
’
,
.
could lick any man in E ngland w ith o n e hand tied behind , m
him ; and he could take his yew bo w and plug a ten cent -
”
p i ece every time a mile and a half ,
.
“
What s a yew bow ?
’ ”
’
I do n t know It s some kind of a bow of course And
’
. .
,
if h e hit that dime only on the edge he would set down and
f
— .
—
cry and curse But we ll play R obin Hood it s nobby fun ’ ’
.
”
I ll learn you
’
.
“
I m agreed
’
.
S o they played R obin Hood all the afternoon now and ,
then casting a yearning eye down upon the haunted house

and passing a remark about the morrow s prospects and ’
poss i bilities there As the sun began to Sink into the west
.
they took their way homeward athwart the long shadows o f

,
the trees and soon were buried from sight in the forests o f
C ardiff Hill .
O n S aturday Shortly after noon the boys were at th e

, ,
dead tree again They had a smoke and a chat in the Shade
.
,
and then du g a little in their last hole not with great h Ope , ,
but merely because Tom said there w ere so many cases where
pe ople had given up a treasure after getting down within
six inches o f it and then somebody else had come along
,
RE A L R O B B ER S S E I! E TH E B OX OF GOLD
and turned it U p with a single thrust o f a Shovel The thing .
failed this time however so the boys shoulder ed their tools

, ,
and went away feeling that they had not trifl e d with for
tune but had fulfilled all the requirements that belong to
,
the business of treasure hunting

- .
When they reached the haunte d house there w as some

thing s o w eird and grisly about the dead Silence that reigned
there under the baking sun and something S O depressi ng ,
about the loneliness an d desolation o f the pl ac e th at they ,

'
were afr aid for a m o m e n t to venture in Then they crept

,
~
,
.
to the door and took a trembling peep They saw a weed .
grown flo o rle ss room unplastered an ancient fireplace

, , , ,
vacant windows a ruinous staircase ; and here there and

, , ,
everywhere hung ragged and abandoned cobwebs They pres .
ently entered softly with quickened pulses talking in

, , ,
whispers e ars alert to catch th e slightest sound and mus

, ,
cles tense and ready fo r instant retreat .
In a li ttle while familiarity modified their fears and th ey

gave the place a critical and interested ex amination rather ,
admiring th eir o w n boldness and wondering at it too N ext , ,

.
they wanted to look u p stairs This was something like cut

- .
ting o ff retreat but they g o t to daring each other and o f

, ,
—
course there could be bu t on e result they threw their
tools into a corner and made the asce nt Up there were the .
same signs o f decay In o n e corner they found a closet that

.
—
promised mystery but the promise was a fraud there w as
,
nothing in it Their courage was up now and well in h and

. .
They Were about to g o down and begin work when

”
Sh ! said Tom
’
.
”
What is it ? whispered Huck blanching with fright ,
.
”
Sh !
’
There ! Hear it ?
”
Yes ! Oh my ! L et s run !
,
’
K eep still ! D on t yo u budge ! They re coming right to

’ ’
ward the door .

182
THE A DV E N T U R E S OF T OM S AW YER .
Th e boys stretched themselves upon the floor with their

-
e yes to knot holes in the planking and lay waiting in a , ,
m isery o f fear .
“
They ’ve stopped —
N o coming Here they . .
are D on t whisper ano ther word Huck M y goodnes s I wi sh

’
.
, .
,
”
I was o u t o f this !
“
Tw o men entered E ach boy said to himself : There s th e.
’
Ol d deaf and dumb S paniard that s been about town once Or

’
twice lately — never saw t other man before ” ’

.
“ ”
T other was a ragged unkempt creature with nothing
’
, ,
v ery pleasant in his face The S paniard w as wr apped in a .
s c r ape ; he had bushy white whiskers ; long white hair flowed
from under his sombrero and he wore green goggles When ,

.
“ ”
they came in t other was talk in g i n a low voice ; they
’ ’
sat down o n the ground facing the door with their backs , ,
to the w all and the speaker continued his remarks His

,
.
manner became less guarded and his words more distinct as

he proceeded :
“ “
N said he I ve thought it all over and I don t like
,
’
,
’
i t It s dangerous
’
. .
“ ” “
D angerous ! grunted the deaf and dumb S paniard
”
to the vast surprise o f the boys M ilksop ! .
This v oice made th e boys gasp and quake It was Injun .
Joe s ! There was Silence for some time Then Joe said :
’
.
“
What s any more dangerous than that j ob up yonder
’
b u t nothing s come o f it
’ ’
.
“
That s different Away up the river so and not another
’
.
,
h ouse about Tw o n t ever be known that we tried anyway

’ ’
.
, ,
long as we didn t succeed ’

.
'
“
Well w h at s m o re dangerous than coming here in th e
,
’
—
daytime ! anybody would suspicion u S that saw us ”
.
“
I know that But there warn t any other place as handy
’
.
after that fool o f a job I want to quit this shanty I wanted . .
t o yesterd ay only it warn t an y use trying to stir o u t o f

’
,
184
T H E A DV E N T U R E S OF T OM S AW YE R
—smiled grimly upon his comrade whose head w as drooping ,
—
upon his knees stirred him up with his foot and said :
“
Here ! Yo u r e a watchman ain t you ! All right though
’
,
’
,
—nothing s happened ” ’
.
“ ”
M y ! hav e I been asleep ?
O h partly partly Nearly time for us to be moving
, ,
.
.
,
”
pard What 11 we do with what little swag we ve got left ?
.
’ ’
“ —
I don t know leave it here as we ve always done I
’ ’
,
reckon N O use to take it away till we start south S ix hun

. .
”
dred and fifty in Silver s something to carry ’
.
“ — —
Well all right it won t matter to come here once ’
”
more .
“ — —
N o but I d say come in the n igh t as we used to do it s
’ / ’
”
better .
“
Yes : but look here ; it may be a good while before I get
the right chance at that j ob ; accidents might happen ; tain t ’ ’
l n such a very good place ; we ll just regularly bury it — an d

’
bury it deep .
“
Good idea said the comr ade who walked across the
, ,
room k nelt down raised one o f the rearward hearthstones

, ,
and took out a bag that jingled pleasantly He subtracted .
from it twenty or thirty dollars for himself and as much for

Injun Joe and passed th e bag to the latter who was on ,
his knees in the corner now diggi ng with his bowie knife-
, ,
.
The boys forgot all their fears , all their miseries in an

i nstant With gloating eyes they watched every movement
. .
—
Lu ck l the splendor of it was beyond all imagination !
S ix hundred doll ars was money enough to mak e half a dozen
boys rich ! Here was treasure hunting under the happiest
-
—
auspices there would not be any bothersome uncertainty
as to where to dig They nudged each other every moment.
—eloquent nudges and easily understood for they simply ,
meant — “
O h but ain t you glad n ow we re here !
,
” ’ ’
Joe s knife struck upon something

’ ”
.
RE AL
'
R O B B ER S S E I ! E TH E B OX OF GOLD
”
Hello ! said he .
”
What is it ? said his comrade .
- —
Half rotten plank no it s a box I believe Here bear — ,
’
,
.
’
a hand and we ll see what it s here fo r N ever mind I v e ’ ’
.
,
”
broke a hole .
He reached his h hn d in and drew it o u t

“ ”
M an it s money ! ,
’
The two men examined the handful of coins They wer e .
gold The boys above were as excited as themselves and as

.
,
delighted .
Joe s comrade said

’
We ll make quick work of this There s an old rusty p1ck

’
.
’
over amongst the weeds in the corner the other side o f the
fi re plac e — I saw it a minute ago
”
.
He ran and brought the boys pick and shovel Injun J o e ’

.
took the pick looked it over critically shook his head mut
, , ,
te re d som ething to himself and then began to use it The ,

.
box was soon unearthed It was not very large ; it was iron .
,
bound and had been ve ry strong before the slow years had
1n j u re d it The men contemplated the treasure awhile in
.
blissful Silence .
“
Pard there s thousands of dollars here said Injun Joe
,
’
,
.
’
Twas always said that M u rre l s gang used to be around ’
”
here o n e summer the stranger observed ,
.
“ ” “ '
I know it said Inj un Joe ; and this looks like it I ,
sho uld say .
“
N o w you won t need to do that job ’
.
The half breed frowned S aid he :

- .
Y o u don t know me L e ast you don t know all about th a

“ ’ ’
t .
.
’ —
thing Tain t robbery altogether it s re v en g e !
’ ”
and a ’
“
wicked light flamed in his eyes I ll need your help in it .
’
.
—
When it s fi n ish e d then Texas G O home to your N ance
’
.
”
and your kids and stand by till you he ar from me , .
1 86 T HE AD VE N TU RE S S A W Y ER
OF TOM
Well — i f é—
you say so What ll we do with this bury it .
’
”
again ?
“
Yes ! R avishing delight overhead ] N o ! by the great
.
S ach em no ! ! Profound distress overhea d ] I d nearly forgot

,
’
.
That pick had fresh earth o n 1t ! ! The boys were sick t h

te rror in a moment ] What business has a pick and a shovel
.
here ? What business with fresh earth o n them ? Who brought

—
them here and where are they gone ? Have you heard any
—
bo dy P seen anybody ? Wh at ! bury it again an d leave them
to c ome and see the ground disturbed ? N ot exactly — not
’
exactly We ll take it to my den
.
“
Why o f course ! M ight have thought o f that before You
, .
”
mean Number O ne ?
“N o— N umber Tw o —under the cross The other place is .
—
bad to o common ”
.
“
All right It s nearly dark enough to start
.
’
.
Injun Joe g o t up and went about from window to window

cautiously peeping o u t Presently he said : .
“
Who could have brought those tools here ? D o you reckon
”
they c an be u p stairs ?
-
The boys breath forsook them Injun Joe put his hand
’
.
on h is knife halted a moment undecided and then turned

, , ,
toward th e stairway The boys thought o f the closet but . ,
their strength was gone The steps came creaking up th e .
—
stairs the intolerable distress o f the Situation woke the
—
stricken resolution o f the lads they were about to spring
for th e closet when there was a crash o f rotten timbers and
,
Injun Joe landed o n the ground amid the debris o f the

ruined st ai rway H e gathered himself up cursing and his
.
,
comrade said :
“ ’
N ow what s the use of all that ? If it s anybody and
’
,
’ —
they re up there let them s tay there who cares ? If they
,
want to jump down now and get into trouble who objects ?
, , ,
—
It will be dark in fi fteen minutes and then let them follow
C HAPT E R XXV II
TREM B LIN G ON TH E TRAIL
TH E adventure o f the day mightily tormented Tom s dreams ’
that night F our tim e s he had his hands on that rich treasure
.
and four times it wasted to nothingness in his fingers as

sleep forsook him and wakefulness brought back the hard
reality o f his misfortune As he lay in the early morning re
.
calling the incidents o f his great adventure he n oticed that ,
—
they seemed curiously subdued and far away somewhat as
if they had happened in another world or in a time long ,
gon e by Th e n it occurred to him that the great adventure

.
itself must be a dream ! There was o n e very strong argument

—
in favor o f this idea namely that the quantity o f coin he
,
had seen was too vast to be real He had never seen as much
.
as fi fty dollars in o n e mass b e fo re an d he was like all boys

,
t
of his age and station in life in that he imagined that all

,
” “ ”
re ferences to hundreds and thousands were mere fan c l
ful forms o f speech and that no such sums really existed in
,
the world He never had supposed for a moment that so large

.
a sum as a hundred dollars was to be found in actual money

in any one s possession If his notions o f hidden treasure had
’
.
been analyzed they would have been found to consist of a

,
handful o f real dimes and a bushel of vague splendid u n , ,
graspable dollars .
But the incidents of his adventure grew sensibly sharper

and clear e r under the attritl o n of thinking them over and so ,
he presently found himself leaning to the impression that

the thing might not have been a dream after all This u n ,
.
188
‘
T RE M B L I N G ON T H E T R AI L 1 89
certainty must be swept away He would snatch a hurri e d .
breakfast and go and find Huck .
Huck was sitting o n the gunwale of a fl atb o at listlessly ,
dangling his feet in the water and looking very melancholy .
T om concluded to let Huck lead Up to the subject If h e did .
not do it then the adventur e would be proved to have been

,
only a dream .
“ ”
Hello Huck ! ,
Hello yourself ,
.
S ilence fo r a minute .
To m if we d a left the blame tools at the dead tree

’ ’ ’
,
”
we d a got the money O h ain t it awful !
’ ’ ’
.
,
’
Tain t a dream then tain t a dream ! S omehow I most

’ ’
, ,
’ ’
” ’
wish it was B og d if I don t Huck
.
’
,
.
“ ”
What ain t a dream ? ’
O h that thin g yesterday I been half thinking it was

,
. .
’ ’ ’
D ream ! If them stairs hadn t broke down you d a seen ’
how much dream it was ! I ve had dreams enough all night

’
—
with that patch eyed S panish devil g o m g for me all through
’ —
em ro t him ! ”
“ ”
N O not rot him Fin d him ! Track the money !
,
.
“
Tom we ll never find him A feller don t have only o n e
,
’
.
’
—
ch ance for such a pile and that one s lost I d feel migh ty ’
.
’
Shaky if I was to see him anyway ”

,
.
“
,
’ —
Well so d I ; but I d like to see him anyway and track ’
,
—
h im ou t to his N umber Two ”
.
“ —
N umber Tw o yes that s it I ben thinking bout that ,
’
.
’
.
”
But I can t make nothing o u t o f it What do you reckon it is ?
’
‘
“
.
—
I dono It s too deep S ay Huck maybe it s the numbe r
’
.
,
’
”
o f a house !
“
Goody ! No To m that ain t it If it is it ain t in , ,
’
.
,
’
”
this one horse town They ain t no numbers here
- .
’
.
“
,
—
Well that s so L emme think a minute Here it s the
’
. ,
.
’
—
number o f a room in a t avern you know ! ”
,
1 90
T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF TOM S AWYER
’
O h that s the trick ! They ain t only two taverns We
,
’
.
”
can find o u t quick .
“
Y o u stay here Huck till I come , ,
.
To m w aS Off at once He did n o t care to have Huck s co m ’

‘
pany in public places He was gone h al f an hour He found . .
that in the b e st tavern N o 2 had long been occupied by a ,

.
young lawyer and was still so occupied In the less ostenta

,
.
tious house N o was a mystery The tavern keeper s young

2 .
- .
’
son Said it was kept locked all the time an d he never saw ,
anybody go into it or come o u t o f it except at night ; h e did

n o t know any particular reas on for thi s State o f things ; had
had some littl e curiosity but it was rather feeble ; had made ,
the most o f th e mystery by entertaining himself with the

idea that that room was had noticed that there
was a light in there the night before .
“
That s what I ve found out Huck I reckon that s the
’ ’
,
.
’
”
v e ry N o 2 we re after
' ’
. .
“
I reckon it is Tom N ow what you going to do ?
,
.
L emme think .
To rn thought a long time Then he said .
“
I ll tell you The back door of that N O 2 is the door that
’
. .
comes Ou t into that little close alley between the tavern and
the old rattletrap o f a brick store N ow you get hold o f all .
’
the do ork eys you can find and I ll nip all of auntie s and ,
’
,
’
the first dark night we ll go there and try em And mind yo u ’
.
,
keep a lookout for Injun J o e because he said he was going ,
to drop into town and spy around once more for a chance to
get his revenge If you see him yo u just follow him ; and if
.
,
”
he don t go to that N o 2,that ain t the place
’
.
’
.
“ ”
L ordy I don t Want to foller him by myself !
’
—
,
Why it ll be night sure He m ightn t ever see you an d

,
’
,
.
’
”
I f he did maybe he d never think anything
’
.
,
’
Well if it s pretty dark I reckon I ll track him I dono
,
’
.
I dono I ll try
.
’
.
CHAPT E R XXV III
IN THE LAIR OF IN J U N J OE
T HAT n i ght Tom and Huck were ready for their adventure .
They hung about the neighborhood o f the tavern until after

nin e o n e watching the allay at a distan c e and the other the
,
tavern door N obody entered th e alley or left it ; nobody

.
resembling the S paniard entered or left the tavern door .
Th e night promised to be a fair one ; s o To m went home with

the understanding that i f a considerable degree o f darkness
“
came o n Huck was to come and m aow whereupon he
, ,
would slip ou t and try the keys But th e night remained .
clear and Huck closed his watch and retired to bed in an

,
empty sugar hogshead about twelv e .
Tuesday the boys had the same ill luck Al so Wednesday . .
But Thursday night promised better To m slipped out in .
good season with his aunt s Old tin lantern and a large towel
’
,
to blind fold it with He hid the lantern in Huck s sugar hogs

.
’
head and the watch began An hour before midnight the

.
t ave rn closed up and its lights ( th e only ones thereabouts )

were put o u t N o S paniard had been seen N obody had e n
. .
te re d o r left the alley E verything was auspicious The black

. .
ness o f darkness reigned the perfect stillness was interrupted

,
only by occasional mutterings of distant thunder .
Tom got his lantern lit it in the hogshead wrapped it

, ,
closely in th e towe l and the two adventurers crept in the

,
gloom t oward the tavern Huck stood sentry and Tom felt
.
his way into the alley Then there was a season of waiting
.
anxiety that weighed upon Huck s spirits like a mountain ’

.
1 92
IN TH E L AIR OF IN J U N J OE 1 93
He began to wish h e could s e e —

a flash from the lantern it
would frighten him but it would at least tell him that To m
,
w as alive y e t It seemed hours since To m had disappeared

. .
S urely h e must have fainted ; maybe he was dead ; maybe

his he art had burst under terror and excitement In h is .
u n e asin e s s H u c k fo hn d himself drawing closer and closer to
th e alle y ; fearing all sorts of dreadful things and momen ,
tarily expecting some catastrophe to happen that would take

away his breath There was not much to t ake away for he
.
,
seemed only able to inhale it by thimble fuls and his he art ,
would soon wear itself o u t the way it was beating S ud ,

.
den ly there was a flash o f light and Tom came tearing by hi m

“ ” “ ”
R un ! said he ; run fo r your life !
’
He needn t h ave repeated it ; once was enough ; Huck w as
making thirty o r forty miles an hour before the repetition
was uttered The boys never stopped till they reached th e
.
shed o f a deserted slaughter house at the lower end o f th e

-
village Just as they got W ithin its shelter the storm b u rst
.
an d the rain poured down As soon as Tom got his breath he

.
said :
“
Huck it was awful ! I tried two o fthe keys just as soft as
, ,
I could ; but th ey seemed to make such a power o f rack e t

’
that I couldn t hardly get my breath I was so scared They .
wouldn t turn in the lock either W ell w ith ou t n o t1c 1n g what

’
,
.
,
,
I was doing I took hold o f the knob and open comes the
, ,
door ! It warn t locked ! I hopped in and shook off the towel

’
, ,
”
and g r e at C aesar s g h o s t !
,
’
—
What what d you see Tom ? ’ ”
,
‘
Huck I most stepped onto Injun J o e5 hand !
,
” ’
NO
Yes ! He was laying there sound asleep o n the floor with,
”
his old patch o n his eye and his arms Spread o u t .
“ ”
L ordy what did you do ? D id he wake up ?
,
No , never budged D runk , I reckon I j ust grabbed that . .
”
towel and started !
“ ’ ”
’ ’
I d never a thought o f the towel I bet ! ,
Well I would My aunt would make me mighty srck i f .
I lost it .
“ ”
S ay Tom did you see that box ?
, ,
’
Huck I didn t wait to look around I didn t see the box I
, .
’
’
didn t see the cross I didn t see anything but a bottle and a .
’
tin cup on the floor by Injun Joe ; yes and I saw two barrels ,
an d k its more bottles in the room D on t you see now what s

’ ’
.
, ,
”
th e matter with that ha nted room ?
’
”
“
H OW ?
’
Why it s ha nted with whisky ! M aybe all the Temper
,
’
”
ance Taverns have got a ha nted room hey Huck ?
’
, ,
“
Well I reckon maybe that s so W h o d a thought such
,
’
.
' ’ ’ ’
a thing ? But say Tom now s a mighty good tim e to get that , ,
’
”
b o x i f Injun Joe s drunk
’
,
.
“ ”
It is that ! Y o u try it !
Huck shuddered .
“ —
Well no I reckon not
,
.
And I reckon not Huck O nly one bottle alongside of In ,

.
j u n ] o e ain t enough If there

’
d be e n three he d be drunk .
’
,
’
enough and I d do it ’
.
There was a long pause for reflection and then Tom said : ,
“
L o ok yh e re Huck le s not try that thing any more till
, ,
’
We know Injun Joe s not in there It s too scary N ow if we ’

.
’
.
,
watch every night we ll be dead sure to see him go out some ,

’
,
time o r other and then we ll snatch that box qu ick e r n

,
’ ’
”
lightning .
“
Well I m agreed I ll watch the whole night long and
,
’
.
’
,
I ll d o it every n ight too if you ll do the other part of the

’
, ,
’
j ob
All right I will All you got to do is to trot up Hooper

,
.
C HA PTE R XXIX
HU C K S AVES TH E W IDO W
TH E first thing To m heard on F riday morning was a glad

—
pi e ce o f n ews Judge Thatcher s family had come back to
’
town the n ight before Both Injun J o e and th e tre asure sank
.
into secondary importance for a moment an d Becky took the ,
ch ie f place in the boy s interest He saw her and they had an

’
.
,
“
- ” “ - ”
e xhausting good time playing h i spy and gully keeper
w ith a crowd o f their schoolmates The day was completed
.
an d crowned in a peculiarly satisfactory way : Becky teas ed
her mother to appoint the next day fo r the long promised -
an d long delayed picnic and she consented The child s de

- ’
, .
’
light was boundless ; and Tom s not more moderate The .
invitations were sent o u t before sunset and straightway the ,
young folks o f the Village were thrown into a fever o f prep

’
aration and pleas urable anticipation Tom s excitement e n.
abled him to keep awake until a pretty late hour and he had ,
g
“’ ”
ood hopes of hearing Huck s m ao w an d o f having
,
his '
tre asure to astonish Becky and the picnickers with next day ; ,
but he was disappointed N o signal came that night

. .
M orning came eventually and by ten o r eleven o clock a

, ,
’
giddy and rollicking company were gathered at J u dg e Thatch

er s and everything was ready for a start It was not the
’
,
.
custom for elderly people to mar picnics with their presence .
The children wer e considered safe enough under the wings

o f a few young ladies of eighteen and a few young gentlemen
of twenty-three or thereabouts The old steam -ferryboat was

.
chartered for the occasion ; presently the gay throng filed up

1 96
H U C K S A VE S‘
TH E W ID O W 1 97
the main street laden with S id was sick -

provision baskets .
and had to miss the fun ; M ary remained at home to entertain

him The last th ing M rs Thatcher said to Becky w as :
. .
“ ’
You ll not get back till late Perhaps you d better stay
’
.
all night with some o f the girls that live near th e ferry land ~
”
ing child
,
.
“
Then I ll stay with S usy Harper mamma
’
,
.
V ery well And mind and behave yourself and don t be ’
any trouble .
Presently as they tripped along To m said t o Becky :

, ,
“ —
S ay I ll tell you what we ll do S tead o f going to Joe
’ ’
.
’
Harper s we ll climb right up the hill and stop at the Widow

’ ’
’
D ouglas s S he ll have ice cream ! S he has it most every day
’
- .
”
dead loads o f it And she ll be awful glad to have u s .
’
.
”
Oh that W ill be fun !
,
Then Becky r eflected a moment and said :

“ ”
But what will mamma say ?
”
H o w ll she ever know ?
’
The girl turned the idea over in her mind and said re ,
lu c tan tly :
“ —
I reckon it s wrong but ’
But Shucks ! Your mother won t know and so what s the ’

,
’
harm ? All she wants is that you ll be safe ; and I bet you ’
’ ’
she d a said g o there I f she d a thought of it I know she
’ ’ ’ ’
.
”
would !
The Widow D ou glas s spl e ndid hospital ity was a tempting ’
bait It and Tom s persua sion s pres e ntly c arried the day S o
.
’
.
it was decided to say nothin g to an ybody about the night s ’
program Pr e sently it Occ u rr e d to Tom tha t maybe Huck

.
might come this very nigh t an d g iv e th e signal The thought .
took a deal of the spirit out o f his anticipations S till he could .
not bear to giv e up th e fun at Widow D ouglas’s And why .
Should he give it up he r e asoned — the signal did not come ,
the night before so why should it be any more likely to come

,
1 98 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OE TOM S AW YE R
-
to n ight ? The sur e fun o f the e vening outweighed the u n ce r
-
tain treasure ; and boy like he d etermined to yield to th e
,
stronger inclination and not allow himself to think o f th e

b ox o f mon ey another time that day .
Thre e miles below town the ferryboat stopped at th e

mouth o f a woody hollow an d tie d up Th e crowd swarmed .
ashor e and soon the forest distances an d craggy heigh ts

’
echoed far and near with shoutings and laughter All the dif .
fe re n t ways O f getting h o t and tired were gone through with ,
and by and by the rovers straggled back to camp fortified

with responsible appetites and then the destruction o f the
,
good things began After the feast there was a refreshing

.
seas on o f rest and chat in th e shade o f spreading oaks By and .
by somebody shouted
“ ’
Who s ready for the cave ?
E verybody was Bundles o f candles were procured and
.
,
straightway ther e was a gener al scamper up the hill The .
—
mouth of the cav e was up the hillside ah opening shaped like
a letter A Its massive oaken door stood unbarred Within
. .
was a small chamber chilly as an icehouse and walled by

, ,
N atu re w i th solid limestone that was dewy with a cold sweat

e
.
It was romantic and mysterious to stand here in the deep

gloom and look o u t upon the green valley Shining in the sun .
But the impressiveness o f the Situ atio n qu ick ly wore Off an d

'
the romping began ag al n The moment a candl e was lighted

.
there was a general rush upon the owner of it ; a struggle and

‘
a gallant de fense followed b u t th e candle was soon knocked

,
down o r blown out and then there was a glad clamor o f

,
laughter and a new chas e But all thi ngs have an end By
. .
and by the procession went filing down the steep descent of

the main avenue the flickering r ank o f lights dimly revealing
,
the lofty walls o f rock almost to their poin t of junction Sixty

feet overhead This main avenue was not more than eight
.
o r ten feet wide E very few steps other lofty and still nar
.
dered what boat it was and why she did not stop at th e
,
—
wharf and then he dropped her out o f his mind and put his
attention upon his business The night was growing cloudy .
and dark Ten 0 cl ock came and the noise o f vehicles cease d
.
’
, ,
scattered lights began to wink out all straggling foot passen

-
,
gers disappeared the village betook itself to its slumbers and

,
left the small watcher alone with the Silence and the ghosts .
Eleven o clock came and the tavern ligh ts were put out ;
’
,
darkness everywhere now Huck waited what seemed a weary

,
.
long time but nothing happened His faith was weakening

,
. .
Was there any use ? Was there really any use ? Why not give
it up and turn in ?
A noise fell upon his ear He was all attention in an instant
. .
The alley door closed softly He sprang to the corn e r of the .
brick store The n ext moment two m e n brushed by him and

.
,
o n e seemed to have something under his arm It must be that .
box ! SO they were going to remove the treasure Why c all .
—
Tom now ? It would be absurd the men would get away with
th e box and never be found again N 0 he would stick to their .
,
wake and follow them ; he would trust to the d arkness for

security from discove ry S o communing with himself Huck
.
,
stepped ou t and glided along behind the men catlike with , ,
bare feet allowing them to keep just far enough ahead not
,
to be invisible .
They moved up the river street three blocks then turned ,
to the le ft up a cross street They went straight ahead then

- .
, ,
until they came to the path that led up C ardiff Hill ; this they
’
took They passed by the Old Welshm an s house half way up
.
-
,
the hill without h esitating and still climbed upward Good

, ,
.
,
thought Huck ; they will b ury it in the old quarry But they .
never stopped at the quarry They passed on up the sum .

,
mit They plunged into the narro w path between the tall
.
sumach bushes and were at once hidden in the gl oom Huck

,
.
c losed up and shortened his distance now for they would ,

,
H U C K S A VE S TH E W ID O W 20 1
never be able to se e him He trotted along awhile ; then sl ack .
ened his pace fearing he was gaining too fast ; moved o n a

,
piece then stopped altogether ; listened ; no sound ; none

, ,
save that he seemed to hear the beating of his own heart .
The hooting of an o w l came from over the hill ominous —

sound ! But no footsteps Heavens was everything lost ! H e .
,
w as about to spring with winged feet when a man cleared his ,
throat not four feet from him ! Huck s heart shot into his
]
’
throat but he swallowed it again ; and then he stood ther e

,
shaking as if a dozen agues had taken charge o f him at once

and so weak that he thought he must surely fall to th e
ground He knew where he was He knew he was within
. .
five steps o f th e stile leading into Widow D ouglas s grounds ’

.
Very well h e thought let them bury it there ; it won t be hard

, ,
’
to find .
NOW there w a s a voice — a v ery low v o l c e — Injun Joe s : ’
“
'
—
D amn h er maybe sh e s g o t company there s lights late
,
’ ’
,
”
as it is .
“ ’
I can t see any .
—
This was that str anger s voice the stranger o f the haunted ’
.
—
house A deadly chill went to Huck s he art this then was ’
, ,
“ ”
the revenge j ob ! His thought was to fly Then he remem ,
.
bered that the Widow D ouglas had been kind to him more
than once and maybe these men wer e going to murder her
,
.
He wished he dared venture to warn her ; but he knew h e

’
—
didn t dare they might come and catch him He thought all .
this and more in th e moment that elapsed between th e

’
—
stranger s remark an d Injun Joe s next which was ’
“ —
Because the bush is in your way N ow this way now — .
”
you see don t you ? ,
’
“
Yes Well there is company there I reckon Better give
.
, ,
.
”
it up.
“
Give it up and I just leaving this country forever ! Give
,
it up and maybe never have another chance I tell you again .

,
20 2
’
—
as I ve told you before I don t care fo r her swag yo u may ,
’
have it But her husband was rough o n

.
—
me many tim eS he ‘
—
was rough on me and mainly b e was the justice o f the peace
‘
that jugged m e for a v ag ran t And that ain t all It ain t —

‘
’ ’
a . .
millionth part of it ! He had me h ors ew hippe d ! horse —

—
whipped in front o f the j ail like a nigger ! with all the town ,
—
looking on ! HORSEW HIPP ED 1 do y o uunderst and ? H e took
” ’
advantage o f me and died But I ll take it out of h er . .
“ ”
O h don t kill her ! D on t do that !
,
’ ’
Kill ? Who said anything about killing ? I would kill him

if he was here ; but not her When you want to get revenge o n .
—
a woman you do n t kill her bosh ! you go for her looks You’
.
S lit her nostrils

.
— you notch her ears like a sow ! ”
By God that s ,
’
K eep your opinion to yourself ! It will be safest for you .
I ll tie her to the bed If sh e bleeds to death is that my f ault ?

’
.
,
I ll n o t cry i f she does M y fr iend you ll help in this thing

’
,
.
,
’
— —
fo r m y sake th at s why you re here I mightn t be able
’ ’ ’
alone If you flinch I ll kill you D O you understand that ?

.
,
’
.
—
And if I have to kill you I ll kill her and the n I reckon ’
, ,
”
n o b o dy ll ever know much about who done this business
’
.
Well if it s got to be done let s get at it The quicker the

,
’
,
’
.
—
better I m all in a shiver ’ ”
.
“ —
D O it n ow ? And company there ? L ook here I ll get sus ’
p ic io u s o f you first thing you know N,

O— we ll wait till th e .
’
—
li ghts are o u t there s no hurry ” ’
.
—
Huck felt that a silence was going to ensu e a thing still
more awful than any amount o f murderous talk ; so he held
his breath and steppe d gin g erly back ; planted his foot care '
fully an d firmly after bal ancing On e legged in a precarious

-
, , ,
w ay and almost toppling over first o n one side and then on ,
the o ther He took another step back with the same elabora
.
,
tion and the same risks ; then another and another and a — ,
t wig snapped under his foot ! His breath stopped and he lis
CHAPT E R XXX
TOM AND BECKY IN TH E CAVE
AS the earliest suspicion of daw n app e ared on S unday morn

i n g Huck came groping up the hill and rapped gently at the
,
Old W élsh m an s door The inmates were asleep but it w as a

’
.
,
sleep that was set o n a hair -trigger on account of th e ex ,
citing episode Of the night A call came from a w 1n dow :

.
“
Who s there ! ’
’
Huck s scared v o ic e an sw e re d in a low tone :
“ ”
Please let me in ! It s only Huck F inn !
’
’
It s a name that can open this door night or day lad ! ,
”
an d welcome !
These were strange words to th e vagabond boy s ears and ’

,
the pleasantest he had ever heard He could not recollect that .
the closing Word had e v er been applied in his case b e fore .
The door was quickly unlocked and he e ntered Huck was ,

.
g 1v e n a seat
. and the o l d man and his brac e o f tall sons
speedily dressed themselves .
“
No w my boy I hope yo u re good and hungry because
, ,
’
,
’ ’
breakfast will be ready as soon as the sun s up and we ll ,
—
have a piping hot o n e too make yoursel f e asy about that ! I
,
and th e boys hoped you d turn up and stop here last night
’
.
” “
I was awful scared said Huck and I run I took out
, ,
.
when the pistols we n t o ff and I didn t stop for three mile

,
’
.
I ve come now be cu z I wanted to know about it you know ;

’
,
and I come before daylight b e c u z I didn t want to run ac ro s t ’
”
them devils even if they was dead
,
.
‘
Well poor chap you do look as if you d had a hard night
, ,
’
20 4
T OM AN D B E C KY IN TH E C A VE 20 5
o f it—but there s a bed here you when you ve had your

’
fo r
’
.
,
—
breakfast No they ain t dead lad w e are sorry enough ’
,
fo r th at Y o u see we knew right where to put o u r hands o n

. .
,
them by your description ; S O we crept along on tiptoe till we

,
—
got within fifteen feet o f them dark as a cellar that sumach
—
path was an d j ust then I found I was going to sneeze It .
was th e meanest kind o f luck ! I tried to keep it back but n o ,
—
use twas bound to come and it did come ! I was in the
’
,
lead with my pistol raised and when the sneeze started those ,
scoundrels a-rustling to get ou t Of the path I sung o u t F ire , ,

‘
’
boys ! and blazed away at the place where the rustling was .
SO did the boys But they were Off in a jiffy thos e Villains
.
, ,
and we after them down through the woods I judge we never

,
l
.
touched them They fired a shot apiece as they started but

.
,
their b ul lets whizzed by and didn t do us any harm As soon ’

.
as we lost the sound o f their feet we quit chasing and went ,
down an d stirred up the constables They got a poss e to .
geth er and went o ff to guard the river bank and as soon as it

,
-
,
is light the sheriff and a gang are going to beat up th e woods .
M y boys will be with them presently I wish we had some .
—
sort o f description o f those rascals twould help a goo d deal ’
.
’
But you c ouldn t see what they were like in the dark lad I , , ,
”
suppose ?
“
Oh y es I saw them down town and fo lle re d them
, ,
- .
—
S plendid ! D escribe them describe them my boy ! ”
,
O ne s the old deaf and dumb S paniard that s ben around

’ ’
”
here once o r twice and t other 5 a mean looking ragged
,
-
,
“ ’
That s enough lad we know the men ! Happened on
, ,
them in the woods back o f the widow s one day and they ’
,
.
—
Slunk away Off with you boys and tell the sheriff get your , ,
”
bre ak fast to morrow morning !
-
The Welshman s sons departed at once AS they were leav

’
.
ing the room Huck sprang up and exclaimed

06 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF TOM S AW YE R
’
Oh please don t tell anybody it was me that blowed on
,
”
them ! O h please ! ,
'
“
All righ t if you s ay it Huck but you ought to have th e
, ,
”
c redit o f what you did .
“ ”
Oh no no ! Please don t tell !
, ,
’
When the young men were gone th e o ld Welshman said : ,

“ — ’
They won t tell and I won t But why d on t you want it ’
.
’
”
known ?
Huck would n o t e xplain further than to s ay that he al ,
ready k new too much about o n e o f those men and would not
have the man know that he knew anything against him for
—
the whole world h e would b e killed for knowing it sur e ,
.
The o ld man promised secrecy once more and said ,

“
Ho w did you come to follow these fellows lad ? Were ,
”
they looking suspicious ?
Huck was silent while he framed a duly cautious reply .
Then he said
“ —
Well y o u see I m a kind o f a hard lot least everybody
’
, ,
says so and I don t see nothing agin it -and sometimes I

,
’
can t sleep much o n accounts o f thinking about it and sort of

’
trying to strike o u t a new way of doing Th at was the way o f .
it last night I couldn t Sleep and SO I come along up street

’
—
.
,
’
bout midnight a tu rning it all over and when I g o t to that
, ,
old shackly brick store by the Temperance Tavern I backed ,
up again the wall to have another th ink Well just then along .
,
comes these tw o chaps slipping along close by me with some ,
thing under their arm and I reckoned they d stole it O ne ’

.
was a smoking and t other one wanted a light ; so they

-
,
’
stopped right before me and the cigars lit up their faces and
I see that the big one was the deaf and dumb S paniard by his ,
white whiskers and th e patch o n his ey e an d t other one was ,

’
-
a rusty ragged looking devil .
,
“
C ould you see the rags by the light o f the cigars ? ”
This staggered Huck for a moment Then he said : .

20 8
the stile and its Vicinity for marks of blood They found none .
,
but captured a bulky bundle o f

”
O f W HAT ?
If the words had been lightning they could not have leaped
with a more s tu n m n g suddenness fro m u ck s blanched lips ’
.
His eyes were staring w 1de now and his breath suspended , ,
—
waiting for the answer The Welshman started s tared in .
— — — —
return three seconds fiv e seconds ten then replied :
“ ”
O f b urglar s tools Why what s the m atter with you ?
’
.
,
’
Huck sank back panting gently but deeply unutterably

, , ,
grate ful The Welshman eyed him gravely curiously and

.
— ,
presen tly said :

“ ’
Yes burglar s tools That appears to relieve you a good
,
.
deal But what did give you that turn ? What were y ou ex
.
”
i we d found ’
p e c t n g ?
—
Huck was in a close place the inquiring eye was upon
—
him h e would have give n anything for m aterial for a
— —
plausible answer nothing suggested itself the inquiring
—
eye was boring deeper and deeper a senseless reply offered
there was no time to weigh it so at a venture he uttered it ,
feebly :
“
S unday school books maybe
-
,
.
Poor Huck was too distressed to smile but the o ld man ,
laughed loud and joyously Shook up the details o f his ana ,
tomy from head to foot and ended by saying that such a ,
laugh was money in a man s pocket because it cut down the ’

,
doctor s bills like everything Then he added

’
.
“ —
Poor old chap you re white and j aded you ain t well a
’ ’
—
,
bit no wonder you re a little fl igh ty and off your balance

’
.
But you ll come o u t o f it Re st and sleep will fetch you o u t

’
.
”
all right I hope ,
.
Huck was irritated to think he had been such a goose and

betrayed such a suspicious excitement for he had dropped ,
the idea that the parcel brought from the tavern was the
TOM AN D B E C KY IN TH E C A VE 20 9
’
treasure , as soon as he had heard the talk at the widow s
stile He had only thou g h t it was n o t the treasure however
.
,
—
h e had n o t known that it wasn t and so the suggestion o f a
’
captured bundle was too much for his s e lf possession But o n

- .
the whole he felt glad the little episode had h appened for ,
n o w he knew beyond all question that that bundle was not th e
bundle and so his mind was at rest and exceedingly com

,
fo rtable In fact everything seemed to be drifting just in

.
,
th e right direction n o w ; the treasure must be still in N o 2

,
.
,
the men would b e captured and j ailed that day and he an d ,
Tom could seize the gold that night without any trouble or
any fear o f interruption .
Just as breakfast was completed there w as a knock at the

door Huck jumped for a hiding place for he h ad no mi nd
.
-
,
to be connected even remotely with the late event The Welsh .
man admitted several ladies and gentlemen among them the ,
W ido w D o u g las and noticed that groups O f citizens were

/
—
climbing up the hill to stare at the stile SO the news had .
spread .
The Welshman had to tell the story o f th e night to the

’
visitors The widow s gratitude for her preservation was o u t
.
spoken .
“ ’
D on t say a word about it madam There s another that
,
.
’
you re more b e holden to than you are to me and my boys

’
,
’
maybe but he don t allow me to tell his name We would n t
,
.
’
”
have been there but fo r him .
O f course this excited a curiosity so vast that it almost be

—
little d the m ai n matter but the Welshman allowed it to
eat into the Vitals of his visitors and through them be trans ,
m itte d to the whole town for he refus ed to part with his

,
secret When all else had bee n learn e d the widow said :
.
,
“
I went to sleep reading in bed and slept straight through
”
all that noise Why didn t you come and wake me ?
.
’
“ ’
We judged it warn t worth while Tho se fellows warn t
’
.
T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF TOM S A W YE R
—
lik ely to com e ag ain they hadn t any tools left to work with ’
and what was th e use o f waking you up and scaring y ou to

“
death ? M y th re e n e g ro men stood guard at your house all

,
the rest of the night They ve just come back .

’
.
M ore Visitors came and the story h ad to be told and re told

,
for a couple o f hours more .
There was no S abbath school during day school vacation

- -
,
but everybody was early at church The stirring even t was .
well canvassed N ews came that not a sign of the two Villains
.
had b een yet discovered When the sermon was finish e d .

,
’
Judge Thatcher s wife dropped alo n g s1de o f M rs Harper as .
sh e moved down the aisle with the crowd an d said :

“
Is my B ecky going to sleep all day ? I just expect ed sh e
”
would be tired to death .
“ ”
Your Becky ?
”
Yes with a startled look
,
didn t Sh e stay with yo u ’
”
las t n ight ?
“
Why no ,
M rs Thatcher turned pale and sank into a pew j us t as

.
, ,
Aunt Polly talking briskly with a friend passed by Aunt

, , .
Polly said :
“
Good morning M rs Thatcher Good morning ,M rs H arp
,
. . .
’
er I ve got a boy that s turned up m 1ssm g I reckon my T o m
.
’
.
—
stayed at your house last night one o f you And now he s .
’
”
afraid to come to church I ve got to settle with him .
’
.
M rs Thatcher shook her head feebly and turned paler than

.
ever .
“
He didn t stay with us said M rs Harper beginning to
’ “
,
.
look uneasy A marked anxiety came into Aunt Polly s face

.
’
.
“ ”
Joe Harper hav e you seen my Tom this morning ?
,
”
No m ’
.
”
When did you se e him last ?
Joe tried to remember but was not sure he could say The ,
.
21 2
THE ADVE N T U RE S OF TOM S A W Y ER
and nothing that was the L ord s was a th i ng to be neglected
’
.
Th e Welshman s aid Huck had good spots l n him and the ,
widow said
Y o u can depend on it That s the L ord s mark He dont
’ ’ ’
. .
leave it o ff He never does Puts it so mewhere on every

. .
”
creature that comes from His hands .
E arly in the forenoon parties of j aded men began to

straggle into the Village but the strongest of the citizens
,
continued search ing All the news that could be gained was
.
th at remotenesses o f the cavern were being ransacked that

had never been visited before ; that every corner and crevice
was going to be thoroughly searched ; that wherever o n e
wandered through the maze o f passages lights were to be ,
seen flitting hither and thither in the distance and shoutings ,
an d pistol shots sent their hollow reve rber ations to the ear
-
down the somber aisles In o n e place far from the section

.
,
“ ”
usually traversed by tourists the names BECKY ,
T OM
had been found traced upon the r o cky wall with candle
smoke an d nea r at hand a grease soiled bit o f ribbon M rs
,
- . .
Thatcher recognized the ribbon and cried over it S he said it .
was the last relic Sh e should ever have of her child ; and that
no other memorial o f her could ever be so precious because ,
this one parted latest from the living body b e for e the awful
death came S ome said that now and then in the cave a far
.
, ,
away Speck o f light would glimmer and then a glorious shout ,
wo u l d burst forth and a score of men go trooping down the

—
echoing aisle and then a Sickening disappointment always
’
followed ; the children were not there ; it was only a sear c her s
light .
Thr e e dreadful days and nights d ragg e d their tedious hours

along and the Villag e sank into a hopeless stupor N 0 one
,
.
had heart for anything T h e ac c ide n tal discovery j ust made

‘
.
, ,
that the proprietor o f the Temperance Tavern kept liquor

on his premises sc arcely fluttered the public pulse treme u
, ,
TOM A N D B E C KY IN T H E C AVE 21 3
dous as the fad was In a lucid interval Huck feebly l e d up

.
,
—
to the subject of taverns and finally asked dimly dreading
,
—
the worst i f anything had been discovered at the Temper
ance Tavern since he had been ill .
“ ”
Yes said the w idow
,
.
Huck start e d up in bed wild eyed

-
,
“ ”
What ! Wh at was it ?
—
L iquor ! and the place has been shut up L ie down .
,
—
ch ild what a turn you did give me ! ”
“ — —
O nly tell me just o n e thing only just o n e please ! W as
”
it Tom S awyer that found it ?
The widow burst into tears Hush hush child hush ! I ve
.
, , ,
’
”
told you before yo u must n o t talk You are very very sick !
,
.
,
Then nothing but liquor had been found ; there would

have been a great powwow if it had been the gold SO the .
—
treasur e was goneforever gone forever ! But what could she
be crying about ? C urious that she should cry .
These thoughts worked their dim way through Huck s ’
mind and under the weariness they gave him he fell asleep
,
.
The widow said to herself :

“ —
There he s asleep poor wreck Tom S awyer fin d it !
’
,
.
Pity b u t somebody could find Tom S awyer ! Ah there ain t ,

’
many left now that s got hope enough o r strength enough

, ,
’
, ,
e ither to go On searching
,
.
CHAPT E R XXXI
FOUND AN D LOS T AGAI N
Now to return to To m and Becky s Sh are in the picnic Th e y

’
.
tripp ed along the murky ai sles with the rest of the company ,
v isiting the familiar Wonders o f the cave — wonders dubbed
“
with rather over descriptive names such as The D r awing
-
,
” “ ” “ ”
R oom ,
The C athedral Aladdin s Pal ace and so on
,
’
,
.
th
Presently e hide and seek frolicking began and Tom an d
- -
,
Becky engaged in it with ze al until the exertion began to

grow a trifle wearisome ; then they wandered down a sinuous .
avenue holding their candles aloft and reading the tangled

web work o f names dates post o ffice addresses and motto e s
-
,
-
, ,
with which th e rocky walls had been frescoed ( in candle

smoke ) S till drifting along and talking they scarcely noticed
.
,
that they were now in a part o f the cave whose walls were not
frescoed They smoked their o wn names under an overhanging
.
S helf and moved on Presently they came to a place where a

.
little stream o f water trickling over a ledge and carrying a

,
limestone sediment with it had in the slow dragging ages

,
-
, ,
formed a laced and ru ffled N iagara in gleaming and imperish

able stone Tom squeezed his small body behind it in order
.
to illuminate it for Becky s gratification He found that it

’
.
c urtained a sort o f steep natural stairway which was inclosed
b etween narrow walls and at once the ambition to be a dis

,
.
coverer seized h 1m Becky responded to his call and they

.
,
m ade a smoke mark for future guidance and started upon

-
,
their quest They wound this way and that far down into
.
,
the secret depths o f the cave made an other m ar k and

’
, ,
21 4
21 6 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF TOM S A W YE R
I wonder how long we ve been down here Tom We bet ’
,
.
”
ter start back .
“ ’
Yes I reckon we better P raps we better
,
. .
C an you find the way Tom It s all a mixed u p cro ak

? ’ -
,
e dn e ss to me .
“ —
I reckon I could find it but then the bats If they put .
both o u r candles out it will be an awful fix L et s try some .

’
other way so as not to go through there

,
.
“
Well But I hope we won t get lost It would be so
.
’
.
awful ! and the girl shuddered at the thought of the dread

”
ful possibilities .
They started through a corridor and trave r sed it in silen c e ,
a long way glancing at each new Opening to see if there w as

,
anything familiar about the look o f it ; but they were all

strange E very time T o m made an e x am l n atio n Becky would
.
,
watch his face for an encouraging Sign and he would say ,
cheerily :
“
Oh it s all right This ain t the one but we ll come to it
,
’
.
’
,
’
”
right away !
But he felt less and less hopeful with each failure and ,
presently began to turn Off into diverging avenues at sheer

random in desperate hope of finding the o n e that was wanted
,
.
“ ”
He still said it was al l right but there was such a le aden ,
dread at his heart that the words had lost th eir ring and
“ ”
sounded just as if he had said All is lost ! Becky clung to his,
Side in an anguish o f fear and trie d h ard to keep back the

, '
tears but they would come At last she s ai d

,
.
“
O h Tom never mind the bats let s go back that way ! We
, , ,
’
”
seem to get wors e and worse Off all the time .
Torn stopped .
“ ”
L isten ! said he .
Profound silence ; Silence so deep that even their breath

ings were conspicuous in the hush Tom shouted The call . .
went echoing down the empty aisles and died o u t in th e dis

F O U N D A N D L O S T A G AI N ’
21 7
tance in a faint sound that resembled a ripple Of mocking

laughter .
“
O h do n t do it again To m it is to o horrid said Becky
,
’ ‘
, , ,
.
It is horrid but I better Becky ; they m ig h t hear us you

, , ,
”
know and he shouted again
,
.
“ ”
Th e might w as even a chillier horror than th e ghostly
laughter it so confessed a perishing hop e The children stood
,
.
still and listened ; but there was n o result Tom turned upon .
th e back tr ack at once an d hurried his steps It was but a

,
.
littl e while before a certain indecision in his manner re ve al e d

another fe ar ful fact to Becky
— h e could not find his way
back !
“
O h Tom you didn t make any marks !
, ,
” ’
Becky I was such a fool ! S uch a fOol ! I nev er thought

,
—
,
I can t find the way I t s

’
w e might want to come back ! N O
’
.
”
all mixed up .
“ ’ ’
T om ,T o m we re lost ! we re lost ! We never can get o u t
,
”
o f this awful place ! O h why d id w e ever leave the others !
,
S he sank to the gr ound and burst into such a frenzy o f

crying that Tom was appalled with the idea th at Sh e might
die o r lose her reason He sat down by her and put his arms
,
.
around her ; Sh e buried her face in his bosom she clung to ,
him she poured Ou t her terrors her u navailing regrets and

, , ,
the far echoes turned them all to j eering laughter To m .
begged her to pluck up hope again and Sh e said she could ,
n o t He fell to blaming and abusing himself fo r getting her

.
i nto this miserable Situation ; this had a better effect S he said .
sh e would try to hope agai n she would get up and follow ,
wherever he might lead if only he would not talk like that any
more F or he was n o more to blame th an Sh e she said
.
,
.
— —
So they moved o n again aimlessly simply at random
all they could do was to move keep moving F or a little while ,
.
,
—
h Ope made a Show o f reviving not with any reason to back
it but o n ly because it is its nature to revive when the Spring
,
21 8
T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF T OM S A W Y ER
has n o t been taken ou t o f it by age and familiarity with
failure .
By and by Tom took Becky s candle and blew it ou t This ’

.
economy meant so much ! Words were not needed Beck y .
understood and her hope died again S he knew that Tom had
,
.
—
a whole candle and three or four pieces in his pockets yet h e
must economize .
By and by fatigue began to assert its cl ai ms ; the chil

,
‘
dren tried to pay no attention for it was dreadful to think ,
o f sitting down when time was grown to be S O precious ; m o v
ing in some direction in any direction was at least progres s

, , ,
and might bear fruit ; but to sit down was to invite death and
Shorten its pursuit .
At last Becky s frail limbs refused to carry her farther

’
.
S he sat down Tom rested with her and they talked o f home
.
, ,
and the friends there and the comfortable beds and above , ,
all the light ! Becky cried and Tom tried to think o f som e
, ,
way o f comforting her but all his encouragements were ,
grown threadbare with use and sounded like sarcasms ,

.
F atigue bore so heavily upon Becky that she drowsed Off to

sleep Tom was grateful He sat looking into her drawn face
. .
and saw it grow smooth and natural under the influence of

pleasant dreams ; and by and by a smile dawned and rested
there The p eaceful face reflected somewhat o f peace and
.
healing into his o w n spirit and his thoughts wandered away ,
to bygone times and dreamy memories While he was deep in .
—
his musings B ecky woke up with a breezy little laugh b u t
,
it was stricken dead upon her lips and a groan followed it ,

.
“
O h how c ou ld I sleep ! I wish I never never had waked !
, ,
”
N o ! N o I don t Tom ! D on t look so ! I won t say it again
’ ’ ’
.
, ,
“
I m glad you ve slept Becky ; you ll feel rested now and
’ ’
,
’
, ,
”
we ll find the way ou t
’
.
“
We can try Tom ; but I ve seen such a beautiful c ountry
,
’
”
in my dream I reckon we are going there
. .
220
TH E A D VE N T U R E S OF TO M S AW YE R
Becky gave loos e to tears and wailings Tom did what h e .
co ul d to comfort her but with little effect At length Becky

,
s
said
“
To m !
”
Well B ecky ?
,
’ ”
They ll miss u s and hunt for us !
Yes they will ! C ertainly they will !
,
M ayb e they r e hunting fo r us now Tom

’
,
.
Why I reckon mayb e they are I hope they are

, . .
When w ould they miss us To m ? ,
Wh en they get back to th e boat I reckon ,

.
,
—
Tom it might be dark then would they notice we hadn t ’
”
come ?
“
I don t know But anyway your mother would miss you
’
.
,
as s oon as they g o t home .
A frightened look in B ecky s face brought Tom to h is ’
se ns e s and he saw that he had made a blunder Becky w as

'
n o t to have gon e home that night ! The children became
S ilent and thoughtful In a moment a new burst o f grief from

.
Becky showed To m that th e thing in his mind had struck hers

—
also that the S abbath morning might be half spent be fore
M rs Thatcher discovered that Becky was not at M rs
. .
’
Harper s .
The children fastened their eyes upon their bit o f candl e

and watched it melt Slowly and pitilessly away ; saw the half
inch o f wick stand alone at last ; saw the feeble flame rise and
fall climb the thin column Of smoke linger at its top a
, ,
—
moment and then the horror o f utter darkness reigned !
,
H o w long after ward it was that Becky came to a slow con

s cio u sn e s s that Sh e was c ry1n g 1n Tom s arms n e ith er c o u ld
’ ~
,
tell All that they knew was that after what seemed a mighty
.
,
stretch o f time both awok e o u t of a dead stupor of sleep and

,
resumed their miseries once more Tom said it might be S un .
,
—
day now maybe M onday He tried to get Becky to talk ; .
F O U N D A N D L O S T A GAI N m
but her sorrows were too oppre ssw e all her hopes were ,
gone Tom said that they must have been missed long ag o
.
,
and no doubt the search was going o n He would shout and .
maybe some o n e woul d come He tried it ; but in the darkness .
th e distant e choes sounded so hideously that h e tri e d it n o

more .
The hours wasted away and hunger cam e to torment th e ,
captives again A portion o f Tom s half o f th e cake was le ft ;

.
’
they divided and ate it But they seemed hungrier than

‘
before The poor morsel o f food only whetted desire

. .
By and by Tom said :

Sh l D id you hear that ?
’
Bo th held their breath and listened There was a sound like .
the faintest far off shout Instantly Tom answered it ,and

-
,
.
leading Becky by the hand started groping down the corridor ,
in its direction Presently he listened again ; again the so u nd

.
was heard and apparently a little nearer

,
.
“ ’ ” “
It s them ! said To m ; they re coming ! C om e along ’
,
—
Becky we re all right n ow ! ”
’
Th e joy o f the prisoners was almost overwhelming Their .
speed was Slow however because pitfalls were Somewhat

, ,
common and had to be guarded against They shortly cam e

,
.
to on e and had to stop It might be three feet deep it might

.
,
—
b e a hundred there was n o passing it,at any rate To m g o t .
down o n his breast and reached as far down as h e could No .
bottom They must stay there and wait until th e search e rs

.
came They listened ; evidently the distant shoutings we r e

.
'
growing more diStan t ! a moment o r two more and they h ad

gone altogether The heart sinking misery o f it ! Tom
- .
whooped until he was hoarse but it w as o f no u se H e talke d ,

.
hopefully to Becky ; but an age of anxious waiting passed and

n o sounds came again
The children groped their way back to th e Spring The .
weary time dragged o n ; they slept again and awoke famish ed ,

TH E ADVE N TU RE S OF TOM S AW YE R
and woe stricke n Tom believed it must be Tuesday by this

- .
time .
No w an idea struck him Ther e were some side passage s .
near at hand It would be better to explore so m e o f these than

.
bear th e weight o f the heavy time i n idleness He took a kite .
line from his pocket tied it to a projection and he an d Becky

, ,
started Tom in the lead unwinding the line as he groped

, ,
along At th e end o f twenty steps the corridor ended in a

.
“ ”
j umping o ff place Tom g o t down o n his knees and felt
- .
below and then as far around the corner as he could reach

,
with his h ands conveniently ; he made an effor t to stretch yet

a little farth e r to th e r1gh t and at that moment not twenty , ,
yards away a human hand holding a candle appeared from

, , ,
behind a rock ! T o m lifted up a glorious shout and instantly ,
that hand was foll owed by the body it belonged to Injun —

Joe s ! Tom was paralyzed ; h e could not move He was vastly
’
.
“ ”
g ratified th e n e xt moment to see the S paniard take to his
heels and get himself out o f sight Tom wondered that J o e .
had n o t recognized his voi ce an d come over and killed him

for testifying in court But the echoes must have disg uised th e
.
’
voice Without doubt that was it he reasoned Tom s fright
.
, ,
.
we akened every muscle in his body He said to himself that .
i f he had streng th enough to get back to the spring he would

stay there and nothing should tempt him to run the risk o f
,
meeting Injun J o e again He was careful to keep from .
Becky what it was he had seen He told her he h ad only .
“ ”
shouted fo r lu ck .
But hunger and wretchedness rise superior to fears in th e

long run Another tedious wait at the spring and another long
.
s leep brought changes The children awoke tortured with a .
raging hunger T om believed that it must be Wednesday o r

.
Thursday o r even F riday or S aturday n o w an d that the , ,
s e arch had been given over He proposed to e xplore another .
p assage He felt willing to risk Inj u n J oe and all o th er t errors

.
.
CHAPT ER XXXII
”
TURN OU T ! THEY RE FOUND !
’
TUESDAY afternoon came , and waned to the twilight The .
vill age o f S t Petersburg still mourned The lost children had

. .
no t been found Public prayers had been offered up for them

.
,
and many and many a private prayer that had the petitioner s ’
whole heart in it ; but still no good news came from th e cave .
The majority o f the searchers had given up the quest and gone
back to their daily vocations saying that it was plain the
,
children could never be found M rs Thatcher was very ill

. .
,
and a great part o f the time delirious People said it was .
heartbreaking to hear her call her child and raise her head ,
and listen a whole minute at a time then l ay it wearily down

,
again with a moan Aunt Polly had drooped into a settled

.
melancholy and her gr ay hair had grown almost white The

,
.
village went to its rest on Tuesday n ight sad an d forlorn ,

.
Away in the middle o f th e night a wild peal burst from the

village bells and in a moment the streets were swarming with
,
“
frantic half-clad people who shouted Turn out ! turn out !
, ,
”
they re found ! they re found ! Tin pans and horns were
’ ’
added to the din the population massed itself and moved to

,
ward the river met the children coming in an open carriage

,
drawn by shouting citizens thronged around it joined its

, ,
homeward march and swept magnificently up the mai nstreet

,
roaring huzzah after huzzah !

The village was illuminated ; n obody went to bed again ; it
was the greatest night the little town had ever seen D uring .
the first half hour a procession o f villagers filed through Judge

-
224
’ ”
‘
TURN OU T ! T H E Y RE F O U N D ! 2 25
Thatcher s hous e seized the saved ones and kissed th e m

’
, ,
s queezed M rs Thatcher s h and tried to spe ak but could n t

’ ’
,
.
and drifted o u t raining tears all over the place .
A unt Polly s happiness was complete and M rs Thatcher s

’
,
.
’
nearly so It would be complete however as soon as the m es

.
(
, ,
senger de spatched with the great news to the cave should get
th e word to her husband . T o m lay upon a s ofa with an eag e r
auditory about him and told the history o f th e wonderful
adventure putting in many striking additions to adorn it
,
withal ; and closed with a description o f how he left B e cky

and went o n an exploring expedition ; how h e followed tw o
-
avenues as far as his kite line would reach ; h o w h e followe d
a third to the fullest stretch o f the kite line and w as about
-
,
to turn back when he glimpsed a far-o ff speck that l oo ke d

like daylight ; dropped the line and groped toward it push e d ,
his head and shoulders through a small hol e and saw th e

broad M ississippi rolling by ! And if it had only happened to
be night he would not have seen that speck o f daylight and
would not have explored that passag e any more ! H e told h o w
he went back for Becky and broke the good news and sh e told
him not to fret her wi th such stuff for she w as tired and k n e w
, ,
sh e w as going to die and wanted to He describ e d h o w h e

,
.
labored with her and convinced her ; an d h o w sh e almost die d

’
fo r j o y when she had gr o ped to where sh e actually s aw the

blue speck o f daylight ; how he pushed hi s way o u t at th e hole
and then helped her ou t ; h o w they sat there and cried for
gladness ; how some men came along in a skiff and To m
hailed them and told them thei rsituation an d their famished
condition how the men didn t believe the wild tal e at first
° ’
,
“ “
because said they you are five miles down th e ri ver
, ,
”—
below the valley the cave is in then took them aboard ,
rowed to a house gave them supper made them rest till tw o

, ,
o r three hours after dark and then b r ought them home

,
.
-
Before day dawn Judge Thatcher and the handful of
,
226
se archers w ith him were trac ked o u t in the cave by the twine , ,
cl e ws they had strung behind them and informed of th e ,
great news .
Three days and nights o f toil and hunger in the cave were “
n o t to be shaken Off at once as Tom and Becky soon dis ,
covered They were bedridden all Of Wednesday and Thurs

.
day an d seemed to grow more and more tired and worn all
,
!
the time Tom got about a little o n Thursday was down

.
,
town F riday and nearly as W hol e as ever S aturday ; but

,
B e cky did not leave her room until S unday and then sh e ,
looke d as i f she had passed through a w asting illness .
’
Tom learned o f Huck s sickness and went to see him o n
F riday but could not b e adm itte d to the bedroom ; n either
, ‘
could he o n S aturday o r S unday He was admitted daily after .
that but w as warned to keep still about his adventure and in

,
t ro du c e n o ex citing topic The Widow D ouglas stayed by to

.
se e that h e obeyed At home Tom learned o f the C ardiff Hill

.
“ ”
event ; al so that the ragg ed man s body had eventually been ’
found in the river near the ferry landing ; he had been

drowned whil e trying to escape perh aps ,
.
About a fortnight after Tom s res cue from the cave h e ’

,
started o ff to visit Huck who had grown plenty strong ,
e nough now to hear exciting talk and Tom had some that
, , ,
would interest him he thought Judge Thatcher s house was

,
.
’
o n Tom s way and he stopped to see Becky The Judge and

’
.
,
some friends se t Tom to talking and some o n e asked him ,
ironically if he wouldn t like to go to the cave again To m said

’
.
he thought he wouldn t mind it The Judge said :

’
.
“ ’
Well there are others just like you Tom I ve n o t the
, , ,
leas t doubt But we have taken care o f that N Obody will get
'
. .
”
lost in that cave any more .
“ ”
Why ?
Because I had its big door sheathed with boiler iron tw o
,
- —
we eks ago and triple locked and I ve got the keys ” ’
.
C HAPT ER XXXIII
TH E F ATE OF IN J U N J OE
WITHIN a few minutes the news had spread and a dozen ,
Skiff loads o f men were o n their way to M c D ou g al S cave and

- ’
,
the ferryboat well filled w ith passengers soon follo wed To m

, ,
.
S awyer was in the skiff that bore Judge Thatcher .
When the c ave door was unlocked a sorrowful sight pre ,
sented itself in the dim twilight of the place Injun J o e lay .
stretched upon the ground dead with his face close to th e

, ,
crack o f the door as if his longing eyes had been fixed to the
, ,
latest moment upon the light and the cheer o f the free world
,
outside Tom was touch e d for he knew by his own experience

.
,
how this wretch had suffered His pity was moved but never
.
,
th e le ss he felt an abounding sense o f relief and security now , ,
which revealed to him in a degree which h e had not fully ap

p re c i a te d before how vas t a weight of dread had been lying
up o nhim Sin c e the day he lifted his voice against this bloody
minded outcast .
Injun Joe s bowie knife lay close by its blade broken in

’
-
,
two The great foundation b e am o f the door had be en chipped

.
-
and hack e d through with tedious labor ; us e less labor too it

, , ,
was for the native rock formed a Sill outside it and upon that
, ,
stubborn m aterial th e knife had wrought no e ffect ; the only

damage done was to the knife itself But if there had been .
no stony Obstruction there the labor would have been useless

still for if the beam had been wholly cut away Injun J o e
,
could not have squeezed his body under the door and he ,
knew it S o he had only hacked that place in order to b e doing

.
228
T HE FATE OF IN J U N J OE 2 20
something— —
in order to pass the weary time i n order to
employ his tortured faculties O rdinarily o n e could find half
.
a dozen bits of candle stuck around in the crev ices o f this

vestibule left there by tourists ; but there were none n o w
,
.
The prisoner had searched them o u t and eaten them He had .
also contriv ed to catch a few bats and these also h e had , , ,
eaten leaving only their claws The poor unfortun ate had
,
.
starved to death In o n e place near at hand a stalagmite had

. ,
b een Slowly growing up from the ground for ages build ed by ,
the water drip from a stalactite overhead The c aptive had

- .
broken o ff the stalagmite and upon the stump had placed a

,
'
stone wherein he had scooped a Shallow hollow to catch th e

,
pr e cio u s drop that fell once in every t h re e m in u tes with the

'
- —
dreary regularity o f a clock tick a dessert spoonful once in
-
four and tw e n ty h o u rs That drop was falling when the

- - < .
Pyramids were new ; when Troy fell ; when the foundations

o f R ome were laid ; when Christ was crucified ; when the C on
.
q u e ro r created th e British empire ; when C olumbus sailed ;

“ ”
when the massacre at L exingto n was news I t is falling .
n o w ; it will still be falling when all th e se things Sh all h av e f
sunk down the afternoon o f history and the twilight o f tradi

tion and been swallowe d up in the thick night o f Oblivion .
Has everything a purpose and a mission ? D id this drop fall

patiently during five thousand years to be ready for this fl it
ting human insect s need ? and has it another importan t ob
’
j ec t to accomplish ten thousand y ears to come ? N o matter It .
is many and many a year Since the hapless half breed scooped
-
o u t the stone to catch the priceless drops but to this day the ,
t ourist stares longest at that pathetic stone and that slow

dropping water when he comes to see the wond ers o f M c
’
D oug al s cave Injun Joe s cup stands first in the list of the
.
’
’ “ ”
cavern s marvels ; even Aladdin s Palace cannot rival it ’
.
Injun Joe was buried near the mouth Of the cave ; and
'
p eople flocked there in boats and wagons from the towns and
23 ° TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF TOM S AW YE R
from all the farms an d hamlets for seven miles around ; they
brought their children and all sorts of provisions and con , ,
fessed that they had had almost as sa tis factory a time at the
funer al as they could have had at the hanging .
—
This funeral stopped th e further growth of o n e thing the
petition to the G overnor for Injun Joe s pardon The petition ’
.
had been largely signed ; many tearful and eloquent m e e tl n g s

had been held and a committee of sappy women been ap
,
pointe d to g o in deep mourning and wail around th e Governor ,
and implore him to be a merciful ass and tr am ple his duty

under foot Injun Joe was believed to have killed five citizens
.
o f the village but what o f that ? If he had been S atan himself

,
there would have been plenty o f weaklings ready to scribble

their names to a pardon petition and drip a tear o n it from ,
their permanently impaired and leaky waterworks .
The morning after the funeral T o m took Huck to a private

place to have an important talk Huck had learned all about .
Tom s adventure from th e Welshman and the Widow D oug

’
las by this time but Tom said he reckoned there was o n e

, ,
thing they had not told him ; that thing was what he wanted
to talk about now Huck s face saddened He said :
’
. .
I know what it is You got into N o 2 and never found . .
anything but whisky N obody told me it was you ; but I just .
’
knowed it must a ben you soon as I heard bout that whisky
’ ’
,
business ; and I knowed you hadn t got the money b e c u z ’
you d a got at me some way o r other and told me even if you

’ ’ ’
w as mum to everybody else Tom something s always told m e

’
,
.
”
we d never get holt o f that swag
’
.
“
Why Huck I never told o n that tavern keeper You know
, ,
- .
his tavern was all right the S aturday I went to the picnic .
”
D on t you remember you was to watch there that night ?
’
“
O h yes ! Why it seems bout a year ago It was that v e ry
, ,
’
.
” ’
night that I folle re d Injun J oe to the widder s .
“ ”
You followe d him ?
23 2
’
don t anybody but me know about Huck I ll take you right .
,
’
to it in a skiff I ll float the Skiff down there and I ll pull it

’ ’
.
,
back agam all by myself Y ou needn t ever turn your hand .

’
”
over .
“
L ess start right o ff Tom ,
.
All right We want some bread and meat and ou r pipes

.
, ,
and a little bag o r two and two o r three kite strings and some
-
, ,
o f these new fangled things they call lucifer matches I tell

- .
you ma ny s the time I wished I had some when I was in

,
’
there before .
A trifle after noon the boys borrowed a small Ski ff from a ‘
citizen who was absent and got under way at once When , .
‘
“ ”
they were several miles below C ave Hollow Tom said : ,
“
N ow you see this bluff here looks all alike all the way
—
down from the cave hollow no houses no woodyards bushes , ,
all alike But do you see that white place up yonder where
.
’
there s been a landslide ? Well that s one o f my marks We ll
’
, .
’
”
get ashore now ,
.
They landed .
“
Now Huck where we re a standing you could touch that
,
-
,
’
hole I got o t of with a s g pole S ee if you can find it

u fi h in - . .
Huck searched all the place about and f0und nothing ,

.
T o mproudly marched into a thick clump of sumach bushes

]
and said :
Here you are ! L ook at it Huck ; it s the snuggest hole in ,
’
this country You just keep mum about it All along I ve been
. .
’
’
wanting to be a robber but I knew I d got to have a thing
.
,
like this and where to run across it was the bother We ve

,
.
’
got 1t now and we ll keep it quiet only we ll let Joe Harper

,
’
,
’
-—
and Ben R og ers in because Of course there s got to be a
x
’
Gang or else th e re wouldn t be any style about it Tom

,
’
.
—
S awyer s Gang it sounds splendid don t it Huck ?
’ ” ’
, ,
“ ”
Well it just does Tom And w ho ll we rob ?
, ,
.
’
T HE FA TE OF IN J U N J OE 23 3
—
O h most anybody Waylay people that s mostly the
,
.
’
”
way .
“ ”
And kill them ?
N o not always Hide them in the cave till they raise a
,
.
”
ransom .
“
What s a ransom ? ’
. M oney You make them raise all they can o ff n their

.
,
’
’
frie nds ; and after you ve kept them a ye ar if it ain t rais e d ’
,
then yo u kill them That s the general way O nly yo u don t.

’
.
’
’
kill the women You shut up the women but you don t kill
.
,
them They re always beautiful and rich and awfully scared

’
,
. .
Y ou take their watches and things but you always t ake your ,
hat o ff and talk polite They ain t anybody as polite as rob .

’
—
bers you ll see that in any book Well the women get to
’
.
,
’
loving you and after they ve been in the cave a week o r two
,
’
weeks they stop crying and after that you couldn t get th e m
’
to leave If you drove them o u t they d turn right around and
.
”
come back It s so in all the books .
’
.
“
Why it s real bully Tom I b liev e it s b e tte r n to be a
,
’
,
.
’ ’ ’
”
pirate .
“
Yes it s better in some ways because it s close to home
,
’
,
’
”
an d circuses and all that .
By this time everything was ready and the boys entered

the hole Tom in the lead They toiled their way to the farther
,
.
end Of the tunnel then made their spliced kite strings fast
-
,
and moved on A few steps brought them to th e sprin g an d

.
'
To m felt a shudder quiver all through him He showed Huck .
the fragment o f candle wick perched on a lump o f clay against

-
the wall an d described how he and Becky had watche d th e

,
flame struggle and expire .
The boys began to quiet down to whispers now fo r th e ‘
, ,
stillness and gloom o f the place oppressed their spirits They .
went on and presently entered and followed Tom s othe r

,
’
corridor until they reached the jumping-Off place Th e .
candles revealed the fact that it was not really a precipice ,
but only a steep clay hill twenty o r thirty feet high Tom .
whispered :
“
N o w I ll Show you something Huck
’
,
.
He held his can dle aloft and said :

“
L ook as far around the corner as you can D o you see .
— —
that ? There o n the big rock over yonder done with can
dle smoke
- .
“ ”
To m it s a cr oss !
’
,
N o w where s your N umber Tw o ? Un d er th e cr oss hey ?

’ ‘ ’
,
Right yonder s where I saw Injun Joe poke up his candle

’
,
Huck stared at the mystic Sign awhile and then said with ,
a shaky voice
“ ”
Tom le s git o u t o f here !
,
’
”
What ! and l e ave the treasure ?
—
Yes leave it Injun Joe s ghost is round about there
.
’
,
certain .
“
N o it ain t Huck no it ain t It would ha nt the place
’
, ,
’
.
’
w here he died — away out at the mouth of the cave fiv e —

”
miles from here .
“
N0 Tom it wouldn t It would hang round the money I
, ,
’
. .
”
know the ways o f ghosts and so do you ,
.
Tom began to fear that Huck w as right M l sg i v m g s gath .
e red in his mind But presently an idea occurred to him

.
“
L ooky here Huck what fools we re making o f our ’
—
, ,
s elves ! Inju n Joe s ghost ain t a going to come around where

’ ’
’ ”
there s a cross !
The point was well taken It had its e ffect . .
“
T o m I didn t think o f that But that s so It s luck for
’ ’ ’
. .
,
u s that cross is I reckon we ll climb down there and have a

’
.
,
”
hunt for that box .
Tom went first cutting rude steps in the clay b ill as he

,
23 6
T H E A DV E N T U RE S OF TO M S A W YER
little cavern along with an e mpty powder-keg a couple o f
,
‘
guns in le ather cases two o r three pairs of Old moccasins a , ,
leath e r belt and some other rubbish well soaked with the
,
water drip
- .
“ ”
Got it at last ! said Huck plowing among the tarnished ,
“ ”
coins with his hand M y but we re rich Tom ! .
,
’
,
“
Huck I always reckoned we d get it It s just too good to
,
’
.
’
,
—
believe but we k av e got it sure ! S ay let s not fool aroun d ,
,
’
’ ”
here L et s snake it o u t L emme see if I can lift the box
. . .
It weighed about fi fty pounds Tom could lift it after an .

,
awkward fashion but could not carry it conveniently ,

.
“ ”
I thought so he said ; th ey carried it like it was heavy , ,
’
that day at the ha nted house I noticed that I reckon I was . .
right to think o f fetching th e little bags along .
The money was soon in the bags and th e boys took it up to

th e cross rock .
“
Now le s fetch the guns and things said Huck
’
,
.
“ —
N o Huck leav e them there They re just the tricks to
,
.
’
have when we go to robbing We ll keep them there all the .

’
time and we ll hold ou r orgies there too It s an awful snug

,
’
,
.
’
”
place for orgies .
“
Wh at s o rgies ? ” ’
“
I dono But robbers always have orgies and of cour s e
.
,
we ve got to have them too C ome along Huck ; we ve b e en

’
,
.
,
’
in h ere a long time It s getting late I reckon I m hungry .

’
,
.
’
,
to o We ll e at and smoke when we get to the ski ff

’ ’
. .
They presently emerged into the clump o f sumach bushes ,
looked warily out found th e coast clear and were soon lunch , ,
ing and smoking in th e ski ff As the sun dipped toward th e .
horizon they push e d out and got under way Tom skimmed up .
the shore through the long twilight chatting c heerily with ,
Huck an d landed shortly after dark

,
.
“ ” “
Now Huck said Tom we ll hide the money in the loft
, , ,
’
o f the w idow s woodshed and I ll come up in the m orning and

’ ’
,
T HE FATE OF IN J UN J OE 23 7
’
we ll count it and divide and then we ll hun t up a place o u t
’
,
in the woods for it where it will be safe Just you lay quiet .
her e and watch the stuff till I run and hook Benny Taylor s ’
littl e wagon ; I won t be gone a minute

’ .
He disappeared an d presently returned with the w ag On

‘
, ,
put the two small sacks into it threw some o ld rags o n top o f ,
them and started o ff dragging his cargo behind him Whe n

, ,
.
’
th e boys reached th e Welshman s house they stopped to rest ,
.
Just as they were about to move o n the Welshman stepped ,
o u t and said
”
Hello who s that ? ,
’
Huck and Tom S awyer .
Good ! C om e along with me boys ; you are keeping ev e ry ,
— —
body waiting Here hurry up trot ahead I ll haul th e
.
’
,
wagon for you Why it s not as light as it might be Go t

.
,
’
.
—
bricks in it ? o r old metal ? ”
“ ”
O ld metal said Tom ,
.
I j u dged so ; the boys in this town will take more trouble

an d fool away more time hunting up six bits worth o f o ld
’
iron to sell to the foundry than they w ould to make twice the
money at regular work But that s human nature hurry — .
’
”
along hurry along !
,
The boys wanted to know what the hurry was about .
“
N ever mind ; you ll see when we get to the Widow D oug ’
’ ”
las s .
—
Huck said with some apprehension for he was long used _
to being falsely accuse d

“
M r Jones w e haven t been doing nothing
.
,
’
.
The Welshman laughed .
“
Well I don t know Huck my boy I don t know abou t
,
’
, ,
.
’
”
that Ain t you and the w ido w g o o d friends ?
.
’
“
Yes Well she s ben good friends to me anyways
.
,
’
,
.
”
All right then What do you want to be afraid for ?
,
.
This question was not entirely answered in Huck s slo w ’

? 38 T H E A DVE N T U RE S r
oF T OM S A W Y ER
’
mind before he found himself pushed along with Tom into , ,
M rs D ouglas s draw m g ro o ni M r Jones left th e wagon

.
- ’
. .
n ear the door and followed .
The place was grandly lighted and everybody that w as o f ,
any consequence in th e village was there The Thatchers .
were there the Harpers the R o g e rse s Aunt Polly S id M ary

, , , , , ,
the minister the editor and a great many more and all
, , ,
dressed in their best The widow received the boys as heartily

.
as anyo ne could well receive two such looking beings They .
were covered with clay and candle grease Aunt Polly blushe d
- .
crimson with humiliation and frowned and shook her head at

,
Tom Nobody suffered half as much as th e two boys did

.
,
however M r Jones sai d

,
.
To mwasn t at home yet so I gave him up ; but I stum

“ ’
, ,
bled on him and Huck right at my door and so I just brough t ,
them along in a hurry

“
And you did just right said the widow C ome with me ,
.
,
She took them to a bedchamber and said :

Now wash and dress yourselves Here are two new suits .
o f clothes
— shirts socks everything complete ; They r e ’
,
— ’ —
Huck s no no thanks Huck M r Jones bought o n e and I
, ,
.
’
the other But they ll fit both o f you Get into them We ll
.
’
. .
—
wait come down when yo u are slicked up e n ou g
Then she left .
24 °
TH E A DV E N T U RE S OF TOM S AW YER
”
S ecret about what S id ? ,
About Huck tracking the robbers to the widow s I reckon ’

.
M r Jones was going to m ake a grand time over his surprise

.
,
”
but I bet you it will drop pretty flat .
S id chuckled m a very contented and satisfied way .
”
S id was it you that told ?
,
,
—
O h never mind wh o it was S om e b o dy told tha t s .
’
3
’
e n ou g
“
S id there s only one person in this town mean enough to
,
’
do that and that s you If you had been in Huck s place you d
’ ’ ’
.
,
’
a sneaked down the hill and n ever told an ybody o n the rob
’
bers You can t do any but mean things and you can t bear to
.
’
,
’
—
see anybody praised for doing good ones There no thanks
-
. r
,
” —
as the widow says and Tom cuffed S id s ears and helped ’
“
him to the door with several ki cks N ow go and tell auntie if .
-
—
you dare and tomorrow you ll catch it ! ” ’
S ome minutes later the widow s guests were at the supper ’
table and a dozen children were propped up at little side

,
tables in the same room after the fashion of that country and
,
that day At the proper time M r Jones made his littl e speech
. .
,
in which he thanked the widow for the honor Sh e was doing

himself and his sons but said that there was another person
,
whose modesty
’
And so forth and so o n He sprung his secret about Huck s .
share in the adventure in the finest dramatic manner he w as

master o f but the surprise it occasioned w as largely counter
,
feit and not as c lamorous and effusive as it might have been

under happ l er c 1rcu m stan c e s However the widow made a .
,
pretty fair Show o fastonishment and heaped so many compli ,
ments and so much gratitude upon Huck that he almost for

got the nearly intolerable di scomfort of his new clothes in the
entirely intolerable discomfort of being set up as a target for
everybody s gaze and everybody S laudations
’ ’
.
The widow said she meant to give Huck a home under her
FLO ODS OF GOLD 24 1
roo f an d have him educated ; and that when Sh e could spare

the money Sh e would start him in business in a modest way .
Tom s chance was come He said

’
.
“ ’
Huck don t need it Huck s rich ’
. .
Nothing but a heavy strain upon the good manners o f the

company ke p t back the due and proper complimentary laugh
at this pleasant j oke But th e silence was a li ttle awkward . .
T o m broke it :
“
Huck s g o t money M aybe y o u don t believe it but h e s
’
.
’
,
’
g o t lots o f it O h you needn t smile

.
— I reckon
,
I can show y o u
’
.
”
Y o u just wait a minute .
To m ran o u t o f doors The company looked at each other .
—
wi th a perplexed interest and Inqu i r i ngly at Huck w h o w as ,
tongue tied
- .
“
,
f ” —
S id what ails r o m ? said Aunt Polly H e well there .
,
’
ai n t ever any making o f that boy ou t I never .
To m entered struggling with the weight o f his sacks and

, ,
Aun t Polly did not finish her sentence Tom poured the mass .
o f yellow coin upon the table and said

—
_
“
There what did I tell you ? Half o f it s Huck s and half ’ ’
”
o fi t s mine !
’
The spectacle took the general breath away All gazed n o .

,
body spoke for a moment Then there was a unanimous call .
fo r an explanation To m said he could furnish it and he did

.
,
.
The tale was long but brim ful o f interest There was scarcely
,
.
an interruption from any one to break the charm o f its flow .
When he had finish ed M r Jones said : ,

.
I thought I had fixed up a little surprise for this occasion ,
but it don t amount to anything now This one makes it sing

’
.
”
m ighty small I m willing to allow
’
.
,
The money was counted The sum amounted to a little over .
t welve thousand dollars It was more than any o n e present .
had ever seen at one time before though several persons were ,
t here who were worth con siderably more tha n that in

property .
CHAPT E R XXXV
RES P EC TAB LE HUCK J OINS TH E GAN G
TH E eade r may rest satifi e d that Tom s and Huck s windf all
r
’ ’
made a mighty stir in the poor little Village O f S t Petersburg . .
SO vast a sum all in actual cash seemed next to incredibl e

, ,
.
It was talked about gloated over glorified until the reason

, , ,
of many of the citizens tottered under the strain o f the u n

“ ”
healthy excitement E very haunted house in S t Petersburg
. .
and the neighboring villages was dissected pl an k by plank , ,
and its foundations dug up and ransacked for hidden treasure

— ,
—
and not by boys but men pretty grave unromantic men , ,
too some of them Wherever Tom and Huck appeared they

,
.
were courted admired stared at The boys were not able to

, ,
.
remember that their remarks had p ossessed weight before ;

but now their sayings were treasured and r epeated ; every
thing they did seemed somehow to be regarded as remark
able ; they had evidently lost the power o f doing and saying
commonplace things ; moreover their past history was rak e d
,
up and discovered to bear marks of conspicuous origin al ity .
The village paper published biographical sketches o f th e

boys .
The Widow D ougl as put Huck s money o u t at Six per cent

’
’
and Judge Thatch er did the sam e with Tom s at Aunt Polly s ’
request E ach lad had an income n o w that was simply pro

.
, ,
—
d ig io u s a dollar fo r every week day in th e year and half o f
-
.
—
the S undays It w as just what the minister got no it w as ,
—
what he was promised h e generally couldn t collect it A ’
.
dollar and a quarter a week w ou ld b o ard lodge and sch o ol a

'
, ,
24 2
‘
TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF T OM S A W Y ER
He bravely bore h is miseries three weeks and then o n e d ay ,
turned up missing F or forty eight hours the widow h u nted

- .
for him everywhere in great distress The public were pro; .
fo u n dly concerned ; they searched high and low they dragged ,
the river for his body E arly the third morning To m S awyer .
wisely went poking among some Old empty hogsheads down

behind the abandoned Slaughter house and in one o f them h e
-
,
found the refugee Huck had slept there ; he had j ust break
.
fasted Upon some stolen Odds and ends o f food and was lying ,
o ff now in comfort with his pipe H e w as unkempt u n

, , ,
.
,
combed and clad in the same Old ruin o f rags that had made
,
him picturesque in the days when he was free and happy .
Tom routed him o u t told him the tr ouble h e h ad been caus,
ing and urged him to go home Huck s face lost its tranquil
, .
’
content and took a melancholy cast He said

,
.
“
D on t talk about it Tom I ve tried it and it don t work ;
’
,
.
’
,
’
’
it don t work Tom It ain t for me ; I ain t used to it The wid
, .
’ ’
.
’ ’
der s good to me and friendly ; but I can t stand them ways
,
.
S he makes me git up just at the same time every morning ;

’
she makes me wash they comb me all to thunder ; Sh e won t
,
let me Sleep in the woodshed ; I got to wear them blamed

’
clothes that just smothers me Tom ; they don t seem to let
”
,
’
any air git through em somehow ; and they re so rotten nice
’
,
that I can t set down nor lay down nor roll around any
’
, ,
’ ’
-
w h e r s ; I hain t slid o n a cellar door for— well it pears to be ,
’
y ears ; I got to go to church and sweat and sweat — I hate

’
them ornery sermons ! I can t ketch a fly in there I can t ’
,
c haw I got to wear shoes all S unday The w 1dde r eats by a

. .
—
b ell ; she goes to bed by a bell ; she gits up by a bell every
’ ’
t hing s so awful reg lar a body can t stand
’
“
Well everybody does that way Huc
, ,
’
Tom it don t make no difference I ain t everybody and
,
’
.
,
I can t s tan d it It s awful to be tied up so And grub comes too

’ ’
. .
—
easy I don t take n o interest in vittles that way I got to
’
,
.
RE S P E C TAB L E H U C K J OIN S TH E GA N G 24 5
ask go to ; I got to ask to go in

a fi sh in g
- a- —
swimming de rn d ’
if I hai n t got to ask to do e verything Well I d got to talk so

’
.
,
’
—
nice it wasn t no comfort I d g o t to go U p in the attic and
’ ’
rip o u t awhile every day to git a taste in my mouth o r I d ’

‘
, , ,
’
a died Tom The widder wouldn t let me smoke ; Sh e would
’ ’
.
,
’
n t let me yell she wouldn t let m e gape nor stretch n o r
’
, , ,
scrat ch before folks , ! Then with a spasm o f special 1r
ritatio n and injury ] And dad fetch it she prayed all th e ,
—
time ! I never se e such a wom an ! I h ad t o shove Tom I j us t ,
’ ’ ’
had to And besides that school s going to open and I d a
.
, ,
"
—
had to go to it well I wouldn t stand that Tom L ooky here ,
’
,
.
,
’
To m being rich ain t what it s cracked up to be It s just
’ ’
,
.
worry and worry and sweat and sweat and a wishing y o u

,
-
,
was dead all the tim e fiN o w these clothes suits me and thi s ,
bar l suits me and I ain t eve r going to shake em any more

’
,
’ ’
.
Tom I wouldn t ever got into all this trouble if it hadn t a

’ ’ ’ ’
,
been for that money ; now you just take my sheer o f it along
’
-
with your n and gimme a ten center sometimes not many —
,
times b e c u z I don t give a dern for a thing thout it s tollabl e

,
’ ’ ’
—
hard to git an d you g o and beg Off fo r me with the widder ”
.
“
O h Huck you know I can t do that Tain t fair ; and
, ,
’
.
’ ’
,
besides if you ll try this thing just awhile longer you ll com e
,
’ ’
”
to like it .
“ —
L ike it ! Yes the way I d like a h o t stove if I was to s e t ’
o n it long enough N 0 To m I won t be rich and I won t li v e

’ ’
.
, , ,
in them cussed smothery hous es I like the woods and the .

,
river and hogsheads and I ll stick to em too Blame it all !

, ,
’ ’
,
.
’
just as we d g o t guns and a cave and all just fixed to rob , , ,
”
here this dern foolishness has got to come up and spile it all !
Tom s awhis opportunity
“
L ooky here Huck being rich ain t going to keep me back
, ,
’
from turning robber .
“
N O ! Oh good licks are you in real deadwood earnest
-
, , ,
”
Tom ?
24 6 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF T OM S AW YE R
Just as dead earnest as I m sitting here But Huck we ’
a- .
, ,
’
can t let you into the gang if you ain t respectable you ’
,
”
kn ow .
Huck s J oy was quenched ’

.
“ ’ ’
C an t let me in Tom ? D idn t you let me go for a pirate ?
,
Yes but that s different A robber 1S more high -toned than

,
’
.
w hat a pirate is — as a general thing In most countries they re .

’
—
awful high up in the nobility dukes and such ”
.
“ ’
N ow Tom hain t you always ben friendly to me ? Y ou
,
w ouldn t sh et me out would y o u T o m ? Y o u wouldn t d o that

’ ’
, , ,
”
n o w w o u ld you Tom ?
, ,
“ —
Huck I wouldn t want to and I d on t want to but what
,
’
,
’
w ould people say ? Why they d say M ph ! Tom S awyer s ,

’
,
‘ ’
Gang ! pretty low characters in it ! They d mean you Huck ’ ’

,
.
”
You wouldn t like that and I wouldn t ’
,
’
.
Huck was silent fo r some time engaged in a mental strug ,
gle F inally he said

.
“
Well I ll go back to the widder for a month and tackle it
,
’
and see if I can come to stand it if you ll let me b long to the ,

’ ’
”
gang Tom ,
.
“
All righ t Huck it s a whiz ! C ome along old chap and
, ,
’
, ,
I ll ask the widow to let up o n you a little Huck

’
,
.
Will you Tom now will you ? That s good If she ll let
,
- ’
.
’
up o n some o f the roughest things I ll smoke private and cuss ,

’
private and crowd through o r bust When you going to start

,
.
”
th e gang and turn r obbers ?
“
O h right off We ll get the boys together and h ave the ini
,
.
’
”
tiatio n to night maybe
-
,
.
“ ”
Have the which ?
Have the initiation .
”
What s that ? ’
It s to s wear to stand by o n e another and never tell th e

’
,
gang s secrets even if you re chopped all to fl in de rs and kill

’
,
’
,
”
anybody and all his family that hurts on e o f the gang .
CONCLUS I ON
SO endeth this chronicle It being strictly a histo ry o f a boy

.
,
it must s top here ; the story could not go much further with
out becoming the history o f a m an When o n e writes a novel
.
about grown people he knows exactly where to stop that is —

, ,
with a marriage ; but when he writes of juveniles he must stop

,
where he best can .
M ost o f the characters that perform in thl s book still live ,
and are prosperous and happy S ome day it may seem worth
.
whil e to take up the story o f the younger ones again and se e

what sort o f men and women they turned ou t to be ; therefore
it will b e wisest n o t to rev eal any o f that part o f their lives at
pr e sent
.
ADVEN T URES
SCE NE : Th e M ississippi Valley
TI M E : F orty to Fifty Years Ag o
EXPLANAT ORY
IN this book a number o f dialects are used to wit : the M is

,
souri negro dialect ; the extremist form o f the backwoods

“ ”
S outhwestern dialect ; the ordinary Pike C ounty dialect ;
and four modified varieties o f this last The shadings have n o t
.
been don e in a haphazard fashion o r by guesswork ; but pains

,
takingly and with the trustworthy guidance an d support o f

,
personal familiarity with these se v eral forms o f speech .
I make this explanation fo r th e reaso n that without it many

readers would suppose that all thes e characters wer e trying
to talk al ike and n o t succe e ding
.
T H E AU TH OR.
T H E A DVE N T U RE S H U C K L E B E RR Y F I N N
'
25 6 OF
lamb and she called me a lot o f other n ames too but sh e

, , ,
n ever meant no harm by it S he put me in them new clothes .
again and I couldn t do nothing but sweat and sweat and feel
,
’
,
all cramped up Well then the old thing commenced again

.
, , .
The widow rung a bell fo r supper and you had to come to ,
time When you got to the table you c o u ldn ft go right to eat
.
ing but you had to wait for th e widow to tuck down her head
,
.
and grumble a little over the victuals though there warn t ,

’
—
really anything the matter w ith them that is nothing only ,
everything was cooked by itself In a b arrel of odds and ends .
it is different ; things get mixed up and the juice kind o f ,
s waps around and the things go better ,

.
A fter supper Sh e got o u t her book and learned me about '
M oses and the B u l ru sh e rs and I was in a sweat to find o u t ,
all about him ; but by and by she let it out that M oses had
been dead a considerable long time ; S O then I didn t care n o ’
more about him because I don t take no stock in dead peopl e

,
’
.
Pretty soon I wanted to smoke and ask ed the widow to let ,
me But she wouldn t S he said it was a mean practice and

.
’
.
wasn t clean and I must try to not do it any mor e That is

’
,
.
just the way with some people They get down o n a thing .
when they don t know nothing about it Here she was a both
’
- .
e ring about M oses which was no kin to her and no use to

, ,
anybody being gone you see yet finding a powe r o f fault

, , ,
with me for doing a thing that had some good in it And she .
took snuff too ; o f course that was all right because she done
, ,
it herself .
Her sister M iss Watson a tolerable slim Old maid with

, ! , ,
goggles o n had just come to live with her and took a set at
, ,
me now with a spelling b ook S he worked me middling hard

- .
for about an hour and then the widow made her ease up
,
.
I couldn t stood it much longer Then for an hour it was

’
.
deadly dull and I was fi dg e ty M iss Watson would say

,
.
,
” “ ’
D on t put your feet up there Huckleberry ; and D on t
’
,
I D I S C O VE R M O S E S AN D TH E BU L RU SH E R S 25 7
—
scrunch up like that Huckleberry set up straight ,
and
’
pretty soon she would say D on t gap and stretch like that , ,
— ”
Huckleberry w hy don t y ou try to behave ? Then sh e told
é
’
me all about the bad place and I said I wished I w as there ,

.
’
S he g o t mad then but I didn t mean n o harm All I wanted
,
.
w as to g o somewheres ; all I wanted was a change I warn t

’
,
particular S he said it was wicked to say what I said ; said sh e

.
wouldn t say it for the whole world ; sh e was going to live so

’
’
as to go to the good place Well I couldn t see no advan tag e .
,
in going where Sh e was going so I made up my mind I ,

.
wouldn t try for it But I never said so because it would only

’
.
,
’
make trou bl e and wouldn t do n o good
,
;
N ow Sh e had got a start an d she went o n and told m e all

'
about the good place Sh e said all a body would have to do

.
there was to g o aro u n d all day long with a harp and si ng

<
f
forever an d ever SO I didn t think much o f it But I never

.
’
.
s aid so I aske d her if she reckoned Tom S awyer would g o

.
there and Sh e said not by a considerable sight I w as glad

,
.
about that because I wanted him and me to be together

,
.
M iss Watson she kept pecking at me and it got tiresome ,
an d lonesome By and by they fetched the niggers in and had

'
prayers and then everybody was o ff to bed I went up to my

,
.
room with a piece o f candle an d put it o n the table Then I ,

.
set down in a ch air by the window and trie d to think o f some

thing cheerful but it warn t n o use I felt so lonesome I most
’
,
’
.
wished I w as dead The stars were shining and the leaves

.
,
rustled in the woods ever so mournful ; and I heard an o w l ,
away off who w h oo in g about somebody that was dead an d

-
, ,
a whippowill and a dog crying about somebody that was goin g

to die ; and the wind was trying to whisper something to me ,
an d I couldn t make out what it was and so it made the cold

’
,
shivers run over me Then away o u t in the woods I he ard that

.
kind o f a sound that a ghost makes when it wants to tell

’
about something that s o n its mind and can t make itsel f u h
’
25 8 T H E ADVE N T U R E S OF H U C K L E B E RR Y F I N N
dersto o d ,
’
and SO can t rest easy in its grave and has to g o ,
about that way every night grieving I got so downhearted .
an d scared I did wish I had some company Pretty s o o n a .

fl
spider went crawling up my shoulder and I flipped it Off and ,
it lit in th e candle ; and b e fore I co ul d budge it was all sh riv

e le d u p I didn t need anybody to te ll m e that that was an aw
’
.
ful bad sign and wo u ld fe tch me Some bad luck so I w as ,
scared and most shook the clothes o ff o f me I g o t up and .
turned around in my tracks three times and crossed my breast

e v ery time ; and then I tied up a little lock o f my h air wi th a
thread to keep witches away But I hadn t no confidence You

.
’
.
’
do that when you ve lost a horseshoe that you v e found in
’
,
stead o f nailing it up over th e door but I hadn t ever heard ,

’
an ybody say it w as any way to keep o ff bad luck when you d ’
killed a spider .
I set down again a shaking all over an d got o u t my pipe

,
-
,
fo r a smoke ; for the house was all as still as death now ,
and s o the widow wouldn t know Well after a long time I

’
.
,
—
heard th e clock away o ff in the town go boom boom boom —
— twelve licks ; an d all still again— stiller than ever Pretty .
soon I heard a twig snap down in th e dark amongst the trees

_
something was a stirring I set still and listen e d D irectly I
- . .
”
could just barely hear a ni e yow ! m e y ow ! down there
- - .
”
That was good ! S ays I m e y o w ! m e y o w ! as so ft as I
-
,
-
could and th e n I put out the light an d scrambled ou t o f the

,
window on to the shed Then I slipped down to the ground and

.
crawled in among the trees and sur e enough there was Tom
, , ,
S awyer waiting fo r me .
60 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C KL E B E RR Y F I N N
till o n e o f them most touched o n e o f mine M y nose begu n to .
itch It itched till the tears come into my eyes But I dasn t
. .
’
s c ratch Then it begun to itch o n the Inside N ext I got to

“
. .
itching underneath I d idn t know how I was going to set still

.
’
.
This miserableness w ent on as much as Six o r seve n minutes ;

but it seemed a sight longer than that I was itching in eleven .
different places now I reckoned I couldn t stand it more n a

.
’ ’
minute longer but I set my teeth hard and got ready to try
, .
Ju st then Jim begun to breathe heavy ; next he begun to snore

h
-and t en I was pretty soon comfortable agai n .
—
Tom b e made a Sign to me kind o f a little noise with his
—
mouth an d we went creeping away o n our hands an d k n e e s .
When we was ten foot Off T o m whispered to me and wanted ,
to tie Jim to the tree for fun But I said no ; he might wake
.
and make a distu rbance and then they d find o u t I warn t in

,
’ ’
.
Then Tom said he hadn t got candles e nough and he would

’
,
’
slip in the kitchen and get some more I didn t want him to .
try I said Jim might wake up and come But Tom wanted to
. .
resk it ; s o we slid in there and g o t three candles and To m ,
laid five cents o n the table for pay Then we got o u t and I .
,
was in a sweat to get away ; but nothing would do Tom but he

must crawl to where Jim was on his hands and knees and , ,
p lay something o n him I waited and it

. seemed a good whil e
, ,
e verything was so still and lonesome .
As soon as Tom was back we cut along the path around the ,
garden fenc e and by and by fetched up on the steep top o f

,
’
the hill the other side o f the house T Om said he slipped Jim s .
hat Off o f his head and hung it on a limb right over him and ,
Jim stirred a little but he didn t wake Afterward Jim said

,
’
.
the witches bewitched him and put him in a trance and rode ,
him all over the state and then set him under the trees again
, ,
and hung his hat o n a limb to show who done it And next .
tim e Jim told it he said they rode him down to N ew O rleans ;

and after that every time he told it he spread it more and
, ,
OU R GA N G S D A R K O A T H
’
more till by and by he said they rode him all over the world
, ,
an d tired him most to death and his back was all over saddle
,
boils Jim was monstrous proud about it and he got so h e

.
,
wouldn t hardly notice the other niggers Niggers would come

’
.
miles to hear Jim tell about it and he was more looked up to

,
than any nigger in that country Stran g e n ig g e rs would stand

.
with their mouths Open and look him all over same as if he ,
w as a wonder N ig g e rs is always talking about witches in th e

.
dark by the kitchen fire ; but whenever o n e was talking and

letting o n to kn ow all about such things Jim would happen in ,
” ’
and say Hm ! What y o u know bout witches ? and that
”
nigger was corked u p and had to take a back seat Jim always .
kept that fiv e center piece round his neck with a string and
-
,
said it was a charm the devil g ive to him with his o w n hands ,
and told him he Gould cur e anybody with it and fetch witch e s
wh enever h e wanted to j ust by saying something to it ; but he
'
never told what it was h e sai d to it N iggers W ould come from .
all around ther e and give Jim anything they had just for a
‘
sight o f that fi v e center piece ; but they wouldn t touch it ,

- be
’
cause the devil had had his hands o n it Jim was mos t ruined .
for a servant because he got stuck up o n account o f having

,
se en the devil and been rode by witches .
Well w h én To m and m e got to the edge o f the hilltop w e

,
looked away down into the Village and could see thre e o r four
lights twinkling where there was sick folks maybe ; and th e
, ,
stars over us was sparkling ever so fine ; and down by th e

village was the river a whole mile broad and awful still and
, ,
gran d We went down the hill and found J o e Harper and Ben
.
R ogers and tw o o r three more o f the boys hid in the old tan
, ,
yard S o we unhitched a Skiff and pulled down the river tw o

.
mile and a half to the big scar on the hillside and w ent
, ,
ashore .
We went to a clump of bushes and Tom made everybody ,
swear to keep the secret and then Showed them a hole in the
,
26 2
T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C K L E B E RR Y FIN N
hill right in th e thickest part o f th e bushes Then we lit th e
, .
candles an d crawled in o n ou r hands an d knees We went

, .
about two hundred yards and then the cave opened u p ,
Tom poked about amongst the passages and pretty soon ,
ducked un der a wall where y ou wouldn t a n oticed that there ’ ’ ’
was a hole W e went along a narrow place and got into a kind
.
o f room all damp and sweaty and cold and ther e we stopped
, ,
.
To m says :
N o w we ll start this band o f robbers and c all it To m
“ ’
,
’
S awy er s Gang E verybody that wan ts to joi n has got to take
.
”
an oath and wr ite his name in blood
,
.
E verybody was willing So Tom got o u t a sheet o f paper

.
that he had wrote the oath o n and read it It swore every boy
,
.
to stick to th e band and never tell any o f the secrets ; and if

,
anybody done anything to any boy in th e band whichever ,
b oy was ordered to kill that person and his f amily must do it ,
and h e mustn t eat and he mustn t sleep till he had killed them
’ ’
an d hacked a cross in their breasts which was the Sign o f the ,
band An d nobody that didn t belong to the band could use

.
’
that mark and if he did he must be sued ; an d i f he done it

,
again he must be killed And i f anybody that belonged to th e

.
band told the secrets he must have his throat cut and then
, ,
have his carcass burnt up and th e ashes scattered all around ,
and his name blotted Off the list with blood and never men
tio n e d a g ain by th e gang but have a curs e put o n it and b e
,
forgot forever .
E verybody said it was a real beautiful oath and asked ,
To m if he g o t it o u t o f his o w n head He said some o f it but .

,
the rest was o u t o f pirate books and robber books an d every

- -
,
gang that w as high toned had it

- .
S ome thought it would b e good to kill the fam ili es of boys

that told the secrets Tom said it was a good idea so he took
.
,
a pe n cil and wr o te it in Then Ben R og ers says

.
26 4
T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C KL E B E RR Y F I N N
”
But how can we do it if we don t know wh at it is ? ’
Why blame it all we ve g o t to do it D on t I tell you it s

, ,
’
.
’ ’
in the books ? D o you want to go to doing different from

what s in the books and get things all muddled up ?
’ ”
,
“
O h ,that s all very fine to s ay Tom S awyer but how in
’
, ,
’
the nation are these fellows going to be ransomed if we don t
k now how to do it to them ? — that s the thing I want to get at ’
.
”
N o w what do you re c k on it is ?
,
“
Well I don t know But pe r aps if we keep th em till
,
’
.
’
’
they re ransomed it means that we keep them till they re ,
’
de ad f
’
“
N ow that s something lik e That ll answer Why couldn t
,
’
.
’
.
’
’
y ou said that before ? We ll keep them till they re ransomed ’
—
to death ; and a bothersome lot they ll be too eating up ev ’
,
”
e ry th in g and always trying to get loose
,
.
“
How you talk Ben R ogers How can they get loo se when,
.
there s a guard over them ready to shoot them down if they

’
,
”
m ove a peg ?
“
A guard ! Well that is good S o somebody s got to set up ,
.
’
all n ight and never get any sleep j ust so as to Watch them I ,
.
’
think that s foolishness Why can t a body take a club and
’
.
”
ransom them as Soon as they get here ?
“ —
Because it ain t in the books so that s why N ow B en’ ’
.
,
’
R ogers do you want to do things regular or don t you ?
, ,
that s the idea D on t you reckon that the people that made
’
.
’
the books knows what s the correct thing to do ? D o you ’
reckon y ou can learn em anything ? N ot by a good deal No ’

.
,
s ir we ll just go on and ransom them in the regular way

’
.
,
“
All right I don t mind ; but I say it s a fool way any
.
’ ’
,
”
how S ay do we kill the women too ?
.
, ,
“ ’
Well Ben R ogers if I was as ignorant as you I wouldn t
, ,
let on K ill the women ? N o ; nobody ever saw anything in

.
’
the books like that You fetch them to the cave and you re .
,
’
26 5
OU R GA N G S D A R K O A T H
alw ays as polite as pie to them ; and by and by they fall in
love with yo u and never want to go home any more
,
”
.
“ ’
Well if th at s the way I m agreed but I don t take n o
,
’
,
’
sto c k in it M ighty soo n we ll have the cave s o cluttered u p

’
.
with women and fellows waiting to be ransomed that there

, ,
’
won t be no place fo r the robbers But go ahead I ain t g o t .
,
’
”
nothing to say .
L ittle Tommy B arnes was asleep now and when they ,
w aked him up he was scared and cried an d said he wanted , ,
to g o home to his ma and did n t want to be a robber an y

,
’
more ;
SO they all made fun o f him and called him cry baby and
-
, ,
that made him mad and h e s aid he would go straight and tell
,
all the secrets But Tom give him five cents to keep quiet
.
,
and said we would all go hom e and meet next week and ro b ,
somebody and kill some people .
Ben R ogers said he couldn t get ou t much only S undays , ’

,
and so he wanted to begin next S unday ; but all the boys s aid
it would be wicked to do it on S unday an d that settled the
, ,
thing They agr e ed to get together and fix a day as soon as

.
they could and then we elected T o m S awyer first captain and

,
Joe Harper second captain o f th e Gang and so started home ,

.
I c lu m b up th e shed and crept into my window J ust befor e

day was br e aking My new cloth e s was all greased up an d
.
clayey and I was dog tired

,
- .
CHAPT ER III
W E AM BUSCADE THE A - RAB S
WELL I got a good going over in the morning from old M iss
,
-
Watsono n account of my clothes ; but the widow she didn t ’
s cold but only cleaned off the gre ase and clay and looked so
, ,
sorry that I thought I would behave awhile i f I could The n

"
M iss Watson she took me in the closet and prayed b u t noth ,
ing come o f it Sh e told me to pray every day and whatever

.
,
I asked for I would get it But it warn t so I tried it O nce I .

’
. .
got a fi sh line but no hooks It warn t any good to me with out

-
,
.
’
hooks I tried for the hooks three o r four times but somehow
.
,
I couldn t make it work By and by o n e day I asked M iss

’
.
, ,
Watson to try for me but she said I was a fool S he never told
,
.
’
me why and I couldn t make it o u t no way
,
.
I set down one time back in th e Woods and had a long ,
think about it I says to myself if a body can get anythi ng

.
,
they pray for why don t D eacon Winn get back the money
,
’
he lost o n po rk ? Why can t the widow get back her silver snu ff
’
box that was stole ? Why can t M iss Watson fat up ? NO says ’
,
I to myself there ain t n othing in it I went and told the

’
.
,
widow about it and she said the thing a body could get by
,
“ ”
praying for it was spiritual gifts This was too many for me .
,
—
but she told me what she meant I must help other people ,
and do e verything I could for other people and look o u t for ,
them all the time and never think about myself Th is w as

,
.
including Miss Watson as I took it I went o u t in the woods

,
.
and turned it over in my mind a long time but I coul dn t se e ,

’
n o advantag e about i t— exce pt fo r the other people ; so at las t

26 6
I
26 8
TH E A D VE N T U R E S OF H U C KL E B E RR Y F I N N
women in carts taking garden stuff to market but we neve r ,
”
hived any o f them Tom S awyer called the hogs ingots an d .
,
“
he called the turnips and stuff j u le ry and we would go to ,
the cave and powwow over what we had done and how many ,
peopl e we had killed and marked But I couldn t see no profi t .

’
in it O ne time T o m sent a boy to run about town with a

.
blazing stick which he called a slogan ( which was the sign

,
for the Gang to get together ) and then he said he had g o t ,
secret news by his Spies that next day a whole parcel o f S pan
ish merchants and rich A -rabs was going to camp in C ave
Hollow with two hundred elephants and six hundred camels , ,
“ ”
and over a thousand sumter mules all loaded down with ,
di monds and they didn t hav e only a guard of four hundre d

’
,
’
soldiers and so we would lay in ambuscade as he called it

, , ,
and kill the lot and scoop the things He said we must slick up .
o u r swords and guns and get ready He never could go after ,

.
even a turnip c art b u t he must have the swords an d guns all

- ‘
scoured up for it though they was only lath and broomsticks

, ,
an d you might scour at them till you rotted and then they ,
warn t worth a mouthful o f ashes more than what they w as

’
before I didn t believ e we could lick such a crowd o f S pan

.
’
—
iards and A rabs but I wanted to see the camels and ele ,
p h an t s so I was on hand
,
next day S aturd ay in the ambus , ,
cade ; and when we got th e w ord we rushed out of th e wood s

and down the hill B u t the re warn t no S paniards and A rabs
.
- ’
,
an d ther e warn t no cam e ls nor no el e phants It warn t any

’ ’
.
thing but a S unday School picnic and only a primer class at

-
,
that We busted it up and chased the children up the hollow ;

.
,
but we n e ver got a nything but some doughnuts and j am ,
though Ben R ogers got a rag doll and J o e Harper got a hymn ,
book and a tract ; and then the teacher charged in and mad e ,
us drop everything and cut I didn t see no di monds and I .

’ ’
,
told Tom S awyer so He said there was loads of them there .

,
anyway ; and he said there was A rabs ther e too and ele
-
, ,
- 26 9
WE A M B U S C AD E T H E A R AB S
’
ph an ts and things I said why couldn t we see them then ? He
.
, ,
said if I warn t so ignorant but had read a book called D on

’
,
Q u ix o t e I would
,
know without asking He said it was all done .
by enchantment He said there was hundreds of soldiers

.
there and elephants and tre asure and so o n but we had

,
“
, ,
enemies which he called magicians and they had turned th e ,
whole thing into an infant S unday school just out o f spite

-
,
.
I Said all right ; then the thing for us to do was to g o for th e

,
magician s Tom S awyer said I was a numskull

. .
“ ” “
Why said he a magician could call up a lot o f gemes
, , ,
and they would hash you up like nothing be fore you could say
Jack R obinson They are as tall as a tree and as big around
.
”
as a church .
“ ” “
Well I s as ,
s pose we got some genies to help u s’
can t we lick the other crowd

’
“ ”
H OW y o u going to get them ?
'
”
I don t know How do th ey get them ?
' ’
.
Why they rub an Old tin lamp or an iron ring and then
, ,
the genies come tearing in with the thunder and lightning ,
a ripping around and the smoke a rolling ,and everything

- -
’
they re told to do they up and do it They don t think nothing .
’
o f pulling a shot tower up by the roots and belting a S unday

-
,
—
school superintendent over the head With it o r any other
”
man .
“ ”
Who makes them tear around so ?
Why whoever rubs the lamp o r the ring They belong to
,
.
whoever rubs the lamp or the ring and they ve got to do ,

’
whatever he says If he tells them to build a palace forty miles

.
long out o f di monds and fill it full o f chewing gum or what

’
-
, ,
ever y o u want and fetch an emperor s dau ghter from China

,
’
—
for you to marry they ve got to do it and they ve got to do
,
’ ’
it before sun u p next morning too And more : they ve got to

-
,
.
’
waltz that palace around over the country wherever you want
”
it you understand
, .
27 ° TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C K L E B E RR Y F I N N
l
Well says I I think they are a p ack o f fl ath e ads for

, ,
not keeping the palace themselves stead of fooling them ’
— ’
away like that And what s more if I was o n e of them I
.
~
would see a man in Jericho before I would drop my business

and come to him for the rubbing o f an Old tin lamp .
How y ou talk Huck F inn Why you d h av e to come When

,
.
,
’
,
”
he rubbed it whether you wanted to or not
,
.
“
What ! and I as high as a tree and as big as a church ?
All right th en ; I w ou ld come ; but I lay I d make that man
,
’
”
climb the highest tree there was in the country .
“
S hucks it ain t no use to talk to you Huck Finn You
,
’
, .
—
don t seem to know anything somehow perfect saphead
’ ”
.
,
I thought all this over for two o r three days and then I ,
reckoned I would see if there was anythin g in it I got an o ld .
tin lamp and an iron ring and went o u t in the woods and
,
rubbed and rubbed till I sweat like an Injun calculating to ,
build a palace and sell it ; but it warn t n o use none o f th e ’

,
genies com e S o then I judged that al l that stuff was only jus t
.
o n e of T o m S awyer s lies I reckoned he believed in th e A rabs

’
.
-
and the elephants but as for me I thi nk di fferent It had all

,
.
the marks of a S unday school

- .
27 2 TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C K L E B E RR Y F I N N
shaky and wonderin g where it was going to fall o n me and
, ,
what it was going to be There is ways to keep o ff some kinds .
of bad luck but this wasn t o n e o f them kin d ; so I never tri ed

,
’
to do anything but just poked along lo w spirited and o n the

,
-
watch out
- .
I went down to the front garden and c lu m b over th e stile

where y ou go through the high board fence There was an inch . .
o f new snow o n the ground and I seen somebody s tracks

’
,
.
They had come up from the qu arry an d stood around the stile '
awhile and then went o n around the garden fence It w as

,
.
funny they hadn t come in after standing around so I

’
, .
couldn t make it o u t It w as very curious somehow I was

’
.
,
.
'
going to follow around but I stooped down to lo ok at the ,
tracks first I didn t notice anything at first but next I did

.
’
,
.
-
There was a cross in the left boot heel made with big nails ,
to keep o ff the devil .
I was up in a second and shinning down the hill I looked .
’
over my shoulder every now and then but I didn t see no ,
body I Was at Judge Thatcher s as quick as I could get there

.
’
.
He said
“
W hy m y boy you are all out of breath D id you come for
'
.
, ,
yourinterest ? ”
“ ” ”
N o sir I says ; is there some for me ?
, ,
—
O h yes a half yearly is in last night over a hundred and
-
, ,
fifty dollars Quite a fortune for you You had better let m e
. .
invest it along with your six thousand because if you take it ,

”
you ll spend it
’
.
“
N o s 1r I says I don t want to spend it I don t want it
, , ,
’
.
’
—
at all nor the six thousand n u th e r I want you to take it ; I ,
.
want to give it to you — the six thousand and all ”

.
He looked surprised He couldn t seem to make it o u t He .

’
.
Why ,
W hat can y ou mean my boy ? ,
TH E -
H AI R B A L L ORA C LE
'
I says D on t you ask me n o questions about it please

,
’
,
.
—
Yo u ll tak e it won t you ?
’ ” ’
He says :
“ ”
Well I m puzzle d Is something the matter ?
,
’
.
—
,
Please take it says I and don t ask me nothing the n

” “
, ,
’
’
I won t have to tell n o lies .
He studied awhil e and then h e says ,

“
Oh o o ! I think I see Y o u want to s ell all y our property to
-
!
me — n o t give it That s the correct idea .

’
.
Then he wrote something o n a paper and read it ov er and ,
s ays :
“ ‘ ’
There ; yo u see it says fo r a consideration That means I .
’
hav e bought it o f you and paid y o u fo r it Here s a dollar fo r .
y o u .N o w you sign it .
SO I signed it and left , .
M iss Wa tson s nigger Jim had a hair ball as big as your

’
-
, ,
fist which had been took o u t o f th e fourth stomach o f an ox

, ,
and he used to do magic with it He said there Was a spirit .
insid e o f it and it knowed everything SO I went to him that

,
.
night and told him pap was here again for I found his tracks ,
in the snow What I wanted to know was what he was going

.
,
to do and was he going to stay ? Jim got out his hair ball and
,
-
said something over it and then he held it up and dr opped it ,
o n the floor It fell pretty solid and only rolled abo ut an inch
.
,
.
Jim tried it again and then another time and it acted just th e
, ,
same Jim got down o n his knees and put his ear against it and
.
,
listened But it warn t no use ; he said it wouldn t talk H e

.
’ ’
.
’
said sometimes it wouldn t talk without money I told h im .
I had an old slick counterfeit quarter that warn t n o good ’
because the brass showed through the silver a little and it ,

’
wouldn t pass nohow even i f the brass didn t Show because ,
’
,
it was so slick it felt greasy and so th at would tell o n it every ,
time ( I reckoned I wouldn t say nothing about the dollar I

.
’
274 , T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C K L E B E RR Y F I NN
got from the judge ) I said it w as pretty bad money bu t .
,
-
maybe the hair ball would take it because maybe it wouldn t ’
,
know the difference Jim smelt it an d bit it and rubbed it and .

,
said he would manage so the hair ball would think it was good
- .
He said he would split open a raw Irish potato and stick th e

quarter in betweenand keep it there all night and next morn ,
’
ing you couldn t see no brass and it wouldn t feel greasy no ,
’
mor e and so anybody in town would take it in a minute l e t

,
l
,
alone a b air ball Well I knowed a potato would do that be

- .
,
fore but I had forgot it

,
.
Jim put the quarter under the hair ball and g o t down an d
-
,
li stened again This time h e said the hair ball was all right
.
- .
He said it would tell my whole fortune if I wanted it to I says .

,
g o on S o the .hair -ball talked t o Jim and Jim told it to me ,

.
He says
“
Y o o le father doan know yit what h e s a g wyne to do
’ ’ ’
- .
S ometimes he spec he ll go way en den ag in he spec h e ll ’ ’

,
’ ’
stay D e bes way is to res easy en let de Ole man take his
.
’ ’
o wn way D ey s two angels h ov e rin roun

’ ’
.
’
bout him O ne u v ’
.
’
em is white e n Shiny en t other o n e is black D e white o n e ,
’
.
gits him to go right a little while den de black one sail in en ,
bust it all up A body can t tell yit which o n e gwyne to fetch

.
’
him at de las But you is all right Y ou gyw n e to have c o n sid

’
. .
able trouble in yo life en c o n sidab le j oy S ometimes you ’

,
.
g w y n e to git hurt en sometime s you gwyne to,

git sick ; but
’
ev ery tim e you s gwyn e to git well ag in D ey s tw o gals
’
.
’
fl yin b out you in yo life On e u v em s light en t other o n e is

’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
.
dark O ne is rich en t other is po You s gwyne to m arry de

.
’ ’
.
’
’
p o o
’
n e fust en de rich one by en by You wants to kee p w ay .
fum de water as much as y ou kin en don t run no resk k ase ,

’
,
’
”
it s down in de bills dat you s gwyne to git hung
’ ’
.
When I lit my candle and went up to my room that nigh t

—
there sat pap his o wn self !
27 6
T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C K L E B E RR Y F I N N
D on t you give me none 0 your lip says he You ve put
’ ’
,
.
’
o n considerable m a ny frills since I been away I ll t ak e you ’

.
down a peg before I get done with you You re educated too .
’
, ,
they say can read and write You thi n k you re b e tte r n your
- .
’ ’
’ ’
father now don t you because he can t ? I ll take it o u t of
, , ,
’
y o u Who
. told yo u you might meddle with such h i fal u t n fool ’
—
ish n e ss hey ? w h o told y ou you could ?
,
”
“ ”
The widow S he told me . .
The widow hey ? —and who told the widow she could put,
”
in her Shovel about a thing that ain t none o f her business ? ’
“ ”
Nobody never told her .
Well I ll learn her how to meddle And looky her d you

,
’ — .
drop that school you hear ? I ll learn people to bring up a boy ,

’
to put on airs over his o w n f a ther and let on to be b e tter n ’
what h e is You lemme catch you fooling around that school

.
ag ain you hear ? Your mother couldn t read and sh e couldn t

,
’
,
’
write n u th e r before she died N one o f the family couldn t b e

, ,
.
’
fore h ey died I can t ; and here you re a swelling yours el f up

t - .
’ ’
.
—
like this I ain t the man to stand it you hear ? Say lemme ’
,
hear you read .
I took up a book an d begun something about General

Washington and the w ar s When I d read about a half a min .
’
ute he fetched the book a whack with his hand and knocked it
,
across the house He says . .
“
It s so You can do it I had my do u
’
bts when yo u told me
’
. . .
Now looky here ; you stop that putting on frills I won t have .
’
it I ll lay for you my smarty ; an d if I catch you about that

.
’
,
school I ll tan y o u good First you know you ll get religion

’
.
’
,
”
too I never see such a son
. .
He took up a little blue and y alle r picture o f some c ows and

a boy and says ,
“ ”
What s this ? ’
It s something they give me for learning my lessons good

’
.
He tore it up and says ,

P AP S T AR T S IN ON A NE W LIF E 27 7
“ ’ —
I ll give you something better I ll give you a cowhide ’
.
He set there a mumbling and a growling a minute and then

- -
,
h e says :
“
Ain t y ou a sweet scented dandy though ? A bed ; and bed
-
’
,
clothes ; and a lo o k n glass and a piece o f carpet o n the floor

- ’ ’
—and your o wn father g o t to Sleep with the hogs In the tan

”
’ ’
yard I never see such a son I bet I ll take some 0 these frills
. .
’
out 0 you before I m done with you Why there ain t n o end
’ ’
.
,
toyour air s — —
they say you re rich Hey ? how s that ? ” ’
.
’
“ —
They lie that s h o w ” ’
.
—
L ooky here mind h o w you talk to me ; I m a standing - ’
—
about all I can stand now so don t gi mme no sass I ve been ’
.
’
in town two days and I hain t heard nothing but about y o u

,
’
’
bein rich I heard about it away down the river to o Th at s
’
.
,
.
-
why I come You git me that money to morrow I want it
.
\
— ”
.
“ ”
I hain t got no money
’
.
’ ’
It s a lie Judg e Thatcher s g o t it You g 1t it I w ant it
. . . .
I h ain t g o t no money I tell y o u You ask Judg e

’
,
.
”
Thatcher ; he ll tell y ou the same ’
.
“
All right I ll ask him ; and I ll m ak e him pungle too o r
.
’ ’
, ,
I ll know the reason why say how much you got in your
’
.
,
”
pocket ? I want it .
“
I hain t got only a dollar and I w ant that to
’
,
—
It don t m ak e no difference what y o u w ant it for y ou just
’
”
shell it ou t .
He took it and bit it to see if it was good and then he said ,

’
he was going down town to get some whisky ; said he had n t
-
had a drink all day When he had got out o n the shed he put .
his head in again and cus sed me fo r putting on frills and try
,
ing to b e better than him ; and when I reckoned he was gon e

he came back and put his head in again and told me to mind ,
about that school because he was going to lay for m e and ,
lick me if I didn t drop that ’

.
N ext day he w as drunk and he went to Judge Thatcher s ,

’
27 8 T H E A D VE N T U RE S OF H U C K L E B E RR Y F I N N
and bullyragged him and tried to make him g 1v e up the
,
m oney ; but he couldn t and then he swore he d make the law

’ ’
,
force him .
The judge and th e widow went to law to get the court to

take me away from him and let one o f them be my gu ardian ;
but it was a new judge that had just come and h e didn t know ,
’
the Old man ; so he said courts mustn t interfere an d separa te ’
families i f they could help it ; said he d druther not take a ’
child away from its father S o Judge Thatcher and the widow
.
had to quit o n th e business .
That pleased the old man till he couldn t rest He sa1d he d ’

.
’
cowhide me till I was black and blue if I didn t raise

’
some money for him I bo rrowed three dollars from Judge

.
Thatcher and pap took it and got drunk and went a blowing
,
-
,
around and cussing and whooping and carrying on ; and he

kept it up all over town with a tin pan till most mi dnight ;
, ,
then they j ailed him and next day they had him before
,
court and jailed him again for a week But h e said h e Was
,
.
’
satisfied ; s aid he was boss o f his son and he d make it warm ,
fo r him .
When he got out the new judge said he was going to make a-
a man of him SO he took him to his o w n house and dressed

.
,
him up clean and nice and had him to breakfast and dinner
,
a n d supper with the family and was just Old pie to him so to
, ,
speak And after supper he talked to him about temperance

.
’
and such things till the Old man cried an d said he d been a ,
fool and fooled away his life ; but n o w he was a going to turn
,
-
over a new leaf and be a man nobody wouldn t be ashamed o f ’

,
and he hoped the judge would help h im and not look down o n
him The judge s aid he could hug him fo r them words ; so h e
.
’
cried and his wife Sh e cried again ; pap said he d been a man
,
that had always been misunderstood before and the j udge ,
said he believed it The Old man said th at what a man wanted

.
that was down was sympathy and the judge said it w as so ; so ,

CHAPT ER V I
PAP S TRU GGLES W ITH TH E DEATH AN GEL
WE L L pre tty soon the Old man was up and around again and
’
, ,
then he went for Judge Thatcher in the courts to make him

giv e up that money and he went for me too for not stopping
, , ,
school He catched me a couple o f times and thrashed me but

.
,
I went to school just the same and dodged him o r outrun him
,
most o f the time I didn t want to g o to school much before

.
’
,
’
but I reckoned I d g o now to Spite pap That law trial w as a .
—
slow business appeared like they warn t ever go w g to get ’
started o n it ; so every now and then I d borrow two o r three

’
dollars o ff o f th e judge for him to keep from getting a c ow

,
hiding E very time he got money he got drunk ; and every

.
tim e he got drunk he raised C ain around town ; and e very

’
.
—
tim e he raised C ain he got j ailed He was J ust suited this
kind o f thing was right in his line .
He got to hanging around the widow s too much and so ’

,
’
She told him at last that if he didn t quit using around ther e
she would make trouble for him Well w asn t he mad ? H e
.
’
said he would show w h o was Huck F inn 5 boss S o he watched .
o u t for me one day in the spring and catched me and took

, ,
me up th e river about three mile in a skiff and crossed over ,

’
to the Illinois Shore where it was woody and there warn t n o
houses but an old log hut in a place where the ti mber was so
thick you couldn t find it if you didn t know where it was
’ ’
.
He kept me with him all the time and I never got a chance
,
to run o ff We lived in that Old cabin and he always locked

.
,
th e door and put the key under his head nights He had a g u n .
28 0
-
P AP S T RU G G L E S W I T H T H E DE A T H A N G E L 28 1
which h e had stole I reckon an d we fished and hunted and

, , ,
that w as what we lived on E very littl e while he locked m e .
in and went down to th e stor e three miles to th e ferry and , , ,
traded fish and game for whisky , and fetched it hom e and
g o t drunk an d had a good time and licked me The widow S h e ,
.
found o u t where I w as by and by and sh e sent a man over ,
to try to get hold o f m e ; but pap drov e him o ff with the g u n ,
and it warn t long after that till I w as used to being wher e I

’
—
was and liked it all but the cowhide part
,
It w as kind o f lazy and j olly laying o ff comfortable all ,

,
day smoking and fishing and n o books n o r study Tw o

, , .
months o r mor e run along and my clothes g o t to be all rags

,
an d dirt and I didn t see h o w I d ever got to lik e it so well

’ ’
,
’
at the widow s where y ou had to wash and eat o n a pl ate
, , ,
an d comb up and g o to bed and get up regular and b e fo r

, ,
ever bothering over a book and have Old M iss Wats on ,

’
pecking at you all the tim e I did n t want to g o back n o mor e
. .
I had stopped cussing becaus e the widow didn t lik e it ;

,
’
but n ow I took to it again because pap hadn t n o objections ’

.
It was pretty good times up in the woods there take it all ,
around .
But by and by pap got to o < handy with his h ick ry and I ’
,
’
couldn t stand it I was all over welts He got to going away
. .
so much too and locking me in O nce he locked m e in and

, ,
.
was gone three days It was dreadful lonesome I judged he

. .
had got drownded and I wasn t ever going to get o u t any

,
’
more I was scared I made up my mind I would fix up some

. .
way to leave there I had tried to get out o f that cabin many
.
a time but I couldn t find no way There warn t a window

,
’
.
’
to it big enough for a dog to get through I couldn t get up

’
.
the chimbly ; it was to o narrow The door was thick solid .

,
o ak slabs Pap was pretty careful not to leave a knife o r

.
anything in the cabin when he w as away ; I reckon I had

hunted the place over as much as a hundred times ; well I
'
, ,
28 2
was most all the time at it because it was about th e only ,
way to put in th e time But this time I found something at

.
last ; I found an o ld -
rusty wood saw without any handle
it was laid in be tween a rafter and the clapboards o f th e
roof I greased it up and w ent to work There was an Old
. , .
-
horse blanket nailed against the logs a t the far end o f the
cabi n behind the tabl e to k e ep the wind from blowing ,
through the chinks and putting the candle o u t I got under .
th e table and raised the blanket and went to work to saw ,
a section o f the big bottom log o u t — big e nough to let me

through Well it was a good long job but I was getting
.
, ,
’
toward the end o f it when I heard pap s gun in the woods I .
g o t rid o f the signs o f my work and dropped th e blanke t ,
and hid my saw and pretty soon pap come in

,
.
.
’ —
Pap warn t in a good humor so he was his n atur al self .
H e s aid he was down town and everything was going wrong

-
,
.
His lawyer said he reckoned he would win his lawsuit and

get th e money if they ever got started o n the trial ; but then
there was ways to put it o ff a long time and Judge Thatcher ,
knowed how to do it And he said people allowed there d b e

.
’
ano ther trial to get me away from h im and give me to th e

widow for my guardi an and they guessed it would win this ,
time This shook me up considerable because I didn t w an t

.
,
’
to go back to the widow s any more and be so cramped up ’
and civilized as th ey c al led it Then the old man got to

,
.
cus sing and cussed every thing and everybody he could think
,
o f and then cussed them all over ag ain to m ak e sure he hadn t

’
,
skipp ed any and afte r that he poli shed Off with a kind o f
,
a general cuss all ro u nd including a considerable parcel o f ,
people which he didn t know the n am es o f and so cal led them

’
,
what s his name when he got to them an d we nt righ t al ong

- ’
-
,
with his cussing .
He said he would like to see th e widow get me He said .
he would watch ou t and if they tried to come any such game

,
284 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C K L E B E RR Y F I N N
an d r eady to go to work and begin to do su th in for him ’
an d give him a rest the law up and goes for him And , .
they call th at g ov m e n t ! That ain t al l n u th e r The law b ack S

’
.
,
that o ld Judge Thatcher up and helps him to keep me out 0 ’
my property Here s what the law does : The law takes a

.
’
man Worth six thousand dollars and u p ards and j ams h im ’

,
into an o ld trap o f a cabin like this and lets him go round -

,
in clothes that ain t fi tten fo r a hog They call that g ov m en t !

’
.
A m an can t get his rights in a g o v m e n t like this S ometimes

’
.
’
I ve a mighty notion to just leave the country for good and
’
all Yes and I told em 5 0 ; I told o ld Thatcher so to his
.
,
face L ots o f em heard me and can tell what I s ai d S ays

.
’
,
.
I for tw o cents I d leave the blamed country and never come

,
’
-
a near it ag in Them s the very words I says look at my
’
.
’
.
,
— —
hat i f you call it a hat but the lid raises up and the rest
o f it goes down till it s below my chin an d then it ain t rightly
’ ’
-
,
a hat at all but more like my head was shoved up through

,
- —
a j in t O stove pipe L ook at it says I such a hat for m e
’
.
,
to wear — o n e o f the wealthiest men I n this town if I could
git my rights .
Oh yes this is a wonderful g o v m e n t wonderful Why

“
.
, , , ,
looky here There was a free n igger there from O hio a

.
—
m u latte r most as white as a white man He had t e whitest
, h .
shirt o n y ou e ver see too and the shiniest hat ; and there , ,
’
ain t a man in that town that s got as fine clothes as what
’
he had ; and he had a gold watch and chai n and a silver ,
—
headed cane the aw fu les t old gray headed nabob in the
-
state And What do y o u think ? They said he was a p fe sso r

.
’
in a college and could talk all kinds o f languages and knowed

, ,
everything And that ain t the s t They said he could v ot e

.
’
.
when he was at home Well that let me o u t Thinks I what .

,
.
,
’
is the country a coming to ? It w as lection day and I w as
-
,
just about to go and vote myself if I warn t to o drunk to get ’
there ; but when they told me there was a state in this country
P A P S T RU G G L E S W ITH T H E DE A T H A N G E L 28 5
w her e they d let that nigger vote I draw ed ou t I says I ll

’
,
.
’
n ever vote ag in Them s the v ery words I said ; they all

’
.
’
—
heard me ; and the country may ro t for all m e I ll n e v e r ’
v ote ag in as long as I live And to see the cool way o f that

’
.
—
nigger w hy he wouldn t a give me the road if I h adn t
,
’ ’ ’ ’
sho ved him o u t 0 the way I says to the people why ai n t

’
.
,
’
—
this nigger put up at auction and sold P that s what I want ’
to know And what do you reckon they said ? Why they

.
,
’
said he could n t be sold till he d been In the state Six months
’
,
and he hadn t been there that long yet There n o w that s

’ » — .
,
’
’
a specimen They call that a g ov m e n t that can t s e ll a free
.
’
nigger till he s been in the state Six months Here s a g ov m en t
’
.
that calls itself a g ov m en t an d lets on to be a g o v m e n t and

, ,
thinks it is a g o v m en t and y e t s got to set stock still fo r six

,
- ’
whole months be fore it c an take a hold o f a prowling th iev

-
,
in g infernal white shirted free nigger an d

,
-
, ,
—
Pap was a going on so he never noticed wher e h is old
limber legs was taking him to so he went head over heels ,
ov er the tub o f salt pork and barked both shins and the ,
rest o f his speech was all the hottest kind Of lan guage
mostly hove at the nigger and the g o v m e n t though he give ,
the tub some to o all along here and the re He hopped around
, , ,
.
the c ab in c on side rab le first o n o n e leg and then o n the o ther

'
, ,
holding first one shin and then the other o n e and at last h e ,
let ou t with his left foot all o f a sudden and fetched th e tub
a rattling kick But it warn t good judgment beca us e that
.
’
,
was the boot that had a couple o f his toes leaking ou t o f the
front end Of it ; so now he raised a howl that fairly mad e a
’
body s hair raise and down he went in the dirt , and rolled
,
there and held his toes ; and the cussing he don e then laid
,
over anything he had ever done previous He said so his .
ow n self afterwards He had heard Old So w b e rr Haga n in

.
y
his best days and he sai d it laid over h im to o ; but I re ckon
, ,
that w as sort o f piling it o n mayb e ,

.
28 6
After supper pap took the jug and said he had e n ough ,
whisky there for two drunks and o n e delirium tremens .
That was always his word I judged he would be blind .
drun k in about an hour and then I wou ld steal the key , ,
o r s aw myself o u t o n e or t other He drank and drank ,

- ’
,
.
and tumbled down o n his blankets by and by ; but luck

’
didn t run my way He didn t go sound asleep but was .
’
,
un eas y : H e gro an ed and moaned and thrashed around this

-
way and that for a long time At last I got so sleepy I .
c
oul dn t keep my eyes open all I could do and SO befor e
’
,
I knowed what I was about I was sound asleep and the ,
candl e burning .
I don t know how long I was asleep but all o f a sudden

’
,
ther e was an awful scream and I was up There was pap .
looking wild and skipping around every which way and

,
yelling about snakes He sai d they was crawling up his legs ;

.
and then he would give a jump and scream and say o n e ,
— ’
had bit hi m on the cheek but I couldn t see no snakes .
He started and run round and round the cabin hollering ,

“ ”
Take him o ff! take him o ff! he s biting me o n the neck ! ’
I never see a man look so w ild in the eyes Pr etty soon h e ,

.
w as all fagged out an d fell down panting ; then he rolled

,
ov er and over wonderful fast kicking things every which ,
way and strikin g and grabbing at the air with his hands
, ,
an d screaming and saying there was devils a hold o f him

- .
H e wore o u t by and by and laid still awhile moaning Then , ,

.
h e l aid s tille r and didn t make a sound I could h e ar the

‘
'
’
.
,
o wls and the wolv es awa o ff in the woods and it seem ed

y ,
terrible still He was laying over by the corner By and

. .
by he raised up part w ay and listened wi th his head to o n e ,
s ide He says very l o w :

—
.
,
“ — —
Tramp tramp tramp ; that s the dead ; tr amp tramp ’
-
a fttram p ; they r e co m ing after me ; but I won t g o O h
’ ’
.
,
CHA PT ER VII
I FOOL P AP A N D GE T AW AY
GIT up ! What y ou bout ? ’
I opened my eyes and looked around trying to make o u t

where I was It was after sun u p and I had been sound
.
-
,
.
—
asleep Pap was standing over me looking sour and Sick too ,
.
He says :
“ ”
What y o u doin with this gun ? ’
I judged he didn t know nothing about what he had’
been doing so I says : ,

“
S omebody tried to get in so I was laying for him ,
.
’ ”
Why did n t you roust me out ?
Well I tried to but I couldn t ; I couldn t budge you
, ,
’ ’
.
Well all right D on t stand there palavering all day

,
.
’
,
but o u t with you and see if there s a fish o n the lines for ’
”
break fast I ll be along in a minute
.
’
.
He unlocked th e door and I cleared ou t up the river bank

-
,
.
I noticed some pieces o f limbs and such things floating

down and a sprinkling o f bark ; so I knowed the river
,
had begun to rise I reckoned I would have great times

.
n o w if I w as over at the town The June rise used to be .
always luck for me ; because as soon as that rise begins

here comes cordwood floating down and pieces of log rafts ,
— sometimes a dozen logs together so all you have to do

;
is to catch them and sell them to the woodyards and the
sawmill .
I went along up the bank with one e y e ou t for pap and

t oth er o n e ou t for what the rise might fetch along Well
’
.
,
28 8
I FOOL P AP A N D G E T A W AY 28 9
all at once here comes a canoe ; j ust a beauty to o about , ,
thirteen or fourteen foot long riding high like a ,
shot head -fi rst Off o f the bank like a frog clothes and all ,
’
on and struck o u t fo r the canoe I just e xpected ther e d
, ,
.
be somebody laym g down in it because people often don e ,
that to fool folks and when a chap h ad pulled a Ski ff o u t

’ ’
most to it they d rais e up an d laugh at him But it warn t .
-
so this time It was a drift canoe sure e nough and I c lu m b
.
,
in and paddled her ashore Thinks I th e old man will be .

,
g lad when he sees this— she s worth ten dollars But w h e n

’
.
I g o t to Shore pap wasn t in Sight yet an d as I w as runn in g

’
,
h e r into a littl e creek like a gully all hung o ve r wi th v in e s ,
an d willows , I struck another idea : I j udged I d hid e h e r

’
good and ,
o f taking to the woods when I ru n
o ff I d go dow n the river about fi fty mile and c amp in

’
,
,
o n e pla ce for good and n o t hav e such a rough tim e tr amping

,
o n foot .
It w as pretty close to the shanty and I thought I heard ,
th e Old man comi ng all the time ; bu t I g o t her hid ; an d

then I o u t and looked around a bunch o f willows and ther e ,
was the o ld man do w n the path a piece just drawing a he ad

o n a bird with his gun So he hadn t seen anything
’
. .
”
When he got along I was hard at it taking up a trot
line He abused me a little for being s o slow ; but I told
.
him I fell in the river and that was what made m e so

'
long I knowed h e would see I was wet and then he would

.
,
be asking questions We got five catfish o ff the lin es an d

.
went home .
While we laid off after breakfast to sleep up both o f u s ,
being about wore out I got to thinking that if I could fix

,
up some way to keep pap and the widow from trying to

follow me it would be a certainer thing than trusting to
,
luck to get far enough o ff before they missed me ; yo u see ,
all kinds of things might happen Well I didn t se e n o way .

,
’
29° TH E A DV E N T U RE S OF H U C KL E B E RR Y F I N N
fo r while but by and by pap raised up a minute to drink
a ,
anothe r barrel of water and he s a ys : ,

“
Another time a man comes a prowling round here yo u
-
’
roust me o u t y ou hear ? That man warn t here for no good
, .
”
I d a shot him N ext time y o u roust me out you hear ?
’
.
,
The n he dropp ed down an d went to sleep again ; what .
he had been sayi ng gi ve me the very idea I wanted I says .
to m yself I can fix it n o w so nobody won t think of following

’
,
me .
’
About tw e lve O clock we turned o u t and went along up
the bank The river was coming up pretty fast and lots o f
.
,
dri ftwood going by o n the rise By and by along comes part .
o f a l o g raft— nin e logs fast tog e ther We went out with the .
ski ff and towed it ashore Then w e had dinner Anybody but . .
’
a
p p would a waited and seen
’
the day through so as to ,
stu ff ’
catch more ,
;A but that warn t pap s style N ine log s
’
.
was enough for o n e time ; he must shove right over to

to w n an d sell S o h e locked m e in and took the ski ff and
‘
.
,
started Ofl towing th e raft about half past three I judged

'
he wouldn t come back that night I w aited till I reckoned

’
.
he had got a good start ; the n I out wi th my saw and went to ,
work o n that log again Before he w as t other side o f th e .

’
river I was out of the hole ; him and his raft w as just a
sp e ck o n the water away off yonder .
I took the s ack o f corn meal and took it to where the

can oe was hid an d shoved the vi nes and branches apar t
,
an d put it in ; then I done the same with the side o f bacon ;
then th e whisky jug I took all the coffee and sugar there
- .
w as and all the ammunition ; I took the wadding ; I took

,
th e bucket and gourd ; took a dipper and a tin cup and my ,
o ld saw and two bl ankets and the skillet and the co ffee pot -
,
.
I took fi sh lines and matches and other things everything

- —
that was worth a cent I cleaned out the place I wanted an . .
ax but there wasn t any only the o n e o u t at the woodpile

,
’
, ,
29 2
TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C KL E B E RR Y F I N N
Well last I pulled o u t some o f my hair and blooded the
, ,
ax good and stuck it on the back side and slung the ax

, ,
in the corner Then I took up the pl g and held him to my

.
breast with my j acket ( so he couldn t drip ) till I g o t a good ’
piece below the house and then dumped him into the river .
NOw I thought of something else S o I went an d g o t the bag . .
o f meal and my o ld s aw o u t o f the canoe and fetched them ,
to the house I took the bag to where it used to stand and

.
,
ripped a hole in the b ottom o f it with the saw for there ,
—
warn t no knives and forks o n the place pap done every
’
thing with his clasp knife about the cooking Then I carried
- .
the sack about a hundred yards across the grass and through
the willows east o f the house to a shallow lake that was five ,
—
mile wide and full o f rushes and ducks too you might ,
say in the season There was a slough o r a creek leading

,
.
’
o u t o f it o n the other side that went miles away I don t know ,
where but it didn t go to the river The meal sifted o u t and

,
’
.
’
made a little track all the w ay to the lake I dropped pap s .
W hetstone there too so as to look like it had been done by

,
accident Then I tied up the rip in the m eal sack with a string
.
-
,
so it wouldn t leak no more and took i t and my saw to th e

’
,
canoe again .
It was about dark n ow ; so I dropped the canoe down

the river under some willows that hung over the bank and ,
waited for the moon to rise I made fast to a willow ; then I .
took a bite to eat and by and by laid down in the canoe to

,
’
smoke a pipe and lay o u t a plan I says to myself they ll .
,
follow the track o f t hat sackful of rocks to the shore and

then drag the river for me And they ll follow that meal track
.
’
to the lake and go browsing down the creek that leads o u t

.
o f it to find the robbers that killed me and took th e things .
They w on t ever hunt th e r1v e r for anything but my dead

’
’
carcass They ll soon get tired of that and won t bother n o
.
’
,
more about me All right ; I can stop anywher e I want to

.
.
I F O O L P AP . AN D GE T A W AY 293
Jackson s Isl and is good enough for me ; I know that island

’
pretty well and nobody ever comes there And then I can
,
.
paddle over to town nights and slink around and pick up ,

’ ’
things I want Jackson s Island s the place
. .
I was pretty tir ed and the first thing I knowed I w as ,

’
asleep When I woke up I didn t know where I was for a
.
minute I set up and looked around a little scared Th e n I

.
,
.
remembered The river looked miles and miles across Th e

. .
’ ’
moon was s o bright I could a counted the drift logs that
-
went a slipping along black and still hundreds o f yards

-
, ,
o u t from shore E verything was dead quiet. and it looked ,
,
—
late and s m elt late Y o u know what I mean I do n t know
.
’
the words to put it in .
I took a good gap and a stretch and was j ust going to ,
unhitch and st art when I heard a sound away over th e

water I listened Pretty soon I made it out It was that dull
. . .
k ind o f a regular sound that comes from oars working in

rowlocks when it s a still night I peeped ou t through th e
’
.
—
willow branches and there it was a Skiff away across th e
, ,
water I couldn t tell h ow many w as in it It kept a coming

’
-
’
. .
,
and when it was abre ast o f me I see there warn t but o n e ’
man in it Thi n ks I maybe it s pap though I warn t expect

.
,
’
,
’
in g him He dropped below me with the current and by

.
,
and by he came a swinging up shore in the easy water and

-
,
’ ’
he went by so close I could a reached o u t the gun and
.
—
touched him Well it w as pap sure e nough and sober , , ,
to o by the way he laid his oars

—
.
,
’
I didn t lose no time Th e next minute I was a spinning .
down stream so ft but quick in the shade of the bank I

-
, ,
.
made tw o mile and a h al f and then struck o u t a quarter ,
o f a mile o r more toward the middle o f the river because ,
pretty soon I would be passing the ferry landing and people

-
,
might see me and hail me I got o u t amongst the driftwood .

,
and the n laid down in the bottom of the canoe and let her
294
TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C KL E B E RR Y F I N N
float I laid there and had a g ood rest and a smoke out of
.
,
my p1pe looking away into the sky ; not a cloud in it Th e

,
.
S k y looks ever so deep when y o u lay down o n your back in

'
the moonshine ; I never knowed it before And how far a .
body can hear o n the water such nights ! I heard people talk
- —
ing at the ferry landing I heard what they s aid too every .
, ,
word of it O ne man said it was getting towards the long

.
days and the short nights now T other one said this warn t .
’ ’
o n e o f th e short ones he reckoned — and then they laughed , ,
and he said it over again and they l aughed again ; then ,
they waked up another fellow and told him and laughed , ,
but he didn t laugh ; he ripped out something brisk and

’
,
said let him alone The first fellow said he lowed to tell it
.
’
—
to his old woman she would think it was pretty good ; but
he said that war n t nothing to some things he had said
’
in his time I he ard o n e man say it was nearly three O clock

.
’
,
’
and he hoped daylight wo uldn t wait more than about a
week longe r After that the talk got fur ther and further
.
away and I coul dn t m ake out the words any more ; but I
,
’
could hear the mumble and now and then a laugh too but , , ,
it seemed a long ways Off .
I was away b e low the ferry now I rose up and there was .
,
Jackson s Island about two mile and a half down stream

’
,
-
,
heavy -timbered and st an ding up out of the middle of the

river big and dark and solid like a steamboat without any
, ,
.
’ —
lights There warn t any signs of the b ar at the head it was
all under water now
'
.
I t didn t take me long to get there I shot past the head

’
.
at a ripping rate the current was so swift and then I got

, ,
into the dead water an d landed on the side towards the Illi
nois shore I run the canoe into a deep dent in the bank
.
that I knowed about ; I had to part the willow branches to

’ ’
get in ; and when I made fast nobody could a seen the
canoe from the outside .
CHAPT ER V III
I SPARE MISS W AT SON
’
S J IM
TH E su n was up so high when I waked that I judged it w as

after eight o clock I laid there in the gr ass and the cool shad e
’
.
thinking about things and feeling rested and ruther com

,
fo rtab le and satisfied I could see the sun o u t at o ne o r tw o

.
holes but mostly it was big trees all about and gloomy in
, ,
ther e amongst them There was freckled places o n the ground

.
where the light sifted down through the leaves and th e ,
freckled places swapped about a little sh ow m g there w as ,
a little breeze up there A couple o f squirrels Se t o n a limb

.
and j abbered at me very friendly .
—
I was powerful lazy and comfortable didn t want to get ’
up and cook breakfast Well I was dozing o ff again w hen

.
,
“ ”
I thinks I hears a deep sound o f boom ! away up the river .
I rouses up and rests on my elbow and listens ; pretty soo n

,
I hears it again I hopped up and went and l ooked o u t at a

.
,
hole in the leaves and I see a bunch o f smoke laying o n

,
th e water a long ways u p — about abreast the ferry And .
there was the ferryboat full o f people floating along down .
“ ”
I knowed what was the matter now Boom ! I see the white .
’
smoke squirt out o f the ferryboat s side You see they w as .
,
firing cannon over the water trying to make my carcass

'
come to the top .
I was pretty hungry but it warn t going to do for me

,
’
to start a fire because they might see the smoke SO I set

,
.
there and watched the cannon smoke and listened to the

-
boom The river was a mile wide there and it alw ays l o ok s
.
,
29 6
’
I S P A RE M I S S W ATS ON S J IM 29 7
—
pretty o n a summer morning so I was having a good en o u gh
tim e seeing them hunt fo r my remainders if I only had a bite
to eat Well then I happened to think how they always
.
,
put quicksilver in loaves o f bread and float them o ff because ,
they always g o right to th e drownded carcass and stop there .
’
So says I I ll keep a lookout and if any o f them s floating
’
, , ,
around after me I ll give them a show I changed to th e ’

.
Illinois edge o f the island to se e what luck I could have and ,
I warn t disappointed A big double loaf come along and

’
.
,
I most g o t it with a long stick but my foot slipped and ,
She floated o u t further O f cours e I w as where the curr ent .
se t in the closest to the shor e — I knowed enough for that .
But by and by along comes another o n e and this time I w o n ,

.
I took o u t th e plug and shook o u t the little dab o f quicksil v er ,

“
and se t my teeth in It was baker s bread —what th e qual
.
’
-
ity eat ; n one o f your low down corn pone - .
I g o t a good place amongst the leaves and set there o n a ,
log munching the bread and watching the ferryboat and

, ,
v ery well satisfied And then something struck me I says n ow

. .
,
I reckon the widow o r the parson o r somebody pr ayed that

this bread would find me and here it has gone and done ,
it SO there ain t no doubt but there is something in that

.
’
thing — that is there s something in it When a body like the

,
’
,
widow o r the parson prays but it don t work fo r me and I ,

’
,
reckon it don t work for only just the right kind

’
.
I lit a pipe and had a good long smoke and went o n ,
watching The ferryboat was floating with the current and

.
,
’
I allowed I d have a chance to see who w as aboard when
she come along because she would come in close where
, ,
the bread did When she d got pretty well along down towards
.
’
me I put ou t my pipe and went to where I fished o u t the

,
bread and laid down behind a log o n the bank in a little

,
open place Where the lo g forked I could peep through

. .
By and by she come along and she drifted in SO close ,

29 8
'
’ ’
that they could a run o u t a plank and walked ashore M o st .
everybody was o n the boat Pap and Judge Thatcher and .

, ,
B essie Thatcher and Joe Harper and Tom S awyer an d

, , ,
his Old Aunt Polly and S id and M ary and plenty more , , .
E v erybody was talking about the murder but th e captai n ,
broke in and says :

“
L ook sharp now ; the current sets in the closest here
, ,
an d maybe he s washed ashore and g o t tangled amongst

’
t h e br ush at the water s edge I hope so anyway

” ’
. .
,
’
I didn t hope so They all crowded up and leaned over
.
t h e rails nearly in my face and kept sti ll watching with all

, , ,
!
t heir might I co u ld see them fi rs t rate but they couldn t

’
.
-
,
“ ”
s e e me Then the capta i n sung o u t :
. S tand away ! and the .
cannon let o ff such a blast right before me that it made me

d e e f with the n oise an d pretty near blind with the smok e
and I judged I was gone If they d a had some bullets in .
’ ’ ’
’
I reckon they d a got the corpse they was after Well I
’ ’
.
,
’
s e e I warn t hurt thanks to goodness The boat floated o n
,
.
and went ou t o f Sight around the shoulder o f the island I .
could hear the booming now and then fur ther and further ,
Off and by and by after an hour I didn t hear it no more

, , ,
’
.
The island was three mile long I judged they had got to .
the foot and was giving it up But they didn t yet awhile
,
.
’
.
They turned around the foot o f the island and started up the
channel on the M issouri side under steam and booming , ,
once in a while as they went I crossed over to that side and .
Watched them When they got abreast the head o f the islan d
.
they quit shooting and dropped over to the M issouri shore

and went home to the town .
I knowed I was all right now N obody else would come .
a hunting after me
- I got my traps out of the canoe and
.
made me a nice camp in the thick woods I made a kind o f

a tent out of my blankets to put my things under so th e
rain couldn t get at them I catched a catfish and haggled
’
.
had cut on e o f my breaths in tw o and I only got half an d ,
the short half too ,

.
When I got to camp I warn t feeling very brash the re ’

,
‘
’
warn t much sand in my craw ; but I says this ain t n o ,
’
time to be fooling around SO I got all my traps into my .
c anoe again so as to have them ou t o f sight and I put o u t , ,
the fire and scattered the ashes around to look like an old
’
last year s camp and then c lu m b a tree
-
,
.
’
I reckon I was up in the tree two hours ; but I didn t see
n othing I didn t hear nothing
,
—’
I only th ou g h t I heard an d
s een as much as a thousand things Well I couldn t stay up .
,
’
there forever ; s o at last I got down but I kept in the thick , ,
woods and o n the lookout all the time All I could get toe at .
was berries and what was left over from breakfast .
By the time it was night I was pretty hungry S o when it .
was good and dark I slid out from shore befor e moonrise
—
and paddled over to the Illinois bank about a quarter Of
a mile I went o u t in the woods and cooked a supper a
. nd I ,
had about made up my mind I would stay there all night

when I hear a plu n k e ty plu n k plu n k e ty plu n k and says to
- -
, ,
myself horses coming ; and next I hear people s voices I

,
’
.
got everything into the canoe as quick as I could and then ,
went creeping through the woods to see what I could find

o u t I hadn t got far when I hear a man say :
’
We better camp here if we can find a good place ; th e

horses is about beat out L et s look around .
’
.
I didn t wait but shoved out and paddled away easy I

’
,
.
tied up in the old pl ace and reckoned I would sleep in th e

,
canoe .
I didn t sleep much I couldn t somehow for thinking

’
.
’
, ,
.
And every time I waked up I thought somebody had me by

th e neck S o the sleep didn t do me no good By and by I
’
. .
says to myself I can t live this way ; I m a going to fin d

,
’ - ’
I S P A RE M I S S W ATS ON
’
S J IM 30 1
’ ’
ou t wh o it is that s here o n the island with me ; I ll fi nd it
ou t o r b ust Well I felt better right Off
.
,
.
SO I took my paddle and slid o u t from shore m st a

‘
s tep o r tw o ,and then let the canoe drop al ong down amongst
,
th e shadows The moon was shining and outside o f th e

.
,
Shadows it made it most as light as day I poked along .
well on to an hour everything still as rocks and sound asleep

, .
W ell by this time I was most down to th e foot o f the island

, .
A littl e ripply cool breeze begun to blow and that w as as

, ,
good as saying the n ight was about done I give her a turn .
with the paddle and brung her nose to shore ; then I go t

my gun and slipped out and into the edge o f the woods I .
s at down there O n a log an d looked o u t through the leaves

,
.
I see the moon g o Off watch and the darkness begin to ,
b lanket the river But in a little whil e I see a pale streak

.
o ver the treetops and knowed the day was coming S o I took
,
.
my g u n and slipped o ff towards where I had run across that

'
camp fi re stopping every minute o r two to listen But I

-
,
.
hadn t no luck somehow ; I couldn t seem to find th e place

’ ’
.
But by and by sure enough I catched a glimpse o f fire

, ,
away through the trees I went for it cautious and slow .

, .
By and by I was close enough to have a look an d ther e laid ,
a man on the ground It most give me th e fan to ds He had

' ‘
. .
a blanket around his head and his head was nearly in ,
th e fire I set there behind a clump o f bushes in about six

.
foo t o f him and kept my eyes on him steady It was getting

,
.
gray daylight now Pretty soon he gapped and stretche d

.
himself and hove o ff th e blanket and it was M iss Watson s ,

’
Jim ! I bet I was glad to see him I says : .
“ ”
Hello Jim ! and sk ipped out
,
.
He bounced up and stared at me wild Then he drops .
d own o n his knees and puts his hands together and says :
,
“ ’ —
D oan hurt me don t ! I hain t ever done n o harm to ’ ’
a ghos I alw u z liked dead peopl e en done all I could for
’
.
,
’ ’
em You go en git in de river ag in whah you b lo n g s e n
.
,
’
,
doan do n u ffn to O le Jim at u z alw u z y o

’
,
’ ’ ’
’
Well I warn t long making him understand I warn t dead
,
’
.
I w as ever so glad to see Jim I warn t lonesome now ; I tol d .

’
him I warn t afraid o f h im telling the p eople where I w as

’
.
I talked along but he only set there and looked at me ; neve r

,
said nothing Th en I says : .
“ ’
It s good daylight L e s get breakfast M ake up your .
’
.
camp fire good

- ”
.
“
What s de use er makin up de camp fi re to cook straw
’
- ’
bries en sich truck ? But you got a gun hain t you ? D en w e ,

’
”
kin git sum in better den s traw b rie s .
“ ”
S trawberries and such truck I says Is that what y o u ,
.
”
li v e on ?
“ ”
I couldn t git n u ffn else he says ’
,
.
Why how long you been on the island Jim ?

, ,
”
I come h e ah de night arter you s killed ’
.
”
What all that time ? ,
”
Yes indeedy
- .
And ain t y o u had nothing but that kind o f rubbage to

’
”
eat ?
“ —
N o sah n u ffn else
,
.
Well you m ust be most starved ain t you ?

,
”
,
’
I re ck n I could eat a b o ss I think I could How long

’
. .
y o u ben o n de
“
S ince the night I got killed .
N O ! W y what has you lived on ? But you got a gun

’
,
.
Oh yes you got a gun D at s good N ow you kill su m fn e n

, ,
.
’
.
”
I ll make up de fire
’
.
S o we wen t over to where the canoe was and while h e ,
built a fire in a grassy open place amongst the trees I ,
fetche d meal an d bacon and co ffee and coffee pot an d

-
,
frying pan and sugar and tin cups and th e nigger was se t
-
, ,
O rleans But I noticed dey Wu z a nigger trader roun de
.
’
place c o n sidabl e lately en I begi n to git On e asy Well o n e ,

.
,
night I creeps to de do pooty late en de do warn t qu itE ’

,
’ ’
Shet en I hear Old missus tell de widder Sh e gwy ne to sell

,
me down to O rleans but she didn want to but she could ,

’
,
git eight h u n d d dollars for me en it u z sich a big stack

’
,
’
0 money she couldn re sis

’
D e widder she try to git h er ’ ’
.
to say sh e wouldn t do it but I n ever waited to hear de res

’ ’
.
,
I lit o u t mighty quick I tell you ,

.
“
I tuck out en shi n down de hill en spec to steal a skift ,
’
’ ’
’
long de sho som ers bove de town but dey wuz peopl e ’
,
a stirring yit so I hid in de o l e tumbledown cooper Shop o n

-
,
de bank to wait for everybody to go way Well I wuz dah ’

.
,
all night D ey wuz somebody roun all de time L ong bout

.
’
.
’ ’
six in de m aw n in Sk i fts begin to go by en bout eight er

’
,
’
’
nine every skift dat went long wuz t al kin bout how yo ’ ’ ’
pap come over to de town en say you s killed D ese las ’

.
’
k i
’
fts wuz full 0 ladies en g e l a goin over for to ’
S n m e n -
s ee de place S ometimes dey d pull up at de sho en t ak e

.
’ ’
a re s b fo dey started ac ro st so by de talk I got to know

’ ’ ’
,
all bout de killin I u z powerful sorry you s killed Huck

’ ’
.
’ ’
, ,
but I ain t n o mo now ’ ’

.
’
I laid dah under de sh av in s all day I u z hung ry but ’
.
,
I warn t afeard ; b ek ase I knowed Ole m i ssus en de widder

’
’
wuz goin to start to de camp m e e t n right arter b re ak fas
’
- ’ ’
en be gone all day en dey knows I goes o ff wid de cattle ,

’
bout daylight so dey wouldn spec to see me roun de
,
’ ’
'
’
’
place en so dey wouldn miss me tell arter dark in de evenin
,
’
D e yu th e r servants wouldn miss me kase dey d shin ou t ’

,
’
’ ’
en take holiday soon as de ole folks u z o u t n de way .
“
Well when it come dark I tuck out up de river road
, ,
’
en went bout two mile er more to whah dey warn t no houses
’
.
I d mad e up my mine bout what I s a gwyne to do Y ou

’
- ’ ’
.
se e e f I kep o n tryin to git away afoot de dogs u d trac k

’ ’ ’
, ,
I S P A RE M I S S W ATS ON
’
S J IM 30 5
me; I stole a skift to cross over dey d miss dat skift

ef ,
’
,
b
" ’
y o u see en d e y
,
d k n o w o u t whah I d lan
’
o n de y u th e r
’
s ide en wh ah to pick up my track SO I says a raff is what

,
.
,
I s arter ; it doan m ak e no track

’ ’
.
“
I se e a light a comin roun de p int bym e by so I wade
- ’ ’ ’
,
’
’
in en shove a log ahead 0 me en swum more n half way
’
- ’
’
ac ro s t de river en got in mongst de driftwood en kep my
’
, ,
h e ad down lo w en kinder swu m agin de current tell de rafl

,
c o m e al o n g D en I swu m o de stern u v it en tuck a holt I t

t -
'
. .
clouded up en u z pooty dark fo r a little while So I clu m b

’
.
up en laid down on de planks D e men u z all way yon der .

’ ’
in de middle whah de lantern wuz D e river wuz a risin en

,
- .
’
,
dey wuz a good current ; so I re ck n d at by fo in de m aw n in ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
I d be twenty fi v e mile down de river en den I d slip in j is

’
-
,
’
b i o daylight en swim asho en take to de woods o n de I lli

’ ’ ’
,
nois side .
“
But I didn have n o luck When we u z mos down to de
’
.
’ ’
head er de islan a man begin to come aft wid de lantern

’
.
I see it warn t no use fer to wait so I slid overboard e n

' ’
,
struck o u t fer de islan Well I had a notion I could lan ’

.
,
’
—
m os an yw h e rs but I couldn t bank to o blu ff I u z mos
’ ’
.
’ ’
,
to de foot er de islan b fo I foun a good place I went into

’ ’ ’ ’
.
d e woods en j e dg e d I wouldn fool w id raffs no mo long as

’ ’
,
d ey move de lantern roun so I had my pipe en a plug er ’

.
d o g leg en some matches in my cap en dey warn t wet s o

’
-
, ,
”
I u z all right
’
.
“
And so you ain t had n o meat nor bread to eat all this ’
”
time ? Why didn t you get mud tu rk le s ? - ’
“ ’
How you g wyne to git m ? You can t slip up on um ’
e n grab um ; en how s a body gwyne to hit um wid a rock ?

’
H o w could a body do it in de night ? E n I warn t gwyne ’
”
to show m y se f o n de b ank in de daytime .
“ ’
Well that s so You ve had to keep in the woods all the
,
.
’
time o f course D id you hear em shooting the cannon ?

, .
’
Oh yes I knowed dey was arter you I see um go
,
. . by
h e ah — watched um thoo de bushes ”
.
S ome young birds come along flying a yard o r two at a ,
time and lighting Jim said it was a sign it was going to rain
. .
He said it was a Sign when young chickens flew that way ,
and so he reckoned it w as the same way when young birds

done it I was going to catch some o f them but Jim wouldn t
.
,
’
let me He said it was dea th He said his father laid mighty .
sick once and some o f them catched a bird and his old
, ,
granny said his father would die and he did ,

.
And Jim said you m u s tn t c o u n t the th in g s y o u are goi ng

’
to cook for dinner because that would bring bad luck

,
.
Th e same if you shook the tablecloth after sundown And he .
said if a man own ed a beehive an d that man died the bees ,
must be told about it before sun u p next morning o r else

-
,
the bees would all weaken dow n and quit work and die Jim .
’
said bees wouldn t sting idiots ; but I didn t believe that
’
,
because I had tried them lots o f times myself and they ,
wouldn t sting me ’
.
I had heard about some o f these things before but not ,
all o f them Jim knowed all kinds of signs He sai d he

. .
knowed most everything I said it looked to me like al l

.
the signs was about bad luck and so I asked him i f ther e ,
w arn t any good luck signs He says :

’
- .
—
J
“
M ighty few an d ey ain t no use to a body Wh at you
’ ’
.
’
want to know when good luck s a comin for ? Want to keep
- ’
” “
it off ? And he said : E f you s got hairy arms en a hairy ’
’
,
’
—
bre as it s a sign dat you s a gwyne to be rich Well dey s’
.
,
’
’
some use in a sign like dat kase it s so fur ahead You see ,
’
.
,
maybe you s got to be p o a long time fust en so y ou might

’ ’
,
’
g ib dis c o u r ag e en kill yo sef’
f you didn know
’
by de Sign ’
”
dat you gwyne to be rich bym eby .
Have you got h ai ry arms and a hairy breast Jim ? ,

” ’
What s de use to ax dat question ? D on t you see I has
’ ?
308 T H E A DVE N T URE S OF H U C K L E B E RR Y F I N N
Well I u z gwyne to spe n it but I had a dream en de
,
’ ’
, ,
—
dream tole me to give it to a nigger name B alum B alu m s ’ ’
’
Ass dey call him for short ; he s o n e er dem c h u ck leh e adS ,
’
y o u k n ow But he s lucky .dey say en I see I warn t lucky , ,
’
.
D e dream say let Balum in v es de ten cents en he d m ake ’ ’
a raise fo r me Well Balum he tuck de money en when h e

.
, ,
wuz in church he hear de preacher say dat whoever give

to de po len to de L ord en boun to git his money back
’ ’ ’
,
a h u n d d times S o B alum he tuck en give de ten cents to

’
.
’ ”
de po en laid low to see what wuz gwy ne to come o f it
,
.
“ ”
Well what did come o f it Jim ?
, ,
N u ffn never come o f it I couldn manage to k leck

’ ’
.
’
dat money no way ; en Balum he couldn I ain gwyne to .
’
len n o mo money dout I see de security Boun to git y o

’ ’ ’
.
’ ’
money back a h u n d d times de preacher says ! E f I could ’

,
git de ten c en ts back I d call it squ ab en be glad er de ,

’
,
”
chanst .
“
Well it s all right anyway Jim long as you re going
,
’
,
’
to be rich again some time o r other .
“
Yes ; en I s rich now come to look at it I owns m yse f
’
,
.
,
en I s w u th eight h u n d d dollars I wisht I had de money

’ ’
.
,
’
I wouldn w ant no
CHA PT ER IX
TH E H OUSE OF DEATH FLO AT S BY
I W AN TED to g oand look at a place right about th e middl e

’
o f the island that I d found when I was exploring ; s o we
s tarted and soon g o t to it b ecause the island w as only

,
three miles long and a quarter o f a mile wide .
This place was a tolerable long steep hill o r ridge about ,
forty foot high We had a rough time getting to th e top

.
,
the sides was so steep and th e bushes so thick We tramp e d .
and c lu m b around all over it and by and by found a good ,
big cavern in the rock most up to the top o n th e sid e

,
towards Illinois The cavern was as big as tw o o r thr e e

.
rooms bunched together an d Jim could stand up straigh t

,
in it It was cool in there Jim was for putting ou r traps in

. .
’
there right away but I said we didn t want to be climbing
,
up and down there all the time .
Jim said if we had the canoe hid in a good place and had .
all th e traps in the cavern we could rush there if anybody

,
was to come to the island and they would never find us ,
without dogs And besides he said them little birds had

.
, ,
‘
said it was going to rain and did I w ant the things to get
,
vve t ?
Sowe went back and got the canoe and paddl e d up ,
abreast th e cavern and lugged all the traps up there Then

,
.
we hunted up a place close by to hide the canoe in amongs t ,
the thick willows We took some fi sh o ff o f the lines and

.
set them again and begun t o get ready for dinner

,
.
The door o f the cave rn was big enough to roll a hogshead

309
3 10
TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C K L E B E RR Y F I N N
in , an d o n o n e
side o f the door the floor stuck ou t a little
bit and was flat an d a good place to build a fire on S o
, .
we built it there and cooked dinner .
We spread the blankets inside for a carpet and eat o u r ,
d inner in there We put all th e other things handy at the

.
b ack of the cavern Pretty soon it darkened up and be gu n

.
,
to thunder and lighten ; so the birds was right about it .
D irectly it begun to rain and it rained like all fury too , , ,
and I never see th e wind blow so It was o n e o f these regular .
s ummer storms It would get so dark that it looked all

.
b lue black outside and lovely ; and the rain would thr ash
-
,
al ong by so thick that the trees Off a little ways looked
d im and spider webby ; and here would come a blast o f

-
wind that would bend the trees down and turn up the
pale underside o f the leaves ; and then a perfect ripper o f a
g ust would follow al ong and set the branches to tossing their
arms as i f they was just wild ; and next when it was just ,
about th e bluest and blackest

— fs t ! it was as bright as glory ,
and you d have a little glimpse o f treetops a plunging

’
-
a bout away off yonder in the storm hundreds of yards fur ,
t her than you c ould see before ; dark as sin again in a

s econd and n o w you d hear the thunder let go with an ’
,
awful crash and then go rumbling grumbling tumbling

, , , ,
d own the sky towards the under side of the world like rolling ,
e mpty barrels down s tairs

— where it s long stairs an d they ’ '
bounce a good deal you know ,

.
“ ’
Jim this is nice I says I wouldn t want to be n o
, ,
.
where else but here Pass me along another hunk o f fish and
.
s om
”
e hot corn bread
- .
“ ’ ’ ’
Well you wouldn t a ben here f it hadn t a ben fo r
,
’ ’
Jim You d a h en down dah in de woods w ido u t any dinner

.
’ ’ ’
,
e n gittin mos drownded too ; dat you would honey Chick

’ ’
.
, ,
”
e n s knows when it s gwyne to rain en so do de birds Chile
’
.
, ,
The river went o n raising and raising fo r ten or twelve

3 12
T H E A D VE N T URE S OF . H U C K L E B E RR Y F I N N
around about the floor and there w as clothes hanging
on ,
2
agai nst the wall There was something laying on th e fl o o r
.
in the far corner that looked like a man S o Jim says : .
“ ”
Hello yo u ! ,
But it didn t budge S o I hollered again and then Jim

’
.
,
says :
“ — —
D e man ain t as leep he s dead You hold still I ll go
’ ’
.
’
en
He went and bent down an d looked and says

, ,
“ ’
It s a dead man Yes indeedy ; naked too He s ben .
,
.
’
shot in de back I reck n he s ben dead two er three .

’
days C ome in Huck but doan look at his face it s to o

.
,
— ,
’ ’
”
gashly .
I di dn t look at him at all Jim throwed some o ld rags

’
.
’
over him but he needn t done it ; I didn t want to see him
,
’
.
There was heaps o f o ld greasy cards scattered around over

l
the floor and O d whisky bottles and a couple of masks made
,
-
,
o u t o f black cloth ; and all over the walls was the ig n o ran te s t
kind o f words and pictures made wi th charcoal There was

two o ld dirty calico dresses and a sun bonnet and some w o m
-
, ,
’
en s underclothes h anging against th e wall and some men s
’
,
, .
—
cl othing too We put the lot into the canoe it might come
g o o d There
. was a boy s o l d speckled straw h at on the floor ;
’
I
to ok that to o An d there was a bottle that had had milk in it
,
.
,
’ ’
and it had a rag stopper for a baby to suck We would a took .
the bottle but it was broke There w as a seedy o ld chest and

,
.
,
an old hair trunk with th e hinges broke They stood open but .
,
there warn t nothing left in them that was any account

’
.
Th e way things was scattered about we reckoned the peopl e

left in a hurry an d warn t fixed so as to carry Off most
,
’
o f their stuff .
-
We g o t an o ld tin lantern and a butcher knife without ,
-
any han dl e and a bran new Barlow k nife worth two bits
,
in any stor e and a lot o f tallow candles and a tin candle

, ,
TH E HOUSE OF DEAT H F L OATS BY 3 13
stick and a gourd an d a tin cup ,and a ratty o ld b edquilt

, ,
o ff the bed and a reticule with needles and pins and beeswax
,
and bu ttons and thread and all such truck in it an d a hatchet ,
and some nails an d a fi sh line as thick as my l ittle finger

,
-
with some m onstrous hooks on it and a roll o f buckskin , ,
and a leather dog collar and a horseshoe an d some vials

-
, ,
o f medicine that didn t have n o label o n them ; and just as

’
we was leaving I found a tolerable good currycomb and ,
Jim he found a ratty o ld fi ddle b ow and a wood en leg The

-
, .
straps w as broke Off o f it but barring that it w as a good

, , ,
enough leg though it was too long fo r me and n o t long

,
’
enough for Jim and we couldn t find the other o n e though
, ,
we hunted all around .
And so take it al l around we made a good hau l When

, , .
w e was ready to shove off we was a quarter o f a mile below

the island and it was pretty broad day ; so I made Jim
,
lay down in the canoe an d cover up wi th a quil t because ,
if he set up people could tell he was a nigger a g oo d ways

o ff I paddled over to the Illinois shore and dri fted down
.
,
most a hal f a mile doing it I crept up the dead water under

.
the bank and hadn t n o accidents and didn t see nobody

,
’ ’
.
We got hom e all safe .

CHAPT ER X
W HAT COMES HANDLIN SNA KE SKIN ’
OF -
AFTER breakfast I wanted to talk about the dead man and

guess o u t h o w he come to be killed but Jim didn t want to ,
’
.
He said it would fetch bad luck ; and besides he said , ,
he might come and ha nt us ; he said a man that warn t

’ ’
buried was more likely to go a ha nting around than o n e

- ’
that was plan ted and comfortable That sounded pretty .
reasonable so I didn t say no more ; but I couldn t keep

,
’
.
’
from studying over it and wish i ng I knowed who Shot the

man and what they done it fo r
,
.
We rum maged the clothes we d got and found eight dol ’

,
lars in silver sewed up in the lining o f an old blanket ove r

coat Jim said he reckoned the people in that house stole
.
the coat because if they d a knowed the money was there

,
’ ’ ’
they wouldn t a left it I said I reckoned they killed him

’ ’ ’
.
,
too ; but Jim didn t want to talk about that I says :

’
.
“
N o w you think it s bad luck ; but what did you say
’
when I fetched in the snake skin that I found o n the top

-
o f the r1dg e day before yester day ? You said it was the
worst bad luck i n the world to touch a snake skin with my

-
hands Well here s your bad luck ! We ve raked in all this

.
,
’ ’
truck and eight dollars besides I wish we coul d have some .
bad luck l ike this every day Jim ,

.
Never you mind honey never you mind D on t you g it

, ,
.
’
’
too peart It s a comin M ind I tell you it s a
.
- ’ ’
.
,
It did come too It was a Tuesday th at we had that

,
.
talk Well after dinner F riday we w as laying around in

.
,
3 14
16
3
‘
T H E A DVE N T U R E S OF H U C K L E B E R RY F I N N
said he reckoned I would believe him next time And he .
—
said that han dling a sn ake skin was such awful bad luck
that maybe we hadn t got to the end of it yet He sai d ’
.
h e dru ther see the new moon over his left Shoulder as much
as a thousand times than t ak e up a sn ake Skin in his hand
- .
W ell I Was getting to feel that way myself though I v e

, ,
’
always reckoned that looking at the new moon over your

left shoulder is o n e of the c arele ss e st and foolishest things
a body can do O ld Hank Bunker done it once and bragged
.
,
about it ; and in less than tw o years he got drunk and

fell o ff o f the shot tower and spread himself out so that
-
,
he was just a kind o f a layer as you may say ; and they ,
slid him edgeways between tw o barn doors for a coffin and ,
buried him so so they say but I didn t see I t Pap told

, ,
’
.
me But anyway it all com e o f looking at the moon that

.
“
way li ke a fool
,
.
Well the days went along and th e river went down

, ,
between its b anks again ; and about the first thing we done
was to b ait one of the big b o ok s with a sk i nned rabbit and
set it and catch a catfish that was as big as a man being ,
six foot two inches long and weighed over two hundred ,
’
pounds We couldn t handle him o f course ; he would a
.
’
,
’
flung u s into Illinois We just set there and watched him

.
rip and tear around till he drown ded W e found a brass .
button in his stomach and a round ball and lots of rub ,
bage We split the ball open with a hatchet and there

.
,
w as a spool in it Jim said he d had it there a long time

’
,
.
t o coat it over so and make a ball of it It was as big a fi sh

‘
as was ever catched in the M ississippi I reckon Jim ,

.
’ ’
s aid he hadn t ever seen a bigger one He would a been
’
.
w orth a good de al over at the village They peddl e out .
such a fish as that by the pound in the market house there ;

-
’
everybody buys some of him ; his meat s as white as snow
and makes a good fry .
W HAT C O MES OF HANDLIN ’
-
S N A KE S K I N 317
N ext morning I said it w as getting slow and dull and (

,
-
I wanted to get a stirring u p some way I said I reckon e d .
I would slip over the river an d find o u t what was going o n .
Jim liked that notion ; but he said I must g o in th e dark

’
and look sharp Then he studied it over and said couldn t
.
,
I put On some o f them old things and dress up like a girl ?

‘
’
That was a good notion to o So we shortened up o n e o f

,
.
the calico gowns and I turned up my trouser legs to my

,
-
knees and g o t into it Jim hitched it behind with the hooks

.
,
and it was a fair fit I put on the sun bonnet an d tied it

.
-
u nder my chin and then for a body to look in and se e my

,
face w as like looking down a j oint of stove pipe Jim said

- .
nobody would know me even in the daytime hardly I prac

, ,
.
tise d around all day to get the hang o f the things and by ,
an d by I could do pretty well in them only Jim said I did nt

’
,
wal k like a girl ; and he said I must quit pulling up m y

—
gown to get at my britches pocket I took notice and done .
,
be tter .
I started up the Illinois shore in the canoe just after

dark .
I started across to the town from a little below th e ferry

landing and the drift o f th e current fetched me in at th e
,
bottom o f th e town I tied up and started along the ban k

. .
There was a light burning in a little shanty that hadn t been ’
liv ed in for a long time and I wondered who had took up

,
quarters there I slipped up and peeped in at the window

. .
There was a woman about forty year o ld in there knitti ng

by a candle that was o n a pine table I didn t know her .
’
face ; she was a stranger for y o u couldn t start a face in

,
’
that town that I didn t know N ow this w as lucky becaus e

’
.
,
I was weakening ; I was getting afraid I had come ; people

might know my voice and find me ou t But if this woman .
had been in such a little town two days she could tell me
all I wanted to know ; so I knocked at the door and made ,
up my mind I wouldn t forget I was a girl ’

‘
.
CHAPT ER XI
THEY RE AF TER ’
Us!
C OME in says the woman and I did S he says : Take a

, , .
”
c heer .
I done it She looked me all over with her little shiny eyes
.
,
an d says :
“ ”
What might your name be ?
”
S arah Williams .
W h e re bo u ts do you live ? In this neighborhood ?

”
’
“
N o m In H o ok e rv ille seven mile below I v e walked all
’
.
,
.
’
”
the way and I m al l tired o u t ’
.
“
Hungry too I reckon I ll find you something
,
.
’
.
N o m I ain t hungry I was so hungry I had to stop

’
,
.
tw o miles below here at a farm ; so I ain t hungry no more

’
.
I t s what makes me so late M y mother s down sick and

’ ’
.
,
o u t o f money and everything and I come to te ll my uncle ,

.
A bner M oore He lives at the upper end of the town she

.
,
s ays I hain t ever been here before D o you know him ?

’
. .
“
N o ; but I don t know everybody y e t I haven t lived ’
.
’
h ere quite two weeks It s a considerable ways to the upper

’
.
e n d o f the town You better stay here all night Take o ff

. .
”
your bonnet .
“ ” “
No I says ; I ll rest awhile I reckon and go o n I ’
.
, , ,
a i nt afeard of the dark

’ ”
.
S he said she wouldn t let me go by myself but her hus ’

,
band would be in by and by maybe in a hour and a half , ,
and she d send him al ong with m e Then she got to talking
’
.
about her husband and about her relations up the river , ,
3IS
3 20 TH E A DVE N TU RE S OF H U C K L E B E RR Y F I N N
ou t he hadn t b en seen sence ten O clock th e night the mur
’ ’
der w as done So then they put it o n him you see ; and

.
,
whil e they w as full o f it next day back comes old Fin n , , ,
an d went boo b ooing to Judg e Thatcher to get money to

-
‘
hunt for the nigger all over Illi n oIS with The j udge gave .
him some and that evening he got drunk an d was around

, ,
till after midnight with a couple o f mighty hard looking

-
’
strang ers and then went o ff with them Well he hain t
,
.
,
come back sence and they ain t looking for him back ti ll
,
’
this thing blows over a little for people thinks now that ,
h e killed his b oy and fixed things so folks would think rob

bers done it and then he d get Huck s money without having
,
’ ’
to bother a long time with a lawsuit People do say h e .
w arn t an y to o good to do it O h he s sly I reckon If h e

’ ’
. .
, ,
’
don t come back fo r a year he ll b e all right Y ou can t
’ ’
.
prove anything on him y o u know ; every thing will be quieted

,
down then an d he ll walk In Huck s money as easy as

,
’ ’
”
nothing .
“ ’
Yes I reckon so m I don t see nothing in the way of it
, ,
’
. .
”
Has everybody quit thinking the nigger done it ?
“
O h no n o t everybody A good many thinks he done it
, ,
. .
But they ll get th e nigger pretty soon now and maybe they
’
,
”
can scare it out o f him .
“ ”
Why are they after him yet ?
,
Well you re innocent ai n t you ! D oes three hundred

,
’
,
’
dollars lay around every day for people to pick up ? S ome

folks think the nigger ain t far from here I m one o f them
’ ’
.
-but I hain t talked it around A few days ago I was talking

’
.
with an o ld couple that lives next door in the log shanty and ,
they happened to say hardly anybody ever goes to that

’ ’
island over yonder that they call Jackson s Island D on t .
’
anybody liv e there ? says I N 0 nobody says they I didn t .
, ,
.
say any more but I done some thinking I was pretty near
,
.
certain I d seen smoke over there about the head o f the

’
,
T H E Y RE A F T E R ’
U s ! 3 21
island a day o r tw o before that so I says to myself like

, , ,
’
as n o t that n l gg e r s hiding over there ; anyway says I it s , ,
’
worth the trouble to give the place a hunt I hain t seen .

’
any smoke sence s o I reckon maybe h e s gone if it w as

,
‘ ’
,
—
him ; but husband s going over to se e him an d anoth e r
’
m an He was gone up the river ; but he g o t back to day and

.
-
,
”
I t old him as soo n as he g o t her e tw o hours ag o .
I had g o t so une asy I couldn t se t still I had to do some ’

.
thing with my hands ; so I took up a needle o ff o f th e

tabl e and went to threading it M y hand s shook and I .
,
w as making a bad j ob o f it When the woman stopp e d talk .
ing I loo ked up and sh e was looking at me pretty curious

,
and sm iling a little I put down th e needle and thread an d

.
,
—
let o n to be interested and I was too and says :— ,
“
Three hundred dollars is a power o f money I wish my .
mother could get it Is your husband going ov er the re to

.
”
night ?
“
O h yes He went u p town with the man I w as telling
,
.
-
y o u o f t
,
o get a boat and see if they could borrow an oth e r
’ ”
gun They ll go over after midnight
. .
“ ’
C ouldn t they se e better i f they was to wait till day
”
time ?
“
Yes And couldn t the nigger see better too ? Afte r
’ ’
.
,
midnight he ll likely be asleep and they can slip around

’
,
through the woods and hunt up his camp fi re all the bette r
-
”
for the dark if he s got o n e ,
’
.
“ ’ ”
I didn t think o f that .
The woman kept looking at me pretty curious an d I ,
didn t feel a bit comfortable Pretty soon she says :

’
.
“ ”
What did you say your name was honey ?
—
,
M M ary Williams ”
.
S omehow it didn t seem to me that I said it was M ary

’
,
—
before so I didn t look u p seemed to me I said it was
’ ‘
S arah ; so I felt sort o f cornered and w as afeard maybe I ,

3 22
was looking it too I wished the woman wo u1d say some ,
.
th ing more ; the longer she set still the uneasier I was But .
n o w sh e says :
Honey I thought you said it was S arah when you first

“
,
”
come in ?
“ ’
O h ye s m I did S ar ah M ary Williams S ar ah s my
, ,
. .
’
first name S ome calls me S arah some calls me M ary

.
”
, .
“ ”
O h that s the way of it ?
,
’
”
Y es m
’
.
I was feeling better then but I wished I was ou t o f there , ,
anyway I couldn t look up yet .

’
.
We ll the woman fell to talking about how hard time s

,
Was and how poor they had to live and how the rats was
, ,
as free as if they owned the place and so forth and so o n , ,
and then I got easy again S he was right about the rats . .
You d see o n e stick his nose ou t o f a hole in the corner every

’
little while S he said she had to have things handy to throw

.
at them when she was alone or they wouldn t give h er no

.
,
’
peace S he showed me a bar o f lead twisted up into a knot

.
,
and said she was a good shot with it g e n e rly but she d ‘
,
’
wrenched her arm a day o r two ago and didn t know ,

’
whether she co ul d throw true now But she watched for .
a Chance an d direc tly banged away at a rat ; but she missed

,
”
him wide and said O uch ! it hurt her arm so Then
, ,
.
she told me to try for the next one I wanted to be get ting
.
.
away before the Old man got b ack but of course I didn t ,
’
let on I got th e thing and the first rat that showed his
.
,
’ ’
no se I let drive and if he d a stayed where he w as he d ,
’ ’
’
a been a tolerable sick rat
’
S he said that was fi r t-
s rate .
,
and she reckoned I would hive the next o n e S he went and .
g o t the lump o f lead and fetched it back and broug h t along ,
a hank o f y arn which she wanted me to help her with I held .
up my two hands and she put the hank over them and ,
3 24 TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C K L E B E R RY F I N N
te r s old cloth e s and cleared ou t and I had been three nights
’
,
coming the thirty miles I traveled nights and hid daytimes .

,
and slept an d th e bag o f bread and meat I carried from

,
“
home las ted me all the way and I had a plenty I said I
-
, .
believed my uncle Abner M oore would take car e o f me and ,
so that was why I struck o u t for this town o f Goshen .
“
Goshen child ? This ain t Goshen This is S t Peters
,
’
. .
burg Go sh en s ten mile further up the river W h o told you

.
’
.
”
thi s w as Go shen ?
“
Why a m an I met at daybreak this morning just as
, ,
I w as going to turn into the woods for my regul ar sleep .
He told me when the roads forked I must take the right

h and an d fi v e mile would fetch me to Goshen
,
”
.
“
H e was drunk I reckon He told yo u just exactly
,
.
wrong .
“ ’
Well h e did act like he was drunk but it ain t no matter
, ,
now I g o t to be moving along I ll fetch Goshen be fore

. .
’
”
dayligh t .
“
Hold o n a mi n ute I ll put you up a snack to eat You
.
’
.
”
might want it .
So she put me up a snack and says ,
S ay when a cow s laying down which end o f her gets

,
’
,
—
up first ? An s wer up prompt now don t stop to study over ’
”
it Which end gets U p first ?
.
“ ”
The hi nd end mum ,
.
Well then a horse ? ,

”
,
The for r ard end ,mum ’

.
”
Which sid e o f a tree does the moss grow o n ?
”
North side .
If fifteen cows is browsing on a hillside how many of ,

”
them eats with their heads pointed the same direction ?
“ ”
The whole fifteen mum ,
.
Well I reckon you h av e lived in the country I thought

,
.
’
T H E Y RE A F T E R Us ! 3 25
’
maybe you w as try ing to hocus me again What s you r r e al .
”
nam e n ow ? ,
“
George Pete rs mum ,
.
’
Well try to remember it George D on t forget and tell
, ,
.
me it s E le xan de r be fore you go and then get ou t by saying

’
,
it s George E le x an de r when I catch you And don t g o about

’
.
’
women in that o ld calico Y o u do a girl tolerable poor but .

,
you might fool men maybe Bless y ou child when you ,

.
, ,
set o u t to thread a needle don t hold the thread still an d ’
fetch the needle up to it ; hold the needle still and poke the
’
thread at it ; that s the way a woman most always does but ,
’
a man always does t other way And when yo u throw at a .
-
rat o r anything hitch yourself up a tiptoe and fetch your
,
hand up over your head as awkward as y o u c an and miss ,
your rat about Six o r seven foot Throw stiff armed from
- .
the shoulder like there was a pivot there fo r it to turn

,
on like a girl ; not from the wrist and elbow with your
, ,
arm o u t to o n e side like a b oy And mind yo u when a ,

.
, ,
girl tries to catch anything in her lap she throws her knees
apart ; she don t clap them together the way you did when
’
,
you catched the l ump o f lead Why I spotted y o u fo r a .

,
boy when y ou was threading the needle ; and I contrived

the other things just to make certain N o w trot along to .
your uncle S arah M ary Williams George E lex an de r Peters

,
and if you get into trouble you send word to M rs Judith .
L oftus which is me and I ll do what I can to get you out

, ,
’
Of it K eep the river road all the way an d next time you
.
,
tramp take shoes and socks with you The river road s a .
’
rocky one and your feet 11 be in a condition when yo u

,
’
”
get to Goshen I reckon ,
.
I went up the bank about fifty yards and then I doubled ,
o n my tracks and slipped back to where my canoe w as a ,
good piece below the house I jumped in and w as o ff in a .

,
26
3 TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C K L E B E RR Y F I N N
.
-
h u rry I went u p stream far enough to make the head o f
.
the island and the n started across I took o ff the sun

,
.
’
bonnet for I didn t want no blinders o n then When I
, .
-
was about the middle I heard the clock begin to strike ,
so I stops and listens ; the sound come faint over the water
,
—
but clear eleve n When I struck the head o f the island
.
I never waited to blow though I was most winded but I

, ,
shoved right into the timber where my old camp us e d

to be an d started a good fire there o n a high and dry spot
,
.
Then I jumped in the canoe and dug o u t for o u r place a ,
mile an d a half below as hard as I could go I lan ded and

,
.
,
l ppe d through the timber and Up the ridge and into the ,
cavern There Jim laid sound asleep o n the ground I roused

.
,
.
him o u t and says :

“
Git up and hump yourself Jim ! There ain t a minut e ,
’
”
to lose They re after us !
"
’
.
Jim never asked no questions he never said a word ; but ,
th e way h e worked for the next half an hour showed about

h ow he was scared By t hat time everything w e had in
.
the world was o n o u r raf t and she was ready to be shoved

,
o Ut from the willow cove where she was hid W e put o u t .
the camp -fi re at the cavern the first thing and didn t show ,
’
a candl eoutside after that .
I took the canoe out from the shore a little piece and
took a look ; but if there was a boat around I couldn t see
it for stars and shadows ain t good to see by Then we
,
’
.
got out the raft and Slipped along down in th e shade past ,
th e foot of the island d e ad still — never saying a word .

al l about th e time I had j ab b e rm g w ith that woman ; and
Jim said Sh e was a smart one and if she was to st art after
,
us herself she wouldn t set down and watch a camp fi re:

’
-
’
no sir she d fetch a dog Well then I said why couldn t
, ,
.
, , ,
’
Sh e tell her husband to fetch a dog ? Jim said h e bet sh e
did think o f it by the time the men was ready to start ,
and he believed they must a gone u p town to get a dog

- ’ ’
and s o they lost all that time o r else we would n t b e here

,
’
o n a towhead sixteen o r seventeen mile below the v illage
no indeedy We would be in that same o ld town again So

, ,
.
I said I didn t car e what was th e r eason they didn t get u s

’ ’
as long as they didn t ’

.
When it w as b e g l n m n g to come o n dark we poked o u r

heads ou t o f th e cottonwood thicket and looked up and ,
down and across ; nothing in sight ; so Jim took up some

"
o f th e top planks o f the raft and built a snug W i g w am
to get under in blazing we ather and rai ny and to keep ,
the things dry Jim m ad e a floor for the W igwam an d

.
,
raised it a foot o r m o re above the level o f th e raft so now ,
the blankets and all the traps was ou t o f reach o f steam

boat waves Right in the middle o f the w 1g w am we made
.
a layer o f dirt about five or six inches deep with a frame

around it for to hold it to its place ; this was to build a fire
o n in sloppy weather or chilly ; the W igwam would keep it
from being seen We made an extra steering oar too because

.
-
, ,
o n e o f the others might get broke on a snag or something .
We fi xed up a short forked stick to hang the Old lantern

on ,
because we must always light the lantern whenever
w e see a steamboat coming down stream to keep from
-
,
getting run over ; but we wouldn t have to light it for ’
U p stream boats unless we see we was in what they call a

-
“
crossing ; for the river w as pr etty high yet very low
”
,
banks being still a little under water ; so u p bound boats

-
didn t always run the channel but hunted easy water

’
,
.
“
B E T T E R LE T B L A M E W ELL AL O NE ”
3 29
This second n ight we run between seven and eight hours ,
with a current that was making over four mile an hour .
We catched fish and talked and we took a sw im n ow and ,
then to keep o ff sleep iness It was kind o f solemn drifti ng .

,
down the big still river laying o n o u r backs looking up at

, ,
the stars and we didn t ever feel like talking loud and it
,
’
,
w arn t o fte n that we laughed

’ — only a little kind o f a low
chuckle We had mighty good weather as a general thing
.
,
an d nothing ever happened to us at all

— that night nor th e ,
next n o r the next

,
.
E very night we p assed towns some o f them away u p ,
on black hillsides nothing but just a shiny bed o f li gh ts ;

,
n o t a house could y o u see The fi fth night we pas sed S t . .
L O UIS and it Was like th e whole world lit up In S t Peters

,
. .
burg they used to say ther e was twenty o r thirty thousand

people in S t L ouis but I never believ ed it ti ll I see that
.
,
’
wonderful spread o f lights at tw o O clock that still n ight .
There warn t a sound there ; everybody was asleep

’
.
E very night now I used to slip ashore toward ten o clock ’
’
at some little village an d buy ten o r fi fteen cents worth o f
,
meal o r bacon o r other stuff to eat ; and sometimes I lifted

a chicken that warn t roosting comfortable and took h im
’
,
along Pap always said take a chicken when you get a

.
,
chance be cause if y ou don t want him yourself you can

,
’
easy find somebody that does and a good deed ai n t eve r ,

’
forgot I n ever see pap when he didn t want th e chicken

.
’
himself but that is what he used to say any w ay

, ,
.
M ornings before daylight I slipped into corn fi elds an d

-
borrowed a watermelon or a mushmelon o r a punkin , , ,
or some new corn o r things o f th at kind Pap always said

"
.
,
’
it warn t no harm to borrow things if y o u w as meaning to
a
p y them back some time ; but the widow said it warn t ’
anything but a soft name for ste alin g an d no decent body

‘
would do it Jim said he reckoned the widow was partly

.
'
3 30 T H E A D VE N T U RE S OF H U C K L E B E RR Y F I N N
right and pap was partly right ; so the best way would be
fo r U S to pick out two o r three things from the list and say
—
we wouldn t borrow them any more then he re ck o n e d i t
’
’
wouldn t be no harm to borrow the o thers S o we talked it .
over all o n e night drifting along down the river trying to

, ,
m a ke up o u r minds whether to drop the watermelons o r ,
the c an te lOp e s or the m u sh m e lo n s o r what B u t towa r d

, ,
.
daylight we got it al l settled satisfactory and concluded ,
t o drop crabapples and p sim m o n s We warn t feeling just

’ ’
.
right before that but it was all comfortable now I was

,
.
glad the way it come o u t too because crabapples ain t ever, ,

’
good and the p sim m o n s wouldn t be ripe for two o r three

,
’ ’
months yet .
We shot a water fowl n ow an d then that got up to o

- ,
early in the morning o r didn t go to bed e ar ly enough in ’
the evening Take it all round we lived pretty high

.
,
.
The fifth night below S t L ouis we had a big storm after .
midnight with a power o f thunder and lightning and the

, ,
rain poured down in a solid sheet We stayed in the w 1gw am

'
.
and let the raft take care o f itself When the li ghtning .
glared out we could see a big str aight river ahead and ,
“
high rocky bluffs on both sides By and by says I Hel lo
,
- .
, ,
”
Jim looky yonder ! It was a steamboat that had killed
, !
hersel f o n a rock We was drifting straight down for her

. .
The ligh tm n g showed her very distinct S he was leaning .
Over with part o f her upper deck above water and you
, ,
could see every littl e chimbly guy cle an and clear and a
-
,
'
chair by the big b ell wi th an old slouch hat hanging on

,
the back of it when the fl ashes come

,
Well it being away in the night and stormy and all so

, ,
mysterious like I felt just the way any other boy would
-
,
’
a
’
felt when I seen that wreck laying there so mournful
and lonesome in the middle o f th e river I wanted to get .
feeling o u r way slow with o u r feet and spreading o u r ,
hands o u t to fend Off the guys for it was so dark we ,

’
cou ldn t see no Sign of them Pretty soon we struck the .
forward end o f the skylight and d umb o n to it ; and the ,
next step fetched us in front o f the captain s door which ’

,
was open and by Jiminy away down through the texas -hall
, ,
we see a light ! and all in the sam e second we seem to hear

low v oices in yonder !
Jim whispered and said he was feeling powerful sick ,
and told me to come along I says all right and w as going .

, ,
to s tart fo r the raft ; but jus t the n I heard a voice w ai l o u t

and s ay
”
O h please don t boys ; I swe ar I won t ever tell !
,
’
,
’
Another voice said pretty loud : ,

“ ’
It s a lie Jim Turn e r You ve acted this way before Y o u
’
,
. .
always want more n your share o f the tru ck and you v e

’
,
’
’ ’
always got it to o because yo u ve swore t if you didn t
, ,
’
you d tell But this time you v e said it j est o n e time to o

’
.
’
’
many You re the meanest tre ach e rou se st hound in this
.
,
”
country .
-
By this time Jim w as go ne fo r the raft I was just a biling .
’
with curiosity ; and I says to myself Tom S awyer wouldn t ,
back o u t now and so I won t either ; I m a going to s e e

,
- ’ ’
what s going on he re S o I dropped on my hands and knees

’
.
in th e little passag e and crept aft in the dark till there ,
-
warn t but one stateroom betwixt me and the cros s hall o f
’
the texas Then in there I see a man str e tched on the

.
floor and tied hand and foot and tw o men standing over ,
him and one o f them had a dim lantern in his hand and
, ,
the other one had a pistol Thi s one kept pointing the .
pistol at the man s head o n the floo r and saying

’
,
“ ’ —
I d lik e to ! An d I orter too a mean skunk ! ”
,
The man on the floor would shriv e l U p and say Oh , ,

”
please don t Bill ; I h ain t ever goin to tel l
’
,
’ ’
.
“ ”
BE T TER L E lfl
’
BLAM E W ELL AL O N E 333
An d eve ry time he said that the man with th e lan te rn

would laugh and say :
’
D eed yo u ain t ! Y o u never said n o truer thing n that
’ ’
,
” “
y o u bet y ou And onc e h e
. s aid : Hear him beg ! an d yit
i f we hadn t g o t the b e st o f him and tied him h e d a
’ ’ ’ ’
killed u s both And what for ? J ist for n o th n J ist becaus e

.
’ ’
.
—
we stood o n ou r rig h ts that s what fo r But I lay yo u ’
—
.
ai n t a goin to threaten nobody an y mor e Jim Turner Put

’ ’
.
,
”
u p that pistol Bill ,
.
Bill says :
“ ’
I don t want to Jak e Packard I m fo r killin him
’
,
.
’
’ —
and didn t he kill o ld Hatfield j ist the same way and don t ’
”
h e des e rv e it ?
“ ’
But I don t w an t him kille d and I v e g o t my reasons fo r
’
,
Bless heart fo r them words Jake Packard ! I ll never

y o
’
,
’
”
forg it yo u long s I live ! s ays th e man on th e floor sort
’
,
o f blubbering .
Packard didn t tak e n o notice o f that but hung up his

’
,
lantern o n a nail and started toward where I w as there ,
in th e dark and motioned Bill to come I c raw fi sh e d as fast

,
.
as I could about tw o yards but the boat slanted so that ,
I couldn t make v ery good time ; so to keep from getting

’
run over and catched I crawled into a stateroom on the

.
—
upper side The man came a paw m g along in th e dark ,
and when Packard got to my stateroom he says

—
,
“ ”
Here come in here .
And in he come an d Bill after him But before they g o t

,
.
in I w as up in th e U pper berth cornered and sorry I come , ,

.
Then they stood there with their hands on the ledge o f ,

’
the berth and talked I couldn t see them but I could tell
,
.
,
where they was by the whi sky they d been having I w as ’

.
’
glad I didn t drink whisky ; but it wouldn t made much ’
difference anyway because most o f th e tim e they couldn t

,
’
a treed me because I didn t breathe I w as too scared ’
. .
And besides a body c ou ldn t bre athe and hear such talk
, ,
’
.
They talked low and earnest Bill wanted to ki ll Turner . .
He says :
“ ’ ’
He s said he ll tell and he will If we was to give both ,
.
ou r Shares to him n o w it would n t make no difference afte r

- ’
the row and the way we ve served him S hore s you re born ’
.
’ ’
,
’ ’
he ll t u rn state s evidence ; now you hear m e I m fo r putting .
’
”
him o u t o f his troubles .
“
S o m I says Packard very quiet
’
, , .
Blame it I d sorter begun to think you wasn t Well

,
’ ’
.
,
then that s all right L e s go and do it

,
’
.
’
.
“ ’
Hold o n a minute ; I hain t had my say yit You listen to .
me S hooting s good but there s quieter ways if the thing s

.
’
,
’ ’
’
g o t to be done But what I say is this : it ain t good.sense to
go c o u rt n around after a halter if you can git at what
’ ’
you re up to in some way that s j is t as good and at the same

’ ’
”
time don t bring you into n o re sk s Ain t that so ?
’
.
’
“ ”
Y o u bet it is But how y o u goin to manage it this time ?
’
.
Well my idea is this : we ll rustle ar ound and gather up

,
’
whatever picki n s we ve overlooked in the stateroo ms and ’ ’

,
shove for shore and hide the truck Then we ll wait Now I .
’
.
’
say it ai n t a goin to be more n two hours befo this wrack
- ’ ’ ’
breaks up and washes o ff down the river S ee ? He ll b e .

’
drownded and won t have nobody to blame for it but his

,
’
’ ’ ’
o w n self I reckon that s a considerable sight better n killin
.
o f him I m unfavorable to killin a man as long as you can

’ ’
.
’
git aroun it ; it ain t good sense it ain t good morals Ain t
’ ’
,
’
.
”
I right ?
“
Yes I re ck n you are But s pose she d on t break up and
,
’
.
’ ’
wash Off
“ ’
Well we can wait the two hours anyway and see can t
, ,
”
we ?
“
All right then ; come along ,
.
CHAPTE R XII I
H ONES T LOO T FROM TH E W AL TER SCO TT
WELL I catched my breath and most fainted Shut up on a

,
.
wreck with such a gang as that ! But it warn t no time to b e ’
s e n tim e n te rin g
’
—
We d g o t to find that boat now had to
.
have it for ourselves S o we went a qu ak in g and sh aking

.
’
—
down the s tabb o ard side and slow work it was too seemed
, ,
a week before we got to the stern No Sign o f a boat Jim . .
’
—
said he didn t believe he could go any farther so scared he
’
hadn t hardly any strength left he said But I s ai d come ,
.
,
o n i f we get left o n this wreck we are in a fix sure SO o n

, ,
.
we prowled again We struck fo r the stern o f the texas and

.
,
found it and then scrabbled along forwards on the skylight

, ,
hanging on from shutter to shutter for the edge o f the Sk y ,
light w as in the water When we got pretty close to the cross

.
hall door there was the skiff sure enough ! I could j ust barely
,
s ee her I felt ever so thankful In another second I would a

’ ’
. .
been aboard of her but j ust then the door opened O ne o f

,
.
the men stuck his head out only about a couple o f foot from
me and I thought I was gone ; but he jerked it in again and
,
says
“ ”
Heave that blame l antern o u t o sight Bill ! ’
,
He flung a bag Of something into the boat and then got ,
in himself an d set down It was Packard Then Bill h e come

. .
ou t and got in Packard says in a low voice :

.
,
—
All ready shove o ff
I couldn t hardly hang on to the shutters I w as so weak
’
,
.
But Bill says :

H ONES T L OO T FROM TH E W AL TER S C OT T
Hold o u ( 1 you g o through him ?
”
N O D idn t you ?
’
.
N o S o he s got hi s share 0 the cash yet

’ ’
. .
Well then come along ; no use to take truck and leave

, ,
money .
“ ’
S ay won t he suspicion what we re up to ?
,
’
M aybe he wo n t But we g o t to have it anyway C om e

’
. .
”
along .
So they g o t o u t and went in .
The door slammed to because it w as o n the careened side ;

and in a half second I was in the boat and Jim come tum ,
bling after me I o u t w ith my knife and cut the rope and

.
,
away we went !
’
We didn t touch an o ar and we didn t speak nor whisper
’
, ,
nor hardly even breathe We went gliding swift along de ad .

,
Silent past the tip of th e paddlebox and p ast the stern ; then
, ,
in a second o r two more we was a hundred yards below the

wreck and the darkness soaked her up every last Sign o f
, ,
her and we w as safe and knowed it

, ,
.
When we was three or four hundred yards down stre am we

-
see the lantern Show like a little spark at the texas door for a
second and we knowed by that that the rascals had m issed
,
'
their bo at and was beginning to understand that they w as

,
in just as much trouble n o w as Jim Turner was .
Then Jim manned the oars and we took o u t after o u r raft ,

.
N o w was the first time that I begun to worry about th e

m en — I reckon I hadn t had time to before I be g un to thi nk
’
.
h o w dreadful it was even for murderers to be in such a fi x

, ,
.
I says to myself there ain t no telling but I might come to be

,
’
a murderer myself yet and then h o w would I like it ? S o says,
I to Jim
“
The first light we see we ll land a hundr ed y ards below it ’
’
o r above it in a place where it s a good hiding place for y ou
,
-
an d the skiff and then I ll g o and fix up some kind o f a

’
,
yarn and get somebody to go for that gang and get them
,
o u t o f their scrape so they can be hung when their time

,
comes .
But that idea w as a failure ; for pretty soon it begun to

storm again an d th is time wors e than ever T h e rain pour e d
,
.
down and never a light showed ; everybody in bed I reckon

, ,
.
We boomed along down the river watching for lights and ,
watchin g for o u r raft A fter a long time the rain let up but
.
,
the clouds st a yed and the lightning kept whimpering and by

, ,
an d by a flash showed us a black thing ahead floating and , ,
we made for it .
It was the raft and mighty glad was we to get aboard o f it

,
ag ai n We seen a light now away down to the right o n shore

.
,
.
S o I said I would go for it Th e skiff was half full o f plunder .
whi ch that gang had stole there o n the wreck We hustled it .
o n to the raft in a pile and I told Jim to float along down

, ,
and Show a light when he judged he had gone about tw o mile ,
and keep it burning till I come ; then I manned my oars an d

shoved for the light As I got down t owards it three o r four
.
—
more showed u p o n a hillside It was a village I closed . .
in above the shore light and laid o n my oars and floated As

,
.
I went by I see it w as a lantern hanging on the j ack s taff

o f a double hull ferryboat I skimmed around for the watch
- .
man a wondering whereabouts he slept ; and by and by I

,
-
found him roosting on the bitts forward with his head down ,
between his knees I gave his shoulder two or three little

.
shoves and begun to cry

,
.
He stirred up in a kind o f a startlish way ; but when he see

it was only me h e took a good g ap and stretch and then he ,
says :
“ ”
Hello what s up ? D on t cry bub What s the trouble ?
,
’ ’
,
.
’
I says :
Pap and mam and sis and
, , ,
Then I broke down He says : .

3 4° TH E A D VE N T U RE S OF H U C K L E B E RR Y F I N N
,
—
Yes Booth s L anding g o o n ’
.
S he was a visiting there at Booth s L anding and just in

- ’
,
the edge o f the evening she started over with her nigger
woman in the horse ferry to stay all night at her friend s
- ’
,
- - - — —
house M iss What you may call her I disremember her
—
name and they lost their steering oar and swung around
-
,
and went a fl o atin g down stern first about two mile and
-
, , ,
saddle b ag g se d o n the wreck and th e ferryman and th e nig

-
,
ger woman and th e horses was all lost but M iss Hooker she ,
mad e a grab and got aboard the wreck Well about an hour .
,
after dark we come along down in our trading scow and it-
,
’
was so dark we didn t notice the wreck till we w as right o n
it ; and so w e saddle b agg se d ; but all o f us was saved but Bill
-
— —
Whipple and o h he w as the best c re tu r ! I most wish t it
,
’
had been me I do ,
.
M y George ! It s the b e ate n e st thing I ever struck And

’
.
”
th e n what did you all do ?
“
Well we hollered and took on but it s so wide there we
, ,
’
coul dn t make nobody hear S o pap said somebody got to get

’
.
ashor e and get help somehow I was the only one th at could .
swim so I made a dash for it and M iss Hooker she said if I

, ,
didn t strike help sooner com e here and hunt up her uncle
’
, ,
and he d fix the thing I made the land about a mile below

’
.
,
and been fooling along ever since trying to get people to do ,
something but they said What in such a night and such a

, ,
‘
,
’
current ? There ain t no sense in it ; go for the steam ferry
’
- .
N ow if you ll go and ’
“
By Jackson I d lik e to and blame it I don t k n o w b u t I
,
’
, , ,
’
will ; b u t w h o in the din g n atio n s a going to pay for it ? D O

- ’
you reckon your pap -
“
Why th at s all right M iss Hooker she tole me partic u lar
’
.
, ,
that her uncle Hornback

“
Great guns ! is h e her uncle ? L ooky here you break for ,
that ligh t; over yonder-way an d turn o u t west when you ,

H ON E S T L O O T F R O M T H E W AL TER S COTT
git the re and about a quarter o f a mile o u t yOu ll come to th e ’
'
tav ern ; tell em to dart you o u t to Jim H o rn b ack s and h e ll

,
’ ’
,
’
foot the bill An d don t y ou fool around any because h e ll

.
’
,
’
want to kno w the n ews Tell him I ll have his niece all safe
.
’
before he can get to town Hump yourself now ; I m a-going .

,
’
”
up around the corner here to roust o u t my engineer .
I struck fo r the light but as soon as he turned the corner

,
I went back and g o t into my skiff and bailed her o u t and ,
then pulled up shore in the e as y water about six hundred

yards and tucked myself in among some wood b o ats y fo r I
,
-
couldn t rest easy till I could see th e ferryboat start But tak e
’
.
it all around I was feeling ruther comfortable o n accounts

,
o f taking all this trouble fo r that gang fo r not many would ,
a done it I wished the widow knowed about it I judged

’ ’
. .
sh e would be proud o f me for helping these rapscalli ons b e ,
cause rapsc allions and dead beats is the kind the widow and
-
good people takes the most interest in .
Well before long here comes the wreck dim and dusky
, , ,
sliding along down ! A kind o f cold shiver went through me ,
and then I struck o u t for her S he was very deep and I s e e .

,
in a minute there warn t much chance for anybody being alive

’
l n her I pulled all around her and hollered a little but there
.
,
’
wasn t any an swer ; all dead still I felt a little bit heavy .
hearted about the gang but not much for I reckoned if they
, ,
could stand it I could .
Then here comes the ferryboat ; so I shoved for the middle

o f the river on a long down stream slant ; and when I j udged
-
I was o u t o f eye reach I laid o n my oars a n d looked back

-
,
and see her g o and smell around the wreck for M iss Hooker s ’
remainders because the captain would know her uncle Horn

,
back would want them ; and then pretty soon the ferryboat
gi ve it up and went for the shore and I laid into my work and ,
went a booming down the river

- .
It did seem a powerful long time before Jim s ligh t showed ’

up ; and when it did Show it looked like it was a thous an d
mile off By the time I got there the sky was beginning to g et
.
a little gray in th e e ast ; so we struck for an island and hid,
the raft and s u nk th e skiff and tu rn e d in and slept

, ,
d e ad p e opl e .
344 TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C KL E B E RR Y F I N N
counts dem kings dat s in a p ack er k y ards How much do a ’ ’
.
”
king git ?
“ ”
Get ? I says ; why they get a thousand dollars a month ,
if they want it ; they can have just as much as th ey want ;

”
everything belong s to them .
“ ”
Ain d at gay ? E n what dey got to do Huck ?
’
,
Th ey don t do nothing ! Why how you talk ! They just

’
1
,
”
set a round .
”
N O ; is dat so ?
“ —
O f course it is They just set around except maybe .
, ,
when there s a war ; then they go to the war But other times
’
.
they j ust lazy around ; o r go hawking — just hawking and

sp —
S h l d yo n hear a noise ? ” ’
We skipped out and looked ; but it warn t nothing but the ’
flutter o f a steamboat s wheel away down coming around ’

,
the point ; so we come back .
“
Yes says I and other tim es when things is dull they
” “
, , , ,
fuss with the p arlym e n t ; and if everybody don t go just so ’
he whacks their heads off But mostly they hang ro u nd the .
”
harem .
“ ”
Roun de which ? ’
”
Harem .
What s de harem ? ’
’
The place where he keeps his W 1v es D on t you know .
about the harem ? S olomon had one ; he had about a million

wives .
“ —
Why yes dat s so ; I I d done forgot it A harem s a ’ ’
.
’
, ,
bo d n house I re ck n M OS like ly dey has rackety times in

’
- ’
,
’
.
’
d e n u sse ry E n I re ck n de wives quarrels c o n sidab le ; en dat

’
.
’ ’
crease de racket Yit dey say Solle rm u n de wises man dat .
ever liv I doan take no stock in dat B ek ase why : would a

’ ’
—
. .
wise man want to live in de mids er sich a blim b l am m in all " ’
—
de time ? N O deed he wouldn t A wise m an u d take en ’ ’
.
’
W AS SOLOMON W ISE ? 34 s
buil a biler’
en den he could shet d-fac tr
o w n de biler -fac tr
y; y
when he want to
“
Well but he w as the wisest man anyway ; because the
, ,
” "
widow she told me so her own self , ,
.
I doan k yer what de widder say he w arn t n o wise man

’ ’
,
’
n u th e r He had some er de dad fe tch e des ways I ever see

’
.
- .
’
D oes you know bout dat chile dat he u z gwyne to chop in ’ '
”
tw o ?
“
Y e s , the
widow told me all about it
Well den ! Warn dat de b e aten es notion in de worl ? ’ ’ ’
—
,
Y o u j es take en look at it a minute D ah s de stump dah

’ ’
4
.
,
’ —
dat s o n e er de women ; h e ah s you dat s de yu th e r o n e ; I s ’ ’ ’
’
Solle rm u n ; en dish yer dollar bill s de chile B ofe u n yo u .
’
claims it What does I do ? D oes I shin aroun mongs de
.
’
neighbors en fine o u t which u n you de bill d o b long to en ’

,
han it over to de r1gh t o n e all safe en soun de way dat

’
,
’
,
anybody dat had any gumption would ? No ; I take en whack

de bill in tw o en give half u n it to you en de y u th e r half
, ,
to de yu th e r woman D at s de way So lle rm u n was gwyne to .

’
do wid de chile N ow I want to ast yo u : what s de use er .

’
f
—
dat half a bill ? can t buy n o th n wid it E n what use is a ’ ’
.
”
half a chile ? I wouldn give a dern for a million u n um ’
.
“
But hang it Jim you ve clean missed the point blame,
— ,
’
’ ”
it you ve missed it a thousand mile
,
.
“
Who ? M e ? G O long D oan talk to m e bout yo pints ’
.
’ ’ ’
.
I reck n I knows sense when I sees it ; en dey ai n no sen se in

’ ’
sich do in s as dat D e spute warn t bout a half a chile de

’
.
’ ’ ’
,
’ ’
spute was bout a whol e chile ; en de man dat think he k in
settle a spute bout a whole chile Wid a half a chile doan
’ ’ ’
know enough to come in o u t n de rain D oan talk to me bout ’

.
’ ’
So lle rm u n Huck I knows him by de back

, ,
But I tell you you don t get the point ’

.
Blame de point ! I reck n I knows what I knows E n min e ’

.
3 4 6 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C K L E B E RR Y F I N N
y ou ,
de re al pint is down furder it s down deeper It lays in - ’
.
de way So lle rm u n was raised You t ak e a m an dat s got o n ’y .

’
o n e or two chill en ; is dat man gwyne to be waste ful o chillen ?

’
N 0 he ain t ; he can t ford it H e knows how to v al ue em

,
’ ’ ’
.
’
.
But you t ak e a m an dat s got bout five million chillen ru n n in ’ ’ ’
roun de house en it s diffu n t H e as soon chop a chile in tw o

’
,
’
.
as a cat D ey s plenty mo
’ ’ ’
. A chile er two mo er less warn t .
, ,
’
”
no c onsek e n s to Solle rm u n dad fetch him ! ,
I never see such a nigger If he got a notion in his head .
once there warn t n o getting it out again He w as the most

,
’
.
down o n S olomon o f an y nigger I ever see S o I went to talk .
ing about other kings an d let S olomon slide I told about ,

.
L ouis S ixteenth that got his head cut o ff in F rance long tim e
’ ’
ag o ; and about his little boy the dolphin that would a been ,
a king but they took and shu t him up in j ail and some say
, ,
he died there .
“
P O little chap
’
.
But some says he got o u t and got away and come to ,
America
“ ’
D at s good ! But he ll be pooty lonesome dey ain n o
’ - ’
”
kings here is dey Huck ? , ,
“ ”
NO .
”
D en he cain t git no situation What he gwyne to do ? ’
.
Well I don t know S ome of them gets on the police an d

,
’
.
,
”
some o f them learns people how to talk F rench .
“
W hy Huck doan de F rench people talk de same way
, ,
’
”
we does ?
“ —
N 0 Jim ; you couldn t understand a word they s ai d not
’
,
”
a single word .
”
“
Well now I be ding busted ! How do dat come ?
-
, ,
I don t know ; but it s so I got some o f their j abber out

“ ’ ’
.
of a book S pose a man was to come to you an d say Polly

.
’
v oo franzy
- — what would you think ? ”
“
I wouldn think n u ffn ; I d take en bust him over de head
’ ’
CHAPT ER XV
FOOLIN G P OOR OL D J IM
WE judged that three nights more woul d fetch us to C airo at ,
th e bottom of Illinoi s where the O hio R iver comes in and

, ,
that was what we was after We would sell the raft and get
.
on a steamboat and go way U p the O hio amongst the free
s tates and then be o u t o f trouble

,
.
Well th e second night a fog begun to come o n and we

, ,
m ade fo r a towhead to tie to for it wouldn t do to try to run

’
,
in a fog ; but when I paddled ah ead in the canoe with the ,
line to make fast there warn t anything but little saplings

,
’
to ti e to I passed the line around o n e of them right o n the

.
edge o f the cut bank but there was a stiff current and the
, ,
raft come booming down so lively she tore it out by the roots
and away sh e went I see the fog closing down and it made
.
,
me so sick and scared I couldn t budge for most a half a min ’
—
ute it seemed to me and then there warn t no raft in sight ; ’
’
y o u couldn t see twenty yards I jumped into the canoe and
.
run back to the stern an d grabbed the p addle and set her
,
back a stroke But she didn t come I was in such a hurry I

.
’
.
hadn t untied her I got up and tried to untie her but I was
’
.
,
s o excited my han ds shook so I could n t hardly do anything

’
.
wi t h them .
As soon as I got started I took out after the raft hot and ,
heavy right do w n the towh ead That was all ri g ht as far as it

,
.
went but the towhead warn t sixty yards long and the minute
’
, ,
I flew by the foot of it I shot out into the solid white fog ,
34 8
F O O LIN G P O OR OL D J IM 34 9
and hadn t n om ore idea which way I was going than a d e ad

’
man .
Thinks I it won t do topaddle ; first I know I ll ru n into

,
’ ’
th e bank or a towh ead or something ; I got to set still and

floa t and yet it s mighty fi dg e ty business to have to hold
,
’
your hands still at such a time I whoope d and listened

‘
. .
Away down ther e somewheres I hears a small whoop and up ,
comes my spirits I went te aring after it listening sharp to

.
,
hear it aga n The next time it com e I see I warn t headin g ’

i
for it but heading away to the right o f it An d the ne xt tim e

,
.
—
I was heading away to the left o f it and n o t gaining o n it
much either for I was flying ar ound this way and that an d
, ,
t other but it was going straight ahead all the time

’
,
.
I did wish th e fool would think to beat a tin pan and beat
,
,
it all the time but he never did and it w as th e still p lace s

, ,
between the whoops that was making the trouble f o r m e /

.
Well I fought along and directly I hears the who op behin d

, ,
me I was tangl ed good n o w That was somebody e ls e s

. .
’
whoop or else I was turned around

,
.
I throwed the paddle down I heard the whoop again ; it .
was behind me yet but in a different place ; it kept comin g

, ,
and kept changing its place an d I kep t an swering till by , ,
and by it was in front o f me again an d I knowed the current ,
had s wu ng th e canoe s head down stream and I was all right

- ’
,
if that was Jim and not some other raftsm an hollering I .
’ ’
couldn t tell nothing about voices in a fo g for nothing don t ,
look natural nor sound natural in a fog .
The whooping went on and in about a minute I come

"
a booming down on a cut bank with smoky ghosts o f big

-
trees on it and the current throwed me Off to the left and

,
shot by amongst a lot of snags that fairly roared th e cur

, ,
rent was tearing by them so swift .
In another second o r two it was solid white and still again .

3 5° TH E A DV E N T U R E S OF H U C K L E B E RRY F I N N
I se tperfectly still then listening to my h eart thump and I , ,

’
r eckon I didn t draw a breath while it thu mped a hundred
I just give up then I knowed what the matter was That . .
cut ban k was an island and Jim had gon e down t other side ,
’
o f it It warn t no towhead that y ou could float by in ten

’
.
minutes It had th e big timber of a regular isl and ; it might

.
be fiv e o r six miles long and more than half a mile wide .
I kept quiet with my ears cocked about fifteen minutes

, , ,
I reckon I was floating along o f cour se four o r fi v e miles an

.
, ,
hour ; but y ou don t ever think o f that N0 you feel like you
’
.
,
are laying de ad still on the water ; and if a little glimpse o f a

’
snag slips by y ou don t think to yourself how fast y ou re ’
going but you catch your breath and think my ! h o w that

, ,
’
snag s tearing along I f you think it ain t dism al and lone
’
.
some Out in a fog that w ay by yourself in the night you try ,
_
it o n c e yo u ll see ’
.
Next fo r about a h al f an ho u r I whoops now and then ; at

, ,
last I hears the answer a long ways o ff and tries to follow it , ,
but I couldn t do it and directly I j u dged I d got into a nest

’
,
’
o f towhea ds fo r I had little dim glimpses Of them o n both

,
—
sides Of m e s ometimes just a narrow channel between and
’
,
’
som e that I couldn t see I knowed was there because I d hear
’
th e wash Of th e current against th e Old dead brush and trash

that hung over the banks Well I warn t long loosing the .
,
’
'
whoops down am ongst the towheads ; an d I only tri ed to

chas e them a little while an yway because it was worse than , ,
chasing a Jac k O lantern You never kn owed a sound dodge

- - ’
.
around so an d swap places so quick and so much

,
.
I had to claw away from th e b ank pre tty lively four or

fiv e tim e s to keep from knocking the islands out Of the river ;
,
and so I judged th e raft must be butti ng into the bank every

n o w and the n or els e it would get further ahead and clear
,
—
out o f hearing it was floating a little faster than what I was .
lemme feel 0 you N o y ou ain dead ! you s back ag in live
’
.
,
’ ’ ’
,
’
’
—
en soun j is de same Ole Huck de same Ole Huck thanks to
, ,
”
goodness !
“ ’
What s the matter with you Jim ? o u been a drinking ?
Y -
,
D rin k in ? H as I ben a d rin k in ? Has I had a chance to

’ ’
-
be a
“
Well then what makes you talk so wild ?
, ,
H ow does I tal k wild ? ’
“
H o w ? Why hain t y o u been talking about my coming
,
’
”
back , and all that stuff as if I d been gone away ? ,
’
“ —
Huck Huck F inn y o u look me in de eye ; look me in de ,
”
e y e H ain t you ben gone away ?
’
.
“
Gon e away ? Why what in the nation do you mean ? I ,
’ ”
hain t been gone an ywheres Where would I go to ? .
“ ’
Well looky here boss dey s su m fn wrong dey is Is I m e
, , , ,
.
,
o r w h o is I ? Is I h e ah o r whah is I ? N OW dat s what I wants

’
,
”
t o know .
“
Well I think you re here plain enough but I think
,
’
, ,
- ”
you re a tangle headed old fool Jim
’
,
.
“
I is 1s I ? Well you answer me dis : D idn t you tote ou t
, ,
’
” ’
d e line in de canoe fer to make fas to de towhead ?
“
NO I didn t What towhead ? I hain t seen no towhead
’ ’
‘
. .
,
Y ou hain t seen no towhead ? L ooky here didn t de line

’ ’
,
pull loose en de raf g o a hu m m in down de river en leave you

- ’ ’
,
”
en de canoe b eh in e in de fog ?
“ ”
What fog ?
—
Why d e fo g l de fo g dat s been aroun all n ight E n
,
’
,
’
.
’
didn t y o u whoop en didn t I whoop tell we got mix up in
’
,
’
,
’ ’
de islands en one u n us got los en t other o n e was jis as good ’
‘
as los kas e he didn know whah he wuz ? E n didn t I bust

’
,
’ ’ ’
’
up again a lot er dem islands en have a tu rrib le time en mos
—
git drownded ? N ow ain dat so boss ain t it so ? You an ’
,
’
”
swer me dat .
O P O OR
‘
F OO L I N OL D J IM 3 53
’
Well this is to o many for me J im I hain t seen n o fog
, ,
.
,
nor no isl ands nor no troubles n o r nothing I been se tting

, ,
.
here talking with y ou all night till you went to slee p about
’
ten minutes ago and I r e ckon I done the s ame Y o u couldn t
,
.
a got d ru nk in that time so o f course you ve b e e n dream

’ ’ ’
,
D ad fetch it how is I gwyne to dream all dat in te n m in

,
”
utes ?
“
Well hang it all yo u did dream it because there di dn t
, , ,
’
”
an y o f it happen .
’
But Huck it s all 313 as plain to me as
, ,
’
It don t make n o difference h ow plain it is ; ther e ai n t

’ ’
”
nothing in it I know because I ve been her e all the time
.
,
’
.
Jim didn t say nothing fo r about five minutes but se t

’
,
there studying over it Th en he says : .
“
Well de n I re ck n I did dream it Huck ; but dog my
, ,
’
,
’
cats e f it ain t de pow erfu l e st dream I ever see E n I hain t
’
.
”
eve r had no dream b fo dat s tired me like dis o n e ’ ’ ’
.
“
Oh well that s all right because a dream does tire a
, ,
’
,
body like everyth ing sometimes But this one w as a stavin g .
dream ; tell me all about it Jim ,

.
SO Jim went to work and told me the whole thing right

through j us t as it happe ned only he painted it up con sid e r
, ,
able Then he said he must start in and

. be cause
it was sent for a warning He said the first towh e ad stood .
for a man that would try to do us some good but th e cu r ,
rent w as another m an that would get u s away from him .
The whoops was warn ings that would come to us every n ow

and then and if we didn t try hard to make out to under
,
’
stand them they d just take us int o bad luck stead o f keep
’
,
’
ing u s out of it The lot o f towheads was troubles we was

.
going to get into with quarrelsome people and all kinds o f

’
mean folks but if we minded our business and didn t tal k
,
3 54 TH E A DVE N T U RE S .
OF H U C K L E B E RR Y F I N N
back and aggravate them we would pull through and get ,
out Of the fog and into the big clear river whic h was the ,
free states and wouldn t have n o more trouble ’

‘
,
.
It h ad cloude d up pretty dark just after I g o t on to the

raft but it w as cle aring up again n ow
,
.
“
O h well that s all interpreted wel l enough as far as it
, ,
’
” “ ”
go es , Jim I says ; but what does th ese things stand for ?
,
It w as the leaves and rubbish o n the raft and th e smashed

o ar Y o
. u could see them fi rst rate n o w
- .
Jim loo ked at the tr as h and then looked at me and back , ,
at th e trash again H e had got the dream fi xed so strong in

.
’
his he ad that he couldn t seem to shake it loose and get th e
facts back into its place again right away But whe n he did .
get th e thing straightened around he looked at me steady

without e ver smiling and says ,
“ ’
What do dey stan fo r ? I s gw yne to tell yo u When I ’
.
g o t all wor e ou t wid work en wid de callin fo r y o u en went ,

’
,
to sleep my heart wuz m o s broke b e k ase y o u wuz los , en I

’ ’
,
didn k yer n o m o what become er me en de raf E n when I

’ ’ ’ ’ ’
.
’ ’
wake up e n fine y ou back ag in all safe en soun de tears , ,
’ ’ ’
come , en I could a g o t down on my knees en kiss y o foot ,
I s so thankful E n al l yo u wuz th ink in bout wuz how you

’ ’ ’
.
could mak e a fool u v Ole Jim wid a lie D at truck dah is .
tras h ; e n trash is what people is dat puts dirt o n de head er

” ’
dey fren s en makes em ashamed
’
.
Then he g o t up slow and walked to the W igwam and went ,
in there wi thout saying an ything but that But that w as .
enough It made me feel so mean I could almost kissed his

.
foo t to get him to take it back .
It w as fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to

’
g o and humble myself to a nigger ; but I done it and I warn t ,
’
ever sorry for it afterward neither I didn t do him no more .
’ ’ ’
mean tricks and I wouldn t done that one if I d a knowed
,
it would make him feel that way .

3 5 6 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C K L E B E RR Y FIN N
the town an d not pass it without seeing it He said he d be

,
.
’
mighty sure to see it because he d be a free man the minute

,
’
he seen it but if he missed it he d be in a slave country agam

,
’
and n o more show fo r freedom Every little w hile h e jumps .
up and says
“ ”
D ah she is ?
- - ’
But it warn t It was Jack o lanterns or lightning bugs ;
.
- ’
,
so he set down again and went to watching same as before, ,

.
J i m s ai d it made him all over trembly and feverish to be so

close to freedom Well I can tell you it made me all over
.
,
trembly and feverish to o to hear him because I begun to, , ,
—
get it through my head that he w as most free and w h o
was to blame for it ? Why m e I couldn t get that out Of my ,
.
’
conscience no how nor no way It got to troubling me so I

,
.
couldn t rest ; I couldn t stay still in o n e place It hadn t

’ ’
.
’
ever come home to me before what this thing was that I was ,
doing But now it did ; and it stayed with me and scorched

.
,
me more and more I tried to make ou t to myself that I

.
warn t to blame because I didn t run Jim Off from his right
’
,
’
ful owner ; but it warn t no use conscience up and says every

’
, ,
“
time But you knowed he was running for his freedom an d
, ,
”
y o u could a paddled ashore
’ ’
and told somebody T h at w as .
'
so — I couldn t get around that no way That was where it

’
.
“
pinched C onscience says to me What had poor M iss Wat
.
,
son done to you that you could see her nigger go Off right
under your eyes and never say one single word ? What did
that poor o ld woman do to you that you could treat her so
mean ? Why she tried to learn y o u your book she tried to
, ,
learn you your manners she tried to be good to you every ,

”
w ay she knowed how Th at s what she done
’
. .
I got to feeling so mean and so miserable I most wished I

w as dead I fi dg e te d up and down the raft abusing myself
.
,
to myself and Jim Was fi dg e tin g up and down past me We

,
.
TH E R A T T LE S N A KE S K I N D O E S
- I TS W ORK
neither o f us could keep still E very time he danced aroun d .
”
and s ays D ah s C airo ! it went through me like a shot
“
,
’
,
and I thought if it w as C airo I reckoned I wo u ld die o f

miserableness .
Jim talk ed out loud all th e time while I was talking to

myself He was saying h o w the first thing he would do when
.
he got to a free state h e would g o to saving up money and

never spend a sm g le cent and whe n he g ot enough he would ,
buy his wife which was owned o n a f arm close to where M iss
,
Watson lived ; and then they would both work to buy the tw o
’ ’
ch ildren and i f their master wouldn t sell them they d get an
, ,
Ab lition ist to go and steal them

’
.
’
I t most froze me to hear such talk He wouldn t ever d ared .
to talk such talk in his life before Just see what a differe nce
x
it m ade in him the minute he j u dg e d h e was about free It .
was according to the Old saying Give a nigger aninch and

“
,
'
he ll take an ell Thinks I this is what comes o f my n o t

’
.
,
thinking Here was this nigger which I h ad as good as helpe d

.
,
to run away coming right o u t fl at footed and saying he would

-
,
—
steal his children children that belonged to a man I didn t ’
even know ; a man that hadn t ever done me no harm ’

.
I was sorry to hear Jim say that it was such a lowerin g ,
o f him M y conscience got to stirring m e up hotter than

.
,
“ —
ever until at last I says to it L et up on me it ain t too late ,
’
— ”
yet I ll paddle ashore at the first light and tell I felt easy
’
.
and happy and light as a feather right Off All my troubles .
was gone I went to looking out sharp for a light and sort o f
.
,
singing to myself By and by o n e showed Jim sm g s o u t :

. .
“ ’
We s safe Huck we s safe ! Jump up and crack yo heels !
, ,
’ ’
’ ”
D at s de good Ole C airo at las I jis knows it ! ’
,
I says
“
I ll t ak e the c anoe and g O and see Jim It mightn t be
’
,
.
’
,
”
y ou know .
-
3 58 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C K L E B E RR Y FI N N
He jumped and got the canoe ready and put his o ld coat ,
in the bottom for me to se t o n and give me the paddle ; and ,
as I shoved o ff he says : ,
’
Pooty soo n I ll be a shout n for j oy en I ll say it s all on
-
,
’
,
’
’
accounts 0 Huck ; I s a free man en I couldn t ever ben fre e
’
,
’
e f it hadn ben for Huck ; Huck done it Jim won t ever

’ ’
.
fo rgi t y o u Huck ; you s de bes fren Jim s ever had ; en you s

’ ’ ’ ’ ’
,
de on ly fren Ole Jim s got now

’ ’
.
~
'
I w as p addlin g Off all in a sweat to tell on him ; but when ,
he says this it seemed to kind o f take the tuck all ou t o f me

,
.
’
I went along slow then and I warn t right down certain ,
whether I was glad I started o r whether I warn t When I w as ’

.
fi fty yards o ff Jim says ,

“
D ah yo u goes de Ole true Huck ; de o n y white g e n lm an
,
’
dat ever kep his promi se to Ole Jim ’

.
,
—
Well I j ust felt sick But I says I g o t to do it I can t g e t .
,
’
ou t Of it R ight then along comes a skiff with two men in it

.
with guns and they stopped and I stopped O ne o f them says

,
.
“ ’ ”
What s that yonder ?
”
A piece o f a raft I says ,
.
”
D O y o u belong o n it ?
”
Yes sir,
.
Any men o n it ? ”
”
O nly o n e sir ,
.
Well there s five niggers run o to night up yonder above

,
ff - ’
,
”
the head o f the bend Is your man white or black ? .
I didn t answer up prompt I tried to but the words

’
.
,
wouldn t come I tried for a second or two to brace up and

’
.
—
out with it but I warn t man enough hadn t the spunk Of ’ ’
,
a rabbit I see I was weakening ; so I just give up trying an d

.
,
up and says :
“
He s white
’
.
I reckon we ll go and see for ourselves ’

.
” “ ’ ’
I wish you would says I because it s pap that s there , , ,
3 60 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C KL E B E RR Y F I N N
them your folks are all down with chills and fever D on t be .
’
a fool again and let people g uess what is the matter N ow

, .
w e re try in g to do yo u a kindness ; so you just put twenty

’
’
m iles between us that s a good boy It wouldn t do any good
’
.
,
to land yonder where the light is — it S only a wood yard

- ’
.
S ay I reckon your father s poor and I m bound to say he s in

,
’
,
’ ’
pretty hard luck Here I ll put a twenty doll ar gold piece o n

- .
,
’
this b o ard an d you get it when it floats by I feel mighty

, .
m ean to leave you ; but my kingdom ! it won t do to fool with

’
”
smallpox don t you see ?
’
,
“ ”
Hold o n Parker says the man here s a twenty to pu t
, , ,
’
o n the board for me Good b y boy ; you do as M r Parker

- .
,
.
told you and you ll be all right

,
’
.
“ —’
That s so my boy good b y good by If you see any
-
,
-
,
.
r unaway niggers you get help and nab them and you can ,
make some money by it .
“ ”
Good by sir says I ; I won t let no runaway niggers
-
, ,
’
get by me if I can help it .
They went Off and I got aboard the raft feeling bad and ,
low because I knowed very well I had done wrong and I see
, ,
it warn t no use for me to try to learn to do right ; a body

’
that don t get s tart ed right w hen he s little ain t got no show
’ ’ ’
—when the pinch comes there ain t nothing to back him up ’
and keep him to his work and so he gets beat Then I thought ,
.
’ ’ ’
a minute and says to myself hold on ; s pose you d a done
, ,
’
right and give Jim up would you felt better than what you ,
—
do now ? N 0 says I I d feel bad I d feel just the same way
, ,
’ ’
I do now Well th en says I what s the use you learning to

.
, , ,
’
’
do right when it s troublesome to do right and ain t no trouble
’
to do wrong an d the wages is just the same ? I was stuck I

,
.
couldn t answer that SO I re ckoned I wouldn t bother no

’
.
’
more about it but after this always do whichever come handi

,
est at the time .

TH E R A T T LE S N A KE -S K I N D O E S I TS W ORK
I went into the W igwam ; Jim warn t there I looked all ’
.
.
around ; he warn t an ywhere I says :

’
.
“ ”
Jim !
Here I is Huck IS dey o u t o sight yit ? D on t t alk loud
,
.
’ ’
.
He was in the river under the stern o ar wi th j ust h is nose ,
ou t I told him they were o u t o f Sight SO he come abo ar d He

.
,
.
says :
“
I was a liste n in to all de talk en I slips into de river en
- ’
,
w as gwyne to shove fo r sho if dey come aboard D en I was

’
.
g wy n e to swim to de raf agin when dey was ’

gone But l aWsy .
,
h o w yo u did fool em Huck ! D at w u z de smartes dodge ! I

’ ’
,
, ,
—
tell you chile I spec it sav e o le Jim ole Jim ain t going to
’ ’ ’
”
fo rgit yo u for dat honey ,
.
Then we talked about the money It was a pretty good .
—
raise twenty dollars apiece Jim s aid we could take deck .
pas sage o n a steamboat n o w and the money would l as t us ,
as far as we wanted to g o in th e free states He said twenty .
mile more warn t far for the raft to g o but he wished we w as

’
,
already there .
Towards daybreak we tied up and Jim was m 1gh ty par ,
tic u lar about hiding the raft good Then he worked all day
‘
fixing things in bundles and getting all r eady to quit rafting

,
.
That night about ten we hove in sight of the lights of a

town away down in a left hand bend
- .
I went Off in the canoe to ask about it Pretty soon I found

‘
a man ou t in the river with a Ski ff setting a trot line I - .

,
ranged up and says :

“ ”
M ister is that town C airo ?
,
C airo ? n o You must b e a blame fo o

. l ’
.
”
What town is it mister ? ,
If you want to know go and find out If yo u stay her e

,
.
b o th e rin around me fo r about a half a minute longer you ll

’ ’
” ’
get some thing you won t want .
I paddled to the raft Jim was awful disappointed but I .
,
said n ever mind C airo would be the next place I reckoned

, ,
.
We pas sed another town before daylight and I was going ,
o u t again ; but i t was high ground so I didn t go N O high

’
.
,
g round about C airo Jim said I had forgot it We laid

,
up . .
fo r the day on a towhead tolerable close to the left -hand

bank I begun to suspicion something SO did Jim I says :
. . .
“
M aybe we went b y C airo in th e fog that night .
He says :
“
D o an le s talk about it Huck PO niggers can t h aV
’ ’
e no ,
.
’ ’
’
luck I . al w u z t
sp c e
e d dat rattlesnake ski n wa rn t done wid
- ’
”
its work .
“ ’
I wish I d never seen that snake skin Jim I do wish
-
,
-
”
I d never laid eyes o n it
’
.
It ain t yo fault Huck ; you didn t know D on t you

’ ’ ’
.
’
’
blame y o se l f bout it
’
.
When it was daylight here was the clear O hio water in ,
shore sure enough an d outside was the Old regular M uddy !

, ,
SO it was all up with C airo .
W e talked it all over It wouldn t do to take to the shore ; .

’
w e couldn t take the raft up the stream of course There

’
.
,
warn t no way but to wait for dark and start ba ek in the

’
,
canoe and take the chances SO we slept all day amongst the .
cottonwood thicket so as to be fresh for the work and when , ,
w e went back to the raft about dark the canoe was gon e !
We didn t sa y a word for
’
a good while There warn t any .
’
thing to say We both knowed well enough it was some more

.
work o f the rattle sn ak e skin ; so what was the use to talk

-
about it ? It would only look like we was finding fault and ,
that would be bound to fetch more bad luck — and keep on

fetching it too till we knowed enough to keep still
, ,
.
By and by we talked about what we better do and found ,
there warn t no way but just to go along down with t h e raft

’
’
till we got a chance to buy a canoe to go back in We warn t .
—
I dived and I aimed to find the bottom , to o , for a
thirty foot wheel had got to go over me and I wanted it to

-
,
,
have plenty Of room I could always stay u nder water a

.
minute ; this ti m e I reckon I stayed under a minute and a

half Then I boun ced for the top in a hurry , for I was nearly
.
busting I popped out to my armpits and blowed the water

.
o u t o f my nose and pu ffed a bit O f course there was a boom

,
.
ing current ; and o f course that boat started her engines a gain
ten se conds after she stopped them for they never cared ,
much for raftsmen ; so no w she was churning along u p th e

river ou t Of Sight in the thick weather though I cou ld hear
, ,
her .
I sung out for Jim about a dozen times but I didn t get ,
’
any answer ; SO I grabbed a plank that touched me while I

“
w as treading water an d struck out for shore shoving it
, ,
ahead Of me But I made out to see that the drift o f the cur
.
rent was towards the left hand shore which mean t that I
-
,
was in a crossing ; so I chang e d Off and went that way .
It w as o e of thes e lo n g slanting tw o mile crossings ; S O

n -
, ,
I was a good long tim e in getting over I made a safe land .
ing and c lu m b up the bank I couldn t see but a little ways

,
.
’
,
but I went poking along Over rough ground for a quarter Of

a mile or more and then I run across a big O d fashioned
,
l -
double log house before I noticed it I was going to rush by .
and get away but a lot of dogs jumped out and went to
,
howling and ba rkin g at me and I knowed better than to,
move another peg .

C HA PT ER XV II
TH E GRA N GE R F OR DS TA KE M E IN
IN about a minute somebody spoke o u t o f a window withou t

putting his head o u t and says : ,
“ ’
B e done boys ! Who s th e re ?
,
I says
’
It s me .
’
Who s m e ?
George Jackson sir ,
.
”
What do you want ?
I don t want nothing sir I only want to g o along by but
’
,
.
,
”
the dogs won t let me ’
.
“
What are you prowling around here this time o f night for
—hey ? ”
I warn t prowling around sir ; I fell overboard Off o f the

’
,
steamboat .
“
O h yo u did did you ? S trike a light there somebo dy
, , ,
.
”
What did you say your name was ?
George Jackson sir I m only a boy ,
.
’
.
L ook here if you re telling the truth you needn t be

,
’ ’
—
afraid n o b o dy ll hurt you But don t try to budge ; stand
’
.
’
right where you are R ouse out Bob and Tom some o f you
.
, ,
and fetch the guns George Jackson is there anybody with

.
,
”
you ?
“
N O sir nobody
, ,
.
I heard the people stirring around in the house now an d ,
s e e a light The man sung o u t :

.
“ —
S natch that light away Betsy you Old fool ain t y o u , ,
’
3 65
3 66 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C KL E B E RR Y FI N N
g o t any sense ? Put it on the floor behind the front door B ob .

,
”
i f yo u and Tom are ready take your places ,
.
“ ”
All ready .
”
No w George Jackson do you k now the Sh eph erdsons ?
, ,
N o s ir ; I ne v er heard o f them
, .
Well that may be SO and it mayn t Now all ready S tep

, ,
’
.
,
.
forward George Jackson And mind don t you hurry e com e

,
— .
,
’
mighty Slow If there s anybody with you let him keep back
-
.
’
,
— i f he shows himself he ll be shot C ome along now C ome ’

. .
—
slow ; push the door open yourself just enough to squeeze
in d y ou hear ?
,
’
’
I didn t hurry ; I couldn t if I d a wanted to I took o n e
’
- ’
.
slow step at a time and there warn t a sound only I though t ’

,
I could hear my heart The dogs were as still as the hu mans

.
,
but they followed a little behind me Whe n I got to the thre e .
lo g doorsteps I heard them unlocking and unbarring and u n

bolting I put my hand on the door and pushed it a little an d
.
“
a little more till somebody said There that s e nough pu t — , ,
’
”
your head in I done it but I judged t hey would take it Off
.
, .
The candle was o n the floor and there they all was look , ,
ing at me and me at them for about a qu arter o f a minute

, ,
Three big me n with guns pointed at me which made m e ,
wince I tell you ; the oldest gray and about sixty the othe r
, , ,
tw o thirty or more — —
all o f them fine an d handsome and th e
sweetest O d gray headed lady and back Of her two young
l -
,
women which I couldn t see right well The Old gentleman ’

, .
says :
“
There ; I reckon it s all right C ome in ’
. .
As soon as I was in the Old gentleman he locked the doo r

and barred it and bolted it and told the young men to com e ,
in w ith their guns and they all went in a big parlor that had
,
a new rag carpet on the floor and got together in a corne r ,
—
that was o u t Of the range of the front windows there warn t ’
none on the side They held the candle and took a good look
.
,
3 68 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C KL E B E RR Y F I N N ,
that Go long with you now and do as your mother told you
.
’
,
.
When we got u p stairs to his room he got me a coarse sh irt

-
and a roundabout and pants o fhis and I put them on While I ,

.
'
w as at it he asked me what my name was but before I could ,
tell him he started to tell me about a bluejay and a youn g

rabbit he had catch e d in the woods day before y e sterday and ,
he asked me where M oses was when the ca ndle went out I .
’
said I didn t know ; I hadn t heard about it before no way ’
,
.
“ ”
Well guess he says
, ,
.
’
B ow m I going to guess says I when I never heard , ,
”
tell O f it be fore ?
But you can guess can t you ? It s just as easy ,
’ ’
.
Whic h candle ? I says

”
.
Why any candle he says

, ,
.
”
I don t know where he was says I ; where was he ?
’
,
” ’
Why he was in the dark ! That s where he was !
,
Well if you knowed where he was what did you ask

, ,
”
me for ?
“
Why bl ame it it s a riddle don t you See ? S ay how long
, ,
’
,
’
,
are you going to stay here ? You got to stay always We can .
—
just have booming times they don t have no school now ’
.
—
D o y o u ow n a dog ? I ve got a dog and he ll go in the river
’ ’
and bring o u t chips that you throw in D O you like to comb .
up S undays and all that kind o f foolishness ? You bet I don t

,
’
,
but ma she makes me C onfound these Ole britches ! I reckon

.
I d better put em on b u t I d ruther not it s so warm Are

’ ’
,
’
,
’
.
”
you all ready ? All right C ome along Old hoss .
,
.
C old corn pone cold corn beef butter and butter milk
- -
,
-
,
that is what they had for me down there and there ain t noth
’
,
ing better that ever I ve come across yet Buck and his ma
’
.
and all Of them smoked cob p1pe s except the nigger woman , ,
which was gone and the two young women They all smoked
,
.
and talked and I eat and talked The young women had
,
.
quilts around them and their hair down their backs They
,
.
THE G R A N G E R F OR D S T A KE M E I N 69
all aske d me questions and I told them h ow pap and me and ,
all the family was living o n alittle farm down at the bottom
o f Arkansaw and my sister M ary Ann run Off and got mar
,
ried and never w as heard o f n o more and Bill went to hunt ,
them and he warnt heard o f n o more and Tom an d M ort ’

,
’
died and then there w arn t nobody but just me and pap left
, ,
and he was just trimmed down to no thing o n account o f his ,
troubles ; so when he died I took what there was left because ,
t h e farm didn t belong to us and started u p the river deck

’
, ,
passage and fell overboard ; and that was h o w I come to b e

,
h e re SO they said I could have a home there as long as I

.
w anted it Then it was most daylight and everybody went to

.
b e d an d I went to bed with Buck and when I waked up in

, ,
x
the morning drat it all I had forgot what my name was So

, , .
I laid there about an hour tryin g to think and wh en B u ck ,
w ak e d up I says :
“ ”
C an you spell Buck ? ,
”
Yes he says ,
.
I bet you can t spell my name says I ’

,
.
”
I bet you what you dare I can says h e ,
.
” “ ”
All right says I g o ahead , ,
.
- - - - - - - - —
G e O r g e J a x o n there n o w he says
-
,
.
” “
Well says I you done it but I didn t think yo u could
, , ,
’
.
’ —
It ain t no Slouch Of a name to spell right Off without s tudy
”
ing .
I set it down private because somebody might want m e

, ,
t o spell it next and S O I wanted to be handy with it and rattle

,
it Off like I w as used to it .
It was a mighty nice family and a mighty nice house to o , , .
I hadn t seen no house o u t in the country before that was s o

’
n ice and had SO much style It d idn t have an iron latch o n

’
.
the front door nor a wooden o n e with a buckskin string but a

, ,
brass knob to turn the same as houses in town There w arn t, .

’
no bed in the parl or n o r a Sign o f a bed ; but heaps Of parlors

,
3 7° TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C K L E B E RR Y F I N N
in towns has beds in them There was a big fireplace that w as
.
bricked on the bottom and the bricks w as kept clean an d

,
,
re d by pouring water o n them an d scrubbing them with an - 1
other brick ; sometimes they wash them over with red water
paint that they cal l S panish brown same as they do in town
-
, .
They had big br ass dog irons that could hold up a saw-log
- .
There was a clock o n th e m iddle Of the mantelpiece with a

'
p ic tu re o f a town
‘
p ai n ted on the bottom half o f the
. glass
front and a round place in the middle of it for th e sun and
, ,
you could see the pendulum swinging behind it It was beauti .
fu l to hear th at clock tick ; and sometimes when o n e o f these

eddlers h ad been along and scoured her up and got her in
p
good Shape she would start in and strike a hundred and fifty
,
’
before Sh e g o t tuckered out They wouldn t took any money
.
fo r her .
Well there was a big outlandish parrot on each side Of th e

,
clock made o u t Of something like chalk and paint ed up

, ,
gaudy By o n e Of the parrots was a cat made o f crockery

.
,
and a crockery dog by the other ; and when you pressed down
o n them they squeaked but didn t open their mouths n o r
’
,
look different nor interested They sque ak ed through under

.
neath There was a couple of big wild turkey wing fan s

.
- -
spread o u t behind those things O n the table in the middle Of .
the room was a kind o f a lovely crockery basket that had

apples an d oranges and peaches and grapes piled up in it ,
which w as much r edder and yellower and prettier than real

ones is but they warn t real because you could see wher e
,
’
pieces had got chipped Off and Showed the white chalk o r ,
whatever it w as underneath ,
.
This table had a cover made out o f beautiful Oil cloth -

,
with a red and bl u e spread eagle painted on it and a painte d

-
,
border all around It come all the way from Philadelphia they
.
,
sa id There was som e books too piled up perfectly exact

.
, , ,
On each corner o f the table O ne was a big family Bible full

.
3 72 TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C KL E B E RR Y F I N N
had an Open letter in one hand with black show -
sealing wax
ing o n o n e edge o f it and she was mashing a locket with a
,
chain to it against her mouth and u nderneath the picture it ,

“ ”
said And Art Thou G on e Y es Thou Art Gone Alas The se .
was all nice pictures I reckon but I didn t somehow seem

, ,
’
to take to them because if ever I was down a little they

,
always give me the fan tods E verybody was S orry she died
- .
,
becaus e Sh e had laid o u t a lot more of these pictures to do

-
and a body could see by what she had done what they had
lost But I reckoned that with her dispo sition she was hav
.
in g a better time in the graveyard S he was at work on what

'
they sai d was her greatest picture when Sh e took sick and ,
every day and every nigh t it was her prayer to be allowed

to live till she got it done but Sh e never got the chance It
,
.
was a picture Of a young woman in along white gown stand ,
ing o n the rail of a bridge all ready to jump Off with her ,
hair all down her back and looking up to the moon with
, ,
the tears running down her face and she had two arms
‘
folded across her breast and two arms stretched out in front
, ,
—
and two more reaching up toward the moon and the idea
was to see which pair would look best and then scratch out ,
all the other arms ; but as I was saying Sh e died before Sh e

, ,
g o t her mind made up and now they ,

kept this picture over
the head Of the bed in her room and every time her birthday ,
come they hung flowe rs on it O ther times it was hid with .
a little curtain The young woman in the picture had a kind

.
o f a nice sweet face but there was so many arms it made

,
her look too Spidery seemed to me ,

.
This young girl kept a scrap book when she was alive and
-
,
used to paste Ob itu ar1e s and acciden ts and cases of patient

'
suffering in it out Of the P r es by terian Obs erv er and write ,
poe try after them out of her o w n he ad It was very good '
poetry This is what Sh e wrote about a boy by the name o f

.
THE G R A N G E R F OR D S TA KE M E I N ~ 3 73
S tephen D owling Bots tha t fell down a well and w as

drownded :
OD E TO STE PHE N D OWL ING B OTS ’
,
DE C D
An d did y ou n g Ste p h e n s 1ck e n ,

A n d did y o u n g Ste ph e n die ? ,
An d did th e sad h earts th ic k e n ,

An d did th e m ou rn e rs c ry ?
'
No ; su c h w as n ot th e fate of
Y o u n g Ste ph e n D o w lin g B o ts ;
Th ou g h s ad h e arts ro u n d h im th ick e n e d,
’
Tw as n ot fro m s ick n e ss
’
sh o ts .
NO h
w oo p in g
-c o u g h did rack h is fram e ,
N or m e a sles drear w ith sp o ts ;
N o t th ese im paire d th e sac re d n am e

Of Ste ph e n D ow lin g B o ts .
D e sp ise d l o v e s triI ck w ith w o e

‘
n ot
Th at h e ad o f c u rly k n o ts ,
Nor sto m ac h tro u b le s laid h im lo w ;
Y o u n g Step h en D o w lin g B o ts .
0 no . The n list w ith tearfu l eye ,
Wh ilst I h is fate do te ll .
H is s ou l did from th is c ol d w orld fl y

By falling dow n a w ell .
Th ey g o t h im ou t an d e m p tie d h im ;
Alas it w as too late ;
H is sp irit w as g o n e fo r to sp o rt al o ft ,
I n th e re alm s Of th e g o o d an d g re at .
If E mmeline G ran g e rfo rd could mak e poetry like that be

’
fore she w as fourteen there ain t no telling what she could
,
’ ’
a done by and by Buck said she could r attle Off poetry like
.
nothing S he didn t ever have to stop to think He said Sh e

.
’
.
would slap down a line and if she couldn t find anything to

,
’
rhyme with it would j ust scratch it out and slap down an

o ther on e and go ahead S he warn t particular ; she could
,
.
’
w rite about anything you choose to give her to write ab o ut
j ust S O it was sad fu l E very time a man .died or a woman ,

“ ”
d ied or a child died Sh e would be o n hand with her tribute
, ,
before he was cold S he called them tributes The neighbors

. .
said it was the doctor first then E mmeline then the under , ,
—
taker the undertaker never got in ahead of E mmeline but
once an d then she hung fire o n a rhyme for the dead per
,
son s name which was Whistler S he warn t ever the same

’
,
.
’
after that ; she never complained but Sh e kinder pined away ,
a n d did not live long Poor thing many s the time I made
’
.
,
myself g o up to the little room that used to be hers and get

out her poor Old scrap book and read in it when h er pic tu re s
-
‘
had been aggravating m e and I had soured o n her a little I .
liked all that family dead ones and all and warn t going to
, ,
’
l e t anything come between us Poor E mmeline made poetry .
about all the dead people when she was alive and it didn t ,
’
s eem right that there warn t nobody to make some about her
’
now she was gone ; so I tried to sweat o u t a verse or tw o

mysel f but I couldn t seem to make it go someh ow They
,
’
.
kept E mmeline s room trim and nice and all the things
’
,
fi xed in it just the w ay she liked to have them when she was
a liv e an d nobody ever slept there The Old lady took care
,
.
o f the room herself though there was plenty Of niggers

, ,
and she sewed there a g o o d de al and read her Bible there

'
mostly .
Well as I was saying about the parlor there was beautiful

, ,
curtains on the windows : white with pictures painted on ,
them o f castles with vines all down the walls and cattle ,
coming down to drink There was a little old piano to o that

.
, ,
had tin pans in it I reckon and nothing was ever SO lovely

, ,
“
a s to hear the young ladies Sing The L ast L ink is Broken
“
and play The B attle of Prague On it The w al ls Of all the .
CHAPT E R XVIII
WHY HARNEY RODE AW AY F OR H I S H AT
C OL . GR A N GE R F OR D
was a gentleman you see He was a ,
.
gentleman all over ; and so was his family He was well born .
,
as the saying is and that s worth as much in a man as it is in

,
’
a horse so the Widow D ouglas said and nobody ever denied

, ,
that she was Of the first aristocracy in our town ; an d pap he

always said it too though he warn t no more qu al ity than a
, ,
’
mudcat himself C ol G ran g e rfo rd was very tall and very

. .
Slim and had a darkish paly complexion not a Sign of red in

,
-
,
it anywheres ; he was clean shaved every morning al l over h is

-
thin face and he had the thinnest kind O f lips and the thin
, ,
nest kind Of nostrils and a high nose and heavy eyebrows

, , ,
and the blackest kind of eyes sunk SO deep back that they ,
seemed like they was looking o u t Of caverns at you as y o u ,
may say His forehead was high and his hair was gray and
.
,
straight and hung to his shoulders His hands was long and .
thin and every day Of his life he put o n a clean shirt and
,
a full suit from head to foot made out Of linen so white it

hurt your eyes to look at it ; and o n S undays he wore a blue
tail coat with brass buttons on it He carried a mahogany
- .
cane with a Silver head to it Ther e warn t no friv o lish n e ss

.
’
—
about him not a bit and he warn t ever loud He was as kind ’
.
, ,
as he could b e you could feel that you know and so you , ,
had confid e nce S ometimes he smiled and it was good to see ;

.
,
but when he straightened himself up like a liberty pole and

-
,
the lightning begun to flicker o u t from under his eyebrows ,
you wanted to climb a tree first and find out what the mat ,
3 76
W HY H A RN E Y R O D E A W AY F OR HIS H AT
ter was afterwards He didn t ever have to tell anybody to

.
’
—
mind their man ners everybody was always good mannered
-
where he was E verybody loved to have him around to o ; he

.
,
— L
was sunshine most alw ays I mean he made it seem like

good weather When he turned into a cloud bank it w as
-
‘
awful dark for half a minute and that was enough ; there ,
w ouldn t nothing go wrong again for a week

’
.
When him and the old lady come down in the morning all
th e family got up out O f their chairs and give them good day ,
and didn t set down again till th ey had set down Then Tom
’
.
and Bob went to the Sideboard where the dec anter was and ,
mixed a glass Of bitters and handed it to him and he held it ,

’ ’
in his hand an d waited till Tom s and Bob s w as mixed and ,
“
then they bowed and said O ur duty to you sir an d
, , , ,
”
madam ; and th ey bowed the le ast bit in the world and said
thank you and so they drank all three and B o b and To m
, , ,
poured a spoonful Of water o n the sugar and the mite o f

whisky o r apple brandy in the bottom of their tumblers and
-
,
give it to me and Buck and we drank to the Old people to o , .
—
Bob was the Oldest and Tom next tall beautiful men with ,
very broad Shoulders and brown faces , and long black hair
and black eyes They dressed in white linen from head to
"
foot like the Old gentleman an d wore broad Panama hats

, ,
.
Then there was M iss Charlotte ; she was twenty fiv e and

-
,
tall and proud and grand but as good a s she could be when ,
’
she warn t stirred up ; but when Sh e was Sh e had a look that
would make you wilt in your tracks like her father S he w as ,
.
beautiful .
S o w as her sister M iss S ophia but it was a different kind

, ,
.
S he was gentle and sweet like a dove and she was only ,
—
E ach person had their o w n nigger to wait o n them Buck
too M y nigger had a monstrous easy time because I warn t
.
,
’
3 78 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C K LE B E RR Y F I N N
used to having anybody do anything for me but Buck s was ,
’
o n the j ump most o f the time .
Thi s was all there was Of the family now but there used ,
to b e more — thre e sons ; they got killed ; and E mmeline that

died .
Th e old gentleman owned a lot o f farms and over a hun

dre d niggers S ometimes a st ack of people would c o me there
.
,
horseb ack from ten o r fifteen mile around and stay five o r
, ,
six days and have such junketings round about an d o n th e

,
riv er and dances and picnics in the woods daytimes and balls
, ,
at th e house nights These people was mostly kinfolks Of the

.
family The men brought their g uns with them It w as a

. .
handsome lo t o f quality I tell you

—
.
,
There was another clan o f aristocracy around there fiv e

o r Six families — mostly of the name Of Sh e ph e rdso n They .
w as as high toned and well born and rich and grand as th e

-
trib e of G ran g e rfo rds Th e Sh eph e rds on s an d G ran g e rfo rds

.
-
us ed the same steamboat landing which was about two mile ,
above ou r house ; so sometimes when I went up ther e with a

lot o f o u r folks I used to see a lot o f the Sh eph e rdso n s there
o n their fine horses .
O ne day Buck and me was away out in the woods hunting ,
and heard a horse coming We was crossing the road Buck . .
says :
”
u ic k ! Jump for the woods !
We done it and then peeped down the woods through the

,
leaves Pretty soon a splendid young man came galloping

.
down the road se tting his horse easy and looking like a
,
soldier He had his gun across his pommel I had seen him
. .
befor e It was young Harney Sh eph e rdso n I heard Buck s

. .
’
gun go Off at my ear and Harney s hat tumbled o ff from his

,
’
head He grabbed his gun and rode straight to the place where
.
we was hid But we didn t wait We started through th e

.
’
.
woods o n a run Th e woods warn t thick so I looked ov e r my

.
’
,
3 8 0 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C KL E B E RR Y F I N N
Well I should re ck on ! It started thirty year ag o or
, ,
’
som ers along there There was trouble bout something an d
.
’
,
then a lawsuit to settle it ; and the suit went agin o n e Of the

—
men and so he up and Shot the m an that w o n the suit which
,
he would naturally do of course Anybody would ”

,
. .
“ —
What was the trouble about Buck ? land ? ”
,
—
I reckon maybe I don t know ” ’
.
Well who done the shooting ? Was it a G ran g e rfo rd o r a

,
She ph e rds o n ?
“
L aws how do I know ? It w as so long ago
,
.
”
D on t anybody know ?
’
O h yes pa knows I reckon and some of the other old

, , , ,
people ; but they don t know now what the row was about in ’
”
the first place .
“ ”
Has there been many killed Buck ? ,
Yes ; right smart chance of funerals But they don t al .

’
ways kill Pa s got a few buckshot in him ; but he don t mind

.
’ ’
it cuz h e don t weigh much anyway Bob s been carved up

’ ’
,
.
’
”
some with a bowie and Tom s been hurt once or twice ,
’
.
“ ”
Has anybody been killed this year Buck ? ,
Yes ; we got one and they got o n e Bout three months .

’
ago my cousin Bud fourteen year Old was riding through , ,
the woods on t other side of th e river and didn t have no

’
,
’
weapon with him which was blame foolishness and in a,

’
,
lonesome place he he ars a horse a-coming behind him and ,
sees Old Baldy Sh e ph e rdso n a lin k in after him with his gun
- ’
in his hand and his white hair a fl yin g in the wind ; and stead
- ’
O f jumping Off and taking to the brush Bud lowed he could

’
,
outrun him ; so they had it nip and tuck for five mile or , ,
more the Old man a gaining all the time ; SO at l ast Bud seen
,
-
’
it warn t any use SO he stopped and faced around so as to

’
,
have the bullet holes in front you know and the Old man he
-
,
rode up and shot him down But he didn t git much chance to .
enj oy his luck for inside of a week o u r folks laid him o ut

,
”
.
W HY H A R N E Y R O D E A W AY F OR HIS H AT
I reckon that Old man was a coward Buck ,

;
I reckon h e w arn t a coward N o t by a blame sight Ther e

’ ’
'
. .
’ —
ain t a coward amongst them Sh eph e rdson s n o t a o n e And .
there ain t no cowards amongst the G ran g e rfo rds either Why
’
.
,
that o ld man kep up his end in a fight o n e day fo r h alf an

’
hour against three G ran g e rfo rds and come o u t w in n e r Th ey ,

g
w as all a horseback ; he lit Off Of his horse and g o t behind a

-
little woodpile and kep his horse before him to stop the
,
’
bullets ; but the Gran g e rfo rds stayed o n their horses and
capered around the Old man and peppered away at him and , ,
he peppered away at them Him and his horse both went hom e .
p retty leaky and crippled b ut the G ran g e rfo rds had to b e

h d hom — d one f em was dead and another died the
fe t c e e an o ,
next day N o sir ; if a body s out hunting for cowards he don t

.
,
’ ’
want to fool away any time amongst them Sh e ph e rdson s ,
b e c u z they don t breed any o f that k in d

’
.
N ext S unday we all went to church about three mile , ,
everybody a horseback The men took their guns along so

- .
,
did Buck and kept them between their knees o r stood them
,
handy against the wall The Sh eph e rdso n s done the same It
. .
—
was pretty ornery preaching all about brotherly l ove and ,
such like tiresomeness ; but everybody said it was a good

-
sermon and they all talked it over going home and had such
, ,
a powerful lot to say about f ai th and good works and fre e

grace and pre fo re o rdestin atio n and I don t know what all ,
’
,
that it did seem to me to be o n e o f the roughes t S undays I h ad

'
run across yet .
About an hour after dinner everybody was dozing around ,
some in their chairs and some in their rooms and it got to be ,
pretty dull Buck and a dog was stretched o u t o n the grass

.
in the sun sound asleep I went up to our room and judged I

.
,
would t ake a nap myself I found that sweet M iss S ophia .
standing in her door which was next to ours and she took me
, ,
in her room and shut the door very soft and asked me if I ,
3 82 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C K L E B E RR Y F I N N
l ik ed her and I said I did ; and she asked me if I would do
’
s omething fo r her and not tell anybody and I said I wo uld: ,

’
Then she said she d forgot her Testament and left it in the ,
seat at church between two other books an d would I slip out ,
quiet and go there and fetch it to her and not say nothing to ,
nobody I said I would SO I slid out and slipped Off up the

. .
r oad and there warn t anybody at the church except maybe

,
’
,
a hog o r tw o for there warn t any lock o n the door and hogs
’ ‘
likes a puncheon floor in summer time because it 5 cool If

- .
y ou notice most folks ,

don t go to church only when they ve
’ ’
g o t to ; but a hog is different .
S ays I to myself something s up ; it ain t natural for a girl

,
’ ’
to be in such a sweat about a Testament SO I g 1v e 1t a shake .

,
”
H alf pas t tw o
“
a n d o u t drops a little piece Of paper with
w rote o n it with a pencil I ransacked it but couldn t find

’
.
,
a nything else I couldn t make anything ou t of that so I put

’
.
,
the paper in the book agam and when I got hom e and upstairs ,
there was M iss S ophia in her door waiting for me S he pulled .
m e in and shut the door ; then she lo oked in the Testament

till sh e found the paper and as soon as she re ad it Sh e looked
,
g lad ; and before a body could think Sh e grabbed me and give

me a squeeze and said I was the best boy in the world and
, _ ,
n o t to tel l anybody S he was mighty red in the face for a

.
minut e and her eyes lighted up an d it made her powerful

, ,
p retty I
. was a good deal astonished but when I got my ,
breath I asked her what the paper was about and she asked ,
m e if I had read it and I said no and she asked me if I could

, ,
“ ”
read writing and I told her no only coarse hand and then
,
-
, ,
s h e said the paper warn t anything but a book mark to keep

- ’
her place and I might g o and play now

,
.
I we nt Off down to the river studying over this thing and , ,
pretty soon I noticed that my nigger was following al ong

behind When we was o u t of Sight Of the house he looked back
.
an d around a second an d then comes a running and says :

-
, ,
8
3 4 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C K LE B ERR Y F I N N
’
track me o n accounts 0 de water en dey brings m e truck to ,
”
e at every night en tells me how you s a gittin al ong
’ ’
-
, .
’
Why didn t you tell my Jack to fetch me b ere sooner '
,
”
Jim ?
“ ’ ’
Well tw arn t no use to s tu rb you Huck tell we could
,
’
, ,
—
do su m fn but we s all right n o w I ben a buyin pots en
- ’
.
’
pans en vittles as I got a chanst en a patchin up de raf

-
, ,
’ ’
nights when
“
Wh at raft Jim ? ”
,
O ur Ole
’
You mean to say o u r old raft warn t smashed all to
”
fl in de rs ?
“
N0 ,
—
she warn t S he was tore up a good deal o n e en of
’
.
’
’
her was ; but dey warn t no great harm done o n y o u r traps ,
’
was mos all los E f we hadn dive so deep en swum so fur

’ ’
.
’ ’
’ ’
under water en de night hadn t ben so dark en we warn t
, ,
d
’
k
’ ’
so s y e r en ben sich punkin
,
-heads as de sayin is we d a , ,
seed de raf Bu t it s jis as well we didn t kase n ow she s all

’
.
’ ’ ’
,
’ ’
fixed up ag in mos as good as new en we s got a new lo t 0

’ ’
,
’ ’
stuff in de place 0 what u z

,
’ ’
“
Why how did you get hold of the raft again Jim did
,
— ,
”
y ou catch her ?
“
How I gwyne to ketch her en I o u t in de woods ? N 0 ; some
e r de niggers fou n her k e tc h e d o n a snag along h e ah in de
’
ben en dey hid her in a crick mongst de willows en dey wuz

’
,
’
,
’ ’
s o much j awin bout which u n um she b long to de mos dat I
’ ’ ’
come to b eah bout it pooty soon so I ups en settles de trouble

’
,
by tellin um she don t b long to none u v um but to you

’ ’ ’ ’ ’
,
e n me ; en I ast m if dey gwyne to grab a young white

’
g e n l m an s p p y
ro a
’
t en git a hid n for it ? D en I gin m ten ,
’ ’
c ents apiece en dey u z mighty well satisfied en wisht some

’
, ,
mo raf s u d come along en make m rich ag in D ey s mighty

’ ’ ’ ’ ’
.
’
’
good to me dese niggers is en whatever I wants m to do fur
, ,
WHY H A R N E Y R O D E A W AY F OR HIS H AT
’
me I doan have to ast m twice honey D at Jack s a good
’ ’
,
.
nigger en pooty smart

,
, .
“ ’
Yes h e is He ain t ever told me you was here ; told me
,
.
to come and he d Show me a lo t Of water moccasins If any

- ’
.
,
thing happens h e ain t mixed u p m it He can say h e n e ver ’

.
’
seen us together and it ll be the truth ,
.
I don t want to talk much about the next day I reckon I ll

’ ’
.
cut it pretty short I waked up about dawn and was a going

.
-
,
to turn over and go to Sleep again when I noticed h ow still it

w as — didn t seem to b e anybody stirring That warn t usual
’
.
’
.
N ext I noticed that Buck was up and gone Well I gets up .

, ,
-
a wondering and goes down s tairs —,
nobody around ; ev e ry
thing as still as a mouse Just the same outside Thinks I . .
,
what does it mean ? D own by th e woodpile I com e s across my

J ack and says
,
“
What s it all about ? ’
S ays he :
”
D on t you k now M ars J aw g e ?
’
,
” “ ”
N O says I I don t
’
.
, ,
Well den M iss S ophia s run o ff! deed she has S he run
, ,
’ ’
.
Off in de night some time — nobody don ’t know jis when ; run " ’
Off to get married to dat young Harney Sh eph e rdson yo u ,
—
know leastways so dey spec D e fam bly foun it ou t bout,
’
.
’ ’
— —
half an hour ago maybe a little mo e m I tell you dey ’ ’
’
warn t no time los S ich another h u rryin up guns e n hosses
’
.
’
y o u never s ee ! D e women folks has gone for to stir up de r e
latio n s en Ole M ars S aul en de boys tuck dey guns en rode

,
up de river road for to try to ketch dat young man en kill

him fo he kin git ac rost de river W Id M iss S ophia I reck n
‘
’ ’ ’
.
’ ”
dey s gwyne to be mighty rough times .
Buck went off thout waking me up ’

.
Well I re ck n he did ! D ey warn t gwyne to mix yo u up

,
’ ’
in it M ars Buck he loaded up his gun en lowed he s gwyne

.
’ ’
to fetch home a Sh eph e rdso n o r bust Well dey ll be plenty .
,
’
u n m dah I re c k n en you bet you he ll fetch o n e e f h e gits a

’ ’ ’ ~
, ,
”
chanst .
I to ok up the river road as hard as I could put By and by .
I begin to hear guns a good ways Off Whe n I came in sight .
O f the l o g store and the woodpile where the steamboats l ands
I worked along under the trees and brush till I got to a good
place an d the n I clu m b up into the forks o f a cottonwood
,
that w as o u t o f reach and watched Ther was a wood rank

e ,
- .
four foot high a little w ays in front Of th e tree an d first I ,
w as goin g to hid e behind that ; but mayb e it was luckier I

d idn t
’
.
There w as four o r five m en cavorting around on their

horses in the open place before the log store cussing and ,
y e lling and trying to get at a couple o f young chaps th at

,
was behind the wood rank alongside o f th e ste amboat land

- -
i n g but they couldn t come it E very time o n e O f them Showed

’
.
himself o n the river side o f the woodpile he got shot at Th e .
t w o boys was squatting back to back behind the pile so they ,
c ould watch both ways .
By and by the men stopped cav orting around and yelling .
They started riding towards the store ; then up gets one of

-
th e boys draws a steady bead over the wood rank and drops
, ,
o n e Of them o u t Of his saddle All the men jumped Off Of their

.
horses and grabbed the hurt o n e and started to carry him to

th e store ; and that mi nute the two boys started on the run .
They got half way to the tree I was in before the men noticed
- .
Then th e men see them and jumped on their horses and took ,
o u t after them They gained on the boys but it didn t d o

’
,
.
n o good the boys h ad too good a start ; they got to the wood
,
pile that was in front Of my tree and slipped in behind it , ,
and so they had the bulge o n the men again O ne o f the boys .
was Buck and the other was a slim young chap about nine
,
teen year sold .

388 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C KLE B E RR Y F I N N
g o anear that house again because I reckoned I was to blame , ,
somehow I judged that that piece of paper meant that M is s

.
\
S ophia was to meet Harney somewheres at half past tw o and

run Off ; and I judg ed I ought to told her father about that
paper and the curious way Sh e acted and then maybe he ,
would a locked her up and this awful m ess would n t ever

’ ’
,
’
happened .
When I got down o u t o f the tree I crept along down the

river bank a piece and found the tw o bodies laying in the
-
,
edge o f the water and tugged at them till I g o t them as hore ;

,
then I covered up their faces and got away as quick as I ,
could I cried a little when I was covering up Buck s face for

.
’
,
he was mighty good to me .
It was just dark now I never went near the house but .
,
struck through th e woods and made for the swamp Jim .
warn t o n his island so I tramped Off in a hurry for the crick

’
, ,
and crowded through the willows red hot to j ump aboard and
-
,
get o u t Of that awful country The raft was gone ! M y souls .

,
but I was scared ! I couldn t get my breath for most a min ’
ute Then I raised a yell A voice not twenty fi v e foot from

.
- .
me says :
“
Good lan is dat you honey ? D oan make no noise
’
,
’
.
—
It w as Jim s voice nothing ever sounded so good before
’
.
I run along the bank a piece and got aboard and Jim he ,
grabbed me and hugged me he was so glad to see me He says : ,

.
“
L aws bless you chile I u z right down sho you s dead, ,
’ ’ ’
ag in Jack s been h e ah ; he say he re c k n you s ben shot kase

’
.
’ ’ ’
,
—
you didn come home no mo ; so I s j es dis minute a startin
’ ’ ’ ’ ’
de raf down towards de m o u f er de crick so s to be all ready

’
,
’
for to shove ou t en leave soon as Jack comes ag in en te lls me ’
for certain you is dead L aw sy I s mighty glad to git you .

,
’
back ag in honey ’
,
.
I s ays :
—
All ri ght that s mighty good ; they won t fi nd me and
’ ’
,
W HY H A RN E Y R O DE A W AY F OR HIS HAT 389
they ll think I v e been killed and floated down th e river

’ ’
,
there s something up ther e that ll help them think so s o

’ — ’
don t yo u lose no time Jim but just shove Off fo r the big
’
, ,
water as fast as ev er you can ”

.
I nev er felt easy till the raft was tw o mile below there
and ou t in the middle o f the M ississippi Then we hung up .
o u r signal lantern and judged that we w as free an d safe once

,
more I hadn t had a bite to eat since yesterday so Jim he g o t

.
’
,
o u t some corn dodgers and buttermilk

- and pork and cab ,
— ’
bage and greens there ain t nothing in the world so good
’ —
when it s cooked right and whilst I eat my supper w e t al ked
and had a good time I was powerful glad to get away from
.
the feuds and so was Jim to get away from the swamp We
,
.
said ther e w arn t n o home like a raft after al l O ther places

’
,
.
do seem SO cramped up and smothery but a raft don t Y o u

’
.
,
feel mighty free and easy and comfortabl e o n a raft .

CHA PT ER XIX
TH E DUKE AN D TH E DAUP HIN COME AB OARD
TW O o r three days and n ights went by ; I reckon I might say

they swum by they slid along so quiet and smooth and
,
lovely Her e is the way we put in the time It was a m onstrous

. .
—
bi g river down there sometimes a mile and a h al f wide ;
’
wa run nights and laid up and hid daytimes ; soon as night

,
w as most gon e we stopped navigating and tied u p — nearly

alw ays in th e dead water under a towhead ; and then cut
young co ttonwoods and willows and hid the raft with them ,
.
Then w e se t ou t the lines N ext we slid into the ri ver and

.
h ad a swim so as to freshen up and cool Off; then we set

,
down on th e sandy bottom where the water was about knee

d ee p and watched the daylight come N ot a sound any
,
.
w he re s— —
perfectly still just like the whole world w as asleep ,
—
on ly sometimes the bullfrogs a cluttering maybe The first ,
.
thing to see looking away over the water was a kind Of dull
, ,
—
li ne that was the woods on t other side ; you couldn t make
’ ’
noth ing e lse out ; then a pal e place in the sky ; then more
paleness spreading around ; then the river softened up away
Off and warn t black an y more but gray ; you could see little
,
’
,
—
dark spots drifting along ever so far away trading scows -
,
an d s uch things ; and long black streaks — rafts ; sometimes

you could hear a sweep screaking ; or jumbled u p voices it
-
,
was s o still and sounds come so far ; and by and by you could
,
see a streak o n the water which you know by the look of the
streak tha t there s a snag there in a swi ft current which
’
bre ak s o n it an d makes that streak look that way ; and you

3 9°
No ; spirits wouldn t say D ern the d ern fo g
’
,
‘
.
S oon as it was night ou t we shove d ; when we got her o u t

t o about the middle we let her alone and let her float w h e r ,
e ver the curr ent wanted her to ; then we lit the pipes and ,
dangled o u r legs in the water and talked about all k inds of ,
—
things w e was always naked day and night whenever the , ,
—
mosquitoes would let u s the new clothes Buck s folks made ’
for me w as too good to be comfortable and besides I did n t go ,

’
much o n cloth es nohow ,

.
S ometimes we d have that whole river all to ourselves for

’
th e longest time Yonder was th e banks and the islands across

.
,
—
the water ; and maybe a spark which was a candle in a
cabin window ; and sometimes on the wat er you could see a
—
spark o r tw o o n a raft o r a scow you know ; and maybe ,
you could hear a fiddl e o r a song coming over from o n e o f

them crafts It s lovely to live on a raft We had the sky up
.
’
.
there all speckled with stars and we used to lay on our b acks
, ,
and look up at them and discuss about whether they was

,
made o r only j ust happened Jim he allowed they was made .

,
but I allowed they happened ; I judged it would have took

too long to m ak e so many Jim s ai d the moon could a laid
.
’ ’
’
them ; well that looked kind Of reasonable so I didn t say
, ,
nothing against it because I ve seen a frog lay most as many

,
’
,
so o f course it could be done We used to watch the stars .
’
that fell too and see them streak down Jim allowed they d
, ,
.
got spoiled and was hove out o f the nest .
O nce or twice Of a night we would see a steamboat slipping

along in the dark and now and then Sh e would belch a whole
,
world Of sparks up out Of her chimbleys and they would ,
rain down 1n the river and look awful pretty ; then she would
turn a corner and her lights would wink ou t and her powwow
shut off and leave the river still again ; and by and by he r
waves would get to us a long time after she was gone and
, ,
’
joggle the raft a bit and after that you wouldn t hear nothing
,
TH E DU KE AND TH E D A U P H I N C OM E AB O A RD 3 93
for you couldn t tell h ow long except maybe frogs or some

’
,
thing .
After midnight th e people on shore went to bed and then ,
—
for tw o or three hours the Shores was black no more sparks
—
in the cabin windows These sparks w as ou r clock th e firs t
.
o n e that showed again meant morning was coming s o w e ,
hunted a place to hide and tie up right away .
On e morning about daybreak I found a canoe and crossed

—
over a chute to the main shore it w as only tw o hundre d
—
yards and paddled about a mile up a crick amongs t th e
’
cypress woods to see i f I couldn t get some berries Just as I
,
.
was passing a place where a kind of a cowpath crossed th e

crick here come s a couple Of men tearing up the path as
,
~
tight as they could foot it I thought I was a goner for when

.
,
ever anybody was after anybody I judged it was m e o r —

maybe Jim I was about to dig out from there in a hurry b u t
.
,
they was pretty close to me then and sun g o u t and begge d ,
—
me to save their lives said they h adn t been doing n othing ’
,
—
and was being chased fo r it said there was men and dogs
a coming They wanted to j ump right in but I says :
- .
,
“
D on t you do it I don t hear the dogs and horses yet ;
’
.
’
you ve got time to crowd through the brush and get up th e

’
crick a little ways ; then y ou take to the water and wade down
—
to me and get in that ll throw the dogs Off the scent
’ ”
.
They done it and soon as they was aboard I lit o u t fo r

,
ou r towhead and in about five or ten minutes we heard th e

,
dogs and the men away Off shouting We he ard them come ,
.
along towards the crick but couldn t see them ; they seeme d
,
’
to stop and fool around awhile ; then as we got further and ,
further away all the time we couldn t hardly hear them at ,

’
all ; by the time we had left a mile Of woods behind us an d

struck the river everything was quiet and we paddled ove r
, ,
to the towhead and hid in the cottonwoods and was safe .
O ne Of these fellows was about seventy or upwards an d ,

had a bald head an d very gray whiskers He had an Old bat .
te re d u p slouch hat o n and a greasy blue woolen shirt and

-
, ,
ragged Old blue jeans britches stuffed into his boot tops -
,
- —
and home knit galluses no he only had one He had an Old ,
.
-
long tailed blue j eans coat with slick bras s b uttons flung over
his arm and both Of them had big fat ratty-looking carpet
, , ,
bags .
The Other fellow was about thirty and dressed about as ,
ornery After breakfast we all laid Off and talked and the
.
,
first thing that come out was that these chaps didn t know ’
o n e another .
“ ”
What got you into trouble ? says the baldhead to t other ’
chap .
“
Well I d been selling an article to take the tartar Off the
,
’
—
teeth and it does take it Off too and g en e rly the enamel , ,
—
along with it but I stayed about o n e night longer than I
ought to and was just in the act o f sliding out when I ran
,
across you o n the trail this side o f town and you told me they ,
w ere coming and begged me to help you to get off SO I told

,
.
y o u I was expecting trouble myself and would scatter out ,
w i th you That s the whole yarn

.
— wh at s yourn ?
’ ” ’
“
Well I d ben a ru n n in a little temperance revival thar
-
,
’ ’
’
bout a week and was the pet Of the women folks big and
, ,
l ittle for I was In ak in it mighty warm for the rummies I te ll

’
, ,
y o u and
,
takin as much as five o r six
’
dollars a night— ten a
—
cents a head children and niggers free and business a grow -
,
in all the time when somehow or another a little report got

’
,
a round last night that I had a way of pu ttin in my time with

’
a private jug o n the sly A nigger rousted me o u t this m o rn in

’
.
,
and told me the people was g e th e rin o n the quiet with their ’
dogs and horses and they d be along pretty soon and give
,
’
me bout half an hour s start and then run me down if they

’ ’
,
could ; and if they g o t me they d tar and feather me and ride ’

S om e day I ll lie down in it and forget it all and my poor
’
,
broken heart will be at rest He went on a wiping- . .
“ ”
D rot your pore broken heart says the baldhead ; what ,
are you heaving your pore broken heart at u s f r ? We hain t ’ ’
”
done nothing .
“
NO I know you haven t I ain t blaming you gentlemen I
,
’
.
’
,
.
—
brought myself down yes I did it myself It s right I should .
’
,
— —
suffer perfectly right I don t make any moan ” ’
.
Brought you down from whar ? Whar was you brought

”
down from ?
“
Ah you would not believe me ; the world never believes
,
—let it pass— tis n o matter The secret Of my birth

’
.
“
The s ecret Of your birth ! D O you mean to say
”
Gentlemen says the young man very solemn I will
, , ,
reveal it to you for I feel I may hav e confidence in you By

,
.
”
rights I am a duke !
’
Jim s eyes bugged o u t when he heard that ; and I reckon
mine did too Then the baldhead says : N0 ! you can t mean
,
.
’
”
it ?
“
Yes M y great grandfather eldest son Of the D uke o f
.
-
,
Bridgewater fled to this country about the end of the last

,
century to breathe the pure air o f freedom ; married here and

, ,
died le av in g a son his o w n father dying about the same time

,
c
,
.
The second son o f the late duke seized the titles and estates
the infant real duke w as ignored I am the lineal descendant o f .
—
that infant I am the righ tful D uke o f B rig e w ate r ; and here
am I forlorn torn from my high estate hunted of men de
, , , ,
spis e d by the cold world ragged worn heartbroken an d de

, , , ,
”
graded to the companionship Of felons on a raft !
Jim pitied him ever so much and so did I We tried to com,
.
’
fort him but he said it warn t much use he couldn t be much
,
’
,
comforted ; said if we was a mind to acknowledge him that ,
would do him more good than most any thing else ; so we

said we would if he would tell us how He said we ought to
,
.
T H E DU KE A N D T H E D A U P H I N C O M E A B O A R D 397
b ow when spok e to him an d say Your Grace o r My

we , ,
” “ ”— ’
L ord o r Your L ordship
,
and he wouldn t mind it if we
call ed h im plain Bridgewater which he said was a titl e
“ ”
, , ,
anyway and n o t a name ; and on e Of us ought to wait on him

,
at dinner and do any little thing for him he wanted done

,
.
Well that was all easy so w e don e it All through dinner

, ,
.
’
Jim stood around and w aited o n him and says Will yO , ,
”
Grace have some 0 dis o r some 0 dat ? and s o o n and a body
’ ’
,
could see it was mighty pleasing to him .
—
But the old man g o t pretty silent by and by didn t hav e ’
much to say and didn t look pretty comfortable over all that
,
’
petting that was going o n aroun d that duke He seemed to .
have something on his mind So along in th e afternoon h e .

, ,
says :
“ “ ’
L ooky here Bilgewater he says I m nation sorry fo r
, , ,
k
’
y ou ,
but you ain t the only person that s had troubles
’
li e
that .
“ ”
NO ?
N0 you ai n t Y o u ain t the only person that s ben sn aked
,
’
.
’ ’
”
down wrongfully o u t n a high place ’
.
“
Al as !
7)
N 0 y ou ain t the only person that s had a secret Of his

,
’ ’
”
birth And by j in g s h e begins to cry
.
, ,
.
“
Hold ! What do you mean ? ”
”
Bilgewater kin I trust you ? says the old man still sort
, ,
Of sobbing .
“ ”
To the bitter death ! He took the o ld man by the hand
“
and squeezed it and says That secret of your being :
, ,
”
speak !
“ ”
Bilgewater I am the late D auphin !
,
You bet y o u Jim and me stared this time Then the duke
,
.
says
“
You are what ? ’
,
—
Yes my friend it is too true your eyes is lookin at this
,
’
398 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C K L E B ERR Y F I N N
very moment o n the pore disappeared D auphin L ooy the ,
S eventeen son o f L ooy the S ixteen and M arry Antonette ”

, .
“
Y ou ! At your age ! N o ! Y o u mean you re the late Charle ’
magne ; y o u must be Six o r seven hundred years Old at the ,

”
very least .
“
Trouble has don e it Bilgewater trouble has done it ; , ,
trouble has brung these gray hairs and this prematur e bald
itu de Y es gentlemen you see before you in blue jeans and
.
, , ,
misery th e wanderin exiled trampled o n and su ffe rin

,
- ’
, , ,
’
rightful K ing O f F ran ce .
Well h e cried and took on so that me and Jim didn t know

,
’
—
hardly what to do we was SO sorry and so glad and proud
,
we d got him with us to o SO we s e t in like we done befor e

’
,
.
,
with the duke and tried to comfort him But h e said it warn t
, .
’
n o use nothing but to be dead and done with it all could do

,
him any good ; though he said it often made him feel e asier
and better for a while if peopl e treated him according to his
rights and g o t down o n o n e knee to speak to him and always
, ,
“ ”
called him Your M ajesty and waited o n him first at meals , ,
and didn t s e t d own in his pres ence till he asked th e m SO Jim

’
.
and me set to m aj e styin g him and doing this and that and ,
t other for him and standing up till he told us we might set

’
,
down This done him heaps o f good and so he got cheerful

.
,
and comfortable But the duke kind of soured on him and

.
,
didn t look a bit satisfi ed with the way things was going ;
’
still the king acted real friendly towards him and said th e
, ,
duke s great grandfa ther and all the other D ukes Of Bilge
’
-
water was a good deal thought of by his father and was al ,
lowed to come to the palace considerable ; but the duke stayed

huffy a good while till by and by the king says : ,
“
L ike as not we g o t to be together a blamed long time on
this h yer raft Bilgewater and so what s the use 0 your
-
, ,
’ ’
bein sour ? It 11 only make things o n c o m fo rtab le It ain t my

’ ’
.
’
’
fault I warn t born a duke it ain t your fault you warn t
’
,
’
C HAPT ER XX
W HAT ROYAL TY DID TO P ARKVI LLE
T H EY asked us considerable man y questions ; wanted to know

what we covered up the raft that way fo r and laid by in the ,
—
daytime instead of running was Jim a runaway nigger ?
S ays I :
Goodness sakes ! would a runaway nigger run s ou th ? ”
N0 they allowed he wouldn t I had to account for things

,
’
.
some way so I says :,
“ M y folks was living in Pike C ounty in M issouri where I , ,
was born and they all died Off but me and pa and my brother
,
Ike Pa he lowed he d break up and go down and live wi th

.
,
’ ’
Uncle Ben who s got a little one horse place on the river
,
’
-
forty four mile below O rleans Pa was pretty poor and had
- .
,
some debts ; so when he d squared up there warn t nothing

’ ’
left but sixteen dollars and our nigger Jim That warn t ,
.
’
enough to take us fourteen hundred mile deck passage nor n o ,
other way Well when the river rose pa had a streak Of luck
.
,
o n e day ; he k e tc h e d this piece Of a raft ; so we reckoned we d

’
go down to O rleans on it Pa sluck didn t hold out ; a steam

.
’ ’
boat run over the forrard corner Of the raft one night and w e ,
all went overboard and dove under the wheel ; Jim and me
come up all right but pa was drunk and Ike was only four
, ,
years Old so they never come up no more Well for the next
,
.
,
day o r two we had considerable trouble because people w as ,
always coming out in skiffs and trying to take Jim away from
’
me saying they believed he was a runaway nigger We don t
,
.
run daytimes no more now ; nights they don t bother us ’

.
4 00
W H A T R O YA L TY D I D To P A R KV I L L E
,
4 0 1
The duke says

“
L eave me alone to cipher ou t a way so we can run in th e
—
daytime if we want to I ll think the thing over I ll invent a
.
’ ’
plan that 11 fix it We ll let it alone for to day because Of

’
.
’-
,
cours e we don t want to go by that town yonder l n daylight

’
— it mightn t be healthy
’
.
T owards night it begun to darken up and look like rain ; th e

heat-lightning was squirting around low down in the sk y and ,
—
the le aves was beginning to shiver it was going to be pretty
ugly it was easy to see that SO the duk e and the king went
,
.
to overhauling o u r W igw am to see what the beds w as like , .
—
My bed was a straw tick better than Jim s which w as a ’
,
corn shuck tick ; there s always cobs around about in a shuck

- ’
tick and they poke into y o u and hurt ; and when you roll ove r
,
the dry Shucks sound like y o u was rolling over in a pil e Of

dead leaves ; it m ak es such a rustling that y o u wake up Well .
,
the duke allowed he would tak e my bed ; but the king al

’
lowed he wouldn t He says : .
“ ’ ’
I should a reckoned the difference in rank w o u ld a se ‘
j ested to you that a corn shuck bed warn t just fi tte n fo r me

- ’
”
to sleep o n Your Grace 11 take the shuck bed yourself
.
’
.
Jim and me was in a sweat agai n fo r a minute being afraid

'
there was going to be some more trouble amongst them ; so

we was pretty glad when the d uk e says :
’
Tis my fate to be always ground into the mire under the
iron he el Of Oppression M isfortune has broken my once .
haughty spirit ; I yield I submit ; tis my f ate I am alone in

,
’
.
—
the world let m e suffer ; I can bear it ”
.
We got away as soon as it was good and dark The king .
told us to stand well out towards the middle o f the river and ,
n o t show a light till we got a long ways below the town We .
—
come in sight o f the little bunch of lights by and by that was
—
the town you know and slid by about a half a mile out all
, , ,
right When we was three quarters Of a mile below we hoisted

.
-
TH E A DVE NT U RE S OF H U C KL E B E RR Y F I N N
up o u r signal lantern ; and about ten O clock it come o n to rain ’
and blow and thunder and lighten like everything ; so the king
told us to both stay o n watch till the weather got better ; then
him and the duke crawled into the W igwam and turned in for
the night It was my watch below till twelve but I wouldn t
.
,
’
’ ’
a turned in anyway if I d had a bed because a body don t
’ ’
,
se e such a storm as that every day in the week not by a long ,
sight My souls h ow the wind did scream along ! And every

.
,
’
second o r two there d come a glare that lit up the white caps-
fo r a half a mile around and you d see the islands looking

’
,
dusty through the rain and the trees thrashing around in the
,
wind ; then comes a w c h - h a k -

bum ! bum ! bumble umble
-
—
u m bum bum bum bum
- - — — and the thunder would g O rum
—
bling and grumbling away and quit and then rip comes ,
another flash and another sockdolager The waves mos t .
washed me Off th e raft sometimes but I hadn t any clothes ,

’
on and didn t mind We didn t have no trouble about snags ;

’ ’
.
,
the lightning was glaring and fl itte rin g around so constant

that we could see them plenty soon enough to throw her h ead
this way o r that and miss them .
I had the middle watch you know but I was pretty Sleepy
, ,
by that time so Jim h e s ai d he would stand the first half o f

,
it for me ; he was always mighty good that way Jim was I ,

.
crawled into the W igwam but the king and the duke had thei r
,
legs sp rawled around so there warn t no Show for me ; SO I laid ’
—
outside I didn t mind the rain because it was warm and th e
’
, ,
waves warn t runni ng S O high now About two they come up

’
.
again though and Jim was going to call me ; but he changed

, ,
his mind b ecause he reckoned they warn t high enough yet to

,
’
do any harm ; but h e was mistake n about that for pretty ,
soon all Of a sudden al ong comes a regular ripper and washed

me overboard It most killed Jim a laughing He was the
.
- .
easiest nigge r to laugh that ever was anyway ,

.
I took the watch and Jim he laid down and snored away ;
,
SO the duke told him all about who R omeo was and who
J uliet was and said he ,
was used to being R omeo so the king ,
c ould be Juliet .
“
But if Juliet s such a young gal duke my peeled head and
’
, ,
my white whiskers is goin to look o n co m m o n Odd on her ’

,
”
m ayb e .
“
N0 don t y o u worry ; these country jakes wo n t ever
,
’ ’
t h in k of that Besides you know you ll be in costume and

'
’
.
, , ,
that m ak es al l the difference in the world ; Juliet s in a bal ’
c ony enj oying the moonlight before she goes to bed and she s
’
, ,
g o t o n her nightgown and her ru ffled nightcap Here are the .
”
c ostumes for the parts .
He got ou t two or three curtain calico suits which he said

-
,
w as m e e dy e v il armor for R ichard III and t other chap and

’
.
,
a long white cotton nightshirt and a ru ffled nightc ap to
match Th e king was satisfied ; so the duke got out his book
.
a n d read the parts over in the most splendid spread eagle - ,
way prancing around and acting at the same time to show

, ,
h o w it had got to be d one ; then he give the book to the king \
and told him to get his part by heart .
There was a little one horse town about three mile down
-
th e bend and after dinner the duke said he had ciphered out
,
his idea about how to run in daylight without it being dan

g e rs o m e for Jim ; so he allowed he would go down to the town
and fix that thing The king allowed he would go too and .
, ,
se e if he couldn t strike something We was out O f c offee so

’
.
,
Jim said I better g o along with them in the canoe and get
some .
When We g ot there there warn t nobody stirring ; streets ’
e mpty and perfectly dead and still like S unday We found a

, ,
.
s iEk nigger sunning himself in a back yard and he said every ,
b ody that warn t too young o r too sick o r too Old was gone to
’
cam p meeting about two mile back in the woods The king
-
,
.
W H A T R O YA L TY DI D TO P A R KV I L L E 4 0 5
g o t the directions an d allowed he d g o and work that camp

,
’
meeting for all it was worth and I might g o to o , ,

.
The duke said what he was after was a printing offic e We

- .
found it ; a little bit o f a concern up over a carpenter sh Op

-
,
c arpenters and printers all g o n e to the meeting and n

‘
o doors ,
l o cked It was a dirty littered u p place and had ink marks

.
-
,
-
, ,
and handbills with pictures Of horses an d runaway niggers o n

them all over the walls The duke shed his coat and said he
,
.
was all right now S o me and the king lit o u t for the camp
.
meeting .
We g ot there in about a half an hour fairly dripping for it ,
was a most awful h o t day There was as much as a thousand

.
people there from t wenty mile around The woods was full o f .
teams and wagons hitched everywheres feeding out of the

, ,
wagon troughs and stomping to k eep o ff the flies There was

-
’
sheds made o u t o f poles and roofed over with branches ,
wher e th ey had lemonade and gingerbread to sell and piles ,
o f watermelons and green corn and such like truck

- .
The preaching was going o n under the same kinds Of sheds ,
only they was bigger and held crowds o f people The benches .
was m ade o u t o f outside slabs o f logs with holes bored in th e ,
round side to drive sticks into for legs They didn t have n o .
’
backs The preachers had high platforms to stand o n at o n e

.
end o f the sheds The women had on sun bonnets ; and som e
.
-
had linsey woolsey frocks some gingham ones and a few Of

-
, ,
the young ones had o n calico S ome o f the young men was .
barefooted and some Of the children didn t h ave o n any

,
’
clothes but just a tow linen shirt S ome o f the Old w omen w as
- .
knitting and some Of the young folks was courting o n th e sly

, .
The first sh ed we come to the preacher was lining o u t a

hymn He lined out tw o lines everybody sung it and it was
.
, ,
kind o f grand to hear it there was so many o f them and they

,
done it in such a rousing way ; then he lined o u t tw o more fo r

—
them to sing and so on The people woke up more . more an d ,
and sung louder and louder ; and towar ds the end some begun
to groan and so me began to shout Then the preacher begun
,
.
to preach and begun in earnest too ; and went weaving first

, ,
to o n e side o f th e platform and then th e Other and then ,
a l e am n g down over the front o f it an d his arms and his

-
,
body going all th e time and shouting his words o u t with all
,
his might ; and every now and then he would hold up his Bible
and spread it open and kind of pass it around this way and
,
“
that shouting It s the braze n serpent in the wilderness !
, ,
’
” “
L ook upon it and live ! And people would Shout out Glory ! ,
—A And so h e went o n and the people gro aning and ,
crying and s aying amen :

“
O h come to the mourners bench ! come black with sin !
,
’
,
( am e n ! ) come sick
,
and sore ! ( a m e n ! ) come lame and halt ,
an d blind ! ( am e n ! ) come pore and needy sunk in shame !, ,
( ) come all that s worn and soiled and suffering

’
a- a -m e n ! !
,
come with a broken spirit ! come with a contrite heart ! come

in your rags and sin and dirt ! the waters that cleanse is free ,
—
the door o f heaven stands open oh enter in and be at rest ! ,
”
( a- a -m e n ! g l o ry g l ory
,
h all e lu j a h ! )
And so o n You couldn t make out what th e preacher said
.
’
any more o n account Of th e shouting and crying F olks got

,
.
up everywheres in th e crowd and worked their way just by ,
main strength to the mourners bench with the tears runni ng ’

,
down their faces ; and when all the mourners had got up there
to the front benches in a crowd they sung and shouted and ,
flung themselves down on the straw just crazy and wild ,

.
Well the first I knowed the king got a going and you -
—
, ,
could hear him over everybody ; and next he went a charging

up onto the platform and the preacher he begged him to
,
speak to the people an d he done it He told them he was a

,
.
—
pirate been a pirate for thirty years out in the Indian
408 T H E A DVE N T U RE S H U C K L E B E R RY F I N N
'
OF
day o f t ecamp meeting

h he couldn t do no good and besides ’
-
,
he was in a sweat to get to the Indian O cean right o ff and g o

to work o n the pirates .
When w e got back to the raft and he come to count up h e

found he had collected eighty seven dollars and seventy fiv e
- -
cents And then he had fetch ed away a three gallon jug o f

.
-
whisky to o that he found under a wagon when he w as start

, ,
in g home through the woods The king said tak e it all around .
, ,
it l ai d over any day he d ever put in in the m ission aryin g

’
line He Said it warn t no use talking heathens don t amount

.
’
,
’
to Shucks alongside o f pirates to work a camp meeting with

- .
The duke was thinking h e d been doing pretty well till the ’
king come to show up but after that he didn t think s o so

,
’
much He had set up and printed o ff tw o little jobs for farm

.
— —
ers in that printing o ffice horse bills and took the money
-
,
four dollars And he had got in ten dollars worth Of advertise

.
’
ments fo r the paper which he said he would put in fo r four

,
—
dollars if they would pay in advance SO they done it The .
pr1e e o f the paper was two dollars a year but he took in three ,
subscriptions for half a dollar apiece o n condition of them

paying h 1m l n advance ; th ey w e re going to pay in cordwood
an d onions as usual but he said he had just bought the con
,
cern and k n Ock e d down the price as low as he could afford it ,
and was going to run it for cash He set up a little piece o f .
poetry which h e made himself out o f his own head thre e

, ,
— ,
— —
verses kind of sweet and saddish the name Of it was Yes “
, ,
”—
crush cold world this breaking heart
, ,
and he left that all
’
set up and ready to print in the paper and didn t charge ,
no thing for it Well he took in nine dollars and a half a n d

.
, ,
said he d done a pretty square day s work fo r it

’ ’
.
Then he showed us another little j ob he d printed and ’
hadn t charged for because it was fo r us It had a picture o f a

’
,
.
runaway nigger with a bundle on a stick over his shoulder ,

”
and reward under it The reading was all about Jim .
W H A T R O YA L T Y DI D TO P A R KV I L L E 4 09
and just described him to a dot It said he run away from .
S t Jacques s plantation forty mile below N ew O rleans last

.
’
, ,
winter and likely went north and Whoever would catch him
, ,
and send him back he could have the reward and e xpenses .
“
No w says the duke after to night we can run in the
,
-
,
daytime if we want to Whenever we see anybody coming w e

.
can tie Jim hand and foot with a rope and lay him in th e ,
W igwam and show this handbill and say we captured him up

the river and were to o poor to travel o n a steamboat so we
, ,
g o t this little raft o n credit from o u r friends and are going

down to get the reward Handcuffs and chains would look .
still be tter On Jim but it wouldn t g o well wi th the story o f

,
’
us being so poor To o much like j ewelry R opes are the c o r

. .
—
rect thing w e must preserve the unities as we say o n the ,
boards .
’
We all said the duke was pretty smart and there couldn t ,
’
be n o trouble about running daytimes We judged we could .
make miles enough that night to get o u t o f the reach o f the

powwow we reckoned the duke s work in the printing office - ’
was going to make in that little town ; then we could boom

right along if we wanted to .
We laid low and kept still and never shoved o u t till nearly ,
’
ten O clock ; then we slid by pretty wide away from the town , ,
and didn t hoist o u r lantern till we was clear o u t o f sight o f it

’
.
When Jim called me to take the w atch at four in th e morn

ing he says :
,
“
Huck does you re c k n we gwy ne to run ac ro st any mo
,
’ ’
”
kings on dis trip ?
“ ” “ ”
N O I says I reckon n o t
, ,
.
” “
Well says he dat s all right den I doan mine o n e er
, ,
’
,
.
’
tw o kings but dat s enough D is one s powerful drunk en de

’ ’
.
, ,
’ ”
duke ain much be tter .
I found Jim had been trying to get him to t alk F rench so ,
h e could hear what it was like ; but he said he had been in

’
this country so l ong and had so much troubl e he d forgot it
, ,
.
CHAPT E R XXI
AN ARKANS AW DIFFICUL TY
IT was after sun p now but we went right on and didn t tie
-u
,
’
up The king and the duke turned out by and by looking

.
pretty rusty ; but after they d jumped overboard and took a ’
swim it chippered them up a good deal After breakfast the .
king he took a seat on the corner o f the raft and pulled o ff ,
his boots and rolled up his britches and let his legs dangle l n ,
the water so as to be comfortable and lit his pipe and went

, , ,
“ ”
to getting his R omeo and Juliet by heart When he had got .
it pretty good him an d the duke begun to practis e it togeth e r .
Th e duke had to learn him over and over again how to s ay

every speech ; an d he made him sigh and put his hand o n his ,
”
heart and after a while he said he done it pretty well ; only
, ,
he says you mustn t bellow out R o m e o ! that way like a

,
’
,
—
bull you must say it soft and sick and lan g u ishy s o ,
R O O meo ! that is the idea ; for Juliet s a dear Sweet mere

’
- - -
child of a girl you know and she doesn t br ay like a j ack

, ,
’
ass .
Well next they got Ou t a c ouple of long swords that the

,
duke made out O f oak laths and begun to practise the sword
,
—
fig h t the duke called himself R ichard III ; and th e way .
‘
they laid on and pranced around the raft w as grand to see .
Bu t by and by the king tripped and fell overboard and after ,
that they took a rest and had a talk about all kinds of ad
,
Ventures they d h ad in other times alon g the river

'
’
.
After dinner the duke says

“
“ -
Well C apet , we ll want to make this a fi rs t cl ass Show
’
, ,
4 10
Th an fl y to o th e rs th at w e k now n o t o f .
Th e re s th e
’
res pec t m u st g iv e u s p au s e:
W ak e D u n c an w ith th y k n o ck in g ! I w ou ld tho u cou l ds t
°
Fo r w h o w o u ld b e ar th e w hip s an d s co rn s o f tim e ,
Th e o ppresso r s ’
w ron g , th e p ro u d m an
’
s c on tu m e ly ,
Th e law
’
s de lay , an d th e qu ie tu s w h ich his p an gs m ig h t tak e ,
I n th e de ad w aste an d m iddle of th e n igh t , when c h u rch yards
'
y aw n
I n cu s to m ary su its o f s o le m n b lack ,

B u t th at th e u n disco v e re d cou n try fro m w h o se b ou rn e no trav eler re
tu rn s ,
B reathes fo rth con tag io n o n th e w o rld ,
A n d th u s th e n ativ e h u e o f re solu tio n l ik e ,

th e poor c at i th e
’
g
ada e ,
s ick w ith
’
Is lie d o er c are ,
An d all th e c lo u ds th at lo w e re d h ou se to p s ,
’
o e r ou r
W ith th is reg ard th e ir c u rre n ts tu rn aw ry ,
An d lose th e n am e o f ac tion .
’
Tis a c o n su mm a tio n de v o u tly to b e w ish e d B u t . so ft yo u , th e fair
Oph elia :
Ope no t thy p on de rou s an d m arb le j aw s
—g o !
,
B u t g e t th ee to a nu n n e ry
Well the old man he liked tha t speech and he mighty soon
, ,
g o t it S O he could do it first rate It seemed like he was just .
born for it ; and when he had his hand in and was excited it ,
was perfectly lovely the way he would rip and tear and rair
up behind when he was getting it Off .
The first chance we got the duke he had some show bills -
printed ; and after that for two or three days as we floated ,
along the raft was a most uncommon lively place for there
, ,
warn t nothing but sword fig h tin g and rehearsing as the

’
- —
—
duke cal led it going o n all the time O ne morning when we .
,
was pretty well down the state of Arkansaw we come in sight ,
o f a little o n e -horse town m a big bend ; so we tied up about
three quarters o f a mile above it in the mouth Of a crick

-
,
which was shut in like a tunnel by the cypress trees and all ,
o f us but Jim took the canoe and went down there to see if
there was any chance in that place for o u r Show .
We struck it mighty lucky ; there was going to be a circus

there that afternoon and the country people was already b e
-
,
A N A RK A N S A W D I F FI C U L TY 4 13
ginning to come in in all kinds o f o ld shackly wagons and on

, ,
horses The circus would leave before night so our show

.
,
would have a pretty good chance The duke h e hired the .
court-house ,and we went around and stuck up ou r bills Th ey .
read lik e this :
Shak spe re an Re v iv al
W o n de rfu l A ttrac tio n !
Fo r On e N ig h t On ly !
Th e w orld re n o w ne d trag e dian s,
D av id Garrick th e yo u n g e r, o f D ru ry L an e Th eatre , L on don ,
an d
E dm u n d K e an th e elde r, o f th e R oyal Haym ark e t Th e atre ,

Wh itec hap el , Pu ddin g L an e , P ic c adilly , L o n do n , an d the
R oyal C on tin e n tal Th eatre s , in th eir su blim e
Sh ak sp e re an Sp e c tacle e n title d
Th e B alco n y Sc e n e
in
Ro m eo an d J u lie t
Assisted b y th e w h ole stren g th o f th e co m p an y !

N ew c os tu m e s , n ew sce n e ry , n ew a ppo in tm en ts !
Also :
Th e th rillin g , m aste rly , an d b lo o d-cu rdlin g
B ro ad-sw o rd c o n fl ic t
In R ichard III .
R ich ard III
Also
b
( y sp ec ial re qu e st )
Ham let s I m m o rtal So lilo qu y

’
B y th e I llu striou s K ean !

D o n e by h im 3 0 0 c on se cu tiv e n ights in P aris !
Fo r On e Nigh t On ly ,
On acco u n t o f im p e rativ e E u rop e an e n gag e m en ts !
Adm ission 25 c e n ts ; c hildre n an d se rv an ts , 10 c en ts .
Thenwe went lo afi n g around town The stores and houses .
w as most all old shackly dried -u p frame concerns that

, ,
’
hadn t ever been painted ; they w as set up three or four foot
4 14
T H E A DV E N T U RE S or H U C K L E B E RR Y F I N N
above ground o n stilts so as to be out o f reach o f the water ,
when the river was o v e rfl o w e d The houses had little garde ns .
around them but they didn t seem to raise hardly anything

,
’
.
in them but jimpson weeds and sunflowers and ash piles

- -
, , ,
an d o l d curled u p boots and shoes an d pieces of bottles and

-
, ,
rags and play e d out tinware Th e fences w as mad e of differ

,
- .
ent kinds o f boards n ailed on at different times ; and they,

.
leaned e very which way and had gates that didn t g e n e rly ,
’
—
have but o n e hinge a leather o n e S ome o f the fences had .
been whit ewashed some time or another but the duke said it ,
was in C olumbus s time like enough There was g en e rly hogs

’
,
.
in th e garden and people driving them o u t

,
.
f
'
All th e stores was along o n e street They had white domes

,
.
tic awnings in front and the country people hitched their

-
,
- -
horses to th e awning posts There was empty dry goods boxes .
un der th e awnings and loafers roosting o n them all d ay long

, ,
whittling them with their B arlow knives ; and chawing to

bacco and gaping and yawning and stretching a mighty —
,
ornery lot They g en e rly had o n yellow straw hats most as

.
’
wide as an umbrella but didn t wear no coats nor waistcoats ;,
they called o n e another Bill and Buck and Hank and Joe , , , ,
and Andy an d talked lazy and drawly and used considerable

, ,
many cuss w ords There w as as many as o n e loafer leaning

- .
up against e very awning post and he most always had his

-
,
hands in his britches pockets except when he fetched them ,
o u t to lend a chaw o f tobacco or scratch What a body w as .
he ari ng amongst them all the time was :

“ ”
Gimm e a chaw v tob ack e r Hank ’
,
.
Cai n t ; I h ain t got but o n e chaw left Ask Bill

’ ’
. .
M ayb e Bill he gives h im a chaw ; maybe he lies and says he

ain t g o t none S om e o f them kinds of loafers never has a cent
’
.
in th e world nor a chaw of tobacco o f their own They get all

,
.
their chawing by borrowing ; they say to a fellow, I wish t

“
"
you d len me a chaw Jack I j ist this minut e give B en
’
, ,
over and make them happy all over like a
, ,
-
dog fi g h t—unless
it might be putting turpentine on a stray dog an d setting fi re
to him o r tying a tin pan to his tail and see him run himself to
,
death .
O n the river front some o f the houses was sticking o u t over

-
the bank and they was bowed and bent and about ready to
, ,
tumble in The people had moved o u t of them The bank w as

. .
caved away under one corner o f some others and that corner ,
was hanging over People lived in them yet but it was danger
.
,
some because sometimes a strip of land as wide as a house

,
caves in at a time S ometimes a belt o f land a quarter o f a

.
mile deep will start in and cave along and cave along till it all
caves into the river in o n e summer S uch a town as that h as .
to be always moving back and back and back because th e , , ,

’
river s always gnawing at it .
Th e nearer it got to noon that day the thicker and thicker

was the wagons and horses in th e streets and more c om m g ,
all th e time F amilies fetched their dinners with them from

.
the country and eat them in the wagons There was c o n sid
,
.
e rab l e whisky drinking going on and I seen three f

- i ghts By ,
.
and by somebody sings o u t :

“ —
Here comes old Boggs ! in from the count ry for his little
”
o ld monthly drunk ; here he comes boys ! ,
All the loafers looked glad ; I reckon ed they was used to

having fun out of B oggs O ne of them says .
“
Wonder who he s a g wyne to chaw up this time If he d
- ’
.
’
- —
a chawed up all the men he s ben a gwyne to chaw up in the
’
”
last twenty year he d have considerable reputation now
’
.
“
Another one says I wisht old Boggs d threaten me cuz
,
’
,
’
”
then I d know I warn t gwyne to die for a th ou san year
’ ’ ’
.
Boggs comes a tearing along on his horse whooping and

-
,
yelling like an Injun and singing o u t : ,
-
Cler the track thar I m on the waw path and the price ’
,
.
,
- ”
u v coffins is a gwyn e to raise .
A N A R K A N S A W D I F F I C U L TY 417
He was drunk and weaving about in his saddle ; h e was

,
ov er fifty year old and had a very red face E verybody yelled
,
.
at him and laughed at him and sassed him and he sasse d ! ,

’
back and said he d attend to them and lay them o u t in their
,
regular turns but he couldn t wait now because he d co m

,
e to ’ ’
“
town to kill o ld C olonel S herburn and his motto was M eat , ,
”
fi rst and spoon vittles to top o ff o n
,
.
H e se e me ; and rode up and says :

“
W h ar d y ou come f m boy ? You prepared to die ?
’ ” ’
,
Th en he rod e o n I w as scared but a man says :.

,
“
He don t mean nothing ; he s always a carryin on like
’ ’ ’
-
that when h e s drunk H e s the best n atu re de st o ld fool in

’
- .
’
—
A rkansaw nev er hurt nobody drunk n o r sober ,
.
Boggs rode u p b e fo re the biggest store in town and b en t ,
h is head down so he could see under the curtain o f the aw n

ing an d yells :
Come o u t here S h e rburn ! C ome o u t and meet the man
,
’ ’ ’ ’
you ve swindled You re the houn I m after and I m a gwyne
.
-
,
’
”
to have y o u to o ! ,
And so he went o n calling S herburn everything he could ,
lay his tongue to and the whole street pack e d w ith people
,
:
.
listening and laughing and going on B y and by a proud - .

i
- —
looking man about fi fty fiv e and he was a heap the best
—
dressed man in that town to o steps ou t of the store an d , ,
the crowd drops back o n each side to let him come He says .
to Boggs mighty ca m and slow

,
— h e says : ’
“ ’ ’
I m tired o f this but I ll e ndure it till o n e o clock Till o n e
,
’
.
’
,
—
o clock mind no longer If you open your mouth against .
’
me only once after that time you can t travel so far but I will
”
find you .
Then he turns and goes in The crowd looked mighty .
sober ; nobody stirred and there warn t no more laughing ,

’
.
Boggs rode o ff blackguarding S herburn as loud as he could

yell all down the street ; a n d pretty soon back h e comes and
,
.
4 18
THE A D VE N T U R E S OF HU C K LE B E RR Y FI N N
stops before the store still keeping it up S ome me n crowded
,
.
aroun d him and tried to get him to shut up but he wouldn t ; , ,

’
they told him it would be o n e o clock in about fifteen m i nutes ’

,
—
and so h e m u st go home h e must go right away But it didn t .
’
do n o good He cussed away with all his might and throwed

.
,
h is hat down in the mud an d rode over it and pretty soon ,
away he went a raging down the street again with his gray
-
,
.
hair a fl yin g E verybody that could g e t a chance at him tried

-
‘
the ir best to coax him o ff o f his horse so they could lock him
up and get him sober ; but it warn t n o u s e u p the street h e
- ’ =
would te ar again and give S herburn another cussing By and

, .
by som ebody says

“ —
Go fo r his d au gh te r l quick go fo r his daughter ; some ,
tim e s he ll listen to her If anybody c an persuade him she

’
.
,
”
can .
somebody started o n a ru n I walked down street a ways

So .
and stopped In about fi v e o r ten minutes here comes Boggs

.
n ,
n H
again but o t o his horse e was a reeling across the street
- .
towards me bareheaded with a friend o n both sides of him

, ,
a holt o f his arms and hurrying him along He was quiet and
- .
,
’
looked uneasy ; and he warn t hanging back any but w as ,
doing some o f the hurrying himself S omebody sings out : .
“
Boggs ! n
I looked ove r there to see w h o said it and it was that ,
C olonel S herburn He was standing perfectly still in th e

.
—
s treet an d had a pistol raised in his right hand not aiming
,
it but holding it out with the barrel tilted up towards the sky
,
.
Th e sam e second I see a young girl coming o n the run and ,
tw o men with her Boggs and the men turned round to see
.
w h o called him and when they see the pistol the men jumped
,
to o n e side and th e pistol barrel come down slow and steady

-
,
to a level — both barrels cocked Boggs throws up both o f his .
“ ”
hands and says 0 L ord don t shoot ! Bang ! goes the first
, ,
’
,
—
shot an d he staggers back clawing at the air bang ! goes ,
and everybody was excited E verybody that seen the shoot
.
ing was telling how it happened an d there was a big crowd

,
pac ked around e ach one of these fellows stretching their ,
necks an d listening O ne long lanky man with long hair and

.
, ,
a big white fur stovepipe hat on the back of his head and a ,
crooked handled cane marked o u t the places on the ground

-
,
where Boggs stood and where S herburn stood and the

people fol lowing him around from o n e place to t other and
watching everything he done and bobbing their heads to
,
show they understood and stooping a little and resting their

,
hands o n their thighs to watch him mark the places o n th e

ground wi th his cane ; and then he stood up straight and stiff
where S herburn had stood frowning and having his hat brim
,
-
“
down o ver his eyes and sung out Boggs ! and then fetch ed
, ,
his cane down slow to a level an d says B ang ! staggered

“
,
”
“ ”
backwards says Bang ! again and fell down flat on his
, ,
back The people that had seen the thing said he done it per
.
fec t ; said it was just exactly the way it all happened Then as .
much as a dozen people got out their bottles and treated him .
Well by and by somebody said S herburn ought to be

,
lynched In about a minute everybody was sayi ng it ; so away

.
'
they went mad and yelling and snatching down every

, ,
clo thesline they come to to do th e hanging with .

C HAPT ER XXII
WHY TH E L Y N C H I N G B E E F AILED
T HEY swarmed up towards S herburn s house ’

ing -
a whoo
p ,
and raging like Injuns and everything had to clear th e way

,
o r get run over and tromped to mush and it was awful to s e e,

.
Children was heeling it ahead o f the m o b screaming and try ,
i n g to get out o f the way ; and eve ry win dow along th e road
w as full o f wom en s heads an d there w as nigger boys in every

’
,
tree and bucks and wenches looking over every fence ; and as
,
soon as the m o b would get nearly to them they would break

and skaddle back o u t o f reach L ots o f the wome n and girls
.
was crying and taking o n scared most to death

,
.
They swarmed up in front of S h erburn s palings as thick ’
a s they could jam together and y o u couldn t hear yoursel f

’
,
think o r the noise It was a little twenty foot yard S om e

f .
- .
“ ”
s ung o u t Tear down the fence ! tear down the fence ! Then
there was a racket o f ripping and tearing and sm ashing and ,
down she goes and the front wall o f the crowd begins to roll
,
i n like a wave .
Just then S herburn steps o u t onto the roo f o f his little front
porch with a double barrel gun in his hand and takes h is
,
-
,
stand perfectly ca m and deliberate n o t saying a word Th e

,
’
,
.
racket stopped and the wave sucked back

,
.
—
S herb u rn never said a w ord j ust stood there looking ,
d own The stillness was awful creepy and uncomfortable

. .
S herburn run his e y e slow al ong the crowd ; and wh erever it

struck the people tried a little to outgaze him but they ,
’
couldn t ; they dropped their eyes and looked sneaky Then .
4 21
pretty so on S herburn sort o f laughed ; not the pleasant kind ,
but the kind that makes you feel like when you are eating
bread that s got s and in it ’
.
Then h e s ays slow and scornful :

‘
,
“
The idea o f y ou lynching anybody ! It s amusing Th e ’
.
1dea o f you thinking you had pluck enough to lynch a m an !
Because you re brave eno ugh to tar and feather poor friend ~
’
less cast out women that come along here did that make y ou
-
,
think you had grit enough to lay your hands o n a m an ? Why ,

a m an s s afe in the hands o f ten thousand o f your kind as
’
—
’
long as it s daytime and you re not behind him ’
.
“
D o I know you ? I know you clear through I was born and .
raised in the S outh and I ve lived in the N orth ; S o I ,

’
kn ow the average all around The average man s a coward In .

’
.
the N orth he lets anybody walk over him that wants to and ,
g oes home and prays for a humble spirit to bear it In the .
S outh o n e m an all by himself has stopped a stage full of men

, ,
in the daytime and robbed the lot Your newspapers call you
,
.
"
a brave people so much that you think you ar e braver than
—
any other people whereas you re just as brave and no ’
,
braver Why don t your juries hang murderers ? Because

.
’
they re afraid the man s friends will sh o o t th e m in th e back

’ ’
,
—
/
in the dark and it s just what they w o u ld do ’

.
“
So they always acquit ; and then a m an goes in the night ,
with a hundred masked cowards at his back and lynches the ,
rascal Your mistake is that you didn t bring a man with you ;
.
,
’
that s one mistak e and the other is that you didn t come in
’
,
’
the dark and fetch your masks You brought par t of a man .
—
Buck Harkness there and if you hadn t had him to start ’
,
you you d a taken it out in blowing

,
’ ’ ’
.
“ ’
You didn t w ant to come The average man don t lik e
’
.
trouble and danger Yo u don t like trouble and danger But .

’
.
—
if only h alf a man like Buck Harkness there shouts —
,
‘ —
Lynch him ! lynch him ! you re afraid to back dow n afraid ’ ’
4 24 THE A D VE N T U R E S oF H U C K L E B E RR Y F I N N
mi llions of dollars and just littered with diamonds It w as a
, .
p owerful fine sight ; I never s e e an ything s o lovely And then .
o e by one they got up and stood and went a weaving around

n -
,
th e ring so gentle a n d wavy and graceful the men looking ,
e ver so tall and airy and straight with their heads bobbing ,
an d skimming al ong away up there under the tent -roof and

, ,
e v ery lady s rose leafy dress flapping soft an d silky around

’
-
h e r hips and she looking like the most loveliest parasol

, .
And then faster and faster they went all o f them dancing , ,
fi rst o n e foot out in the air and then the other the horses ,
l eaning more and more and th e ringmaster going round and

,
“
r ound the center pole cracking his whip and shouting
,
Hi !
”
h i ! and th e clown cracking j okes behind him ; and by and by
a ll hands dropped the reins and every lady put her knuckles ,
o n her hips and every gentleman folded his arms and then ,
h ow the horses did lean over and hump t hemselves And s o .
o n e after the other they all skipped o ff int o the ring and ,
made the sweetest bow I ever see and the n scampered ou t , ,
and everybody clapped their hands and went j ust about wild .
Well all through the Cl l Cll S they done the most astonishing
,
‘
things ; and all the time that clown carried o n so it most

killed th e people The ringmaster couldn t ever say a word to
.
’
h im but he was back at him quick as a wink with th e funn i est

things a body e ver said ; and how he ever c o u l d think of so
’
m any o f them and so sudden and so pat was what I couldn t
, ,
n o way understand Why I couldn t a thought of th e m i n a

’ ’ ’
.
,
y ear And. by and by a drunken man tried t o get into the ring
—said he wanted to ride ; said he could ride as well as any
b ody that ever was They argued and tried to keep him o u t
.
,
b u t he wouldn t listen and the whole show come to a stand

’
,
still Then the people begun to hol ler at him an d make fun
.
o f him and that made him mad and he be g un to rip and

, ,
tear ; so that stirred up the people and a lot o f men begun ,
to pile down off o f the bench es and swarm toward the ring ,
W HY TH E LYN C HIN G BE E F AI L E D 4 25
”
saying Knock him down ! throw him ou t ! and on e or tw o
,
women begun to scream So then the ringmaster he mad e a

.
, ,
’
little speech and said he hoped there wouldn t be n o disturb
,
’
ance a n d if the man would promise he would n t make n o
,
mor e trouble he would let him ride if he thought he could stay

o n the horse So everybody laughed an d said all right and th e
.
,
man got o n The minute h e was o n the hors e begun to rip an d

.
,
.
tear and j ump and cavort around With tw o circus men hang ,
ing o n to his bridle trying to hold him and the drunken m an ,
hanging o n to his neck and h is heels flying in the air every

,
j ump and the whol e crowd o f peopl e standing up shoutin g

,
and laughing till tears rolled down And at last sure eno u gh .
, ,
all th e circus men could do the hors e brok e loose and away
, ,
he went like th e very nation round and round the ring with
, ,
that so t laying down o n him and hanging to his neck with ,
fi rst o n e leg hanging most to the ground on o n e side and ,

’ ’
then t other o n e o n t other side and the pe ople just crazy I t
, .
’
warn t funny to me though ; I w as all o f a tremble to see his
,
danger But pretty soon he struggled up astraddle and

.
grabbed the bridle a reeling this w ay and that ; and th e

-
,
next minute he sprung up and dropped the bridle and stood !

and the horse a going like a house afi re to o He just stood up
-
,
.
-
there a sailing around as easy and comfortable as if he warn t ’
,
—
ever drunk in his life and then he began to pull o f his
clothes and sling them He shed them so thick they kind o f
.
clogged up the air and altogether he shed seventeen suits

,
.
And then there he was slim and handsome and dressed th e

, , , ,
gaudiest and prettiest you ever saw and he lit into that hors e ,
—
with his whip and made him fairly hum an d final ly skipped
o f
,
f and made his bow and danced off to the dressing room -
,
and everybody just a howling with pleasure and astonish

-
ment .
Then the ringmaster he see h ow he had been fooled and ,
he w as the sickest ringmaster yo u ever see I reckon Why it ,

.
,
4 26 THE A D VE N TU R E S OF H U C K L E B E RR Y FIN N
was on e Of his o w n men ! He had g o t up that joke all ou t Of

his own head and never let on to nobody Well I felt Sheepish
,
.
,
e nough to be took i n so but I woul dn t a been i n that ring

’ ’ ’
,
master s place not for a thousand dollars I don t know;

’
,
.
’
there may be bullier circuses than what th at o n e was but I ,
never struck them yet Anyways it was plenty good enough

.
,
fo r m e ; and wherever I run across it it can hav e all o f m y ,
c ustom every time .
’
Well that night we had ou r Show ; but there warn t only
,
—
about twelve people there just enough to pay expenses .
And they laughed all the time and that made the duke mad ; ,
and everybody l e ft anyway before the Show was over but

, , ,
o n e b oy which was asleep S o the duke s aid these Arkansaw

.
lunkheads couldn t come up to S hakespear e ; what they

’
—
wanted was low c omedy and maybe something ruther wors e
than low comedy he reckoned He said he could size their
,
.
style S o next morning he got some big Sheets o f wrapping

.
paper and some black paint and draw e d Off some handbills
, ,
an d stuck them up all over the village The bills said : .
AT THE C OU R T HOU SE !
F OR3 N I G H TS ON L Y !
Th e Wo ld R en ow n ed Trag edian s
r -
D AVI D GA RR I C K TH E Y OU NGE R !
AN D
E D M U N D K E AN TH E E L D E R!
Of the L o n do n an d C o n tin e n tal
Theatres ,
n
I th e ir Th rillin g T rag e dy O f
TH E K ING S CAM E L E OPA R D ,
’
OR
THE R OY AL N ON E SU C H !
Adm issio n 5 0 c en ts .
Then at the bottom was the biggest line Of all which said
,
LAD I ES AND CHILD R EN NO T A DM ITT ED

’
There says he ,
if that line don t fetch them I don t ’
,
know Arkansaw !
'
4 28
T HE A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C KL E B E RR Y F I N N
then he makes them another bow and says if he has suc ,
c e e de d in pleasing them and i nstructing them he will be ,
deeply Ob le e g e d if they will mention it to their friends an d

get them to come and Se e it .
Twenty people sings out

“ ”
What is it over ? Is that all ?
,
The duke says yes Then there was a fine time E verybody
. .
“ ” -
Sings t S old and rose up mad and was a going for tha t
o u !, ,
stage and them tragedians But a big fin e -looking man jump s

.
,
up on a bench and Shouts :

“
Hold on ! Just a word gentleme n They stopped to lis
,
.
—
ten We are sold mighty badly sold But we don t want to
. .
’
be the laughing stock Of this whole town I reckon and never

-
, ,
hear the last of this thing as long as we live N o What w e . .
'
want is to go out Of here quiet and talk th is Show up and sel l , ,
the f hs t o f the town ! Then we ll all be in the same boat ’

.
” “ —
Ain t that sensible ? ( You bet it is ! the j e dg e is right !
’ ”
“ —
everybody Sings out ) All right then not a word about
.
,
any sell Go along home and advise everybody to come and

.
,
”
see the tragedy .
N ext day you couldn t hear nothing around that town but
’
how splendid that show was House was j ammed again that .
night and we sold this crowd the same way When me and
,
.
th e king and the duke got home to the raft we all had a
supper ; and by and by about midnight they made Jim:
, ,
and me back her out and float her down the middle of the
river and fetch her in and hide her about two mile below
,
town .
—
The third night the house was crammed again and they
warn t new comers this time but people that was at the Show
’
-
,
the other two nights I stood by the duke at the door and I
.
,
see that every man that went in had his pockets bulging or ,
something muffled up under his coat — and I see it warn t no ’

TH E O RN E R I N E S S OF KIN G S 4 29
p e rfumery neither not by a long Sight I smelt sickly eggs

, ,
.
by the barrel and rotten cabbages and such things ; and if I

, ,
k now the Signs of a dead cat being around and I bet I do , ,
t here w as sixty four of them went in I shoved in there fo r a

- .
m inute but it w as to o v arious fo r me ; I couldn t stand it

’
.
,
’
Well when the place couldn t hold n o more people th e duke
,
he g 1v e a fellow a quarter and told him to tend door fo r him

a m in u te and then h e s tarte d around fo r the stage door I
, ,
after him ; but the minute we turned the corner and was in
the dark he says
“
Walk fast n o w till yo u get away from the houses and ,
”
t hen Shin for the raft like the dickens was after yo u !
“
I done it and he done the same We struck th e raft at the
,
.
“
”
s ame time and in less than tw o seconds we w as g lidin g down
,
s tream all dark a ,

n d still and edging towards the middle Of
,
t h e river nobody saying a word I reckoned the poor king

,
.
w as in fo r a gaudy time Of it with the audience but nothing ,
O f the sort ; pretty soon he crawls o u t from under the wig
w am and says
,
“ ’
Well how d the Old thing pan o u t this time duke ? He
, ,
’
h adn t been u p town at all
- .
We never Showed a light till we was about ten mile below

t h e village Then we lit up and had a supper and the king
.
,
and the duke fairly laughed their bones loose over the way
’
t hey d served them people The duke says .
“
Greenhorns fl ath e ads ! I knew the first house would keep
,
mum and let the rest of the town get roped in ; and I knew
’
t hey d lay for us the third n ight and consider it was th eir ,
turn now Well it is their turn and I d give something to

.
, ,
’
know how much they d take for it I w ou ld just like to know

’
.
’
h ow they re putting in their opportunity They can turn i t .
—
into a picnic if th ey want to they bro u ght plenty prov i o
”
S l on s .
4 3 ° TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C KL E B E RR Y F I N N
Them rapscallions took in four hundred and Sixty-fiv e dol
lars in that three nights I never see money hauled in by the .
wagon load like that before

- .
By and by when they was asleep and snoring Jim says :

, ,
“ ’
D on t it S prise you de way dem kings carries o n Huck ?
’
,
” “ ”
NO I says it don t
, ,
’
.
” ’
Why don t it Huck ? ,
Well it don t because it s in the breed I reckon they re

,
’
,
’
.
’
”
all alike)
“
But Huck dese kings O ourn is r eglar rapscallions ; dat s
, ,
’ ’
”
j i s t what dey is ; dey s reglar ra p scallions ’
.
Well that s what I m a saying all kings is mostly rap

,
- ’ ’ °
scallion s as fur as I can make o u t

,
.
“ ”
IS dat so ?
—
Y o u read about them once you ll See L o ok at He n ry
’
. .
the E ight ; this n s a S unday school S uperintendent to

- ’ ’ ’
him And look at Charles S econd and L ouis F ourteen an d

.
, ,
Louis F ifteen and Jam es S econd and E dward S econd an d

, , ,
R ichard Third and forty more ; besides all t hem S axon hep -f
,
tarch ie s that used to rip around so in Old times and rais e

C ain M y you ought to seen Old Henry the E ight whe n h e
.
,
was in bloom He w as a blossom He used to marry a n e w

. .
wife every day and chop Off her head next morning An d,
.
he would do it just as indifferent as if he was ordering u p

eggs F etch up N ell Gwynn he says They fetch her u p
.
‘
,
’
. .
N ext morning Chop Off her head ! And they chop it Off
,
‘ ’
.
‘
F etch up Jane Shore he says ; and up she comes N ext ’
,
.
‘ —
morning Chop Off her head and they chop it Off Ring ’
.
‘
,
up F air R o s am u n Fair R o sam u n answers the bell N ext .

’
.
morning Chop Off her head And he made every one o f

,
‘
.
’
them tell him a tale every night ; and he kept that up till
he had hogged a thousan d and one tales that way and then ,
,
he put them all in a book and called it D omesday Book ,

!
—which was a good name and stated the case You don t .
’
ou r hands and we got to remember what they are and mak e
, ,
allowances S ometimes I wish we could hear o f a country

.
”
that s out Of kings
’
.
’
What was the use to tell Jim these warn t real kings
and dukes ? It wouldn t a done no good ; and besides it ’ ’ ’
, ,
was just as I said : yo u couldn t tell the m from the real ’
kind .
I went to sleep and Jim didn t call me when it was my

,
’
turn H e Often done that When I w aked up j ust at daybreak

. .
he was sitting there with his head down betwixt his k nees ,
moaning and mourning to himself I did n t take notice n o r .

’
let o n I knowed what it was about He was thinking about

. .
his wife and his children away up yonder and he was low , ,
’
and homesick ; because he hadn t ever been away from hom e
before in his life ; an d I do believe he cared just as much
’ ’
for his people as white folks does for their n It don t see m .
’
natural but I reckon it s so He was o ften moaning and
,
.
mourning that way nights when he judged I was asleep , ,

“
and saying P O little L izabeth ! po little Johnny ! it s
,
’ ’ ’ ’
’
mighty hard ; I spec I ain t ever gwyne to see y ou n o mo
’ ’
,
no m o ! He was a mighty good nigger Jim was

’
,
.
But this time I somehow got to talking to him about his

wife and young ones ; and by and by he says :
“
What makes me feel SO bad dis time u z b ek ase I hear ’
su m pn over yonder o n de bank like a whack er a slam , ,

’
while ago en it mine me er de time I treat my little L izabeth
,
SO ornery S he warn t o n y bout fo year Ole

. en Sh e tuck
’ ’ ’ ’
,
de Sk y arle t fever en had a po w fu l rough spell ; but Sh e got

’
,
’ ’
well en o n e day Sh e was a stannin aroun en I says to her I
,
-
, ,
says
S het de do
‘
.
She never done it ; 315 stood dah kiner sm ilin up at me ’

,
’
.
It make me mad ; en I says ag in mighty loud I says ’

, ,
D oan you hear me ? Shet de

‘ ’
TH E O RN E R I N E S S OF KIN G S 4 33
sm ilin
’
She j i s stood de same way kiner
’
up I was bilin ! ,
’
. a-
I says :
’
I lay I m ak e yo u mine !
‘
E n wid dat I fetch her a slap sid e de head dat sont h er

’
,
a I went into de yu th e r room en u z gone ,

’
’
bout ten minutes ; en when I come back dah was dat do ’
’
a stannin open yit en dat chile stannin mos right in it
’ ’
-
, ,
a lookin
- down and m ou rn in en de tears ru n n in down
’ ’
,
’
.
M y but I w u z mad ! I was a gwyne for de chile but jis

,
-
,
’
— ’ —
d e n it was a do dat open in n e rds jis den long come
’
,
’
d e wind en slam it to b ehin e de chile ker blam l

-
,
— e u my ,
l an de chile never move ! M y b re ff mos h Op outer me ;

’ ’ ’
,
e n I feel s o — SO — ’
I doan know h o w I feel I crope ou t all .
,
a tre m b lin en crope aroun en open de do easy en slow

’ ’ ’
-
, ,
e n poke my hea d in b eh in e de chile s o f en still en all u v

’
, ,
’
a sudden I says pow ! jis as loud as I could yell Sh e n e v er .
bu dg e O h Huck I bust ou t a c ryl n en grab her up in

’
! ,
-
,
m y arms en say O h de pO little thing ! D e L ord G o d

‘ ’
, , ,
A m igh ty fo g iv e po Ole Jim kaze he never gwyne to fo g iv e

’
,
hisself as long s he live ! O h she w as plumb de e f en dumb

’ ’
, ,
—
Huck plumb dee t en dumb e I d ben a tre at n her so !
,
n - ’ ’
CHAPT ER XXIV
TH E KIN G TURNS PARSON
NEX T day towards n igh t we laid up under a littl e willow

, ,
towhead o u t in the middle where there was a village on ,
each side o f the river and the duke and the king b egun to
,
lay o u t a plan for working them towns Jim he spoke to .
’
th e duke and said he hoped it wouldn t take but a few
,
hours because it got mighty heavy and tiresom e to h im

,
when he had to lay all day in the W igwam tied with th e

rope You see when we left him all alone w e had to tie
.
,
him because i f anybody happened o n to him all by him s el f

,
and not tied it wouldn t look much like he was a runaw ay

’
nigger you know SO the duke said it w as kind o f hard

,
.
to have to lay roped all day and he d cipher o u t some way ,

’
to get around it .
He was uncommon bright the duke was and he soon , ,
.
—
struck it He dressed Jim up in King L ear s o u tfi t it was ’
a long curtain c alico gown and a white horse hair w ig

- -
,
and whiskers ; and then he took his theater paint and painte d
Jim s face and hands and ea rs and neck all over a dead
’
,
dull solid blue like a m an that s been drownded nine days

,
’
.
Blamed if he warn t the h o rrible s t looking outrage I ever

- ’
see Then the duke took and wrote out a Sign on a shingle so :
.
Sic /
e Ar ab— bu t h arm le s s w h e n n o t ou t o f h is h e ad .
And he nailed that Shingle to a lath and stood the lath ,
up four o r five foot in front O f the W igwam Jim was satisfied . .
He said it was a Sight better than lying tied a couple o f

4 3 6 THE A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C K L E B E RR Y F I N N
d ownfrom S t L ouis or C incinnati or so me other big place
.
, .
GO for the steamboat Huckleberry ; we ll come down to

’
,
”
th e village on her .
’
I didn t have to be ordered twice to g o and take a steam
b oat ride I fetched the Shore a half a mile above the village
.
,
a n d then went Scooting along the bluff bank in the easy
w ater Pretty soon we come to a nice innocent looking young

.
-
country jake setting o n a log swabbing the sweat Off of his

face for it was powerful warm weather ; and he had a couple
,
O f big ca rpet bags by him

- .
“
R u n her nose inshore
”
says the king I done it W h e r ,
. .
”
y ou bound for young man ? ,
“
F or the steamboat ; going to O rleans .
” “
Git aboard says the king Hold on a minute my ,
.
,
s ervant ll he p you with them bags Jump o u t an d he p the

’ ’ ’
.
”—
g entleman Adolphus meaning
,
me I see , .
I done so and then we all three started o n again Th e

,
.
young chap was mighty thankful ; said it was tough work

toting his baggage such weather He as ked the king where .
he was going and the king told him he d come down the
,
’
river and landed at the other village this morning and now ,
'
he was going up a few mile to see an Old friend on a farm

up there The young fellow says :
.
When I first see you I says to myself It s M r Wilks ,

‘ ’
.
,
su re j an d he come mighty near getting here in time But

“
’
.
b
then I s ays again N O I reckon it ain t him o r else he ,

‘
,
’
,
” ’
wouldn t be paddling up the river You ain t him are you ?
’ ’
.
,
“ — —
N O my name s Blodgett E le x an de r Blodgett R e v er
,
’ '
’ ’
e n d E le x an de r Blodgett I s pos e I must say as I m o n e 0
’
, ,
the L ord s poor servants But still I m j is t as able to be

’
.
’
sorry for M r Wilks for not arriving in time all the same if
.
, ,
’ —
he s missed anything by it which I hOpe he hasn t ” ’
.
“ ’
Well he don t miss any property by it because he ll
,
’
,
get that all right ; but he s missed seeing his brother Peter ’
TH E KIN G TU RN S P AR S O N 437
—
die which he mayn t mind nobody can tell as to
’
,
—
that b u t
his brother would a give anything in this world to see him
’ ’
be fore he died ; never talked about nothing else all these

three weeks hadn t seen him Since they w as boys to gethe r
’
— and hadn t ever se en his brother William at all— that s ’
—
the dee t and dumb o n e William ain t mor e than thirty o r ’
thirty fiv e Peter an d George were the only ones that com e

- .
o u t here ; George was the married brother ; him and his

,
’
wife both died last year Harv ey and William s the only one s
.
’
that s left n o w ; and as I was saying they hav en t g o t her e
’
, ,
”
in time .
“ ”
D id anybody send em word ? ’
O h yes ; a month or tw o ago when Peter was first took ;

, ,
because Peter said then that he sorter felt like he warn t ’
going to get well this time Y ou see he w as pretty o ld an d .

, ,
George s g yirls was to o young to be much company fo r

’ ’
him except M ary Jane ,the red headed o n e ; and so he w as

,
-
kinder lonesome after Georg e and his wife died and didn t .
,
’
seem to care much to live He most despe r ately wanted to .
se e Harvey — —
and William too for that matter becaus e h e , ,
w as o n e O f them kind that can t bear to make a will He l e ft

’
.
a letter behind for Harvey and said he d told in it where ,

’
his money was hid and how he wanted the rest o f the prop
,
e rty divided up so Geor e s g yirls would be all right — f

’ ’
g or
George didn t leave nothing An d that letter was all they

’
.
coul d get him to put a pen to .
“
Wh y do you reckon Harvey don t come ? W h e r does h e ’ ’
”
live ?
“ — —
O h he lives in E ngland Sh effield preaches there
,
’
hasn t ever been in this country He has n t had any to o much .
’
—
time and besides he mightn t a got the letter at all yo u ’ ’ ’
,
”
know .
“
T OO bad too b ad he couldn t a lived to see his brothers
,
’ ’ ’
,
”
p o o r s o u
'
l You going to O rlean s yo u say ?

.
,
4 38 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF
’
H U C K L E B E RRY FIN N
’ ’
Yes but tha t ain t only a part Of it I m going in a Ship
,
.
,
next Wednesday for R yo J an e e ro where m y uncle lives

,
”
,
.
“ ’
It s a pretty long j ourney But it 11 be lovely ; I w ish t I .
’
—
O
w as a going Is M ary Jane the Oldest ? How Old is th e

.
”
others ?
“
M ary Jane s nineteen S usan s fifteen and Joanna s about
’
,
’
,
’
— ’
fourteen that s the o n e that gives herself to good works
”
and has a hare lip - .
P oo r things ! to be left alone in the cold world SO .
Well they could be w orse Off O ld Peter had friends and .

,
they ain t going to let them come to no harm There s Hob .

’
s o n th e B ab tis preacher ; and D eacon L ot Hovey an d B e n

’
, ,
R ucker and Abner S hackleford and L evi Bell the lawyer ;

, , ,
and D r R obinson and their wives and the widow Bartley

.
, , ,
an d — well ,there s a lot Of them ; but these are the ones that
’
Peter was thickest with and used to write about sometimes , ,
when he wrote home ; S O Harvey ll know where to look for ’
”
friends when he gets here .
Well the Old man went on asking questions till he just

,
fairly emptied that young fellow Blamed if he didn t inquire .

’
about everybody and everything in that blessed town and ,
—
all about th e W ilk se s ; and about Peter s business which ’
—
was a tanner ; and about George s which was a carpenter ; ’
—
and about Harvey s which was a dissen te rin g minister ; and
’
so o n and SO On Then he says

,
.
“
What did you want to walk all the way up to the steam
”
boat for ?
“
Because she s a big O rleans boat and I was afeard she
’
,
mightn t stop ther e When they re deep they won t stop for
’
.
’ ’
a hail A Cincinnati boat will but this is a S t L ouis on e

.
,
. .
“ ”
Was Peter Wilks well Off?
’
Oh yes pretty well Off He h ad houses and land and it s
, ,
.
,
reckoned he left three or four thousand in cash hid up

s om ers
’
.
was from C incinnati ; and when they found we only wanted
to go four or five mile they was booming mad and gave us ,
a c ussing and said they wouldn t land us But the king was
,
’
.
’
ca m He says :
.
“
If gentlemen kin afford to pay a dollar a mil e apiece to
he took o n and put Off in a yawl a steamboat kin afford to ,
”
carry em can t it ?
’
,
’
SO they softened down and said it was all right ; and when
we got to the v ill ag e fth e y yawled us ashore About two .
dozen m e n flocked down when they see the yawl a coming

-
,
and when the king says :

Kin any Of you gentlemen tell me w h e r M r Peter Wilks ’
.
”
live s ? they give a glance at o n e another and n odded their ,
“ ”
heads as much as to say What d I tell you ? Then one
, ,
’
of them says kind Of soft and gentle :

,
“’
I m sorry sir but the best we c ando is to tell you where
, ,
”
he did live yesterday evening .
S udden as winking the ornery Old c re tu r went all to

smash and fell up against the man and put his chin on
, ,
his shoulder and cried down his back and says :

, ,
“ —
Alas alas ou r poor brother gone and we never got to
, , ,
”
s e e him ; Oh it s too t oo hard !
’
, ,
The n he turns around blubbering and makes a lot Of , ,
idiotic Signs to the duke on his hands and blamed if h e ,
didn t drop a carpet bag and bust ou t a cry i ng If they

’
- - .
w arn t the b e ate n e s t lot them two frauds that ever I struck
’
, ,
.
Well the men gathered around and sympathized with

,
them and said all sorts o f kind things to them and carried
, ,
their carpet -bags u p the hill for them and let them lean on ,
’
them and cry and told the king all about his brother s
,
last moments and the king he told it all over again on his
,
hands to the duke and both Of them took o n about that

,
dead tanner like they d lost the twelve disciples Well if

’
.
,
ever I struck anything like it I m a nigger It was enough ,

’
.
to m ak e a body ashamed Of th e human race .

CHAPT ER XXV
ALL FULL OF TE ARS AN D FLAP DOODLE
TH E news was all over town in tw o minutes and you co u ld ,
se e the peopl e tearing down o n th e run from every wh ich
way some o f them putting o n their coats as they come Pr e tty

,
.
soon we was in the middle Of a crowd and the noise Of th e ,
tramping was like a soldier march The windows and doo r

.
y ards w as full ; and every minute somebody would s ay o v e r ,
a fence :
“ ”
IS it th e m ?
And somebody trotting along wi th the gang would an swer
b ac k and say :
“
Y o u bet it is .
When we got to the house the street in front o f it w as

packed and the three girls was standing in the door M ary
,
.
Jane w as red headed but that don t make no di fference

-
,
’
,
s h e was most awful beautiful and her face and her eyes
,
w as all lit up like glory Sh e was so gla d her uncles w as

,
come The king he spread his arms and M ary Jane she
.
,
jumped fo r th em and the hare lip jumped for the duke

,
-
,
an d there they h ad it ! E verybody most leastways women , ,
cried for j oy to see them meet again at last and have such
good times .
—
Then the king he hunched the duke private I see him do
—
i t and then he looked around and see the coffin over in ,
the corner o n two chairs ; so then him and the duke with ,
’ ’
a hand across each other s Shoulder and t other hand to ,
their eyes walked slow and solemn over there everybody

, ,
44 1
44 2
dropping back to give them room and all the talk and noise ,
”
Sh !
’
stopping people saying
,
and all the men taking
their hats o ff and drooping their heads SO you could a ,
’ ’
he ard a pin fall And when they got there they bent over
.
an d look ed in the coffin and took o n e sight and then they

, ,
’
bust ou t a crying SO yo u could a heard them to O rleans
- ’
,
most ; and then they put their arms around each other s ’
necks and hung their chins over each other s shoulders ;

,
’
and the n for three minutes o r maybe four I never see two
, ,
men leak th e way they done And mind you eve rybody .
, ,
was doing the same ; and the place was that damp I never
s e e an ything like it Then one Of them got on o n e Side o f
.
th e co ffin and t other o n t other Side and they kneeled

’ ’
, , ,
down and rested their foreheads on the coffin and let o n ,
to pray all to themselves Well when it come to that it

.
,
worked the crowd like y ou never see anything like it and ,
everybody broke down and went to sobbing right out loud

— the poor girls too ; and every woman nearly went up to
, , ,
the girls without saying a word and kissed them solem n

, , , ,
on the forehead and then put thei r hand o n their head

, ,
an d looked up towards the sky with the tears running down , ,
and then busted o u t and went off sobbing and swabbing ,
and give the next woman a Show I never see anything so .
disgusting .
Well by and by the king he gets up and comes forward

,
a little and works himself up and slobbers o u t a Speech all

, ,
full of tears and fl apdo o dle about its being a sore trial for
,
him and his poor brother to lose the diseased and to miss ,
seeing diseased al i ve after the long journey Of four thou

sand mile but it s a trial that s sweetened and sanctified to
,
’ ’
us by this dear sympathy and these holy tears an d SO he ,

’
thanks them ou t Of his heart and o u t Of his brother s heart ,
because out o f their mouths they can t words bei ng too ’

,
weak and cold and all that kind of rot and Slush till it
, ,
an d mentioned all sorts Of little things that happened on e
time o r another in th e town or to George s f amily o r to ,
’
,
Peter And he always let o n that Peter wrote him the

.
things ; but that was a lie : he g o t every blessed one Of

them o u t Of that young fl ath e ad that we canoed up to th e
steamboat .
Then M ary Jane she fetched the letter her father left
behind an d the king he read it out loud and cried over it
,
.
I t give the dwelling house and three thousand dollars gold

-
, ,
to the girls ; and it give the tanyard ( which was doing a

good business ) al ong with some other houses and land
,
( worth about seven thousand ) and three thousand dollars ,
in gold to Harvey and William and told where the Six thou ,
sand cas h was hid down cellar SO these two frauds said .
they d go and f etch it up and have everything square and

’
,
above board ; and told me to come with a candle We shut

- .
the cellar door behind us and when they found the bag they ,
spilt it o u t o n the floor and it was a lovely Sight all them , ,
y all e r-boys M y the way th e.king s eyes,

did shine ! He slaps ’
the duke on the shoulder and says

“
Oh this ain t bully nor n o th n ! O h no I reckon not !
,
’ ’
, ,
”
Why B ilj y it beats the N onesuch d on t it ?
, , ,
’
The duke allowed it did They pawed the y alle r boys and
- .
,
Sifted them through their fingers and let them jingle down
o n the floor ; and the king says :

“
It ain t no use talkin ; bein brothers to a rich dead
’ ’ ’
’
man and representatives Of turrin heirs that s got left is
’
the line fo r you and me Bilge Thish yer comes Of tru st n ,
.
’
to Providence It s the best way in the long run I ve tried
.
’
,
.
”
’
em all and ther ain t no better way
,
’ ’
.
M ost everybody would a been satisfied with the pile ’ ’

,
and took it on trust ; but no they must count it SO they ,

.
counts it and it comes out four hundred and fifteen dollars

,
Short S ays the king :

.
'
ALL FULL OF TEARS AND F L AP D O O D L E
D e rn him I wonder what he done with tha t four hun
,
”
dred and fi fteen dollars ?
They worried over that awhile and ransacked all around ,
fo r it Then the d uke says

. .
“
Well he w as a pr etty sick man and likely he made a
, ,
—
mistake I reckon that s the way Of it The best way s to ’
.
’
”
let it g o and keep still about it We can spare it
,
,
. .
“
O h Shucks yes we can spare it I don t k yer n o th n
, , ,
.
’ ’ ’
’ —
bout that it s the c ou n t I m thin k in about We want to b e
’ ’ ’
.
'
awful square and open and above board here yo u know W e

-
,
.
want to lug this h yer money u p stairs and count it be for e

- ’
—
everybody then ther ain t n o th n suspicious But when th e ’ ’ ’
.
’
dead man says th e r s six th ou s n dollars y o u know we don t
’ ’
, ,
want to
“ ”
Hold o n says the duke L e s make up the deffisit
,
.
’
,
and he begun to haul ou t y aller boys ou t o f his pocket

- .
’
I t s a most amaz u good idea du k c y o u h av e g o t a
’ ’ g
,
’ “
rattlin clever head o n you says the king Bles t if th e
’
”
Old N onesuch ain t a h eppin us o u t ag in and h e begun to
’ ’
,
ll
haul out y a e j ackets and stack them up
r- .
It most busted them but they made up the Si x thousand ,
clean and clear .
“ ” “
S ay says the duke I g o t another idea L e s g o u p
, ,
.
’
stairs and count this money an d then tak e and g iv e it to the ,

”
g irls .
“
Good land duke lemm e hug you ! It s the most dazzling
, ,
’
’
idea at ever a man struck Y ou have c e rt n ly got the most .
’
as to n ishin head I ever see O h this is the boss dodge ther

’ ’
.
, ,
ain t no mistake bout it L et em fetch along their su spi

’ ’
.
’
—
cions now if they want to this ll lay em o u t ’ ’
.
Whe n we g o t u p stairs everybody g e th e re d around the

-
tabl e and the king he counted it and stacked it up three

, ,
—
hundred dollars in a pile twenty elegant little piles E ve ry .
body looked hungry at it and licked their chops Then they ,

.
4 4 6 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF H UC KL E B E RR Y F I N N
raked it into the bag again an d I see the king begin to swell ,
himself up for another speech He says : .
“
F riends all my poor brother that lays yonder has done
,
’
generous by them that s left behind in the vale of so rre rs .
He h as don e generous by these yer p o or littl e lambs that

’
he loved and sheltered and that s left fatherless and mother
,
less Yes and we that knowed him knows that he would

.
,
’ ’
a done m or e generous by em if he hadn t ben afeard O
’ ’ ’
w o u n d in his dear William and me N ow w ou ldn t he ? Th e r

’ ’ ’
.
,
ain t n o question b out it in m y mind Well then what kind

’ ’
.
, ,
’ ’
0 brothers would it be that d stand in his way at S ech a
time ? And what kind 0 uncles would it be that d rob ’ ’
—
yes ro b sech poor sweet lambs as these at he loved S O at
,
’
—
sech a time ? If I know William and I thin k I do h e —
”
well I ll j est ask him He turns around and begins to mak e
,
’
.
a lot Of signs to the duke with his hands and the duk e he ,
looks at him stup id an d leather headed awhile ; then all of

-
a sudden he seems to catch his meaning and jumps fo r ,
the king goo g OOin g with all his might for j oy and hugs
-
, ,
him about fi fteen times before he lets up Then the king .
“
says I knowed it ; I reckon th at 11 convince anybody the
,
’
way h e feels about it Here M ary Jane S usan J o an n e r

.
, , , ,
take the money — take it all It s the gift Of him that lays .
’
yond er cold but j oyful ,

.
M ary Jane Sh e went for him S usan and the hare lip went
-
,
fo r the duke and then such another hugging and kissing I

,
never see yet And everybody crowded up with the tears in

.
their eyes and most shook the hands Off of them frauds
, ,
saying all the tim e:

“ — —
You dear good Souls ! how l o v ely l how c ou ld you ! ”
Well then pretty soon all hands got to tal king about the
, ,
diseased again and how good he was and what a lo ss he

, ,
,
was and all that ; and before long a big iron jawed man
,
-
-
worked himself in there from outside and stood a listening ,
44 8 T H E A DVE N T URE S OF H U C K L E B E RR Y F I N N
he laughed right in h is face E verybody was Shocked E very . .
“ ”
body says Why doc tor ! and Abner S h ackleford says :
, ,
“
Why R obinson hain t you heard the news ? This is
, ,
’
”
Harv ey Wilks .
The king he smiled eager and shoved out his flapper , ,
an d says
“
I s it my po or brother s dear good frien d and physician ? ’ ’
7)
I
”
K eep your hands O ff me ! says the doctor You talk like .
an E nglishman d o n t y o u ? It s the worst imitation I ever

’ ’
,
heard You Peter Wilks s brother ! You re a fraud that s

.
’ ’
,
’
”
what you are !
Well h o w they all took o n ! They crowded around the
,
doctor and tried to quiet him down and tried to explain to ,
him and tell him how Harvey s showed in forty ways that ’
h e w as Harvey and kn owed everybody by name and the

, ,
names of the very dogs and begged and b egg e d him not to ,
hurt Harvey s feelings and the poor girls feelings and all
’ ’
,
that But it warn t no use ; he stormed right along and said

.
’
,
’
an y m an that pretended to b e an E nglishman and couldn t
imitate the lingo no better than what he did was a fraud

and a liar The poor girls was hanging to the king and
.
crying ; and all Of a sudden the doctor ups and turns on

th e m He says :
.
“
I was your father s friend and I m your friend ; an d I ’
,
’
warn you as a friend and an honest one that wants to ,
protect you and keep you o u t of harm and trouble to ,
turn your backs o n that scoundrel and have nothing to

,
d o with him the ignorant tramp with his idiotic Greek

, ,
and Hebrew as he calls it He is the thinnest kind o f an

,
.
—
impostor has come here with a lot Of empty names and
facts which he picked up somewheres ; and you take them ,
for pro ofs and are helped to fool yourselves by these foolish
,
friends here who ought to know better M ary Jane Wilks

,
.
,
ALL FULL OF TEAR S AN D F L AP D O O D L E 44 9
y o u know me for your friend and for your unselfish friend

, ,
too N ow listen to me turn this pitiful rascal o u t

.
— I be g
y o u t o do it Will
.
y o u ?
M ary Jane straightened hersel f up and my but She w as , ,
h andsome ! S he says
“
I! ere is my answer S he hove up the bag O f money and
.
put it in the king s hands and says Take this SIX thou
’
, ,
sand dollars and invest fo r me and my Sisters any way

,
”
l p t fo r it
’
y ou want t o and
,
don t give us n o r ec e .
Then Sh e put her arm around the king o n o n e Sl de and ,
-
S usan and the hare lip done th e same o n the other Ev ery .
body clapped their hands and stomped on the floor lik e

a perfect storm whilst the king held up his head and smile d
,
proud The doctor says

.
“
All right ; I wash m y hands Of the matter But I warn .
’ ’
y ou all that a time s coming when you re going to f e el sick
”
whenever yo u think Of this day And away h e went . .
“ ”
All right doctor says the king kinder mocking him ;
, , , 1
”
we ll try an d get em to send for y o u ; which mad e th em
’ ’
,
all laugh and they said it was a prime good hit

,
.
CHAPT ER XXV I
I S TEAL TH E KIN G S P LUNDER
' ’
WELL , when they was all gone the king he asks M ary Jane
h o w they was Off fo r spare rooms and she said Sh e had o n e ,
spare room which would do for Uncle William and she d

,
-
,
’
giv e her o w n room to Uncle Harvey which was a little big ,
ger and she would turn into the room with her sisters and
,
sleep o n a cot ; and up garret was a little cubby with a ,
pallet in it The k ing said the cubby would do for his val ley
.
— meaning me .
SO M ary Jane took us up and she showed them their ,

’
rooms which was plain but nice S he said she d have her
,
.
frocks and a lot Of other traps took out Of her room if

they was in U ncle Harvey s way but he said they warn t
’
,
’
.
The frocks was hung along the wall and before them was ,
a curtain made out Of calico that hung down to the floor .
There was an Old hair trunk in o n e corner and a guitar box

-
,
in another and all sorts Of little knickknacks and jimcracks

,
around like girl s brisken up a room wi th The king said

,
.
it was all the more homely and more pleasanter for these
’
fixings and so don t disturb them The duke s room was
,
’
.
p retty small but plenty good enough and so was my cubby

, ,
.
That night th e y h ad a big supper and all them men and

.
,
women was ther e and I stood behind the king an d the

,
duke s chairs and waited on them and the niggers waited

’
,
on the rest M ary Jane she set at the head Of the table with
.
,
S usan alongside Of her and said how bad the biscuits was
, ,
and h o w mean the preserves w as and h ow ornery and tough ,
4 50
45 2
You did .
I neve r said nothing Of the kind .
”
Well what did you say then ?
, ,
—
H
S aid he com e to take the sea baths that s what I said ’

.
’
Well then how s he going to take the sea baths if it
, ,
’ ”
ain t o n the se a ?
“ ”
L ooky her e I says ; did you ever see any C ongress
,
”
water ?
“
Y es :
”
Well did you have to go to C ongress to get it ?
,
”
Why no ,
.
Well neither does William F ourth have to go to the

,
se a to get a sea bath .
“ ”
How does he get it then ? ,
Gets it the way people down here gets Congress water

-
— in barrels Ther e in the palace at S heffield they ve g o t

.
’
furnaces and he wan ts his water hot They can t bile that
,
.
’
amount Of water away Off there at the sea They haven t .

’
g o t no conveniences for it .
O h I see now Y o u might a said t hat in the first place

, ,
.
”
and saved time .
When she said that I see I w as out Of the woods again ,
and SO I was comfortable and glad N ext she says : .

,
”
D O you go to church too ? ,
—
Yes regular .
”
Where do you set ?
”
Why in o u r p e w ?
,
Wh o s e pew ? ”
—
Why o u rn your Uncle Harvey s
,
” ’
.
”
His n ? What does h e want with a pew ?
’
Wants it to set in What did you re c /

eo n he wanted with
.
Why I thought he d be in the pulpit

,
’
.
Rot him I forgot he w as a preacher I see I was up a

,
.
I S T E A L TH E K I N G S P L U N DE R ’
4 53
stump ag ain SO I played another chicken bon e and g o t

,
-
another think Then I says : .
“
Blame it do yo u suppose there ain t but o n e preach e r
,
’
”
to a church ?
“ ”
Why what do they want with more ?
,
What ! to preach before a king ? I never did se e such

-
” ’
a girl as you They don t have n o less than seventeen
. .
“ ’
S eventeen ! M y lan d ! Why I wouldn t set o u t such a ,
-
’
s tring as that n o t if I n e v er got to glory It must take em
,
.
”
a week .
“
S hucks they don t all Of em preach the same day
,
’ ’
”’
only on e Of em .
“ ”
Well then what does the rest Of em do ?
, ,
’
O h nothing much L oll around pass the plate and

,
— .
,
” ’
o n e thing o r ano ther But mainly they don t do nothing
. .
“ ”
Well then what are they for ?
, ,
Wh y they re fo r s tyle D on t yo u know nothing ?

,
’ ”
.
’
’
Well I don t w an t to know no such foolishness as that
,
.
How is servants treated in E ngland ? D O they treat em ’
”
better n we treat o u r niggers ?
’
“
N o ! A servan t ain t nobody there They treat the m ’
.
”
worse than dogs .
“
D on t they give em holidays th e way we do Christ
’ ’
, ,
~
”
mas and N ew Year s week and F our th of July ? ’
,
“
O h just listen ! A body could tell y ou hain t ev er been
,
’
to E ngland by that Why Hare l - — why Joanna they never

.
, , ,
see a holiday from year s end to year s end ; never go to ’ ’
”
the circus nor theater nor nigger Shows nor nowheres
, , ,
.
“ ”
N o r church ?
”
N or church .
But y ou always went to church .
Well I was gone up again I forgot I was the Old man s

, .
’
s ervant But next minute I whirled in on a kind o f an ex

.
planation how a valley was di fferent from a common

4 54 TH E AD VE N T U RE S OF H U C KL E B E RR Y F I N N
serv ant and h ad to g o to church whether he wanted to
,
or n o t and s e t with the family

,
o n account Of its being ,
’
the law But I didn t do it pretty good and when I got
.
,
done I see she warn t satisfied S he says : ’

.
“
Honest inj un n o w hain t you b e en telling me a lo t Of, ,
’
”
li e s ?
“
Honest Inj un says I ,
.
”
N one o f it at all ?
N one Of it at all N o t a lie in it says I .
,
.
L ay your hand on this book an d say it .
I se e it warn t nothing but a dictionary so I l ai d my hand

’
,
o n it and said it SO then she looked a little better satisfied

.
.
and says :
“
Well then I ll believe some o f it ; but I hope to gracious
, ,
’
”
if I ll b e h ev e the rest
’
.
”
What is it you won t believe J O ? says M ary Jane ’
, ,
stepping in with S usan behind her It ain t right nor kind .

’
for yo u to talk SO to him and him a stranger and S O far ,

”
from his people How would you like to be treated S O ? .
“ —
That s always your way M aim always sailing in to
’
,
'
help somebody before they re hurt I hain t do n e n o thin g ’

.
’
to him He s told some stretchers I reckon and I said I

’
.
,
wo uldn t swallow it all ; and that 5 every bit and grain I

’
did say I reckon he can stand a little thing like that can t
’
.
,
”
he ?
“
I don t care whethe r twas little or whether twas big ;
’ ’ ’
’
he s here in ou r house and a stranger and it wasn t good Of
’
,
y o u to say it If you was in his place. it w ould make you feel

’
ashamed ; an d so you oughtn t to say a thing to another
person that will m ak e th em feel asham e d .
“
Wh y M aim he said ,
‘
It don t make no difference what he said that ain t

’ — ’
the thing The thing is for you to treat him k in d and not be
.
,
45 6 T H E A D VE N T U R E S OF H U C K L E B E RR Y F I N N
good way but o n e I got to steal that money somehow ; and
.
,
I g o t to steal it some way that they won t suspicion that I ’
’
done it They ve got a good thing here and they ain t a
.
,
’
going to leave till they ve played this family and this to w n ’
’
for all they re worth SO I ll find a chance time enough
’
,
.
’
I ll ste al it and hide it ; and by and by when I m away down ,
’
the river I ll write a letter and tell M ary J ane where it s

,
’ ’
hid But I better hive it to night if I can because the

.
-
,
’
doctor m aybe hasn t let up as much as h e lets on he has ;
he might scare them out of here yet .
SO thinks I I ll go and search them rooms U p stairs

’
- .
, ,
the hall was dark but I found the duke s room and started
,
’
,
to paw around it with my hands ; but I recollected it

wouldn t be much like the king to let anybody else take
’
care o f that money but his own self ; SO then I went to his
room and begun to paw around there But I see I couldn t .
’
do nothing without a candle and I dasn t light o n e Of ,

’
,
—
course SO I judged I d got to do the other thing lay for
.
’
them and eavesdrop About that time I hears their foot .
steps coming and was going to skip under the bed ; I reached
,
fo r it but it wasn t where I thought it would be ; but I

’
,
touched the curtain that hid M ary Jane s frocks so I ’

,
jumped in behind that and snuggled in amongst the gowns ,
and stood there perfectly still .
They come in and Shut the door ; and the first thing the
duke done was to get down and look under the bed Then .
I was glad I hadn t found the bed when I wanted it And

’
.
yet you kn ow it s kind Of natural to hide under the bed

, ,
’
when you are up to anything private They sets down then .

,
and the king says

’
Well what is it ? And cut it m iddlin Short because it s
,
’
,
—
better for us to be down there a w h o o pin up the m o u rn in ’ ’
”
than up here givin em a chance to talk us over ’ ’
.
“ ’
Well this is it C apet I ain t easy ; I ain t comfortable
, ,
.
’
.
’
I S T E A L T H E K I N G S P L U N DE R ‘
4 57
That doctor lays o n my mind I wanted to know your plans . .
”
I ve g o t a notion and I think it s a sound one
’
,
’
.
“ ”
What is it ; duke ?
That we better glide o u t o f this b e for e thre e in the
’
morning and clip it down the river with what we ve g o t
,
.
,
—
S pecially seeing w e g o t it so easy g iv en back to u s flun g ,
at o u r heads as you may say when Of cours e we allowe d

, ,
to hav e to steal it ba ck I m fo r knocking Off and lighting

’
.
”
ou t .
That mad e m e fe e l pr e tty bad About an hour o r tw o ag o .
’ ’
it wo u ld a been a littl e diffe rent but n ow it mad e m e fee l ,
bad and disappointed The king rips o u t and says : .
“ ’
What ! And n o t sell o u t the rest 0 th e property ? M arch
Off lik e a passel Of fools and leave eight o r nin e th ou s n
’ ’
dollars wor th 0 prop e rty layin around jest su ffe rin to

’ ’ ’ ’
“
—
be scoope d in ? and all good salable stuff to o ”
, ,
.
Th e d u k e h e grumbled ; said the bag Of gold w as e nough ,
an d h e didn t want to g o n o deeper —’

didn t want to rob a ’
lo t Of orphans o f e v ery thing they had .
Why h ow yo u talk ! says the k ing W e sha n t rob

,
” ‘
.
’ ’
’
em Of nothing at al l but j est this money The people that .
bu ys the property is the su ff re rs ; because as soon S it s

’ ’ ’
— ’
found o u t at we didn t o w n it which w on t be long after ’ ’
’ —
we ve slid the sal e won t be v alid and it 11 all go back to ’
,
’
’
the estat e Th e se ye r orphans ll git their house back ag in
.
’
,
’
and that s enough fo r th em ; they re young and spry and k n
’ ’
,
e asy earn a livi n Th ey ain t a goin to suffer Why j es t

’ ’ ’
- . .
,
—
think there s th o u s n s and th o u s n s that ain t nigh SO
’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
well Off Bless y o u th ey ain t got n o th n to complain O f

.
,
’ ’ ’
.
Well the king he talked him blind ; SO at last he give in

, ,
and said all right but said he believed it was blamed fool ,
ish n ess to stay an d that doctor hanging over them B u t

,
.
the king says :

“
C uss the doctor ! What do we k yer fo r him ? Hain t w e ’ ’
4 5 8 T H E A DV E N T U RE S OF H U C K L E B E RR Y F I N N
g o all the fools in town on ou r Side ? And ain t that a big

t
’
”
enough majority in any town ?
SO they got ready to g o down stairs again The duke
- .
’
I don t think we put that money in a good pl ace .
That cheered me up I d begun to think I warn t going

.
’ ’
to get a hint Of no kind to help me The king says : .
“
W hY? ”
Because M ary Jane 11 be in mourning from this o u t ;

’
and first you know the nigger that does up the rooms will
get an order to box these duds up and put em away ; and ’
d o you reckon a nigger can run across money and not bor
”
ro w some o f it ?
“
Your head s level ag in duke says the king ; and h e
’ ’
, ,
comes a fumbling under the curtai n two or three foot from

-
where I w as I stuck tight to the wall and kept mighty still

.
,
though quivery ; and I wondered what them fellows would

say to me i f they catched me ; and I tried to think what
I d better do if they did c atch me But th e k in g he got the

’
.
'
bag be fore I could think more than about a half a thought ,
and he never suspicioned I was around They took and .
shov e d the bag through a rip in the straw tick that w as

under the feather-bed and crammed it in a foot o r two
,
amongst the straw and said it was all right now because ,
’
a nigger only makes up th e feather bed and don t turn over
-
,
’
the straw tick only about twice a year and SO it warn t in ,
no danger Of getting stole now .
But I knowed better I had it out Of there before they

.
was hal f way down stairs I groped along up to my cubby

- - .
,
and hid it there till I could get a chance to do better I .
judged I better hide it outside Of the house somewheres ,
because if they missed it they would give the house a good

ransacking : I knowed that very well Then I turned in .
,
’ ’ ’ ’
with my clothes all o n ; but I couldn t a gone to Sleep if I d
CHAPT ER XXV II
DEAD P E TER H AS H IS G OLD
I CRE PT to their doo rs and listened ; they was snor i ng SO I .
tiptoed along and got down stairs all right There warn t
,
- .
’
a sound anywhe res I peeped through a crack Of the dining

.
room door and see the men that was watching the corpse
,
all sound asleep o n their chairs The door w as open into .
the parlor , where the corpse was laying and there was a ,
candle in both r o oms I passed along and the parlor door

.
,
was open ; but I see there warn t nobody in ther e but th e ’
remainders of Peter ; so I shoved on by ; but th e front door

was locked and th e key wasn t there Just then I heard
,
’
.
so mebody coming down the stairs back behind me I run ,

.
in the parlor and took a swi ft look around and the only
.
place I see to hide the bag w as in the coffin The lid w as .
shoved along about a foot showing the dead man s face ,

’
down in there with a wet cloth over it and his shroud o n

—
.
, ,
I tucked the money bag in under the lid j ust down beyond ,
where his hands was crossed which made me creep they , ,
was SO cold and then I run back across the room and in
,
behind the door .
The person coming was M ary Jane S he went to the .
co ffin very soft and k neeled down and looked in ; then Sh e

, ,
put up her handkerchie f and I see she begun to cry though

, ,
I couldn t hear her and her back was to me I slid out

’
,
.
,
and as I passed th e dining room I thought I d make sure

- ’
them watchers had n t seen me ; so I looked through the

’
crack and everything was all right They hadn t stirred

,
.
’
.
4 60
DE A D P E T E R HAS HIS GOLD 4 6 1
I Slipped up to bed feeling ruther blue ,

accounts Of ,
on
th e thing playing ou t that way after I had took SO much

trouble and run so much resk about it S ays I if it could .
,
stay where it is all right ; because when we get down the

,
river a hundred mi le o r two I could write back to M ary

’
Jane an d sh e could dig h 1m up again and get it ; but th at

,
’
ain t the thing that s going to happen ; the thing that s
’ ’
going to happen is the m o n ey ll be found when they com e

,
’
’
to screw On the lid Then the king 11 get it again and it 11
.
,
’
be a long day before he gives anybody another chance to

smouch it from him O f course I w an ted to slide d ow n an d
.
f
’
get it o u t Of there but I das n t try it E very minute it w as
,
.
getting earlier n o w and pretty soon some Of them wa tchers

,
—
would begin to stir and I might get catched catched with
,
six thousand dol lars in my hands tha t nobody hadn t hired ’
’
me to take care Of I don t wish to b e mixed up in n o such
.
business as that I says to myself

,
.
When I g o t down stairs in th e morning th e parlor w as

-
shut up and the watchers was gone There warn t nobody

,
.
’
around but the family and the widow B artley and ou r tribe .
I watch e d their faces to see if anything had been happ e n

ing but I couldn t tell
,
’
.
Towards the middle o f th e day the undertaker come

wi th his man and they se t the coffin in the middle Of the
,
room o n a couple Of chairs and then set all our chairs in

,
rows and borrowed more from the neighbors till the hall
,
and the parlor and the dining room was full I see the coffin
- .
lid was the way it w as before but I dasn t go to look in ,

’
under it with folks around

,
.
Then the peopl e begun to flock in and the beats and the ,
girls took seats in the front row at the head Of the coffin ,
and for a half an hour the people filed around slow in single ,
rank and looked down at the dead man s face a minute

,
’
,
an d some dropped in a tear and it was all v ery still and ,

4 62 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C K LE B E R R Y F I N N
s olemn only th e girls an d the beats holding handkerchiefs
,
to their eyes and keeping their heads bent and sobbing a ,

’
little There warn t no other sound but the scraping Of the
.
—
feet on the flo or and blowing noses because people al
ways blows them more at a funeral than they do at other
places except church .
When the place was packed full the undertaker he slid

around in his black gloves with his softy soothering ways ,
putting o n the last touches and getting people and things ,
all Ship shape and comfortable and making no more sound

-
,
than a cat He never spoke ; he moved people around he

.
,
squeezed in late ones he opened up passagew ays and done

, ,
it with nods and signs with his hands Then he took his
,
.
place over against th e wall He was the softest gliding .

,
est stealthiest man I ever see ; and there warn t no more

,
’
smile to him than there is to a ham .
—
They had borrowed a m e lo deu m a sick o n e ; and when
everything w as ready a young woman set down and worked
it and it w as pretty sk re ek y and colicky and everybody
, ,
j oined in and sung and Peter was the only o n e that had a
,
goo d thing according to my notion Then the R everend

,
.
Hobso n opened up slow and solemn and begun to talk ;

, ,
and straight Off the most outrageous row busted out in th e

cellar a body ever heard ; it was only one dog but he made ,
a most powerful racket and he kept it up right along ; the

,
parson he had to stand there over the co ffin and wait , ,
you Couldn t hear yourself think It was right down awk

’
.
ward and nobody didn t seem to know what to do But

,
’
.
pretty soon they se e that long legged undertaker m ak e a

-
“
sign to the p reacher as much as to say D on t you worry ,
’
— just depend on me ” Then he stooped down an d begun

.
to glide along the wall just his Shoulders showing over the
,
people s heads SO he glided along and the powwow and

’
.
,
racket getting mo r e and more outrageous all the time ; and

They buried him and we come back home and I went
, ,
—
to watching faces again I couldn t help it and I couldn t ’
,
’
rest easy But nothing come Of it ; the faces didn t tell me

.
’
nothing .
The king he Visited around in the evening and sweetened ,
eve rybody up an d made himself ever so friendly ; and he

,
give o u t the idea that his congregation over in E ngland would

be in a sweat about him SO he must hurry and settle up the
,
estate right away and leave for home He was very sorry .
he was so pushed and so was everyb ody ; they wished h e

,
could stay longer but they said they could see it couldn t
,
’
be done And he said Of course him and William would t ak e

.
the girls home with them ; and that pleased everybody too ,
because then the girls would be well fixed and amongst their
o w n relations ; and it pleased the girls too— tickled them SO ,
they clean forgot they ever had a trouble in the world ; and
told him to sell out as quick as he wanted to they would be ,
ready Them poor things was that glad and happy it made
.
my heart ache to se e them getting fooled and lied to so but ,
I didn t see no safe way for me to chip in and change the

’
general tune .
Well blamed if the king didn t bill the house and the
,
’
—
niggers and all the property for auction straight Off s al e
tw o days after the funeral ; b u t anybody could buy private
beforehand if they wanted to .
SO the next day after the funeral along about noontime , ,

’ -
the girls joy got the first jolt A couple Of nigger traders .
come along and th e k in g sold them the niggers reasonable

, ,
for three day drafts as they called it and away they went
-
, ,
the tw o sons up the river to M emphis and their mother ,
down the river to O rleans I thought them poor girls and

.
them niggers would break their hearts for grief ; they cried
around each other and took o n so it most mad e me down
,
DE A D P E T E R HAS H IS GOLD 4 65
Sick to see it The girls said they hadn t ever dreamed o f

.
’
seeing the family separated o r sold away from the town I .
can t ever get it o u t o f my memory th e Sight o f them poor

’
,
’
miserable girls and niggers hanging around each o ther s
’ ’ ’
necks and crying ; and I reckon I couldn t a stood it all ,
’ ’
but would a had to bust o u t and tell o n o u r gang if I hadn t ’
knowed the sale warn t n o account and the niggers would b e

’
back hom e in a week o r tw o .
Th e th ing made a big stir in the town to o and a go o d , ,
many come o u t fl atfo o te d and said it w as scandalous to

separate the mother and th e childr e n that way It injure d .
th e frauds some ; but the Old fool h e bulled right al ong ,
Spite o f al l th e duke could say o r do and I tell yo u th e d u ke

,
was powerful une asy .
N ext day w as auction d ay About broad day in th e

.
morning th e king and th e duk e come up in the garr e t and

woke me up and I s ee by their look that ther e was trouble
,
.
Th e king says :
“
W as you in my room night befor e last ?
”—
No your majesty
,
which was the way I always called
’
him when nobody but ou r gang warn t around .
“
W as yo u in there yiste rday er last night ? ”
”
N O your majesty
,
.
—
Honor bright n o w no lies .
,
’
Honor bright your maj esty I m telling yo u the truth I
, , .
!
’
hain t been a near your room since M iss M ary Jane took
-
”
y ou and the duke and showed it to y o u .
The duke says

“ ”
Have you seen anybody else go in there ?
NO your grace not as I remember I believe
, , ,
.
”
S top and think .
I studied awhile and see my chance ; then I says

”
Well I see the niggers g o in there several times
,
.
4 66 THE ADVE N T U RE S OF H U C K L E B E RR Y F I N N
Both Of them gave a little jump and looked like they ,
’
hadn t ever expected it and then like they h ad Th e n the , .
duke says
“ ”
What all Of them ? ,
— —
N O leastways n o t all at once that is I don t think , ,
’
”
I ever see them all come ou t at once but just o n e time .
“ ”
Hello ! When was that ?
It was the day we had the funeral In the morning It . .
’
warn t early because I overslept I was just staring down
, .
”
the ladder and I see them ,
.
“
Well go on g o o n ! What did they do ? How d they
, ,
’
”
act ?
“
They didn t do nothing And they didn t act anyway
’
.
’
much as fur as I see They tiptoed away ; so I seen easy

,
.
,
’
enough that they d shoved in there to do up your majesty s
,
’
’
room or something s po sin g you w as up ; and found you
, ,
’
w ar n t up and S O they was hoping to Slide o u t of the way
,
Of trouble without waking you up if they hadn t already ’

,
”
waked you up .
“ ”
Great guns this is a g O ! says the king ; and both Of
,
them looked pretty Sick and tolerable Silly They stood

’
there a thinking and scratching their heads a mi nute and

-
,
the duke he bust into a kind o f a little raspy chuckle and ,
says :
“
It does beat all how neat the niggers played their hand
“
They let on to be s orry they was going out Of this region !

And I believ e d they w as sorry and so did you and SO did , ,
’
everybody D On t ever tell m e any more that a nigger ain t
.
’
got any histrionic talent Why the way they played that .
,
thing it would fool an y b ody In my Opinion there s a for .

,
’
’
tune in em If I h ad capital and a theater I wouldn t wan t
’
.
,
- —
abetter lay out than that and here we ve gone and sold ’
’
em for a song Yes and ain t privileged to sing the song
.
,
’
—
yet S ay where is that song that draft ?
.
,
”
CHAPT ER XXV III
OVERREA C HIN G DON T PAY ’
BY and by it was getting p time SO I come down the lad-u .
d er and started for down -stairs ; but as I come to the girls

’
room th e door w as Open and I se e M ary Jane setting by,
her Old hair trunk which was Open and She d been packing
,
’
—
thi ngs In it getting ready to g o to E ngland But she had .
stopp e d n o w with a folded gown in her lap and had her face ,
in her hands crying I felt awful bad to see it ; o f course

,
.
anybody would I went in there and says :

.
-
M iss M ary Jane you can t a bear to see people in trou ’
,
,
—
ble and I can t most always Tell me about it
’
. .
—
SO she done it And it was th e niggers I just expected
.
it Sh e said th e beautiful trip to E ngland was most about

.
spoiled for her ; she didn t know h ow she w as ever going to

’
b e happy there knowing the mother and the children warn t ’

’
e v er going to s e e each other n o more — and then busted o u t

bitterer than ever and flung up her hands and says :
, ,
’
Oh dear dear to think they ain t e v er going to see
, , ,
”
e ach other any more !
“ — —
But they w ill and inside Of two weeks and I k n ow
”
it ! says I .
L aws it was ou t before I could think ! And before I could

,
budge she throws her arms around my neck and told me to

say it ag ain say it ag ain say it ag ain !
, ,
I see I had spoke to o sudden and said too much and was ,
in a close place I asked her to let me think a minute ; and

.
4 68
O VE RRE A C H I N G D O N T P AY 4 69
’
Sh e there very impatient and excited and handsome

se t , ,
but looking kind Of h appy and eased u p like a person that ’s

-
,
had a tooth pulled out SO I went to studying it out I says . .
to myself I reckon a body that ups an d tells the truth when

,
he is i n a tight place is taking considerable many resk s ,
though I ain t had n o experience and can t say for certain ;

’
,
’
,
’
but it looks so to me anyway ; and yet here s a c ase where ,
I m blest if it don t look to me like the truth is better and

’ ’
ac tu ly s afer th an a lie I must lay it by in my mind and

.
,
think it over some time o r other it s SO kind Of strang e and ,

’
unregular I never see nothing like it Well I says to m y

. .
,
self at last I m a going to chance it ; I ll up and tell th e truth

-
,
’ ’
this time though it does seem most like setting down o n a

,
kag Of powder and tou ch m g it Off just to se e wher e you ll .

’
go to Then I says :
.
“
M iss M ary Jane is there any place ou t Of town a littl e
,
”
ways where you could go and stay three o r four days ?
“
Yes ; M r L o th ro p s Why ?.
” ’
.
Never m in d w h y yet If I ll tell you h ow I know th e ’

‘
n ig g e rs / w ill see each other again — inside Of two weeks

—
here in this house and pr o v e how I know it will yo u g o-
”
to M r L o th rop s and stay four days ?
’
.
“ ” “ ”
F our days ! she says ; I ll stay a year ! ’
” “
All right I says I don t want nothing more o u t o f
, ,
’
y o u
’
than just your word — I druth e r have it than ano ther

’ ”
man s kiss the Bible
- - S he smiled and reddened up very
.
“
sweet an d I says If you do n t mind it I ll shut the door ’ ’
—and bolt it ”
, , ,
Then I come back and set down again and says ,

“ ’
D on t you holler Just set still and take it like a man
. .
I g o t to tell the truth and you want to brace up M iss M ary

, ,
’
because it s a bad kind and going to be hard to take b u t , ,
there ain t no help fOr it These uncles O f yourn ain t n o

’
.
’
4 70 T H E ADVE N T U R E S OF H U C K L E B E RR Y F I N N
—
uncles at all ; they re a couple Of frauds regular dead ’
’
beats There now we re over the worst Of it you can stand
.
, ,
”
the rest middling e asy .
It j olted her up like everything of course ; but I was ,
over the shoal water now SO I went right along her eyes , ,
a blazing higher and higher all the time and told her every
-
,
blame th 1ng from where we first struck that young fool

,
oing up to th steamboat clear through to where she flung

'
g e ,
’
herself onto th e king s breast at the front door and h e kissed
—
her sixteen o r seventeen times and then up she j umps ,
with her face afi re like sunset and s ays ,

“ —
The brute ! C ome don t waste a minute not a s e c on d ,
’
—we ll have them tarred and feathered and flung in the

,
’
,
”
river !
S ays I
C e rt n ly But do you mean b efor e you go to M r L oth
’
. .
’
ro p s , o r
” ”
O h she says what am I thin k in g about ! Sh e says
, , ,
“ —
and set right down again D on t mind wh at I said please .
’
— ’ ”
do n t you w on t now w ill you ? L aying her silky hand o n
’
, ,
mine in that kind Of a way that I said I would die first .
“ ”
I never thought I was SO stirred up she says ; now go , ,
o n and I won t do so any more Y ou tell m e w h at to d o

’
,
.
,
”
and whatever you say I ll do it ’
.
” “
Well I says it s a rough gang them two frauds and
, ,
’
, ,
I m fixe d so I got to travel with them a while longer whether

’
,
—
I want to or not I druther not tell you why ; and if y o u
was to blow o n them this town would get me out O f their
’
claws and I d be all right ; but there d be another person
,
’
that yo u don t know about who d be in big trouble Well

’ ’
.
,
we g o t to save him hain t we ? O f course Well then w e ,

’
.
, ,
won t blow o n them

’
.
S aying them words put a good idea in my head I see ’

.
how maybe I c o u ld g e t me an d Jim rid of the frauds ; get

'
4 7 2 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF H UC K L E B ERR Y F I N N
tw o , let them send up to B rick sv ille and say they ve g o t ’
‘
th e man that played the R oyal N onesuch and ask fo r ’
,
—
some witnesses why you ll have that entire town down ’
,
h ere before y o u can hardly wink M iss M ary And they ll ,

.
’
”
come a biling too
-
,
.
I judged we had got e verything fixed about right n ow .
SO I says :
“
Just l et the auction go right along and don t worry ,
’
.
N obody don t have to pay for the things they buy till a
’
whole day after the auction on accounts Of the Short notice ,

’
and they ain t going o u t Of this till they get that money ; and ‘
the way we ve fixed it the sale ain t going to count and they
- ’ ’
,
ain t going to g e t n o money It s just like the way it w as

’
.
’
—
with the niggers it warn t no sale and the niggers will be ’
,
back before long Why they can t collect the money for the
.
,
’
nigg ers yet — they re in the worst kind of a fix M iss M ary

’ ”
.
,
“ ” “ ’
Well she says I ll run down to breakfast n ow and
, , ,
”
then I ll start straight fo r M r L o th rop s
’
.
’
.
D eed that ain t the ticket M iss M ary Jane I says

’
,
’
, , ,
”
by no manner of means ; g o before breakf ast .
“ ”
Why ?
What did you reckon I wanted yo u to g o at all for M i ss ,
”
M ary ?
“ —
Well I never thought and come to think I don t k n ow
, ,
’
.
”
What was it ?
Why it s because you ain t o n e o f these leather face
’
- ’
,
people I don t want n o better book than what your face is

.
’
.
A body can set down and re ad it Off like coarse print DO .
y o u reckon you can go and face your uncles when they come
to kiss you good morning and never
-
,
“
There there don t ! Yes I ll go before breakf as t I ll
,
— ’
,
’ ’
,
”
be glad to And l eave my sisters with them ?
‘
“ ’
Y e s ; never mind about them They ve got to stand it .
O VE R RE A C H I N G D O N T P AY ’
4 7s
y e t awhile They might suspicion something if all o f you

.
w as to go I don t want y o u to see them nor your Sisters

’
.
, ,
n o r nobody in this town ; i f a neighbor was to ask h o w is
your u ncles this morning your face would tell something .
’
N 0 y ou g O right along M iss M ary Jane and I ll fix it with
, , ,
all Of them I ll tell M iss S usan to give your love to your

.
’ ’
u ncles and say you v e went a way fo r a few hours fo r to get

’
a littl e rest and change o r to see a friend and you ll b e , ,

’
back to night o r e arly in the morning

- .
“
Gone to se e a friend is all right but I won t ha ve my ,
’
”
l ove given to them .
“
Well then I t sha n t be It was well enough to tell her ’ ’
—
.
, ,
so n o harm in it I t was only a littl e thing to do and n o

.
,
,
trouble ; and it s th e little th i ngs that smooths peopl e s

’ ’
roads th e most down here below ; it would make M ary Jan e

,
’
Comfortable and it wouldn t cost no thing Th e n I says
,
.
“ ’ —
There s o n e more thing that bag Of money .
“ ’
Well they ve g o t that and it make s me feel pr e tty Silly
,
to think h ow they g o t it .
“ ’’
NO you re o u t ther e They hain t g o t it
, , . .
” ’
Why who s got it ?
,
I wish I knowed but I don t I h ad it because I stol e ,

’
.
,
i t from them ; and I stole it to give to y ou ; and I know

w her e I hid it but I m afraid it ai n t there n o more I m
’ ’ ’
, .
awful sorry M iss M ary Jane I m j ust as sorry as I c an b e ;

’
, ,
but I done the best I could ; I did honest I come m gh get .
ting caught and I had to shove it intoth e first place I com e

,
to and run
,
— and it warn t a good place ” ’
.
“
,
—
O h stop blaming yourself it s too bad to do it and I ’
,
—
won t allow it you couldn t help it ; it wa sn t your fault
’ ’ ’
.
”
Where did you hide it ?
’
I did n t want to set her to thinking about her troubles
’
again ; and I couldn t seem to get my mouth to tell her what
would make her see that corpse laying in the coffin with
that bag Of money o n his stomach SO for a minute I didn t .
’
sa y nothing ; then I says :

“
I d ruther not te ll you where I put it , M iss M ary Jane
’
,
if y ou don t mind letting me Off ; but I ll write it for yo u

’ ’
o n a piece o f paper and y ou c an read it along th e road to

,
”
M r L o th rop s if yo u want to D O you reckon that 11 do ?
.
’
,
.
’
“
O h yes ,
.
SO I wrote : I put it in the coffin It w as in th e re wh en .
y ou w as crying there away in the night I was,

behind th e .
d oor and I w as mighty sor ry for yo u M iss M ary Jan e

, , .
It made my eyes water a little to remember her crying

ther e all by herself in th e night and them devils laying there ,
‘
right under her o wn roof shaming her an d robbing her ; ,
and when I folded it up and give it to her I see the wate r

come into her eyes to o ; and she shook m e by th e hand
, ,
hard and says ,

'
“
G o od by I m going to do everyth i ng j ust as you ve told
’ ’
- .
’
m e ; and if I don t ever see y o u again I sha n t ever forg e t
’ ’
,
y o u and,
I ll think o
’
f y ou a many and a many a time and ,
”—
I ll pray fo r you to o !
’
and she was gone
,
.
Pray for me ! I reckoned if she k n o w e d m e she d t ake a ’
j o b that was more nearer her size But I bet Sh e done it .

,
—
just the same she was just that kind S he had the grit to .
—
pray fo r Judus if she took the notion there war n t no ’
-
back down to her I judge You may say what you want to
, ,
.
but in my opinion Sh e had more sand in her than any girl

I ever see ; in my Opinio n she was just full o f sand It sound s .
like flattery but it ain t no flattery And when it comes to

,
’
.
— —
beauty and goodness too Sh e lays over them all I hain t ,
.
’
ever seen her since that ti m e that I see her go out Of that
’
door ; no I hain t ever seen her since but I reckon I v e
,
’
,
thought Of her a many and a many a million times and Of ,

’ ’ ’
he r saying she would pray for me ; and if ever I d a thought
”
Wh at other things ?
-
Well measles and whooping cough and e ry siplas and
, , , ,
cons u m p tl o n and y all e r j anders and brain fe v er and I do n t

’
, , ,
”
k n o w what all .
“ ”
My land ! And they c al l it the m u m ps ?
”
That s what M iss M ary Jane said
’
.
”
Well
\
what in th,
e nation do they call it th e m u m ps fo r ?
Why because it is the mumps That s what it starts
,
.
’
”
w ith .
“ ’
We ll ther ain t n o sense in it A body might stump his
,
’
.
toe , and take pison and fall down th e well and break h is , ,
n e ck , and bust his brains o u t an d somebody come along ,
and ask what killed him and som e numskull up and say ,
‘
Why h e stumped his to e Would ther be any sense in that ?
,
.
’
”
Na An d ther ai n t n o sens e in this muther IS it ketching ?
’ ’
. .
,
“
Is it k e tc hin g ? Why h o w y o u talk Is a harrow catching ,
.
-in th e dark ? If you don t hitch o n to o n e too th you re

’ ’
,
’ ’
b o und to o n another ain t you ? And you can t get away ,
wi th that tooth without fetching the whole harrow along ,
c an y ou ? Well these kind o f mumps is a kind Of a harrow

, ,
as y o u may say — and it ain t n o slouch Of a harrow n u th e r ’

, ,
”
y o u come t o get it hitched o n good .
” - “ ’
Well it s awful I think says the hare lip I ll g o to
‘
,
’
, ,
.
Uncl e Harv ey and

“ ”
O h yes I says I w ou ld O f c o u rs e I would I wouldn t
, , ,
. .
’
los e n o time .
“ ” ’
Well why w ouldn t you ?
,
’
Just look at it a minute and maybe you can see Hain t ,
.
your u ncles Oble e g e d to get along home to E ngland as fast

’
as they can ? And do y o u reckon they d be me an enough to
ff and leave you to go all that journey by yourselves ?

'
g O O
You know they ll w ai t for you SO fur so good Your uncle

’ !
.
.
,
Harv ey s a preacher ai n t he ? V ery well then ; is a pre ac h er

’
,
’
,
going to deceive a steamboat clerk ? is he going to deceive a

O VE RRE A C H I N G D O N T P AY ’
77
s hip c lerk get ? —

so as
them to let M toiss M ary Jan e g o
aboard ? No w you know he ain t What w ill h e do then ? ’

.
,
Why he ll say It s a great pity but my church matters h as

,
’
,
‘ ’
,
g o t to get along the b e s t w ay they can ; for my niece

,
h a s
been e xposed to the dreadful pluribus unum mumps and

-
,
so it s my bounden duty to set down here and w ait the thr e e

’
’ ’
months it takes to Show o n her if she s g o t it But never .
’
mind if yo u think it s best to tell your uncle Harvey
,
“
S hucks and stay fooling around here when w e could all
,
be having good times in E ngland whilst we was waiting

to find o u t whether M ary Jane s got it o r n o t ? Why you ’
,
t alk lik e a muggins .
“
Well anyway maybe yo u d better tell some Of th e
, ,
’
”
neighbors .
“
L isten at that n ow Y o u do beat all for natural stupid
,
.
’
ness C an t you se e that th ey d g o and tell ? Ther ai n t n o
.
’ ’ ’
way but just to not tell anybody at all .
“
,
—
Well mayb e you re right yes I judge yo u are right
’
,
.
But I reckon we ought to tell U ncle Harvey She s gone ’
”
ou t awhile anyway so he won t be uneasy abo u t h e r ?
’
, ,
Yes M iss M ary Jane she wanted you to do that Sh e

, .
says Tell them to gi v e U ncle Harvey and William my l ove

,
‘
and a kiss and say I v e run over t h e river to see M r

,
’
.
’
—
M r what is the nam e Of that rich family your u ncle P e ter
.
used to think SO much Of? I mean the on e that

-
“ ”
Why you must mean the Aptho rps ain t it ?
, ,
’
O f course ; bother them kind o f names a body can t ’

,
e v er seem to remember them half the time somehow Y es , ,

.
,
sh e said say sh e has run over for to ask the Apthorp s to

,
b e sure an d come to the auction and buy this ho u s e b e ,
cause sh e al lowed her uncle Peter would ruther the y had it

than anyb ody else ; and she s going to stick to the m till ’ '
they say they ll come and then if she ain t to o tired Sh e s

’
, ,
’
,
’
c oming hom e ; and if sh e is She ll be home in th e mo rn i n g

’
,
anyway S he s ai d don t say nothing about the Proctors
.
,
’
,
—
but only about the Apthorps which ll be perfectly true ’
,
because sh e is going there to speak about their buying th e

”
house ; I know it because she told me SO herself
, .
“ ”
All right they said an d cleared o u t to lay for their
, ,
uncles and give them the love and the kisses and tell them
, ,
the message .
E verything was all right n o w The girls wouldn t say .

’
nothing because they wanted to go to E ngland ; and the

king an d th e duke would ruther M ary Jane was Off working
fo r the auction than around in reach Of D octor R obinson .
—
I felt very good ; I judged I had done it pretty neat I reck
’
o n e d T om S awyer couldn t
’
a done it no neater himself
’
.
O f course he would a throwed more style into it but I

’ ’
,
can t do that very handy not being brung up to it

’
,
.
Well they held the auctio n in the public square along

, ,
towards the end Of the afternoon and it strung along and , ,
strung along and the Old man he was o n hand an d looking

,
his level piso n e st up there longside of th e auctioneer and

, ,
chipping in a little S cripture now an d then o r a little goody ,
g oody saying o f some kind and the duke he was around ,
g o o -
g o o in g fo r sympathy all he knowed how and just ,
spr e ading himself g e n e rly .
But by and by the thing dragged through and everything ,
w as sold — every thing but a little Old trifling lot in the

.
’ —
graveyard SO they d got to work th at Off I never see such
a g irafft as the king was for wanting to swallow e v ery thin g .
Well whilst they was at it a steamboat land ed and in about

, ,
tw o minutes up comes a crowd a whooping and yelling and

-
laughing and carrying o n and Singing out ,

“
H er e s yo ur opposition line ! here s your tw o sets O heirs
’ ’ ’
to Old Peter Wilks — and y ou pays your money and yo u take s

”
your choice !
48 0 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C K L E B E R RY F I N N
broth er William which can t hear n o r, can t
’
—
speak and ’
even make Signs to amount to much now t he s only got ,

’ ’
o n e hand to work them with We are who we say we are ; .
an d in a day o r two when I get the baggage I can prove it

, ,
.
’
But up till then I won t say nothing more but go to th e ,
”
hotel and wait .
SO him and th e new dummy started Off; and the king h e

l au ghs and blethers out °
,
“ — i —
Broke his arm v ery likely a n t it ? and ve ry con ,
’
ve n ie n t to o for a fraud that s got to make signs and ain t

’ ’
, , ,
learnt h ow L ost their baggage ! That s m ig h ty good ! and

.
— ’
—
mighty ingenious under the circu m stan ces ! ”
SO he laughed again ; and S O did everybody els e e xcept ,
thre e o r four o r maybe half a dozen O ne Of these was that

,
.
d octor ; another one was a sharp looking gentleman with

-
,
a carpet bag o f the Old fashioned kind made ou t Of carpet

- -
stuff th at had just come Off Of the steamboat and was talk
,
in g to hi m in a low voice and glancing towards th e king ,
n o w and then and nodding their heads — it was L evi Bell ,
th e law yer that was gone up to L ouisville ; and another o n e

w as a big rough husky that come along and listened to all
the Old gentlemen said and was listening to the king now
,
.
An d when the king got done this husky up and says '
“ ’
S ay looky here ; if you are Harvey Wilks when d you
, ,
”
c ome to this town ?
“
Th e day before the funeral friend says the king , ,
.
”
But what time 0 day ? ’
In the evenin — bout an hour er two before sundown

’ ’
.
”
How d you come ?
’
I com e down o n the Su san P ow ell from Cincinnati .
Well then h ow d you come to be up at th e Pint in the

, ,
’
m orn in
’
—ih a canoe ?
”
“
I warn t up at th e Pint in the m o rn in
’
I LIGH T OU T
“
IN T HE S T ORM 481
’
It lies a .
S everal Of th em j umped for him and begged h im not to

talk that way to an Old man and a preacher .
“
Preacher be hange d h e s a fraud and a liar He w as up at
,
’
.
the Pint that m o rn in I live up ther e don t I ? W e ll I w as

’
.
,
’
,
up th e re and h e was up there I s e e him ther e He co me in a

,
. .
canoe alon g with Tim C ollins and a b oy

,
Th e doctor he up and says :

“
Wo ul d you know the b oy again if yo u w as to se e him ,
Hines ?
“
I r e ckon I would bu t I don t know Why yonder he is
,
’
.
, ,
n ow I know him perfectly e asy

. .
I t w as m e h e pointed at Th e doctor says

_ .
“
N eighbors I don t know whethe r the n ew cou pl e is
,
’
’
frauds o r n o t ; but if these tw o ain t frauds I am an idi o t , ,
’
that s all I think it s o u r duty to se e that th ey don t ge t
’
.
’
away from here till we ve looked into this thing Com e along
’
.
,
Hines ; co m e al ong the rest Of yo u We ll tak e thes e fel

,
.
’
lows to the tave rn and affront them with t othe r co u ple and ’
,
I reckon we ll find ou t som ethin g be for e w e get thr ough

’ ”
.
It w as nuts fo r th e crowd thou gh mayb e n o t fo rth e k ing s ,

’
friends ; so we all started It was about sundown The do cto r . .
he led me along by the hand and w as ple n ty k in d en ough , ,
but he never let g o my hand .
We all got in a big room in the hotel and lit u p som e ,
candles and fetched in th e new couple F irst th e doctor says

,
.
,
“ ’
I don t wish to be to o hard o n these tw o men bu t I thi nk ,
they re frauds and they may have complices that w e don t

’
,
’
know nothing about If they have won t the complices get

.
,
’
’
away w ith that bag Of gold Peter Wilks left ? It ain t u n
likely I i these men ain t frauds they won t Object to Se nd
.
’
,
’
ing fo r that money an d letting u s k eep it till they prove

’
they re all right — ain t that so p ’ »
T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C KL E B E RR Y F I N N
E verybody agreed to that SO I judged they had o u r gang .
In a pretty tight place right at the outstart But the ki n h e

!
g .
only looke d sorrowful and says ,

“
Gentlemen I wish the money was there for I ain t g o t
, ,
’
n o disposition to throw anythi n g in the way o f a fair open , ,
ou t an d Out investigation O this m is ab le business ; but alas

’
- -
, ,
”
th e mon ey ain t there ; y o u k n send and see if y o u want to
’ ’
,
.
“ ”
Where is it then ? ,
Well when my niece give to it me to keep fo r her I took

,
an d hid it inside 0 the straw tick O my bed not w ish in to

’ ’ ’
,
b ank i t fo r th e few days we d be here and con side rin th e ’

,
’
b e d a safe place we not bein used to niggers and su ppos n

’ ’ ’
, ,
’
em honest like servants in E ngland The niggers stole it th e
,
.
e
v y next m n
r o r in
’
after I had went down stairs ; and when I
-
’
sold em I h ad n t missed the money yit so they g o t clean
’
,
’ ’
away wi th it M y servant here k n tell y o u bout it gen tl e
.
,
”
men .
Th e doctor and several said S hucks ! and I se e nobody

didn t altogeth e r believe him O ne man asked m e if I se e th e
’
.
niggers steal it I said n o but I see them sneaking o u t Of th e

.
,
room and hustling away an d I never thought nothing only , ,
I r e ckoned they w as afraid they had waked up my master

and w as trying to get away before he made trouble with
them That was all they asked m e Then the doctor whirls on
. .
me and says :
“ ”
Are yo u E nglish too ? ,
I says yes ; and him and some others laughed and s ai d , ,
S tuff !
Well then they sailed in on the general investigation an d
, ,
there we had it up and down hour in hour out and nobody

, , , ,
never said a word about supper nor ever seemed to think ,
a bout it — and so they kept it up and kept it up ; and it w as ,
-
the worst mixed u p thing you e v er see They made the king .
You and your br other please write a line o r two and SIgn
your names .
The Old gentleman wrote but nobody couldn t read it ,

’
.
The lawyer looked powerful astonished and says : ,

“
Well it beats m e ,
and snaked a lot Of Old letters o u t Of
his pocket and examined them and then examined the Old
, ,
’ “
man s writing and then th e m again ; and then says : These
,
Old letters is from Harvey Wilks and here s th ese tw o hand ? ’
writings and anybody can see th ey didn t write them ( th e

,
’
king and the duke looked sold and foolish I tell y o u to see , ,
“
h o w the lawyer had took them in ) and here s this Old ’
,
’
gentleman s handwriting and anybody can tell easy enough , , ,
—
he didn t write them fact is the scratches h e makes ain t
’ ‘
,
’
ri tin g at all N o w here s some letters fro m

’
p roperly w .
,
The n e w Old gentleman says

“
If y o u pleas e let m e e xplain N obody can re ad my han d
—
.
,
but my brother there so he copies fo r me I t s his hand .

’
’
you ve g o t ther e n o t mine ,
.
says th e lawyer this is a state Of things I v e ,

.
’
’
g o t some Of William s letters to o ; S O if you ll’
get him t o ,
write a line o r SO w e can c om

“
He c an t write with his left hand says th e Old gentle
’
,
“
m an I f he could use his right hand you would see that he
.
,
W rote his o w n letters and mine to o L ook at both pl ease .

,
’ ”
they re by the same hand .
The lawyer done it and says ,

“ —
I believe it s so and if it ain t so there s a heap stronger
’ ’
,
’
resemblance than I d noticed befor e anyway Well well ’

,
.
, ,
well ! I thought w e w as right o n the track Of a slu tio n but ,
it s gone to grass partly But a nyw ay o n e thing is proved

’
,
.
‘
—the s e tw o ain t either Of em W ilk se s —and he wagged his

’ ” ’
head towards th e king and the duke .
Well what do you think ? That mule headed Old fool

,
-
’ ’
wouldn t give in the n ! Indeed he wouldn t S aid it warn t
’
.
I LIGH T OU T IN T HE S T O RM 4 85
no fair test S aid h is brother William w as the c u sse de st joke r

—
.
in the world and hadn t trie d to write h e see William

,
’
w as going to play o n e Of his j okes the minute he put the pe n

to paper And SO he warmed up and went warbling right
.
along till he was ac tu ly beginning to believe what he w as

sayi ng him s elf; but pr e tty soon th e new gentleman brok e
in and says
,
“
I ve thought o f som ething Is ther e anybody her e that
’
.
—
helped to lay o u t my br helped to lay o u t the late Peter
”
Wilks fo r burying ?
”
Yes says somebody
,
me and Ab T u rner don e it ,
.
’ ”
W e r e both here .
Then the Old man turns toward the king and says ,
“
Pe raps this gentleman can tell me what w as tattoo e d o n
”
his breast ?
Blamed if the king didn t have to brace up mighty quick ’
,
o r he d a squ sh e d down like a bluff bank that th e river h as

’ ’ ’
Gu t under it took him so sudden ; and mind y ou it w as a

, , ,
thing that was calculated to make most an y b ody squ sh to

get fetched such a solid o n e as that without any notice b e
l
,
c au se h o w w as h e going to know what was tattooed o n the

'
man ? He whitened a little ; h e couldn t help it ; an d it w as ’
m ighty still in there and everybody bending a l ittle for ,
wards and gazing at him S ays I to myself N ow he ll throw .

,
’
—
up the sponge there ain t n o more use Well did he ? A ’
.
,
’
body can t hardly believe it but he didn t I reckon h e
‘
’
.
,
’
thought he d keep the thing up till he tired them people o u t ,
’
s o they d thin o u t and him and the duke could break loos e ,
an d get away Anyway he set there and pretty s oon h e

.
, ,
begun to smile an d says ,

“
M f! It s a v e ry tough question ain t it ! Yes Sl I I k n
’
,
’
,
'
,
’
tell y o u what s tattooed o n his breast It s jest a small thin

’
.
’
, ,
—
blue arrow that s what it is ; and if you don t look clos t
’ ’
,
y o u can t se e i t N
’
o w what do you say— hey ?
.
”
4 8 6 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C K L E B E RR Y F I N N
Well I never see anything like that Old blister fo r clean
,
- -
ou t and Ou t cheek .
The new Old gentleman turns brisk tow ards Ab Turner

and his pard and his eye lights up like he judged he d g o t
,
’
th e king this time and says : ,

“ — ’
There you ve heard what he said ! Was ther e an y such
”
mark on Peter Wilks s breast ? ’
Both O f them spoke up and says

“
We didn t See n o such mark
’ ”
.
”
Good ! says the Old gentleman N ow what you did se e .
,
o n h is breast was a small dim P and a B ( which is an initial ,
h e dropped when he was young ) and a W and dashes b e , ,
tween them so : P B W ,
— — ”— and b e marked them that way
”
o n a piece o f paper C ome ain t that what you saw ?
.
,
’
B oth o f them spoke up again and says : ,

“ ’
N0 w e didn t We n eve r seen an y marks at all
,
. .
Well e verybody w as in a state Of mind n o w and they

, ,
sings o u t :
“
The whol e bilin Of m S frauds ! L e s duck em ! le s
’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
’ ’ ” ’
drown em ! le s ride em on a rail ! and everybody w as
whooping at once and there was a rattling powwow But th e
,
.
lawy er he jumps o n th e table and yells and says : ,
— —
)
“
Gentlemen gentle m en ! Hear me just a word just a
sin g le word — —
ii you P LEA SE ! There s o n e way yet let s g o
’ ’
”
and dig up the corpse an d look .
That took them .
“ ”
Hooray ! they all shouted and was starting right Off ; ,
but the lawyer and the doctor sung ou t :

“
Hold o n hold o n ! C ollar all these four men and th e
,
”
boy and fetch the m along too !
, ,
“ ” ’
We ll do it ! they all shouted ; and if we don t find
’
’ ”
them m arks we ll lynch the whole gang !
I w as scared , n ow I tell yo u But there warn t no g etting
,
.
’
488 T H E A DVE N T U RE S H U C KLE B E RR Y F I N N
”
OF
dark and the rain started and the wind swished and swu sh e d
, ,
al ong and the lightning come brisker and brisker and the
, ,
thunder bo omed ; bu t them people never took n o notice o f

it they was SO full Of this business ; and one minute y o u could
,
se e everything and every face in that big crowd and th e ,
shovelfuls Of dirt sailing up out Of the grave and the next

~
,
’
s e cond the dark wiped it all out and you couldn t se e noth ,
ing at all .
At last they got o u t the coffin and begun to unscrew th e

lid and th e n su ch another crowding and shouldering and
‘
Shovi ng as there was to scrouge in and get a sight you never

, .
,
se e ; and in the dark that way it was awful Hines he hurt

, ,
.
my wrist dreadful pulling and tugging S O and I reckon b e ,
clean forgot I was in the world he was SO excited and panting , .
All Of a sudden the lightning let go a perfect sluice Of white

glare and someb ody sings o u t
,
.
“ ”
By the living jingo here s the bag Of g old o n his breast !
,
’
Hines let out a whoop like everybody else and dropped

, ,
my wrist and g 1v e a big surge to bust his way in and get a

,
look and the way I lit o u t and shinned for the road in the
,
dark there ain t nobody can tell

’
.
—
I h ad the road all to myself and I fairly fl ew leastways , ,
I had it all to myself except the solid dark and the now ,
and then glares and the buzzing Of the rain and the thrash
-
, ,
ing Of the wind and the Splitting Of the thunder ; and sure
,
as yo u are born I did clip it along !

Wh en I struck the town I see there warn t nobody ou t ’
in the storm SO I never hunted for no back stre ets but

'
, ,
humped it straight through the main o n e ; and when I begun '
to get towards our house I aimed my eye and set it N O .
—
light there ; the house all dark which made me feel sorry
and disappoi nted I didn t know why But at last just as I
,
’
.
,
’
was sailing by flash comes the light in M ary Jane s window !
,
I LIGH T OU T IN THE S T ORM 4 89
an d my heart swelled up sudden like to bust ; and the same ,
se con d the house and all w as behind me in the dark and ,
wasn t e ver going to be befor e me n o more I n this world She

’
.
w as the best girl I ever se e and had th e most sand , .
Th e m i nute I w as far enough above the town to se e I coul d

make the towhead I begun to look sharp fo r a boat to b o r
,
ro w
,
and the first time the lightning Showed m e o n e that
’
wasn t chained I snatched it and shoved It was a canoe , .
and warn t fastened with n othing but a rope Th e towhead

’
.
was a rattling big distance Off away o u t there in th e middle ,

’
o f the river but I didn t los e n o time ; and when I struck
,
’ ’
the raft at last I w as so tag g e d I would a just laid down to
blow and gasp if I could afforded it But I didn t As I sprung .
’
.
aboard I sung o u t :
.
“
O ut with yo u ,Jim and se t her loose ! Glory b e to good
,
”
ness we r e shut o f them !
,
’
Jim lit o u t and w as a coming fo r m e with both arms

,
-
“
spread he was so full Of j oy ; but when I glimpsed him in

,
the lightningm y h e art shot up in my mouth and w ent o ve r

x
board backwards ; fo r I forgot he was Old K ing L e ar and a

drownd ed A rab all in o n e and it most scared the livers and
-
,
lights o u t Of me But Jim fished me ou t and was going to

.
,
hug me and bless me and so o n he w as so glad I w as back

, ,
an d we w as shut Of the king and the duke but I say s :

'
,
“
N o t now ; hav e it for breakfast have it fo r breakfast ! C ut ,
loose and let her Slide !

SO in tw o seconds away we went a sliding down th e river
-
,
and it did seem SO good to be free again and all by ourselves

o n the big river and nobody to bother us I had to Skip
,
.
around a bit and jump up and crack my heels a few times

,
I couldn t help it ; but about the third crack I noticed a

’
sound that I knowed mighty well and held my breath and ,
listen ed and waited ; and sure enough when th e n e x t flash ,

49 ° TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C K L E B E RR Y F I N N
busted out over the water here they come ! and just lay
,
a-
ing to their oars and making their skiff hum ! It w as the

k ing and the duke .
SO I wilted right down onto the planks then and give up ; ,
an d it was all I co u ld do to keep from c rying .

4 92 TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C K LE B E RR Y F I N N
L eggo the b oy y ou Old idiot ! Would you a done any
,
different ? D id y o u inquire around for him when you g o t

”
loose ? I don t remember it
’
.
SO the king let go Of me and begun to cuss that town and,
everybody in it But the duke says :

.
“
You better a blame sight give yo u rs elf a good cussing
’
,
fo r you re the one that s entitled to it most You hain t don e

’ ’ ’
.
a thing from the start that had any sense in it except com ihg ,
Ou t S O cool an d cheeky with that imaginary blue arrow mark

- .
—
That w as bright it w as right down bully ; and it w as th e
’ ’
thing that s aved us F or if it hadn t been fo r that they d a
.
’ ’
—
j ailed us till them E n g lish m en s baggage come and then ’
the penitentiary you bet ! But that trick took em to th e

,
’
graveyard and the gold done us a still bigger kindness ; for

,
i f the excited fools hadn t let g o all holts and made that
’
’
rush to get a look we d a slept in ou r cravats to night-
’ ’
—
cravats warranted to w e ar too longer than w e d ne ed em ,
’ ’
.
—
They was still a minute thinking ; then the king says ,
kind Of absent minded like :

-
“
M f! And we reckoned the n ig g ers stole it ! ”
That made me squirm !

“ ”
Yes says the duke kinder slow and deliberate an d sar
, ,
c as tic
“
,
w e did .
After about a half a minute the king drawls out :

“
L eastways I did ”,
.
The duke says the same way :,

“ ”
O n the contrary I did ,
.
Th e king kind o f ru ffl es up and says : ,

“ ”
L ooky here Bilgewater w h at r you re fe rrin to ? The
, ,
’ ’
duke says pretty brisk :

,
“
When it comes to that maybe you ll let me ask what ,
’
”
was y ou referring to ?
“ ’
S hucks says the king very sarcastic ; but I don t know
,
TH E G O L D S A VE S TH E T H I EVE S 4 93
-
m aybe was asleep and didn t know what ’
o u w as
»
y ou , y
”
ab out .
The duk e bristles up now and says ,

“
O h let u p on this cussed nonsense ; do y o u take me for
,
a blame fool ? D on t y o u r e ckon I know who hid that money

’ ’
”
in that co ffin ?
“
Ye s sir ! I know you d o know because y o u don e it your
, ,
”
se lf !
It s a lie !
’ — an d th e duke went for him The king sing s
‘
Take y r ’ — —
hands Off ! leggo my throat ! I take it all
”
back !
The duke says :
“
Well ,you just own up first that you did hide that money , ,
t her e intending to give me the slip o n e of these days and

, ,
”
come back and dig it up and have it all to yoursel f ,
.
“ —
Wait j est a minute duke ans wer me this o n e question
, ,
hon est and fai r ; if you didn t put the money there say it ’
, ,
”
an d I ll b lie v e yo u and take back everything I said
’ ’
.
,
“
Y ou Old scoundrel I didn t and you know I d idn t
’ ’
, , .
”
There now ! ,
“
Well then I b lie v e you But answer me only jest thi s
, ,
’
.
o n e more — ’
now d on t git mad ; didn t you have it in your ’
”
m in d to hook the money and hide it ?
Th e duke never said ho th in g for a little bit ; then he says :
“
Well I don t care if I did I didn t d o it anyway But you
,
’
,
’
,
.
”
n o t only had it in mind to do it but you d o n e it ,
.
I wisht I never die if I done it duke and that s honest I , ,

’
.
w o n t say I w arn t g oin to do it because I w as ; but you

’ ’ ’
— I ,
m ean somebody — got in ahe ad O me ” ’

.
“
It s a lie ! You done it and you got to s ay you done it
’
, ,
7?
or
The king began to gurgle and then he gasps out : ,

494 TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C K L E B E RR Y FIN N
’ —
N ough ! I ow n u p!
”
I was very glad to hear him say that ; it made me fe el

much more easier than what I was feeling before SO th e .
duke to ok his hands Off and says :

’
If y o u ever deny it again I ll drown you It s w ell fo r yo u .
’
—
to set there and blubber like a baby it s fi tte n for yo u ’
,
’
after the way you ve acted I never see such an Old ostrich .
— -
for wanting to gobble everything and I a trusting you all
the time like y ou was my ow n father Y o u ought to bee n
, .
ashamed o f yourself to stand by and hear it saddled o n to a

lo t o f poor niggers and you never say a word for em It
,
"
.
makes me feel ridiculous to think I was soft enough to be

lie v e th a t rubbage Cu ss you I can see now why you was so
.
,
—
anxious to make up the de ffisit you wanted to get wha t
-
money I d got o u t Of the No n e such and o n e thing o r an
’ ‘ ’
”
other and scoop it all !
,
The king says timid and still a sn u fflin g

-
, ,
“
Why duke it was you that said make up the de ffe rsit ;
, ,
”
it warn t me ’
.
“
D ry up ! I don t want to hear no more ou t Of you ! says
’ ”
the duke And n ow you see what you g o t by it They ve got

. .
’
al l their o w n money back and all O f o u rn but a Shekel or two

,
besid e s G long to bed and don t you de ffe rsit m e no mor e

’ ’
.
,
”
de ffe rsits long s y o u live !
’
,
SO the king sneaked into the W igwam and took to his bottl e
for comfort and before long the duke tackled his bottle ; an d
,
S O in about a hal f an hour they was as thick as thieves again ,
and the tighter they got the lo v in g e r they got and we nt Off ,
a snoring in each other s arms They both got powerful mel

’
- .
low but I noticed the king didn t get mellow enough to for
,
’
g e t to remember to not deny about hiding the money -b ag

again That made me feel easy and satisfied O f course whe n
. .
they got to snoring we had a long gabble and I told J im ,
e verything .
som e kind Of worse deviltry than ever We turned it ove r .
and over and at last we made up our minds they was going
,
to break into somebody s house or store o r was going into

,
’
,
the counterfeit money business o r something SO then w e

-
,
.
was p retty scared and made up an agreement that w e

,
wouldn t have nothing in the w orld to d o with such actions

’
,
and if we ever got the least show we would give them th e

cold Shake and clear out and leave them behind Well early .
,
o n e morning we hid the raft in a good safe place about tw o ,
mile below a little bit Of a Shabby village named Pikesville ,
an d the king he went ashore and told us all to stay hid whilst
he went up to town and smelt around to see if anybody had

.
got any Wind o f th e R o y al N onesuch there yet ( House

“ ” “
‘
” “
to rob you m e an say s I to myself ; and when you get
, ,
through robbing it you ll come back here and wonder what

’
—
has become Of me and Jim and the raft and you ll have to ’
”
take it o u t in wonderin g ) And he said if he warn t back by ’
midday the duke and me would know it was all right ,and w e
was to come along .
SO we stayed where we w as The duke he fretted and .
sweated around and was in a mighty sour way He scolded

,
.
us for everything an d we couldn t seem to do nothing right ;

,
’
he found fault with every little thing S omething w as a brew

- .
ing sure I was good and glad when midday come and n o
,
.
—
king ; we could have a change anyway and maybe a chance ,
for the chance o n top of it SO me and the duke went up to

.
the village and hunted around there for the king and by an d
, ,
by we found him in th e back room o f a little low doggery ,
very tight and a lot o f loafers bullyragging him for sport

, ,
an d he a cussing and a threatening with all his might and s o

- -
,
’
tight he couldn t walk and couldn t do nothing to them
’
,
.
The duke he begun to abuse him for an Old fool and th e king ,
begun to sass back and the minute they was fairly at it I

,
lit o u t and shook th e reefs ou t o f my hind legs and Spun ,

Y OU C A N T P R AY ’
A L IE 4 97
down the river road like a deer for I see o u r chance ; an d I ,
made up my mind that it would be a long day before they

ever s e e me and Jim again I g o t down there all o u t o f breath .
but loaded up with j oy and sung o u t ,

“ ”
S et her loose Jim ; we re all right now ! ,
’
’
But there warn t no answer and nobody come o u t o f the ,
—
wigwam Jim was gone ! I set up a shout and then another
.
and t hen another one ; and run this way and that in th e
woods wh ooping and screeching ; but it w arn t n o u se o ld
,
— ’
Jim was gone Then I set down and cried ; I couldn t help it .
.
’
But I couldn t se t still long Pretty soon I went ou t o n th e

’
.
road trying to think what I better do and I run across a b oy

, ,
’
walking and asked him if he d seen a s tran g e nigger dre sse d
,
so and s o and he says : ,

“ ”
Y es .
”
Whereabouts ? says 1 .
D own to S ilas Phelps s place tw o mile below here H e s a ’

,
.
’
run away nigger and they ve g o t him W as yo u looking fo r

,
’
.
”
him ?
“ ’
Y ou bet I ain t ! I run across him in the woods about an
’
ho u r o r tw o ag o and he said if I hollered he d cut my live rs
,
ou t — and told me to lay down and stay where I w as ; and I

”
done it Been there ever since ; afeard to come o u t
. .
“
Well he says you needn t b e afeard n o more b ec u z
” “
, ,
’
,
’ ”
they v e g o t him He run o ff f m down S outh som ers
.
’
,
’
.
“ ’ ”
It s a good job they g o t him .
Well I r e c k on ! There s two hundred dollars reward On

,
’ ’
’
him It s like picking up money ou t n th e ro a
.
’
“ —
Yes it is and I could a had it if I d been big enough ; I
,
’ ’ ’
se e hi m firs t W h o nailed him ?

”
.
“ — —
It w as an o ld fellow a stranger and he sold o u t his
c hance in him fo r forty dollars b ecu z h e s got to g o up t h e
’
,
river and can t w ai t Think 0 that n ow ! Y o u b e t I d wait

’
.
’
,
’
,
i f it was se v en year .
!9 8 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C KL E B E RR Y F I N N
That s me every time says I But maybe his chance
’
, ,
.
ain t worth no more than that if he ll sell it so cheap M aybe

’
,
’
.
’ ” ’
there s something ain t straight about it .
“ —
But it is though straight as a string I see the handbil l
,
.
—
m yself It tells all about him to a dot paints him like a
.
,
picture and tells the plantation he s frum below N ew rl e cm s

,
’
, .
N o sirree bo b they ain t no trouble bout th at speculati o n

’
- - ’
, ,
”
you bet you S ay gimme a chaw to b ac k e r won t ye ?
.
, ,
’
’
I didn t have none so he left I went to the raft and set ,
.
,
down in the wi g w am to think But I couldn t come to noth .

’
ing I thought till I wore my head sore but I couldn t see

.
,
’
n o way o f the trouble After all this long j ourney and

out _
.
,
’
after all we d don e for them scoundrels here it was all come ,
to nothing e v ery th m g all busted up an d ruined because they

, ,
could have the heart to serve Jim such a trick as that and ,
m ak e him a slave again all his life and amongst strangers , ,
too for forty dirty dollars

,
.
O nce I said to myself it would b e a thousand times better

for Jim to be a slave at home where his family was as long as ,
he d g o t to be a slave and so I d better write a letter to Tom

’
,
’
S awyer and tell him to tell M iss Watson where he was But .
I soon give up that notion for two things : she d be mad an d ’
disgusted at his rascality and ungratefulness for leaving her ,
and so she d sell him straight down the river agai n ; and i f
’
she didn t eve ry body n aturally despises an ungrateful nig

’
,
’
ger and they d make Jim feel it all the time and so he d
,
’
,
feel ornery and disgraced And then think of m e ! It would .
get all around that Huck F inn helped a nigger to get his
freedom ; and if I w as ever to see anybody from that town
again I d be ready to get down and lick his boots for shame
’
.
That s just the way : a person does a low down thing an d

’ -
,
'
th e n he don t w ant to take n o c o n se qu e n c e s o f it Thinks as

’
.
long as he can hide it ain t no d isg race That was my fix ,

’
.
e xactly The more I studied about this the more my con

.
500 TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C K LE B E RR Y F I N N
paper and a pencil all glad and excited and set down and
, ,
wrote
Mi ss W ats o n , y o u r r u n aw a y n ig g er J im is d ow n h ere tw o m i l bl
e e ow Pik e sv ille ,
an d Mr . Ph l p
e s h as g o t h im an d he w i ll g iv e h im up fo r th e re w ard if y o u se n d .
HU CK FINN .
I felt g ood and all washed clean o f sin for the first time I
had ever felt so in my life and I knowed I could pray n ow , .
’
But I didn t do it straight o ff but laid the paper down and ,
se t there thinking — thinking how good it was all this hap

pened so and how near I come to being lost and going to
,
hell And went o n thinking And got to thinking over o u r

. .
trip do wn the river ; and I see Jim before me all the time
in th e day and in the n ight time sometimes moonlight some
-
, ,
times storms and we a fl o atin g along talking and singing and

-
, ,
laughing But somehow I couldn t seem to strike n o places

.
’
’
to harde n me against him but only the other kind I d s ee ,
.
’ ’
him standing my watch on top o f his n stead o f calling me , ,
so I co ul d g o o n sleeping ; and s ee him how glad he was when
I come back ou t o f th e fo g ; and when I come to him again

in th e swamp up there where the feud was ; and such like -
,
time s ; and would al ways call m e honey and pet me and do , ,
e v erything he could think o f for me and how good he al ,
ways w as ; and at last I struck the time I saved him by telling

th e m e n we had smallpox aboard and he was so grateful , ,
and said I was the best friend o ld Jim ever had in the world ,
an d th e o n ly o n e he s got now ; an d then I happened to look

’
aro und and see that paper .
It Was a close place I took it up and held it in my hand.

,
.
I was a trembling because I d got to decide forever betwixt

’
‘
-
, , ,
tw o things and I knowed it I studied a minute sort of hold

,
.
,
ing my breath and then says to myself,

”—
All right then , I ll g o to hell
,
and tore it up
’
.
It was awful thoughts and awful words but they was ,
s aid An d I let them stay said ; and never thought no more

.
Y OU C A N T P R AY A L I E
’
50 1
about reforming I shoved the whole thing o u t o f my h e ad

.
,
an d said I would take u p wickedness again which w as in ,
my line being brung up to it an d the other warn t And fo r a

, ,
’
.
starter I would go to work and steal Jim o u t o f slavery again ;

an d if I could think up anything worse I would do that , ,
to o ; because as long as I was in and in fo r good I might as , ,
well g o the whole hog .
Then I set to thinking ov e r h ow to get at it and turn e d ,
over some consider able many ways in my mind ; and at last

fi xed up a plan that suited me So then I took th e bearings .
o f a woody island that was down the river a piece and as ,
soon as it was fairly dark I crept ou t w ith my raft and wen t

fo r it and hid it there and then turned in I slept the night
, ,
.
through and got up before it was light and had my break

, ,
fast and put o n my store clothes and tied up some others

, ,
and o n e thing o r another in a bundle and took the cano e and ,
cleared for shore I landed below where I judged w as Phelps s

.
’
place and hid my bundle in the woods and then filled u p

, ,
th e canoe with Wate r and loaded rocks into her and sunk
,
her wh ere I c o u ld find her agai n when I wanted h e r about

’
-
a quarter o f a mil e below a littl e ste am sawmill that w as on
the bank .
Then I struck up the road and when I pas sed th e mill I ,

“ ”
s e e a sign o n it Phelps s S awm ill , and when I com e to
,
’
the farm houses tw o o r three hundred yards further along

-
, ,
’
I kept my eyes peeled but didn t see nobody ar ound though
, ,
it was good day light n o w But I didn t mind because I

- .
’
,
’ —
did n t want to see nobody just yet I only wanted to get th e
lay o f the land According to my plan I was going to turn
.
,
up there from the village not from below S o I just took a

,
.
look and shoved along straight fo r town Well th e v e ry

, ,
.
,
first man I see when I g o t there was the duke He was stick .
ing up a bill for the R oyal N onesuch — three night per

-
—
fo rm an c e like that other time Th ey had the cheek them .
,
frauds ! I was right on him before I could shirk He looked .
a stonish ed and says :

,
“ ”
Hel l o ! Where d you come from ? Then he says kind
- ’
,
o f glad and eager —

Wh e re s the raft ? g o t her in a good
,
’
”
p lace ?
I says
’
Why that s just what I was going to ask your grace
, .
’
Then he didn t look so joyful and says : ,
“ ”
What was your idea for asking m e ? he says .
” “
Well I says when I see the king in that doggery yes
, ,
te rday I says to myself we can t get him home for hours till
’
, ,
h e s soberer ; so I went a lo afi n g around town to put in the

’
-
time and wait A man up and offered me ten cents to help

.
him pull a ski ff over the river and back to fetch a sheep and ,
s o I went along ; but when we was dragging him to the boat ,
and th e man left m e a holt o f the rope and went behind him
-
t o shove him along he was too strong for me and jerked

,
l oose and run and we after him We didn t have no dog

’
.
, ,
and so we had to chase him al l over the country till we tired

him o u t We never got him till dark ; then we fetched him
.
over and I started down for the raft Wh en I got there and
,
.
s e e it was gone I says to myself They ve got into trouble ‘ ’

, ,
an d had to leave ; and they ve took my nigger which is the

’
,
only nigger I ve got in the world and now I m in a strange

’
,
’
country and ain t got n o property n o more nor nothing and

,
’
, ,
n o way to m ak e my living ; so I set down and cried I slept

’
.
in the woods all night But what did become o f the raft
.
,
— —
then ? and Jim poor Jim ! ”
“ —
Blamed if I know that is what s become o f the raft ,
’
.
T hat o ld fool had made a trade and got forty dollars and ,
when we found him in the doggery the loafers had matched

h alf dollars with him and got every cent but what he d spent
’
-
fo r whisky ; and when I g o t him home late last night and

fluttering on his arm thinking ,and wrinkling up his fore ,
head At last he says :

.
“ ’
I ll tell you something We got to be here three days If . .
you ll promise yo u won t blow and won t let the nigger blow
’ ’
,
’
,
”
I ll tell you where to find him
’
.
SO I promised ; and he says :

A farmer by the name o f S ilas Pb and then he
stopped Y o u see he started to tell me the truth ; but when
.
,
he stopped that way and begun to study and think again I

, ,
reckoned he was ch anging his mind And so he was He . .
wouldn t trust me ; he wanted to make sure Of having me

’
ou t o f the way the whol e three days S o pretty soon he says .
The m an that bought him is named Abr am F oster

—
Abram G F oster and he lives forty mile back here in the
.
”
country On the road to L afayette
,
.
“ “
All right I says I can walk it in three days And I ll
, ,
.
’
”
start this very afternoon .
“ ’
N0 yo u won t you ll start n ow ; and don t you lose any
’
,
’
time ab out it neither n o r do any gabbling by the way Just

, ,
.
keep a tight tongue in your head and move right al ong and ,
” ’
then you won t get into trouble with a s d ye hear ?
’
,
That was the order I wanted and that was the o n e I ,
played fo r I wanted to be left free to work my plans

. .
“ ”
SO clear o u t he says ; and you c an tell M r F oster
,
.
whatever you want to M aybe you can get him to believe .
—
that Jim is your nigger some idiots don t r equire docu ’
—
ments leastways I ve heard there s such down S outh here
’ ’
.
’
And when you tell him the handbill and the reward s bogus ,
maybe he ll believe y o u when you explain to him what the

’
idea was for getting em out Go long now and tell him ’
.
’
,
’
an ything you want to ; but m l n d y o u don t work your jaw
”
any be tw e en here and there .
’
S o I left and struck for the back country I didn t look
,
.
around but I kinder felt like he was watching me But I

,
.
Y OU C A N T P R AY A L I E
’
50 5
knowed I could tire him o u t at that I went straight ou t in

.
the country as much as a mile befor e I stopped ; then I

doubled back through the woods towards Phelps s I reckon ed
’
.
I better start in o n m y plan straight o ff without fooling

around , because I w anted to s toi
’
m s mouth till thes e fel
’
lows could get away I didn t want n o trouble with their kind
. .
I d seen all I wanted to o f th e m and wan t e d to g et e ntirely

’
,
shut o f them .
CHAPT ER XXXII
I HAVE A NE W N AME
W HEN I got ther e it was all still and S unday-like and h o t ,
and sunshiny ; the hands was gone to the fields ; and there
w as them kind Of faint dro n in g s of bugs and flies in the air
that makes it seem so lonesome and lik e everybody s dead ’
and g one ; and if a b reeze fan s along and quivers the leaves
"
it makes you feel mournful because yo u feel like it s spirits

,
’
—
whispering spirits that s been dead ever so many years
’
and yo u al ways think they re talking about y ou As a gen

’
.
eral thing it makes a body wi sh he was dead too and done , ,
with it all .
’
Phelps s was o n e of these little one horse cotton planta
-
tions and they all look alike A rail fence round a two acre -
,
.
yard ; a stile made o u t o f logs sawed Off and u p ended in

-
steps like barrels o f a different length to climb over the

, ,
fence with and for the women to stand o n when they are
,
going to j ump onto a horse ; some sick ly grass patches in the

-
big yard but mostly it w as bare an d smooth like an o ld hat

, ,
with the nap rubbed o ff; big double log house for the white
—
folks hewed logs with the chinks stopped up with mud o r
,
mortar and these mud stripes bee n whitewashed some tim e

,
-
or another ; round log kitchen with a big broad open but

-
, ,
roofed passage joining it to the house ; log smokehouse back

’
o f the kitchen ; three little log nigger cabins in a row t other
si de o f the smokehouse ; one little b u t all by itself away down

against the back fence and some outbuildings down a piece
,
the other side ; ash hopper and big kettle to bile soap in by
-
50 6
508 T H E A DVE NT U RE S OF H U C K L E B E RR Y F I N N
little nigger boys without anything on but tow linen Shirts -
,
and they hung o n to their mother s gown and peeped out ’

,
from behind her at me bashful the way they always do And

, , .
here comes the white woman running from the house about ,
-
forty fiv e o r fifty year Old bareheaded and her spinn ing
, ,
Stick in her hand ; and behind her comes her little white
children acting th e same way the little niggers was going
,
.
—
She was smiling all over so Sh e c ould hardly stand and says :
“ ’ —
It s y ou at last ! ain t it ?
,
” ’
“ ”
I o u t with a Y es m before I thought
’
.
Sh e grabbed me and hugged me tight ; and then gripped

‘
m e by both hand s and shook and shook ; and the tears come
in her eyes an d run down over ; and she couldn t seem to
’
,
“
hug and shake enough and kept saying You don t look as
, ,
’
m uch like your mother as I r eckoned you would ; but law

sakes I don t care for that I m so glad to see you ! D ear
,
’
,
’
,
de ar it does seem like I could eat you up ! Children it s your

, ,
’
c ousi n To m ! — tell him howdy .

’
But they ducked their heads and put their fingers in their ,
m ouths and hid behind her SO Sh e run o n :

,
.
“
L ize hurry up and get him a hot breakfast right away
,
”
o r did you get your breakfast o n the boat ?
I said I had got it on the boat So then she started for the .
house leading me by the hand and the children tagging

, ,
. i l i
after When we got there she set me down n a sp bottomedt-
chair and set herself down o n a little low stool in front o f me

, ,
h olding both o f my hands and says : ,

“ ’
N ow I can have a g o od look at you ; and laws a me I ve
- -
, ,
been hungry for it a many and a many a time all these long ,
years and it s come at last ! We been e xpecting you a couple

,
’
o f d ays and more What kep you ?

-
.
—boat get aground ?
’ ”
“
Y es m — she
’
’ —
D on t say ye s m say Aunt S ally Where d she get
’
.
’
a ground ? ”
I H A VE A NE W NAME 50 9
’
I didn t rightly know what to say because I didn t know
’
,
whether the boat would be coming up the river o r down But .
I go a go od deal on instinct ; and my instinct said she would

—
,
be coming u p from down towards O rleans That didn t ’

.
help me much though ; for I didn t know the name s o f bars

,
’
’
down that way I see I d got to invent a bar or forget the
.
,
name Of the one we got aground o u o r — N owI s truck

an idea and fetched it ou t :
,
“ —
It warn t the gr ounding that didn t keep us back but a
’ ’
”
little We blowed o u t a cylinder head
- .
”
Go od gracious ! anybody hurt ?
N o m K illed a nigger
’
. .
Well it s lucky ; b ecause sometimes people do get hurt

,
’
.
TW O years ago last Christmas your uncle S ilas was coming

up from N e w rle an s o n the Old L o lly R o o k an d she blowed ,
-
o u t a cylinder head and crippled a man And I think he .
died afterwards He w as a B aptist Your uncle S ilas knowed

. .
a family in Baton R ouge that knowed his people very well .
Yes I remember now he did die M ortification set in and

‘
.
, , ,
they had to amputate him But it didn t save him Yes it .

’
.
,
w as m o rtifi catio n — that was it He turned blue all over an d .

,
.
died in th e hope o f a glorious resurrection They say he was .
’
a sight to look at Your uncle s been up to the town every
.
day to fetch you And h e s gone again not more n an hour

.
’
,
’
ag o ; he ll be back any minute now Y o u must a met hi m o n

’ ’ ’
.
,
—
the road didn t y o u ? Oldish man with a
’
,
“
N o I didn t see nobody Aunt S ally The boat landed
,
’
,
.
just at daylight and I left my baggage o n the wharf boat and

,
-
went looking around the town and out a piece in the country ,
to put in the time and n o t get here too soon ; and so I come
”
down the back way .
“ ’
Who d you give the baggage to ?
”
Nobody .
Why child it ll be stole !

, ,
’
”
N o t where I hid it I reckon it won t , I says ’
.
’
How d you get your breakfast so early o n the boat ?
It was kinder thin ice but I says ,
The captain see me standing around and told me I better ,
have something to eat before I went ashore ; S O he took me

”
in the texas to the o ffic e rs lunch and give me all I wanted
’
,
.
I was getting so uneasy I couldn t listen good I had my ’

.
mind on the children all the time ; I wanted to get them o u t

to o n e side and pump them a little and find o u t w h o I was ,
.
But I couldn t get no Show M rs Phelps kept it up and run

’
,
.
o n so Pretty soon she made the cold chills streak all down
.
my back because she says : ,
But here we re a running on this way and you hain t

- ’
,
’
told me a word about S is nor any of them N ow I ll rest my

,
.
’
works a little and you start up yourn ; just tell me e v ery thin g
—tell me all about m al l— every o n e of em ; and how they
,
’ ’
’
are and what they re doing and what they told you to tell
, ,
”
me ; and every last thing you can think of .
—
Well I see I was up a stump and up it g ood Providence
, .
had stood by me this fur all right but I was hard and tight ,
aground n o w I see it warn t a bit o f u se to try to go ah ead

.
’
I d g o t to thro w up my hand SO I says to myself here s an

’ ’
.
,
other place where I got to re sk the truth I opened my mouth .
to begin ; but Sh e grabbed me and hustled me in behind the

bed and says :
,
Here he comes ! S tick your head down lower there — ,
that 11 do ; you can t be seen now D on t you le t on you re

’ ’
.
’ ’
”
here I ll play a j oke on him Children don t you say a word
.
’
.
,
’
.
I see I was in a fix now But it warn t no use to worry ; .

’
there warn t nothing to do but just hold still and try and be
’
,
ready to stand from under whe n the lightning struck .
I had just one little glimpse o f the Old gentleman when he

come in ; then the bed hid him M rs Phelps she jumps for . .
him and says

,
51 2 T H E A DVE N TU RE S OF H U C K L E B E RR Y F I N N
the hand and shook and kep t on Shaking ; and all the time
,
how the woman did dance around and laugh and cry ; and
then how they both did fire Off questions about S id and ,
M ary and the rest of the tribe

,
.
’
But if they w as joyful it warn t nothing to what I was ;
,
fo r it was like b e ing born again I was so glad to find o u t w h o

,
I was Well they froze to me fo r two hours ; and at last wh en

.
, ,
’
my chin was so tired it couldn t hardly go any more I had ,
—
told them more about my family I mean the S awyer fam
—
ily than ever happened to any six S awyer families And I .
explained all about how we bl owed o u t a cylinder head at the

-
mouth o f White River and it took us three days to fix it

,
.
Which was all right and worked fi rst rate ; because they
-
,
didn t know but what it would take three days to fix it If

’
.
’ ’
I d a called it a bolt head it would a done just as well
’ ’ ’ - .
Now I was feeling pretty comfortable all down o n e side ,
and pretty uncomfortable all up the other Being Tom S aw .
yer w as easy and comfortable and it stayed easy and c om

“
fo rtab le till by and by I hear a steamboat coughing along

down the river Then I says to myself s pose Tom S awy er
. ,
,
’
’
comes down on that boat ? And s pose he steps in here any
minute and sings out my name before I can throw him a
,
w ink to keep quiet ?

’
Well I couldn t h av e it that way ; it wouldn t do at all I
,
’
.
must go up the road and waylay him S o I told the folks I .
rec k oned I would go up to the town and fetch down my

baggage The Old gentleman was for going along with me
.
,
but I said no I could drive the horse myself an d I druthe r h e

, ,
w ouldn t tak e no trouble about m e

’
.
C HAPT ER XXXIII
TH E PITIF UL ENDIN G OF ROYAL TY
SO I started for town in the wagon and when I -

w as half way
,
!
I see a wagon c om m g and sure e nough it w as To m S awyer

, ,
“
and I stopped and w ai ted till he come along I says Hold .
”
on ! and it stopped alongside and h is mouth opened up like ,
a trunk and stayed so ; and h e swallowed tw o o r three times

!
,
’
like a person that s g o t a dry throat and then says ,
“
I hain t ever done you n o harm Y ou know that SO then
’
. .
, ,
”
what you want to come b ack and ha nt me fo r ? ’
I says :
’ —
I h ai n t come back I hain t been g on e : ’
When he heard my voice it righted him up some but h e ,
warn t quite satiSfi e d yet He says :

’
.
“ ’
D on t yo u play nothing o n me because I wou ldn t on ,
’
” ’
y o u. Honest injun you ain t a ghost
,
?
“ ” ’
Honest injun I ain t I says
“
.
, ,
— — —
Well I I well that ought to settle it o f course ; but
, ,
I can t somehow seem to understand it n o way L ooky here

’
.
,
’ ”
warn t you ever murdered at all ?
“
.
’ —
N o I warn t ever murdered at all I played it on them .
”
You come in here and feel o f m e if yo u don t believe me ’
.
SO he done it ; and it satisfied him ; and he was that glad

’
to see me again he didn t know what to do And he wanted to .
know all about it right Off because it was a gr and adventure

, ,
and mysterious and SO it hit him where he lived But I said

, .
,
leave it alone till by and by ; and told his driver to wait and ,
we drove Off a little piece and I told him the kind o f a fix I

,
5 3
1
was in and what did h e reckon we better do ? He said let him
, ,
alone a minute and don t disturb him S o he thought and

,
’
.
thought and pretty s oon he says :

,
“ ’ ’
It s all right ; I ve got it Take my trunk in your wagon .
,
’
an d let on it s yourn ; and you turn back and fool along Slow ,
S O as to get to the house about the time you ought to ; and I ll

’
g o towards town a piece an d take a fresh start and get there, ,
a quarter o r a half an hour after you ; and you needn t let ’
on to know me at first .
I says :
All right ; but wait a minute There s o n e more thing a — .
’
thing that n o body don t know but me And that is th e re s a ’

.
,
’
nigger here that I m a trying to ste al o u t Of slavery and his

- ’ f
—
name is J im old M iss Watson s Jim ” ’
.
He says :
“
What ! Why Jim is ,
He stopped and went to studying I says .
“
I kno w what you ll say You ll say it s dirty low d own
’
- .
’ ’
,
’ ’
business ; but what if it is ? I m low down ; and I m a going
-
t o steal him and I want you keep mum and not let on Will
, .
”
y o u ?
His eye lit up and he says : ,
“ ”
I ll h elp you steal him !
’
Well I let go all holts then like I was shot It was the
,
.
—
most as tonishing speech I ever heard and I m bound to ’
s ay T o m S awyer fell co n siderable in my estimation O nly I .
couldn t believe it Tom S awyer a n ig g er s te aler !

’ - .
“ ” “ ”
Oh Shucks ! I says ; you re j oking
,
’
.
I ain t joking either ’

,
.
” “
Well then I says j oking or no joking if you hear any
, , , ,
“
’
thing said about a runaway nigger don t forget to remember ,
’
that y ou don t know nothing about him and I don t know
’
,
”
nothing about him .
The n he took the trunk and put it in my wagon and he ,

th e ram When he o t -front
o f us he lifts his hat ever SO
.
g a
gracious and d ainty like it was the lid o f a box that had ,
butterflies asleep in it and he didn t want to disturb them ’

,
and says :
”
M r Archibald Nichols I presume ?
.
,
“
N o my b oy says the old gentleman I m sorry to
, , ,
’
say t your driver has deceived you ; N ich o ls s place is down

’ ’
”
a matter o f three mile more C ome in come in
’
. .
,
To m he took a look back over his Shoulder and says , ,
—
Too late h e s o u t o f sight
’
.
“ ’
Yes he s gone my s o n an d you must come in an d eat
, , ,
yo u r dinner with us ; and the n we ll hitch up and take y o u ’
”
down to Nich ols s ’
.
“
O h I c an t make yo u so much troubl e I couldn t think
,
’ ’
’
o f it I ll walk
.
— I don t mind the distance
’
.
“ —
But we won t l et yo u walk it wouldn t be S outhern
’ ’
”
hos pitality to do it C ome right in . .
“
O h d o says Aunt S ally ; it ain t a bit of trouble to us
, ,
’
,
n o t a bit in th e world Y o u m u s t stay It s a long dusty three

’
. .
,
’ ’
mile and we c an t let yo u walk And besides I ve already
,
.
, ,
’
told em to put o n another plate when I see you coming ; so
y ou mustn t disappoint ’
us C ome right in and make yourself .
”
at home .
SO Tom he thanked them very hearty and handsome and ,
le t hi mself be persuaded and come in ; an d when h e was in ,
h e said he was a stranger from Hicksville O hio and his , ,
—
name was William Thomp son and he made another bow .
Well he run o n and o n and on making up stuff about

, , , ,
Hicksville and everybody in it he could invent and I getting ,
a little nervous and wondering how this was going to help

,
me o u t of my scrape ; and at last still talking along he , ,
reached over and kissed Aunt S ally right o n the mouth and ,
then settled back again in his chair comfortabl e , and w as

TH E P I TI F U L E N D I N G OF R O YA L TY 51 7
g o rn g o ntalking ; but Sh e j umped up and wiped it Off with

the back o f her hand and says : ,
“ ”
You o w dac io u s puppy !
He looked kind o f hurt and says ,
“ ’ ” ’
I m surprised at you m am ,
.
You re S rp ’
Why what do you reckon I am ? I ve a
’
,
’
good notion to take and S ay what do you mean by ,

'
”
kissing me ?
He looked kind o f humble and says ,
“ ’
I didn t mean nothing m am I didn t mean n o harm
’
,
’
. .
— —
I I thought you d like it
” ’
.
“ ” -
Why you born fool ! sh e took up th e spinning stick and
, ,
it l ooked like it was all Sh e could do to keep from giving

” ’
him a crack with it What made you think I d like it ? .
“ — —
Well I don t know O nly they they told me yo u
,
— ’
.
,
”
would .
“
Th ey told y ou I would Whoe v er told you s an oth er luna
’
.
”
tic I never heard the beat Of it Who s th ey ?
. .
’
“ ”
Why everybody They all said SO m am
,
.
,
’
.
It w as all she could do to hold in ; and her eyes snapped ,
and her fingers worked like she wanted to s cratch him ; and
she says
“ ’
Who s everybody ? O ut with their names o r th e r ll be
‘ ’
,
’
an idiot short .
He g o t up and looked distressed and fumbled his hat , ,
an d says
“ ’
I m sorry and I warn t expecti ng it They told me to
,
’
. .
They all told me to They all said kiss her ; and said She d .
,
’
.
—
like it They all said it every one of them But I m sorry .
’
,
’
,
—
m am and I won t do it no mor e I won t honest ’ ’
,
.
“ ”
Y o u won t won t y o u ? Well I sh d r e c k o n you won t !
’ ’ ’ ’
, ,
’ ’
N o m I m honest about it ; I won t ever do it again
,
’
”
till you ask me .
5 1 8 TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C K LE B E RR Y F I N N
Till I ask you ! Well I never see the beat o f it in my born ,
days ! I lay you ll be the M ethusalem numskull o f creation

-’ ‘
—
be fore ever I ask you o r the likes o f you
”
.
“ ” “
Well he says it does surprise me so I can t make it
, ,
.
’
ou t somehow They said you would and I thought y ou

,
.
,
would But . He s toppe d a n d looked around slow like he ,
wished he could run acros s a friendly eye somewheres and ,

“
fetched up o n the Old gentleman s an d says D idn t y ou ’
, ,
’
’ ”
think She d like me to kiss her sir ? ,
“ — —
Why n o ; I I well no I b liev e I didn t
,
”
, ,
’ ’
.
Then he looks on around the same way to me and says : ,

“
T o m didn t y o u think Aunt S ally d open o u t her arms
’ ’
,
an d s ay S id
f ” yS aw er
‘
M y land ! Sh e says breaking in and jumping for him , ,
you impudent young rascal to fool a body so and w as ,
going to h ug him but he fended her o ff and says :, ,

“ ”
N O not till you ve asked me first
’
.
,
“
’
SO she didn t lose no time but asked him ; and hugged ,
him and kissed him over and over again and then turned ,
him over to the Old m an and he took wh at was left And ,

.
'
after they got a little quiet again she says :

“ ’
Why dear me I never see such a surprise We warn t
, ,
.
looking for y ou at all but only Tom S is never wrote to me ,

.
about anybody coming but him .
“
It s because it warn t in te n d e d for any o f us to com e but
’ ’
”
Tom he says ; but I begged and b e gged and at the l ast
, ,
minute sh e let me come too ; so coming down the river m e , , ,
and Tom thought it would be a fi rs t rate surprise for him to

-
come here to the house first and for me to by and by tag ,
along and drop in and let o n to be a stranger But it was a

,
.
mistake Aunt S ally This ain t no healthy place fo r a

,
.
’
”
stranger to come .
“ —
N o not impudent whelps Sid Y o u ought to had your ,
.
’
j aws boxed ; I hain t been so put o u t since I don t know when
’
.
J im run away ; and I told T o m all about o u r R oyal N one

su c rapscallions and as much of the raft voyage as I had
,
time to ; and as we struck into the town and up through the

i — i
middle Of t t was as much as half after eight then here —
comes a raging rush Of people with torches and an awful ,
whooping and yelling an d banging tin pans and blowing ,
h Orn s ; and we jumped to o n e side to let them go by ; and as

they went by I see they had the king and the duke astraddfe
o f a rail — that is I knowed it w as the king and the duke
, ,
though they was all over tar and feathers and didn t look like ,
’
— F
nothing in the world that was human j u st looked like a
couple o monstrous big soldier plumes Well it made m
f - e .
,
Sick to see it ; and I was sorry for them poor pitiful rascals ,
it seemed like I couldn t ever feel any hardness against ’
them an y more in the world It was a dreadful thing to see

‘
. .
Human beings c an be awful cruel to o n e another .
—
“
‘
J
’
We se e we was tOO Iate couldn t do no good We asked .
s ome stragglers about it and they said everybody went to ,
the Show looking ve ry innocent ; and laid low and kept dark
till the poor Old king was in the middle o f his c av o rtin g s on
the stage ; then somebody give a signal and the house rose ,
up and went for them .
S o we poked along back home and I warn t feeling SO ,

’
brash as I was before but kind o f ornery and humble and to

, , ,
—
blame somehow though I hadn t done nothing But that s ’
.
’
,
always the way ; it don t make no di fference whether you do ’
’
right Or wrong a person s conscience ain t got no sense and
’
, ,
’
j ust goes for him an yw ay If I had a y alle r dog that did n t .
know n o mor e than a person s conscience does I would pison ’
’
him It takes up more room than all the rest of a person s
.
insides and ye t ain t no good nohow T om S awyer he s ays

’
‘
.
, ,
th e sam e .
CHA PT E R XXXI V
WE C H EER UP J IM
WE stopped talking and got to thinking By and by T om

,
.
says
“
Looky here Huck what fools we are to n o t think o f it
, ,
before ! I bet I k n Ow where Jim is ”

.
“
N 0 ! Where ?
-
In that hut down by the ash hopper Why looky here .
.
,
When we was at dinner didn t you see a nigger m an g o in

,
’
”
there with some vittles ?
“ ”
Yes .
What did you think the vittl e s was for ?

”
Fo r a dog .
S o d I Well it wasn t fo r a dog

’
.
,
’
.
”
Why ?
Because part o f it w as watermelon .
—
SO it was I noticed it Well it does beat all that I never .
,
thought about a dog not eating watermelon It shows how a .
body can see and do n t see at the s ame time ’

.
Well the nigger unlocked the padlock whe n he went in

, ,
and he locked it again when he came out He fetch ed uncle .
—
'
a key about the time we got up from t able same key I bet ,
.
’
Watermelon shows man lock shows prisoner ; and it ain t,
likely there s tw o prisoners on such a little plantation and

’
,
,
’
where the people s all so kind an d g ood Jim s the prisoner
’
. .
—
All right I m glad we foun d it out detective fashion ; I
’
would n t g 1v e Shucks for any other way N ow you work

’
.
your mind and study o u t a plan to steal Jim and I will

, ,
study o u t o n e too ; and we ll take the o n e we like the best
,
’
.
What a head for just a boy to have ! If I had Tom S awyer s ’
head I wouldn t trade it Off to be a d u ke nor mate Of a

’
,
steamboat nor clown in a circus n o r nothing I can think Of

, , .
I went to thinking out a plan but only just to be doing some ,
thing ; I knowed very well where the right plan was going to
come from Pretty soon To m says :
.
“ ”
R eady ?
”
Yes I says ,
.
—
All right bring it out .
”
M y plan is this I says We can easy find o u t if it s Jim
,
.
’
in there Then get up my canoe to morrow night and fetch

.
-
,
my raft o v er from the island Then the first dark night that
’
comes steal the key out of the old man s britches after he ’
goes to bed and shove o ff down the river o n the raft with
,
Jim hiding daytimes and running nights the way me and

, ,
” ’
Jim used to do before Wouldn t that plan work ? .
“
W ork ? Why c e rt n ly it would work like rats a fi gh tin g
,
- ’
,
.
’
But it s too blame simple ; there ain t nothing to it What s
’ ’
.
’
’
the good Of a plan that ai n t n o more trouble than that ? It s ’
as mild as g o o se m ilk Why Huck it wouldn t make no more .

, ,
’
”
talk than br e aking into a soap factory .
I never said nothing because I warn t expecting n othing ,

’
different ; but I knowed mighty well that whenever he g o t h is

plan ready it wouldn t have n one o f them Objections to it ’
.
And it didn t He told me what it was and I see in a

’
.
,
minute it was worth fifteen o f mine for style and would make ,
Jim j ust as free a man as mine would and maybe get us all ,
killed besides S o I was satisfied and said we would waltz

.
,
in o n it I needn t tell what it was here ,because I knowed it

.
’
wouldn t stay the way it was I knowed he would be changing

’
.
it around every which way as we went along and heaving ,
in new bu llin e sse s wherever he g o t a chance And that is

‘
w hat he done .
5 24 TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C KLE B E RR Y F I N N
hole up tolerable high with just one stout board nailed
, ,
across it I says : .
“ ’
Here s the ticket This hole s big enough fo r Jim to g e t
.
’
”
through if we wrench o ff the board .
T o m says :
“ - - i
’
It s as Simple as tit tat toe three - n -a row and as e asy
-
, ,
as playing hooky I should h ope we can find a way that s a

’
.
”
little more complicated than th at Huck F inn , .
Well the n I says h ow ll it do to saw him o u t the

“ ’
’
, , , ,
way I done before I was murdered that time ? ”
“ ’ ”
That s more lik e he says It s real mysterious and ,
.
’
,
“
troublesome and g oo d he says ; but I bet we can find a
, ,
’ ’
way that s twice as long There ain t no hurry ; le s keep o n
’
.
”
looking around .
Betwixt the b u t and the fence o n the back side w as a , ,
lean to that joined th e b u t at the eaves and was made o u t o f

-
—
,
plank It was as long as th e hut but narrow only about

.
,
six foot wide The door to it w as at the south end and w as

.
,
padlocke d Tom he went to the soap kettle and searched

.
-
around and fetched back the iron thing they lift the lid
,
with ; so he took it and prized o u t one o f the staples Th e .
ch ai n fell down and we opened the door and went in and

, ,
shut it and struck a match and see the sh ed was only buil t
, ,
against a cabin and hadn t n o connection with it ; and ther e ’
’
warn t n o floor to the shed nor nothing in it but some Old ,
rusty played out hoes and spades and picks and a crippled
-
plow The match went out and so did we an d shoved in th e

.
, ,
staple again and the door was locked as good as ever Tom
,
.
.
w as joyful He says .
“
No w w e re all right We ll dig him out It 11 take about a
’
.
’
.
’
”
week !
Then we started for the house and I went in the back ,
—
door you only h aV e to pull a buckskin latchstring they ,
—
don t fasten the doors but that warn t romantical enough
’ ’
W E C HEER UP J IM 5 25
fo r Tom S awyer ; no way would do him but he must climb up

the lightning rod But after he got up half way about three
- - .
times and missed fire and fell every time and the last time
”
, ,
’
most busted his brains o u t he thought he d got to give it up ; ,
but after he was rested he allowed he would giv e h e r on e

’
more turn for luck and this time h e made the trip ,
.
In the morning we was up at break o i day and down to .

,
th e nigger cabin sto pet the dogs and make friends with th e
—
nigger that fed J i m if it w as Jim that was being fed Th e .
niggers was just getting through bre akfast and starting fo r

the fields ; and Jim s nigger was piling up a tin pan with
’
bread and meat and things ; and whils t th e others was leav
ing the key come from the hous e
,
.
-
This nigger had a good natured chuckle headed face and
-
, ,
his wool w as all tied up in little bunches with th re ad Th at

’
was to keep witches off He said the witches w as pester i ng .
him awful these nights and making hi m se e all k in ds o f ,

~
strange th ings and hear all kinds o f strange words an d

,
’
noises and he didn t beli eve h e w as ever witched so long
‘
b e fo re i n his life He g o t s o worked u p an d g o t to running o n

.
,
,
s o about his tro u b le s he forgot all about w hat h e d be e n

’
_ ,
a going to do SO Tom s ays :

- .
“ ”
What s th e vittles fo r ? Going to feed the dogs ?
’
The nigg er kind o f smiled around g radu ly over his face ,
like when you heave a brickbat in a mud puddle and he says :

-
,
“ ’
Yes M ars S id a do n u r u s do g too D oes you want to
, , ,
.
”
i
’
g o en look at m ?
“ ”
Y es .
I hunched Tom and whispers ,
You going right here in the daybreak ? Th at warn t th e

,
’
”
plan .
“
N o it warn t ; but it s the plan n ow
,
’ ’
.
SO drat him we went along but I didn t like it much

’
,
.
, ,
When we got in we couldn t hardly see anything it was so ’

”
,
5 26 T H E A DVE N T UR E S OF H U C KL E B E RR Y F I N N
dark ; but Jim w as ther e sure enough and coul d se e u s ; and
, ,
h e Sings ou t :
“
Why H n c k 1 E n good lan ! ain dat M isto To m ?
,
” ’ ’
I just knowed how it would be ; I just expected it I didn t .

’
k now nothing to do ; and if I had I couldn t a done It b e ’ ’ ’

,
cause that nigger busted in and says

“ ”
Why de gracious sakes ! do he kn ow you g e n lm en ?
,
We could see pretty well now Tom he looked at th e nig .
ger steady and kind o f wondering and says :

, ,
“ ”
D oes w h o know us ?
-
Why dis yer runaway nigger .
,
’
I do n t reckon he does ; but what put that into your
”
head ?
“
What pu t it dar ? D idn he j l s dis minute sing ou t like h e
’ ’
”
k nowed y o u ?
To m says in a puzzled u p kind o f way
,
-
“
Well that s mighty curious Wh o sung o u t ? Wh en did
,
’
.
he sing o u t ? Wh at did he sing out ? And turns to me per

”
,
”
fec tly ca m and says
’
,
D id y ou hear anybody sing o u t ?
,
’
O f course there warn t nothing to be said but the o n e
thing ; SO I says
“
No ; I ain t heard nobody say nothing
’
.
Then he turns to Jim and looks him over lik e he never se e

,
him before and says ,

“ ”
D id y o u sing out ?
” “
N o sah says Jim ; I hain t said nothing sah
, ,
’
,
.
”
N ot a word ?
’
N O sah I hain t s ai d a word
, ,
.
”
D id you ever see us before ?
”
N O sah ; not as I knows on
,
.
So Tom turns to th e nigger which was looking wild and ,
distressed and says kind o f severe

, ,
“
What do you reckon s the matter w ith you anyway ? ’
,
”
What made you think somebody sung out ?
CHAPT ER XXXV
DARK DEEP LAI D P LANS
,
-
IT would be most an hour yet till breakfast so we left and ,
struck down into th e woods ; because Tom said we got to

have s o m e light to see how to dig by and a lantern makes ,
to o much and might get u s into trouble ; what we must hav e

,
was a lot of them rotten chunks that s called fox fi re and

- ’
,
just makes a so ft kind o f a glow when you lay them in a

dark place We fetched an armful and hid it in the weeds and
.
,
se t down to rest and T o m says kind of dissatisfied :

, ,
“
Blame it this whole thing is just as easy and awkward
,
as it can be And so it makes it so rotten di fficult to get up a

.
.
’ —
diffi cult plan There ai n t n o watchman to be drugged now
there o u g h t to be a watchman There ai n t even a dog to give
.
’
a sleeping mixture to And there s Jim chai ned by one leg

- .
’
,
-
with a ten foot chain to the leg o f his bed : why all you got
, ,
to do is to lift up the bedstead and slip Off the chain And .
Uncle S ilas he trusts everybody ; sends the key to the p unkin

headed nigger and don t send nobody to watch the nigger
,
’
.
Jim could a got o u t o f that window hole before this only

’ ’
-
,
-
there wouldn t be n o use trying to travel with a ten foot chain
’
o n his leg Why drat it Huck it s the stupidest arrangement

’
.
, , ,
’
I ever see You got to invent all the difficultie s Well we can t
. .
,
’
help it ; we got to do the best we can with the materials we ve
.
,
—
got Anyhow there s o n e thing there s more honor in get
’ ’
ting him Ou t through a lot of difficulties and dangers w here ,
there warn t o n e of them furnished to you by the people w h o

’
it was their duty to furnish them and you had to contrive ,
5 28
D AR K -
DEEP LA ID P L A N S 5 29
,
them all ou t o f your ow n head N ow look at just that on e .
thing o f th e lantern When y ou come down to the cold facts

.
,
w e simply g o t to le t on that a lantern s re sk y Why we could

’
.
,
work with a torchlight procession if we wanted to I believe , .
N ow whilst I thi n k o f it we got to hunt up something to

, ,
”
make a saw ou t o f the first chance we get .
“
What do we want o f a saw? ”
What do we w an t o f a saw ? Hain t we got to saw the le g ’
”
o f Jim s bed o ff SO as to get the chai n loose ?
’
,
“
Why you just said a body could lift up the bedstead and
,
slip the chain o ff

’
We ll if that ain t just like yo u Huck F inn Y o u c an get
, ,
.
up th e infant-sch o o liest ways o f going at a thing Why hain t .

,
’
y ou e v er read any books at al l ? —

B aro n T re n c k nor C asa ,
nova nor B envenuto Ch elle e n y n o r Henri I V n o rn on e o f

, ,
.
,
th e m heroes ? W h o ever heard o f getting a prisoner loose in

such an Old maidy way as that ? N o ; the way all the best
-
authorities does is to saw th e bed l eg In tw o and leav e it j ust

-
,
so and sw al low the sawdust so It can t be found and put

’
, , ,
som e dirt and grease around the sawed place so the very
keenest se n esk al can t see n o Sign o f its being sawed and
’
,
h -
thinks e bed leg IS perfectly sound Then the night you r e
t .
’
,
ready fetch th e leg a kick down Sh e go e s ; Slip o ff your ch ai n

, , ,
and there you are N othing to do bu t hitch your rope ladder

.
to the battlements shi ndown it b re ak y o u r leg in the moat

, ,
because a rope ladder is nineteen foot too short you know ,
and there s your hor ses an d your tr usty v assle s and they
’
,
scoop you up and fling you across a saddle and away y o u g o ,

’
to your native L an g u do c o r N avarre ,o r where v er it is I t s
,
.
gaudy Huck I wish there was a moat to this Cabin If w e

,
. .
”
get time the night of the escape we ll dig o n e
, ,
’
.
I says
’
What do we want o f a moat when we re going to snak e
”
him ou t from under the cabin ?
53 ° TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C KL E B E RR Y F I N N
But he never heard me He had forgot me and eve rything .
e lse He had his chin in his hand thinking Pretty soon he

.
,
.
sighs and Shakes his head ; then sighs again and says : ,
“
,
—
N 0 it wouldn t do there ain t necessity enough for it
’ ’
.
”
F or what ? I says .
”
Why to saw Jim s leg Off he says
,
’
,
.
” “ ’
Good land ! I says ; why there ain t n o necessity for it ,
.
”
And what would you want to saw his leg off for anyway ? ,
“
Well some o f the best authorities has done it They
,
.
couldn t get the chain o ff so they just cut their hand o ff a n d

’
,
shoved And a leg would be better still But we got to let

. .
that go There ain t necessity enough in this case ; a n d b e

.
’
,
sides Ji ms a nigger and wouldn t understand the reasons

,
’
,
’
for it and how it s the custom in E urope ; so we ll let it go

,
’ ’
.
—
But there s one thing h e c an have a rope ladder ; we can
’
tear up o u r sheets and make him a rope ladder easy enough .
An d we can send it to him in a pie ; it s mostly done that way

’
.
”
And I ve e t worse pi es
’
.
“
Why Tom S awyer how y o u talk I says ; Jim ain t got
, , ,
’
”
n o use for a r ope ladder .
“
He h as got use for it How y ou talk you better say ; you .
,
’
do n t know nothing about it He s g ot to have a rope ladder ;
’
.
”
they all do .
“ ”
What in the nation can he do with it ?
“
D o with it ? He can hide it in h is bed can t he ? That s
’ ’
,
’ ’
what they all do ; and h e s got to too Huck you don t ever ,
.
,
seem to want to do anything that s regular ; you want to be ’
’
starting something fresh all the time S pose he d o n t do noth .
’
ing with it ? ain t it ther e in his bed for a clue after he s

’
, ,
’
'
gone ? and don t you re ck o n th ey ll want clues ? O f course

’ ’
’
they will And you wouldn t leave them any ? That would be
.
a pre tty howdy do w ou ldn t it ! I never heard of such a

-
,
’
”
thing .
months and mon ths to file it o u t too because they ve got to , ,
’
do it by rubbing it on the wall Th ey wouldn t use a goose .

’
”
quill i f they had it It ain t regular .
’
.
“ ’
Well then what ll we mak e him the ink ou t of ?
, ,
M any makes it ou t o f iron rust and tears ; but that s the

- ’
common sort and women ; the b est authorities uses their o wn

blood Jim can do that ; and when he wants to send any
.
little common ordinary mysterious message to let the world

know wh ere h e s captiv ated he can write it on the bottom o f
’
,
a tin plat e with a fork an d throw it o u t o f the window The .
Iron M ask always done that and it s a blame good way ,

’ ’
,
7)
to o
"
“
Jim ain t got no tin plates They feed him in a pan
’
. .
”
That ai n t nothing ; we can get him some
’
.
”
C an t nobody r e ad his plates
’
.
’
Th at ain t got anything to d o with it Huck F inn All h e s ,
.
’
g o t t o do is to write o n the p late and throw it ou t You don t .

’
hav e to b e able to read it Why half the time you can t read
’
.
,
anything a prisoner writes o n a tin plate o r anywhere else ,

.
”
Well then what s the sense in wasting the plates ?
, ,
’
Wh y blame it all it ain t the prison e r s plates

, ,
” ’ ’
.
”
But it s s om e bo dy s plates ai n t it ?
’ ’
,
’
Well spo s n it is ? What does the pris o n er care whose

,
’
He broke o ff there because we heard the breakfast horn -

,
blowing So we cleared out for the house

. .
Along during the morning I borrowed a sheet and a white

Shirt o ff o f the clothes line ; and I found an Old sack and put
-
them In it and we went down and got th e fox fi re and put

,
-
,
that in to o I called it borrowing because that w as what pap

.
,
always called it ; but To m said it warn t borrowing it was ’

,
stealing He said we was representing prisoners ; and pris ~

.
oners don t car e h ow th ey get a thing so they get it and no

’
,
body don t blame them for it either It ain t no crime in a

’
,
.
’
D AR K -
D E E P LA ID P L AN S 53 3
,
prisoner to steal th e thing he needs to ge t aw ay with T o m ,
said ; it s his right ; and so as long as we was representing a

’
,
pr i soner we had a perfect right to steal anything on this

,
place we had the least use for to get ourselves o u t o f pI ISOIl ‘
’
wi th He said i f we warn t prisoners it would be a very dif
.
fe re n t thing and nobody but a mean ornery person would

, ,
steal when he warn t a prisoner S o we allowed we would ’

.
steal everything there was tha t com e handy And yet he made .
a mighty fuss o n e day after that when I stole a watermelon

, , ,
ou t of the nigger patch and eat it ; and he made me g o and
give the niggers a dime without telling them what it was for .
To m said that what he meant was we could steal anything we ,
n e e de d Well I says I needed the watermelon But he said

.
, ,
.
’
I didn t need it to get out o f prison with ; there s where th e
’
’ ’ ’
difference was He said if I d a wanted it to hide a knife in
.
,
and smuggle it to Jim to kill the se n e sk al with it woul d a ,

’
’ ’
be en all right S o I let it go at that though I c ou ldn t se e n o

.
,
’
advantage in my representing a prisoner if I got to set down

and chaw over a: lot o f gold leaf distinctions like th at every
-
time I Se e a chance to hog a watermelon .
Well as I was saying we waited that morning till every

, ,
body was settled down to business and nobody in Sight ,
around the yard ; then Tom he carried the sack into the lean
to whilst I stood o ff a piece to keep watch By and by he .
co me ou t an d we went and set down on the woodpile to talk

,
.
He says :
“
E verything s all right now excep t tools ; and that s easy
’ ’
”
fixed .
“ ”
Tools ? I says .
”
Yes .
”
Tools for what ?
’
Why to dig with We ain t a going to g n aw him o u t are
,
- .
,
”
w e?
“
Ain t them o ld crippled picks and things in there good
’
”
enough to d1g a m g g e r ou t with ? I says .
534 TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C K LE B ERR Y F I N N
- He turns on me l ooking pitying enough to make a body ,
cry and says :

,
“
Huck F inn did you e v e r hear of a prisoner h av m g p1ck s
,
an d shovels and all the modern conveniences in his wardrobe

,
to dig himself out with ? N ow I want to ask you — i f you got

—
any reasonableness in you at all what kind o f a Show would
th at give him to be a hero ? Why they might as well lend him ,
the key and done with it Picks and shovels why they — .
,
’ ” ’
wouldn t furnish em to a king .
“ “
Well then I says if we don t want the picks and
, , ,
’
”
shovels what do we want ?
,
“
A couple o f case knives
- .
”
To dig the foundations o u t from under that cabin with ?
”
Yes .
C onfound it it s foolish Tom ,

’
,
.
It don t make no di fference how foolish it is it s the rig h t

’
,
’
way — and it s the regular way And there ain t no o th er way

’
.
’
,
that ever I heard o f and I ve read all the books that gives ,
’
any information about these things They always dig out .
- —
with a cas e knife and not through dirt mind you ; g e n e rly
w
it s through solid rock And it t ak e s them weeks and weeks

’
.
and weeks and for e ver and ever Why look at one of them
,
.
,
prison e rs in the bottom dungeon of th e C astle B eef in the ,
harbor of M arseill e s that dug himself out that way ; how ,

”
long was h e at it you re c kon ? ,
“
I don t know ’
.
”
Well guess ,
.
I don t know A month and a half

’
. .
- —
Thir ty s e v e n y e ar and he come out in China Th at s the .
’
”
kind I wish the bottom o f this fortress was solid rock
. .
“ ”
J im don t know nobody in China
’
.
What s th at got to do with it ? N either did that other fel

’
low But you re always a wandering o ff on a side issue Why

.
- ’
.
”
can t y ou stick to the main point ?
’
C HAPT E R XXXVI
TRYI N G To HELP J IM
As soon as we reckoned everybody was asleep that night We

w ent down the lightning rod and shut ourselves up in the
-
,
l e an to and got out our pile o f fox-fi re and went to work

-
, ,
.
We cleared every thing out o f the way about four o r five foot ,
al ong th e middl e o f the bottom log Tom said we was right .
’
behind Jim s bed now and we d dig in under it and when
,
’
,
w e got through there couldn t nobody in the cabin ever know

’
’
ther e was any hole there because Jim s c ou n te rpin hung ,
d own most to the ground and you d have to raise it up and

’
,
look under to see the hole SO we dug and dug with the case
“
k nives till most midnight ; and then we was dog tired and
-
,
o u r hands was blistered and yet you couldn t s e e we d done

’ ’
,
anything hardly A t last I says :

.
This ain t no thirty seven year j ob ; this is a thirty

’
- -
”
e ight year j ob Tom S awyer
-
,
.
H e never said nothing But he sighed and pretty soon he

.
,
s topped digging an d then for a good littl e while I knowed

,
that he was th in k m g Then he says : .
“
It ain t no use Huck it ain t a going to work If we was
’ -
, ,
’
.
’
prisoners it would because then we d have as many years as
,
we wanted and no hurry ; and we Wouldn t get but a few min

,
’
utes to dig every day while they was Changing Watches and
, , ,
s o o u r h ands wouldn t get blistered and we could keep it up

’
,
right along year in and year ou t and do it right and the

, , ,
way it ought to be done But w e can t fool along ; we got to

.
’
rush ; we ain t got no time to spare If we was to put in an

’
.
53 6
T R YI N G To HELP J IM 53 7
’
ot her night this way we d have to knock o ff for a week to let
ou r hands get well
— couldn t touch a case knife with th em
- ’
”
s ooner .
“ ”
Well then what we going to do T om ?
, , ,
“
I ll tell you It ain t right and it ain t moral and I
’
.
’
,
’
,
wouldn t like it to get ou t ; but ther e ain t only j ust the o n e

’ ’
way : we got to dig him o u t with the picks and l e t on it s cas e ,

’
”
k n ives .
“
N ow you re talk in g ! I says ; your head gets leveler an d
’
“
l eveler all the time Tom S awyer I says Picks is the thing
, ,
.
,
moral o r no moral ; and as for me I don t care Shucks for ,

’
t h e morality o f it nohow When I start in,

to steal a nigger
.
,
’
o r a watermelon o r a S unday school book I ain t n o ways
-
, ,
’
particular how it s done SO it s done What I want is my nig
’
.
g ;
e r o r what I want is my watermelon ; o r what I want is my .
’
S unday school book ; an d if a pick s the handiest thin g
-
,
’
that s the thing I m a going to dig that nigger o r that water
- ’
~
melon o r that S unday school book o u t with ; and I don t give

- ’
”
a dead rat w h at th e authorities thinks about it n u th e r
‘
“ ” “
We ll he says there s e xcuse for picks and letting o n in
, ,
’
’
a case like this ; if it warn t so I wouldn t approve o f it n o r ,
’
,
’ —
I wouldn t stand by and see the rules broke because right is
right and wrong is wrong and a body ain t got no business
, ,
’
doing wrong whe n he ain t ignorant and knows better It ’

.
m ight answer for y ou to dig Jim ou t with a pick w ith ou t any ,

’
letting o n because you don t know no better ; but it would n t
,
’
”
for me because I do know better Gimme a case knife
,
- . .
He had h is o w n by him but I handed him mine He flung ,

.
it down and says :

,
“
Gimme a c as e k n ife
- .
’
—
I didn t know just what to do but then I thought I .
scratched around am ongst the o ld tools and g o t a pickax and ,
give it to him and he took it and went to work and never

, ,
said a word .
He was al ways just that particular F ull o f principle . .
SO then I got a shovel and then we picked and shoveled , ,
turn about and made the fur fly We stuck to it about a half

, .
an hour which was as long as we could stan d up ; but we had

,
a good deal O f a hole to Show for it When I got u p-stairs I .
looked out at the window an d see Tom doing his level best
with the lightning rod but he couldn t come it his hands was
-
,
’
,
so sore At last he says :

.
“ ’ ’
It ain t n o use it can t b e done What you reckon I bet
,
.
”
ter do ? C an t you think o f no way ? ’
“ “
'
Yes I says but I reckon it ain t re g u l ar C ome up the

, ,
’
.
”
stairs and let o n it s a lightning rod
,
- ’
.
SO h e d one it .
N ext day Tom stole a pewter spoon and a brass candle

stick in the house for to make some pens for Jim o u t o f and
, ,
,
six tallow candles ; and I hung around the n igger cabins and
l aid for a chance and stole three tin plates Tom says it
,
.
wasn t enough ; but I said nobody wouldn t ever see th e plates

’ ’
that Jim throwed o u t because they d fall in the dog fennel

-
,
’
—
and jimpson weeds under the window hol e then we could
-
tote them back and he could use them over again So Tom .
was satisfied Then he says : .
“
N ow the thing tO study out is how to get the things to
, ,
Take them in through the hole I says when we get it , ,
done ? ’
H e only just looked scornful and said something about ,
nobody ever heard of such an idiotic idea and then he went ,
to studying By and by he said he had ciphered out two or

.
three ways but there warn t no need to decide on any Of

,
’
them yet S aid we d got to post Jim first

.
’
.
-
That night we went down the lightning rod a little after
ten and took one o f the candles along and listened under the
, ,
window-hole and heard Jim snoring ; so w e pitched it in an d

, ,
54 ° TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C K LE B E RR Y F I N N
a J ournal o n the Shirt With his blood and all that He told ,
.
’
him eve rything Jim he couldn t see no sense in the most o f it
.
,
,
but he allowed we was white folks and knowed better than

him ; so he was satisfied and said he w ould do it all j ust as
,
To m said .
Jim had plenty corn c ob pipes and tobacco ; so we had a

-
right down good sociable time ; then we crawled out through

the hole and so home to bed with hands that looked li k e
, ,
they d been ch awed Tom was in high spirits He said it was

’
. .
the best fun he ever had in his life and the most in te lle c tu ral ; ,
and said if he only could see his way to it we would keep it

up all the rest o f our lives and leave Jim to o u r children to
get o u t ; for he believed Jim would come to like it better and
better the more he g o t used to it He said that in that way it .
could be strung ou t to as much as eighty year and would be ,
the best time o n record And he said it would make us all .
celebrated that had a hand in it .
In the morning we went ou t to the woodpile and chopped

up the brass candlesticks into handy sizes and Tom put ,
them and the pewter spoon in his pocket Then we went to .
the nigger cabins and while I got N at s notice o ff Tom

,
’
,
shoved a piece o f candlestick into the middle o f a corn pone-
that was in Jim s pan and we went along with N at to see

‘
’
, .
h o w it would work and it just worked noble ; when Jim bit

,
’
into it it most mashed all his teeth ou t ; an d there war n t
ever anything could a worked better Tom said so himself
’ ’
. .
Jim he never let o n but what it was only just a piece o f rock
’
o r something like that that s always getting into bread y o u ,
know ; but after that he never bit into nothing but what he
j abbed his fork into it in three or four places first .
And whilst we Was a standing there in the dimmish light

-
,
her e comes a couple o f the hounds bulging in from under

Ji m s bed ; and they kept on piling in till there was eleven
’
T R YI N G To HELP J IM
“
S4 1
’
of them and there warn t hardly room in there to ge t you r
'
breath By j in g s we forgot to fasten that lean to door ! Th e

.
-
,
“
nigger N at he only just hollered Witches once and keeled ,
over onto the floor amongst th e dogs and begun to groan ,
like he was dying Tom j erked the door Open and flung ou t .
aslab o f Jim s meat and the dogs went for it and in tw o sec
”
’
, ,
Ou ds he was out himself and back again and Shut the door ,
and I knowed he d fixed the other door to o Then he went to ’

.
work o n the nigger coaxing him and petting him and asking , ,
’
him if he d been imagining he saw something ag ai n H e raised .
up and blinked his eyes around and says

, ,
“
M ars S id you ll say I s a fool but i f I didn t b lie v e I
,
’ ’
,
’ ’
’
se e most a million dogs er devils er som e n I wisht I may , , ,
die right b eah in dese tracks I did mos sh oly M ars S id I .

,
’
.
,
fe l t um — I fe l t um sah ; dey was all over me D ad fetch it,

.
,
I jis wisht I could git my han s o n o n e e r dem witches j is

’ ’ ’
w u n st — ’
o n y jis w u n s t— it s all I d ast But m os ly I wisht
’ ’ ’
.
’
”
dey d lemme lone I does
’ ’
.
,
To m says :
“
Well I tell you what I think What makes them home
,
.
here j ust at this runaway nigger s breakfast time ? I t s b e

- ’ ’
cause they re hungry ; that s the reason Y ou mak e them a

’ ’
.
’ ”
witch pie ; that s the thing for y ou to do .
“
But my lan Mars S id how s I gwyne to make m a wi tch
’
, ,
’ ’
pie ? I doan k now how to make it I hain t ever h ea rn er

’
.
’
(
sich a thing
“ ’
Well then I ll have to make it myself
, , .
—
Will you do it h o n e y P will you ? I ll w u ssh u p de gr ou n
,
’ ’
”
u n d yo foot I will !
’ ’
,
“ ’ ’
All right I ll do it seeing it s you and you ve been g oo d
, , ,
’
to us and showed us the runaway nigger But you got to be .
mighty careful When we come around you turn your b ack ;

.
,
’
and the n whatever we ve put in the pan don t yo u let on y ou ,
’
54 2 TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C KLE B E RR Y F I N N
se e it at all And don t you look whe n Jim unloads the pan
.
’
- something might happen I don t know what And above

’
.
,
all don t you h an dle the witch thin gs

’
.
H an n el m M ars S id ? What is you a talkin bout ? I

’
,
-
w ouldn lay de w e ight er my finger on um n o t i r ten h u n d d

’ ’ ’
,
th ous n billion dollars I wouldn t

’
,
” ’
.
54 4 TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C K LE B E RR Y F I N N
curled him up like a fi worm and let a cry ou t o f him shi g
n -
,
the s iz e o f a war whoop and T om he tu rned kinder blue

-
,
aro und the gills and it all amounted to a considerable state

,
o f things fo r about a quarter o f a minute o r as much as that ,
an d I wo ul d a sold o u t for half price if ther e was a bidder

’ ’
.
—
B u t a fte r that we was all right again it was the sudden
s u rprise o f it that knock ed us so kind o f cold U ncle S ilas he .
’
It most uncommon curious I can t understand it I
s ,
’
.
k now perfectly well I took it o fi because ,

“ ’
B ecause y o u hain t g o t but o n e on Just lis te n at the man ! .
I kn ow you took it o ff and know it by a better way than your ,
wool g e the rin g memory to o because it was on the clo S line

- - ’
—
, ,
ye sterday I see it there myself But it s gone that s th e .

’
,
’
long and th e short o f it and you ll just have to change to a

’
,
red fl an n l o n e till I can get time to m ak e a new o n e And it 11

’
.
’
b e th e third I v e made in tw o years It just keeps a body o n

’
.
the j ump to keep y o u in shirts ; and whatever you do m anage

to do with m all is more n I can make o u t A b o dy d think y ou
’ ’ ’
.
w ou ld l earn to take some sort o f care o f em at your time o f

’
”
life .
“
I know it S ally and I do try all I can But it oughtn t to
, ,
.
’
’
be altogether my fault because you know I don t see them , , ,
n o r have nothing to do with them except when they re o n me ;

’
”
and I don t believe I ve ever lost o n e o f them ofi o f me
’ ’
.
’ ’
Well it ain t y ou r fault i f you haven t S ilas ; you d a
,
’
,
done it if y o u could I reckon And the shirt ain t all that s ,

.
’ ’
n u th e r T h e r s a spoon gone ; and th at ain t all There

’
g one ,
.
’
.
was ten and now th e r s only nine The calf got the shirt I
,
’
.
,
”
eckon but calf never took the spoon h certai n ’
r th,
e t at s ,
.
“
Wh y what els e is gone S ally ?
,
”
,
’ —
Th e r s Six c an dles gone that s what The rats could a
’
.
’
go t the c and l es and I reckon they did ;,
I wonder they don t
IM GE T S HIS W IT CH -P IE 54 5
J
’
w alk with the whole place the way you re always going to
o ff ,
’ ’
s top their holes and don t do it ; and if they warn t fools
they d sleep in your hair S ilas

’ — y o u d never find it ou t ; but
,
’
”
y o u c an t lay the’
spo o n o n the rats and that I k n o w ,
.
“ ’
Well S ally I m in fault and I acknowledge it ; I ve been
, ,
’
,
remiss ; but I won t let te morrow g o by without stopping up

- ’
them holes .
“
O h I wouldn t hurry ; next year 11 do M atilda Angelina
,
’ ’
.
”
Araminta P h e lps !
Whack comes the thimble an d the Child snatches her ,
claws ou t o f the sugar bowl with out fooling around any Just
- .
then the nigger woman steps onto the passage and says “
,
“ ”
M issus dey s a sheet gone ,
’
.
” ’
A sh ee t gone ! Well for the land s sake ! ,
“ ”
I ll stop up them holes to day says U ncle S ilas looking
’ -
, ,
s o rrowful .
“
,
—
O h do Shet u p ! s pose the rats took th e sh ee t ? Wh ere s
’ ’
”
it gone L ize ? ,
“
C l ah to goodness I hain t no notion M iss S ally Sh e wu z
’ ’
,
.
o n d e clo s line yis tiddy but she done gone z she ain dah n o
’ ’
- '
mo
’
no w .
”
“
I reckon the world is coming to an en d I n e v er see the .
beat of it in all my born days A shirt and a sheet and a .

, ,
spoon and six can

,
“ ” “
M issus comes a young y alle r wench dey s a brass
, ,
’
”
c an n e l s tic k m is
’
n .
“ ”
C ler o u t from here y o u hussy er I ll take a skillet to ye !
, ,
’
Well she was just a biling I begun to lay for a chance ;

,
- .
I reckoned I would sneak out and go for the woods till th e

w eather moderated S he kept a raging right along running
- .
,
h e r insurrection all by herself and everybody else mighty ,
m eek and quiet ; and at last Uncle S ilas looking kind o f fool ,
i sh fishes up that spoon ou t o f his pocket Sh e stopped wi th

, .
,
her mouth open and her hands up ; and as for me I wished I ,
was in J e ru sle m or somewheres But not long because Sh e .

,
says
I t sj u st as I expected S o you had it in your pocket all the
“ ’
.
time and like as not you ve got the other things there too ’
, .
”
How ( 1 it get there ?
“ ”
I re e ly don t know S al ly he says kind of apologizing
’
, , , ,
o r y o u know I would tell I was a studying over my text In

- .
Acts S eventeen before breakfast and I reckon I put it in ,
there not noticing meaning to put my Testament in and it

, , ,
must be so because my Testament ain t in ; but I ll go and

,
’ ’
see ; and if the Testament is where I had it I ll know I didn t ,

’ ’
put it in and that will show that I laid the Testament down
,
and took up the spoon and ,
O h for the land s s ake ! Give a body a rest ! Go long now

,
’ ’
,
the whole kit and biling o f ye ; and don t come nigh me again ’
”
till I ve got back my peace o f mind
’
.
’
I d a heard her if She d a said it to herself let alone
’ ’ ’ ’ ’
,
’ ’
speaking it out ; and I d a got up and obeyed her if I d a ’ ’ ’ ’
been de ad As we was passing through the setting room the

.
-
o ld man he took up his hat and the shingle nail fell ou t o n

-
,
th e floor and he just merely picked it up and laid it on the

,
mantel shelf an d never said nothing and went out Tom see
-
, ,
.
him do it and remembered about the spoon and says :

, ,
“
Well it ain t no use to send things by him no more he
,
’
,
” “
ain t reliable Then he says : But he done us a good turn
’
.
’
with the spoon anyw ay without knowing it and so w e ll g o
, , ,
—
and do him one without him knowing it stop up his rat
”
holes .
There was a noble good lot of them down cellar and it ,
took us a whole hour but we done the j ob tight and good ,
and shipshape Then w e heard steps o n the stairs an d blowed

.
’
o ut our light and hid ; and here comes the o ld man with a ,
’
candle in o n e hand and a bundle o f stuff in t other looking as ,
”
You numskull didn t y ou see me c ou n t m ?
,
’ ’
I know but ,
Well I ll count m again

,
’ ’
.
SO I smouched o n e and they come out nine sam e as th e

, ,
o ther time Well she w . as in atearing way

,
— just a trembling
-
all over Sh e was so mad But she counted and counted till
,
.
sh e got that addled she d start to count in the b as k e t fo r a

’
,
spoon sometimes ; an d so three times they come out right , ,
an d three times they come ou t wrong Then she grabbed up .
th e basket and slammed it across the house and knocked the

-
cat galley west ; and she said Cler ou t and let her have some
peace and if we come bothering around her agai n betwixt
,
that and dinner she d skin us SO we had the Odd spoon and
’
.
,
dropped it in her apron pocket whilst sh e w as a giving us o u r

-
sailing orders and Jim got it all right along with her shingle
, ,
nail before noon We was very well satisfied with this busi
,
.
ness and To m allowed it was worth twice the trouble it took

, ,
because he said n ow sh e couldn t ever count them spoons ’
’
twice alike again to save her life ; and wouldn t believe she d ’
counted them right if she did ; and said that after she d about ’
’
counted her head o ff for the next three days he judged she d
give it up and offer to kill anybody that wanted her to ever
count them any mor e .
So w e put the sheet back o n th e line that night and stol e ,
o n e o u t o f her closet ; and kept on putting it back and stealing

’
it again for a couple o f days till she didn t kn ow how many
’
sheets Sh e had any more and she didn t c ar e and warn t
’
, ,
a going to bullyrag the rest Of her soul o u t about it and

-
,
’
wouldn t count them ag ain not to save her life ; she druther
die first .
So we was all right now as to the shirt and the sheet and ,
th e spoon and the candles by the help o f the calf and the rats ,
and the mixed -u p counting ; and as to the candlestick it ,
warn t n o consequence it would blow over by and by

’
,
.
J IM GE T S HIS W I T C H -P I E 54 9
But that pie w as a j ob ; we had n o end o f troubl e wi th that

pie We fixed it up away down in the woods and cooked it
.
,
there ; and w e g o t it done at last and very satisfacto ry too ; , ,
but n o t all in o n e day ; and we had to use up thre e w ashpan s

full o f flour before we g o t through and w e g o t burnt pre tty ,
much all ov er in places and eyes put ou t with th e smok e ;

, ,
’
because yo u se e we didn t want nothing but a crust and
, , ,
we coul dn t prop it up ri ght and sh e would always cave in ;

’
,
But o f cours e we thought o f the right way at las t which —

w as to cook th e ladder too in the pie So th e n w e laid in
, ,
.
with Jim the second night and tore up the sheet all in littl e ,
s trings and twisted them together and long be for e daylight ,

’ ’
we had a lovely rope that you could a hung a p erson with .
W e let o n it took nin e months to m ake it .
And in the forenoon we took it down to th e woods , but it

wouldn t go into th e pie Being made o f a whol e sheet that
’
.
,
way there w as rope enough fo r forty pies i f we d a wante d

,
’ ’ ’
them ,and plenty left over for soup o r sausages o r any thin g , ,
y o u choose W e could
. a had a whole dinner
’ ’
.
But we didn t need it All we needed was just e no u gh fo r

’
.
the p l e and so w e throwed the rest away W e didn t coo k

,
.
’
—
,
none o f the pies in the w ash pan afraid the sold e r w ould
melt ; but Uncle S ilas he had a noble brass warming pan -
which he thought considerable o f because it belonged to on e ,
o f h is an c e s te rs with a long wooden handle that com e Ov e r
from E ngland with William th e C onqueror in th e M ayflow er

o r o n e o f them early ships and was hid away up garr e t w i th
a lo t o f oth e r o ld pots and things that was valuabl e no t o n ,
account o f being any account because they warn t bu t on ,

’
,
account o f them being relicts you know and w e snak ed her , ,
o u t private and took her down there but She failed on th e

, , ,
’
first pies be c ause we didn t know h o w but Sh e come up
, ,
smiling on the last o n e We took and lined her wi th dough

.
,
an d set her in the coals and loaded her up with rag rope , ,
55° TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C KL E B E RR Y FI N N
an d put o n a dough roof and shut down the lid and put h o t
, ,
e m b e rs o n top and stood o ff five foot with the long handle

, , ,
c o ol an d comfort able and in fifteen minutes Sh e turned o u t

,
a pie that was a s atisfaction to look at But the person that

.
e t it would want to fetch a couple o f k ag s o f toothpicks
along fo r if that rope ladder wo ul dn t cramp him down to

’
,
bus in ess I don t know nothing what I m t alking about and

’ ’
,
-
lay him in enough stom ach ache to last him till next time ,
to o .
N at didn t look when we put th e witch pie in Jim s pan ;

’ ’
an d w e put the three tin plates in the bottom of the pan under
th e vittl e s ; and s o Jim go t everything all right and as soon

,
as h e was by hi mself he busted into the pie and hid the rop e
l adder inside o f his straw tick and scratched some marks on

,
-
a tin plat e and throw e d it o u t o f th e window hole .
’
he didn t hardly know which to take but there w as one ,
which he reckoned he d decide o n He s ays :

’
.
O n th e scutcheon we ll have a bend or in the dexter base ’

,
a saltire m u rrey in th e fess with a dog couchant for com , , ,
m o n charge and under his foot a chain embattled for slav

, ,
c ry with a chevron v er t in a chief engrailed and three in

, ,
v e c te d lines o n a field az u r e with the nombril points rampant ,
on a dancette indented ; crest a ru naway nigger s abl e with , , ,
his bundle over his shoulder o n a bar sinister ; and a c o u ple o f

gules for supporters which is you and me ; motto M o g giaro , ,
f r e tt a m in o r,
e a t t o Got it ou t o f a book— means
. th e mo re
haste the less speed .
“
G e ew h illik in s
”
I says but what does the rest o f it
, ,
”
mean ?
“
W e ain t got no time to bother over that he says ; we
’
,
g o t to dig in like all git -o u t .
” ’
Well anyway I says what s s om e o f it ? What s a
, , ,
’
”
fess ?
“ — —
A fess a fess is y o u don t need to know what a fess is ’
.
”
I ll show him h o w to make it when he gets to it
’
.
S hucks Tom I says I think you might tell a person

, , ,
.
’ ”
What s a bar sinister ?
O h I don t know But he s g o t to h ave it All the nobility
,
’
.
’
.
”
does .
’
That was just his way If it didn t suit him to expl ai n a .
thing to you he would n t do it You m ight pump at him a

,
’
.
week it wouldn t make no difference

’
.
,
He d got all that coat o i arms business fixed so now h e

’
- -
,
s tarted in to finish up the rest of that par t o f the work which ,
—
was to plan ou t a mournful inscription said Jim got to have
one like they all done He made up a lot and wrote th e m
,
.
,
out on a paper and read them off so : , ,
1 . H er e a ca.
ptiv e h e ar t b u s t e d .
“ ”
H E RE A C AP TI VE H E A R T B U S T E D 5 53
2 H ere
. a p o or p ris o n e r, f o rs o o k by th e w orld an d f ri en ds ,
fre tte d his s orr o w fu l life .
3 . H er e a l on e ly h e art brok e , an d a w orn p

si rit w e n t t o i ts
res t, a fte r th ir ty
-s e v en
y e ars o f s oli tary c a pti v ity .
4 . H ere , h om eless an d rie n dl e ss , a

f ft e r t h ir ty
-s e v en
y e ar s
of b it t e r ca pti v i ty, p erish e d a n o bl e s tran g er, n atu ral s on o f

L ou is XI V .
Tom s v 0 1ce trembl ed whilst h e w as reading them and h e

’
,
’
most broke down When he g o t done he couldn t n o way make
.
up his mind which o n e fo r Jim to scrabble onto the wall they ,
was all so good ; but at las t he allowed he would let him

scrabble them al l o n Jim said it would tak e him a year to .
scrabbl e such a lo t o f truck onto th e logs with a nail and he ,

’
didn t know h o w to make letters besides ; but To m said h e ,
would block them o u t for him and then he wouldn t have ,

’
nothing to do but just follow th e lines Then pretty soon h e .
C ome to think the logs ain t do ; they don t

’
-
a going to
’
,
have log walls in a d u ngeon : w e g o t to dig the inscriptions

” ’
into a rock We ll fetch a rock. .
Jim said the rock w as worse th an the logs ; he said it would

take him such a pison long time to dig them into a rock h e
wouldn t ever get o u t But T o m said h e would let m
’
e help.
him do it Then he took a look to se e h ow me and Jim was

'
getting along with the pens It was most pesky tedious hard .
work and Slow and didn t give my hands n o Show to get well
,
’
’
o f the sores and we didn t seem to make n o headway hardly ;
, ,
s o To m says
“
I know h ow to fix it We g o t to have a rock for the co at
'
o f arms and mournful inscriptions and we can kill two birds ,
with that same rock There s a gaudy big grindstone down at .

’
’
the mill and we ll smouch it and carve the things o n it and
, , ,
”
file o u t the pens and the saw o n it to o ,
.
It warn t no slouch Of an idea ; and it warn t no slouch o f
’ ’
a grindstone n u th e r ; but we allowed we d tackle it It warn t ’

.
’
quite midnight yet so we cleared ou t for the mill leaving Jim

, ,
,
at work We smouched the grindstone and set o u t to roll her

.
,
home but it was a most nation tough job S ometimes do

,
.
,
what we could we couldn t keep her from falling over and

,
’
,
s h e come mighty near mashing us every time Tom said she .
was going to get one o f us sure before we got through We , ,

.
g o t her halfway ; and then we was plumb played out and ,
most drownded with sweat We see it warn t no use ; we got .

’
t o g o and fetch Jim S o he raised up his bed and slid th e chain

.
o ff o f the bed leg and wrapt it round and round his neck
-
, ,
and we crawled out through our hole and down th ere and ,
Jim and me laid into that grindstone and walked her along
‘
like nothing ; and Tom superintended He could out su pe rin- .
tend any boy I ever se e He knowed how to do everything. .
O ur hole was pretty big but it warn t big enough to get th e

,
’
g rindstone through ; but Jim he took the pi c k and soon made

i t big enough Then T o m marked out them things on it with
.
the nail and set Jim to work on them with the nail for a
, ,
chisel and an iron bolt from the rubbage in the lean to for a
-
h ammer and told him to work till the rest of his candle quit
,
o n him and then he could go to bed and hide the grindstone

, ,
u nder his straw tick and sleep on it Then we helped him fix .
his chain back on the bed leg and was ready fo r bed our
-
,
s elves But Tom thought o f something and says

.
,
“ ”
You got any spiders in here Jim ? ,
No sah thanks to goodness I hain t M ars To m

, ,
’
,
.
All right we ll get you some

,
’
.
But bless you honey I doan w an t none I S afeard u n

, ,
’
.
’
’
um I jis s soon have rattlesnakes aroun
.
To m thought a mi nute or two and says ,

“
It s a good idea An d I reckon it s been done It m u st a
’
.
’
.
55 6 T H E A DVE N T U RE S V
OF H U C K L E B E RR Y F I N N
’ ’
at ain t o n re aso n ab le but o f yo u en Huck fetches a rattle ,
snak e in b eah for me to tame I S gwyne to l eav e dat s ,

’
,
’
”
sh ore .
“
Well then let it go let it go if you re
, , , ,
’
SO bullheaded
about it We Can get you some g arte rsn ak e s and you can
.
,
tie some buttons o n their tails and let on they re rattle

’
.
,
”
snakes and I reckon that 11 have to do
,
’
.
“
I k n stan d e m M ars Tom but blame f I couldn get
’ ’
, ,
’
along w ido u t um I tell y ou dat I never knowed b fo twas ,

.
’ ’ ’
”
so much bother and trouble to be a prisone r .
“
Well it alw ays is when it s done right You g o t any rats
,
’
.
”
around here ?
“
N o sah I hain t seed none
’
.
, ,
Well we ll get you some rats

,
’
.
Why M ars Tom I doan w an t no rats D ey s de dad

, ,
’
.
’
blam e de st c re tu rs to s tu rb a body en rustle roun over im en ’ ’ ’

, ,
bite his feet when h e s tryin to Sleep I ever see N O sah

,
’ ’
,
.
, ,
’ ’ ’
gimme g y arte snakes f I s got to have m but doan gimme
r-
,
’
.
,
” ’
n o rats ; I hain got no use f r um Skasely
’
.
,
“
,
—
But Jim y o u g o t to have em they all do S o don t m ake
,
’
.
’
n o more fuss about it Prisoners ain t ever w 1th o u t rats ’

. .
There ain t no instance o f it And they train them and pet

’
.
,
th e m and learn them tricks and they get to be as sociable

, ,
as flies But you got to play music to them You g o t anything

. .
”
to play music o n ?
“
I ain got n u ffin but a c o ase comb en a pi ece 0 paper en
’ ’
,
a j uice harp ; but I re ck n dey wouldn take no stock in a

- ’ ’
”
j uice harp
- .
“ ’
Yes they would Th ey don t care what kind o f music tis ’
.
—
.
’
A j ew s harp s plenty good enough for a rat All animals like
’
.
—
music in a prison they dote o n it S pecially painful musi c; .
,
’
and you can t get no other kind out o f a jew s harp It always
’
- .
interests them ; they come out to see what s the matter with ’
v ou Yes you re all right ; you re fixed very well You want
.
,
’ ’
.
“ ”
H E RE A C A P TI VE H E A R T B U S T E D 557
to your bed nights before y ou g o to sleep and early in

se t o n , ,
th e mornings and play your j ew s harp ; play The L ast L ink

’ ‘
-
,
is Brok e n — that s the thing that 11 scoop a rat quicker n

’ ’ ’ ’
’
an y thing else ; and when you v e pl ayed about tw o minutes
y ou ll all h rats and the snakes and spiders and things

’
s e e t e , ,
’
be gin to feel worried about y o u and come And they ll j ust ,
.
f airly swarm over yo u and have a noble good time ,

.
“
Y e s dey will I re ck n M ars T om but what kine er tim e
’
, , , ,
is J im h av in ? Blest if I k in se e de pint But I ll do it e f I g o t

’ ’
.
to I reck n I better keep d e ani mals s atisfied en not have n o

’
.
,
troubl e in de house .
Tom waited to think it o v er; and s e e i f th ere was n t B o th

’
in g e l se ; and pretty soon h e says :

’
O h there s o n e thing I forgot C ould y o u raise a flower
”
.
,
h ere do y o u reckon ?
,
”
“
I doan know but mayb e I c o u ld M ars Tom ; but it s
’ ’
'
,
’
tolab le dark in h e ah e n I ain got n o use f r no flower nohow
’
, , ,
” ’
e n sh e d be a pow fu l sight 0 trouble
’ ’
.
“
Well y o u try it anyway S ome other prisoners has done
, ,
.
On e er de m big cat - -
tail lookin ’
mullen stalks would grow -
in h e ah , M ars but she wouldn t be w u th hal l ’

Tom I re ck n ,
’
,
’
d e trouble she d coss .
“ ’
D on t you believe it We ll fetch yo u a little o n e and yo u
’
.
,
plant it in the corner over there and r ai se it And don t call it ,

.
’
,
—
m ullen call it Pitch iol a that s its right nam e when it s in a
’ ’
”
p rison And you
. want to water it with your tears .
“
Wh y I got plenty spring water M ars Tom
,
”
,
.
Y o u don t w an t spring water ; you want to water it with

’
”’
y our tears It s the way they always
. do .
“
Why M ars Tom I lay I kin raise one er dem mulle n
'
, ,
s talks tw y s te wid spring water whiles another man s a s tar t u

’ ’
”
o n e wid tears .
“
That ain t the idea You g o t to do it with tears
’
. .
5 58 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C K L E B ERR Y F I N N
’
She ll die o n my han s M ars Tom she sh o ly will ; kase I
’
, ,
”
doan skasely ever cry
’
.
So Tom was stumped But he studied it over and then s ai d

.
,
Jim would have to worry along the best he could with an

onion He promise d he would go to the nigger cabins an d
.
drop o n e private in Jim s coffee pot in the morn i ng Jim

, ,
- ’
, _
.
“ ”
said he Would jis S soon have to b ack e r in his coffee ; and
’ ’
found so much fault with it and with th e work and bothe r ,
o f raising the mullen and j ew s harpi n g the rats and petting

’
-
, ,
and flattering up the snakes and spiders and things o n top ,
o f all the other work he had to do o n pens and inscriptions , ,
and journals and things which made it more trouble and

, ,
worry and responsibility to be a prisoner tha n anything h e

e ver undertook that T o m most lost all patience with him ;
,
and said he w as just loadened down with more gaudier

ch ances than a prisoner ever had in the world to make a name
for himself and yet he didn t know enough to appreciate
,
’
them and they was just about wasted on him S o Jim he was
,
.
sorry and said he wouldn t behave so no more and then m e

,
’
,
and Tom shoved for bed .

T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C K LE B E RR Y FI N N
room and by
,
tha t
time it was supper time and a rattling -
,
’
—
good honest day s work : and hungry ? oh no I reckon not ! , ,
’
And there warn t a blessed snake up there when we went
— ’
back w e didn t half tie the sack and they worked ou t some ,
how and left But it didn t matter much because they was
, .
’
,
still o n the premises somewheres S o we judged we could get .
some o f them again N o there war n t no real scarcity o f

.
,
’
snakes about the house for a considerable spell You d see .

’
them dripping from the rafters and places every now and
then ; and they g e n e rly landed in your plate o r down th e ,
back of you r neck and most o f the time where you didn t
,
’
want them Well they was handsome and striped and ther e
.
, ,
,
warn t no harm in a million o f them ; but that never made

’
n o difference to Aunt S ally ; she despised snakes be the breed ,
what they might an d she couldn t stand them no way y o u

,
’
could fix it ; and every tim e o n e o f them flopped down o n her ,

’
it didn t make no difference what she was doing she wo u ld ,
just lay that work down and light ou t I never see Such a .
woman And you could hear her whoop to Jericho Y Ou

. .
’
couldn t get her to take a holt o f one O f them with the tongs
- .
And if she turned over and found one in bed she would
scramble ou t and lift a howl that you would think the house
was afi re S he disturbed the old man so that he said he cou ld
.
most w ish there hadn t ever been no snakes created Why

’
.
,
after e very last snake had been gone clear o u t o f the house for
’
as much as a week Aunt S ally warn t over it yet ; she warn t
’
near over it ; when she was setting thinking about something

you could touch her o n the back o f her neck with a feather
and she would jump right out of her stockings It was very .
curious But Tom said all women was just so H e said they
. .
was made that way for some reason or other .
We got a licking every time o n e o f our snakes come in he r

way and she allo wed these lickings warn t nothing to what
,
’
sh e would do if we e ver loaded up the plac e again wi th them .

TOM W RI T E S N ON N A M OU S LE T TER S 56 1
’
I didn t mind the lickings because t hey didn t amount to
’
,
\
nothing ; but I minded the trouble we had to lay in ano ther

lot But we got them laid in and all the other thing s; and
.
,
you never see a cabin as b lithesome as Jim s was when they d ’ ’
all swarm o u t for music and go for him Jim didn t like th e .
’
’ ’
spiders and the spiders didn t like Jim ; and so they d lay for
,
him and make it mighty warm fo r him And he said that b e

,
.
tween the rats and the snakes and the grindstone ther e
warn t no room in bed for him skasely ; and when there was
’
, ,
a body couldn t sleep it was so lively and it was always

’
, ,
lively he said because th ey never all slept at one ti me but

, ,
'
,
, took turn about so when the snakes w as asl e e p the rats was
,
o n deck and when the rats turned in the snakes come o n

,
watch so he always had o n e gang under him in his way and

, , ,
’
t other gang having a circus over him and if he got up to hunt ,
a new place the spiders would take a chance at him as h e

crossed over He said if he ever g o t out this time he wouldn t
.
’
ever be a prisoner again not for a salary ,

.
Well by the end o f three weeks everything was in pretty

‘
good sh ape The shirt was sent in early in a pie and every
.
, ,
time a rat bit Jim he would get up and write a line in h is

j ournal whilst the ink w as fresh ; the pens was made the in ,
»
sc riptio n s and so o n was all carve d o n the grindstone ; th e
bed leg w as sawed in two and we had e t up the sawdust and

-
, ,
it give us a most amazing stomach ache We reckoned we was

- .
all going to die but didn t It was the most undigestible s aw

,
’
.
dust I ever see ; and Tom said the same But as I was saym g , .
w e d got all the work done now at l ast ; and we was all pretty
’
,
much fag g e d o u t too but mainly Jim The Old man had wrote
, ,
.
a couple o f tim es to the plantation below O rleans to come

and get their runaway nigger but hadn t got no answer b e ,
’
,
’
cause there warn t no such plantation ; so he allowed he
w ould advertise Jim in the S t L ouis an d N ew O rleans pa .
pers ; and when he mentioned the S t L ouis ones it give m e .

562 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C KL E B ERR Y F I N N
the cold shivers and I see we hadn t no time to lose S o Tom ’
, .
s aid now for the n o n n am o u s letters

,
.
“ ”
What s them ? I says
’
.
Warnings to the people that something is up S ometimes .
it s done o n e way sometimes another But there s always

’
,
.
’
s omebody spying around that gives notice to the governor o f
the castle When L ouis XV I was going to light o u t o f the

. .
T o o le rie s a servant -girl done it It s a very good way and so

’
.
,
i s the n o n n am o u s letters We ll use them bo th And it s us ual

’ ’
. .
fo r the prisoner s mother to change clothes with him an d sh e

’ '
,
”
s tays in and he slides o u t in her clothes We ll do that too
’
. .
, ,
“
But looky here Tom what do we want to w arn anybody
, ,
fo r that something s up ? L et them find it out for themselves

’
—it s their lookout

’ ”
.
“
Yes I know ; but you can t depend o n them It s the way
,
’
.
’
’ —
they ve acted from the very start left us to do e v ery thin g .
T hey re s o c o n fi din g and mullet headed they don t take n o

’ ’
-
tice o f nothing at all SO if we don t g i v e them notice there

’
.
w on t be nobody n o r nothing to interfere with us and so

’
,
a fter al l o u r hard work and trouble this e sc ape ll go o ff

’
p erfectly flat ; won t amount to nothing— won t ’

be nothing ’
”
t o it.
“
Well as fo r m e Tom that s the w ay I d like
, , ,
’ ’
.
S hucks ! he says and looked disgusted S o I says ,

.
But I ain t going to make no complaint Any way that

’
.
s uits yo u suits me What y o u going to do about the servant

.
g irl ?
“
You ll be her Y o u Slide in in the middle o f the night
’
.
, ,
’
and hook that y alle r girl s froc
Why Tom that 11 make trouble next m orning ; because
, ,
’
,
”
o f course she p rob b ly hain t got any but that o n e
’ ’
.
,
“
I know ; but you don t want it but fifteen m inutes to ’
,
c arry the n o n n am ou s letter and shove it under the front

”
d oor .
’
to touch her when she warn t noticing she done the sam e ;
, ,
sh e couldn t face no way and be satisfied because she al

’
,
lowed there was something behind her every time SO she —

”
was always a whirling around sudden and s ay l n g ouch
-
, ,
and be fore she d got two thirds around she d Whirl back
- ’ ’
again and say I t again ; and she was afraid to go to bed but
, ,
She dasn t set up S o the thing was working very well Tom
’
.
,
said ; he said he never see a thing work more satisfactory He .
said it showed it was done right .
SO he said now for the grand bulge ! S o th e very next

,
morni ng at the streak o f dawn we got another letter ready ,
and was wondering what we better do with it because we ,
heard them say at supper they was going to have a nigger o n

watch at both doors all night Tom he went down the light .
ning rod to spy around ; and the nigger at the back door was
-
asleep and he stuck it in th e back o f his neck and come back

,
.
This letter sai d

D on t b e tray m e, I w ish t o be you r frie nd Th ere i s a desperate g ang
’
.
of c u tthr oats fr om o v er in th e I n dian Territory g oin g t o s te al y o u r ru n
aw ay n ig g er t o n ig h t, and they h av e b een tryin g to s c ar e y ou s o as y ou
will stay in the h ou se an d n o t b o th er th e m I am o n e of th e g an g , bu t .
h av e g o t re lig g ion an d w ish to qu it it an d lead an h o n es t life ag ain , an d

will b e tray th e h elis h d es ig n Th ey w ill s n e ak do wn fr o m n or th ards, alo n g
.
t h e fe n c e, at m id n ig h t e xac t, wi th a fals e k ey, an d g o in th e n ig g er s

’
c abin to g e t him I am t o b e ofi a pi e c e an d bl ow a tin h orn if I se e an y

.
d an g er ; bu t s tead of that I will B A lik e a sh eep s oo n as th ey g e t in an d

n ot bl ow at all ; th e n w hils t th ey ar e g e ttin g his c h ain s lo ose , you s lip
D on t do an y
’
t h er e an d loc k th em in , an d c an k ill th em at y o u r leasu r e .
t hin g bu t j u st th e w ay I am t ellin g y ou ; if you do th e y wi ll su spic ion

s om e thin g and rais e w h o op- b h I d i h n y r ew ard bu t
j am o re e o o o n o t w. s a
to k n ow I h av e d on e th e rig h t thin g .
U N K N O W N FR IE N D .
CHAPT ER XL
A M IXED -U P A N DS P LENDID RESCUE
WE was feeling pretty good a fter breakfast and took my ,
canoe and w ent over the river a fi sh in g with a lunch and had
-
, ,
a good time and took a look at the raft and found her all
,
right and go t home late to supper an d found them in such

,
‘
,
’
a sweat and worry they didn t know which end they w as
standi ng on and made us g o right o ff to bed the minute w e
,
’
was done supper and wouldn t tell us what the trouble w as
, ,
an d never let o n a word about the new letter but didn t n ee d

’
,
to because we knowed as much about it as anybody did an d

, ,
-
as soon as we was half u p stairs and her back was turned w e
slid for the cellar cupboard and loaded up a good lunch and
took it up to o u r room and went to bed and got up about half ,
past elev en and Tom put o n Aunt S ally s dress that he Stole
,
’
and was going to start with the lunch but says : ,

“ ”
Where s the butter ?’
I laid o u t a hunk o f it I says on a piece o f a corn, ,

”
pone ?
“
,
—
Well you left it laid o u t then it ain t here ,
’
.
”
We can get along without it I says ,
.
We c an get along w ith it too he says ; just you slide , ,
down cellar and fetch it And then mosey right down the .
lightning rod and come along I ll go and stuff the straw into
- .
’
Jim s clothes to represent his mother in disguise and be ready

’
,
”
to ba like a sheep and Shove soon as you get there .
SO out he went and down cellar went I The hunk o f but

,
.
t e r big as a person s fist was where I had left it so I took u p

’
, , ,
56 5
th e slab Of corn pone with it on and bl owed o u t my ligh t
-
, ,
an d started u p stairs very st ealthy and got up to the main

-
,
floor all right but here comes Aunt S ally with a candle an d
, ,
I clapped the truck in my hat and clapped my hat on my ,
head and the next second she see me ; and she says :
,
Y o u bee ndown cellar ?

“ ”
’ ”
Y es m .
What you b een doing down there ?

”
N o th
’
n .
N o th
’
n!
’
NO m ’
.
Well then what possessed you to go down there this

, ,
”
time o f night ?
“
I don t know m ’ ’
.
You don t k n ow ? D on t answer me that way Tom I wan t

’ ’
.
,
”
to know what you been d oin g down there .
“
I hain t been doing a Single thing Aunt S ally I hope to
’
, ,
”
g r a c 1o u s if I have .
I reckoned she d let me go now and as a g en e rl thing sh e

’
,
would ; but I S pose there was so many stran ge things going

’
’
on she w as J ust in a sweat about every little thing that warn t
yard stick straight ; so she says very decided :

-
,
“
You just march into that setting room and stay there till
-
I come You been up to something you no business to and I

.
,
” ’
lay I ll find ou t what it is before I m done with you
’
.
SO she went away as I opened the door and walked into

the setting room M y but there was a crowd there ! Fifteen
- .
,
farmers and every o n e Of them had a gun I was most pow

,
.
e r fu l sick and slunk to a chair and set down They was set
,
.
ting around some o f them talking a little in a low voice and

, , ,
all o f them fi dg e ty and uneasy but trying to look like they ,
warn t but I knowed they was becau se they was always tak
’
,
ing off their hats an d putting them on and scratching thei r

, ,
heads and changing their seats and fumbling with the i r

, ,
like your brai ns wo ul d be if D ear dear w hyd n t you tell , ,
’
’
me that was what you d been down there for I wouldn t a ,
’ ’ ?
cared Now cler out to bed and don t lemme see no more
.
,
’
O f you till morning ! ”
I was u p stairs in a second and down the lightning rod in

- -
,
another o e and shinning through the dark for the lean to I

n
,
- .
’
couldn t hardly get my words out I was so anxious ; but I ,
told Tom as quick as I could we must jump for it now and ,
—
not a minute to lose the house full o f men yonder with , ,
His eyes just blazed ; and he says

“ —
NO I is that so ? Ain t it bully ! Why Huck if it was to’
, ,
do over again I bet I could fetch two hundred ! If we could

,
put it Off till

” ”
Hurry ! h u rry ! I says Where s Jim ? .
’
R ight at your elb ow ; if you reach Ou t your arm you c an

’
touch him He s dressed and everything s re ady N ow we ll
.
,
’
.
’
slide out and give the sheep signal

- .
But then we heard the tramp of men coming to the d oor ,
an d heard them begin to fumble with the padlock and heard ,
a man s ay
“ —
I told you we d be to o soon ; they haven t come the door
’ ’
is locked Here I ll lock some o f you into the cabin a n d you

’
.
, ,
,
lay for em in the dark and kill em when they come ; and the
’ ’
’
rest scatter around a piece and listen if yo u Can hear em ,
”
c om i ng .
S o in they come but couldn t se e u s in the dark and most

,
’
t
trod o n us wh ilst we was hustling to get under the bed But .
we g o t under all right an d out through the hole swift but

, ,
—
soft Jim first me next and Tom last which Was according
, , ,
to Tom s orders N ow we was in the lean to and heard tramp

’
.
-
,
ings close by outside S o we crept to the door and To m

.
,
’
stoppe d us there and put his eye to th e crack but couldn t ,
make ou t nothing it was so dark ; and whispered and said he

,
A
'
-
M IXE D U P AN D S P L E N DID RES C U E . 5 69
wo u ld listen fo r the steps to get further and when he nudged ,
us Jim must glid e o u t first and him last So he s e t his e ar to ,

.
th e crack and liste n ed and listened an d listened and th e

, , ,
-
s teps a scraping around o u t there all the time ; and at las t h e
nudged us and w e slid o u t and stooped down not brea thing ,

, , ,
an d n o t making the least noise and slipped stealthy towards ,
th e fence in Injun file and g o t to it all right and m e and J im

, ,
over it ; but Tom s britches catche d fas t o n a splinter o n th e

’
top rail and then he hear the steps coming so he had to pull
, ,
loose which snapped the splinte r and mad e a noise ; and as

,
he dropped in o u r tracks and started somebody sings o u t .
“ ’
Who s that ? Answer o r I ll sh o o t ! ,
’ ‘
But we didn t answer ; we just unfu rled o u r he el s an d

’
shoved Then there was a rush and a ban g ban g ban g ! and
.
, , ,
th e bullets fairly whizzed around us ! We heard them sing

ou t
Here they are ! They v e broke for th e river ! After em ’ ’

,
”
boys and turn loose the dogs !
,
So her e they ho m e full tilt We could he ar them bec ause

,
.
’
they wore boots and yelled but we didn t wear n o boots and ,
didn t yell We was in the path to the mill ; an d when they

’
.
g o t pretty clos e onto us we dodged into the bush and let them
ll
’
g o by and then
,
dropped in behind them They d had a th e .
~
dogs shut u p so they wouldn t scare Off the robbers ; but by

,_
’
this time somebody had let them loos e and here they com e , ,
making powwow enough for a million ; but they w at ou r dogs ;

s o we stopped in ou r tracks till they catched up ; and when
they se e it warn t nobody but us and n o excitement to offer

’
,
them they only just said howdy and tore right ahead to
, ,
wards the shouting and clattering ; and then we u p ste am -
again and whizzed along after them till we was n early to the
,
.
mill and then struck up through the bush to where my cano e

,
was tied and hopped in and pulled for dear life towards th e
,
m iddle o f the river but didn t m ake n o more n oise th an w e

,
’
5 7° TH E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C KL E B E RR Y F I N N
was Ob lee g e d
to Then we struck out easy and comfortable
.
,
for the island where my raft was ; and we could hear them
yelling and barking at each o th e r all up and down the bank ,
till we was so far away the sounds got dim and died out And .
w hen we stepped onto the raft I says :

“
N ow old Jim you re a free man ag ain and I bet you
’
, , ,
”
Won t ever be a slav e n o more
’ '
“
E n a mighty good j ob it wuz too Huck It u z planned , ,
.
’
be autiful en it u z d on e beautiful ; en dey ain t n o bo dy kin

,
’ ’
git up a plan dat s mo mixed up en Splendid den what dat one

’ ’
wuz .
We was all glad as we could be but Tom was the gladdest ,
o f all because he had a bullet in the c alf of his leg .
When me and Jim heard that we didn t feel as brash as ’

,
wha t we did before It was hurting him c onsiderable and .

,
bleeding so we laid him in the wigwam and tore up o n e of

the duke s shirts for to b an d ag e him but he says : ,
“
Gimme the rags ; I can do it myself D on t stop now ; .
’
don t fool around here and the evasion booming along so

’
,
handsome ; man the sweeps and se t her loose ! Boys we done , ,
it elegant ! — deed we did I wish w e d a had the handling o f

’
.
’ ’ ’
L ouis XV I ther e wouldn t a been no S on of S aint L ouis

.
,
’ ’ ’ ‘
,
ascend to heaven ! wrote down in his biography ; no sir we d ’

, ,
’
.
’
a whooped him over the b o r d e r
’ — th at s what we d a don e ’ ’ ’ ’
—
with him and done it just as slick as nothing at all too M an
—
.
,
”
th e sweeps man the sweeps !
—
But me and Jim was consulting and thinking And after .
we d thought a minute I says :

’
,
“ ”
S ay it Jim ,
.
So he says:
Well den dis is de way it look to me Huck E f it wuz him
, , ,
.
dat u z bein sot fr ee en one er de boys wuz to git shot would

’ ’ "
, ,
’
he say Go o n e n save me n em m in e bout a doctor f r to save
,
‘
,
’
dis on e ? Is dat li k e M ars Tom S awyer ? Would h e say dat ?

’
CHAPT ER XL I
MUS T A BEEN SP E RI TS
TH E doctor was an old man ; a very nice -

kind looking o ld
,
man when I g ot him up I told him me and my brother w as

.
o ver o n S panish Island hunting yesterday afternoon an d ,
camped o n a piece o f a raft we found and about midnight ,
h e must a kicked his gun in his dreams for it went o ff and

’ ’
,
shot him in the leg and we wanted him to g o o v e r there and

,
fi x it and not say nothing about it n o r let anybody know ,

.
because we wanted to come home this evening and surprise

th e folks .
“
Wh o is your folks ? he says
”
.
”
The Ph elpse s down yonder
,
.
”
O h he says And after a minute he says
,
.
,
’ ”
How d you say he got shot ?
” “
He h ad a dream I says and it shot him
, ,
.
”
S ingular dream he says
,
.
-
SO he lit up his lantern and got h 1s saddle bags and we
, ,
’
started But when he see the c anoe he didn t like the look
.
O f her — said Sh e was big enough for o n e but didn t look ,

’
pretty safe for two I says : .
“
O h you needn t be afeard s 1r she carried the three o f
,
’
, ,
u s easy e n o u g
“ ”
What three ?
— —
Why me and S id and and and th e g u ns ; that s what
, ,
’
”
I mean .
“
O h he says
,
.
But he put his foot on the gunnel and rocked her and ,
5 72
“ ”
MUS T ’
A " BEE N SP E R I T S 5 73
shook his head an d said he reckoned he d look around fo r

,
’
a bigger o n e But they was all locked and chained ; so h e

“
took my canoe and said for me to wait till he come back

, ,
o r I could hunt around further o r maybe I better go down ,
home and get them ready for the surprise if I wanted to But .
I said I didn t ; so I told him j ust h ow to find the raft and

’
,
then he started .
’
I struck an idea pretty soon I says to myself , spo s n .
he can t fi x that leg just in three shakes o f a sheep s tail as

’ ’
,
the s aying Is ? spos n it takes him three o r four days ? What

’
—
are we going to d o ? lay around there till he lets the cat
o u t o f th e bag ? N o s ir ; I know what I ll do I ll wait and
’ ’
,
.
,
’
when he comes back i f he says he s got to go any more I ll get ’
’
down there to o if I swim ; and we ll take and tie him and
, , ,
’
keep him and shove ou t down the river ; and when Tom s
,
’ ’
done with him we ll give him what it s worth o r all we g o t , ,
and then let him get ashore .
S o then I crept into a lumber pile to get some sleep ; and

-
next time I waked up the su n was away up over my head ! I

’
Shot o u t and went fo r the doctor s house but they told m e ,
he d gone away in the night some time or other and warn t

’
,
’
back yet Well thinks I that looks powerful bad for To m

.
, , ,
’
and I ll d i g ou t for the island right off SO away I shoved .
,
and turned the corner and nearly rammed my head into ,
Uncle S ilas s stomach ! He says :

’
“
Why Tom ! Where you been all this time y o u rascal ?
, ,
’ ” “
I hain t been nowheres I says only just hun ting fo r , ,
—
the runaway nigger me and S id ”
.
“ ” “ ’
Why where ever did you g o ? he says Your aunt s be en
,
.
mighty uneasy
”
S he needn t I says becaus e we was all right We
’
, ,
.
followed the men and the dogs but they outrun us and , ,
we lost them ; but we thought we heard them o n the water so ,
we g o t a canoe and took o u t after them and crossed o v e r bu t .
,
couldn t find nothing of them ; so we cruised along u p shor e
’
-
till we got kind of tired and beat o u t ; and tied up the canoe
an d w ent to sleep and never wak e d up till about an hour
,
ago ; then we paddled over here to hear the news and S id s ,

’
at the pos t o ffic e to see what he can hear an d I m a branch

- -
,
’
ing out to get something to eat for us and t h en we re going ,

’
”
home .
S o then we went to the post o ffic e to get S id but just

-
as I suspicioned h e warn t the re ; so the old man he got a

,
’
l etter o u t of the of fice and we waited awhile longer but , ,
S id didn t come ; so the old man said come along le t Sid

’
, ,
~
foot it home or canoe it when he got done fooling around

, ,
’
but we would ride I could n t get him to let me stay and
- .
wait for S id ; and he said there warn t n o use in it and I ’

,
m ust come along and let Aunt S ally s e e we was all right
,
.
When we got home Aunt S ally was that glad to see me

s h e laughed and cried both and hugged me and give m e , ,
o n e of them lickings of hern that don t amount to Shucks

’
,
a n d said she d serve S id the sam e when he come

’
.
’
And the place was plumb full o f farmers and farmers
w ives to dinner ; and such another clack a body never heard
,
.
O ld M rs Hotchkiss was the worst ; her tongue was a going all

.
-
th e time S he s ays : .
“
Well S ister Phelps I ve ransacked that air cabin over
,
-
,
’
,
an I b liev e the nigger was crazy I says to S ister D amrell

’ ’
.
’
,
— —
didn t I S ister D amrell ? S I he s crazy S I them s the ’
,
’
,
’ ’
zery words I said You all hearn me : he s crazy s I ; e v ery

’ ’
.
,
t hing shows it S I L oo k at that air grindstone S I ; want

’
- ’
,
.
,
’ ’
-
0 tell m e t any c re tu r t s in his right mind s a goi n
’ ’ ’
to
’
scrabble all them crazy things onto a grindstone ? S I Her e .
’ ’ ’ ’
sich n sich a person busted his heart ; n here so n so
’ ’
- —
pegged along for ,thirty seven year n all that n atch e rl ’ ’
,
s on 0 L ouis somebody n sich ev e rlast n rubbage He s

’
,
’ ’ ’
.
’
’
p lumb crazy S I ; it s what I says
,
in
’
the fust place it s what
’
,
5 76 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C KL E B ERR Y F I N N
Why dog my cats they must a ben a house full o
, ,
- ’
niggers in there every night for four weeks to a done all ’ ’
—
that work ,S ister Phelps L ook at that shirt every last .
inch o f it k iv e re d over with secret African w rit n done with ’
blood ! M ust a he n a raft u v m at it right along all the

’ ’ ’
,
’
time am o st Why I d give two dollars to have it read to
,
.
,
me ; n as for the niggers that wrote it I low I d tak e n

’ ’
,
’ ’ ’ ’
lash m t ll ’ ’
“
People to h e lp him Brother M arples ! Well I reckon , ,
’
you d thin k so if you d a been in this house fo r a while
’ ’ ’
’
back Why they ve stole everything they could lay their
.
,
—
hands o n and we a watching all the time mind you They
-
,
.
’
stole that shirt right Off 0 the line ! and as for that sheet
’
they made the rag ladder o u t of ther ain t no telling how ,
’
m any times they didn t steal that ; and flour and candles
’
, ,
and candlesticks and spoo ns and the Old warming pan an d

,
-
, ,
m ost a thousand things that I disremember now and my ,
n e w calico dress ; and me and S ilas an d my S id and Tom
o n the constant watch day an d night -

as I was a telling ,
y o u and
,
not a o n e of us could catch hide nor hair nor sight
n o r sound o f them ; and here at the last minute 10 and ,
behold you they slides right in under o u r noses and fools

,
u s and not only fools u s but the Injun Territory robbers

t
t o o an d ac tu ly gets aw ay w ith that nigger safe and sound

, ,
an d that with Sixteen men and twenty tw o dogs right o n

-
their very heels a t that very time ! I tell you it just bangs ,
anything I ever h e ard of Why sperits couldn t a done .

,
’ ’ ’
’ ’
b etter and been no smarter And I reckon they must a .
—
be en spe rits because y ou know our dogs and ther ain t , ,
’ ’
no better ; well them dogs never even got on the trac k Of

’
—
,
”
m once ! You explain th at to me if you can ! an y Of yo u !
’
“
Well it does beat
,
L aws alive I never , '
’ ’
S o help me I wo uldn t a be ,
’
“ ”
MUS T ’
A
’
BEEN S P E R I TS 5 77
H o u se thieves as
- well as
G o o dn essg rac io u ssak es I d a ben afeard to liv e
’
,
in si ch
F raid to liv e l —why I was that scared I dasn t hardly

,
’
g o tobed or get up o r lay down o r s et down S ister Ridge

, , , ,
.
,
—
way Why they d steal the very why goodness sakes ’
, ,
y ou can guess what kind o f a fluster I was in by th e tim e

’
midnight come last night I hope to gracious if I warn t .
afrai d they d steal some 0 the family ! I was just to that

’ ’
’
pass I didn t have n o reasoning faculties n o more It looks .
foolish enough n ow in the daytime ; but I says to myself , ,

’
there s my two poor boys asleep way u p stairs in that
’
-
,
lonesome room an d I declar e to goodness I was that u n

'
e asy t I c re p up there and locked em in ! I did An d any

’ ’ ’ '
. .
body would Because you know when yo u get scared that

.
, ,
way and it k e eps ru n n in g o n and getting worse and worse

, ,
all the time and your wits gets to addling and you get to
, ,
doing all sorts 0 wild things and by and by you thi nk to ’

,
yourself spo s n I w as a b oy and was away up ther e and

,
’
, ,
the door ain t locked and you ’

She stopped looking , ,
kind o f wondering and then she turned her head around ,
—
slow and when her eye lit on me I got up and took a
,
walk .
S ays I to myself I can e xplain better h o w we com e to ,
n o t be in that room this morning if I go o u t to o n e sid e

’
and study over it a little S o I done it But I dasn t go fur . .
,
’ ’ ’
o r she d a sent for me And when it was late in the day .
the people all went and then I come in and told her th e ,
“ ”
noise and shooting waked up me and S id and the door ,
was locked and we wanted to see the fun so we went down

, ,
the lightning rod and both o f u s g o t hurt a little and w e

-
, ,
’
didn t never want to try that no more And then I went o n .
and told her all what I told U ncle S ilas be fore ; and then
sh e sai d she d forgiv e us and maybe it was all right e nough
’
,
5 78 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C KL E B ERR Y F I N N
a nyway and about what a body might expect of boys fo r
, ,
a ll boys was a pretty harum sc aru m lot as fur as she could

-
see ; and so as lon g as no harm hadn t come of it she judged

,
’
,
she better put in h e r tim e being grateful we was alive an d '
well and she had us still stead o f fretting over what was ,
p ast and done S o then she kissed

. me and patted me on ,
the head and dropped into a kind o f a brown -study ; and

,
pretty soon j umps up and says : ,

“
Why law sam e rcy it s most night an d S id not come
, ,
’
,
”
yet ! What h as b e come of th at b o y ?
I see my chance ; SO I skips up and s ays :
“ ”
I ll run right up to town and get him I says
’
.
,
” “
N o you won t she says You ll stay right w h e r you
’ ’ ’
,
.
are ; on e s e nough to be lost at a time If he ain t here to

’
.
’
supper your uncle ll go

,
’
.
Well he warn t there to supper ; so right after supper

,
’
uncle went .
He come back about ten a little bit un e asy ; hadn t run ’
a cross Tom s track Aunt S ally was a g ood d e al un e a sy ; but

’
.
U ncle S ilas he said ther e warn t no occasion to b e boys — ’
will be boys h e said and you ll see this one turn up in t h e

, ,
’
m orning all sound and right S o sh e had to be satisfi e d But . .
she said she d set up for him awhile anyway and keep a
’
,
light burning so h e could see it .
And then when I went up to bed she come up with me

and fetche d her candle and tucked m e in an d mothered me , ,
s o good I felt mean and like I couldn t look her in the fac e
’
,
and she set down on the bed and talked with m e a long
’
time and said what a Splendid boy S id was and didn t
, ,
seem to want to ever stop talking about him ; and k ept ask
ing m e every now and then if I reckoned he could a got
’ ’
l ost o r hurt o r maybe drownded and might be laying at

, , ,
this minute somewheres suffering or dead and Sh e not by ,
h im to help him and so the tears would drip down silent

, ,
C HA P T E R XL II
W HY THEY DIDN T HAN G J I M
’
TH E o ld man was u p town again before breakfast but -

,
’
couldn t get n o track o f Tom ; and both o f them se t at the
table thinking and not s aym g nothing and looking mourn
, ,
ful and their coffee getting cold and n o t e ating any thing
, ,
.
And by and by the old man says :

“ ”
D id I give you the letter ?
”
What letter ?
The o n e I g o t yesterday ou t of the post-offic e .
”
N o yo u didn t give me n o letter
’
.
,
” ’
Well I must a forgot it
,
’
.
So he rummaged his pockets and then went o ff some ,
wheres whe r e he had laid it down and fetched it and give , ,
it to her S he says
.
“
,
’ —
Why it s from S t Petersburg it s from S is .
’
.
I al lowed another w al k would do me good ; but I couldn t ’
stir But before she could break it open she dropped it and
.
—
run fo r she see something And so did I It was Tom . .
S awyer o n a mattress ; and that old doctor ; and Jim in ,
h er calico dress with his hands tied behind him ; and a

,
lo t of people I hid the letter behind the first thing th at

.
come handy and rushed S he flung herself at Tom crying

,
.
, ,
and says
”
O h he s dead he s dead I know he s dead !
,
’
,
’
,
’
And Tom he turned his head a little and muttered some ,
thing o r other which showed he warn t in his right mind ;

,
’
then she flung up h er hands and says : ,
580
WHY T H EY DID N T H A N G ’
J IM 58 1
”
He s alive thank God ! And that s enough ! and she
’
,
’
snatched a kiss of him and flew for th e house to get th e

,
bed ready and scattering orders right and left at the m g

,
gers an d everybody else as fast as her tongue could g o

, ,
every jump of the way .
I followed the men to see what they was going to do

with Jim ; and the old doctor and Uncle S ilas followed after
Tom into the house The men was very huffy and som e o f
.
,
them wanted to hang Jim for an example to all the other

’
niggers around there so they wouldn t be trying to run
,
away like Jim done and making such a raft o f trouble an d

, ,
keeping a whole family scared most to death for days and

’
nights But th e others said don t do it it wouldn t answer
.
, ,
’
at all ; he ain t o u r nigger and his owner would turn up and

’
,
m ake us pay for him sure So that cooled them down a

,
.
’
little because the people that s always the most anxious
,
’
fo r to h an g a nigger that hain t done just right is always
th e very ones that ain t the most anxio u s to pay for him
’
w hen they ve g o t their satisfaction o u t o f him

’
.
They cussed Jim c o n s ide rb le though and give him a , ,
c uff o r tvvo sid e the he ad once in a while but Jim nev er

‘
s aid nothing and he never let o n to know me and they took

, ,
h im to the same cabin and put his own clothes on him and
, ,
-
c hained him again an d not to n o bed leg this time but to a
, ,
b ig staple drove into the bottom log and chained his hands , ,
’
too and both legs and said he warn t to have nothing b u t
, ,
b read and water to eat after this till his owner come o r h e ,
,
w as sold at auction because he didn t come in a certain length

’
o f time and filled up o u r hol e and said a couple o f farmers

, ,
w ith gun s must stand watch around about the cabin every
n ight and a bulldog tied to the door in the daytime ; and
,
a bout this time they was th rough with the j ob and was
tapering off with a kind of g e e rl good by cussing and then

n -
,
t h e old doctor comes an d takes a look and says :

‘
,
5 8 2 T H E A DVE N T U RE S OF H U C K L E BE RRY E IN N
D on t be n o rougher o n him than you re Ob leeg ed to

’ ’
,
’
becaus e he ain t a bad nigger When I got to where I found .
’
the boy I see I couldn t cut the bullet ou t without som e
’
help and he warn t in n o condition for me to leave to go
, ]
and get help ; and he got a little worse and a little worse ,
and after a long time he went ou t o f his head and wouldn t ,

’
let me come a nigh him any more and s aid if I chalke d

-
,
his raft he ’d kill me and no end o f wild foolishness lik E

,
’
that and I see I couldn t do anything at all with him ; so
,
I says I go t to hav e h e lp somehow ; and the minute I says

,
it o u t crawls this nigger from somewheres and says he ll ’
help and he done it too and done it very well O f cours e

, , ,
.
I j udged he must b e a runaway nigger and there I w as ! an d ,
there I had to stick right straight along all the rest o f th e

day an d all n ight It was a fix I tell you ! I had a coupl e
.
,
o f pati e nts with th e chills and o f course I d of liked to ,

’
ru n up to town and see them but I dasn t because th e ’

, ,
’
nigger might get away and then I d be to blame ; and yet ,
never a Skiff come close enough fo r me to hail S o there I .
had to stick plumb until daylight this morning ; and I neve r

s e e a nigg e r that was a better nuss or faith fu le r and y e t ,
he was risking his freedom to do it and was all tired out , ,
to o and I see plain enough he d been worked main har d

’
,
lately I liked the nigger for that ; I tell you gentl e men a
.
, ,
—
nigger like that is worth a thousand dollars and kind treat
ment too I had everything I needed and the boy was doing
,
.
,
—
as well there as he would a done at home better maybe ’ ’
, ,
’
because it was so quiet ; but there I w as with both of m ,
o n my hands and there I had to stick till about dawn this

,
morning ; then some men in a Skiff come by and as good ,
luck would have it the nigger was setting by the pallet with
his head propped on h is k n ee s sound asleep ; so I motioned
th em in quiet an d th ey Slipped up on him and grabbed him
,
l
and tied him before he knowed what he was about and we ,

58 4 T H E A DVE N T U R E S on H U C K L E B E RR Y F I N N
he w as sleeping and sleeping v ery peaceful to o ; and pal e ,
, ,
n o t fi re faced the way he was when he come S o I set down

- .
and laid for him to wake In about half an hour Aunt S ally .
comes gliding in an d ther e I was up a stump again ! S he

, ,
m otioned me to b e still and set down by m e and begun to , ,
w h isper and said we could all be joyful n o w because al l

, ,
th e symptoms was fi rs t rate and he d been sleeping like

’
-
,
that for ever so long an d looking better and pe ac e fu l e r all

, ,
the time and ten to o n e he d wake up in his right mind

’
, .
So we s e t there watching and by and by he stirs a bit , ,
an d opened his eyes very natural and takes a look and , ,
s ays
“ —
Hello ! why I m at h om e ! How s that ? Where s the
,
’ ’ ’
”
raft ?
“
I t s all right I says
’
.
,
.
”
And J im ?
Th e same I s ays b u t couldn t say it pretty brash But
, ,
~
’
.
h e ne ver noticed but says : ,

“
Good ! S plendid ! N o w we re all right an d safe! D id you ’
”
t ell Aunty ?
I w as going to s ay yes ; but she chipped in and says :
‘
”
About what S id ? ,
Why about the way the whole thing w as done

,
.
”
What whole thing ?
’
Why tk e whole thing There ain t but one ; how we set
,
.
th e runaway nigger free — me and Tom ”

.
“
Good land ! S et the run What is the child talking
”
about ! D ear dear out o f his head again ! ,
“ ’
N 0 I ain t out of my H EAD ; I know all what I m talking
,
about We did set him free

.
— me an d Tom We laid out to .
”
d o it and we do n e it An d we done it elegant too
’
,
He d
.
,
.
got a start and she nev e r checked him up just set and
, ,
’
stared and stared and let him clip al ong and I see it w arn t
, ,
A
“
n o use fo r m e to put in Why Aunty it cost us a power o f .
, ,
/
WHY T H EY DID N T HAN G ’

J IM 58 5
—
work weeks of —
it hours and hours every night whilst , ,
y ou was all asleep And we had to steal c andles an d th e

.
,
sheet and th e Shirt and your dress and spoons and tin
, , , ,
-
plates and case knives and the warming pan and the
-
, , ,
grindstone and flour and just no end o f things , and you

, ,
can t think W hat work it w as to make the saws and pens

’
, ,
and inscripti ons and o n e thing o r another and yo u can t

, ,
’
think h alf th e fun it was And we had to mak e up th e .
picture s o f coffins and things and n o n n am o u s letters from ,
the robbers and get up and down the lightning rod and
,
-
,
dig th e h ole into the cabin and make the rope ladder and
’
‘
send it in cooked up in a pie and send in spoons and things ,
to work with in your apron pocket

“ ”
M e rcy sakes !
—and load up the cabin with rats and snakes and so
on fo r company fo r Jim ; and then yo u kept To m here so
,
long with the butter in his hat that yo u come near spiling
the whole business because the men come before we w as ,
o u t o f the cabin and we had to rush and th e y heard u s and

, ,
let drive at us and I got my share and w e dodged o u t o f

, ,
the path and let them g o by and when the dogs com e th e y ,
warn t interested in us , but went fo r th e most nois e and

’
,
we g o t our canoe and made fo r the raft and was al l safe

, , ,
and Jim was a free man and we done it all by ourselves and , ,
’
w asn t it bully Aunty ! ,
“
Well I never heard the likes o f it in all my born d ays !
,
So it was y ou y o u little rapscallions that s been m aking

’
, ,
all this trouble and turned everybody s wits clean inside

,
’
o u t and scared us all most to death I ve as good a notion

’
.
’
as ever I had in my life to take it ou t 0 you this very min
.
,
—
ute To think here I ve been night after night a y ou jus t ’
, ,
’
get well once you young scamp and I lay I ll tan the O ld
, ,
’
Harry ou t 0 both 0 ye ’
But To m he w as so proud and j oyful he just c ou ldn t

, ,
’
—
'
h old in and his tongue just

,
chipping in and w en t i t she a-
,
spitting fire all along and both o f them going it at once , ,
l ike a cat convention ; and Sh e says :

“
W ell you get all the enjoyment you can out of it n ow
, ,
for mind I t e ll you if I catch you meddling with him again

27
”
M eddling with w h o ? Tom s ays dropping his smile and ,
looking surprised .
‘
With w h o ? Why the runaway nigger of course Who d , ,
.
’
”
y o u reckon ?
Tom looks at me very grave and says : ,
“
To m didn t you just tell me he was all right ? Hasn t he
’ ’
,
”
g o t away ?
”
H im ? says Aunt S ally ; the runaway nigger ? D eed he ’
hasn t They ve got him ba ck safe an d sound and he s in

’
.
’
, ,
’
that cabi n again on bread and water and loaded down , ,

”
with chains till he s claime d or sold !
,
’
To rn rose square up in bed wi th his eye hot and his , ,
n ostrils opening and Shutting like gills and Sings o u t to me :

,
“ —
They hain t no rig h t to shut him up ! Sh ov e l and don t
’ ’
y o u lose a minute Turn him loose ! he ain t no slave ;.he s as ’ ’
”
free as any c re tu r that walks this earth !
“ ”
What d o e s the child mean ?
I mean every word I say Aunt S ally and if somebody , ,
d on t go I ll go I ve knowed him all his life and so has

’ ’ ’
,
.
,
Torn there O ld M iss Watson died two months ago and

‘
,
.
,
s h e was ash amed she ever was goin to sell him down the
g
r iver and s aid so ; and she set him free in her will
,
.
“
Then what o n earth did y o u want to set him free for ,
”
seeing he was al ready free ?
“
Well that is a question I must say ; and j u s t like women !
, ,
’ ’ ’
Why I wanted the adv en tu r e of it ; and I d a waded neck
,
—
d ee p in blood to goodness alive AUN T POLLY !
” ‘
If she warn t standing right there just inside the door

’
, ,
be nuts fo r
him being a mystery and he d make an adv en
, ,
’
ture o u t o f it and be perfectly satisfied And so it turned ou t

,
.
,
and h e let on to be S id and made things as Soft as he could

,
fo r m e .
And his Aunt Polly Sh e said To m was right about o ld

M iss Watson setting Jim free in her will ; and so sure ,
enough To m S awy er had gone and took al l that troubl e

, .
and bother to set a free nigger free ! and I couldn t ever ’
understand before u ntil that minute and that talk h o w he

, ,
c ou ld help a body set a nigger free with his bring ing- up .
Well Au nt Polly She said that when Aunt S ally wrote to

,
her that Tom and Sid had come all right and safe sh e says ,
to herse lf :
“
Look at that n ow ! I might have expected it letting him
, ,
g o o ff th at way without an ybody t o watch him S o n o w I .
g o t to go and trapse all the way down th e river el e v en h un ,
dred mile and find ou t what that c re e tu r s up to this tim e

,
’
,
as long as I could n t seem to get any answer o u t o f y ou

’
about it ” .
“
Why I never heard nothing from you says Aunt S al ly
, ,
.
Wel l,I wonder ! Why I wrote y ou twice to ask you what

,
y
”
y ou could mean b S id being here .
“ ”
Well I never got em S is
,
’
,
.
Aunt Polly she turns around Slow and severe and says : ,
“
Y o u Tom !
,
— ”
Well w h at ? he says kind of pettish ,
.
D on t you what m e you impudent thing hand o u t

’ — ,
them letters ! ”
“
What letters ?
-
Th e m letters I be bound if I have to take aholt o f you
.
,
I ll
’
’
They re in the trunk There now And they re just the
’
.
,
.
’
same as they was when I got them out of the office I hain t .
looked into them I h ain t touched them But I knowed

,
’
.
they d mak e trouble and I thought if y o u warn t in n o
’ ’
,
’
hurry I d ,
“
Well yo u do need skinning there ain t n o mistake
, ,
’
about it And I wrote another o n e to tell you I w as coming ;

.
’
an d I S pose he
“ ’
N o it come yesterday ; I hain t read it yet but it s all
, ,
’
’ ”
right I ve g o t that on e
,
.
’
I wanted to offer to bet tw o dollars She hadn t but I ,
re c koned mayb e it w as j u st as s afe to n o t to So I n eve r

.
s aid nothing .
C HAPT E R TH E L A S T
NO THIN G MORE TO W RITE
TH E first ti m e I catched Tom private I asked him what w as

his i dea time Of the evasion ? what it Was he d planned
- ’
,
to do if the evasion worked all right and he managed to

set a nigger free that was already free before ? And he said ,
what he had planned in his head from the start if we got ,
Jim o u t all safe Was for us to run him down the river on
,
the raft and have adventures plumb to the mouth Of th e

,
.
river and then tell him about his being free and take him
, ,
back up hom e on a steamboat in style and pay him fo r his , ,
lost time and write word ahead and get out all the nigg e rs
,
around and have them waltz him into town w ith a torch
,
light procession and a brass band and then he would be a

-
,
hero and so would we But I reckoned it was about as well

,
.
th e way it was .
We had Jim o u t o f the ch al n s In no time and when Aunt ,
Polly and Uncle S ilas an d Aunt S ally found o u t how good

he helped the doctor nurse Tom they made a heap Of fuss ,
over him and fixed him up prime and give him all he wanted
, ,
to eat and a good time and nothing to do And we had him

, ,
.
up to the Sick room and had a high talk ; and T o m give Jim
-
,
forty dollars for being prisoner for us SO patient and doin g ,
it up SO good and Jim was pleased most to de ath and busted

, ,
o ut and says :
,
“
D ah no w Huck what I tell you ? what I tell you up
, , ,
-
dah on Jackson Islan ? I to le you I go t a hairy breas en ’ ’

,
what s de Sign u n it ; en I t ole you I ben rich w u n s t en

’
,
W be rich g ;
i it s come true en h h she i !
’ ’
i t
’
g n e er a n e n ; e a s
5 9°

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TH E A D V E N T U R E S O F

THE MOD ERN LIBR ARY

COP Y R IG H T, 1 9 1 7 , BY CLARA GABRILOW ITSCH

THE ADV ENTU RES OF HU C K LEB ERRY FINN

C OPYRIG H T, 1 8 96, 1 899, TH E R S BY H A RP E R BR O

C OPY RI G H T 1 9 1 2 BY CLARA G AB RILOW ITSC H

COP Y RIG H T 1 9 1 8 B Y TH E M A RK TW AI N C OM PAN Y

BRIG HA M YO UNG UNIVE R S I

The Adven tu res o f Tom Sawyer

The Adv en tu res of Hu c k l e berry Fin n

TH E deriv ation of th e pe n n am e , Mark

to the riv er o f his you th To it an d th e b o ats an d perso n aliti es it b ore

v en tu re M ark Tw ain dev elop ed a career w ith ou t parallel in Am eric an

letters an d exten de d it in his late r dee ply earn est Th e M ys terious

Stran ger an d h is rev e ren t P ersonal R e co ll ec tion s ofJ oan of Arc .

Samu el Clem en s was b orn in Florida Mo o n Nov em be r 3 0 18 3 5 At

the age o f fou r h e w as tak en to Han n ib al M o w h ere his f ath er died ,

v e ry e arly in li fe b ecam e a j ou rn e m an p rin te r A fter w ork in g in v arioi l s

c ities in the Mi ddle West an d E ast h e le ft h is trade wh en h e w as sixteen

years old to b ec o m e a M ississippi Riv er pil o t Du rin g th e C ivi l War h e .

Fro m a pos t o n th e Virg in ia C ity E n terprise he w en t to San Fran cisco ,

an d fou n d w elc o m e there am on g a c ircle o f w riters th at in clu ded B ret

Harte Artemu s Ward an d o thers

The story th at b rou gh t him e arly n ation al fame was Th e J u m pin g

trip to the M editerra

b o th sides Atlan tic At th is tim e h e was settled in the E ast , liv in g

in E lm ira , N Y Su b se qu en tly h e m ov ed to Hartford, Conn , Wh ere h e

mad e his ho m e fo r m an y ye ars In 18 7 5 , he . pu b lish ed his m ost famous

Huc k le berry Fin n, appeare d in 18 8 2

th e b oo k -pu b lishin g b u sin ess b y b u yin g a m aj or in tere st in th e ﬁrm o f

m ade a fortu n e fo r h is c o m pan y an d for the Gran t f am ily A disastrou s

th e tu rn o f the c en tu ry th e slate w as cl ean He took u presiden ce in N ew

York City w here h e b ecam e a b elov e d an d fam iliar ﬁgu re dressed en

tirely in white In 19 06 h e m ov ed to a coun try home in Readin g Con n

an d th ere he died on April 2 19 10 ,

T HE GL ORIOUS WH I TEWA S HER

P IRATE S AT T HE IR OWN FU N ERA L

E L O QU E N CE—A N D THE M A S TER S G ILD ED DOME

HU C K F INN QU OT ES S CRIP T URE S

XXVII TRE MB LI N G ON TH E TRA IL

XXVII I I N THE LAIR O F IN J U N J OE

V PAP STAR T S IN O N A NEW LI FE

VI PAP S TRU GGL E S W ITH THE D EA TH A N GEL

VII I F OO L PAP AND GE T AWA Y

VI II I SP AR E MIS S WAT S ON S JIM

XII B ETTER LET BLAME WE LL A L O N E

XIII HON E S T LOO T FR O M TH E WA L TE R SC OTT

XVIII WHY HARNE Y R OB E AWAY F OR H I S HA T

XIX TH E DUKE A N D TH E DA UP H IN C OM E AB OARD

XXIV TH E K IN G TURN S PAR S O N

I S TEAL THE K IN G S PLUN DER

I LIGHT OU T IN THE STOR M

XXXVI . TRYIN G T O HE L P JIM

XLII . WHY T HEY D IDN T HAN G J I M

C HAP TER THE LAS T N OTH IN G M ORE

M OST o f th e adv entures recorded in this book really occu rr e d ;

w h o were schoolmates o f mine Hu ck F i r m is drawn from

combination o f the characteristics of three boys whom I knew ,

an d t herefore belongs to the composite order o f architectur e .

Th e o dd superstitions touched upon were all pr ev alent

Al though my book is intended mainly fo r th e entertain

men and women o n that account for part o f my plan h as

been to try to pleasantly remind adults o f what they once