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by Mark Twain  Samuel Clemens 

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Title  The Adventures of Tom Sawyer  Complete

Author  Mark Twain  Samuel Clemens 

Release Date  August 20  2006  EBook  74 

Language  English

Character set encoding  ASCII

    START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TOM SAWYER    




Produced by David Widger  The previous edition was update by Jose
Menendez 





                   THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER
                                BY
                            MARK TWAIN
                      Samuel Langhorne Clemens 




                           P R E F A C E

MOST of the adventures recorded in this book really occurred  one or
two were experiences of my own  the rest those of boys who were
schoolmates of mine  Huck Finn is drawn from life  Tom Sawyer also  but
not from an individual  he is a combination of the characteristics of
three boys whom I knew  and therefore belongs to the composite order of
architecture 

The odd superstitions touched upon were all prevalent among children
and slaves in the West at the period of this story  that is to say 
thirty or forty years ago 

Although my book is intended mainly for the entertainment of boys and
girls  I hope it will not be shunned by men and women on that account 
for part of my plan has been to try to pleasantly remind adults of what
they once were themselves  and of how they felt and thought and talked 
and what queer enterprises they sometimes engaged in 

                                                            THE AUTHOR 

HARTFORD  1876 



                          T O M   S A W Y E R



CHAPTER I

 TOM  

No answer 

 TOM  

No answer 

 What s gone with that boy   I wonder  You TOM  

No answer 

The old lady pulled her spectacles down and looked over them about the
room  then she put them up and looked out under them  She seldom or
never looked THROUGH them for so small a thing as a boy  they were her
state pair  the pride of her heart  and were built for  style   not
service  she could have seen through a pair of stove lids just as well 
She looked perplexed for a moment  and then said  not fiercely  but
still loud enough for the furniture to hear 

 Well  I lay if I get hold of you I ll   

She did not finish  for by this time she was bending down and punching
under the bed with the broom  and so she needed breath to punctuate the
punches with  She resurrected nothing but the cat 

 I never did see the beat of that boy  

She went to the open door and stood in it and looked out among the
tomato vines and  jimpson  weeds that constituted the garden  No Tom 
So she lifted up her voice at an angle calculated for distance and
shouted 

 Y o u u TOM  

There was a slight noise behind her and she turned just in 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 doing in
there  

 Nothing  

 Nothing  Look at your hands  And look at your mouth  What IS that
truck  

 I don t know  aunt  

 Well  I know  It s jam  that s what it is  Forty times I ve said if
you didn t let that jam alone I d skin you  Hand me that switch  

The switch hovered in the air  the peril was desperate  

 My  Look behind you  aunt  

The old lady whirled round  and snatched her skirts out of danger  The
lad fled on the instant  scrambled up the high 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 played me tricks
enough like that for me to be looking out for him by this time  But old
fools is the biggest fools there is  Can t learn an old dog new tricks 
as the saying is  But my goodness  he never plays them alike  two days 
and how is a body to know what s coming  He  pears to know just how
long he can torment me before I get my dander up  and he knows if he
can make out to put me off for a minute or make me laugh  it s all down
again and I can t hit him a lick  I ain t doing my duty by that boy 
and that s the Lord s truth  goodness knows  Spare the rod and spile
the child  as the Good Book says  I m a laying up sin and suffering for
us both  I know  He s full of the Old Scratch  but laws a me  he s my
own dead sister s boy  poor thing  and I ain t got the heart to lash
him  somehow  Every time I let him off  my conscience does hurt me so 
and every time I hit him my old heart most breaks  Well a well  man
that is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble  as the
Scripture says  and I reckon it s so  He ll play hookey this evening   
and    Southwestern for  afternoon   I ll just be obleeged to make him
work  to morrow  to punish him  It s mighty hard to make him work
Saturdays  when all the boys is having holiday  but he hates work more
than he hates anything else  and I ve GOT to do some of my duty by him 
or I ll be the ruination of the child  

Tom did play hookey  and he had a very good time  He got back home
barely in season to help Jim  the small colored boy  saw next day s
wood and split the kindlings before supper  at least he was there in
time to tell his adventures to Jim while Jim did three fourths of the
work  Tom s younger brother  or rather half brother  Sid was already
through with his part of the work  picking up chips   for he was a
quiet boy  and had no adventurous  troublesome ways 

While Tom was eating his supper  and stealing sugar as opportunity
offered  Aunt Polly asked him questions that were full of guile  and
very deep  for she wanted to trap him into damaging revealments  Like
many other simple hearted souls  it was her pet vanity to believe she
was endowed with a talent for dark and mysterious diplomacy  and she
loved to contemplate her most transparent devices as marvels of low
cunning  Said she 

 Tom  it was middling warm in school  warn t it  

 Yes m  

 Powerful warm  warn t it  

 Yes m  

 Didn t you want to go in a swimming  Tom  

A bit of a scare shot through Tom  a touch of uncomfortable suspicion 
He searched Aunt Polly s face  but it told him nothing  So he said 

 No m  well  not very much  

The old lady reached out her hand and felt Tom s shirt  and said 

 But you ain t too warm now  though   And it flattered her to reflect
that she had discovered that the shirt was dry without anybody knowing
that that was what she had in her mind  But in spite of her  Tom knew
where the wind lay  now  So he forestalled what might be the next move 

 Some of us pumped on our heads  mine s damp yet  See  

Aunt Polly was vexed to think she had overlooked that bit of
circumstantial evidence  and missed a trick  Then she had a new
inspiration 

 Tom  you didn t have to undo your shirt collar where I sewed it  to
pump on your head  did you  Unbutton your jacket  

The trouble vanished out of Tom s face  He opened his jacket  His
shirt collar was securely sewed 

 Bother  Well  go  long with you  I d made sure you d played hookey
and been a swimming  But I forgive ye  Tom  I reckon you re a kind of a
singed cat  as the saying is  better n you look  THIS time  

She was half sorry her sagacity had miscarried  and half glad that Tom
had stumbled into obedient conduct for once 

But Sidney said 

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

 Why  I did sew it with white  Tom  

But Tom did not wait for the rest  As he went out at the door he said 

 Siddy  I ll lick you for that  

In a safe place Tom examined two large needles which were thrust into
the lapels of his jacket  and had thread bound about them  one needle
carried white thread and the other black  He said 

 She d never noticed if it hadn t been for Sid  Confound it  sometimes
she sews it with white  and sometimes she sews it with black  I wish to
geeminy she d stick to one or t other  I can t keep the run of  em  But
I bet you I ll lam Sid for that  I ll learn him  

He was not the Model Boy of the village  He knew the model boy very
well though  and loathed him 

Within two minutes  or even less  he had forgotten all his troubles 
Not because his troubles were one whit less heavy and bitter to him
than a man s are to a man  but because a new and powerful interest bore
them down and drove them out of his mind for the time  just as men s
misfortunes are forgotten in the excitement of new enterprises  This
new interest was a valued novelty in whistling  which he had just
acquired from a negro  and he was suffering to practise it undisturbed 
It consisted in a peculiar bird like turn  a sort of liquid warble 
produced by touching the tongue to the roof of the mouth at short
intervals in the midst of the music  the reader probably remembers how
to do it  if he has ever been a boy  Diligence and attention soon gave
him the knack of it  and he strode down the street with his mouth full
of harmony and his soul full of gratitude  He felt much as an
astronomer feels who has discovered a new planet  no doubt  as far as
strong  deep  unalloyed pleasure is concerned  the advantage was with
the boy  not the astronomer 

The summer evenings were long  It was not dark  yet  Presently Tom
checked his whistle  A stranger was before him  a boy a shade larger
than himself  A new comer of any age or either sex was an impressive
curiosity in the poor little shabby village of St  Petersburg  This boy
was well dressed  too  well dressed on a week day  This was simply
astounding  His cap was a dainty thing  his close buttoned blue cloth
roundabout was new and natty  and so were his pantaloons  He had shoes
on  and it was only Friday  He even wore a necktie  a bright bit of
ribbon  He had a citified air about him that ate into Tom s vitals  The
more Tom stared at the splendid marvel  the higher he turned up his
nose at his finery and the shabbier and shabbier his own outfit seemed
to him to grow  Neither boy spoke  If one moved  the other moved  but
only sidewise  in a circle  they kept face to face and eye to eye all
the time  Finally Tom said 

 I can lick you  

 I d like to see you try it  

 Well  I can do it  

 No you can t  either  

 Yes I can  

 No you can t  

 I can  

 You can t  

 Can  

 Can t  

An uncomfortable pause  Then Tom said 

 What s your name  

  Tisn t any of your business  maybe  

 Well I  low I ll MAKE it my business  

 Well why don t you  

 If you say much  I will  

 Much  much  MUCH  There now  

 Oh  you think you re mighty smart  DON T you  I could lick you with
one hand tied behind me  if I wanted to  

 Well why don t you DO it  You SAY you can do it  

 Well I WILL  if you fool with me  

 Oh yes  I ve seen whole families in the same fix  

 Smarty  You think you re SOME  now  DON T you  Oh  what a hat  

 You can lump that hat if you don t like it  I dare you to knock it
off  and anybody that ll take a dare will suck eggs  

 You re a liar  

 You re another  

 You re a fighting liar and dasn t take it up  

 Aw  take a walk  

 Say  if you give me much more of your sass I ll take and bounce a
rock off n your head  

 Oh  of COURSE you will  

 Well I WILL  

 Well why don t you DO it then  What do you keep SAYING you will for 
Why don t you DO it  It s because you re afraid  

 I AIN T afraid  

 You are  

 I ain t  

 You are  

Another pause  and more eying and sidling around each other  Presently
they were shoulder to shoulder  Tom said 

 Get away from here  

 Go away yourself  

 I won t  

 I won t either  

So they stood  each with a foot placed at an angle as a brace  and
both shoving with might and main  and glowering at each other with
hate  But neither could get an advantage  After struggling till both
were hot and flushed  each relaxed his strain with watchful caution 
and Tom said 

 You re a coward and a pup  I ll tell my big brother on you  and he
can thrash you with his little finger  and I ll make him do it  too  

 What do I care for your big brother  I ve got a brother that s bigger
than he is  and what s more  he can throw him over that fence  too  
 Both brothers were imaginary  

 That s a lie  

 YOUR saying so don t make it so  

Tom drew a line in the dust with his big toe  and said 

 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 steal sheep  

The new boy stepped over promptly  and said 

 Now you said you d do it  now let s see you do it  

 Don t you crowd me now  you better look out  

 Well  you SAID you d do it  why don t you do it  

 By jingo  for two cents I WILL do it  

The new boy took two broad coppers out of his pocket and held them out
with derision  Tom struck them to the ground  In an instant both boys
were rolling and tumbling in the dirt  gripped together like cats  and
for the space of a minute they tugged and tore at each other s hair and
clothes  punched and scratched each other s nose  and covered
themselves with dust and glory  Presently the confusion took form  and
through the fog of battle Tom appeared  seated astride the new boy  and
pounding him with his fists   Holler  nuff   said he 

The boy only struggled to free himself  He was crying  mainly from rage 

 Holler  nuff    and the pounding went on 

At last the stranger got out a smothered   Nuff   and Tom let him up
and said 

 Now that ll learn you  Better look out who you re fooling with next
time  

The new boy went off brushing the dust from his clothes  sobbing 
snuffling  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 responded with jeers  and started 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 turned tail and ran like
an antelope  Tom chased the traitor home  and thus found out where he
lived  He then held a position at the gate for some time  daring the
enemy to come outside  but the enemy only made faces at him through the
window and declined  At last the enemy s mother appeared  and called
Tom a bad  vicious  vulgar child  and ordered him away  So he went
away  but he said he   lowed  to  lay  for that boy 

He got home pretty late that night  and when he climbed cautiously in
at the window  he uncovered an ambuscade  in the person of his aunt 
and when she saw the state his clothes were in her resolution to turn
his Saturday holiday into captivity at hard labor became adamantine in
its firmness 



CHAPTER II

SATURDAY morning was come  and all the summer world was bright and
fresh  and brimming with life  There was a song in every heart  and if
the heart was young the music issued at the lips  There was cheer in
every face and a spring in every step  The locust trees were in bloom
and the fragrance of the blossoms filled the air  Cardiff Hill  beyond
the village and above it  was green with vegetation and it lay just far
enough away to seem a Delectable Land  dreamy  reposeful  and inviting 

Tom appeared on the sidewalk with a bucket of whitewash and a
long handled 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  Life to him seemed hollow  and existence but a
burden  Sighing  he dipped his brush and passed it along the topmost
plank  repeated the operation  did it again  compared the insignificant
whitewashed streak with the far reaching continent of unwhitewashed
fence  and sat down on a tree box discouraged  Jim came skipping out at
the gate with a tin pail  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 him 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  quarrelling 
fighting  skylarking  And he remembered that although the pump was only
a hundred and fifty yards off  Jim never got back with a bucket of
water under an hour  and even then somebody generally had to go after
him  Tom said 

 Say  Jim  I ll fetch the water if you ll whitewash some  

Jim shook his head and said 

 Can t  Mars Tom  Ole missis  she tole me I got to go an  git dis
water an  not stop foolin  roun  wid anybody  She say she spec  Mars
Tom gwine to ax me to whitewash  an  so she tole me go  long an   tend
to my own business  she  lowed SHE D  tend to de whitewashin   

 Oh  never you mind what she said  Jim  That s the way she always
talks  Gimme the bucket  I won t be gone only a a minute  SHE won t
ever know  

 Oh  I dasn t  Mars Tom  Ole missis she d take an  tar de head off n
me   Deed she would  

 SHE  She never licks anybody  whacks  em over the head with her
thimble  and who cares for that  I d like to know  She talks awful  but
talk don t hurt  anyways it don t if she don t cry  Jim  I ll give you
a marvel  I ll give you a white alley  

Jim began to waver 

 White alley  Jim  And it s a bully taw  

 My  Dat s a mighty gay marvel  I tell you  But Mars Tom I s powerful
 fraid ole missis   

 And besides  if you will I ll show you my sore toe  

Jim was only human  this attraction was too much for him  He put down
his pail  took the white alley  and bent over the toe with absorbing
interest while the bandage was being unwound  In another moment he was
flying down the street with his pail and a tingling rear  Tom was
whitewashing with vigor  and Aunt Polly was retiring from the field
with a slipper in her hand and triumph in her eye 

But Tom s energy did not last  He began to think of the fun he had
planned for this day  and his sorrows multiplied  Soon the free boys
would come tripping along on all sorts of delicious expeditions  and
they would make a world of fun of him for having to work  the very
thought of it burnt him like fire  He got out his worldly wealth and
examined it  bits of toys  marbles  and trash  enough to buy an
exchange of WORK  maybe  but not half enough to buy so much as half an
hour of pure freedom  So he returned his straitened means to his
pocket  and gave up the idea of trying to buy the boys  At this dark
and hopeless moment an inspiration burst upon him  Nothing less than a
great  magnificent inspiration 

He took up 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  proof enough that his
heart was light and his anticipations high  He was 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 slackened speed  took the middle of the street  leaned
far over to starboard and rounded to ponderously and with laborious
pomp and circumstance  for he was personating the Big Missouri  and
considered himself to be drawing nine feet of water  He was boat and
captain and engine bells combined  so he had to imagine himself
standing on his own hurricane deck giving the orders and executing them 

 Stop her  sir  Ting a ling ling   The headway ran almost out  and he
drew up slowly toward the sidewalk 

 Ship up to back  Ting a ling ling   His arms straightened and
stiffened down his sides 

 Set her back on the stabboard  Ting a ling ling  Chow  ch chow wow 
Chow   His right hand  meantime  describing stately circles  for it was
representing a forty foot wheel 

 Let her go back on the labboard  Ting a lingling  Chow ch chow chow  
The left hand began to describe circles 

 Stop the stabboard  Ting a ling ling  Stop the labboard  Come ahead
on the stabboard  Stop her  Let your outside turn over slow 
Ting a ling ling  Chow ow ow  Get out that head line  LIVELY now 
Come  out with your spring line  what re you about there  Take a turn
round that stump with the bight of it  Stand by that stage  now  let her
go  Done with the engines  sir  Ting a ling ling  SH T  S H T  SH T  
 trying the gauge cocks  

Tom went on whitewashing  paid no attention to the steamboat  Ben
stared a moment and then said   Hi YI  YOU RE up a stump  ain t you  

No answer  Tom surveyed his last touch with the eye of an artist  then
he gave his brush another gentle sweep and surveyed the result  as
before  Ben ranged up alongside of him  Tom s mouth watered for the
apple  but he stuck to his work  Ben said 

 Hello  old chap  you got to work  hey  

Tom wheeled suddenly and said 

 Why  it s you  Ben  I warn t noticing  

 Say  I m going in a swimming  I am  Don t you wish you could  But of
course you d druther WORK  wouldn t you  Course you would  

Tom contemplated the boy a bit  and said 

 What do you call work  

 Why  ain t THAT work  

Tom resumed his whitewashing  and answered carelessly 

 Well  maybe it is  and maybe it ain t  All I know  is  it suits Tom
Sawyer  

 Oh come  now  you don t mean to let on that you LIKE it  

The brush continued to move 

 Like it  Well  I don t see why I oughtn t to like it  Does a boy get
a chance to whitewash a fence every day  

That put the thing in a new light  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  criticised the effect again  Ben
watching every move and getting more and more interested  more and more
absorbed  Presently he said 

 Say  Tom  let ME whitewash a little  

Tom considered  was about to consent  but he altered his mind 

 No  no  I reckon it wouldn t hardly do  Ben  You see  Aunt Polly s
awful particular about this fence  right here on the street  you know
  but if it was the back fence I wouldn 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 one boy in a thousand  maybe two
thousand  that can do it the way it s got to be done  

 No  is that so  Oh come  now  lemme just try  Only just a little  I d
let YOU  if you was me  Tom  

 Ben  I d like to  honest injun  but Aunt Polly  well  Jim wanted to
do it  but she wouldn t let him  Sid wanted to do it  and she wouldn t
let Sid  Now don t you see how I m fixed  If you was to tackle this
fence and anything was to happen to it   

 Oh  shucks  I ll be just as careful  Now lemme try  Say  I ll give
you the core of my apple  

 Well  here  No  Ben  now don t  I m afeard   

 I ll give you ALL of it  

Tom gave up the brush with reluctance in his face  but alacrity in his
heart  And while the late steamer Big Missouri worked and sweated in
the sun  the retired artist sat on a barrel in the shade close by 
dangled his legs  munched his apple  and planned the slaughter of more
innocents  There was no lack of material  boys happened along every
little while  they came to jeer  but remained to whitewash  By the time
Ben was fagged out  Tom had traded the next chance to Billy Fisher for
a kite  in good repair  and when he played out  Johnny Miller bought in
for a dead rat and a string to swing it with  and so on  and so on 
hour after hour  And when the middle of the afternoon came  from being
a poor poverty stricken boy in the morning  Tom was literally rolling
in wealth  He had besides the things before mentioned  twelve marbles 
part of a jews harp  a piece of blue bottle glass to look through  a
spool cannon  a key that wouldn t unlock anything  a fragment of chalk 
a glass stopper of a decanter  a tin soldier  a couple of tadpoles  six
fire crackers  a kitten with only one eye  a brass doorknob  a
dog collar  but no dog  the handle of a knife  four pieces of
orange peel  and a dilapidated old window sash 

He had had a nice  good  idle time all the while  plenty of company
  and the fence had three coats of whitewash on it  If he hadn t run out
of whitewash he would have bankrupted every boy in the village 

Tom said to himself that it was not such a hollow world  after all  He
had discovered a great law of human action  without knowing it  namely 
that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing  it is only
necessary to make the thing difficult to attain  If he had been a great
and wise philosopher  like the writer of this book  he would now have
comprehended that Work consists of whatever a body is OBLIGED to do 
and that Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do  And
this would help him to understand why constructing artificial flowers
or performing on a tread mill is work  while rolling ten pins or
climbing Mont Blanc is only amusement  There are wealthy gentlemen in
England who drive four horse passenger coaches twenty or thirty miles
on a daily line  in the summer  because the privilege costs them
considerable money  but if they were offered wages for the service 
that would turn it into work and then they would resign 

The boy mused awhile over the substantial change which had taken place
in his worldly circumstances  and then wended toward headquarters to
report 



CHAPTER III

TOM presented himself before Aunt Polly  who was sitting by an open
window in a pleasant rearward apartment  which was bedroom 
breakfast room  dining room  and library  combined  The balmy summer
air  the restful quiet  the odor of the flowers  and the drowsing murmur
of the bees had had their effect  and she was nodding over her knitting
  for she had no company but the cat  and it was asleep in her lap  Her
spectacles were propped up on her gray head for safety  She had thought
that of course Tom had deserted long ago  and she wondered at seeing him
place himself in her power again in this intrepid way  He said   Mayn t
I go and play now  aunt  

 What  a ready  How much have you done  

 It s all done  aunt  

 Tom  don t lie to me  I can t bear it  

 I ain t  aunt  it IS all done  

Aunt Polly placed small trust in such evidence  She went out to see
for herself  and she would have been content to find twenty per cent 
of Tom s statement true  When she found the entire fence whitewashed 
and not only whitewashed but elaborately coated and recoated  and even
a streak added to the ground  her astonishment was almost unspeakable 
She said 

 Well  I never  There s no getting round it  you can work when you re
a mind to  Tom   And then she diluted the compliment by adding   But
it s powerful seldom you re a mind to  I m bound to say  Well  go  long
and play  but mind you get back some time in a week  or 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 with an improving lecture upon the added value and flavor a
treat took to itself when it came without sin through virtuous effort 
And while she closed with a happy Scriptural flourish  he  hooked  a
doughnut 

Then he skipped out  and saw Sid just starting up the outside stairway
that led to the back rooms on the second floor  Clods were handy and
the air was full of them in a twinkling  They raged around Sid like a
hail storm  and before Aunt Polly could collect her surprised faculties
and sally to the rescue  six or seven clods had taken personal effect 
and Tom was over the fence and gone  There was a gate  but as a general
thing he was too crowded for time to make use of it  His soul was at
peace  now that he had settled with Sid for calling attention to his
black thread and getting him into trouble 

Tom skirted the block  and came round into a muddy alley that led by
the back of his aunt s cow stable  He presently got safely beyond the
reach of capture and punishment  and hastened toward the public square
of the village  where two  military  companies of boys had met for
conflict  according to previous appointment  Tom was General of one of
these armies  Joe Harper  a bosom friend  General of the other  These
two great commanders did not condescend to fight in person  that being
better suited to the still smaller fry  but sat together on an eminence
and conducted the field operations by orders delivered through
aides de camp  Tom s army won a great victory  after a long and
hard fought battle  Then the dead were counted  prisoners exchanged 
the terms of the next disagreement agreed upon  and the day for the
necessary battle appointed  after which the armies fell into line and
marched away  and Tom turned homeward alone 

As he was passing by the house where Jeff Thatcher lived  he saw a new
girl in the garden  a lovely little blue eyed creature with yellow hair
plaited into two long tails  white summer frock and embroidered
pantalettes  The fresh crowned hero fell without firing a shot  A
certain Amy Lawrence vanished out of his heart and left not even a
memory of herself behind  He had thought he loved her to distraction 
he had regarded his passion as adoration  and behold it was only a poor
little evanescent partiality  He had been months winning her  she had
confessed hardly a week ago  he had been the happiest and the proudest
boy in the world only seven short days  and here in one instant of time
she had gone out of his heart like a casual stranger whose visit is
done 

He worshipped this new angel with furtive eye  till he saw that she
had discovered him  then he pretended he did not know she was present 
and began to  show off  in all sorts of absurd boyish ways  in order to
win her admiration  He kept up this grotesque foolishness for some
time  but by and by  while he was in the midst of some dangerous
gymnastic performances  he glanced aside and saw that the little girl
was wending her way toward the house  Tom came up to the fence and
leaned on it  grieving  and hoping she would tarry yet awhile longer 
She halted a moment on the steps and then moved toward the door  Tom
heaved a great sigh as she put her foot on the threshold  But his face
lit up  right away  for she tossed a pansy over the fence a moment
before she disappeared 

The boy ran around and stopped within a foot or two of the flower  and
then shaded his eyes with his hand and began to look down street as if
he had discovered something of interest going on in that direction 
Presently he picked up a straw and began trying to balance it on his
nose  with his head tilted far back  and as he moved from side to side 
in his efforts  he edged nearer and nearer toward the pansy  finally
his bare foot rested upon it  his pliant toes closed upon it  and he
hopped away with the treasure and disappeared round the corner  But
only for a minute  only while he could button the flower inside his
jacket  next his heart  or next his stomach  possibly  for he was not
much posted in anatomy  and not hypercritical  anyway 

He returned  now  and hung about the fence till nightfall   showing
off   as before  but the girl never exhibited herself again  though Tom
comforted himself a little with the hope that she had been near some
window  meantime  and been aware of his attentions  Finally he strode
home reluctantly  with his poor head full of visions 

All through supper his spirits were so high that his aunt wondered
 what had got into the child   He took a good scolding about clodding
Sid  and did not seem to mind it in the least  He tried to steal sugar
under his aunt s very nose  and got his knuckles rapped for it  He said 

 Aunt  you don t whack Sid when he takes it  

 Well  Sid don t torment a body the way you do  You d be always into
that sugar if I warn t watching you  

Presently she stepped into the kitchen  and Sid  happy in his
immunity  reached for the sugar bowl  a sort of glorying over Tom which
was wellnigh unbearable  But Sid s fingers slipped and the bowl dropped
and broke  Tom was in ecstasies  In such ecstasies that he even
controlled his tongue and was silent  He said to himself that he would
not speak a word  even when his aunt came in  but would sit perfectly
still till she asked who did the mischief  and then he would tell  and
there would be nothing so good in the world as to see that pet model
 catch it   He was so brimful of exultation that he could hardly hold
himself when the old lady came back and stood above the wreck
discharging lightnings of wrath from over her spectacles  He said to
himself   Now it s coming   And the next instant he was sprawling on
the floor  The potent palm was uplifted to strike again when Tom cried
out 

 Hold on  now  what  er you belting ME for   Sid broke it  

Aunt Polly paused  perplexed  and Tom looked for healing pity  But
when she got her tongue again  she only said 

 Umf  Well  you didn t get a lick amiss  I reckon  You been into some
other audacious mischief when I wasn t around  like enough  

Then her conscience reproached her  and she yearned to say something
kind and loving  but she judged that this would be construed into a
confession that she had been in the wrong  and discipline forbade that 
So she kept silence  and went about her affairs with a troubled heart 
Tom sulked in a corner and exalted his woes  He knew that in her heart
his aunt was on her knees to him  and he was morosely gratified by the
consciousness of it  He would hang out no signals  he would take notice
of none  He knew that a yearning glance fell upon him  now and then 
through a film of tears  but he refused recognition of it  He pictured
himself lying sick unto death and his aunt bending over him beseeching
one little forgiving word  but he would turn his face to the wall  and
die with that word unsaid  Ah  how would she feel then  And he pictured
himself brought home from the river  dead  with his curls all wet  and
his sore heart at rest  How she would throw herself upon him  and how
her tears would fall like rain  and her lips pray God to give her back
her boy and she would never  never abuse him any more  But he would lie
there cold and white and make no sign  a poor little sufferer  whose
griefs were at an end  He so worked upon his feelings with the pathos
of these dreams  that he had to keep swallowing  he was so like to
choke  and his eyes swam in a blur of water  which overflowed when he
winked  and ran down and trickled from the end of his nose  And such a
luxury to him was this petting of his sorrows  that he could not bear
to have any worldly cheeriness or any grating delight intrude upon it 
it was too sacred for such contact  and so  presently  when his cousin
Mary danced in  all alive with the joy of seeing home again after an
age long visit of one week to the country  he got up and moved in
clouds and darkness out at one door as she brought song and sunshine in
at the other 

He wandered far from the accustomed haunts of boys  and sought
desolate places that were in harmony with his spirit  A log raft in the
river invited him  and he seated himself on its outer edge and
contemplated the dreary vastness of the stream  wishing  the while 
that he could only be drowned  all at once and unconsciously  without
undergoing the uncomfortable routine devised by nature  Then he thought
of his flower  He got it out  rumpled and wilted  and it mightily
increased his dismal felicity  He wondered if she would pity him if she
knew  Would she cry  and wish that she had a right to put her arms
around his neck and comfort him  Or would she turn coldly away like all
the hollow world  This picture brought such an agony of pleasurable
suffering that he worked it over and over again in his mind and set it
up in new and varied lights  till he wore it threadbare  At last he
rose up sighing and departed in the darkness 

About half past nine or ten o clock he came along the deserted street
to where the Adored Unknown lived  he paused a moment  no sound fell
upon his listening ear  a candle was casting a dull glow upon the
curtain of a second story window  Was the sacred presence there  He
climbed the fence  threaded his stealthy way through the plants  till
he stood under that window  he looked up at it long  and with emotion 
then he laid him down on the ground under it  disposing himself upon
his back  with his hands clasped upon his breast and holding his poor
wilted flower  And thus he would die  out in the cold world  with no
shelter over his homeless head  no friendly hand to wipe the
death damps from his brow  no loving face to bend pityingly over him
when the great agony came  And thus SHE would see him when she looked
out upon the glad morning  and oh  would she drop one little tear upon
his poor  lifeless form  would she heave one little sigh to see a bright
young life so rudely blighted  so untimely cut down 

The window went up  a maid servant s discordant voice profaned the
holy calm  and a deluge of water drenched the prone martyr s remains 

The strangling hero sprang up with a relieving snort  There was a whiz
as of a missile in the air  mingled with the murmur of a curse  a sound
as of shivering glass followed  and a small  vague form went over the
fence and shot away in the gloom 

Not long after  as Tom  all undressed for bed  was surveying his
drenched garments by the light of a tallow dip  Sid woke up  but if he
had any dim idea of making any  references to allusions   he thought
better of it and held his peace  for there was danger in Tom s eye 

Tom turned in without the added vexation of prayers  and Sid made
mental note of the omission 



CHAPTER IV

THE sun rose upon a tranquil world  and beamed down upon the peaceful
village like a benediction  Breakfast over  Aunt Polly had family
worship  it began with a prayer built from the ground up of solid
courses of Scriptural quotations  welded together with a thin mortar of
originality  and from the summit of this she delivered a grim chapter
of the Mosaic Law  as from Sinai 

Then Tom girded up his loins  so to speak  and went to work to  get
his verses   Sid had learned his lesson days before  Tom bent all his
energies to the memorizing of five verses  and he chose part of the
Sermon on the Mount  because he could find no verses that were shorter 
At the end of half an hour Tom had a vague general idea of his lesson 
but no more  for his mind was traversing the whole field of human
thought  and his hands were busy with distracting recreations  Mary
took his book to hear him recite  and he tried to find his way through
the fog 

 Blessed are the  a  a   

 Poor   

 Yes  poor  blessed are the poor  a  a   

 In spirit   

 In spirit  blessed are the poor in spirit  for they  they   

 THEIRS   

 For THEIRS  Blessed are the poor in spirit  for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven  Blessed are they that mourn  for they  they   

 Sh   

 For they  a   

 S  H  A   

 For they S  H  Oh  I don t know what it is  

 SHALL  

 Oh  SHALL  for they shall  for they shall  a  a  shall mourn  a  a  
blessed are they that shall  they that  a  they that shall mourn  for
they shall  a  shall WHAT  Why don t you tell me  Mary   what do you
want to be so mean for  

 Oh  Tom  you poor thick headed thing  I m not teasing you  I wouldn t
do that  You must go and learn it again  Don t you be discouraged  Tom 
you ll manage it  and if you do  I ll give you something ever so nice 
There  now  that s a good boy  

 All right  What is it  Mary  tell me what it is  

 Never you mind  Tom  You know if I say it s nice  it is nice  

 You bet you that s so  Mary  All right  I ll tackle it again  

And he did  tackle it again   and under the double pressure of
curiosity and prospective gain he did it with such spirit that he
accomplished a shining success  Mary gave him a brand new  Barlow 
knife worth twelve and a half cents  and the convulsion of delight that
swept his system shook him to his foundations  True  the knife would
not cut anything  but it was a  sure enough  Barlow  and there was
inconceivable grandeur in that  though where the Western boys ever got
the idea that such a weapon could possibly be counterfeited to its
injury is an imposing mystery and will always remain so  perhaps  Tom
contrived to scarify the cupboard with it  and was arranging to begin
on the bureau  when he was called off to dress for Sunday school 

Mary gave him a tin basin of water and a piece of soap  and he went
outside the door and set the basin on a little bench there  then he
dipped the soap in the water and laid it down  turned up his sleeves 
poured out the water on the ground  gently  and then entered the
kitchen and began to wipe his face diligently on the towel behind the
door  But Mary removed the towel and said 

 Now ain t you ashamed  Tom  You mustn t be so bad  Water won t hurt
you  

Tom was a trifle disconcerted  The basin was refilled  and this time
he stood over it a little while  gathering resolution  took in a big
breath and began  When he entered the kitchen presently  with both eyes
shut and groping for the towel with his hands  an honorable testimony
of suds and water was dripping from his face  But when he emerged from
the towel  he was not yet satisfactory  for the clean territory stopped
short at his chin and his jaws  like a mask  below and beyond this line
there was a dark expanse of unirrigated soil that spread downward in
front and backward around his neck  Mary took him in hand  and when she
was done with him he was a man and a brother  without distinction of
color  and his saturated hair was neatly brushed  and its short curls
wrought into a dainty and symmetrical general effect   He privately
smoothed out the curls  with labor and difficulty  and plastered his
hair close down to his head  for he held curls to be effeminate  and
his own filled his life with bitterness   Then Mary got out a suit of
his clothing that had been used only on Sundays during two years  they
were simply called his  other clothes   and so by that we know the
size of his wardrobe  The girl  put him to rights  after he had dressed
himself  she buttoned his neat roundabout up to his chin  turned his
vast shirt collar down over his shoulders  brushed him off and crowned
him with his speckled straw hat  He now looked exceedingly improved and
uncomfortable  He was fully as uncomfortable as he looked  for there
was a restraint about whole clothes and cleanliness that galled him  He
hoped that Mary would forget his shoes  but the hope was blighted  she
coated them thoroughly with tallow  as was the custom  and brought them
out  He lost his temper and said he was always being made to do
everything he didn t want to do  But Mary said  persuasively 

 Please  Tom  that s a good boy  

So he got into the shoes snarling  Mary was soon ready  and the three
children set out for Sunday school  a place that Tom hated with his
whole heart  but Sid and Mary were fond of it 

Sabbath school hours were from nine to half past ten  and then church
service  Two of the children always remained for the sermon
voluntarily  and the other always remained too  for stronger reasons 
The church s high backed  uncushioned pews would seat about three
hundred persons  the edifice was but a small  plain affair  with a sort
of pine board tree box on top of it for a steeple  At the door Tom
dropped back a step and accosted a Sunday dressed comrade 

 Say  Billy  got a yaller ticket  

 Yes  

 What ll you take for her  

 What ll you give  

 Piece of lickrish and a fish hook  

 Less see  em  

Tom exhibited  They were satisfactory  and the property changed hands 
Then Tom traded a couple of white alleys for three red tickets  and
some small trifle or other for a couple of blue ones  He waylaid other
boys as they came  and went on buying tickets of various colors ten or
fifteen minutes longer  He entered the church  now  with a swarm of
clean and noisy boys and girls  proceeded to his seat and started a
quarrel with the first boy that came handy  The teacher  a grave 
elderly man  interfered  then turned his back a moment and Tom pulled a
boy s hair in the next bench  and was absorbed in his book when the boy
turned around  stuck a pin in another boy  presently  in order to hear
him say  Ouch   and got a new reprimand from his teacher  Tom s whole
class were of a pattern  restless  noisy  and troublesome  When they
came to recite their lessons  not one of them knew his verses
perfectly  but had to be prompted all along  However  they worried
through  and each got his reward  in small blue tickets  each with a
passage of Scripture on it  each blue ticket was pay for two verses of
the recitation  Ten blue tickets equalled a red one  and could be
exchanged for it  ten red tickets equalled a yellow one  for ten yellow
tickets the superintendent gave a very plainly bound Bible  worth forty
cents in those easy times  to the pupil  How many of my readers would
have the industry and application to memorize two thousand verses  even
for a Dore Bible  And yet Mary had acquired two Bibles in this way  it
was the patient work of two years  and a boy of German parentage had
won four or five  He once recited three thousand verses without
stopping  but the strain upon his mental faculties was too great  and
he was little better than an idiot from that day forth  a grievous
misfortune for the school  for on great occasions  before company  the
superintendent  as Tom expressed it  had always made this boy come out
and  spread himself   Only the older pupils managed to keep their
tickets and stick to their tedious work long enough to get a Bible  and
so the delivery of one of these prizes was a rare and noteworthy
circumstance  the successful pupil was so great and conspicuous for
that day that on the spot every scholar s heart was fired with a fresh
ambition that often lasted a couple of weeks  It is possible that Tom s
mental stomach had never really hungered for one of those prizes  but
unquestionably his entire being had for many a day longed for the glory
and the eclat that came with it 

In due course the superintendent stood up in front of the pulpit  with
a closed hymn book in his hand and his forefinger inserted between its
leaves  and commanded attention  When a Sunday school superintendent
makes his customary little speech  a hymn book in the hand is as
necessary as is the inevitable sheet of music in the hand of a singer
who stands forward on the platform and sings a solo at a concert
  though why  is a mystery  for neither the hymn book nor the sheet of
music is ever referred to by the sufferer  This superintendent was a
slim creature of thirty five  with a sandy goatee and short sandy hair 
he wore a stiff standing collar whose upper edge almost reached his
ears and whose sharp points curved forward abreast the corners of his
mouth  a fence that compelled a straight lookout ahead  and a turning
of the whole body when a side view was required  his chin was propped
on a spreading cravat which was as broad and as long as a bank note 
and had fringed ends  his boot toes were turned sharply up  in the
fashion of the day  like sleigh runners  an effect patiently and
laboriously produced by the young men by sitting with their toes
pressed against a wall for hours together  Mr  Walters was very earnest
of mien  and very sincere and honest at heart  and he held sacred
things and places in such reverence  and so separated them from worldly
matters  that unconsciously to himself his Sunday school voice had
acquired a peculiar intonation which was wholly absent on week days  He
began after this fashion 

 Now  children  I want you all to sit up just as straight and pretty
as you can and give me all your attention for a minute or two  There
  that is it  That is the way good little boys and girls should do  I see
one little girl who is looking out of the window  I am afraid she
thinks I am out there somewhere  perhaps up in one of the trees making
a speech to the little birds   Applausive titter   I want to tell you
how good it makes me feel to see so many bright  clean little faces
assembled in a place like this  learning to do right and be good   And
so forth and so on  It is not necessary to set down the rest of the
oration  It was of a pattern which does not vary  and so it is familiar
to us all 

The latter third of the speech was marred by the resumption of fights
and other recreations among certain of the bad boys  and by fidgetings
and whisperings that extended far and wide  washing even to the bases
of isolated and incorruptible rocks like Sid and Mary  But now every
sound ceased suddenly  with the subsidence of Mr  Walters  voice  and
the conclusion of the speech was received with a burst of silent
gratitude 

A good part of the whispering had been occasioned by an event which
was more or less rare  the entrance of visitors  lawyer Thatcher 
accompanied by a very feeble and aged man  a fine  portly  middle aged
gentleman with iron gray hair  and a dignified lady who was doubtless
the latter s wife  The lady was leading a child  Tom had been restless
and full of chafings and repinings  conscience smitten  too  he could
not meet Amy Lawrence s eye  he could not brook her loving gaze  But
when he saw this small new comer his soul was all ablaze with bliss in
a moment  The next moment he was  showing off  with all his might
  cuffing boys  pulling hair  making faces  in a word  using every art
that seemed likely to fascinate a girl and win her applause  His
exaltation had but one alloy  the memory of his humiliation in this
angel s garden  and that record in sand was fast washing out  under
the waves of happiness that were sweeping over it now 

The visitors were given the highest seat of honor  and as soon as Mr 
Walters  speech was finished  he introduced them to the school  The
middle aged man turned out to be a prodigious personage  no less a one
than the county judge  altogether the most august creation these
children had ever looked upon  and they wondered what kind of material
he was made of  and they half wanted to hear him roar  and were half
afraid he might  too  He was from Constantinople  twelve miles away  so
he had travelled  and seen the world  these very eyes had looked upon
the county court house  which was said to have a tin roof  The awe
which these reflections inspired was attested by the impressive silence
and the ranks of staring eyes  This was the great Judge Thatcher 
brother of their own lawyer  Jeff Thatcher immediately went forward  to
be familiar with the great man and be envied by the school  It would
have been music to his soul to hear the whisperings 

 Look at him  Jim  He s a going up there  Say  look  he s a going to
shake hands with him  he IS shaking hands with him  By jings  don t you
wish you was Jeff  

Mr  Walters fell to  showing off   with all sorts of official
bustlings and activities  giving orders  delivering judgments 
discharging directions here  there  everywhere that he could find a
target  The librarian  showed off   running hither and thither with his
arms full of books and making a deal of the splutter and fuss that
insect authority delights in  The young lady teachers  showed off 
  bending sweetly over pupils that were lately being boxed  lifting
pretty warning fingers at bad little boys and patting good ones
lovingly  The young gentlemen teachers  showed off  with small
scoldings and other little displays of authority and fine attention to
discipline  and most of the teachers  of both sexes  found business up
at the library  by the pulpit  and it was business that frequently had
to be done over again two or three times  with much seeming 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 scufflings  And above it all the great man sat and
beamed a majestic judicial smile upon all the house  and warmed himself
in the sun of his own grandeur  for he was  showing off   too 

There was only one thing wanting to make Mr  Walters  ecstasy
complete  and that was a chance to deliver a Bible prize and exhibit a
prodigy  Several pupils had a few yellow tickets  but none had enough
  he had been around among the star pupils inquiring  He would have given
worlds  now  to have that German lad back again with a sound mind 

And now at this moment  when hope was dead  Tom Sawyer came forward
with nine yellow tickets  nine red tickets  and ten blue ones  and
demanded a Bible  This was a thunderbolt out of a clear sky  Walters
was not expecting an application from this source for the next ten
years  But there was no getting around it  here were the certified
checks  and they were good for their face  Tom was therefore elevated
to a place with the Judge and the other elect  and the great news was
announced from headquarters  It was the most stunning surprise of the
decade  and so profound was the sensation that it lifted the new hero
up to the judicial one s altitude  and the school had two marvels to
gaze upon in place of one  The boys were all eaten up with envy  but
those that suffered the bitterest pangs were those who perceived too
late that they themselves had contributed to this hated splendor by
trading tickets to Tom for the wealth he had amassed in selling
whitewashing privileges  These despised themselves  as being the dupes
of a wily fraud  a guileful snake in the grass 

The prize was delivered to Tom with as much effusion as the
superintendent could pump up under the circumstances  but it lacked
somewhat of the true gush  for the poor fellow s instinct taught him
that there was a mystery here that could not well bear the light 
perhaps  it was simply preposterous that this boy had warehoused two
thousand sheaves of Scriptural wisdom on his premises  a dozen would
strain his capacity  without a doubt 

Amy Lawrence was proud and glad  and she tried to make Tom see it in
her face  but he wouldn t look  She wondered  then she was just a grain
troubled  next a dim suspicion came and went  came again  she watched 
a furtive glance told her worlds  and then her heart broke  and she was
jealous  and angry  and the tears came and she hated everybody  Tom
most of all  she thought  

Tom was introduced to the Judge  but his tongue was tied  his breath
would hardly come  his heart quaked  partly because of the awful
greatness of the man  but mainly because he was her parent  He would
have liked to fall down and worship him  if it were in the dark  The
Judge put his hand on Tom s head and called him a fine little man  and
asked him what his name was  The boy stammered  gasped  and got it out 

 Tom  

 Oh  no  not Tom  it is   

 Thomas  

 Ah  that s it  I thought there was more to it  maybe  That s very
well  But you ve another one I daresay  and you ll tell it to me  won t
you  

 Tell the gentleman your other name  Thomas   said Walters   and say
sir  You mustn t forget your manners  

 Thomas Sawyer  sir  

 That s it  That s a good boy  Fine boy  Fine  manly little fellow 
Two thousand verses is a great many  very  very great many  And you
never can be sorry for the trouble you took to learn them  for
knowledge is worth more than anything 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 Sunday school privileges of my boyhood  it s all
owing to my dear teachers that taught me to learn  it s all owing to
the good superintendent  who encouraged me  and watched over me  and
gave me a beautiful Bible  a splendid elegant Bible  to keep and have
it all for my own  always  it s all owing to right bringing up  That is
what you will say  Thomas  and you wouldn t take 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 the things you ve learned  no  I know
you wouldn t  for we are proud of little boys that learn  Now  no
doubt you know the names of all the twelve disciples  Won t you tell us
the names of the first two that were appointed  

Tom was tugging at a button hole and looking sheepish  He blushed 
now  and his eyes fell  Mr  Walters  heart sank within him  He said to
himself  it is not possible that the boy can answer the simplest
question  why DID the Judge ask him  Yet he felt obliged to speak up
and say 

 Answer the gentleman  Thomas  don t be afraid  

Tom still hung fire 

 Now I know you ll tell me   said the lady   The names of the first
two disciples were   

 DAVID AND GOLIAH  

Let us draw the curtain of charity over the rest of the scene 



CHAPTER V

ABOUT half past ten the cracked bell of the small church began to
ring  and presently the people began to gather for the morning sermon 
The Sunday school children distributed themselves about the house and
occupied pews with their parents  so as to be under supervision  Aunt
Polly came  and Tom and Sid and Mary sat with her  Tom being placed
next the aisle  in order that he might be as far away from the open
window and the seductive outside summer scenes as possible  The crowd
filed up the aisles  the aged and needy postmaster  who had seen better
days  the mayor and his wife  for they had a mayor there  among other
unnecessaries  the justice of the peace  the widow Douglass  fair 
smart  and forty  a generous  good hearted soul and well to do  her
hill mansion the only palace in the town  and the most hospitable and
much the most lavish in the matter of festivities that St  Petersburg
could boast  the bent and venerable Major and Mrs  Ward  lawyer
Riverson  the new notable from a distance  next the belle of the
village  followed by a troop of lawn clad and ribbon decked young
heart breakers  then all the young clerks in town in a body  for they
had stood in the vestibule sucking their cane heads  a circling wall of
oiled and simpering admirers  till the last girl had run their gantlet 
and last of all came the Model Boy  Willie Mufferson  taking as heedful
care of his mother as if she were cut glass  He always brought his
mother to church  and was the pride of all the matrons  The boys all
hated him  he was so good  And besides  he had been  thrown up to them 
so much  His white handkerchief was hanging out of his pocket behind  as
usual on Sundays  accidentally  Tom had no handkerchief  and he looked
upon boys who had as snobs 

The congregation being fully assembled  now  the bell rang once more 
to warn laggards and stragglers  and then a solemn hush fell upon the
church which was only broken by the tittering and whispering of the
choir in the gallery  The choir always tittered and whispered all
through service  There was once a church choir that was not ill bred 
but I have forgotten where it was  now  It was a great many years ago 
and I can scarcely remember anything about it  but I think it was in
some foreign country 

The minister gave out the hymn  and read it through with a relish  in
a peculiar style which was much admired in that part of the country 
His voice began on a medium key and climbed steadily up till it reached
a certain point  where it bore with strong emphasis upon the topmost
word and then plunged down as if from a spring board 

  Shall I be car ri ed toe the skies  on flow ry BEDS of ease 

  Whilst others fight to win the prize  and sail thro  BLOODY seas 

He was regarded as a wonderful reader  At church  sociables  he was
always called upon to read poetry  and when he was through  the ladies
would lift up their hands and let them fall helplessly in their laps 
and  wall  their eyes  and shake their heads  as much as to say   Words
cannot express it  it is too beautiful  TOO beautiful for this mortal
earth  

After the hymn had been sung  the Rev  Mr  Sprague turned himself into
a bulletin board  and read off  notices  of meetings and societies and
things till it seemed that the list would stretch out to the crack of
doom  a queer custom which is still kept up in America  even in cities 
away here in this age of abundant newspapers  Often  the less there is
to justify a traditional custom  the harder it is to get rid of it 

And now the minister prayed  A good  generous prayer it was  and went
into details  it pleaded for the church  and the little children of the
church  for the other churches of the village  for the village itself 
for the county  for the State  for the State officers  for the United
States  for the churches of the United States  for Congress  for the
President  for the officers of the Government  for poor sailors  tossed
by stormy seas  for the oppressed millions groaning under the heel of
European monarchies and Oriental despotisms  for such as have the light
and the good tidings  and yet have not eyes to see nor ears to hear
withal  for the heathen in the far islands of the sea  and closed with
a supplication that the words he was about to speak might find grace
and favor  and be as seed sown in fertile ground  yielding in time a
grateful harvest of good  Amen 

There was a rustling of dresses  and the standing congregation sat
down  The boy whose history this book relates did not enjoy the prayer 
he only endured it  if he even did that much  He was restive all
through it  he kept tally of the details of the prayer  unconsciously
  for he was not listening  but he knew the ground of old  and the
clergyman s regular route over it  and when a little trifle of new
matter was interlarded  his ear detected it and his whole nature
resented it  he considered additions unfair  and scoundrelly  In the
midst of the prayer a fly had lit on the back of the pew in front of
him and tortured his spirit by calmly rubbing its hands together 
embracing its head with its arms  and polishing it so vigorously that
it seemed to almost part company with the body  and the slender thread
of a neck was exposed to view  scraping its wings with its hind legs
and smoothing them to its body as if they had been coat tails  going
through its whole toilet as tranquilly as if it knew it was perfectly
safe  As indeed it was  for as sorely as Tom s hands itched to grab for
it they did not dare  he believed his soul would be instantly destroyed
if he did such a thing while the prayer 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 out his text and droned along monotonously through
an argument that was so prosy that many a head by and by began to nod
  and yet it was an argument that dealt in limitless fire and brimstone
and thinned the predestined elect down to a company so small as to be
hardly worth the saving  Tom counted the pages of the sermon  after
church he always knew how many pages there had been  but he seldom knew
anything else about the discourse  However  this time he was really
interested for a little while  The minister made a grand and moving
picture of the assembling together of the world s hosts at the
millennium when the lion and the lamb should lie down together and a
little child should lead them  But the pathos  the lesson  the moral of
the great spectacle were lost upon the boy  he only thought of the
conspicuousness of the principal character before the on looking
nations  his face lit with the thought  and he said to himself that he
wished he could be that child  if it was a tame lion 

Now he lapsed into suffering again  as the dry argument was resumed 
Presently he bethought him of a treasure he had and got it out  It was
a large black beetle with formidable jaws  a  pinchbug   he called it 
It was in a percussion cap box  The first thing the beetle did was to
take him by the finger  A natural fillip followed  the beetle went
floundering into the aisle and lit on its back  and the hurt finger
went into the boy s mouth  The beetle lay there working its helpless
legs  unable to turn over  Tom eyed it  and longed for it  but it was
safe out of his reach  Other people uninterested in the sermon found
relief in the beetle  and they eyed it too  Presently a vagrant poodle
dog came idling along  sad at heart  lazy with the summer softness and
the quiet  weary of captivity  sighing for change  He spied the beetle 
the drooping tail lifted and wagged  He surveyed the 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 snatch at it  just missing it  made another  and another 
began to enjoy the diversion  subsided to his stomach with the beetle
between his paws  and continued his experiments  grew weary at last 
and then indifferent and absent minded  His head nodded  and little by
little his chin descended and touched the enemy  who seized it  There
was a sharp yelp  a flirt of the poodle s head  and the beetle fell a
couple of yards away  and lit on its back once more  The neighboring
spectators shook with a gentle inward joy  several faces went behind
fans and handkerchiefs  and Tom was entirely happy  The dog looked
foolish  and probably felt so  but there was resentment in his heart 
too  and a craving for revenge  So he went to the beetle and began a
wary attack on it again  jumping at it from every point of a circle 
lighting with his fore paws within an inch of the creature  making even
closer snatches at it with his teeth  and jerking his head till his
ears flapped again  But he grew tired once more  after a while  tried
to amuse himself with a fly but found no relief  followed an ant
around  with his nose close to the floor  and quickly wearied of that 
yawned  sighed  forgot the beetle entirely  and sat down on it  Then
there was a wild yelp of 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 altar  he flew down the other aisle  he crossed before the
doors  he clamored up the home stretch  his anguish grew with his
progress  till presently he was but a woolly comet moving in its orbit
with the gleam and the speed of light  At last the frantic sufferer
sheered from its course  and sprang into its master s lap  he flung it
out of the window  and the voice of distress quickly thinned away and
died in the distance 

By this time the whole church was red faced and suffocating with
suppressed laughter  and the sermon had come to a dead standstill  The
discourse was resumed presently  but it went lame and halting  all
possibility of impressiveness being at an end  for even the gravest
sentiments were constantly being received with a smothered burst of
unholy mirth  under cover of some remote pew back  as if the poor
parson had said a rarely facetious thing  It was a genuine relief to
the whole congregation when the ordeal was over and the benediction
pronounced 

Tom Sawyer went home quite cheerful  thinking to himself that there
was some satisfaction about divine service when there was a bit of
variety in it  He had but one marring thought  he was willing that the
dog should play with his pinchbug  but he did not think it was upright
in him to carry it off 



CHAPTER VI

MONDAY morning found Tom Sawyer miserable  Monday morning always found
him so  because it began another week s slow suffering in school  He
generally began that day with wishing he had had no intervening
holiday  it made the going into captivity and fetters again so much
more odious 

Tom lay thinking  Presently it occurred to him that he wished he was
sick  then he could stay home from school  Here was a vague
possibility  He canvassed his system  No ailment was found  and he
investigated again  This time he thought he could detect colicky
symptoms  and he began to encourage them with considerable hope  But
they soon grew feeble  and presently died wholly away  He reflected
further  Suddenly he discovered something  One of his upper front teeth
was loose  This was lucky  he was about to begin to groan  as a
 starter   as he called it  when it occurred to him that if he came
into court with that argument  his aunt would pull it out  and that
would hurt  So he thought he would hold the tooth in reserve for the
present  and seek further  Nothing offered for some little time  and
then he remembered hearing the doctor tell about a certain thing that
laid up a patient for two or three weeks and threatened to make him
lose a finger  So the boy eagerly drew his sore toe from under the
sheet and held it up for inspection  But now he did not know the
necessary symptoms  However  it seemed well worth while to chance it 
so he fell to groaning with considerable spirit 

But Sid slept on unconscious 

Tom groaned louder  and fancied that he began to feel pain in the toe 

No result from Sid 

Tom was panting with his exertions by this time  He took a rest and
then swelled himself up and fetched a succession of admirable groans 

Sid snored on 

Tom was aggravated  He said   Sid  Sid   and shook him  This course
worked well  and Tom began to groan again  Sid yawned  stretched  then
brought himself up on his elbow with a snort  and began to stare at
Tom  Tom went on groaning  Sid said 

 Tom  Say  Tom    No response    Here  Tom  TOM  What is the matter 
Tom   And he shook him and looked in his face anxiously 

Tom moaned out 

 Oh  don t  Sid  Don t joggle me  

 Why  what s the matter  Tom  I must call auntie  

 No  never mind  It ll be over by and by  maybe  Don t call anybody  

 But I must  DON T groan so  Tom  it s awful  How long you been this
way  

 Hours  Ouch  Oh  don t stir so  Sid  you ll kill me  

 Tom  why didn t you wake me sooner  Oh  Tom  DON T  It makes my
flesh crawl to hear you  Tom  what is the matter  

 I forgive you everything  Sid   Groan   Everything you ve ever done
to me  When I m gone   

 Oh  Tom  you ain t dying  are you  Don t  Tom  oh  don t  Maybe   

 I forgive everybody  Sid   Groan   Tell  em so  Sid  And Sid  you
give my window sash and my cat with one eye to that new girl that s
come to town  and tell her   

But Sid had snatched his clothes and gone  Tom was suffering in
reality  now  so handsomely was his imagination working  and so his
groans had gathered quite a genuine tone 

Sid flew down stairs and said 

 Oh  Aunt Polly  come  Tom s dying  

 Dying  

 Yes m  Don t wait  come quick  

 Rubbage  I don t believe it  

But she fled up stairs  nevertheless  with Sid and Mary at her heels 
And her face grew white  too  and her lip trembled  When she reached
the bedside she gasped out 

 You  Tom  Tom  what s the matter with you  

 Oh  auntie  I m   

 What s the matter with you  what is the matter with you  child  

 Oh  auntie  my sore toe s mortified  

The old lady sank down into a chair and laughed a little  then cried a
little  then did both together  This restored her and she said 

 Tom  what a turn you did give me  Now you shut up that nonsense and
climb out of this  

The groans ceased and the pain vanished from the toe  The boy felt a
little foolish  and he said 

 Aunt Polly  it SEEMED mortified  and it hurt so I never minded my
tooth at all  

 Your tooth  indeed  What s the matter with your tooth  

 One of them s loose  and it aches perfectly awful  

 There  there  now  don t begin that groaning again  Open your mouth 
Well  your tooth IS loose  but you re not going to die about that 
Mary  get me a silk thread  and a chunk of fire out of the kitchen  

Tom said 

 Oh  please  auntie  don t pull it out  It don t hurt any more  I wish
I may never stir if it does  Please don t  auntie  I don t want to stay
home from school  

 Oh  you don t  don t you  So all this row was because you thought
you d get to stay home from school and go a fishing  Tom  Tom  I love
you so  and you seem to try every way you can to break my old heart
with your outrageousness   By this time the dental instruments were
ready  The old lady made one end of the silk thread fast to Tom s tooth
with a loop and tied the other to the bedpost  Then she seized the
chunk of fire and suddenly thrust it almost into the boy s face  The
tooth hung dangling by the bedpost  now 

But all trials bring their compensations  As Tom wended to school
after breakfast  he was the envy of every boy he met because the gap in
his upper row of teeth enabled him to expectorate in a new and
admirable way  He gathered quite a following of lads interested in the
exhibition  and one that had cut his finger and had been a centre of
fascination and homage up to this time  now found himself suddenly
without an adherent  and shorn of his glory  His heart was heavy  and
he said with a disdain which he did not feel that it wasn t anything to
spit like Tom Sawyer  but another boy said   Sour grapes   and he
wandered away a dismantled hero 

Shortly Tom came upon the juvenile pariah of the village  Huckleberry
Finn  son of the town drunkard  Huckleberry was cordially hated and
dreaded by all the mothers of the town  because he was idle and lawless
and vulgar and bad  and because all their children admired him so  and
delighted in his forbidden society  and wished they dared to be like
him  Tom was like the rest of the respectable boys  in that he envied
Huckleberry his gaudy outcast condition  and was under strict orders
not to play with him  So he played with him every time he got a chance 
Huckleberry was always dressed in the cast off clothes of full grown
men  and they were in perennial bloom and fluttering with rags  His hat
was a vast ruin with a wide crescent lopped out of its brim  his coat 
when he wore one  hung nearly to his heels and had the rearward buttons
far down the back  but one suspender supported his trousers  the seat
of the trousers bagged low and contained nothing  the fringed legs
dragged in the dirt when not rolled up 

Huckleberry came and went  at his own free will  He slept on doorsteps
in fine weather and in empty hogsheads in wet  he did not have to go to
school or to church  or call any being master or obey anybody  he could
go fishing or swimming when and where he chose  and stay as long as it
suited him  nobody forbade him to fight  he could sit up as late as he
pleased  he was always the first boy that went barefoot in the spring
and the last to resume leather in the fall  he never had to wash  nor
put on clean clothes  he could swear wonderfully  In a word  everything
that goes to make life precious that boy had  So thought every
harassed  hampered  respectable boy in St  Petersburg 

Tom hailed the romantic outcast 

 Hello  Huckleberry  

 Hello yourself  and see how you like it  

 What s that you got  

 Dead cat  

 Lemme see him  Huck  My  he s pretty stiff  Where d you get him  

 Bought him off n a boy  

 What did you give  

 I give a blue ticket and a bladder that I got at the slaughter house  

 Where d you get the blue ticket  

 Bought it off n Ben Rogers two weeks ago for a hoop stick  

 Say  what is dead cats good for  Huck  

 Good for  Cure warts with  

 No  Is that so  I know something that s better  

 I bet you don t  What is it  

 Why  spunk water  

 Spunk water  I wouldn t give a dern for spunk water  

 You wouldn t  wouldn t you  D you ever try it  

 No  I hain t  But Bob Tanner did  

 Who told you so  

 Why  he told Jeff Thatcher  and Jeff told Johnny Baker  and Johnny
told Jim Hollis  and Jim told Ben Rogers  and Ben told a nigger  and
the nigger told me  There now  

 Well  what of it  They ll all lie  Leastways all but the nigger  I
don t know HIM  But I never see a nigger that WOULDN T lie  Shucks  Now
you tell me how Bob Tanner done it  Huck  

 Why  he took and dipped his hand in a rotten stump where the
rain water was  

 In the daytime  

 Certainly  

 With his face to the stump  

 Yes  Least I reckon so  

 Did he say anything  

 I don t reckon he did  I don t know  

 Aha  Talk about trying to cure warts with spunk water such a blame
fool way as that  Why  that ain t a going to 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 back up against the
stump and jam your hand in and say 

   Barley corn  barley corn  injun meal shorts 
   Spunk water  spunk water  swaller these warts  

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  

 Well  that sounds like a good way  but that ain t the way Bob Tanner
done  

 No  sir  you can bet he didn t  becuz he s the wartiest boy in this
town  and he wouldn t have a wart on him if he d knowed how to work
spunk water  I ve took off thousands of warts off of my hands that way 
Huck  I play with frogs so much that I ve always got considerable many
warts  Sometimes I take  em off with a bean  

 Yes  bean s good  I ve done that  

 Have you  What s your way  

 You take and split the bean  and cut the wart so as to get some
blood  and then you put the blood on one piece of the bean and take and
dig a hole and bury it  bout midnight at the crossroads in the dark of
the moon  and then you burn up the rest of 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 blood to draw the
wart  and pretty soon off she comes  

 Yes  that s it  Huck  that s it  though when you re burying it if you
say  Down bean  off wart  come no more to bother me   it s better 
That s the way Joe Harper does  and he s been nearly to Coonville and
most everywheres  But say  how do you cure  em with dead cats  

 Why  you take your cat and go 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  or maybe two or three  but you can t see
 em  you can only hear something like the wind  or maybe hear  em talk 
and when they re taking that feller away  you heave your cat after  em
and say   Devil follow corpse  cat follow devil  warts follow cat  I m
done with ye   That ll fetch ANY wart  

 Sounds right  D you ever try it  Huck  

 No  but old Mother Hopkins told me  

 Well  I reckon it s so  then  Becuz they say she s a witch  

 Say  Why  Tom  I KNOW she is  She witched pap  Pap says so his own
self  He come along one day  and he see she was a witching him  so he
took up a rock  and if she hadn t dodged  he d a got her  Well  that
very night he rolled off n a shed wher  he was a layin drunk  and broke
his arm  

 Why  that s awful  How did he know she was a witching him  

 Lord  pap can tell  easy  Pap says when they keep looking at you
right stiddy  they re a witching you  Specially if they mumble  Becuz
when they mumble they re saying the Lord s Prayer backards  

 Say  Hucky  when you going to try the cat  

 To night  I reckon they ll come after old Hoss Williams to night  

 But they buried him Saturday  Didn t they get him Saturday night  

 Why  how you talk  How could their charms work till midnight   and
THEN it s Sunday  Devils don t slosh around much of a Sunday  I don t
reckon  

 I never thought of that  That s so  Lemme go with you  

 Of course  if you ain t afeard  

 Afeard   Tain t likely  Will you meow  

 Yes  and you meow back  if you get a chance  Last time  you kep  me
a meowing around till old Hays went to throwing rocks at me and says
 Dern 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  becuz auntie was watching me 
but I ll meow this time  Say  what s that  

 Nothing but a tick  

 Where d you get him  

 Out 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  anyway  

 Oh  anybody can run a tick down that don t belong to them  I m
satisfied with it  It s a good enough tick for me  

 Sho  there s ticks a plenty  I could have a thousand of  em if I
wanted to  

 Well  why don t you  Becuz you know mighty well you can t  This is a
pretty early tick  I reckon  It s the first one I ve seen this year  

 Say  Huck  I ll give you my tooth for him  

 Less see it  

Tom got out a bit of paper and carefully unrolled it  Huckleberry
viewed it wistfully  The temptation was very strong  At last he said 

 Is it genuwyne  

Tom lifted his lip and showed the vacancy 

 Well  all right   said Huckleberry   it s a trade  

Tom enclosed the tick in the percussion cap box that had lately been
the pinchbug s prison  and the boys separated  each feeling wealthier
than before 

When Tom reached the little isolated frame schoolhouse  he strode in
briskly  with the manner of one who had come with all honest speed 
He hung his hat on a peg and flung himself into his seat with
business like alacrity  The master  throned on high in his great
splint bottom arm chair  was dozing  lulled by the drowsy hum of study 
The interruption roused him 

 Thomas Sawyer  

Tom knew that when his name was pronounced in full  it meant trouble 

 Sir  

 Come up here  Now  sir  why are you late again  as usual  

Tom was about to take refuge in a lie  when he saw two long tails of
yellow hair hanging down a back that he recognized by the electric
sympathy of love  and by that form was THE ONLY VACANT PLACE on the
girls  side of the schoolhouse  He instantly said 

 I STOPPED TO TALK WITH HUCKLEBERRY FINN  

The master s pulse stood still  and he stared helplessly  The buzz of
study ceased  The pupils wondered if this foolhardy boy had lost his
mind  The master said 

 You  you did what  

 Stopped to talk with Huckleberry Finn  

There was no mistaking the words 

 Thomas Sawyer  this is the most astounding confession I have ever
listened to  No mere ferule will answer for this offence  Take off your
jacket  

The master s arm performed until it was tired and the stock of
switches notably diminished  Then the order followed 

 Now  sir  go and sit with the girls  And let this be a warning to you  

The titter that rippled around the room appeared to abash the boy  but
in reality that result was caused rather more by his worshipful awe of
his unknown idol and the dread pleasure that lay in his high good
fortune  He sat down upon the end of the pine bench and the girl
hitched herself away from him with a toss of her head  Nudges and winks
and whispers traversed the room  but Tom sat still  with his arms upon
the long  low desk before him  and seemed to study his book 

By and by attention ceased from him  and the accustomed school murmur
rose upon the dull air once more  Presently the boy began to steal
furtive glances at the girl  She observed it   made a mouth  at him and
gave him the back of her head for the space of a minute  When she
cautiously faced around again  a peach lay before her  She thrust it
away  Tom gently put it back  She thrust it away again  but with less
animosity  Tom patiently returned it to its place  Then she let it
remain  Tom scrawled on his slate   Please take it  I got more   The
girl glanced at the words  but made no sign  Now the boy began to draw
something on the slate  hiding his work with his left hand  For a time
the girl refused to notice  but her human curiosity presently began to
manifest itself by hardly perceptible signs  The boy worked on 
apparently unconscious  The girl made a sort of noncommittal attempt to
see  but the boy did not betray that he was aware of it  At last she
gave in and hesitatingly whispered 

 Let me see it  

Tom partly uncovered a dismal caricature of a house with two gable
ends to it and a corkscrew of smoke issuing from the chimney  Then the
girl s interest began to fasten itself upon the work and she forgot
everything else  When it was finished  she gazed a moment  then
whispered 

 It s nice  make a man  

The artist erected a man in the front yard  that resembled a derrick 
He could have stepped over the house  but the girl was not
hypercritical  she was satisfied with the monster  and whispered 

 It s a beautiful man  now make me coming along  

Tom drew an hour glass with a full moon and straw limbs to it and
armed the spreading fingers with a portentous fan  The girl said 

 It s ever so nice  I wish I could draw  

 It s easy   whispered Tom   I ll learn you  

 Oh  will you  When  

 At noon  Do you go home to dinner  

 I ll stay if you will  

 Good  that s a whack  What s your name  

 Becky Thatcher  What s yours  Oh  I know  It s Thomas Sawyer  

 That s the name they lick me by  I m Tom when I m good  You call me
Tom  will you  

 Yes  

Now Tom began to scrawl something on the slate  hiding the words from
the girl  But she was not backward this time  She begged to see  Tom
said 

 Oh  it ain t anything  

 Yes it is  

 No it ain t  You don t want to see  

 Yes I do  indeed I do  Please let me  

 You ll tell  

 No I won t  deed and deed and double deed won t  

 You won t tell anybody at all  Ever  as long as you live  

 No  I won t ever tell ANYbody  Now let me  

 Oh  YOU don t want to see  

 Now that you treat me so  I WILL see   And she put her small hand
upon his and a little scuffle ensued  Tom pretending to resist in
earnest but letting his hand slip by degrees till these words were
revealed   I LOVE YOU  

 Oh  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 closing on his
ear  and a steady lifting impulse  In that wise he was borne across the
house and deposited in his own seat  under a peppering fire of giggles
from the whole school  Then the master 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 quieted 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 the geography class and
turned lakes 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 



CHAPTER VII

THE harder Tom tried to fasten his mind on his book  the more his
ideas wandered  So at last  with a sigh and a yawn  he gave it up  It
seemed to him that the noon recess would never come  The air was
utterly dead  There was not a breath stirring  It was the sleepiest of
sleepy days  The drowsing murmur of the five and twenty studying
scholars soothed the soul like the spell that is in the murmur of bees 
Away off in the flaming sunshine  Cardiff Hill lifted its soft green
sides through a shimmering veil of heat  tinted with the purple of
distance  a few birds floated on lazy wing high in the air  no other
living thing was visible but some cows  and they were asleep  Tom s
heart ached to be free  or else to have something of interest to do to
pass the dreary time  His hand wandered into his pocket and his face
lit up with a glow of gratitude that was prayer  though he did not know
it  Then furtively the percussion cap box came out  He released the
tick and put him on the long flat desk  The creature probably glowed
with a gratitude that amounted to prayer  too  at this moment  but it
was premature  for when he started thankfully to travel off  Tom turned
him aside with a pin and made him take a new direction 

Tom s bosom friend sat next him  suffering just as Tom had been  and
now he was deeply and gratefully interested in this entertainment in an
instant  This bosom friend was Joe Harper  The two boys were sworn
friends all the week  and embattled enemies on Saturdays  Joe took a
pin out of his lapel and began to assist in exercising the prisoner 
The sport grew in interest momently  Soon Tom said that they were
interfering with each other  and neither getting the fullest benefit of
the tick  So he put Joe s slate on the desk and drew a line down the
middle of it from top to bottom 

 Now   said he   as long as he is on your side you can stir him up and
I ll let him alone  but if you let him get away and get on my side 
you re to leave him alone as long as I can keep him from crossing over  

 All right  go ahead  start him up  

The tick escaped from Tom  presently  and crossed the equator  Joe
harassed him awhile  and then he got away and crossed back again  This
change of base occurred often  While one boy was worrying the tick with
absorbing interest  the other would look on with interest as strong 
the two heads bowed together over the slate  and the two souls dead to
all things else  At last luck seemed to settle and abide with Joe  The
tick tried this  that  and the other course  and got as excited and as
anxious as the boys themselves  but time and again just as he would
have victory in his very grasp  so to speak  and Tom s fingers would be
twitching to begin  Joe s pin would deftly head him off  and keep
possession  At last Tom could stand it no longer  The temptation was
too strong  So he reached out and lent a hand with his pin  Joe was
angry in a moment  Said he 

 Tom  you let him alone  

 I only just want to stir him up a little  Joe  

 No  sir  it ain t fair  you just let him alone  

 Blame it  I ain t going to stir him much  

 Let him alone  I tell you  

 I won t  

 You shall  he s on my side of the line  

 Look here  Joe Harper  whose is that tick  

 I don t care whose tick he is  he s on my side of the line  and you
sha n t touch him  

 Well  I ll just bet I will  though  He s my tick and I ll do what I
blame please with him  or die  

A tremendous whack came down on Tom s shoulders  and its duplicate on
Joe s  and for the space of two minutes the dust continued to fly from
the two jackets and the whole school to enjoy it  The boys had been too
absorbed to notice the hush that had stolen upon the school awhile
before when the master came tiptoeing down the room and stood over
them  He had contemplated a good part of the performance before he
contributed his bit of variety to it 

When school broke up at noon  Tom flew to Becky Thatcher  and
whispered in her ear 

 Put on your bonnet and let on you re going home  and when you get to
the corner  give the rest of  em the slip  and turn down through the
lane and come back  I ll go the other way and come it over  em the same
way  

So the one went off with one group of scholars  and the other with
another  In a little while the two met at the bottom of the lane  and
when they reached the school they had it all to themselves  Then they
sat together  with a slate before them  and Tom gave Becky the pencil
and held her hand in his  guiding it  and so created another surprising
house  When the interest in art began to wane  the two fell to talking 
Tom was swimming in bliss  He said 

 Do you love rats  

 No  I hate them  

 Well  I do  too  LIVE 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  

 Do you  I ve got some  I ll let you chew it awhile  but you must give
it back to me  

That was agreeable  so they chewed it turn about  and dangled their
legs against the bench in excess of contentment 

 Was you ever at a circus   said Tom 

 Yes  and my pa s going to take me again some time  if I m good  

 I been to the circus three or four times  lots of 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  

 Oh  are you  That will be nice  They re so lovely  all spotted up  

 Yes  that s so  And they get slathers of money  most a dollar a day 
Ben Rogers says  Say  Becky  was you ever engaged  

 What s that  

 Why  engaged to be married  

 No  

 Would you like to  

 I reckon so  I don t know  What is it like  

 Like  Why it ain t like anything  You only just tell a boy you won t
ever have anybody but him  ever ever ever  and then you kiss and that s
all  Anybody can do it  

 Kiss  What do you kiss for  

 Why  that  you know  is to  well  they always do that  

 Everybody  

 Why  yes  everybody that s in love with each other  Do you remember
what I wrote on the slate  

 Ye  yes  

 What was it  

 I sha n t tell you  

 Shall I tell YOU  

 Ye  yes  but some other time  

 No  now  

 No  not now  to morrow  

 Oh  no  NOW  Please  Becky  I ll whisper it  I ll whisper it ever so
easy  

Becky hesitating  Tom took silence for consent  and passed his arm
about her waist and whispered the tale ever so softly  with his mouth
close to her ear  And then he added 

 Now you whisper it to me  just the same  

She resisted  for a while  and then said 

 You turn your face away so you can t see  and then I will  But you
mustn t ever tell anybody  WILL you  Tom  Now you won t  WILL you  

 No  indeed  indeed I won t  Now  Becky  

He turned his face away  She bent timidly around till her breath
stirred his curls and whispered   I  love  you  

Then 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 

 Now  Becky  it s all done  all over but the kiss  Don t you be afraid
of that  it ain t anything at all  Please  Becky   And he 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  Tom kissed the red lips and
said 

 Now it s all done  Becky  And always after this  you know  you ain t
ever to love anybody but me  and you ain t ever to marry anybody but
me  ever never and forever  Will you  

 No  I ll never love anybody but you  Tom  and I ll never marry
anybody but you  and you ain t to ever marry anybody but me  either  

 Certainly  Of course  That s PART of it  And always coming to school
or when we re going home  you re to walk with me  when there ain t
anybody looking  and you choose me and I choose you at parties  because
that s the way you do when you re engaged  

 It s so nice  I never heard of it before  

 Oh  it s ever so gay  Why  me and Amy Lawrence   

The big eyes told Tom his blunder and he stopped  confused 

 Oh  Tom  Then I ain t the first you ve ever been engaged to  

The child began to cry  Tom said 

 Oh  don t cry  Becky  I don t care for her any more  

 Yes  you do  Tom  you know you do  

Tom tried to put his arm about her neck  but she pushed him away and
turned her face to the wall  and went on crying  Tom tried again  with
soothing words in his mouth  and was repulsed again  Then his pride was
up  and he strode away and went outside  He stood about  restless and
uneasy  for a while  glancing at the door  every now and then  hoping
she would repent and come to find him  But she did not  Then he began
to feel badly and fear that he was in the wrong  It was a hard struggle
with him to make new advances  now  but he nerved himself to it and
entered  She 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 he said hesitatingly 

 Becky  I  I don t care for anybody but you  

No reply  but sobs 

 Becky   pleadingly   Becky  won t you say something  

More sobs 

Tom got out his chiefest jewel  a brass knob from the top of an
andiron  and passed it around her so that she could see it  and said 

 Please  Becky  won t you take it  

She struck it to the floor  Then Tom marched out of the house and over
the hills and far away  to return to school no more that day  Presently
Becky began to suspect  She ran to the door  he was not in sight  she
flew around to the play yard  he was not there  Then she called 

 Tom  Come back  Tom  

She listened intently  but there was no answer  She had no companions
but silence and loneliness  So she sat down to cry again and upbraid
herself  and by this time the scholars began to gather again  and she
had to hide her griefs and still her broken heart and take up the cross
of a long  dreary  aching afternoon  with none among the strangers
about her to exchange sorrows with 



CHAPTER VIII

TOM dodged hither and thither through lanes until he was well out of
the track of returning scholars  and then fell into a moody jog  He
crossed a small  branch  two or three times  because of a prevailing
juvenile superstition that to cross water baffled pursuit  Half an hour
later he was disappearing behind the Douglas mansion on the summit of
Cardiff Hill  and the schoolhouse was hardly distinguishable away off
in the valley behind him  He entered a dense wood  picked his pathless
way to the centre of it  and sat down on a mossy spot under a spreading
oak  There was not even a zephyr stirring  the dead noonday heat had
even stilled the songs of the birds  nature lay in a trance that was
broken by no sound but the occasional far off hammering of a
woodpecker  and this seemed to render the pervading silence and sense
of loneliness the more profound  The boy s soul was steeped in
melancholy  his feelings were in happy accord with his surroundings  He
sat long with his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands 
meditating  It seemed to him that life was but a trouble  at best  and
he more than half envied Jimmy Hodges  so lately released  it must be
very peaceful  he thought  to lie and slumber and dream forever and
ever  with the wind whispering through the trees and caressing the
grass and the flowers over the grave  and nothing to bother and grieve
about  ever any more  If he only had a clean Sunday school record he
could be willing to go  and be done with it all  Now as to this girl 
What had he done  Nothing  He had meant the best in the world  and been
treated like a dog  like a very dog  She would be sorry some day  maybe
when it was too late  Ah  if he could only die TEMPORARILY 

But the elastic heart of youth cannot be compressed into one
constrained shape long at a time  Tom presently began to drift
insensibly back into the concerns of this life again  What if he turned
his back  now  and disappeared mysteriously  What if he went away  ever
so far away  into unknown countries beyond the seas  and never came
back any more  How would she feel then  The idea of being a clown
recurred to him now  only to fill him with disgust  For frivolity and
jokes and spotted tights were an offense  when they intruded themselves
upon a spirit that was exalted into the vague august realm of the
romantic  No  he would be a soldier  and return after long years  all
war worn and illustrious  No  better still  he would join the Indians 
and hunt buffaloes and go on the warpath in the mountain ranges and the
trackless great plains of the Far West  and away in the future come
back a great chief  bristling with feathers  hideous with paint  and
prance into Sunday school  some drowsy summer morning  with a
bloodcurdling war whoop  and sear the eyeballs of all his companions
with unappeasable envy  But no  there was something gaudier even than
this  He would be a pirate  That was it  NOW his future lay plain
before him  and glowing with unimaginable splendor  How his name would
fill the world  and make people shudder  How gloriously he would go
plowing the dancing seas  in his long  low  black hulled racer  the
Spirit of the Storm  with his grisly flag flying at the fore  And at
the zenith of his fame  how he would suddenly appear at the old village
and stalk into church  brown and weather beaten  in his black velvet
doublet and trunks  his great jack boots  his crimson sash  his belt
bristling with horse pistols  his crime rusted cutlass at his side  his
slouch hat with waving plumes  his black flag unfurled  with the skull
and crossbones on it  and hear with swelling ecstasy the whisperings 
 It s Tom Sawyer the Pirate   the Black Avenger of the Spanish Main  

Yes  it was settled  his career was determined  He would run away from
home and enter upon it  He would start the very next morning  Therefore
he must now begin to get ready  He would collect his resources
together  He went to a rotten log near at hand and began to dig under
one end of it with his Barlow knife  He soon struck wood that sounded
hollow  He put his hand there and uttered this incantation impressively 

 What hasn t come here  come  What s here  stay here  

Then he scraped away the dirt  and exposed a pine shingle  He took it
up and disclosed a shapely little treasure house whose bottom and sides
were of shingles  In it lay a marble  Tom s astonishment was boundless 
He scratched his head with a perplexed air  and said 

 Well  that beats anything  

Then he tossed the marble away pettishly  and stood cogitating  The
truth was  that a superstition of his had failed  here  which he and
all his comrades had always looked upon as infallible  If you buried a
marble with certain necessary incantations  and left it alone a
fortnight  and then opened the place with the incantation he had just
used  you would find that all the marbles you had ever lost had
gathered themselves together there  meantime  no matter how widely they
had been separated  But now  this thing had actually and unquestionably
failed  Tom s whole structure of faith was shaken to its foundations 
He had many a time heard of this thing succeeding but never of its
failing before  It did not occur to him that he had tried it several
times before  himself  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 he
would satisfy himself on that point  so he searched around till he
found a small sandy spot with a little funnel shaped depression in it 
He laid himself down and put his mouth close to this depression and
called  

 Doodle bug  doodle bug  tell me what I want to know  Doodle bug 
doodle bug  tell me what I want to know  

The sand began to work  and presently a small black bug appeared for a
second and then darted under again in a fright 

 He dasn t tell  So it WAS a witch that done it  I just knowed it  

He well knew the futility of trying to contend against witches  so he
gave up discouraged  But it occurred to him that he might as well have
the marble he had just thrown away  and therefore he went and made a
patient search for it  But he could not find it  Now he went back to
his treasure house and carefully placed himself just as he had been
standing when he tossed the marble away  then he took another marble
from his pocket and tossed it in the 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 two marbles lay within a foot of each
other 

Just here the blast of a toy tin trumpet came faintly down the green
aisles of the forest  Tom flung off his jacket and trousers  turned a
suspender into a belt  raked away some brush behind the rotten log 
disclosing a rude bow and arrow  a lath sword and a tin trumpet  and in
a moment had seized these things and bounded away  barelegged  with
fluttering shirt  He presently halted under a great elm  blew an
answering blast  and then began to tiptoe and look warily out  this way
and that  He said cautiously  to an imaginary company 

 Hold  my merry men  Keep hid till I blow  

Now appeared Joe Harper  as airily clad and elaborately armed as Tom 
Tom called 

 Hold  Who comes here into Sherwood Forest without my pass  

 Guy of Guisborne wants no man s pass  Who art thou that  that   

 Dares 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 Robin Hood  as thy caitiff carcase soon shall know  

 Then art thou indeed that famous outlaw  Right gladly will I dispute
with thee the passes of the merry wood  Have at thee  

They took their lath swords  dumped their other traps on the ground 
struck a fencing attitude  foot to foot  and began a grave  careful
combat   two up and two down   Presently Tom said 

 Now  if you ve got the hang  go it lively  

So they  went it lively   panting and perspiring with the work  By and
by Tom shouted 

 Fall  fall  Why don t you fall  

 I sha n t  Why don t you fall yourself  You re getting the worst of
it  

 Why  that ain t anything  I can 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 of Guisborne   You re to turn around and let me hit you in the
back  

There was no getting around the authorities  so Joe turned  received
the whack and fell 

 Now   said Joe  getting up   you got to let me kill YOU  That s fair  

 Why  I can t do that  it ain t in the book  

 Well  it s blamed mean  that s all  

 Well  say  Joe  you can be Friar Tuck or Much the miller s son  and
lam me with a quarter staff  or I ll be the Sheriff of Nottingham and
you be Robin Hood a little while and kill me  

This was satisfactory  and so these adventures were carried out  Then
Tom became Robin Hood again  and was allowed by the treacherous nun to
bleed his strength away through his neglected wound  And at last Joe 
representing a whole tribe of weeping outlaws  dragged him sadly forth 
gave his bow into his feeble hands  and Tom said   Where this arrow
falls  there bury poor Robin Hood under the greenwood tree   Then he
shot the arrow and fell back and would have died  but he lit on a
nettle and sprang up too gaily for a corpse 

The boys dressed themselves  hid their accoutrements  and went off
grieving that there were no outlaws any more  and wondering what modern
civilization could claim to have done to compensate for their loss 
They said they would rather be outlaws a year in Sherwood Forest than
President of the United States forever 



CHAPTER IX

AT half past nine  that night  Tom and Sid were sent to bed  as usual 
They said their prayers  and Sid was soon asleep  Tom lay awake and
waited  in restless impatience  When it seemed to him that it must be
nearly daylight  he heard the clock strike ten  This was despair  He
would have tossed and fidgeted  as his nerves demanded  but he was
afraid he might wake Sid  So he lay still  and stared up into the dark 
Everything was dismally still  By and by  out of the stillness  little 
scarcely perceptible noises began to emphasize themselves  The ticking
of the clock began to bring itself into notice  Old beams began to
crack mysteriously  The stairs creaked faintly  Evidently spirits were
abroad  A measured  muffled snore issued from Aunt Polly s chamber  And
now the tiresome chirping of a cricket that no human ingenuity could
locate  began  Next the ghastly ticking of a deathwatch in the wall at
the bed s head made Tom shudder  it meant that somebody s days were
numbered  Then the howl of a far off dog rose on the night air  and was
answered by a fainter howl from a remoter distance  Tom was in an
agony  At last he was satisfied that time had ceased and eternity
begun  he began to doze  in spite of himself  the clock chimed eleven 
but he did not hear it  And then there came  mingling with his
half formed dreams  a most melancholy caterwauling  The raising of a
neighboring window disturbed him  A cry of  Scat  you devil   and the
crash of an empty bottle against the back of his aunt s woodshed
brought him wide awake  and a single minute later he was dressed and
out of the window and creeping along the roof of the  ell  on all
fours  He  meow d  with caution once or twice  as he went  then jumped
to the roof of the woodshed and thence to the ground  Huckleberry Finn
was there  with his dead cat  The boys moved off and disappeared in the
gloom  At the end of half an hour they were wading through the tall
grass of the graveyard 

It was a graveyard of the old fashioned Western kind  It was on a
hill  about a mile and a half from the village  It had a crazy board
fence around it  which leaned inward in places  and outward the rest of
the time  but stood upright nowhere  Grass and weeds grew rank over the
whole cemetery  All the old graves were sunken in  there was not a
tombstone on the place  round topped  worm eaten boards staggered over
the graves  leaning for support and finding none   Sacred to the memory
of  So and So had been painted on them once  but it could no longer
have been read  on the most of them  now  even if there had been light 

A faint wind moaned through the trees  and Tom feared it might be the
spirits of the dead  complaining at being disturbed  The boys talked
little  and only under their breath  for the time and the place and the
pervading solemnity and silence oppressed their spirits  They found the
sharp new heap they were seeking  and ensconced themselves within the
protection of three great elms that grew in a bunch within a few feet
of the grave 

Then they waited in silence for what seemed a long time  The hooting
of a distant owl was all the sound that troubled the dead stillness 
Tom s reflections grew oppressive  He must force some talk  So he said
in a whisper 

 Hucky  do you believe the dead people like it for us to be here  

Huckleberry whispered 

 I wisht I knowed  It s awful solemn like  AIN T it  

 I bet it is  

There was a considerable pause  while the boys canvassed this matter
inwardly  Then Tom whispered 

 Say  Hucky  do you reckon Hoss Williams hears us talking  

 O  course he does  Least his sperrit does  

Tom  after a pause 

 I wish I d said Mister Williams  But I never meant any harm 
Everybody calls him Hoss  

 A body can t be too partic lar how they talk  bout these yer dead
people  Tom  

This was a damper  and conversation died again 

Presently Tom seized his comrade s arm and said 

 Sh  

 What is it  Tom   And the two clung together with beating hearts 

 Sh  There  tis again  Didn t you hear it  

 I   

 There  Now you hear it  

 Lord  Tom  they re coming  They re coming  sure  What ll we do  

 I dono  Think they ll see us  

 Oh  Tom  they can see in the dark  same as cats  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  Lord  I m all of a shiver  

 Listen  

The boys bent their heads together and scarcely breathed  A muffled
sound of voices floated up from the far end of the graveyard 

 Look  See there   whispered Tom   What is it  

 It s devil fire  Oh  Tom  this is awful  

Some vague figures approached through the gloom  swinging an
old fashioned tin lantern that freckled the ground with innumerable
little spangles of light  Presently Huckleberry whispered with a
shudder 

 It s the devils sure enough  Three of  em  Lordy  Tom  we re goners 
Can you pray  

 I ll try  but don t you be afeard  They ain t going to hurt us   Now
I lay me down to sleep  I    

 Sh  

 What is it  Huck  

 They re HUMANS  One of  em is  anyway  One of  em s old Muff Potter s
voice  

 No   tain t so  is it  

 I bet I know it  Don t you stir nor budge  He ain t sharp enough to
notice us  Drunk  the same as usual  likely  blamed old rip  

 All right  I ll keep still  Now they re stuck  Can t find it  Here
they come again  Now they re hot  Cold again  Hot again  Red hot 
They re p inted right  this time  Say  Huck  I know another o  them
voices  it s Injun Joe  

 That s so  that murderin  half breed  I d druther they was devils a
dern sight  What kin they be up to  

The whisper died wholly out  now  for the three men had reached the
grave and stood within a few feet of the boys  hiding place 

 Here it is   said the third voice  and the owner of it held the
lantern up and revealed the face of young Doctor Robinson 

Potter and Injun Joe were carrying a handbarrow with a rope and a
couple of shovels on it  They cast down their load and began to open
the grave  The doctor put the lantern at the head of the grave and came
and sat down with his back against one of the elm trees  He was so
close the boys could have touched him 

 Hurry  men   he said  in a low voice   the moon might come out at any
moment  

They growled a response and went on digging  For some time there was
no noise but the grating sound of the spades discharging their freight
of mould and gravel  It was very monotonous  Finally a spade struck
upon the coffin with a dull woody accent  and within another minute or
two the men had hoisted it out on the ground  They pried off the lid
with their shovels  got out the body and dumped it rudely on the
ground  The moon drifted from behind the clouds and exposed the pallid
face  The barrow was got ready and the corpse placed on it  covered
with a blanket  and bound to its place with the rope  Potter took out a
large spring knife and cut off the dangling end of the rope and then
said 

 Now the cussed thing s ready  Sawbones  and you ll just out with
another five  or here she stays  

 That s the talk   said Injun Joe 

 Look here  what does this mean   said the doctor   You required your
pay in advance  and I ve paid you  

 Yes  and you done more than that   said Injun Joe  approaching the
doctor  who was now standing   Five years ago you drove me away from
your father s kitchen one night  when I come to ask for something to
eat  and you said I warn t there for any good  and when I swore I d get
even with you if it took a hundred years  your father had me jailed for
a vagrant  Did you think I d forget  The Injun blood ain t in me for
nothing  And now I ve GOT you  and you got to SETTLE  you know  

He was threatening the doctor  with his fist in his face  by this
time  The doctor struck out suddenly and stretched the ruffian on the
ground  Potter dropped his knife  and exclaimed 

 Here  now  don t you hit my pard   and the next moment he had
grappled with the doctor and the two were struggling with might and
main  trampling the grass and tearing the ground with their heels 
Injun Joe sprang to his feet  his eyes flaming with passion  snatched
up Potter s knife  and went creeping  catlike and stooping  round and
round about the combatants  seeking an opportunity  All at once the
doctor flung himself free  seized the heavy headboard of Williams 
grave and felled Potter to the earth with it  and in the same instant
the half breed saw his chance and drove the knife to the hilt in the
young man s breast  He reeled and fell partly upon Potter  flooding him
with his blood  and in the same moment the clouds blotted out the
dreadful spectacle and the two frightened boys went speeding away in
the dark 

Presently  when the moon emerged again  Injun Joe was standing over
the two forms  contemplating them  The doctor murmured inarticulately 
gave a long gasp or two and was still  The half breed muttered 

 THAT score is settled  damn you  

Then he robbed the body  After which he put the fatal knife in
Potter s open right hand  and sat down on the dismantled coffin  Three
  four  five minutes passed  and then Potter began to stir and moan  His
hand closed upon the knife  he raised it  glanced at it  and let it
fall  with a shudder  Then he sat up  pushing the body from him  and
gazed at it  and then around him  confusedly  His eyes met Joe s 

 Lord  how is this  Joe   he said 

 It s a dirty business   said Joe  without moving 

 What did you do it for  

 I  I never done it  

 Look here  That kind of talk won t wash  

Potter trembled and grew white 

 I thought I d got sober  I d no business to drink to night  But it s
in my head yet  worse n when we started here  I m all in a muddle 
can t recollect anything of it  hardly  Tell me  Joe  HONEST  now  old
feller  did I do it  Joe  I never meant to   pon my soul and honor  I
never meant to  Joe  Tell me how it was  Joe  Oh  it s awful  and him
so young and promising  

 Why  you two was scuffling  and he fetched you one with the headboard
and you fell flat  and then up you come  all reeling and staggering
like  and snatched the knife and jammed it into him  just as he fetched
you another awful clip  and here you ve laid  as dead as a wedge til
now  

 Oh  I didn t know what I was a doing  I wish I may die this minute if
I did  It was all on account of the whiskey and the excitement  I
reckon  I never used a weepon in my life before  Joe  I ve fought  but
never with weepons  They ll all say that  Joe  don t tell  Say you
won t tell  Joe  that s a good feller  I always liked you  Joe  and
stood up for you  too  Don t you remember  You WON T tell  WILL you 
Joe   And the poor creature dropped on his knees before the stolid
murderer  and clasped his appealing hands 

 No  you ve always been fair and square with me  Muff Potter  and I
won t go back on you  There  now  that s as fair as a man can say  

 Oh  Joe  you re an angel  I ll bless you for this the longest day I
live   And Potter began to cry 

 Come  now  that s enough of that  This ain t any time for blubbering 
You be off yonder way and I ll go this  Move  now  and don t leave any
tracks behind you  

Potter started on a trot that quickly increased to a run  The
half breed stood looking after him  He muttered 

 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 of the knife till he s gone so
far he ll be afraid to come back after it to such a place by himself
  chicken heart  

Two or three minutes later the murdered man  the blanketed corpse  the
lidless coffin  and the open grave were under no inspection but the
moon s  The stillness was complete again  too 



CHAPTER X

THE two boys flew on and on  toward the village  speechless with
horror  They glanced backward over their shoulders from time to time 
apprehensively  as if they feared they might be followed  Every 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 outlying cottages that lay
near the village  the barking of the aroused watch dogs seemed to give
wings to their 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 on the goal of their hopes and bent to their work to win it 
They gained steadily on 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  and Tom whispered 

 Huckleberry  what do you reckon ll come of this  

 If Doctor Robinson dies  I reckon hanging ll come of it  

 Do you though  

 Why  I KNOW it  Tom  

Tom thought a while  then he said 

 Who ll tell  We  

 What are you talking about  S pose something happened and Injun Joe
DIDN T hang  Why  he d kill us some time or other  just as dead sure as
we re a laying here  

 That s just what I was thinking to myself  Huck  

 If anybody tells  let Muff Potter do it  if he s fool enough  He s
generally drunk enough  

Tom said nothing  went on thinking  Presently he whispered 

 Huck  Muff Potter don t know it  How can he tell  

 What s the reason he don t know it  

 Because he d just got that whack when Injun Joe done it  D you reckon
he could see anything  D you reckon he knowed anything  

 By hokey  that s so  Tom  

 And besides  look a here  maybe that whack done for HIM  

 No   taint likely  Tom  He had liquor in him  I could see that  and
besides  he always has  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  So it s the same with Muff Potter  of course  But if a
man was dead sober  I reckon maybe that whack might fetch him  I dono  

After another reflective silence  Tom said 

 Hucky  you sure you can keep mum  

 Tom  we GOT to keep mum  You know that  That Injun devil wouldn t
make any more of drownding us than a couple of cats  if we was to
squeak  bout this and they didn t hang him  Now  look a here  Tom  less
take and swear to one another  that s what we got to do  swear to keep
mum  

 I m agreed  It s the best thing  Would you just hold hands and swear
that we   

 Oh no  that wouldn t do for this  That s good enough for little
rubbishy common things  specially with gals  cuz THEY go back on you
anyway  and blab if they get in a huff  but there orter be writing
 bout a big thing like this  And blood  

Tom s whole being applauded this idea  It was deep  and dark  and
awful  the hour  the circumstances  the surroundings  were in keeping
with it  He picked up a clean pine shingle that lay in the moonlight 
took a little fragment of  red keel  out of his pocket  got the moon on
his work  and painfully scrawled these lines  emphasizing each slow
down stroke by clamping his tongue between his teeth  and letting up
the pressure on the up strokes   See next page  

    Huck Finn and
    Tom Sawyer swears
    they will keep mum
    about This and They
    wish They may Drop
    down dead in Their
    Tracks if They ever
    Tell and Rot  

Huckleberry was filled with admiration of Tom s facility in writing 
and the sublimity of his language  He at once took a pin from his lapel
and was going to prick his flesh  but Tom said 

 Hold on  Don t do that  A pin s brass  It might have verdigrease on
it  

 What s verdigrease  

 It s p ison  That s what it is  You just swaller some of it once
  you ll see  

So Tom unwound the thread from one of his needles  and each boy
pricked the ball of his thumb and squeezed out a drop of 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 Huckleberry how to
make an H and an F  and the oath was complete  They buried the shingle
close to the wall  with some dismal ceremonies and incantations  and
the fetters that bound their tongues were considered to be locked and
the key thrown away 

A figure crept stealthily through a break in the other end of the
ruined building  now  but they did not notice it 

 Tom   whispered Huckleberry   does this keep us from EVER telling
  ALWAYS  

 Of course it does  It don t make any difference WHAT happens  we got
to keep mum  We d drop down dead  don t YOU know that  

 Yes  I reckon that s so  

They continued to whisper for 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 of fright 

 Which of us does he mean   gasped Huckleberry 

 I dono  peep through the crack  Quick  

 No  YOU  Tom  

 I can t  I can t DO it  Huck  

 Please  Tom  There  tis again  

 Oh  lordy  I m thankful   whispered Tom   I know his voice  It s Bull
Harbison    

   If Mr  Harbison owned a slave named Bull  Tom would have spoken of
him as  Harbison s Bull   but a son or a dog of that name was  Bull
Harbison   

 Oh  that s good  I tell you  Tom  I was most scared to death  I d a
bet anything it was a STRAY dog  

The dog howled again  The boys  hearts sank once more 

 Oh  my  that ain t no Bull Harbison   whispered Huckleberry   DO  Tom  

Tom  quaking with fear  yielded  and put his eye to the crack  His
whisper was hardly audible when he said 

 Oh  Huck  IT S A STRAY DOG  

 Quick  Tom  quick  Who does he mean  

 Huck  he must mean us both  we re right together  

 Oh  Tom  I reckon we re goners  I reckon there ain t no mistake  bout
where I LL go to  I been so wicked  

 Dad fetch it  This comes of playing hookey and doing everything a
feller s told NOT to do  I might a been good  like Sid  if I d a tried
  but no  I wouldn t  of course  But if ever I get off this time  I lay
I ll just WALLER in Sunday schools   And Tom began to snuffle a little 

 YOU bad   and Huckleberry began to snuffle too   Consound it  Tom
Sawyer  you re just old pie   longside o  what I am  Oh  LORDY  lordy 
lordy  I wisht I only had half your chance  

Tom choked off and whispered 

 Look  Hucky  look  He s got his BACK to us  

Hucky looked  with joy in his heart 

 Well  he has  by jingoes  Did he before  

 Yes  he did  But I  like a fool  never thought  Oh  this is bully 
you know  NOW who can he mean  

The howling stopped  Tom pricked up his ears 

 Sh  What s that   he whispered 

 Sounds like  like hogs grunting  No  it s somebody snoring  Tom  

 That IS it  Where  bouts is it  Huck  

 I bleeve it s down at  tother end  Sounds so  anyway  Pap used to
sleep there  sometimes   long with the hogs  but laws bless you  he
just lifts things when HE snores  Besides  I reckon he ain t ever
coming back to this town any more  

The spirit of adventure rose in the boys  souls once more 

 Hucky  do you das t to go if I lead  

 I don t like to  much  Tom  s pose it s Injun Joe  

Tom quailed  But presently the temptation rose up strong again and the
boys agreed to try  with the understanding that they would take to
their heels if the snoring stopped  So they went tiptoeing stealthily
down  the one behind the other  When they had got to within five steps
of the snorer  Tom stepped on a stick  and it broke with a sharp snap 
The man moaned  writhed a little  and his face came into the moonlight 
It was Muff Potter  The boys  hearts had stood still  and their hopes
too  when the man moved  but their fears passed away now  They tiptoed
out  through the broken weather boarding  and stopped at a little
distance to exchange a parting word  That long  lugubrious howl rose on
the night air again  They turned and saw the strange dog standing
within a few feet of where Potter was lying  and FACING Potter  with
his nose pointing heavenward 

 Oh  geeminy  it s HIM   exclaimed both boys  in a breath 

 Say  Tom  they say a stray dog come howling around Johnny Miller s
house   bout midnight  as much as two weeks ago  and a whippoorwill
come in and lit on the banisters and sung  the very same evening  and
there ain t anybody dead there yet  

 Well  I know that  And suppose there ain t  Didn t Gracie Miller fall
in the kitchen fire and burn herself terrible the very next Saturday  

 Yes  but she ain t DEAD  And what s more  she s getting better  too  

 All right  you wait and see  She s a goner  just as dead sure as Muff
Potter s a goner  That s what the niggers say  and they know all about
these kind of things  Huck  

Then they separated  cogitating  When Tom crept in at his bedroom
window the night was almost spent  He undressed with excessive caution 
and fell asleep congratulating himself that nobody knew of his
escapade  He was not aware that the gently snoring Sid was awake  and
had been so for an hour 

When Tom awoke  Sid was dressed and gone  There was a late look in the
light  a late sense in the atmosphere  He was startled  Why had he not
been called  persecuted till he was up  as usual  The thought filled
him with bodings  Within five minutes he was dressed and down stairs 
feeling sore and drowsy  The family were still at table  but they had
finished breakfast  There was no voice of rebuke  but there were
averted eyes  there was a silence and an air of solemnity that struck a
chill to the culprit s heart  He sat down and tried to seem gay  but it
was up hill work  it roused no smile  no response  and he lapsed into
silence and let his heart sink down to the depths 

After breakfast his aunt took him aside  and Tom almost brightened in
the hope that he was going to be flogged  but it was not so  His aunt
wept over him and asked him how he could go and break her old heart so 
and finally told him to go on  and ruin himself and bring her gray
hairs with sorrow to the grave  for it was no use for her to try any
more  This was worse than a thousand whippings  and Tom s heart was
sorer now than his body  He cried  he pleaded for forgiveness  promised
to reform over and over again  and then received his dismissal  feeling
that he had won but an imperfect forgiveness and established but a
feeble confidence 

He left the presence too miserable to even feel revengeful toward Sid 
and so the latter s prompt retreat through the back gate was
unnecessary  He moped to school gloomy and sad  and took his flogging 
along with Joe Harper  for playing hookey the day before  with the air
of one whose heart was busy with heavier woes and wholly dead to
trifles  Then he betook himself to his seat  rested his elbows on his
desk and his jaws in his hands  and stared at the wall with the stony
stare of suffering that has reached the limit and can no further go 
His elbow was pressing against some hard substance  After a long time
he slowly and sadly changed his position  and took up this object with
a sigh  It was in a paper  He unrolled it  A long  lingering  colossal
sigh followed  and his heart broke  It was his brass andiron knob 

This final feather broke the camel s back 



CHAPTER XI

CLOSE upon the hour of noon the whole village was suddenly electrified
with the ghastly news  No need of the as yet undreamed of telegraph 
the tale flew from man to man  from group to group  from house to
house  with little less than telegraphic speed  Of course the
schoolmaster gave holiday for that afternoon  the town would have
thought strangely of him if he had not 

A gory knife had been found close to the murdered man  and it had been
recognized by somebody as belonging to Muff Potter  so the story ran 
And it was said that a belated citizen had come upon Potter washing
himself in the  branch  about one or two o clock in the morning  and
that Potter had at once sneaked off  suspicious circumstances 
especially the washing which was not a habit with Potter  It was also
said that the town had been ransacked for this  murderer   the public
are not slow in the matter of sifting evidence and arriving at a
verdict   but that he could not be found  Horsemen had departed down
all the roads in every direction  and the Sheriff  was confident  that
he would be captured before night 

All the town was drifting toward the graveyard  Tom s heartbreak
vanished and he joined the procession  not because he would not a
thousand times rather go anywhere else  but because an awful 
unaccountable fascination drew him on  Arrived at the dreadful place 
he wormed his small body through the crowd and saw the dismal
spectacle  It seemed to him an age since he was there before  Somebody
pinched his arm  He turned  and his eyes met Huckleberry s  Then both
looked elsewhere at once  and wondered if anybody had noticed 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    Muff Potter ll hang for this if they catch him   This
was the drift of remark  and the minister said   It was a judgment  His
hand is here  

Now 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 struggle 
and voices shouted   It s him  it s him  he s coming himself  

 Who  Who   from twenty voices 

 Muff Potter  

 Hallo  he s stopped   Look out  he s turning  Don t let him get away  

People in the branches of the trees over Tom s head said he wasn t
trying to get away  he only looked doubtful and perplexed 

 Infernal impudence   said a bystander   wanted to come and take a
quiet look at his work  I reckon  didn t expect any company  

The crowd fell apart  now  and the Sheriff 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 hands and burst into tears 

 I didn t do it  friends   he sobbed    pon my word and honor I never
done it  

 Who s accused you   shouted a voice 

This shot seemed to carry home  Potter lifted his face and looked
around him with a pathetic hopelessness in his eyes  He saw Injun Joe 
and exclaimed 

 Oh  Injun Joe  you promised me you d never   

 Is that your knife   and it was thrust before him by the Sheriff 

Potter would have fallen if they had not caught him and eased him to
the ground  Then he said 

 Something told me  t if I didn t come back and get    He shuddered 
then waved his nerveless hand with a vanquished gesture and said   Tell
 em  Joe  tell  em  it ain t any use any more  

Then Huckleberry and Tom stood dumb and staring  and heard the
stony hearted liar reel off his serene statement  they expecting every
moment that the clear sky would deliver God s lightnings upon his head 
and wondering to see how long the stroke was delayed  And when he had
finished and still stood alive and whole  their wavering impulse to
break their oath and save the poor betrayed prisoner s life faded and
vanished away  for plainly this miscreant had sold himself to Satan and
it would be fatal to meddle with the property of such a power as that 

 Why didn t you leave  What did you want to come here for   somebody
said 

 I couldn t help it  I couldn t help it   Potter moaned   I wanted to
run away  but I couldn t seem to come anywhere but here   And he fell
to sobbing again 

Injun Joe repeated his statement  just as calmly  a few minutes
afterward on the inquest  under oath  and the boys  seeing that the
lightnings were still withheld  were confirmed in their belief that Joe
had sold himself to the devil  He was now become  to them  the most
balefully interesting object they had ever looked upon  and they could
not take their fascinated eyes from his face 

They inwardly resolved to watch him nights  when opportunity should
offer  in the hope of getting a glimpse of his dread master 

Injun Joe helped to raise the body of the murdered man and put it in a
wagon for removal  and it was whispered through the shuddering crowd
that the wound bled a little  The boys thought that this happy
circumstance would turn suspicion in the right direction  but they were
disappointed  for more than one villager remarked 

 It was within three feet of Muff Potter when it done it  

Tom s fearful secret and gnawing conscience disturbed his sleep for as
much as a week after this  and at breakfast one morning Sid said 

 Tom  you pitch around and talk in your sleep so much that you keep me
awake half the time  

Tom blanched and dropped his eyes 

 It s a bad sign   said Aunt Polly  gravely   What you got on your
mind  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   Sid said   Last night you said   It s
blood  it s blood  that s what it is   You said that over and over  And
you said   Don t torment me so  I ll tell   Tell WHAT  What is it
you ll tell  

Everything was swimming before Tom  There is no telling what might
have happened  now  but luckily the concern passed out of Aunt Polly s
face and she came to Tom s relief without knowing it  She said 

 Sho  It s that dreadful murder  I dream about it most every night
myself  Sometimes I dream it s me that done it  

Mary said she had been affected much the same way  Sid 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
jaws every night  He never knew that Sid lay nightly watching  and
frequently slipped the bandage free and then leaned on his elbow
listening a good while at a time  and afterward slipped the bandage
back to its place again  Tom s distress of mind wore off gradually and
the toothache grew irksome and was discarded  If Sid really managed to
make anything out of Tom s disjointed mutterings  he kept it to himself 

It seemed to Tom that his schoolmates never would get done holding
inquests on dead cats  and thus keeping his trouble present to his
mind  Sid noticed that Tom never was coroner at one of these inquiries 
though it had been his habit to take the lead in all new enterprises 
he noticed  too  that Tom never acted as a witness  and that was
strange  and Sid did not overlook the fact that Tom even showed a
marked aversion to these inquests  and always avoided them when he
could  Sid marvelled  but said nothing  However  even inquests went out
of vogue at last  and ceased to torture Tom s conscience 

Every day or two  during this time of sorrow  Tom watched his
opportunity and went to the little grated jail window and smuggled such
small comforts through to the  murderer  as he could get hold of  The
jail was a trifling little brick den that stood in a marsh at the edge
of the village  and no guards were afforded for it  indeed  it was
seldom occupied  These offerings greatly helped to ease Tom s
conscience 

The villagers had a strong desire to tar and feather Injun Joe and
ride him on a rail  for body snatching  but so formidable was his
character that nobody could be found who was willing to take the lead
in the matter  so it was dropped  He had been careful to begin both of
his inquest statements with the fight  without confessing the
grave robbery that preceded it  therefore it was deemed wisest not
to try the case in the courts at present 



CHAPTER XII

ONE of the reasons why Tom s mind had drifted away from its secret
troubles was  that it had found a new and weighty matter to interest
itself about  Becky Thatcher had stopped coming to school  Tom had
struggled with his pride a few days  and tried to  whistle her down the
wind   but failed  He began to find himself hanging around her father s
house  nights  and feeling very miserable  She was ill  What if she
should die  There was distraction in the thought  He no longer took an
interest in war  nor even in piracy  The charm of life was gone  there
was nothing but dreariness left  He put his hoop away  and his bat 
there was no joy in them any more  His aunt was concerned  She began to
try all manner of remedies on him  She was one of those people who are
infatuated with patent medicines and all new fangled methods of
producing health or mending it  She was an inveterate experimenter in
these things  When something fresh in this line came out she was in a
fever  right away  to try it  not on herself  for she was never ailing 
but on anybody else that came handy  She was a subscriber for all the
 Health  periodicals and phrenological frauds  and the solemn ignorance
they were inflated with was breath to her nostrils  All the  rot  they
contained about ventilation  and how to go to bed  and how to get up 
and what to eat  and what to drink  and how much exercise to take  and
what frame of mind to keep one s self in  and what sort of clothing to
wear  was all gospel to her  and she never observed that her
health journals of the current month customarily upset everything they
had recommended the month before  She was as simple hearted and honest
as the day was long  and so she was an easy victim  She gathered
together her quack periodicals and her quack medicines  and thus armed
with death  went about on her pale horse  metaphorically speaking  with
 hell following after   But she never suspected that she was not an
angel of healing and the balm of Gilead in disguise  to the suffering
neighbors 

The water treatment was new  now  and Tom s low condition was a
windfall to her  She had him out at daylight every morning  stood him
up in the woodshed and drowned him with a deluge of cold water  then
she scrubbed him down with a towel like a file  and so brought him to 
then she rolled him up in a wet sheet and put him away under blankets
till she sweated his soul clean and  the yellow stains of it came
through his pores   as Tom said 

Yet notwithstanding all this  the boy grew more and more melancholy
and pale and dejected  She added hot baths  sitz baths  shower baths 
and plunges  The boy remained as dismal as a hearse  She began to
assist the water with a slim oatmeal diet and blister plasters  She
calculated his capacity as she would a jug s  and filled him up every
day with quack cure alls 

Tom had become indifferent to persecution by this time  This phase
filled the old lady s heart with consternation  This indifference must
be broken up at any cost  Now she heard of Pain killer for the first
time  She ordered a lot at once  She tasted it and was filled with
gratitude  It was simply fire in a liquid form  She dropped the water
treatment and everything else  and pinned her faith to Pain killer  She
gave Tom a teaspoonful and watched with the deepest anxiety for the
result  Her troubles were instantly at rest  her soul at peace again 
for the  indifference  was broken up  The boy could not have shown a
wilder  heartier interest  if she had built a fire under him 

Tom felt that it was time to wake up  this sort of life might be
romantic enough  in his blighted condition  but it was getting to have
too little sentiment and too much distracting variety about it  So he
thought over various plans for relief  and finally hit pon that of
professing to be fond of Pain killer  He asked for it so often that he
became a nuisance  and his aunt ended by telling him to help himself
and quit bothering her  If it had been Sid  she would have had no
misgivings to alloy her delight  but since it was Tom  she watched the
bottle clandestinely  She found that the medicine did really diminish 
but it did not occur to her that the boy was mending the health of a
crack in the sitting room floor with it 

One day Tom was in the act of dosing the crack when his aunt s yellow
cat came along  purring  eying the teaspoon avariciously  and begging
for a taste  Tom said 

 Don t ask for it unless you want it  Peter  

But Peter signified that he did want it 

 You better make sure  

Peter was sure 

 Now you ve asked for it  and I ll give it to you  because there ain t
anything mean about me  but if you find you don t like it  you mustn t
blame anybody but your own self  

Peter was agreeable  So Tom pried his mouth open and poured down the
Pain killer  Peter sprang a couple of yards in the air  and then
delivered a war whoop and set off round and round the room  banging
against furniture  upsetting flower pots  and making general havoc 
Next he rose on his hind feet and pranced around  in a frenzy of
enjoyment  with his head over his shoulder and his voice proclaiming
his unappeasable happiness  Then he went tearing around the house again
spreading chaos and destruction in his path  Aunt Polly entered in time
to see him throw a few double summersets  deliver a final mighty
hurrah  and sail through the open window  carrying the rest of the
flower pots with him  The old lady stood petrified with astonishment 
peering over her glasses  Tom lay on the floor expiring with laughter 

 Tom  what on earth ails that cat  

 I don t know  aunt   gasped the boy 

 Why  I never see anything like it  What did make him act so  

 Deed I don t know  Aunt Polly  cats always act so when they re having
a good time  

 They do  do they   There was something in the tone that made Tom
apprehensive 

 Yes m  That is  I believe they do  

 You DO  

 Yes m  

The old lady was bending down  Tom watching  with interest emphasized
by anxiety  Too late he divined her  drift   The handle of the telltale
teaspoon was visible under the bed valance  Aunt Polly took it  held it
up  Tom winced  and dropped his eyes  Aunt Polly raised him by the
usual handle  his ear  and cracked his head soundly with her thimble 

 Now  sir  what did you want to treat that poor dumb beast so  for  

 I done it out of pity for him  because he hadn t any aunt  

 Hadn t any aunt   you numskull  What has that got to do with it  

 Heaps  Because if he d had one she d a burnt him out herself  She d a
roasted his bowels out of him  thout any more feeling than if he was a
human  

Aunt Polly felt a sudden pang of remorse  This was putting the thing
in a new light  what was cruelty to a cat MIGHT be cruelty to a boy 
too  She began to soften  she felt sorry  Her eyes watered a little 
and she put her hand on Tom s head and said gently 

 I was meaning for the best  Tom  And  Tom  it DID do you good  

Tom looked up in her face with just a perceptible twinkle peeping
through his gravity 

 I know you was meaning for the best  aunty  and so was I with Peter 
It done HIM good  too  I never see him get around so since   

 Oh  go  long with you  Tom  before you aggravate me again  And you
try and see if you can t be a good boy  for once  and you needn t take
any more medicine  

Tom reached school ahead of time  It was noticed that this strange
thing had been occurring every day latterly  And now  as usual of late 
he hung about the gate of the schoolyard instead of playing with his
comrades  He was sick  he said  and he looked it  He tried to seem to
be looking everywhere but whither he really was looking  down the road 
Presently Jeff Thatcher hove in sight  and Tom s face lighted  he gazed
a moment  and then turned sorrowfully away  When Jeff arrived  Tom
accosted him  and  led up  warily to opportunities for remark about
Becky  but the giddy lad never could see the bait  Tom watched and
watched  hoping whenever a frisking frock came in sight  and hating the
owner of it as soon as he saw she was not the right one  At last frocks
ceased to appear  and he dropped hopelessly into the dumps  he entered
the empty schoolhouse and sat down to suffer  Then one more frock
passed in at the gate  and Tom s heart gave a great bound  The next
instant he was out  and  going on  like an Indian  yelling  laughing 
chasing boys  jumping over the fence at risk of life and limb  throwing
handsprings  standing on his head  doing all the heroic things he could
conceive of  and keeping a furtive eye out  all the while  to see if
Becky Thatcher was noticing  But she seemed to be unconscious of it
all  she never looked  Could it be possible that she was not aware that
he was there  He carried his exploits to her immediate vicinity  came
war whooping around  snatched a boy s cap  hurled it to the roof of the
schoolhouse  broke through a group of boys  tumbling them in every
direction  and fell sprawling  himself  under Becky s nose  almost
upsetting her  and she turned  with her nose in the air  and he heard
her say   Mf  some people think they re mighty smart  always showing
off  

Tom s cheeks burned  He gathered himself up and sneaked off  crushed
and crestfallen 



CHAPTER XIII

TOM S mind was made up now  He was gloomy and desperate  He was a
forsaken  friendless boy  he said  nobody loved him  when they found
out what they had driven him to  perhaps they would be sorry  he had
tried to do right and get along  but they would not let him  since
nothing would do them but to be rid of him  let it be so  and let them
blame HIM for the consequences  why shouldn t they  What right had the
friendless to complain  Yes  they had forced him to it at last  he
would lead a life of crime  There was no choice 

By this time he was far down Meadow Lane  and the bell for school to
 take up  tinkled faintly upon his ear  He sobbed  now  to think he
should never  never hear that old familiar sound any more  it was very
hard  but it was forced on him  since he was driven out into the cold
world  he must submit  but he forgave them  Then the sobs came thick
and fast 

Just at this point he met his soul s sworn comrade  Joe Harper
  hard eyed  and with evidently a great and dismal purpose in his heart 
Plainly here were  two souls with but a single thought   Tom  wiping
his eyes with his sleeve  began to blubber out something about a
resolution to escape from hard usage and lack of sympathy at home by
roaming abroad into the great world never to return  and ended by
hoping that Joe would not forget him 

But it transpired that this was a request which Joe had just been
going to make of Tom  and had come to hunt him up for that purpose  His
mother had whipped him for drinking some cream which he had never
tasted and knew nothing about  it was plain that she was tired of him
and wished him to go  if she felt that way  there was nothing for him
to do but succumb  he hoped she would be happy  and never regret having
driven her poor boy out into the unfeeling world to suffer and die 

As the two boys walked sorrowing along  they made a new compact to
stand by each other and be brothers and never separate till death
relieved them of their troubles  Then they began to lay their plans 
Joe was for being a hermit  and living on crusts in a remote cave  and
dying  some time  of cold and want and grief  but after listening to
Tom  he conceded that there were some conspicuous advantages about a
life of crime  and so he consented to be a pirate 

Three miles below St  Petersburg  at a point where the Mississippi
River was a trifle over a mile wide  there was a long  narrow  wooded
island  with a shallow bar at the head of it  and this offered well as
a rendezvous  It was not inhabited  it lay far over toward the further
shore  abreast a dense and almost wholly unpeopled forest  So Jackson s
Island was chosen  Who were to be the subjects of their piracies was a
matter that did not occur to them  Then they hunted up Huckleberry
Finn  and he joined them promptly  for all careers were one to him  he
was indifferent  They presently separated to meet at a lonely spot on
the river bank two miles above the village at the favorite hour  which
was midnight  There was a small log raft there which they meant to
capture  Each would bring hooks and lines  and such provision as he
could steal in the most dark and mysterious way  as became outlaws  And
before the afternoon was done  they had all managed to enjoy the sweet
glory of spreading the fact that pretty soon the town would  hear
something   All who got this vague hint were cautioned to  be mum and
wait  

About midnight Tom arrived with a boiled ham and a few trifles 
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  but no sound disturbed the
quiet  Then he gave a low  distinct whistle  It was answered from under
the bluff  Tom whistled twice more  these signals were answered in the
same way  Then a guarded voice said 

 Who goes there  

 Tom Sawyer  the Black Avenger of the Spanish Main  Name your names  

 Huck Finn the Red Handed  and Joe Harper the Terror of the Seas   Tom
had furnished these titles  from his favorite literature 

  Tis well  Give the countersign  

Two hoarse whispers delivered the same awful word simultaneously to
the brooding 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 the advantages of difficulty and danger so valued by a pirate 

The Terror of the Seas had brought a side of bacon  and had about worn
himself out with getting it there  Finn the Red Handed had stolen a
skillet and a quantity of half cured leaf tobacco  and had also brought
a few corn cobs to make pipes with  But none of the pirates smoked or
 chewed  but himself  The Black Avenger of the Spanish Main said it
would never do to start without some fire  That was a wise thought 
matches were hardly known there in that day  They saw a fire
smouldering upon a great raft a hundred yards above  and they went
stealthily thither and helped themselves to a chunk  They made an
imposing adventure of it  saying   Hist   every now and then  and
suddenly halting with finger on lip  moving with hands on imaginary
dagger hilts  and giving orders in dismal whispers that if  the foe 
stirred  to  let him have it to the hilt   because  dead men tell no
tales   They knew well enough that the raftsmen were all down at the
village laying in stores or having a spree  but still that was no
excuse for their conducting this thing in an unpiratical way 

They shoved off  presently  Tom in command  Huck at the after oar and
Joe at the forward  Tom stood amidships  gloomy browed  and with folded
arms  and gave his orders in a low  stern whisper 

 Luff  and bring her to the wind  

 Aye aye  sir  

 Steady  steady y y y  

 Steady it is  sir  

 Let her go off a point  

 Point it is  sir  

As the boys steadily and monotonously drove the raft toward mid stream
it was no doubt understood that these orders were given only for
 style   and were not intended to mean anything in particular 

 What sail s she carrying  

 Courses  tops ls  and flying jib  sir  

 Send the r yals up  Lay out aloft  there  half a dozen of ye
  foretopmaststuns l  Lively  now  

 Aye aye  sir  

 Shake out that maintogalans l  Sheets and braces  NOW my hearties  

 Aye aye  sir  

 Hellum a lee  hard a port  Stand by to meet her when she comes  Port 
port  NOW  men  With a will  Stead y y y  

 Steady it is  sir  

The raft drew beyond the middle of the river  the boys pointed her
head right  and then lay on their oars  The river was not high  so
there was not more than a two or three mile current  Hardly a word was
said during the next three quarters of an hour  Now 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
star gemmed water  unconscious of the tremendous event that was happening 
The Black Avenger stood still with folded arms   looking his last  upon
the scene of his former joys and his later sufferings  and wishing
 she  could see him now  abroad on the wild sea  facing peril and death
with dauntless heart  going to his doom with a grim smile on his lips 
It was but a small strain on his imagination to remove Jackson s Island
beyond eyeshot of the village  and so he  looked his last  with a
broken and satisfied heart  The other pirates were looking their last 
too  and they all looked so long that they came near letting the
current drift them out of the range of the island  But they discovered
the danger in time  and made shift to avert it  About two 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 of 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 sombre depths of the forest  and then cooked some
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
wild  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 civilization  The climbing fire lit up their faces and threw
its ruddy glare upon the pillared tree trunks of their forest temple 
and upon the varnished foliage and festooning vines 

When the last crisp slice of bacon was gone  and the last allowance of
corn pone devoured  the boys stretched themselves out on the grass 
filled with contentment  They could have found a cooler place  but they
would not deny themselves such a romantic feature as the roasting
camp fire 

 AIN T it gay   said Joe 

 It s NUTS   said Tom   What would the boys say if they could see us  

 Say  Well  they d just die to be here  hey  Hucky  

 I reckon so   said Huckleberry   anyways  I m suited  I don t want
nothing better n this  I don t ever get enough to eat  gen ally  and
here they can t come and pick at a feller and bullyrag him so  

 It s just the life for me   said Tom   You don t have to get up 
mornings  and you don t have to go to school  and wash  and all that
blame foolishness  You see a pirate don t have to do ANYTHING  Joe 
when he s ashore  but a hermit HE has to be praying considerable  and
then he don t have any fun  anyway  all by himself that way  

 Oh yes  that s so   said Joe   but I hadn t thought much about it 
you know  I d a good deal rather be a pirate  now that I ve tried it  

 You see   said Tom   people don t go much on hermits  nowadays  like
they used to in old times  but a pirate s always respected  And a
hermit s got to sleep on the hardest place he can find  and put
sackcloth and ashes on his head  and stand out in the rain  and   

 What does he put sackcloth and ashes on his head for   inquired Huck 

 I dono  But they ve GOT to do it  Hermits always do  You d have to do
that if you was a hermit  

 Dern d if I would   said Huck 

 Well  what would you do  

 I dono  But I wouldn t do that  

 Why  Huck  you d HAVE to  How d you get around it  

 Why  I just wouldn t stand it  I d run away  

 Run away  Well  you WOULD be a nice old slouch of a hermit  You d be
a disgrace  

The Red Handed made no response  being better employed  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 charge and blowing a
cloud of fragrant smoke  he was in the full bloom of luxurious
contentment  The other pirates envied him this majestic vice  and
secretly resolved to acquire it shortly  Presently Huck said 

 What does pirates have to do  

Tom said 

 Oh  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 everybody in the ships  make
 em walk a plank  

 And they carry the women to the island   said Joe   they don t kill
the women  

 No   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 clothes  Oh no  All gold and silver
and di monds   said Joe  with enthusiasm 

 Who   said Huck 

 Why  the pirates  

Huck scanned his own clothing forlornly 

 I reckon I ain t dressed fitten for a pirate   said he  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 

Gradually their talk died out and drowsiness began to steal upon the
eyelids of the little waifs  The pipe dropped from the fingers of the
Red Handed  and he slept the sleep of the conscience free and the
weary  The Terror of the Seas and the Black Avenger of the Spanish Main
had more difficulty in getting to sleep  They said their prayers
inwardly  and lying down  since there was nobody there with authority
to make them kneel and recite aloud  in truth  they had a mind not to
say them at all  but they were afraid to proceed to such lengths as
that  lest they might call down a sudden and special thunderbolt from
heaven  Then at once they reached and hovered upon the imminent verge
of sleep  but an intruder came  now  that would not  down   It was
conscience  They began to feel a vague fear that they had been doing
wrong to run away  and next they thought of the stolen meat  and then
the real torture came  They tried to argue it away by reminding
conscience that they had purloined sweetmeats and apples scores of
times  but conscience was not to be appeased by such thin
plausibilities  it seemed to them  in the end  that there was no
getting around the stubborn fact that taking sweetmeats was only
 hooking   while taking bacon and hams and such valuables was plain
simple stealing  and there was a command against that in the Bible  So
they inwardly resolved that so long as they remained in the business 
their piracies should not again be sullied with the crime of stealing 
Then conscience granted a truce  and these curiously inconsistent
pirates fell peacefully to sleep 



CHAPTER XIV

WHEN Tom awoke in the morning  he wondered where he was  He sat up and
rubbed his eyes and looked around  Then he comprehended  It was the
cool gray dawn  and there was a delicious sense of repose and peace in
the deep pervading calm and silence of the woods  Not a leaf stirred 
not a sound obtruded upon great Nature s meditation  Beaded dewdrops
stood upon the leaves and grasses  A white layer of ashes covered the
fire  and a thin blue breath of smoke rose straight into the air  Joe
and Huck still slept 

Now  far away in the woods a bird called  another answered  presently
the hammering of a woodpecker was heard  Gradually the cool dim gray of
the morning whitened  and as gradually sounds multiplied and life
manifested itself  The marvel of Nature shaking off sleep and going to
work unfolded itself to the musing boy  A little green worm came
crawling over a dewy leaf  lifting two thirds of his body into the air
from time to time and  sniffing around   then proceeding again  for he
was measuring  Tom said  and when the worm approached him  of its own
accord  he sat as still as a stone  with his hopes rising and falling 
by turns  as the creature still came toward him or seemed inclined to
go elsewhere  and when at last it considered a painful moment with its
curved body in the air and then came decisively down upon Tom s leg and
began a journey over him  his whole heart was glad  for that meant that
he was going to have a new suit of clothes  without the shadow of a
doubt a gaudy piratical uniform  Now a procession of ants appeared 
from nowhere in particular  and went about their labors  one struggled
manfully by with a dead spider five times as big as itself in its arms 
and lugged it straight up a tree trunk  A brown spotted lady bug
climbed the dizzy height of a grass blade  and Tom bent down close to
it and said   Lady bug  lady bug  fly away home  your house is on fire 
your children s alone   and she took wing and went off to see about it
  which did not surprise the boy  for he knew of old that this insect was
credulous about conflagrations  and he had practised upon its
simplicity more than once  A tumblebug came next  heaving sturdily at
its ball  and Tom touched the creature  to see it shut its legs against
its body and pretend to be dead  The birds were fairly rioting by this
time  A catbird  the Northern mocker  lit in a tree over Tom s head 
and trilled out her imitations of her neighbors in a rapture of
enjoyment  then a shrill jay swept down  a flash of blue flame  and
stopped on a twig almost within the boy s reach  cocked his head to one
side and eyed the strangers with a consuming curiosity  a gray squirrel
and a big fellow of the  fox  kind came skurrying along  sitting up at
intervals to inspect and chatter at the boys  for the wild things had
probably never seen a human being before and scarcely knew whether to
be afraid or not  All Nature was wide awake and stirring  now  long
lances of sunlight pierced down through the dense foliage far and near 
and a few butterflies came fluttering upon the scene 

Tom stirred up the other pirates and they all clattered away with a
shout  and in a minute or two were stripped and chasing after and
tumbling over each other in the shallow limpid water of the white
sandbar  They felt no longing for the little village sleeping in the
distance beyond the majestic waste of water  A vagrant current or a
slight rise in the river had carried off their raft  but this only
gratified them  since its going was something like burning the bridge
between them and civilization 

They came back to camp wonderfully refreshed  glad hearted  and
ravenous  and they soon had the camp fire blazing up again  Huck found
a spring of clear cold water close by  and the boys made cups of broad
oak or hickory leaves  and felt that water  sweetened with such a
wildwood charm as that  would be a good enough substitute for coffee 
While Joe was slicing bacon for breakfast  Tom and Huck asked him to
hold on a minute  they stepped to a promising nook in the river bank
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 catfish  provisions
enough for quite a family  They fried the fish with the bacon  and were
astonished  for no fish had ever seemed so delicious before  They did
not know that the quicker a fresh water fish is on the fire after he is
caught the better he is  and they reflected little upon what a sauce
open air sleeping  open air exercise  bathing  and a large ingredient
of hunger make  too 

They lay around in the shade  after breakfast  while Huck had a smoke 
and then went off through the woods on an exploring expedition  They
tramped gayly along  over decaying logs  through tangled underbrush 
among solemn monarchs of the forest  hung from their crowns to the
ground with a drooping regalia of grape vines  Now and then they came
upon snug nooks carpeted with grass and jeweled with flowers 

They found plenty of things to be delighted with  but nothing to be
astonished at  They discovered that the island was about three miles
long and a quarter of a mile wide  and that the shore it lay closest to
was only separated from it by a narrow channel hardly two hundred yards
wide  They took a swim about every hour  so it was close upon the
middle of the afternoon when they got back to camp  They were too
hungry to stop to fish  but they fared sumptuously upon cold ham  and
then threw themselves down in the shade to talk  But the talk soon
began to drag  and then died  The stillness  the solemnity that brooded
in the woods  and the sense of loneliness  began to tell upon the
spirits of the boys  They fell to thinking  A sort of undefined longing
crept upon them  This took dim shape  presently  it was budding
homesickness  Even Finn the Red Handed was dreaming of his doorsteps
and empty hogsheads  But they were all ashamed of their weakness  and
none was brave enough to speak his thought 

For some time  now  the boys had been dully conscious of a peculiar
sound in the distance  just as one sometimes is of the ticking of a
clock which he takes no distinct note of  But now 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 was a long silence  profound and unbroken  then a deep  sullen
boom came floating down out of the distance 

 What is it   exclaimed Joe  under his breath 

 I wonder   said Tom in a whisper 

  Tain t thunder   said Huckleberry  in an awed tone   becuz thunder   

 Hark   said Tom   Listen  don t talk  

They waited a time that seemed an age  and then the same muffled boom
troubled the solemn hush 

 Let s go and see  

They sprang to their feet and hurried to the shore toward the town 
They parted the bushes on the bank and peered out over the water  The
little steam ferryboat was about a mile below the village  drifting
with the current  Her broad deck seemed crowded with people  There were
a great many skiffs rowing about or floating with the stream in the
neighborhood of the ferryboat  but the boys could not determine what
the men in them were doing  Presently a great jet of white smoke 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 the listeners again 

 I know now   exclaimed Tom   somebody s drownded  

 That s it   said Huck   they done that last summer  when Bill Turner
got drownded  they shoot a cannon over the water  and that makes him
come up to the top  Yes  and they take loaves of bread and put
quicksilver in  em and set  em afloat  and wherever there s anybody
that s drownded  they ll float right there and stop  

 Yes  I ve heard about that   said Joe   I wonder what makes the bread
do that  

 Oh  it ain t the bread  so much   said Tom   I reckon it s mostly
what they SAY over it before they start it out  

 But they don t say anything over it   said Huck   I ve seen  em and
they don t  

 Well  that s funny   said Tom   But maybe they say it to themselves 
Of COURSE they do  Anybody might know that  

The other boys agreed that there was reason in what Tom said  because
an ignorant lump of bread  uninstructed by an incantation  could not be
expected to act very intelligently when set upon an errand of such
gravity 

 By jings  I wish I was over there  now   said Joe 

 I do too  said Huck  I d give heaps to know who 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 were mourned  hearts were breaking on their account 
tears were being shed  accusing memories of unkindness to these poor
lost lads were rising up  and unavailing regrets and remorse were being
indulged  and best of all  the departed were the talk of the whole
town  and the envy of all the boys  as far as this dazzling notoriety
was concerned  This was fine  It was worth while to be a pirate  after
all 

As twilight drew on  the ferryboat went back to her accustomed
business and the skiffs disappeared  The pirates returned to camp  They
were jubilant with vanity over their new grandeur and the illustrious
trouble they were making  They caught fish  cooked supper and ate it 
and then fell to guessing at what the village was thinking and saying
about them  and the pictures they drew of the public distress on their
account were gratifying to look upon  from their point of view  But
when the shadows of night closed them in  they gradually ceased to
talk  and sat gazing into the fire  with their minds evidently
wandering elsewhere  The excitement was gone  now  and Tom and Joe
could not keep back thoughts of certain persons at home who were not
enjoying this fine frolic as much as they were  Misgivings came  they
grew troubled and unhappy  a sigh or two escaped  unawares  By and by
Joe timidly ventured upon a roundabout  feeler  as to how the others
might look upon a return to civilization  not right now  but  

Tom withered him with derision  Huck  being uncommitted as yet  joined
in with Tom  and the waverer quickly  explained   and was glad to get
out of the scrape with as little taint of chicken hearted homesickness
clinging to his garments as he could  Mutiny was effectually laid to
rest for the moment 

As the night deepened  Huck began to nod  and presently to snore  Joe
followed next  Tom lay upon his elbow motionless  for some time 
watching the two intently  At last he got up cautiously  on his knees 
and went searching among the grass and the flickering reflections flung
by the camp fire  He picked up and inspected several large
semi cylinders of the thin white bark of a sycamore  and finally chose
two which seemed to suit him  Then he knelt by the fire and painfully
wrote something upon each of these with his  red keel   one he rolled up
and put in his jacket pocket  and the other he put in Joe s hat and
removed it to a little distance from the owner  And he also put into the
hat certain schoolboy treasures of almost inestimable value  among them
a lump of chalk  an India rubber ball  three fishhooks  and one of that
kind of marbles known as a  sure  nough crystal   Then he tiptoed his
way cautiously among the trees till he felt that he was out of hearing 
and straightway broke into a keen run in the direction of the sandbar 



CHAPTER XV

A FEW minutes later Tom was in the shoal water of the bar  wading
toward the Illinois shore  Before the depth reached his middle he was
half way over  the current would permit no more wading  now  so he
struck out confidently to swim the remaining hundred yards  He swam
quartering upstream  but still was swept downward rather faster than he
had expected  However  he reached the shore finally  and drifted along
till he found a low place and drew himself out  He put his hand on his
jacket pocket  found his piece of bark safe  and then struck through
the woods  following the shore  with streaming garments  Shortly before
ten o clock he came out into an open place opposite the village  and
saw the ferryboat lying in the shadow of the trees and the high bank 
Everything was quiet under the blinking stars  He crept down the bank 
watching with all his eyes  slipped into the water  swam three or four
strokes and climbed into the skiff that did  yawl  duty at the boat s
stern  He laid himself down under the thwarts and waited  panting 

Presently the cracked bell tapped and a voice gave the order to  cast
off   A minute or two later the skiff s head was standing high up 
against the boat s swell  and the voyage was begun  Tom felt happy in
his success  for he knew it was the boat s last trip for the night  At
the end of a long twelve or fifteen minutes the wheels stopped  and Tom
slipped overboard and swam ashore in the dusk  landing fifty yards
downstream  out of danger of possible stragglers 

He flew along unfrequented alleys  and shortly found himself at his
aunt s back fence  He climbed over  approached the  ell   and looked in
at the sitting room window  for a light was burning there  There sat
Aunt Polly  Sid  Mary  and Joe Harper s mother  grouped together 
talking  They were by the bed  and the bed was between them and the
door  Tom went to the door and began to softly lift the latch  then he
pressed gently and the door yielded a crack  he continued pushing
cautiously  and quaking every time it creaked  till he judged he might
squeeze through on his knees  so he put his head through and began 
warily 

 What makes the candle blow so   said Aunt Polly  Tom hurried up 
 Why  that door s open  I believe  Why  of course it is  No end of
strange things now  Go  long and shut it  Sid  

Tom disappeared under the bed just in time  He lay and  breathed 
himself for a time  and then crept to where he could almost touch his
aunt s foot 

 But as I was saying   said Aunt Polly   he warn t BAD  so to say
  only mischEEvous  Only just giddy  and harum scarum  you know  He
warn t any more responsible than a colt  HE never meant any harm  and
he was the best hearted boy that ever was   and she began to cry 

 It was just so with my Joe  always full of his devilment  and up to
every kind of mischief  but he was just as unselfish and kind as he
could be  and laws bless me  to think I went and whipped him for taking
that cream  never once recollecting that I throwed it out myself
because it was sour  and I never to see him again in this world  never 
never  never  poor abused boy   And Mrs  Harper sobbed as if her heart
would break 

 I hope Tom s better off where he is   said Sid   but if he 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 word against my Tom  now that he s gone  God ll take
care of HIM  never you trouble YOURself  sir  Oh  Mrs  Harper  I don t
know how to give him up  I don t know how to give him up  He was such a
comfort to me  although he tormented my old heart out of me   most  

 The Lord giveth and the Lord hath taken away  Blessed be the name of
the Lord  But it s so hard  Oh  it s so hard  Only last Saturday my
Joe busted a firecracker right under my nose and I knocked him
sprawling  Little did I know then  how soon  Oh  if it was to do over
again I d hug him and bless him for it  

 Yes  yes  yes  I know just how you feel  Mrs  Harper  I know just
exactly how you feel  No longer ago than yesterday noon  my Tom took
and filled the cat full of Pain killer  and I did think the cretur
would tear the house down  And God forgive me  I cracked Tom s head
with my thimble  poor boy  poor dead boy  But he s out of all his
troubles now  And the last words I ever heard him say was to reproach   

But this memory was too much for the old lady  and she broke entirely
down  Tom was snuffling  now  himself  and more in pity of himself than
anybody else  He could hear Mary crying  and putting in a kindly word
for him from time to time  He began to have a nobler opinion of himself
than ever before  Still  he was sufficiently touched by his aunt s
grief to long to rush out from under the bed and overwhelm her with
joy  and the theatrical gorgeousness of the thing appealed strongly to
his nature  too  but he resisted and lay still 

He went on listening  and gathered by odds and ends that it was
conjectured at first that the boys had got drowned while taking a swim 
then the small raft had been missed  next  certain boys said the
missing lads had promised that the village should  hear something 
soon  the wise heads had  put this and that together  and decided that
the lads had gone off on that raft and would turn up at the next town
below  presently  but toward noon the raft had been found  lodged
against the Missouri shore some five or six miles below the village
  and then hope perished  they must be drowned  else hunger would have
driven them home by nightfall if not sooner  It was believed that the
search for the bodies had been a fruitless effort merely because the
drowning must have occurred in mid channel  since the boys  being good
swimmers  would otherwise have escaped to shore  This was Wednesday
night  If the bodies continued missing until Sunday  all hope would be
given over  and the funerals would be preached on that morning  Tom
shuddered 

Mrs  Harper gave a sobbing good night and turned to go  Then with a
mutual impulse the two bereaved women flung themselves into each
other s arms and had a good  consoling cry  and then parted  Aunt Polly
was tender far beyond her wont  in her good night to Sid and Mary  Sid
snuffled a bit and Mary went off crying with all her heart 

Aunt Polly knelt down and prayed for Tom so touchingly  so
appealingly  and with such measureless love in her words and her old
trembling voice  that he was weltering in tears again  long before she
was through 

He had to keep still long after she went to bed  for she kept making
broken hearted ejaculations from time to time  tossing unrestfully  and
turning over  But at last she was still  only moaning a little in her
sleep  Now the boy stole out  rose gradually by the bedside  shaded the
candle light with his hand  and stood regarding her  His heart was full
of pity for her  He took out his sycamore scroll and placed it by the
candle  But something occurred to him  and he lingered considering  His
face lighted with a happy solution of his thought  he put the bark
hastily in his 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 nobody at large
there  and walked boldly on board the boat  for he knew she was
tenantless except that there was a watchman  who always turned in and
slept like a graven image  He untied the skiff at the stern  slipped
into it  and was soon rowing cautiously upstream  When he had pulled a
mile above the village  he started quartering across and bent himself
stoutly to his work  He hit the landing on the other side neatly  for
this was a familiar bit of work to him  He was moved to capture the
skiff  arguing that it might be considered a ship and therefore
legitimate prey for a pirate  but he knew a thorough search would be
made for it and that might end in revelations  So he stepped ashore and
entered the woods 

He sat down and took a long rest  torturing himself meanwhile to keep
awake  and then started warily down the home stretch  The night was far
spent  It was broad daylight before he found himself fairly abreast the
island bar  He rested again until the sun was well up and gilding the
great river with its splendor  and then he plunged into the stream  A
little later he paused  dripping  upon the threshold of the camp  and
heard Joe say 

 No  Tom s true blue  Huck  and he ll come back  He won t desert  He
knows that would be a disgrace to a pirate  and Tom s too proud for
that sort of thing  He s up to something or other  Now I wonder what  

 Well  the things is ours  anyway  ain t they  

 Pretty near  but not yet  Huck  The writing says they are if he ain t
back here to breakfast  

 Which he is   exclaimed Tom  with fine dramatic effect  stepping
grandly into camp 

A sumptuous breakfast of bacon and fish was shortly provided  and as
the boys set to work upon it  Tom recounted  and adorned  his
adventures  They were a vain and boastful company of heroes when the
tale was done  Then Tom hid himself away in a shady nook to sleep till
noon  and the other pirates got ready to fish and explore 



CHAPTER XVI

AFTER dinner all the gang turned out to hunt for turtle eggs on 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 
Sometimes they would take fifty or sixty eggs out of one hole  They
were perfectly round white things a trifle smaller than an English
walnut  They had a famous fried egg feast that night  and another on
Friday morning 

After breakfast they went whooping and prancing out on the bar  and
chased each other round and round  shedding clothes as they went  until
they were naked  and then continued the frolic far away up the shoal
water of the bar  against the stiff current  which latter tripped their
legs from under them from time to time and greatly increased the fun 
And now and then they stooped in a group and splashed water in each
other s faces with their palms  gradually approaching each other  with
averted faces to avoid 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  laughing  and gasping for breath at one and the same time 

When they were well exhausted  they would run out and sprawl on the
dry  hot sand  and lie there and cover themselves up with it  and by
and by break for the water again and go through the original
performance once more  Finally it occurred to them that their naked
skin represented flesh colored  tights  very fairly  so they drew a
ring in the sand and had a circus  with three clowns in it  for none
would yield this proudest post to his neighbor 

Next they got their marbles and played  knucks  and  ring taw  and
 keeps  till that amusement grew stale  Then Joe and Huck had another
swim  but Tom would not venture  because he found that in kicking off
his trousers he had kicked his string of rattlesnake rattles off his
ankle  and he wondered how he had escaped cramp so long without the
protection of this mysterious charm  He did not venture again until he
had found it  and by that time the other boys were tired and ready to
rest  They gradually wandered apart  dropped into the  dumps   and fell
to gazing longingly across the wide river to where the village lay
drowsing in the sun  Tom found himself writing  BECKY  in the sand with
his big toe  he scratched it out  and was angry with himself for his
weakness  But he wrote it again  nevertheless  he could not help it  He
erased it once more and then took himself out of temptation by driving
the other boys together and joining them 

But Joe s spirits had gone down almost beyond resurrection  He was so
homesick that he could hardly endure the misery of it  The tears lay
very near the surface  Huck was melancholy  too  Tom was downhearted 
but tried hard not to show it  He had a secret which he was not ready
to tell  yet  but if this mutinous depression was not broken up soon 
he would have to bring it out  He said  with a great show of
cheerfulness 

 I bet there s been pirates on this island before  boys  We ll explore
it again  They ve hid treasures here somewhere  How d you feel to light
on a rotten chest full of gold and silver  hey  

But it roused only faint enthusiasm  which faded out  with no reply 
Tom tried one or two other seductions  but they failed  too  It was
discouraging work  Joe sat poking up the sand with a stick and looking
very gloomy  Finally he said 

 Oh  boys  let s give it up  I want to go home  It s so lonesome  

 Oh no  Joe  you ll feel better by and by   said Tom   Just think of
the fishing that s here  

 I don t care for fishing  I want to go home  

 But  Joe  there ain t such another swimming place anywhere  

 Swimming 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  

 Oh  shucks  Baby  You want to see your mother  I reckon  

 Yes  I DO want to see my mother  and you would  too  if you had one 
I ain t any more baby than you are   And Joe snuffled a little 

 Well  we ll let the cry baby go home to his mother  won t we  Huck 
Poor thing  does it want to see its mother  And so it shall  You like
it here  don 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 long as I live   said Joe  rising 
 There now   And he moved moodily away and began to dress himself 

 Who cares   said Tom   Nobody wants you to  Go  long home and get
laughed at  Oh  you re a nice pirate  Huck and me ain t cry babies 
We ll stay  won t we  Huck  Let him go if he wants to  I reckon we can
get along without him  per aps  

But Tom was uneasy  nevertheless  and was alarmed to see Joe go
sullenly on with his dressing  And then it was discomforting to see
Huck eying Joe s preparations so wistfully  and keeping up such an
ominous silence  Presently  without a parting word  Joe began to wade
off toward the Illinois shore  Tom s heart began to sink  He glanced at
Huck  Huck could not bear the look  and dropped his eyes  Then he said 

 I want to go  too  Tom  It was getting so lonesome anyway  and now
it ll be worse  Let s us go  too  Tom  

 I won t  You can all go  if you want to  I mean to stay  

 Tom  I better go  

 Well  go  long  who s hendering you  

Huck began to pick up his scattered clothes  He said 

 Tom  I wisht you d come  too  Now you think it over  We ll wait for
you when we get to shore  

 Well  you ll wait a blame long time  that s all  

Huck started sorrowfully away  and Tom stood looking after him  with a
strong desire tugging at his heart to yield his pride and go along too 
He hoped the boys would stop  but they still waded slowly on  It
suddenly dawned on Tom that it was become very lonely and still  He
made one final struggle with his pride  and then darted after his
comrades  yelling 

 Wait  Wait  I want to tell you something  

They presently stopped and turned around  When he got to where they
were  he began unfolding his secret  and they listened moodily till at
last they saw the  point  he was driving at  and then they set up a
war whoop of applause and said it was  splendid   and said if he had
told them at first  they wouldn t have started away  He made a plausible
excuse  but his real reason had been the fear that not even the secret
would keep them with him any very great length of time  and so he had
meant to hold it in reserve as a last seduction 

The lads came gayly back and went at their sports again with a will 
chattering 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 made pipes and filled them  These novices had never
smoked anything before but cigars made of grape vine  and they  bit 
the tongue  and were not considered manly anyway 

Now they stretched themselves out on their elbows and began to puff 
charily  and with slender confidence  The smoke had an unpleasant
taste  and they gagged a little  but Tom said 

 Why  it s just as easy  If I d a knowed this was all  I d a learnt
long ago  

 So would I   said Joe   It s just nothing  

 Why  many a time I ve looked at people smoking  and thought 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 of times  Once down by the
slaughter house  Don t you remember  Huck  Bob Tanner was there  and
Johnny Miller  and Jeff Thatcher  when I said it  Don t you remember 
Huck   bout me saying that  

 Yes  that s so   said Huck   That was the day after I lost a white
alley  No   twas the day before  

 There  I told you so   said Tom   Huck recollects it  

 I bleeve I could smoke this pipe all day   said Joe   I don t feel
sick  

 Neither do I   said Tom   I could smoke it all day  But I bet you
Jeff Thatcher couldn t  

 Jeff Thatcher  Why  he d keel over just with two draws  Just let him
try it once  HE D see  

 I bet he would  And Johnny Miller  I wish could see Johnny Miller
tackle it once  

 Oh  don t I   said Joe   Why  I bet you Johnny Miller couldn t any
more do this than nothing  Just one little snifter would fetch HIM  

  Deed it would  Joe  Say  I wish the boys could see us now  

 So do I  

 Say  boys  don t say anything about it  and some time when they re
around  I ll come up to you and say   Joe  got a pipe  I want a smoke  
And you ll say  kind of careless like  as if it warn t anything  you ll
say   Yes  I got my OLD pipe  and another one  but my tobacker ain t
very good   And I ll say   Oh  that s all right  if it s STRONG
enough   And then you ll out with the pipes  and we ll light up just as
ca m  and then just see  em look  

 By jings  that ll be gay  Tom  I wish it was NOW  

 So do I  And when we tell  em we learned when we was off pirating 
won t they wish they d been along  

 Oh  I reckon not  I ll just BET they will  

So the talk ran on  But presently it began to flag a trifle  and grow
disjointed  The silences widened  the expectoration marvellously
increased  Every pore inside the boys  cheeks became a spouting
fountain  they could scarcely bail out the cellars under their tongues
fast enough to prevent an inundation  little overflowings down their
throats occurred in spite of all they could do  and sudden retchings
followed every time  Both boys were looking very pale and miserable 
now  Joe s pipe dropped from his nerveless fingers  Tom s followed 
Both fountains were going furiously and both pumps bailing with might
and main  Joe said feebly 

 I ve lost my knife  I reckon I better go and find it  

Tom said  with quivering lips and halting utterance 

 I ll help you  You go over that way and I ll hunt around by the
spring  No  you needn t come  Huck  we can find it  

So Huck sat down again  and waited an hour  Then he found it lonesome 
and went to find his comrades  They were wide apart in the woods  both
very pale  both fast asleep  But something informed him that if they
had had any trouble they had got rid of it 

They were not talkative at supper that night  They had a humble look 
and when Huck prepared his 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 disagreed with them 

About midnight Joe awoke  and called the boys  There was a brooding
oppressiveness in the air that seemed to bode something  The boys
huddled themselves together and sought the friendly companionship of
the fire  though the dull dead heat of the breathless atmosphere was
stifling  They sat still  intent and waiting  The solemn hush
continued  Beyond the light of 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 the forest and the boys felt a fleeting
breath upon their cheeks  and shuddered with the fancy that the Spirit
of the Night had gone by  There was a pause  Now a weird flash turned
night into day and showed every little grass blade  separate and
distinct  that grew about their feet  And it showed three white 
startled faces  too  A deep peal of thunder went rolling and tumbling
down the heavens and lost itself in sullen rumblings in the distance  A
sweep of chilly air passed by  rustling all the 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 tree tops
right over the boys  heads  They clung together in terror  in the thick
gloom that followed  A few big rain drops fell pattering upon the
leaves 

 Quick  boys  go for the tent   exclaimed Tom 

They sprang away  stumbling over roots and among vines in the dark  no
two plunging in the same direction  A furious blast roared through the
trees  making everything sing as it went  One blinding flash after
another came  and peal on peal of deafening thunder  And now a
drenching rain poured down and the rising hurricane drove it in sheets
along the ground  The boys cried out to each other  but the roaring
wind and the booming thunder blasts drowned their voices utterly 
However  one by one they straggled in at last and took shelter under
the tent  cold  scared  and streaming with water  but to have company
in misery seemed something to be grateful for  They could not talk  the
old sail flapped so furiously  even if the other noises would have
allowed them  The tempest rose higher and higher  and presently the
sail tore loose from its fastenings and went winging away on the blast 
The boys seized each others  hands and fled  with many tumblings and
bruises  to the shelter of a great oak that stood upon the river bank 
Now the battle was at its highest  Under the ceaseless conflagration of
lightning that flamed in the skies  everything below stood out in
clean cut and shadowless distinctness  the bending trees  the billowy
river  white with foam  the driving spray of spume flakes  the dim
outlines of the high bluffs on the other side  glimpsed through the
drifting cloud rack and the slanting veil of rain  Every little while
some giant tree yielded the fight and fell crashing through the younger
growth  and the unflagging thunder peals came now in ear splitting
explosive bursts  keen and sharp  and unspeakably appalling  The storm
culminated in one matchless effort that seemed likely to tear the island
to pieces  burn it up  drown it to the tree tops  blow it away  and
deafen 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 the battle was done  and the forces retired with weaker
and weaker threatenings and grumblings  and peace resumed her sway  The
boys went back to camp  a good deal awed  but they found there was
still something to be thankful for  because the great sycamore  the
shelter of their beds  was a ruin  now  blasted by the lightnings  and
they were not under it when the catastrophe happened 

Everything in camp was drenched  the camp fire as well  for they were
but heedless lads  like their generation  and had made no provision
against rain  Here was matter for dismay  for they were soaked through
and chilled  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 and separated itself from
the ground   that a handbreadth or so of it had escaped wetting  so
they patiently wrought until  with shreds and bark gathered from the
under sides of sheltered logs  they coaxed the fire to burn again  Then
they piled on great dead boughs till they 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 midnight adventure until morning  for there was not a dry spot to
sleep on  anywhere around 

As the sun began to steal in upon the boys  drowsiness came over them 
and they went out on the sandbar 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 stiff jointed  and a little homesick once
more  Tom saw the signs  and fell to cheering up the pirates as well as
he could  But they cared nothing for marbles  or circus  or swimming 
or anything  He reminded them of the imposing secret  and raised a ray
of cheer  While it lasted  he got them interested in a new device  This
was to knock off being pirates  for a while  and be Indians for a
change  They were attracted by this idea  so it was not long before
they were stripped  and striped from head to heel with black mud  like
so many zebras  all of them chiefs  of course  and then they went
tearing through the woods to attack an English settlement 

By and by they separated into three hostile tribes  and darted upon
each other from ambush with dreadful war whoops  and killed and scalped
each other by thousands  It was a gory day  Consequently it was an
extremely satisfactory one 

They assembled in camp toward supper time  hungry and happy  but now a
difficulty arose  hostile Indians could not break the bread of
hospitality together without first making peace  and this was a simple
impossibility without smoking a pipe of peace  There was no other
process that ever they had heard of  Two of the savages almost wished
they had remained pirates  However  there was no other way  so with
such show of cheerfulness as they could muster they called for the pipe
and took their whiff as it passed  in due form 

And behold  they were glad they had gone into savagery  for they had
gained something  they found that they could now smoke a little without
having to go and hunt for a lost knife  they did not get sick enough to
be seriously uncomfortable  They were not likely to fool away this high
promise for lack of effort  No  they practised cautiously  after
supper  with right fair success  and so they spent a jubilant evening 
They were prouder and happier in their new acquirement than they would
have been in the scalping and skinning of the Six Nations  We will
leave them to smoke and chatter and brag  since we have no further use
for them at present 



CHAPTER XVII

BUT there was no hilarity in the little town that same tranquil
Saturday afternoon  The Harpers  and Aunt Polly s family  were being
put into mourning  with great grief and many tears  An unusual quiet
possessed the village  although it was ordinarily quiet enough  in all
conscience  The villagers conducted their concerns with an absent air 
and talked little  but they sighed often  The Saturday holiday seemed a
burden to the children  They had no heart in their sports  and
gradually gave them up 

In the afternoon Becky Thatcher found herself moping about the
deserted schoolhouse yard  and feeling very melancholy  But she found
nothing there to comfort her  She soliloquized 

 Oh  if I only had a brass andiron knob again  But I haven t got
anything now to remember him by   And she choked back a little sob 

Presently she stopped  and said to herself 

 It was right here  Oh  if it was to do over again  I wouldn t say
that  I wouldn t say it for the whole world  But he s gone now  I ll
never  never  never see him any more  

This thought broke her down  and she wandered away  with tears rolling
down her cheeks  Then quite a group of boys and girls  playmates of
Tom s and Joe s  came by  and stood looking over the paling fence and
talking in reverent tones of how Tom did so and so the last time they
saw him  and how Joe said this and that small trifle  pregnant with
awful prophecy  as they could easily see now    and each speaker
pointed out the exact spot where the lost lads stood at the time  and
then added something like  and I was a standing just so  just as I am
now  and as if you was him  I was as close as that  and he smiled  just
this way  and then something seemed to go all over me  like  awful  you
know  and I never thought what it meant  of course  but I can see now  

Then there was a dispute about who saw the dead boys last in life  and
many claimed that dismal distinction  and offered evidences  more or
less tampered with by the witness  and when it was ultimately decided
who DID see the departed last  and exchanged the last words with them 
the lucky parties took upon themselves a sort of sacred importance  and
were gaped at and envied by all the rest  One poor chap  who had no
other grandeur to offer  said with tolerably manifest pride in the
remembrance 

 Well  Tom Sawyer he licked me once  

But that bid for glory was a failure  Most of the boys could say that 
and so that cheapened the distinction too much  The group loitered
away  still recalling memories of the lost heroes  in awed voices 

When the Sunday school hour was finished  the next morning  the bell
began to toll  instead of ringing in the usual way  It was a very still
Sabbath  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 vestibule to converse in whispers about the sad event  But there
was no whispering in the house  only the funereal rustling of dresses
as the women gathered to their seats disturbed the silence there  None
could remember when the little church had been so full before  There
was finally a waiting pause  an expectant dumbness  and then Aunt Polly
entered  followed by Sid and Mary  and they by the Harper family  all
in deep black  and the whole congregation  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 minister spread his hands abroad and prayed 
A moving hymn was sung  and the text followed   I am the Resurrection
and the Life  

As the service proceeded  the clergyman drew such pictures of the
graces  the winning ways  and the rare promise of the lost lads that
every soul there  thinking he recognized these pictures  felt a pang in
remembering that he had persistently 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 of the
departed  too  which illustrated their sweet  generous natures  and the
people could easily see  now  how noble and beautiful those episodes
were  and remembered with grief that at the time they occurred they had
seemed rank rascalities  well deserving of the cowhide  The
congregation became more and more moved  as the pathetic tale went on 
till at last the whole company broke down and joined the weeping
mourners in a chorus of anguished sobs  the preacher himself giving way
to his feelings  and crying in the pulpit 

There was a rustle in the gallery  which nobody noticed  a moment
later the church door creaked  the minister raised his streaming eyes
above his handkerchief  and stood transfixed  First one and then
another pair of eyes followed the minister s  and then almost with one
impulse the congregation rose and stared while the three dead boys came
marching 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 own funeral sermon 

Aunt Polly  Mary  and the Harpers threw themselves upon their restored
ones  smothered them with kisses and poured out thanksgivings  while
poor Huck stood abashed and uncomfortable  not knowing exactly what to
do or where to hide from so many unwelcoming eyes  He wavered  and
started to slink away  but Tom seized him and said 

 Aunt Polly  it ain t fair  Somebody s got to be glad to see Huck  

 And so they shall  I m glad to see him  poor motherless thing   And
the loving attentions Aunt Polly lavished upon him were the one thing
capable of making him more uncomfortable than he was before 

Suddenly the minister shouted at the top of his voice   Praise God
from whom all blessings flow  SING   and put your hearts in it  

And they did  Old Hundred swelled up with a triumphant burst  and
while it shook the rafters Tom Sawyer the Pirate looked around upon the
envying juveniles about him and confessed in his heart that this was
the proudest moment of his life 

As the  sold  congregation trooped out they said they would almost be
willing to be made ridiculous again to hear Old Hundred sung like that
once more 

Tom got more cuffs and kisses that day  according to Aunt Polly s
varying moods  than he had earned before in a year  and he hardly knew
which expressed the most gratefulness to God and affection for himself 



CHAPTER XVIII

THAT was Tom s great secret  the scheme to return home with his
brother pirates and attend their own funerals  They had paddled over to
the Missouri shore on a log  at dusk on Saturday  landing five or six
miles below the village  they had slept in the woods at the edge of the
town till nearly daylight  and had then crept through back lanes and
alleys and finished their sleep in the gallery of the church among a
chaos of invalided benches 

At breakfast  Monday morning  Aunt Polly and Mary were very loving to
Tom  and very attentive to his wants  There was an unusual amount of
talk  In the course of it Aunt Polly said 

 Well  I don t say it wasn t a fine joke  Tom  to keep everybody
suffering  most a week so you boys had a good time  but it is a pity
you could be so hard hearted as to let me suffer so  If you could come
over on a log to go to your funeral  you could have come over and give
me a hint some way that you warn t dead  but only run off  

 Yes  you could have done that  Tom   said Mary   and I believe you
would if you had thought of it  

 Would you  Tom   said Aunt Polly  her face lighting wistfully   Say 
now  would you  if you d thought of 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 have been something if you d
cared enough to THINK of it  even if you didn t DO it  

 Now  auntie  that ain t any harm   pleaded Mary   it s only Tom s
giddy way  he is always in such a rush that he never thinks of
anything  

 More s the pity  Sid would have thought  And Sid would have come and
DONE it  too  Tom  you ll look back  some day  when it s too late  and
wish you d cared a little more for me when it would have cost you so
little  

 Now  auntie  you know I do care for you   said Tom 

 I d know it better if you acted more like it  

 I wish now I d thought   said Tom  with a repentant tone   but I
dreamt about you  anyway  That s something  ain t it  

 It ain t much  a cat does that much  but it s better than nothing 
What did you dream  

 Why  Wednesday night I dreamt that you was sitting over there by the
bed  and Sid was sitting by the woodbox  and Mary next to him  

 Well  so we did  So we always do  I m glad your dreams could take
even that much trouble about us  

 And I dreamt that Joe Harper s mother was here  

 Why  she was here  Did you dream any more  

 Oh  lots  But it s so dim  now  

 Well  try to recollect  can t you  

 Somehow it seems to me that the wind  the wind blowed the  the   

 Try harder  Tom  The wind did blow something  Come  

Tom pressed his fingers on his forehead an anxious minute  and then
said 

 I ve got it now  I ve got it now  It blowed the candle  

 Mercy on us  Go on  Tom  go on  

 And it seems to me that you said   Why  I believe that that door    

 Go ON  Tom  

 Just let me study a moment  just a moment  Oh  yes  you said you
believed the door was open  

 As I m sitting here  I did  Didn t I  Mary  Go on  

 And then  and then  well I won t be certain  but it seems like as if
you made Sid go and  and   

 Well  Well  What did I make him do  Tom  What did I make him do  

 You made him  you  Oh  you made him shut it  

 Well  for the land s sake  I never heard the beat of that in all my
days  Don t tell ME there ain t anything in dreams  any more  Sereny
Harper shall know of this before I m an hour older  I d like to see her
get around THIS with her rubbage  bout superstition  Go on  Tom  

 Oh  it s all getting just as bright as day  now  Next you said I
warn t BAD  only mischeevous and harum scarum  and not any more
responsible than  than  I think it was a colt  or something  

 And so it was  Well  goodness gracious  Go on  Tom  

 And then you began to cry  

 So I did  So I did  Not the first time  neither  And then   

 Then Mrs  Harper she began to cry  and said Joe was just the same 
and she wished she hadn t whipped him for taking cream when she d
throwed it out her own self   

 Tom  The sperrit was upon you  You was a prophesying  that s what you
was doing  Land alive  go on  Tom  

 Then Sid he said  he said   

 I don t think I said anything   said Sid 

 Yes you did  Sid   said Mary 

 Shut your heads and let Tom go on  What did he say  Tom  

 He said  I THINK he said he hoped I was better off where I was gone
to  but if I d been better sometimes   

 THERE  d you hear that  It was his very words  

 And you shut him up sharp  

 I lay I did  There must  a  been an angel there  There WAS an angel
there  somewheres  

 And Mrs  Harper told about Joe scaring her with a firecracker  and
you told about Peter and the Painkiller   

 Just as true as I live  

 And then there was a whole lot of talk  bout dragging the river for
us  and  bout having the funeral Sunday  and then you and old Miss
Harper hugged and cried  and she went  

 It happened just so  It happened just so  as sure as I m a sitting in
these very tracks  Tom  you couldn t told it more like if you d  a 
seen it  And then what  Go on  Tom  

 Then I thought you prayed for me  and I could see you and hear every
word you said  And you went to bed  and I was so sorry that I took and
wrote on a piece of sycamore bark   We ain t dead  we are only off
being pirates   and put it on the table by the candle  and then you
looked so good  laying there asleep  that I thought I went and leaned
over and kissed you on the lips  

 Did you  Tom  DID you  I just forgive you everything for that   And
she seized the boy in a crushing embrace that made him feel like the
guiltiest of villains 

 It was very kind  even though it was only a  dream   Sid soliloquized
just audibly 

 Shut up  Sid  A body does just the same in a dream as he d do if he
was awake  Here s a big Milum apple I ve been saving for you  Tom  if
you was ever found again  now go  long to school  I m thankful to the
good God and Father of us all I ve got you back  that s long suffering
and merciful to them that believe on Him and keep His word  though
goodness knows I m unworthy of it  but if only the worthy ones got His
blessings and had His hand to help them over the rough places  there s
few enough would smile here or ever enter into His rest when the long
night comes  Go  long Sid  Mary  Tom  take yourselves off  you ve
hendered me long enough  

The children left for school  and the old lady to call on Mrs  Harper
and vanquish her realism with Tom s marvellous dream  Sid had better
judgment than to utter the thought that was in his mind as he left the
house  It was this   Pretty thin  as long a dream as that  without any
mistakes in it  

What a hero Tom was become  now  He did not go skipping and prancing 
but moved with a dignified swagger as became a pirate who felt that the
public eye was on him  And indeed it was  he tried not to seem to see
the looks or hear the remarks as he passed along  but they were food
and drink to him  Smaller boys than himself flocked at his heels  as
proud to be seen with him  and tolerated by him  as if he had been the
drummer at the head of a procession or the elephant leading a menagerie
into town  Boys of his own size pretended not to know he had been away
at all  but they were consuming with envy  nevertheless  They would
have given anything to have that swarthy suntanned skin of his  and his
glittering notoriety  and Tom would not have parted with either for a
circus 

At school the children made so much of him and of Joe  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 have an end  with imaginations like theirs to furnish
material  And finally  when they got out their pipes and went serenely
puffing around  the very summit of glory was reached 

Tom decided that he could be independent of Becky Thatcher now  Glory
was sufficient  He would live for glory  Now that he was distinguished 
maybe she would be wanting to  make up   Well  let her  she should see
that he could be as indifferent as some other people  Presently she
arrived  Tom pretended not to see her  He moved away and joined a group
of boys and girls and began to talk  Soon he observed that she was
tripping gayly 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 cast a conscious eye
in his direction at such times  too  It gratified all the vicious
vanity that was in him  and so  instead of winning him  it only  set
him up  the more and made him the more diligent to avoid betraying that
he knew she was about  Presently she gave over skylarking  and moved
irresolutely about  sighing once or twice and glancing furtively and
wistfully toward Tom  Then she observed that now Tom was talking more
particularly to Amy Lawrence than to any one else  She felt a sharp
pang and grew disturbed and uneasy at once  She tried to go away  but
her feet were treacherous  and carried her to the group instead  She
said to a girl almost at Tom s elbow  with sham vivacity 

 Why  Mary Austin  you bad girl  why didn t you come to Sunday school  

 I did come  didn t you see me  

 Why  no  Did you  Where did you sit  

 I was in Miss Peters  class  where I always go  I saw YOU  

 Did you  Why  it s funny I didn t see you  I wanted to tell you about
the picnic  

 Oh  that s jolly  Who s going to give it  

 My ma s going to let me have one  

 Oh  goody  I hope she ll let ME come  

 Well  she will  The picnic s for me  She ll let anybody come that I
want  and I want you  

 That s ever so nice  When is it going to be  

 By and by  Maybe about vacation  

 Oh  won t it be fun  You going to have all the girls and boys  

 Yes  every one that s friends to me  or wants to be   and she glanced
ever so furtively at Tom  but he talked right along to Amy Lawrence
about the terrible storm on the island  and how the lightning tore the
great sycamore tree  all to flinders  while he was  standing within
three feet of it  

 Oh  may I come   said Grace Miller 

 Yes  

 And me   said Sally Rogers 

 Yes  

 And me  too   said Susy Harper   And Joe  

 Yes  

And so on  with clapping of joyful 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 to her eyes  she hid these signs with a forced gayety and went on
chattering  but the life had gone out of the picnic  now  and out of
everything else  she got away as soon as she could and hid herself and
had what her sex call  a good cry   Then she sat moody  with wounded
pride  till the bell rang  She roused up  now  with a vindictive cast
in her eye  and gave her plaited tails a shake and said she knew what
SHE D do 

At recess Tom continued his flirtation with Amy with jubilant
self satisfaction  And he kept drifting about to find Becky and lacerate
her with the performance  At last he spied her  but there was a sudden
falling of his mercury  She was sitting cosily on a little bench behind
the schoolhouse looking at a picture book with Alfred Temple  and so
absorbed were they  and their heads so close together over the book 
that they did not seem to be conscious of anything in the world besides 
Jealousy ran red hot through Tom s veins  He began to hate himself for
throwing away the chance Becky had offered for a reconciliation  He
called himself a fool  and all the hard names he could think of  He
wanted to cry with vexation  Amy chatted happily along  as they walked 
for her heart was singing  but Tom s tongue had lost its function  He
did not hear what Amy was saying  and whenever she paused expectantly he
could only stammer an awkward assent  which was as often misplaced as
otherwise  He kept drifting to the rear of the schoolhouse  again and
again  to sear his eyeballs with the hateful spectacle there  He could
not help it  And it maddened him to see  as he thought he saw  that
Becky Thatcher never once suspected that he was even in the land of the
living  But she did see  nevertheless  and she knew she was winning her
fight  too  and was glad to see him suffer as she had suffered 

Amy s happy prattle became intolerable  Tom hinted at things he had to
attend to  things that must be done  and time was fleeting  But in
vain  the girl chirped on  Tom thought   Oh  hang her  ain t I ever
going to get rid of her   At last he must be attending to those
things  and she said artlessly that she would be  around  when school
let out  And he hastened away  hating her for it 

 Any other boy   Tom thought  grating his teeth   Any boy in the whole
town but that Saint Louis smarty that thinks he dresses so fine and is
aristocracy  Oh  all right  I licked you the first day you ever saw
this town  mister  and I ll lick you again  You just wait till I catch
you out  I ll just take and   

And he went through the motions of thrashing an imaginary boy
  pummelling the air  and kicking and gouging   Oh  you do  do you  You
holler  nough  do you  Now  then  let that learn you   And so the
imaginary flogging was finished to his satisfaction 

Tom fled home at noon  His conscience could not endure any more of
Amy s grateful happiness  and his jealousy could bear no more of the
other distress  Becky resumed her picture inspections with Alfred  but
as the minutes dragged along and no Tom came to suffer  her triumph
began to cloud and she lost interest  gravity and absent mindedness
followed  and then melancholy  two or three times she pricked up her
ear at a footstep  but it was a false hope  no Tom came  At last she
grew entirely miserable and wished she hadn t carried it so far  When
poor Alfred  seeing that he was losing her  he did not know how  kept
exclaiming   Oh  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 tears  and got up and walked away 

Alfred dropped alongside and was going to try to comfort her  but she
said 

 Go away 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  and she walked on 
crying  Then Alfred went musing into the deserted schoolhouse  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 upon Tom Sawyer 
He was far from hating Tom the less when this thought occurred to him 
He wished there was some way to get that boy into trouble without much
risk to himself  Tom s spelling book fell under his eye  Here was his
opportunity  He gratefully opened to the lesson for the afternoon and
poured ink upon the page 

Becky  glancing in at a window behind him at the moment  saw the act 
and moved on  without discovering herself  She started homeward  now 
intending to find Tom and tell him  Tom would be thankful and their
troubles would be healed  Before she was half way home  however  she
had changed her mind  The thought of Tom s treatment of her when she
was talking about her picnic came scorching back and filled her with
shame  She resolved to let him get whipped on the damaged
spelling book s account  and to hate him forever  into the bargain 



CHAPTER XIX

TOM arrived at home in a dreary mood  and the first thing his aunt
said to him showed him that he had brought his sorrows to an
unpromising market 

 Tom  I ve a notion to skin you alive  

 Auntie  what have I done  

 Well  you ve done enough  Here I go over to Sereny Harper  like an
old softy  expecting I m going to make her believe all that rubbage
about that dream  when lo and behold you she d found out from Joe that
you was over here and heard all the talk we had that night  Tom  I
don t know what is to become of a boy that will act like that  It makes
me feel so bad to think you could let me go to Sereny Harper and make
such a fool of myself and never say a word  

This was a new aspect of the thing  His smartness of the morning had
seemed to Tom a good joke before  and very ingenious  It merely looked
mean and shabby now  He hung his head and could not think of anything
to say for a moment  Then he said 

 Auntie  I wish I hadn t done it  but I didn t think  

 Oh  child  you never think  You never think of anything but your own
selfishness  You could think to come all the way over here from
Jackson s Island in the night to laugh at our 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  

 Auntie  I know now it was mean  but I didn t mean to be mean  I
didn t  honest  And besides  I didn t come over here to laugh at you
that night  

 What did you come for  then  

 It was to tell you not to be uneasy about us  because we hadn t got
drownded  

 Tom  Tom  I would be the thankfullest soul in this world if I could
believe you ever had as good a thought as that  but you know you never
did  and I know it  Tom  

 Indeed and  deed I did  auntie  I wish I may never stir if I didn t  

 Oh  Tom  don t lie  don t do it  It only makes things a hundred times
worse  

 It ain t a lie  auntie  it s the truth  I wanted to keep you from
grieving  that was all that made me come  

 I d give the whole world to believe that  it would cover up a power
of sins  Tom  I d  most be glad you d run off and acted so bad  But it
ain t reasonable  because  why didn t you tell me  child  

 Why  you see  when you got to talking about the funeral  I just got
all full of the idea of our coming and hiding in the church  and I
couldn t somehow bear to spoil it  So I just put the bark back in my
pocket and kept mum  

 What bark  

 The bark I had wrote on to tell you we d gone pirating  I wish  now 
you d waked up when I kissed you  I do  honest  

The hard lines in his aunt s face relaxed and a sudden tenderness
dawned in her eyes 

 DID you kiss me  Tom  

 Why  yes  I did  

 Are you sure you did  Tom  

 Why  yes  I did  auntie  certain sure  

 What did you kiss me for  Tom  

 Because I loved you so  and you laid there moaning and I was so sorry  

The words sounded like truth  The old lady could not hide a tremor in
her voice when she said 

 Kiss me again  Tom   and be off with you to school  now  and don t
bother me any more  

The moment he was gone  she ran to a closet and got out the ruin of a
jacket which Tom had gone pirating in  Then she stopped  with it in her
hand  and said to herself 

 No  I don t dare  Poor boy  I reckon he s lied about it  but it s a
blessed  blessed lie  there s such a comfort come from it  I hope the
Lord  I KNOW the Lord will forgive him  because it was such
goodheartedness in him to tell it  But I don t want to find out it s a
lie  I won t look  

She put the jacket away  and stood by musing a minute  Twice she put
out her hand to take the garment again  and twice she refrained  Once
more she ventured  and this time she fortified herself with the
thought   It s a good lie  it s a good lie  I won t let it grieve me  
So she sought the jacket pocket  A moment later she was reading Tom s
piece of bark through flowing tears and saying   I could forgive the
boy  now  if he d committed a million sins  



CHAPTER XX

THERE was something about Aunt Polly s manner  when she kissed Tom 
that swept away his low spirits and made him lighthearted and happy
again  He started to school and had the luck of coming upon Becky
Thatcher at the head of Meadow Lane  His mood always determined his
manner  Without a moment s hesitation he ran to her and said 

 I acted mighty mean to day  Becky  and I m so sorry  I won t ever 
ever do that way again  as long as ever I live  please make up  won t
you  

The girl stopped and looked him scornfully in the face 

 I ll thank you to keep yourself TO yourself  Mr  Thomas Sawyer  I ll
never speak to you again  

She tossed her head and passed on  Tom was so stunned that he had not
even presence of mind enough to say  Who cares  Miss Smarty   until the
right time to say it had gone by  So he said nothing  But he was in a
fine rage  nevertheless  He moped into the schoolyard wishing she were
a boy  and imagining how he would trounce her if she were  He presently
encountered her and delivered a stinging remark as he passed  She
hurled one in return  and the angry breach was complete  It seemed to
Becky  in her hot resentment  that she could hardly wait for school to
 take in   she was so impatient to see Tom flogged for the injured
spelling book  If 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 trouble herself 
The master  Mr  Dobbins  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 nothing higher than a village
schoolmaster  Every day he took a mysterious book out of his desk and
absorbed himself in it at times when no classes were reciting  He kept
that book under lock and key  There was not an urchin in school but was
perishing to have a glimpse of it  but the chance never came  Every boy
and girl had a theory about the nature of that book  but no two
theories were alike  and there was no way of getting at the facts in
the case  Now  as Becky was passing by the desk  which stood near the
door  she noticed that the key was in the lock  It was a precious
moment  She glanced around  found herself alone  and the next instant
she had the book in her hands  The title page  Professor Somebody s
ANATOMY  carried no information to her mind  so she began to turn the
leaves  She came 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 Sawyer stepped in at the door and caught a glimpse
of the picture  Becky snatched at the book to close it  and had the
hard luck to tear the pictured page half down the middle  She thrust
the volume into the desk  turned the key  and burst out crying with
shame and vexation 

 Tom Sawyer  you are just as mean as you can be  to sneak up on a
person and look at what they re looking at  

 How could I know you was looking at anything  

 You ought to be ashamed of yourself  Tom Sawyer  you know you re
going to tell on me  and oh  what shall I do  what shall I do  I ll be
whipped  and I never was whipped in school  

Then she stamped her little foot and said 

 BE so mean if you want to  I know something that s going to happen 
You just wait and you ll see  Hateful  hateful  hateful    and she
flung out of the house with a new explosion of crying 

Tom stood still  rather flustered by this onslaught  Presently he said
to himself 

 What a curious kind of a fool a girl is  Never been licked in school 
Shucks  What s a licking  That s just like a girl  they re so
thin skinned and chicken hearted  Well  of course I ain t going to tell
old Dobbins on this little fool  because there s other ways of getting
even on her  that ain t so mean  but what of it  Old Dobbins will ask
who it was tore his book  Nobody ll answer  Then he ll do just the way
he always does  ask first one and then t other  and when he comes to the
right girl he ll know it  without any telling  Girls  faces always tell
on them  They ain t got any backbone  She ll get licked  Well  it s a
kind of a tight place for Becky Thatcher  because there ain t any way
out of it   Tom conned the thing a moment longer  and then added   All
right  though  she d like to see me in just such a fix  let her sweat it
out  

Tom joined the mob of skylarking scholars outside  In a few moments
the master arrived and school  took in   Tom did not feel a strong
interest in his studies  Every time he stole a glance at the girls 
side of the room Becky s face troubled him  Considering all things  he
did not want to pity her  and yet it was all he could do to help it  He
could get up no exultation that was really worthy the name  Presently
the spelling book discovery was made  and Tom s mind was entirely full
of his own matters for a while after that  Becky roused up from her
lethargy of distress and showed good interest in the proceedings  She
did not expect that Tom could get out of his trouble by denying that he
spilt the ink on the book himself  and she was right  The denial only
seemed to make the thing worse for Tom  Becky supposed she would be
glad 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  she had an
impulse to get up and tell on Alfred Temple  but she made an effort and
forced herself to keep still  because  said she to herself   he ll tell
about me tearing the picture sure  I wouldn t say a word  not to save
his life  

Tom took his whipping and went back to his seat not at all
broken hearted  for he thought it was possible that he had unknowingly
upset the ink on the spelling book himself  in some skylarking bout  he
had denied it for form s sake and because 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
was drowsy with the hum of study  By and by  Mr  Dobbins straightened
himself up  yawned  then unlocked his desk  and reached for his book 
but seemed undecided whether to take it out or leave it  Most of the
pupils glanced up languidly  but there were two among them that watched
his movements with intent eyes  Mr  Dobbins fingered 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 levelled at its head  Instantly he forgot
his quarrel with her  Quick  something must be done  done in a flash 
too  But the very imminence of the emergency paralyzed his invention 
Good   he had an inspiration  He would run and snatch the book  spring
through the door and fly  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  Too late  There was no help
for Becky now  he said  The next moment the master faced the school 
Every eye sank under his gaze  There was that in it which smote even
the innocent with fear  There was silence while one might count ten
  the master was gathering his wrath  Then he spoke   Who tore this book  

There was not a sound  One could have heard a pin drop  The stillness
continued  the master searched face after face for signs of guilt 

 Benjamin Rogers  did you 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  The master scanned the ranks of
boys  considered a while  then turned to the girls 

 Amy Lawrence  

A shake of the head 

 Gracie Miller  

The same sign 

 Susan Harper  did you do this  

Another negative  The next girl was Becky Thatcher  Tom was trembling
from head to foot with excitement and a sense of the hopelessness of
the situation 

 Rebecca Thatcher   Tom glanced at her face  it was white with terror 
   did you tear  no  look me in the face   her hands rose in appeal 
   did you tear this book  

A thought shot like lightning through Tom s brain  He sprang to his
feet and shouted   I done it  

The school stared in perplexity at this incredible folly  Tom stood a
moment  to gather his dismembered faculties  and when he stepped
forward to go 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 floggings  Inspired by the splendor of his own
act  he took without an outcry the most merciless flaying that even Mr 
Dobbins had ever administered  and also received with indifference the
added cruelty of a command to remain two hours after school should be
dismissed  for he knew who would wait for him outside till his
captivity was done  and not count the tedious time as loss  either 

Tom went to bed that night planning vengeance against Alfred Temple 
for with shame and repentance Becky had told him all  not forgetting
her own treachery  but even the longing for vengeance had to give way 
soon  to pleasanter musings  and he fell asleep at last with Becky s
latest words lingering dreamily in his ear  

 Tom  how COULD you be so noble  



CHAPTER XXI

VACATION was approaching  The schoolmaster  always severe  grew
severer and more exacting than ever  for he wanted the school to make a
good showing on  Examination  day  His rod and his ferule were seldom
idle now  at least among the smaller pupils  Only the biggest boys  and
young ladies of eighteen and twenty  escaped lashing  Mr  Dobbins 
lashings were very vigorous ones  too  for although he carried  under
his wig  a perfectly bald and shiny head  he had only reached middle
age  and there was no sign of feebleness in his muscle  As the great
day approached  all the tyranny that was in him came to the surface  he
seemed to take a vindictive pleasure in punishing the least
shortcomings  The consequence was  that the smaller boys spent their
days in terror and suffering and their nights in plotting revenge  They
threw away no opportunity to do the master a mischief  But he kept
ahead all the time  The retribution that followed every vengeful
success was so sweeping and majestic that the boys always retired from
the field badly worsted  At last they conspired together and hit upon a
plan that promised a dazzling victory  They swore in the sign painter s
boy  told him the scheme  and asked his help  He had his own reasons
for being delighted  for the master boarded in his father s family and
had given the boy ample cause to hate him  The master s wife would go
on a visit to the country in a few days  and there would be nothing to
interfere with the plan  the master always prepared himself for great
occasions by getting pretty well fuddled  and the sign painter s boy
said that when the dominie had reached the proper condition on
Examination Evening he would  manage the thing  while he napped in his
chair  then he would have him awakened at the right time and hurried
away to school 

In the fulness of time the interesting occasion arrived  At eight in
the evening the schoolhouse was brilliantly lighted  and adorned with
wreaths and festoons of foliage and flowers  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 on each side and
six rows in front of him were occupied by the dignitaries 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 discomfort 
rows of gawky big boys  snowbanks of girls and young ladies clad in
lawn and muslin and conspicuously conscious of their bare arms  their
grandmothers  ancient trinkets  their bits of pink and blue ribbon and
the flowers in their hair  All the rest of the house was filled with
non participating scholars 

The exercises began  A very little boy stood up and sheepishly
recited   You d scarce expect one of my age to speak in public on the
stage   etc   accompanying himself with the painfully exact and
spasmodic gestures which a machine might have used  supposing the
machine to be a trifle out of order  But he got through safely  though
cruelly scared  and got a fine round of applause when he made his
manufactured bow and retired 

A little shamefaced girl lisped   Mary had a little lamb   etc  
performed a compassion inspiring curtsy  got her meed of applause  and
sat down flushed and happy 

Tom Sawyer stepped forward with conceited confidence and soared into
the unquenchable and indestructible  Give me liberty or give me death 
speech  with fine fury and frantic gesticulation  and broke down in the
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 sympathy 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 Stood on the Burning Deck  followed  also  The Assyrian Came
Down   and other declamatory gems  Then there were reading exercises 
and a spelling fight  The meagre Latin class recited with honor  The
prime feature of the evening was in order  now  original  compositions 
by the young ladies  Each in her turn stepped forward to the edge of
the platform  cleared her throat  held up her manuscript  tied with
dainty ribbon   and proceeded to read  with labored attention to
 expression  and punctuation  The themes were the same that had been
illuminated upon similar occasions by their mothers before them  their
grandmothers  and doubtless all their ancestors in the female line
clear back to the Crusades   Friendship  was one   Memories of Other
Days    Religion in History    Dream Land    The Advantages of
Culture    Forms of Political Government Compared and Contrasted  
 Melancholy    Filial Love    Heart Longings   etc   etc 

A prevalent feature in these compositions was a nursed and petted
melancholy  another was a wasteful and opulent gush of  fine language  
another was a tendency to lug in by the ears particularly prized words
and phrases until they were worn entirely out  and a peculiarity that
conspicuously marked and marred them was the inveterate and intolerable
sermon that wagged its crippled tail at the end of each and every one
of them  No matter what the subject might be  a brain racking effort
was made to squirm it into some aspect or other that the moral and
religious mind could contemplate with edification  The glaring
insincerity of these sermons was not sufficient to compass the
banishment of the fashion from the schools  and it is not sufficient
to day  it never will be sufficient while the world stands  perhaps 
There is no school in all our land where the young ladies do not feel
obliged to close their compositions with a sermon  and you will find
that the sermon of the most frivolous and the least religious girl in
the school is always the longest and the most relentlessly pious  But
enough of this  Homely truth is unpalatable 

Let us return to the  Examination   The first composition that was
read was one entitled  Is this  then  Life   Perhaps the reader can
endure an extract from it 

   In the common walks of life  with what delightful
   emotions does the youthful mind look forward to some
   anticipated scene of festivity  Imagination is busy
   sketching rose tinted pictures of joy  In fancy  the
   voluptuous votary of fashion sees herself amid the
   festive throng   the observed of all observers   Her
   graceful form  arrayed in snowy robes  is whirling
   through the mazes of the joyous dance  her eye is
   brightest  her step is lightest in the gay assembly 

   In such delicious fancies time quickly glides by 
   and the welcome hour arrives for her entrance into
   the Elysian world  of which she has had such bright
   dreams  How fairy like does everything appear to
   her enchanted vision  Each new scene is more charming
   than the last  But after a while she finds that
   beneath this goodly exterior  all is vanity  the
   flattery which once charmed her soul  now grates
   harshly upon her ear  the ball room has lost its
   charms  and with wasted health and imbittered heart 
   she turns away with the conviction that earthly
   pleasures cannot satisfy the longings of the soul  

And so forth and so on  There was a buzz of gratification from time to
time during the reading  accompanied by whispered ejaculations of  How
sweet    How eloquent    So true   etc   and after the thing had closed
with a peculiarly afflicting sermon the applause was enthusiastic 

Then arose a slim  melancholy girl  whose face had the  interesting 
paleness that comes of pills and indigestion  and read a  poem   Two
stanzas of it will do 

    A MISSOURI MAIDEN S FAREWELL TO ALABAMA

    Alabama  good bye  I love thee well 
      But yet for a while do I leave thee now 
    Sad  yes  sad thoughts of thee my heart doth swell 
      And burning recollections throng my brow 
    For I have wandered through thy flowery woods 
      Have roamed and read near Tallapoosa s stream 
    Have listened to Tallassee s warring floods 
      And wooed on Coosa s side Aurora s beam 

    Yet shame I not to bear an o er full heart 
      Nor blush to turn behind my tearful eyes 
     Tis from no stranger land I now must part 
       Tis to no strangers left I yield these sighs 
    Welcome and home were mine within this State 
      Whose vales I leave  whose spires fade fast from me
    And cold must be mine eyes  and heart  and tete 
      When  dear Alabama  they turn cold on thee  

There were very few there who knew what  tete  meant  but the poem was
very satisfactory  nevertheless 

Next appeared a dark complexioned  black eyed  black haired young
lady  who paused an impressive moment  assumed a tragic expression  and
began to read in a measured  solemn tone 

   A VISION

    Dark and tempestuous was night  Around the
   throne on high not a single star quivered  but
   the deep intonations of the heavy thunder
   constantly vibrated upon the ear  whilst the
   terrific lightning revelled in angry mood
   through the cloudy chambers of heaven  seeming
   to scorn the power exerted over its terror by
   the illustrious Franklin  Even the boisterous
   winds unanimously came forth from their mystic
   homes  and blustered about as if to enhance by
   their aid the wildness of the scene 

    At such a time  so dark  so dreary  for human
   sympathy my very spirit sighed  but instead thereof 

     My dearest friend  my counsellor  my comforter
   and guide  My joy in grief  my second bliss
   in joy   came to my side  She moved like one of
   those bright beings pictured in the sunny walks
   of fancy s Eden by the romantic and young  a
   queen of beauty unadorned save by her own
   transcendent loveliness  So soft was her step  it
   failed to make even a sound  and but for the
   magical thrill imparted by her genial touch  as
   other unobtrusive beauties  she would have glided
   away un perceived  unsought  A strange sadness
   rested upon her features  like icy tears upon
   the robe of December  as she pointed to the
   contending elements without  and bade me contemplate
   the two beings presented  

This nightmare occupied some ten pages of manuscript and wound up with
a sermon so destructive of all hope to non Presbyterians that it took
the first prize  This composition was considered to be the very finest
effort of the evening  The mayor of the village  in delivering the
prize to the author of it  made a warm speech in which he said that it
was by far the most  eloquent  thing he had ever listened to  and that
Daniel Webster himself might well be proud of it 

It may be remarked  in passing  that the number of compositions in
which the word  beauteous  was over fondled  and human experience
referred to as  life s page   was up to the usual average 

Now the master  mellow almost to the verge of geniality  put his chair
aside  turned his back to the audience  and began to draw a map of
America on the blackboard  to exercise the geography class upon  But he
made a sad business of it with his unsteady hand  and a smothered
titter rippled over the house  He knew what the matter was  and set
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 entire attention upon his work  now  as if determined not
to be put down by the mirth  He felt that all eyes were fastened upon
him  he imagined he was succeeding  and yet the tittering continued  it
even manifestly increased  And well it might  There was a garret above 
pierced with a scuttle over his head  and down through this scuttle
came a cat  suspended around the haunches by a string  she had a rag
tied about her head and jaws to keep her from mewing  as she slowly
descended she curved upward and clawed at the string  she swung
downward and clawed at the intangible air  The tittering rose higher
and higher  the cat was within six inches of the absorbed teacher s
head  down  down  a little lower  and she grabbed his wig with her
desperate claws  clung to it  and was snatched up into the garret in an
instant with her trophy still in her possession  And how the light did
blaze abroad from the master s bald pate  for the sign painter s boy
had GILDED it 

That broke up the meeting  The boys were avenged  Vacation had come 

   NOTE   The pretended  compositions  quoted in
   this chapter are taken without alteration from a
   volume entitled  Prose and Poetry  by a Western
   Lady   but they are exactly and precisely after
   the schoolgirl pattern  and hence are much
   happier than any mere imitations could be 



CHAPTER XXII

TOM joined the new order of Cadets of Temperance  being attracted by
the showy character of their  regalia   He promised to abstain from
smoking  chewing  and profanity as long as he remained a member  Now he
found out a new thing  namely  that to promise not to do a thing is the
surest way in the world to make a body want to go and do that very
thing  Tom soon found himself tormented with a desire to drink and
swear  the desire grew to be so intense that nothing but the hope of a
chance to display himself in his red sash kept him from withdrawing
from the order  Fourth of July was coming  but he soon gave that up
  gave it up before he had worn his shackles over forty eight hours  and
fixed his hopes upon old Judge Frazer  justice of the peace  who was
apparently on his deathbed and would have a big public funeral  since
he was so high an official  During three days Tom was deeply concerned
about the Judge s condition and hungry for news of it  Sometimes his
hopes ran high  so high that he would venture to get out his regalia
and practise before the looking glass  But the Judge had a most
discouraging way of fluctuating  At last he was pronounced upon the
mend  and then convalescent  Tom was disgusted  and felt a sense of
injury  too  He handed in his resignation at once  and that night the
Judge suffered a relapse and died  Tom resolved that he would never
trust a man like that again 

The funeral was a fine thing  The Cadets paraded in a style calculated
to kill the late member with envy  Tom was a free boy again  however
  there was something in that  He could drink and swear  now  but found
to his surprise that he did not want to  The simple fact that he could 
took the desire away  and the charm of it 

Tom presently wondered to find that his coveted vacation was beginning
to hang a little heavily on his hands 

He attempted a diary  but nothing happened during three days  and so
he abandoned it 

The first of all the negro minstrel shows came to town  and made a
sensation  Tom and Joe Harper got up a band of performers and were
happy for two days 

Even the Glorious Fourth was in some sense a failure  for it rained
hard  there was no procession in consequence  and the greatest man in
the world  as Tom supposed   Mr  Benton  an actual United States
Senator  proved an overwhelming disappointment  for he was not
twenty five feet high  nor even anywhere in the neighborhood of it 

A circus came  The boys played circus for three days afterward in
tents made of rag carpeting  admission  three pins for boys  two for
girls  and then circusing was abandoned 

A phrenologist and a mesmerizer came  and went again and left the
village duller and drearier than ever 

There were some boys and girls  parties  but they were so few and so
delightful that they only made the aching voids between ache the harder 

Becky Thatcher was gone to her Constantinople home to stay with her
parents during vacation  so there was no bright side to life anywhere 

The dreadful secret of the murder was a chronic misery  It was a very
cancer for permanency and pain 

Then came the measles 

During two long weeks Tom lay a prisoner  dead to the world and its
happenings  He was very ill  he was interested in nothing  When he got
upon his feet at last and moved feebly down town  a melancholy change
had come over everything 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 for the
sight of one blessed sinful face  but disappointment crossed him
everywhere  He found Joe Harper studying a Testament  and turned sadly
away from the depressing spectacle  He sought Ben Rogers  and found him
visiting the poor with a basket of tracts  He hunted up Jim Hollis  who
called his attention to the precious blessing of his late measles as a
warning  Every boy he encountered added another ton to his depression 
and when  in desperation  he flew for refuge at last to the bosom of
Huckleberry Finn and was received with a Scriptural quotation  his
heart broke and he crept home and to bed realizing that he alone of all
the town was lost  forever and forever 

And that night there came on 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 had not the shadow of 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 was the result  It might
have 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 thunderstorm as this to knock the turf
from under an insect like himself 

By and by the tempest spent itself and died without accomplishing 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 

The next day the doctors were back  Tom had relapsed  The three weeks
he spent on his back this time seemed an entire age  When he got abroad
at last he was hardly grateful that he had been spared  remembering how
lonely was his estate  how companionless and forlorn he was  He drifted
listlessly down the street and found Jim Hollis acting as judge in a
juvenile court that was trying a cat for murder  in the presence of her
victim  a bird  He found Joe Harper and Huck Finn up an alley eating a
stolen melon  Poor lads  they  like Tom  had suffered a relapse 



CHAPTER XXIII

AT last the sleepy atmosphere was stirred  and vigorously  the murder
trial came on in the court  It became the absorbing topic of village
talk immediately  Tom could not get away from it  Every reference to
the murder sent a shudder to his heart  for his troubled conscience and
fears almost persuaded him that these remarks were put forth in his
hearing as  feelers   he did not see how he could be suspected of
knowing anything about the murder  but still he could not be
comfortable in the midst of this gossip  It kept him in a cold shiver
all the time  He took Huck to a lonely place to have a talk with him 
It would be some relief to unseal his tongue for a little while  to
divide his burden of distress with another sufferer  Moreover  he
wanted to assure himself that Huck had remained discreet 

 Huck  have you ever told anybody about  that  

  Bout what  

 You know what  

 Oh   course I haven t  

 Never a word  

 Never a solitary word  so help me  What makes you ask  

 Well  I was afeard  

 Why  Tom Sawyer  we wouldn t be alive two days if that got found out 
YOU know that  

Tom felt more comfortable  After a pause 

 Huck  they couldn t anybody get you to tell  could they  

 Get me to tell  Why  if I wanted that half breed devil to drownd me
they could get me to tell  They ain t no different way  

 Well  that s all right  then  I reckon we re safe as long as we keep
mum  But let s swear again  anyway  It s more surer  

 I m agreed  

So they swore again with dread solemnities 

 What is the talk around  Huck  I ve heard a power of it  

 Talk  Well  it s just Muff Potter  Muff Potter  Muff Potter all the
time  It keeps me in a sweat  constant  so s I want to hide som ers  

 That s just the same way they go on round me  I reckon he s a goner 
Don t you feel sorry for him  sometimes  

 Most always  most always  He ain t no account  but then he hain t
ever done anything to hurt anybody  Just fishes a little  to get money
to get drunk on  and loafs around considerable  but lord  we all do
that  leastways most of us  preachers and such like  But he s kind of
good  he give me half a fish  once  when there warn t enough for two 
and lots of times he s kind of stood by me when I was out of luck  

 Well  he s mended kites for me  Huck  and knitted hooks on to my
line  I wish we could get him out of there  

 My  we couldn t get him out  Tom  And besides   twouldn t do any
good  they d ketch him again  

 Yes  so they would  But I hate to hear  em abuse him so like the
dickens when he never done  that  

 I do too  Tom  Lord  I hear  em say he s the bloodiest looking
villain in this country  and they wonder he wasn t ever hung before  

 Yes  they talk like that  all the time  I ve heard  em say that if he
was to get free they d lynch him  

 And they d do it  too  

The boys had a long talk  but it brought them little comfort  As the
twilight drew on  they found themselves hanging about the neighborhood
of the little isolated jail  perhaps with an undefined hope that
something would happen that might clear away their difficulties  But
nothing happened  there seemed to be no angels or fairies interested in
this luckless captive 

The boys did as they had often done before  went to the cell grating
and gave Potter some tobacco and matches  He was on the ground floor
and there were no guards 

His gratitude for their gifts had always smote their consciences
before  it cut deeper than ever  this time  They felt cowardly and
treacherous to the last degree when Potter said 

 You ve been mighty good to me  boys  better n anybody else in this
town  And I don t forget it  I don t  Often I says to myself  says I 
 I used to mend all the boys  kites and things  and show  em where the
good fishin  places was  and befriend  em what I could  and now they ve
all forgot old Muff when he s in trouble  but Tom don t  and Huck
don t  THEY don t forget him  says I   and I don t forget them   Well 
boys  I done an awful thing  drunk and crazy at the time  that s the
only way I account for it  and now I got to swing for it  and it s
right  Right  and BEST  too  I reckon  hope so  anyway  Well  we won t
talk about that  I don t want to make YOU feel bad  you ve befriended
me  But what I want to say  is  don t YOU ever get drunk  then you won t
ever get here  Stand a litter furder west  so  that s it  it s a prime
comfort to see faces that s friendly when a body s in such a muck of
trouble  and there don t none come here but yourn  Good friendly
faces  good friendly faces  Git up on one another s backs and let me
touch  em  That s it  Shake hands  yourn ll come through the bars  but
mine s too big  Little hands  and weak  but they ve helped Muff Potter
a power  and they d help him more if they could  

Tom went home miserable  and his dreams that night were full of
horrors  The next day and the day after  he hung about the court room 
drawn by an almost irresistible impulse to go in  but forcing himself
to stay out  Huck was having the same experience  They studiously
avoided each other  Each wandered away  from time to time  but the same
dismal fascination always brought them back presently  Tom kept his
ears open when idlers sauntered out of the court room  but invariably
heard distressing news  the toils were closing more and more
relentlessly around poor Potter  At the end of the second day the
village talk was to the effect that Injun Joe s evidence stood firm and
unshaken  and that there was not the slightest question as to what the
jury s verdict would be 

Tom was out late  that night  and came to bed through the window  He
was in a tremendous state of excitement  It was hours before he got to
sleep  All the village flocked to the court house the next morning  for
this was to be the great day  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 haggard  timid and
hopeless  was brought in  with chains upon him  and seated where all
the curious eyes could stare at him  no less conspicuous was Injun Joe 
stolid as ever  There was another pause  and then the judge arrived and
the sheriff proclaimed the opening of the court  The usual whisperings
among the lawyers and gathering together of papers followed  These
details and accompanying delays worked up an atmosphere of preparation
that was as impressive as it was fascinating 

Now a witness was called who testified that he found Muff Potter
washing in the brook  at an early hour of the morning that the murder
was discovered  and that he immediately sneaked away  After some
further questioning  counsel for the prosecution said 

 Take the witness  

The prisoner raised his eyes for a moment  but dropped them again when
his own counsel said 

 I have no questions to ask him  

The next witness proved the finding of the knife near the corpse 
Counsel for the prosecution 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  

Counsel for Potter declined to question him  The faces of the audience
began to betray annoyance  Did this attorney mean to throw away his
client s life without an effort 

Several witnesses deposed concerning Potter s guilty behavior when
brought to the scene of the murder  They were allowed to leave the
stand without being cross questioned 

Every detail of the damaging circumstances that occurred in the
graveyard upon that morning which all present remembered so well was
brought out by credible witnesses  but none of them were cross examined
by Potter s lawyer  The perplexity and dissatisfaction of the house
expressed itself in murmurs and provoked a reproof from the bench 
Counsel for the prosecution now said 

 By the oaths of citizens whose simple word is above suspicion  we
have fastened this awful crime  beyond all possibility of question 
upon the unhappy prisoner at the bar  We rest our 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 court room  Many men were moved  and many women s compassion
testified itself in tears  Counsel for the defence rose and said 

 Your honor  in our remarks at the opening of this trial  we
foreshadowed our purpose to prove that our client did this fearful deed
while under the influence of a blind and irresponsible delirium
produced by drink  We have changed our mind  We shall not offer that
plea    Then to the clerk    Call Thomas Sawyer  

A puzzled amazement awoke in every face in the house  not even
excepting Potter s  Every eye fastened itself with wondering interest
upon Tom as he rose and took his place upon the stand  The boy looked
wild enough  for he was badly scared  The oath was administered 

 Thomas Sawyer  where were you on the seventeenth of June  about the
hour of midnight  

Tom glanced at Injun Joe s iron face and his tongue failed him  The
audience listened breathless  but the words refused to come  After a
few moments  however  the boy got a little of his strength back  and
managed to put enough of it into his voice to make part of the house
hear 

 In the graveyard  

 A little bit louder  please  Don t be afraid  You were   

 In the graveyard  

A contemptuous smile flitted across Injun Joe s face 

 Were you anywhere near Horse Williams  grave  

 Yes  sir  

 Speak up  just a trifle louder  How near were you  

 Near as I am to you  

 Were you hidden  or not  

 I was hid  

 Where  

 Behind the elms that s on the edge of the grave  

Injun Joe gave a barely perceptible start 

 Any one with you  

 Yes  sir  I went there with   

 Wait  wait a moment  Never mind mentioning your companion s name  We
will produce him at the proper time  Did you carry anything there with
you  

Tom hesitated and looked confused 

 Speak out  my boy  don t be diffident  The truth is always
respectable  What did you take there  

 Only a  a  dead cat  

There was a ripple of mirth  which the court checked 

 We will produce the skeleton of that cat  Now  my boy  tell us
everything that occurred  tell it in your own way  don t skip anything 
and don t be afraid  

Tom began  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 own voice  every eye fixed itself upon him  with parted lips
and bated breath the audience hung upon his words  taking no note of
time  rapt in the ghastly fascinations of the tale  The strain upon
pent emotion reached its climax when the boy said 

   and as the doctor fetched the board around and Muff Potter fell 
Injun Joe jumped with the knife and   

Crash  Quick as lightning the half breed sprang for a window  tore his
way through all opposers  and was gone 



CHAPTER XXIV

TOM was a glittering hero once more  the pet of the old  the envy of
the young  His name even went into immortal print  for the village
paper magnified him  There were some that believed he would be
President  yet  if he escaped hanging 

As usual  the fickle  unreasoning world took Muff Potter to its bosom
and fondled him as lavishly as it had abused him before  But that sort
of conduct is to the world s credit  therefore it is not 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 Joe infested all his dreams  and always
with doom in his eye  Hardly any temptation could persuade the boy to
stir abroad after 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 the trial  and Huck was sore afraid
that his share in the business might leak out  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  Since Tom s harassed conscience had managed to drive him to the
lawyer s house by night and wring a dread tale from lips that had been
sealed with the dismalest and most formidable of oaths  Huck s
confidence in the human race was well nigh obliterated 

Daily Muff Potter s gratitude made Tom glad he had spoken  but nightly
he wished he had sealed up his tongue 

Half the time Tom was afraid Injun Joe would never be captured  the
other half he was afraid he would be  He felt sure he never could draw
a safe breath again until that man was dead and he had seen the corpse 

Rewards had been offered  the country had been scoured  but no Injun
Joe was found  One of those omniscient and awe inspiring marvels  a
detective  came up from St  Louis  moused around  shook his head 
looked wise  and made that sort 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 so after that detective had got
through and gone home  Tom felt just as insecure as he was before 

The slow days drifted on  and each left behind it a slightly lightened
weight of apprehension 



CHAPTER XXV

THERE comes a time in every rightly constructed boy s life when he has
a raging desire to go somewhere and dig for hidden treasure  This
desire suddenly came upon Tom one day  He sallied out to find Joe
Harper  but failed of success  Next he sought Ben Rogers  he had gone
fishing  Presently he stumbled upon Huck Finn the Red Handed  Huck
would answer  Tom took him to a private place and opened the matter to
him confidentially  Huck was willing  Huck was always willing to take a
hand in any enterprise that offered entertainment and required no
capital  for he had a troublesome superabundance of that sort of time
which is not money   Where ll we dig   said Huck 

 Oh  most anywhere  

 Why  is it hid all around  

 No  indeed it ain t  It s hid in mighty particular places  Huck
  sometimes on islands  sometimes in rotten chests under the end of a
limb of an old dead tree  just where the shadow falls at midnight  but
mostly under the floor in ha nted houses  

 Who hides it  

 Why  robbers  of course  who d you reckon  Sunday school
sup rintendents  

 I don t know  If  twas mine I wouldn t hide it  I d spend it and have
a good time  

 So would I  But robbers don t do that way  They always hide it and
leave it there  

 Don t they come after it any more  

 No  they think they will  but they generally forget the marks  or
else they die  Anyway  it lays there a long time and gets rusty  and by
and by somebody finds an old yellow paper that tells how to find the
marks  a paper that s got to be ciphered over about a week because it s
mostly signs and hy roglyphics  

 HyroQwhich  

 Hy roglyphics  pictures and things  you know  that don t seem to mean
anything  

 Have 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  or under a dead tree that s got one limb sticking out 
Well  we ve tried Jackson s Island a little  and we can try it again
some time  and there s the old ha nted house up the Still House branch 
and there s lots of dead limb trees  dead loads of  em  

 Is it under all of them  

 How you talk  No  

 Then how you going to know which one to go for  

 Go for all of  em  

 Why  Tom  it ll take all summer  

 Well  what of that  Suppose you find a brass pot with a hundred
dollars in it  all rusty and gray  or rotten chest full of di monds 
How s that  

Huck s eyes glowed 

 That s bully  Plenty bully enough for me  Just you gimme the 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  Some
of  em s worth twenty dollars apiece  there ain t any  hardly  but s
worth six bits or a dollar  

 No  Is that so  

 Cert nly  anybody ll tell you so  Hain t you ever seen one  Huck  

 Not as I remember  

 Oh  kings have slathers of them  

 Well  I don  know no kings  Tom  

 I reckon you don t  But if you was to go to Europe you d see a raft
of  em hopping around  

 Do they hop  

 Hop   your granny  No  

 Well  what did you say they did  for  

 Shucks  I only meant you d SEE  em  not hopping  of course  what do
they want to hop for   but I mean you d just see  em  scattered around 
you know  in a kind of a general way  Like that old humpbacked Richard  

 Richard  What s his other name  

 He didn t have any other name  Kings don t have any but a given name  

 No  

 But they don t  

 Well  if they like it  Tom  all right  but I don t want to be a king
and have only just a given name  like a nigger  But say  where you
going to dig first  

 Well  I don t know  S pose we tackle that old dead limb tree on the
hill t other side of Still House branch  

 I m agreed  

So they got a crippled pick and a shovel  and set out on their
three mile tramp  They arrived hot and panting  and threw themselves
down in the shade of a neighboring elm to rest and have a smoke 

 I like this   said Tom 

 So do I  

 Say  Huck  if we find a treasure here  what you going to do with your
share  

 Well  I ll have pie and a glass of soda every day  and I ll go to
every circus that comes along  I bet I ll have a gay time  

 Well  ain t you going to save any of it  

 Save it  What for  

 Why  so as to have something to live on  by and by  

 Oh  that ain t any use  Pap would come back to thish yer town some
day and get his claws on it if I didn t hurry up  and I tell you he d
clean it out pretty quick  What you going to do with yourn  Tom  

 I m going to buy a new drum  and a sure  nough sword  and a red
necktie and a bull pup  and get married  

 Married  

 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  Look at pap and my
mother  Fight  Why  they used to fight all the time  I remember  mighty
well  

 That ain t anything  The girl I m going to marry won t fight  

 Tom  I reckon they re all alike  They ll all comb a body  Now you
better think  bout this awhile  I tell you you better  What s the name
of the gal  

 It ain t a gal at all  it s a girl  

 It s all the 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 ll do  Only if you get married I ll be more lonesomer
than ever  

 No you won t  You ll come and live with me  Now stir out of this and
we ll go to digging  

They worked and sweated for half an hour  No result  They toiled
another half hour  Still no result  Huck said 

 Do they always bury it as deep as this  

 Sometimes  not always  Not generally  I reckon we haven t got the
right place  

So they chose a new spot and began again  The labor dragged a little 
but still they made progress  They pegged away in silence for some
time  Finally Huck leaned on his shovel  swabbed the beaded drops from
his brow with his sleeve  and said 

 Where you going to dig next  after we get this one  

 I reckon maybe we ll tackle the old tree that s over yonder on
Cardiff Hill back of the widow s  

 I reckon that ll be a good one  But won t the widow take it away from
us  Tom  It s on her land  

 SHE take it away  Maybe she d like to try it once  Whoever finds one
of these hid treasures  it belongs to him  It don t make any difference
whose land it s on  

That was satisfactory  The work went on  By and by Huck said 

 Blame it  we must be in the wrong place again  What do you think  

 It is mighty curious  Huck  I don t understand it  Sometimes witches
interfere  I reckon maybe that s what s the trouble now  

 Shucks  Witches ain t got no power in the daytime  

 Well  that s so  I didn t think of that  Oh  I know what the matter
is  What a blamed lot of fools we are  You got to find out where the
shadow of the limb falls at midnight  and that s where you dig  

 Then consound it  we ve fooled away all this work for nothing  Now
hang it all  we got to come back in the night  It s an awful long way 
Can you get out  

 I bet I will  We ve got to do it to night  too  because if somebody
sees these holes they ll know in a minute what s here and they ll go
for it  

 Well  I ll come around and maow to night  

 All right  Let s hide the tools in the bushes  

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  Spirits whispered in the rustling leaves  ghosts lurked
in the murky nooks  the deep baying of a hound floated up out of the
distance  an owl answered with his sepulchral note  The boys were
subdued by these solemnities  and talked little  By and by they judged
that twelve had come  they marked where the shadow fell  and began to
dig  Their hopes commenced to rise  Their interest grew stronger  and
their industry kept pace with it  The hole deepened and still deepened 
but every time their hearts jumped to hear the pick strike upon
something  they only suffered a new disappointment  It was only a stone
or a chunk  At last Tom said 

 It ain t any use  Huck  we re wrong again  

 Well  but we CAN T be wrong  We spotted the shadder to a dot  

 I know it  but then there s another thing  

 What s that   

 Why  we only guessed at the time  Like enough it was too late or too
early  

Huck dropped his shovel 

 That s it   said he   That s the very trouble  We got to give this
one up  We can t ever tell the right time  and besides this kind of
thing s too awful  here this time of night with witches and ghosts
a fluttering around so  I feel as if something s behind me all the time 
and I m afeard to turn around  becuz maybe there s others in front
a waiting for a chance  I been creeping all over  ever since I got here  

 Well  I ve been pretty much so  too  Huck  They most always put in a
dead man when they bury a treasure under a tree  to look out for it  

 Lordy  

 Yes  they do  I ve always heard that  

 Tom  I don t like to fool around much where there s dead people  A
body s bound to get into trouble with  em  sure  

 I don t like to stir  em up  either  S pose this one here was to
stick his skull out and say something  

 Don t Tom  It s awful  

 Well  it just is  Huck  I don t feel comfortable a bit  

 Say  Tom  let s give this place up  and try somewheres else  

 All right  I reckon we better  

 What ll it be  

Tom considered awhile  and then said 

 The ha nted house  That s it  

 Blame it  I don t like ha nted houses  Tom  Why  they re a dern sight
worse n dead people  Dead people might talk  maybe  but they don t come
sliding around in a shroud  when you ain t noticing  and peep over your
shoulder all of a sudden and grit their teeth  the way a ghost does  I
couldn t stand such a thing as that  Tom  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 you know mighty well people don t go about that
ha nted house in the day nor the night  

 Well  that s mostly because they don t like to go where a man s been
murdered  anyway  but nothing s ever been seen around that house except
in the night  just some blue lights slipping by the windows  no regular
ghosts  

 Well  where you see one of them blue lights flickering around  Tom 
you can bet there s a ghost mighty close behind it  It stands to
reason  Becuz you know that they don t anybody but ghosts use  em  

 Yes  that s so  But anyway they don t come around in the daytime  so
what s the use of our being afeard  

 Well  all right  We ll tackle the ha nted house if you say so  but I
reckon it s taking chances  

They had started down the hill by this time  There in the middle of
the 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 window sashes vacant  a
corner of the roof caved in  The boys gazed awhile  half expecting to
see a blue light flit past a window  then talking in a low tone  as
befitted the time and the circumstances  they struck far off to the
right  to give the haunted house a wide berth  and took their way
homeward through the woods that adorned the rearward side of Cardiff
Hill 



CHAPTER XXVI

ABOUT noon the next day the boys arrived at the dead tree  they had
come for their tools  Tom was impatient to go to the haunted house 
Huck was measurably so  also  but suddenly said 

 Lookyhere  Tom  do you know what day it is  

Tom mentally ran over the days of the week  and then quickly lifted
his eyes with a startled look in them  

 My  I never once thought of it  Huck  

 Well  I didn t neither  but all at once it popped onto me that it was
Friday  

 Blame it  a body can t be too careful  Huck  We might  a  got into an
awful scrape  tackling such a thing on a Friday  

 MIGHT  Better say we WOULD  There s some lucky days  maybe  but
Friday ain t  

 Any fool knows that  I don t reckon YOU was the first that found it
out  Huck  

 Well  I never said I was  did I  And Friday ain t all  neither  I had
a rotten bad dream last night  dreampt about rats  

 No  Sure sign of trouble  Did they fight  

 No  

 Well  that s good  Huck  When they don t fight it s only a sign that
there s trouble around  you know  All we got to do is to look mighty
sharp and keep out of it  We ll drop this thing for to day  and play 
Do you know Robin Hood  Huck  

 No  Who s Robin Hood  

 Why  he was one of the greatest men that was ever in England  and the
best  He was a robber  

 Cracky  I wisht I was  Who did he rob  

 Only sheriffs and bishops and rich people and kings  and such like 
But he never bothered the poor  He loved  em  He always divided up with
 em perfectly square  

 Well  he must  a  been a brick  

 I bet you he was  Huck  Oh  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
England  with one hand tied behind him  and he could take his yew bow
and plug a ten cent piece every time  a mile and a half  

 What s a YEW bow  

 I don t know  It s some kind of a bow  of course  And if he hit that
dime only on the edge he would set down and cry  and curse  But we ll
play Robin Hood  it s nobby fun  I ll learn you  

 I m agreed  

So they played Robin 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 possibilities there  As the sun began to sink
into the west they took their way homeward athwart the long shadows of
the trees and soon were buried from sight in the forests of Cardiff
Hill 

On Saturday  shortly after noon  the boys were at the dead tree again 
They had a smoke and a chat in the shade  and then dug a little in
their last hole  not with great hope  but merely because Tom said there
were so many cases where people had given up a treasure after getting
down within six inches of it  and then somebody else had come along and
turned it up with a single thrust of a shovel  The thing failed this
time  however  so the boys shouldered their tools and went away feeling
that they had not trifled with fortune  but had fulfilled all the
requirements that belong to the business of treasure hunting 

When they reached the haunted house there was something so weird and
grisly about the dead silence that reigned there under the baking sun 
and something so depressing about the loneliness and desolation of the
place  that they were afraid  for a moment  to venture in  Then they
crept to the door and took a trembling peep  They saw a weed grown 
floorless room  unplastered  an ancient fireplace  vacant windows  a
ruinous staircase  and here  there  and everywhere hung ragged and
abandoned cobwebs  They presently entered  softly  with quickened
pulses  talking in whispers  ears alert to catch the slightest sound 
and muscles tense and ready for instant retreat 

In a little while familiarity modified their fears and they gave the
place a critical and interested examination  rather admiring their own
boldness  and wondering at it  too  Next they wanted to look up stairs 
This was something like cutting off retreat  but they got to daring
each other  and of course there could be but one result  they threw
their tools into a corner and made the ascent  Up there were the same
signs of decay  In one corner they found a closet that promised
mystery  but the promise was a fraud  there was nothing in it  Their
courage was up now and well in hand  They were about to go down and
begin work when  

 Sh   said Tom 

 What is it   whispered Huck  blanching with fright 

 Sh     There     Hear it  

 Yes     Oh  my  Let s run  

 Keep still  Don t you budge  They re coming right toward the door  

The boys stretched themselves upon the floor with their eyes to
knot holes in the planking  and lay waiting  in a misery of fear 

 They ve stopped     No  coming     Here they are  Don t whisper
another word  Huck  My goodness  I wish I was out of this  

Two men entered  Each boy said to himself   There s the old deaf and
dumb Spaniard that s been about town once or twice lately  never saw
t other man before  

 T other  was a ragged  unkempt creature  with nothing very pleasant
in his face  The Spaniard was wrapped in a serape  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 talking in a low voice 
they sat down on the ground  facing the door  with their backs to the
wall  and the speaker continued his remarks  His manner became less
guarded and his words more distinct as he proceeded 

 No   said he   I ve thought it all over  and I don t like it  It s
dangerous  

 Dangerous   grunted the  deaf and dumb  Spaniard  to the vast
surprise of the boys   Milksop  

This voice made the 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 job up yonder  but nothing s come
of it  

 That s different  Away up the river so  and not another house about 
 Twon t ever be known that we tried  anyway  long as we didn t succeed  

 Well  what s more dangerous than coming here in the daytime   anybody
would suspicion us that saw us  

 I know that  But there warn t any other place as handy after that
fool of a job  I want to quit this shanty  I wanted to yesterday  only
it warn t any use trying to stir out of here  with those infernal boys
playing over there on the hill right in full view  

 Those infernal boys  quaked again under the inspiration of this
remark  and thought how lucky it was that they had remembered it was
Friday and concluded to wait a day  They wished in their hearts they
had waited a year 

The two men got out some food and made a luncheon  After a long and
thoughtful silence  Injun Joe said 

 Look here  lad  you go back up the river where you belong  Wait there
till you hear from me  I ll take the chances on dropping into this town
just once more  for a look  We ll do that  dangerous  job after I ve
spied around a little and think things look well for it  Then for
Texas  We ll leg it together  

This was satisfactory  Both men presently fell to yawning  and Injun
Joe said 

 I m dead for sleep  It s your turn to watch  

He curled down in the weeds and soon began to snore  His comrade
stirred him once or twice and he became quiet  Presently the watcher
began to nod  his head drooped lower and lower  both men began to snore
now 

The boys drew a long  grateful breath  Tom whispered 

 Now s our chance  come  

Huck said 

 I can t  I d die if they was to wake  

Tom urged  Huck held back  At last Tom rose slowly and softly  and
started alone  But the first step he made wrung such a hideous creak
from the crazy floor that he sank down almost dead with fright  He
never made a second attempt  The boys lay there counting the dragging
moments till it seemed to them that time must be done and eternity
growing gray  and then they were grateful to note that at last the sun
was setting 

Now one snore ceased  Injun Joe sat up  stared around  smiled grimly
upon his comrade  whose head was drooping upon his knees  stirred him
up with his foot and said 

 Here  YOU RE a watchman  ain t you  All right  though  nothing s
happened  

 My  have I been asleep  

 Oh  partly  partly  Nearly time for us to be moving  pard  What ll we
do with what little swag we ve got left  

 I don t know  leave it here as we ve always done  I reckon  No use to
take it away till we start south  Six hundred and fifty in silver s
something to carry  

 Well  all right  it won t matter to come here once more  

 No  but I d say come in the night 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 job  accidents might happen   tain t in such a very good
place  we ll just regularly bury it  and bury it deep  

 Good idea   said the comrade  who walked across the room  knelt down 
raised one of the rearward hearth stones 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 the bag to the latter 
who was on his knees in the corner  now  digging with his bowie knife 

The boys forgot all their fears  all their miseries in an instant 
With gloating eyes they watched every movement  Luck   the splendor of
it was beyond all imagination  Six hundred dollars was money enough to
make 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   Oh  but ain t you glad NOW
we re here  

Joe s knife struck upon something 

 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 for  Never mind  I ve broke a hole  

He reached his hand in and drew it out  

 Man  it s money  

The two men examined the handful of coins  They were 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 pick over amongst
the weeds in the corner the other side of the fireplace  I saw it a
minute ago  

He ran and brought the boys  pick and shovel  Injun Joe took the pick 
looked it over critically  shook his head  muttered something 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 very strong before the
slow years had injured it  The men contemplated the treasure awhile in
blissful silence 

 Pard  there s thousands of dollars here   said Injun Joe 

  Twas always said that Murrel s gang used to be around here one
summer   the stranger observed 

 I know it   said Injun Joe   and this looks like it  I should say  

 Now you won t need to do that job  

The half breed frowned  Said he 

 You don t know me  Least you don t know all about that thing   Tain t
robbery altogether  it s REVENGE   and a wicked light flamed in his
eyes   I ll need your help in it  When it s finished  then Texas  Go
home to your Nance and your kids  and stand by till you hear from me  

 Well  if you say so  what ll we do with this  bury it again  

 Yes   Ravishing delight overhead   NO  by the great Sachem  no 
 Profound distress overhead   I d nearly forgot  That pick had fresh
earth on it   The boys were sick with terror in a moment   What
business has a pick and a shovel here  What business with fresh earth
on them  Who brought them here  and where are they gone  Have you heard
anybody   seen anybody  What  bury it again and leave them to come and
see the ground disturbed  Not exactly  not exactly  We ll take it to my
den  

 Why  of course  Might have thought of that before  You mean Number
One  

 No  Number Two  under the cross  The other place is bad  too common  

 All right  It s nearly dark enough to start  

Injun Joe got up and went about from window to window cautiously
peeping out  Presently he said 

 Who could have brought those tools here  Do you reckon they can be
up stairs  

The boys  breath forsook them  Injun Joe put his hand on his knife 
halted a moment  undecided  and then turned toward the stairway  The
boys thought of the closet  but their strength was gone  The steps came
creaking up the stairs  the intolerable distress of the situation woke
the stricken resolution of the lads  they were about to spring for the
closet  when there was a crash of rotten timbers and Injun Joe landed
on the ground amid the debris of the ruined stairway  He gathered
himself up cursing  and his comrade said 

 Now what s the use of all that  If it s anybody  and they re up
there  let them STAY there  who cares  If they want to jump down  now 
and get into trouble  who objects  It will be dark in fifteen minutes
  and then let them follow us if they want to  I m willing  In my
opinion  whoever hove those things in here caught a sight of us and
took us for ghosts or devils or something  I ll bet they re running
yet  

Joe grumbled awhile  then he agreed with his friend that what daylight
was left ought to be economized in getting things ready for leaving 
Shortly afterward they slipped out of the house in the deepening
twilight  and moved toward the river with their precious box 

Tom and Huck rose up  weak but vastly relieved  and stared after them
through the chinks between the logs of the house  Follow  Not they 
They were content to reach ground again without broken necks  and take
the townward track over the hill  They did not talk much  They were too
much absorbed in hating themselves  hating the ill luck that made them
take the spade and the pick there  But for that  Injun Joe never would
have suspected  He would have hidden the silver with the gold to wait
there till his  revenge  was satisfied  and then he would have had the
misfortune to find that money turn up missing  Bitter  bitter luck that
the tools were ever brought there 

They resolved to keep a lookout for that Spaniard when he should come
to town spying out for chances to do his revengeful job  and follow him
to  Number Two   wherever that might be  Then a ghastly thought
occurred to Tom 

 Revenge  What if he means US  Huck  

 Oh  don t   said Huck  nearly fainting 

They talked it all over  and as they entered town they agreed to
believe that he might possibly mean somebody else  at least that he
might at least mean nobody but Tom  since only Tom had testified 

Very  very small comfort it was to Tom to be alone in danger  Company
would be a palpable improvement  he thought 



CHAPTER XXVII

THE adventure of the day mightily tormented Tom s dreams that night 
Four times 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 of his misfortune  As he lay
in the early morning recalling the incidents of his great adventure  he
noticed that they seemed curiously subdued and far away  somewhat as if
they had happened in another world  or in a time long gone by  Then it
occurred to him that the great adventure itself must be a dream  There
was one very strong argument in favor of this idea  namely  that the
quantity of coin he had seen was too vast to be real  He had never seen
as much as fifty dollars in one mass before  and he was like all boys
of his age and station in life  in that he imagined that all references
to  hundreds  and  thousands  were mere fanciful forms of 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 of hidden
treasure had been analyzed  they would have been found to consist of a
handful of real dimes and a bushel of vague  splendid  ungraspable
dollars 

But the incidents of his adventure grew sensibly sharper and clearer
under the attrition 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 uncertainty must be swept away  He would snatch
a hurried breakfast and go and find Huck  Huck was sitting on the
gunwale of a flatboat  listlessly dangling his feet in the water and
looking very melancholy  Tom concluded to let Huck lead up to the
subject  If he did not do it  then the adventure would be proved to
have been only a dream 

 Hello  Huck  

 Hello  yourself  

Silence  for a minute 

 Tom  if we d  a  left the blame tools at the dead tree  we d  a  got
the money  Oh  ain t it awful  

  Tain t a dream  then   tain t a dream  Somehow I most wish it was 
Dog d if I don t  Huck  

 What ain t a dream  

 Oh  that thing yesterday  I been half thinking it was  

 Dream  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 Spanish
devil going for me all through  em  rot him  

 No  not rot him  FIND him  Track the money  

 Tom  we ll never find him  A feller don t have only one chance for
such a pile  and that one s lost  I d feel mighty shaky if I was to see
him  anyway  

 Well  so d I  but I d like to see him  anyway  and track him out  to
his Number Two  

 Number Two  yes  that s it  I been thinking  bout that  But I can t
make nothing out of it  What do you reckon it is  

 I dono  It s too deep  Say  Huck  maybe it s the number of a house  

 Goody     No  Tom  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  Lemme think a minute  Here  it s the number of a
room  in a tavern  you know  

 Oh  that s the trick  They ain t only two taverns  We can find out
quick  

 You stay here  Huck  till I come  

Tom was off at once  He did not care to have Huck s company in public
places  He was gone half an hour  He found that in the best tavern  No 
2 had long been occupied by a young lawyer  and was still so occupied 
In the less ostentatious house  No  2 was a mystery  The
tavern keeper s young son said it was kept locked all the time  and he
never saw anybody go into it or come out of it except at night  he did
not know any particular reason for this state of things  had had some
little curiosity  but it was rather feeble  had made the most of the
mystery by entertaining himself with the idea that that room was
 ha nted   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 very No  2
we re after  

 I reckon it is  Tom  Now what you going to do  

 Lemme think  

Tom thought a long time  Then he said 

 I ll tell you  The back door of that No  2 is the door that comes out
into that little close alley between the tavern and the old rattle trap
of a brick store  Now you get hold of all the door keys 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 you  keep a lookout for Injun Joe  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  you just follow him  and if
he don t go to that No  2  that ain t the place  

 Lordy  I don t want to foller him by myself  

 Why  it ll be night  sure  He mightn t ever see you  and if 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  

 You bet I ll follow him  if it s dark  Huck  Why  he might  a  found
out he couldn t get his revenge  and be going right after that money  

 It s so  Tom  it s so  I ll foller him  I will  by jingoes  

 Now you re TALKING  Don t you ever weaken  Huck  and I won t  



CHAPTER XXVIII

THAT night Tom and Huck were ready for their adventure  They hung
about the neighborhood of the tavern until after nine  one watching the
alley at a distance and the other the tavern door  Nobody entered the
alley or left it  nobody resembling the Spaniard entered or left the
tavern door  The night promised to be a fair one  so Tom went home with
the understanding that if a considerable degree of darkness came on 
Huck was to come and  maow   whereupon he would slip out and try the
keys  But the night remained clear  and Huck closed his watch and
retired to bed in an empty sugar hogshead about twelve 

Tuesday the boys had the same ill luck  Also Wednesday  But Thursday
night promised better  Tom slipped out in good season with his aunt s
old tin lantern  and a large towel to blindfold it with  He hid the
lantern in Huck s sugar hogshead and the watch began  An hour before
midnight the tavern closed up and its lights  the only ones
thereabouts  were put out  No Spaniard had been seen  Nobody had
entered or left the alley  Everything was auspicious  The blackness of
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 the
towel  and the two adventurers crept in the gloom toward 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  He began to wish he could see a flash from the lantern  it
would frighten him  but it would at least tell him that Tom was alive
yet  It seemed hours since Tom had disappeared  Surely he must have
fainted  maybe he was dead  maybe his heart had burst under terror and
excitement  In his uneasiness Huck found himself drawing closer and
closer to the alley  fearing all sorts of dreadful things  and
momentarily expecting some catastrophe to happen that would take away
his breath  There was not much to take away  for he seemed only able to
inhale it by thimblefuls  and his heart would soon wear itself out  the
way it was beating  Suddenly there was a flash of light and Tom came
tearing by him   Run   said he   run  for your life  

He needn t have repeated it  once was enough  Huck was making thirty
or forty miles an hour before the repetition was uttered  The boys
never stopped till they reached the shed of a deserted slaughter house
at the lower end of the village  Just as they got within its shelter
the storm burst and the rain poured down  As soon as Tom got his breath
he said 

 Huck  it was awful  I tried two of the keys  just as soft as I could 
but they seemed to make such a power of racket that I couldn t hardly
get my breath I was so scared  They wouldn t turn in the lock  either 
Well  without noticing what I was doing  I took hold of the knob  and
open comes the door  It warn t locked  I hopped in  and shook off the
towel  and  GREAT CAESAR S GHOST  

 What   what d you see  Tom  

 Huck  I most stepped onto Injun Joe s hand  

 No  

 Yes  He was lying there  sound asleep on the floor  with his old
patch on his eye and his arms spread out  

 Lordy  what did you do  Did he wake up  

 No  never budged  Drunk  I reckon  I just grabbed that towel and
started  

 I d never  a  thought of the towel  I bet  

 Well  I would  My aunt would make me mighty sick if I lost it  

 Say  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  I saw two barrels and lots more bottles in the
room  Don t you see  now  what s the matter with that ha nted room  

 How  

 Why  it s ha nted with whiskey  Maybe ALL the Temperance Taverns have
got a ha nted room  hey  Huck  

 Well  I reckon maybe that s so  Who d  a  thought such a thing  But
say  Tom  now s a mighty good time to get that box  if Injun Joe s
drunk  

 It is  that  You try it  

Huck shuddered 

 Well  no  I reckon not  

 And I reckon not  Huck  Only one bottle alongside of Injun Joe ain t
enough  If there d been three  he d be drunk enough and I d do it  

There was a long pause for reflection  and then Tom said 

 Lookyhere  Huck  less not try that thing any more till we know Injun
Joe s not in there  It s too scary  Now  if we watch every night  we ll
be dead sure to see him go out  some time or other  and then we ll
snatch that box quicker n lightning  

 Well  I m agreed  I ll watch the whole night long  and I ll do it
every night  too  if you ll do the other part of the job  

 All right  I will  All you got to do is to trot up Hooper Street a
block and maow  and if I m asleep  you throw some gravel at the window
and that ll fetch me  

 Agreed  and good as wheat  

 Now  Huck  the storm s over  and I ll go home  It ll begin to be
daylight in a couple of hours  You go back and watch that long  will
you  

 I said I would  Tom  and I will  I ll ha nt that tavern every night
for a year  I ll sleep all day and I ll stand watch all night  

 That s all right  Now  where you going to sleep  

 In Ben Rogers  hayloft  He lets me  and so does his pap s nigger man 
Uncle Jake  I tote water for Uncle Jake whenever he wants me to  and
any time I ask him he gives me a little something to eat if he can
spare it  That s a mighty good nigger  Tom  He likes me  becuz I don t
ever act as if I was above him  Sometime I ve set right down and eat
WITH him  But you needn t tell that  A body s got to do things when
he s awful hungry he wouldn t want to do as a steady thing  

 Well  if I don t want you in the daytime  I ll let you sleep  I won t
come bothering around  Any time you see something s up  in the night 
just skip right around and maow  



CHAPTER XXIX

THE first thing Tom heard on Friday morning was a glad piece of news
  Judge Thatcher s family had come back to town the night before  Both
Injun Joe and the treasure sunk into secondary importance for a moment 
and Becky took the chief place in the boy s interest  He saw her and
they had an exhausting good time playing  hi spy  and  gully keeper 
with a crowd of their school mates  The day was completed and crowned
in a peculiarly satisfactory way  Becky teased her mother to appoint
the next day for the long promised and long delayed picnic  and she
consented  The child s delight was boundless  and Tom s not more
moderate  The invitations were sent out before sunset  and straightway
the young folks of the village were thrown into a fever of preparation
and pleasurable anticipation  Tom s excitement enabled him to keep
awake until a pretty late hour  and he had good hopes of hearing Huck s
 maow   and of having his treasure to astonish Becky and the picnickers
with  next day  but he was disappointed  No signal came that night 

Morning came  eventually  and by ten or eleven o clock a giddy and
rollicking company were gathered at Judge Thatcher s  and everything
was ready for a start  It was not the custom for elderly people to mar
the picnics with their presence  The children were considered safe
enough under the wings of 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 the
main street laden with provision baskets  Sid was sick and had to miss
the fun  Mary remained at home to entertain him  The last thing Mrs 
Thatcher said to Becky  was 

 You ll not get back till late  Perhaps you d better stay all night
with some of the girls that live near the ferry landing  child  

 Then I ll stay with Susy Harper  mamma  

 Very well  And mind and behave yourself and don t be any trouble  

Presently  as they tripped along  Tom said to Becky 

 Say  I ll tell you what we ll do   Stead of going to Joe Harper s
we ll climb right up the hill and stop at the Widow Douglas   She ll
have ice cream  She has it most every day  dead loads of it  And she ll
be awful glad to have us  

 Oh  that will be fun  

Then Becky reflected a moment and said 

 But what will mamma say  

 How ll she ever know  

The girl turned the idea over in her mind  and said reluctantly 

 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 go there if
she d  a  thought of it  I know she would  

The Widow Douglas  splendid hospitality was a tempting bait  It and
Tom s persuasions presently carried the day  So it was decided to say
nothing anybody about the night s programme  Presently it occurred to
Tom that maybe Huck might come this very night and give the signal  The
thought took a deal of the spirit out of his anticipations  Still he
could not bear to give up the fun at Widow Douglas   And why should he
give it up  he reasoned  the signal did not come the night before  so
why should it be any more likely to come to night  The sure fun of the
evening outweighed the uncertain treasure  and  boy like  he determined
to yield to the stronger inclination and not allow himself to think of
the box of money another time that day 

Three miles below town the ferryboat stopped at the mouth of a woody
hollow and tied up  The crowd swarmed ashore and soon the forest
distances and craggy heights echoed far and near with shoutings and
laughter  All the different ways of getting hot and tired were gone
through with  and by and by the rovers straggled back to camp fortified
with responsible appetites  and then the destruction of the good things
began  After the feast there was a refreshing season of rest and chat
in the shade of spreading oaks  By and by somebody shouted 

 Who s ready for the cave  

Everybody was  Bundles of candles were procured  and straightway there
was a general scamper up the hill  The mouth of the cave was up the
hillside  an opening shaped like a letter A  Its massive oaken door
stood unbarred  Within was a small chamber  chilly as an ice house  and
walled by Nature with solid limestone that was dewy with a cold sweat 
It was romantic and mysterious to stand here in the deep gloom and look
out upon the green valley shining in the sun  But the impressiveness of
the situation quickly wore off  and the romping began again  The moment
a candle was lighted there was a general rush upon the owner of it  a
struggle and a gallant defence followed  but the candle was soon
knocked down or blown out  and then there was a glad clamor of laughter
and a new chase  But all things have an end  By and by the procession
went filing down the steep descent of the main avenue  the flickering
rank of lights dimly revealing the lofty walls of rock almost to their
point of junction sixty feet overhead  This main avenue was not more
than eight or ten feet wide  Every few steps other lofty and still
narrower crevices branched from it on either hand  for McDougal s cave
was but a vast labyrinth of crooked aisles that ran into each other and
out again and led nowhere  It was said that one might wander days and
nights together through its intricate tangle of rifts and chasms  and
never find the end of the cave  and that he might go down  and down 
and still down  into the earth  and it was just the same  labyrinth
under labyrinth  and no end to any of them  No man  knew  the cave 
That was an impossible thing  Most of the young men knew a portion of
it  and it was not customary to venture much beyond this known portion 
Tom Sawyer knew as much of the cave as any one 

The procession moved along the main avenue some three quarters of a
mile  and then groups and couples began to slip aside into branch
avenues  fly along the dismal corridors  and take each other by
surprise at points where the corridors joined again  Parties were able
to elude each other for the space of half an hour without going beyond
the  known  ground 

By and by  one group after another came straggling back to the mouth
of the cave  panting  hilarious  smeared from head to foot with tallow
drippings  daubed with clay  and entirely delighted with the success of
the day  Then they were astonished to find that they had been taking no
note of time and that night was about at hand  The clanging bell had
been calling for half an hour  However  this sort of close to the day s
adventures was romantic and therefore satisfactory  When the ferryboat
with her wild freight pushed into the stream  nobody cared sixpence for
the wasted time but the captain of the craft 

Huck was already upon his watch when the ferryboat s lights went
glinting past the wharf  He heard no noise on board  for the young
people were as subdued and still as people usually are who are nearly
tired to death  He wondered what boat it was  and why she did not stop
at the wharf  and then he dropped her out of his mind and put his
attention upon his business  The night was growing cloudy and dark  Ten
o clock came  and the noise of vehicles ceased  scattered lights began
to wink out  all straggling foot passengers 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 lights 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 corner of the brick store 
The next moment two men brushed by him  and one seemed to have
something under his arm  It must be that box  So they were going to
remove the treasure  Why call Tom now  It would be absurd  the men
would get away with the box and never be found again  No  he would
stick to their wake and follow them  he would trust to the darkness for
security from discovery  So communing with himself  Huck stepped out
and glided along behind the men  cat like  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 left
up a cross street  They went straight ahead  then  until they came to
the path that led up Cardiff Hill  this they took  They passed by the
old Welshman s house  half way up the hill  without hesitating  and
still climbed upward  Good  thought Huck  they will bury it in the old
quarry  But they never stopped at the quarry  They passed on  up the
summit  They plunged into the narrow path between the tall sumach
bushes  and were at once hidden in the gloom  Huck closed up and
shortened his distance  now  for they would never be able to see him 
He trotted along awhile  then slackened his pace  fearing he was
gaining too fast  moved on 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 owl came over the hill  ominous sound  But no
footsteps  Heavens  was everything lost  He was 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 there shaking as if a dozen agues had taken charge of him at
once  and so weak that he thought he must surely fall to the ground  He
knew where he was  He knew he was within five steps of the stile
leading into Widow Douglas  grounds  Very well  he thought  let them
bury it there  it won t be hard to find 

Now there was a voice  a very low voice  Injun Joe s 

 Damn her  maybe she s got company  there s lights  late as it is  

 I can t see any  

This was that stranger s voice  the stranger of the haunted house  A
deadly chill went to Huck s heart  this  then  was the  revenge  job 
His thought was  to fly  Then he remembered that the Widow Douglas had
been kind to him more than once  and maybe these men were going to
murder her  He wished he dared venture to warn her  but he knew he
didn t dare  they might come and catch him  He thought all this and
more in the moment that elapsed between the stranger s remark and Injun
Joe s next  which was  

 Because the bush is in your way  Now  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  as I ve told you
before  I don t care for her swag  you may have it  But her husband was
rough on me  many times he was rough on me  and mainly he was the
justice of the peace that jugged me for a vagrant  And that ain t all 
It ain t a millionth part of it  He had me HORSEWHIPPED   horsewhipped
in front of the jail  like a nigger   with all the town looking on 
HORSEWHIPPED   do you understand  He took advantage of me and died  But
I ll take it out of HER  

 Oh  don t kill her  Don 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 on a woman you don t
kill her  bosh  you go for her looks  You slit her nostrils  you notch
her ears like a sow  

 By God  that s   

 Keep your opinion to yourself  It will be safest for you  I ll tie
her to the bed  If she bleeds to death  is that my fault  I ll not cry 
if she does  My friend  you ll help me in this thing  for MY sake
  that s why you re here  I mightn t be able alone  If you flinch  I ll
kill you  Do you understand that  And if I have to kill you  I ll kill
her  and then I reckon nobody 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  

 Do it NOW  And company there  Look here  I ll get suspicious of you 
first thing you know  No  we ll wait till the lights are out  there s
no hurry  

Huck felt that a silence was going to ensue  a thing still more awful
than any amount of murderous talk  so he held his breath and stepped
gingerly back  planted his foot carefully and firmly  after balancing 
one legged  in a precarious way and almost toppling over  first on one
side and then on the other  He took another step back  with the same
elaboration and the same risks  then another and another  and  a twig
snapped under his foot  His breath stopped and he listened  There was
no sound  the stillness was perfect  His gratitude was measureless  Now
he turned in his tracks  between the walls of sumach bushes  turned
himself as carefully as if he were a ship  and then stepped quickly but
cautiously along  When he emerged at the quarry he felt secure  and so
he picked up his nimble heels and flew  Down  down he sped  till he
reached the Welshman s  He banged at the door  and presently the heads
of the old man and his two stalwart sons were thrust from windows 

 What s the row there  Who s banging  What do you want  

 Let me in  quick  I ll tell everything  

 Why  who are you  

 Huckleberry Finn  quick  let me in  

 Huckleberry Finn  indeed  It ain t a name to open many doors  I
judge  But let him in  lads  and let s see what s the trouble  

 Please don t ever tell I told you   were Huck s first words when he
got in   Please don t  I d be killed  sure  but the widow s been good
friends to me sometimes  and I want to tell  I WILL tell if you ll
promise you won t ever say it was me  

 By George  he HAS got something to tell  or he wouldn t act so  
exclaimed the old man   out with it and nobody here ll ever tell  lad  

Three minutes later the old man and his sons  well armed  were up the
hill  and just entering the sumach path on tiptoe  their weapons in
their hands  Huck accompanied them no further  He hid behind a great
bowlder and fell to listening  There was a lagging  anxious silence 
and then all of a sudden there was an explosion of firearms and a cry 

Huck waited for no particulars  He sprang away and sped down the hill
as fast as his legs could carry him 



CHAPTER XXX

AS the earliest suspicion of dawn appeared on Sunday morning  Huck
came groping up the hill and rapped gently at the old Welshman s door 
The inmates were asleep  but it was a sleep that was set on a
hair trigger  on account of the exciting episode of the night  A call
came from a window 

 Who s there  

Huck s scared voice answered in a low tone 

 Please let me in  It s only Huck Finn  

 It s a name that can open this door night or day  lad   and welcome  

These were strange words to the vagabond boy s ears  and the
pleasantest he had ever heard  He could not recollect that the closing
word had ever been applied in his case before  The door was quickly
unlocked  and he entered  Huck was given a seat and the old man and his
brace of tall sons speedily dressed themselves 

 Now  my boy  I hope you re good and hungry  because breakfast will be
ready as soon as the sun s up  and we ll have a piping hot one  too
  make yourself easy about that  I and the 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 went off  and I didn t stop for three mile  I ve come now becuz
I wanted to know about it  you know  and I come before daylight becuz I
didn t want to run across them devils  even if they was dead  

 Well  poor chap  you do look as if you d had a hard night of it  but
there s a bed here for you when you ve had your breakfast  No  they
ain t dead  lad  we are sorry enough for that  You see we knew right
where to put our hands on them  by your description  so we crept along
on tiptoe till we got within fifteen feet of them  dark as a cellar
that sumach path was  and just then I found I was going to sneeze  It
was the meanest kind of luck  I tried to keep it back  but no 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
out of the path  I sung out   Fire boys   and blazed away at the place
where the rustling was  So did the boys  But they were off in a jiffy 
those villains  and we after them  down through the woods  I judge we
never touched them  They fired a shot apiece as they started  but their
bullets whizzed by and didn t do us any harm  As soon as we lost the
sound of their feet we quit chasing  and went down and stirred up the
constables  They got a posse together  and went off to guard the river
bank  and as soon as it is light the sheriff and a gang are going to
beat up the woods  My boys will be with them presently  I wish we had
some sort of description of those rascals   twould help a good deal 
But you couldn t see what they were like  in the dark  lad  I suppose  

 Oh yes  I saw them down town and follered them  

 Splendid  Describe them  describe them  my boy  

 One s the old deaf and dumb Spaniard that s ben around here once or
twice  and t other s a mean looking  ragged   

 That s enough  lad  we know the men  Happened on them in the woods
back of the widow s one day  and they slunk away  Off with you  boys 
and tell the sheriff  get your breakfast to morrow morning  

The Welshman s sons departed at once  As they were leaving the room
Huck sprang up and exclaimed 

 Oh  please don t tell ANYbody it was me that blowed on them  Oh 
please  

 All right if you say it  Huck  but you ought to have the credit of
what you did  

 Oh no  no  Please don t tell  

When the young men were gone  the old Welshman said 

 They won t tell  and I won t  But why don t you want it known  

Huck would not explain  further than to say that he already knew too
much about one of those men and would not have the man know that he
knew anything against him for the whole world  he would be killed for
knowing it  sure 

The old man promised secrecy once more  and said 

 How 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  you see  I m a kind of a hard lot   least everybody says so 
and I don t see nothing agin it  and sometimes I can t sleep much  on
account of thinking about it and sort of trying to strike out a new way
of doing  That was the way of it last night  I couldn t sleep  and so I
come along up street  bout midnight  a turning it all over  and when I
got to that old shackly brick store by the Temperance Tavern  I backed
up agin the wall to have another think  Well  just then along comes
these two chaps slipping along close by me  with something under their
arm  and I reckoned they d stole it  One 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 Spaniard 
by his white whiskers and the patch on his eye  and t other one was a
rusty  ragged looking devil  

 Could you see the rags by the light of the cigars  

This staggered Huck for a moment  Then he said 

 Well  I don t know  but somehow it seems as if I did  

 Then they went on  and you   

 Follered  em  yes  That was it  I wanted to see what was up  they
sneaked along so  I dogged  em to the widder s stile  and stood in the
dark and heard the ragged one beg for the widder  and the Spaniard
swear he d spile her looks just as I told you and your two   

 What  The DEAF AND DUMB man said all that  

Huck had made another terrible mistake  He was trying his best to keep
the old man from getting the faintest hint of who the Spaniard might
be  and yet his tongue seemed determined to get him into trouble in
spite of all he could do  He made several efforts to creep out of his
scrape  but the old man s eye was upon him and he made blunder after
blunder  Presently the Welshman said 

 My boy  don t be afraid of me  I wouldn t hurt a hair of your head
for all the world  No  I d protect you  I d protect you  This Spaniard
is not deaf and dumb  you ve let that slip without intending it  you
can t cover that up now  You know something about that Spaniard that
you want to keep dark  Now trust me  tell me what it is  and trust me
  I won t betray you  

Huck looked into the old man s honest eyes a moment  then bent over
and whispered in his ear 

  Tain t a Spaniard  it s Injun Joe  

The Welshman almost jumped out of his chair  In a moment he said 

 It s all plain enough  now  When you talked about notching ears and
slitting noses I judged that that was your own embellishment  because
white men don t take that sort of revenge  But an Injun  That s a
different matter altogether  

During breakfast the talk went on  and in the course of it the old man
said that the last thing which he and his sons had done  before going
to bed  was to get a lantern and examine the stile and its vicinity for
marks of blood  They found none  but captured a bulky bundle of  

 Of WHAT  

If the words had been lightning they could not have leaped with a more
stunning suddenness from Huck s blanched lips  His eyes were staring
wide  now  and his breath suspended  waiting for the answer  The
Welshman started  stared in return  three seconds  five seconds  ten
  then replied 

 Of burglar s tools  Why  what s the MATTER with you  

Huck sank back  panting gently  but deeply  unutterably grateful  The
Welshman eyed him gravely  curiously  and presently said 

 Yes  burglar s tools  That appears to relieve you a good deal  But
what did give you that turn  What were YOU expecting we d found  

Huck was in a close place  the inquiring eye was upon him  he would
have given anything for material 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 

 Sunday school books  maybe  

Poor Huck was too distressed to smile  but the old man laughed loud
and joyously  shook up the details of his anatomy 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 bill like everything  Then he added 

 Poor old chap  you re white and jaded  you ain t well a bit  no
wonder you re a little flighty and off your balance  But you ll come
out of it  Rest and sleep will fetch you out 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 treasure  as soon as he had heard the
talk at the widow s stile  He had only thought it was not the treasure 
however  he had not known that it wasn t  and so the suggestion of a
captured bundle was too much for his self possession  But on the whole
he felt glad the little episode had happened  for now he knew beyond
all question that that bundle was not THE bundle  and so his mind was
at rest and exceedingly comfortable  In fact  everything seemed to be
drifting just in the right direction  now  the treasure must be still
in No  2  the men would be captured and jailed that day  and he and Tom
could seize the gold that night without any trouble or any fear of
interruption 

Just as breakfast was completed there was a knock at the door  Huck
jumped for a hiding place  for he had no mind to be connected even
remotely with the late event  The Welshman admitted several ladies and
gentlemen  among them the Widow Douglas  and noticed that groups of
citizens were climbing up the hill  to stare at the stile  So the news
had spread  The Welshman had to tell the story of the night to the
visitors  The widow s gratitude for her preservation was outspoken 

 Don t say a word about it  madam  There s another that you re more
beholden to than you are to me and my boys  maybe  but he don t allow
me to tell his name  We wouldn t have been there but for him  

Of course this excited a curiosity so vast that it almost belittled
the main matter  but the Welshman allowed it to eat into the vitals of
his visitors  and through them be transmitted to the whole town  for he
refused to part with his secret  When all else had been learned  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  Those fellows warn t likely to come
again  they hadn t any tools left to work with  and what was the use of
waking you up and scaring you to death  My three negro men stood guard
at your house all the rest of the night  They ve just come back  

More visitors came  and the story had to be told and retold for a
couple of hours more 

There was no Sabbath school during day school vacation  but everybody
was early at church  The stirring event was well canvassed  News came
that not a sign of the two villains had been yet discovered  When the
sermon was finished  Judge Thatcher s wife dropped alongside of Mrs 
Harper as she moved down the aisle with the crowd and said 

 Is my Becky going to sleep all day  I just expected she would be
tired to death  

 Your Becky  

 Yes   with a startled look   didn t she stay with you last night  

 Why  no  

Mrs  Thatcher turned pale  and sank into a pew  just as Aunt Polly 
talking briskly with a friend  passed by  Aunt Polly said 

 Good morning  Mrs  Thatcher  Good morning  Mrs  Harper  I ve got a
boy that s turned up missing  I reckon my Tom stayed at your house last
night  one of you  And now he s afraid to come to church  I ve got to
settle with him  

Mrs  Thatcher shook her head feebly and turned paler than ever 

 He didn t stay with us   said Mrs  Harper  beginning to look uneasy 
A marked anxiety came into Aunt Polly s face 

 Joe Harper  have you seen my Tom this morning  

 No m  

 When did you see him last  

Joe tried to remember  but was not sure he could say  The people had
stopped moving out of church  Whispers passed along  and a boding
uneasiness took possession of every countenance  Children were
anxiously questioned  and young teachers  They all said they had not
noticed whether Tom and Becky were on board the ferryboat on the
homeward trip  it was dark  no one thought of inquiring if any one was
missing  One young man finally blurted out his fear that they were
still in the cave  Mrs  Thatcher swooned away  Aunt Polly fell to
crying and wringing her hands 

The alarm swept from lip to lip  from group to group  from street to
street  and within five minutes the bells were wildly clanging and the
whole town was up  The Cardiff Hill episode sank into instant
insignificance  the burglars were forgotten  horses were saddled 
skiffs were manned  the ferryboat ordered out  and before the horror
was half an hour old  two hundred men were pouring down highroad and
river toward the cave 

All the long afternoon the village seemed empty and dead  Many women
visited Aunt Polly and Mrs  Thatcher and tried to comfort them  They
cried with them  too  and that was still better than words  All the
tedious night the town waited for news  but when the morning dawned at
last  all the word that came was   Send more candles  and send food  
Mrs  Thatcher was almost crazed  and Aunt Polly  also  Judge Thatcher
sent messages of hope and encouragement from the cave  but they
conveyed no real cheer 

The old Welshman came home toward daylight  spattered with
candle grease  smeared with clay  and almost worn out  He found Huck
still in the bed that had been provided for him  and delirious with
fever  The physicians were all at the cave  so the Widow Douglas came
and took charge of the patient  She said she would do her best by him 
because  whether he was good  bad  or indifferent  he was the Lord s 
and nothing that was the Lord s was a thing to be neglected  The
Welshman said Huck had good spots in him  and the widow said 

 You can depend on it  That s the Lord s mark  He don t leave it off 
He never does  Puts it somewhere on every creature that comes from his
hands  

Early in the forenoon parties of jaded men began to straggle into the
village  but the strongest of the citizens continued searching  All the
news that could be gained was that remotenesses of the cavern were
being ransacked that had never been visited before  that every corner
and crevice was going to be thoroughly searched  that wherever one
wandered through the maze of passages  lights were to be seen flitting
hither and thither in the distance  and shoutings and pistol shots sent
their hollow reverberations to the ear down the sombre aisles  In one
place  far from the section usually traversed by tourists  the names
 BECKY   TOM  had been found traced upon the rocky wall with
candle smoke  and near at hand a grease soiled bit of ribbon  Mrs 
Thatcher recognized the ribbon and cried over it  She said it was the
last relic she should ever have of her child  and that no other memorial
of her could ever be so precious  because this one parted latest from
the living body before the awful death came  Some said that now and
then  in the cave  a far away speck of light would glimmer  and then a
glorious shout would 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 searcher s light 

Three dreadful days and nights dragged their tedious hours along  and
the village sank into a hopeless stupor  No one had heart for anything 
The accidental discovery  just made  that the proprietor of the
Temperance Tavern kept liquor on his premises  scarcely fluttered the
public pulse  tremendous as the fact was  In a lucid interval  Huck
feebly led up to the subject of taverns  and finally asked  dimly
dreading the worst  if anything had been discovered at the Temperance
Tavern since he had been ill 

 Yes   said the widow 

Huck started up in bed  wild eyed 

 What  What was it  

 Liquor   and the place has been shut up  Lie down  child  what a turn
you did give me  

 Only tell me just one thing  only just one  please  Was it Tom Sawyer
that found it  

The widow burst into tears   Hush  hush  child  hush  I ve told you
before  you must NOT 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 treasure was gone forever  gone
forever  But what could she be crying about  Curious 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 Sawyer find it  Pity but somebody
could find Tom Sawyer  Ah  there ain t many left  now  that s got hope
enough  or strength enough  either  to go on searching  



CHAPTER XXXI

NOW to return to Tom and Becky s share in the picnic  They tripped
along the murky aisles with the rest of the company  visiting the
familiar wonders of the cave  wonders dubbed with rather
over descriptive names  such as  The Drawing Room    The Cathedral  
 Aladdin s Palace   and so on  Presently the hide and seek frolicking
began  and Tom and Becky engaged in it with zeal 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 of
names  dates  post office addresses  and mottoes with which the rocky
walls had been frescoed  in candle smoke   Still drifting along and
talking  they scarcely noticed that they were now in a part of the cave
whose walls were not frescoed  They smoked their own names under an
overhanging shelf and moved on  Presently they came to a place where a
little stream of water  trickling over a ledge and carrying a limestone
sediment with it  had  in the slow dragging ages  formed a laced and
ruffled Niagara in gleaming and imperishable stone  Tom squeezed his
small body behind it in order to illuminate it for Becky s
gratification  He found that it curtained a sort of steep natural
stairway which was enclosed between narrow walls  and at once the
ambition to be a discoverer seized him  Becky responded to his call 
and they made a smoke mark for future guidance  and started upon their
quest  They wound this way and that  far down into the secret depths of
the cave  made another mark  and branched off in search of novelties to
tell the upper world about  In one place they found a spacious cavern 
from whose ceiling depended a multitude of shining stalactites of the
length and circumference of a man s leg  they walked all about it 
wondering and admiring  and presently left it by one of the numerous
passages that opened into it  This shortly brought them to a bewitching
spring  whose basin was incrusted with a frostwork of glittering
crystals  it was in the midst of a cavern whose walls were supported by
many fantastic pillars which had been formed by the joining of great
stalactites and stalagmites together  the result of the ceaseless
water drip of centuries  Under the roof vast knots of bats had packed
themselves together  thousands in a bunch  the lights disturbed the
creatures and they came flocking down by hundreds  squeaking and
darting furiously at the candles  Tom knew their ways and the danger of
this sort of conduct  He seized Becky s hand and hurried her into the
first corridor that offered  and none too soon  for a bat struck
Becky s light out with its wing while she was passing out of the
cavern  The bats chased the children a good distance  but the fugitives
plunged into every new passage that offered  and at last got rid of the
perilous things  Tom found a subterranean lake  shortly  which
stretched its dim length away until its shape was lost in the shadows 
He wanted to explore its borders  but concluded that it would be best
to sit down and rest awhile  first  Now  for the first time  the deep
stillness of the place laid a clammy hand upon the spirits of the
children  Becky said 

 Why  I didn t notice  but it seems ever so long since I heard any of
the others  

 Come to think  Becky  we are away down below them  and I don t know
how far away north  or south  or east  or whichever it is  We couldn t
hear them here  

Becky grew apprehensive 

 I wonder how long we ve been down here  Tom  We better start back  

 Yes  I reckon we better  P raps we better  

 Can you find the way  Tom  It s all a mixed up crookedness to me  

 I reckon I could find it  but then the bats  If they put our candles
out it will be an awful fix  Let 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 dreadful possibilities 

They started through a corridor  and traversed it in silence a long
way  glancing at each new opening  to see if there was anything
familiar about the look of it  but they were all strange  Every time
Tom made an examination  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 one that was wanted  He still said it was  all
right   but there was such a leaden dread at his heart that the words
had lost their ring and sounded just as if he had said   All is lost  
Becky clung to his side in an anguish of fear  and tried hard to keep
back the tears  but they would come  At last she said 

 Oh  Tom  never mind the bats  let s go back that way  We seem to get
worse and worse off all the time  

 Listen   said he 

Profound silence  silence so deep that even their breathings were
conspicuous in the hush  Tom shouted  The call went echoing down the
empty aisles and died out in the distance in a faint sound that
resembled a ripple of mocking laughter 

 Oh  don t do it again  Tom  it is too horrid   said Becky 

 It is horrid  but I better  Becky  they might hear us  you know   and
he shouted again 

The  might  was even a chillier horror than the ghostly laughter  it
so confessed a perishing hope  The children stood still and listened 
but there was no result  Tom turned upon the back track at once  and
hurried his steps  It was but a little while before a certain
indecision in his manner revealed another fearful fact to Becky  he
could not find his way back 

 Oh  Tom  you didn t make any marks  

 Becky  I was such a fool  Such a fool  I never thought we might want
to come back  No  I can t find the way  It s all mixed up  

 Tom  Tom  we re lost  we re lost  We never can get out of this awful
place  Oh  why DID we ever leave the others  

She sank to the ground and burst into such a frenzy of crying that Tom
was appalled with the idea that she might die  or lose her reason  He
sat down by her and put his arms around her  she buried her face in his
bosom  she clung to him  she poured out her terrors  her unavailing
regrets  and the far echoes turned them all to jeering laughter  Tom
begged her to pluck up hope again  and she said she could not  He fell
to blaming and abusing himself for getting her into this miserable
situation  this had a better effect  She said she would try to hope
again  she would get up and follow wherever he might lead if only he
would not talk like that any more  For he was no more to blame than
she  she said 

So they moved on again  aimlessly  simply at random  all they could do
was to move  keep moving  For a little while  hope made a show of
reviving  not with any reason to back it  but only because it is its
nature to revive when the spring has not been taken out of it by age
and familiarity with failure 

By and by Tom took Becky s candle and blew it out  This economy meant
so much  Words were not needed  Becky understood  and her hope died
again  She knew that Tom had a whole candle and three or four pieces in
his pockets  yet he must economize 

By and by  fatigue began to assert its claims  the children tried to
pay attention  for it was dreadful to think of sitting down when time
was grown to be so precious  moving  in some direction  in any
direction  was at least progress 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  She sat
down  Tom rested with her  and they talked of home  and the friends
there  and the comfortable beds and  above all  the light  Becky cried 
and Tom tried to think of some way of comforting her  but all his
encouragements were grown threadbare with use  and sounded like
sarcasms  Fatigue 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 peaceful face reflected
somewhat of peace and healing into his own spirit  and his thoughts
wandered away to bygone times and dreamy memories  While he was deep in
his musings  Becky woke up with a breezy little laugh  but it was
stricken dead upon her lips  and a groan followed it 

 Oh  how COULD I sleep  I wish I never  never had waked  No  No  I
don t  Tom  Don 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 out  

 We can try  Tom  but I ve seen such a beautiful country in my dream 
I reckon we are going there  

 Maybe not  maybe not  Cheer up  Becky  and let s go on trying  

They rose up and wandered along  hand in hand and hopeless  They tried
to estimate how long they had been in the cave  but all they knew was
that it seemed days and weeks  and yet it was plain that this could not
be  for their candles were not gone yet  A long time after this  they
could not tell how long  Tom said they must go softly and listen for
dripping water  they must find a spring  They found one presently  and
Tom said it was time to rest again  Both were cruelly tired  yet Becky
said she thought she could go a little farther  She was surprised to
hear Tom dissent  She could not understand it  They sat down  and Tom
fastened his candle to the wall in front of them with some clay 
Thought was soon busy  nothing was said for some time  Then Becky broke
the silence 

 Tom  I am so hungry  

Tom took something out of his pocket 

 Do you remember this   said he 

Becky almost smiled 

 It s our wedding cake  Tom  

 Yes  I wish it was as big as a barrel  for it s all we ve got  

 I saved it from the picnic for us to dream on  Tom  the way grown up
people do with wedding cake  but it ll be our   

She dropped the sentence where it was  Tom divided the cake and Becky
ate with good appetite  while Tom nibbled at his moiety  There was
abundance of cold water to finish the feast with  By and by Becky
suggested that they move on again  Tom was silent a moment  Then he
said 

 Becky  can you bear it if I tell you something  

Becky s face paled  but she thought she could 

 Well  then  Becky  we must stay here  where there s water to drink 
That little piece is our last candle  

Becky gave loose to tears and wailings  Tom did what he could to
comfort her  but with little effect  At length Becky said 

 Tom  

 Well  Becky  

 They ll miss us and hunt for us  

 Yes  they will  Certainly they will  

 Maybe they re hunting for us now  Tom  

 Why  I reckon maybe they are  I hope they are  

 When would they miss us  Tom  

 When they get back to the 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 soon as they
got home  

A frightened look in Becky s face brought Tom to his senses and he saw
that he had made a blunder  Becky was not to have gone home that night 
The children became silent and thoughtful  In a moment a new burst of
grief from Becky showed Tom that the thing in his mind had struck hers
also  that the Sabbath morning might be half spent before Mrs  Thatcher
discovered that Becky was not at Mrs  Harper s 

The children fastened their eyes upon their bit of candle and watched
it melt slowly and pitilessly away  saw the half inch of 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 of
utter darkness reigned 

How long afterward it was that Becky came to a slow consciousness that
she was crying in Tom s arms  neither could tell  All that they knew
was  that after what seemed a mighty stretch of time  both awoke out of
a dead stupor of sleep and resumed their miseries once more  Tom said
it might be Sunday  now  maybe Monday  He tried to get Becky to talk 
but her sorrows were too oppressive  all her hopes were gone  Tom said
that they must have been missed long ago  and no doubt the search was
going on  He would shout and maybe some one would come  He tried it 
but in the darkness the distant echoes sounded so hideously that he
tried it no more 

The hours wasted away  and hunger came to torment the captives again 
A portion of Tom s half of the cake was left  they divided and ate it 
But they seemed hungrier than before  The poor morsel of food only
whetted desire 

By and by Tom said 

 SH  Did you hear that  

Both 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 sound was heard  and apparently
a little nearer 

 It s them   said Tom   they re coming  Come along  Becky  we re all
right now  

The joy of the prisoners was almost overwhelming  Their speed was
slow  however  because pitfalls were somewhat common  and had to be
guarded against  They shortly came to one and had to stop  It might be
three feet deep  it might be a hundred  there was no passing it at any
rate  Tom got down on his breast and reached as far down as he could 
No bottom  They must stay there and wait until the searchers came  They
listened  evidently the distant shoutings were growing more distant  a
moment or two more and they had gone altogether  The heart sinking
misery of it  Tom whooped until he was hoarse  but it was of no use  He
talked hopefully to Becky  but an age of anxious waiting passed and no
sounds came again 

The children groped their way back to the spring  The weary time
dragged on  they slept again  and awoke famished and woe stricken  Tom
believed it must be Tuesday by this time 

Now an idea struck him  There were some side passages near at hand  It
would be better to explore some of these than bear the weight of the
heavy time in idleness  He took a kite line from his pocket  tied it to
a projection  and he and Becky started  Tom in the lead  unwinding the
line as he groped along  At the end of twenty steps the corridor ended
in a  jumping off place   Tom got down on his knees and felt below  and
then as far around the corner as he could reach with his hands
conveniently  he made an effort to stretch yet a little farther to the
right  and at that moment  not twenty yards away  a human hand  holding
a candle  appeared from behind a rock  Tom lifted up a glorious shout 
and instantly that hand was followed by the body it belonged to  Injun
Joe s  Tom was paralyzed  he could not move  He was vastly gratified
the next moment  to see the  Spaniard  take to his heels and get
himself out of sight  Tom wondered that Joe had not recognized his
voice and come over and killed him for testifying in court  But the
echoes must have disguised the voice  Without doubt  that was it  he
reasoned  Tom s fright weakened every muscle in his body  He said to
himself that if he had strength enough to get back to the spring he
would stay there  and nothing should tempt him to run the risk of
meeting Injun Joe again  He was careful to keep from Becky what it was
he had seen  He told her he had only shouted  for luck  

But hunger and wretchedness rise superior to fears in the long run 
Another tedious wait at the spring and another long sleep brought
changes  The children awoke tortured with a raging hunger  Tom believed
that it must be Wednesday or Thursday or even Friday or Saturday  now 
and that the search had been given over  He proposed to explore another
passage  He felt willing to risk Injun Joe and all other terrors  But
Becky was very weak  She had sunk into a dreary apathy and would not be
roused  She said she would wait  now  where she was  and die  it would
not be long  She told Tom to go with the kite line and explore if he
chose  but she implored him to come back every little while and speak
to her  and she made him promise that when the awful time came  he
would stay by her and hold her hand until all was over 

Tom kissed her  with a choking sensation in his throat  and made a
show of being confident of finding the searchers or an escape from the
cave  then he took the kite line in his hand and went groping down one
of the passages on his hands and knees  distressed with hunger and sick
with bodings of coming doom 



CHAPTER XXXII

TUESDAY afternoon came  and waned to the twilight  The village of St 
Petersburg still mourned  The lost children had not 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 the cave  The majority of the searchers had given up the
quest and gone back to their daily avocations  saying that it was plain
the children could never be found  Mrs  Thatcher was very ill  and a
great part of 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 lay it wearily down again with a moan  Aunt Polly had
drooped into a settled melancholy  and her gray hair had grown almost
white  The village went to its rest on Tuesday night  sad and forlorn 

Away in the middle of the 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 toward 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 main street roaring
huzzah after huzzah 

The village was illuminated  nobody went to bed again  it was the
greatest night the little town had ever seen  During the first half hour
a procession of villagers filed through Judge Thatcher s house  seized
the saved ones and kissed them  squeezed Mrs  Thatcher s hand  tried to
speak but couldn t  and drifted out raining tears all over the place 

Aunt Polly s happiness was complete  and Mrs  Thatcher s nearly so  It
would be complete  however  as soon as the messenger dispatched with
the great news to the cave should get the word to her husband  Tom lay
upon a sofa with an eager auditory about him and told the history of
the wonderful adventure  putting in many striking additions to adorn it
withal  and closed with a description of how he left Becky and went on
an exploring expedition  how he followed two avenues as far as his
kite line would reach  how he followed a third to the fullest stretch of
the kite line  and was about to turn back when he glimpsed a far off
speck that looked like daylight  dropped the line and groped toward it 
pushed his head and shoulders through a small hole  and saw the broad
Mississippi rolling by  And if it had only happened to be night he would
not have seen that speck of daylight and would not have explored that
passage any more  He told how he went back for Becky and broke the good
news and she told him not to fret her with such stuff  for she was
tired  and knew she was going to die  and wanted to  He described how he
labored with her and convinced her  and how she almost died for joy when
she had groped to where she actually saw the blue speck of daylight  how
he pushed his way out at the hole and then helped her out  how they sat
there and cried for gladness  how some men came along in a skiff and Tom
hailed them and told them their situation and their famished condition 
how the men didn t believe the wild tale at first   because   said they 
 you are five miles down the river below the valley the cave is in 
  then took them aboard  rowed to a house  gave them supper  made them
rest till two or three hours after dark and then brought them home 

Before day dawn  Judge Thatcher and the handful of searchers with him
were tracked out  in the cave  by the twine clews they had strung
behind them  and informed of the great news 

Three days and nights of toil and hunger in the cave were not to be
shaken off at once  as Tom and Becky soon discovered  They were
bedridden all of Wednesday and Thursday  and seemed to grow more and
more tired and worn  all the time  Tom got about  a little  on
Thursday  was down town Friday  and nearly as whole as ever Saturday 
but Becky did not leave her room until Sunday  and then she looked as
if she had passed through a wasting illness 

Tom learned of Huck s sickness and went to see him on Friday  but
could not be admitted to the bedroom  neither could he on Saturday or
Sunday  He was admitted daily after that  but was warned to keep still
about his adventure and introduce no exciting topic  The Widow Douglas
stayed by to see that he obeyed  At home Tom learned of the Cardiff
Hill event  also that the  ragged man s  body had eventually been found
in the river near the ferry landing  he had been drowned while trying
to escape  perhaps 

About a fortnight after Tom s rescue from the cave  he started off to
visit Huck  who had grown plenty strong enough  now  to hear exciting
talk  and Tom had some that would interest him  he thought  Judge
Thatcher s house was on Tom s way  and he stopped to see Becky  The
Judge and some friends set Tom to talking  and some one asked him
ironically if he wouldn t like to go to the cave again  Tom said he
thought he wouldn t mind it  The Judge said 

 Well  there are others just like you  Tom  I ve not the least doubt 
But we have taken care of that  Nobody will get lost in that cave any
more  

 Why  

 Because I had its big door sheathed with boiler iron two weeks ago 
and triple locked  and I ve got the keys  

Tom turned as white as a sheet 

 What s the matter  boy  Here  run  somebody  Fetch a glass of water  

The water was brought and thrown into Tom s face 

 Ah  now you re all right  What was the matter with you  Tom  

 Oh  Judge  Injun Joe s in the cave  



CHAPTER XXXIII

WITHIN a few minutes the news had spread  and a dozen skiff loads of
men were on their way to McDougal s cave  and the ferryboat  well
filled with passengers  soon followed  Tom Sawyer was in the skiff that
bore Judge Thatcher 

When the cave door was unlocked  a sorrowful sight presented itself in
the dim twilight of the place  Injun Joe lay stretched upon the ground 
dead  with his face close to the crack of the door  as if his longing
eyes had been fixed  to the latest moment  upon the light and the cheer
of the free world outside  Tom was touched  for he knew by his own
experience how this wretch had suffered  His pity was moved  but
nevertheless he felt an abounding sense of relief and security  now 
which revealed to him in a degree which he had not fully appreciated
before how vast a weight of dread had been lying upon him since 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 beam of the door had been chipped and hacked through 
with tedious labor  useless labor  too  it was  for the native rock
formed a sill outside it  and upon that stubborn material the knife had
wrought no effect  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 Joe could
not have squeezed his body under the door  and he knew it  So he had
only hacked that place in order to be doing something  in order to pass
the weary time  in order to employ his tortured faculties  Ordinarily
one could find half a dozen bits of candle stuck around in the crevices
of this vestibule  left there by tourists  but there were none now  The
prisoner had searched them out and eaten them  He had also contrived to
catch a few bats  and these  also  he had eaten  leaving only their
claws  The poor unfortunate had starved to death  In one place  near at
hand  a stalagmite had been slowly growing up from the ground for ages 
builded by the water drip from a stalactite overhead  The captive had
broken off the stalagmite  and upon the stump had placed a stone 
wherein he had scooped a shallow hollow to catch the precious drop
that fell once in every three minutes with the dreary regularity of a
clock tick  a dessertspoonful once in four and twenty hours  That drop
was falling when the Pyramids were new  when Troy fell  when the
foundations of Rome were laid when Christ was crucified  when the
Conqueror created the British empire  when Columbus sailed  when the
massacre at Lexington was  news   It is falling now  it will still be
falling when all these things shall have sunk down the afternoon of
history  and the twilight of tradition  and been swallowed up in the
thick night of oblivion  Has everything a purpose and a mission  Did
this drop fall patiently during five thousand years to be ready for
this flitting human insect s need  and has it another important object
to accomplish ten thousand years to come  No matter  It is many and
many a year since the hapless half breed scooped out the stone to catch
the priceless drops  but to this day the tourist stares longest at that
pathetic stone and that slow dropping water when he comes to see the
wonders of McDougal 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 people flocked
there in boats and wagons from the towns and from all the farms and
hamlets for seven miles around  they brought their children  and all
sorts of provisions  and confessed that they had had almost as
satisfactory a time at the funeral as they could have had at the
hanging 

This funeral stopped the further growth of one thing  the petition to
the governor for Injun Joe s pardon  The petition had been largely
signed  many tearful and eloquent meetings had been held  and a
committee of sappy women been appointed to go in deep mourning and wail
around the governor  and implore him to be a merciful ass and trample
his duty under foot  Injun Joe was believed to have killed five
citizens of the village  but what of that  If he had been Satan himself
there would have been plenty of weaklings ready to scribble their names
to a pardon petition  and drip a tear on it from their permanently
impaired and leaky water works 

The morning after the funeral Tom took Huck to a private place to have
an important talk  Huck had learned all about Tom s adventure from the
Welshman and the Widow Douglas  by this time  but Tom said he reckoned
there was one 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 No  2 and never found anything but
whiskey  Nobody told me it was you  but I just knowed it must  a  ben
you  soon as I heard  bout that whiskey business  and I knowed you
hadn t got the money becuz you d  a  got at me some way or other and
told me even if you was mum to everybody else  Tom  something s always
told me we d never get holt of that swag  

 Why  Huck  I never told on that tavern keeper  YOU know his tavern
was all right the Saturday I went to the picnic  Don t you remember you
was to watch there that night  

 Oh yes  Why  it seems  bout a year ago  It was that very night that I
follered Injun Joe to the widder s  

 YOU followed him  

 Yes  but you keep mum  I reckon Injun Joe s left friends behind him 
and I don t want  em souring on me and doing me mean tricks  If it
hadn t ben for me he d be down in Texas now  all right  

Then Huck told his entire adventure in confidence to Tom  who had only
heard of the Welshman s part of it before 

 Well   said Huck  presently  coming back to the main question 
 whoever nipped the whiskey in No  2  nipped the money  too  I reckon
  anyways it s a goner for us  Tom  

 Huck  that money wasn t ever in No  2  

 What   Huck searched his comrade s face keenly   Tom  have you got on
the track of that money again  

 Huck  it s in the cave  

Huck s eyes blazed 

 Say it again  Tom  

 The money s in the cave  

 Tom  honest injun  now  is it fun  or earnest  

 Earnest  Huck  just as earnest as ever I was in my life  Will you go
in there with me and help get it out  

 I bet I will  I will if it s where we can blaze our way to it and not
get lost  

 Huck  we can do that without the least little bit of trouble in the
world  

 Good as wheat  What makes you think the money s   

 Huck  you just wait till we get in there  If we don t find it I ll
agree to give you my drum and every thing I ve got in the world  I
will  by jings  

 All right  it s a whiz  When do you say  

 Right now  if you say it  Are you strong enough  

 Is it far in the cave  I ben on my pins a little  three or four days 
now  but I can t walk more n a mile  Tom  least I don t think I could  

 It s about five mile into there the way anybody but me would go 
Huck  but there s a mighty short cut that they 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 again all by myself  You
needn t ever turn your hand over  

 Less start right off  Tom  

 All right  We want some bread and meat  and our pipes  and a little
bag or two  and two or three kite strings  and some of these
new fangled things they call lucifer matches  I tell you  many s
the time I wished I had some when I was in there before  

A trifle after noon the boys borrowed a small skiff from a citizen who
was absent  and got under way at once  When they were several miles
below  Cave Hollow   Tom said 

 Now you see this bluff here looks all alike all the way down from the
cave hollow  no houses  no wood yards  bushes all alike  But do you see
that white place up yonder where there s been a landslide  Well  that s
one of my marks  We ll get ashore  now  

They landed 

 Now  Huck  where we re a standing you could touch that hole I got out
of with a fishing pole  See if you can find it  

Huck searched all the place about  and found nothing  Tom proudly
marched into a thick clump of sumach bushes and said 

 Here you are  Look 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 it now  and we ll keep it
quiet  only we ll let Joe Harper and Ben Rogers in  because of course
there s got to be a Gang  or else there wouldn t be any style about it 
Tom Sawyer s Gang  it sounds splendid  don t it  Huck  

 Well  it just does  Tom  And who ll we rob  

 Oh  most anybody  Waylay people  that s mostly the way  

 And kill them  

 No  not always  Hive them in the cave till they raise a ransom  

 What s a ransom  

 Money  You make them raise all they can  off n their friends  and
after you ve kept them a year  if it ain t raised then you kill them 
That s the general way  Only you 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  You take their watches and things  but you always take
your hat off and talk polite  They ain t anybody as polite as robbers
  you ll see that in any book  Well  the women get to loving you  and
after they ve been in the cave a week or two weeks they stop crying and
after that you couldn t get them to leave  If you drove them out they d
turn right around and come back  It s so in all the books  

 Why  it s real bully  Tom  I believe it s better n to be a pirate  

 Yes  it s better in some ways  because it s close to home and
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 the spring  and Tom felt a shudder quiver all through
him  He showed Huck the fragment of candle wick perched on a lump of
clay against the wall  and described how he and Becky had watched the
flame struggle and expire 

The boys began to quiet down to whispers  now  for the stillness and
gloom of the place oppressed their spirits  They went on  and presently
entered and followed Tom s other corridor until they reached the
 jumping off place   The candles revealed the fact that it was not
really a precipice  but only a steep clay hill twenty or thirty feet
high  Tom whispered 

 Now I ll show you something  Huck  

He held his candle aloft and said 

 Look as far around the corner as you can  Do you see that  There  on
the big rock over yonder  done with candle smoke  

 Tom  it s a CROSS  

 NOW where s your Number Two   UNDER THE CROSS   hey  Right yonder s
where I saw Injun Joe poke up his candle  Huck  

Huck stared at the mystic sign awhile  and then said with a shaky voice 

 Tom  less git out of here  

 What  and leave the treasure  

 Yes  leave it  Injun Joe s ghost is round about there  certain  

 No it ain t  Huck  no it ain t  It would ha nt the place where he
died  away out at the mouth of the cave  five mile from here  

 No  Tom  it wouldn t  It would hang round the money  I know the ways
of ghosts  and so do you  

Tom began to fear that Huck was right  Misgivings gathered in his
mind  But presently an idea occurred to him  

 Lookyhere  Huck  what fools we re making of ourselves  Injun Joe s
ghost ain t a going to come around where there s a cross  

The point was well taken  It had its effect 

 Tom  I didn t think of that  But that s so  It s luck for us  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 hill as he descended 
Huck followed  Four avenues opened out of the small cavern which the
great rock stood in  The boys examined three of them with no result 
They found a small recess in the one nearest the base of the rock  with
a pallet of blankets spread down in it  also an old suspender  some
bacon rind  and the well gnawed bones of two or three fowls  But there
was no money box  The lads searched and researched this place  but in
vain  Tom said 

 He said UNDER the cross  Well  this comes nearest to being under the
cross  It can t be under the rock itself  because that sets solid on
the ground  

They searched everywhere once more  and then sat down discouraged 
Huck could suggest nothing  By and by Tom said 

 Lookyhere  Huck  there s footprints and some candle grease on the
clay about one side of this rock  but not on the other sides  Now 
what s that for  I bet you the money IS under the rock  I m going to
dig in the clay  

 That ain t no bad notion  Tom   said Huck with animation 

Tom s  real Barlow  was out at once  and he had not dug four inches
before he struck wood 

 Hey  Huck   you hear that  

Huck began to dig and scratch now  Some boards were soon uncovered and
removed  They had concealed a natural chasm which led under the rock 
Tom got into this and held his candle as far under the rock as he
could  but said he could not see to the end of the rift  He proposed to
explore  He stooped and passed under  the narrow way descended
gradually  He followed its winding course  first to the right  then to
the left  Huck at his heels  Tom turned a short curve  by and by  and
exclaimed 

 My goodness  Huck  lookyhere  

It was the treasure box  sure enough  occupying a snug little cavern 
along with an empty powder keg  a couple of guns in leather cases  two
or three pairs of old moccasins  a leather belt  and some other rubbish
well soaked with the water drip 

 Got it at last   said Huck  ploughing among the tarnished coins with
his hand   My  but we re rich  Tom  

 Huck  I always reckoned we d get it  It s just too good to believe 
but we HAVE got it  sure  Say  let s not fool around here  Let s snake
it out  Lemme see if I can lift the box  

It weighed about fifty pounds  Tom could lift it  after an awkward
fashion  but could not carry it conveniently 

 I thought so   he said   THEY carried it like it was heavy  that day
at the ha nted house  I noticed that  I reckon I was right to think of
fetching the little bags along  

The money was soon in the bags and the boys took it up to the cross
rock 

 Now less fetch the guns and things   said Huck 

 No  Huck  leave 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 our
orgies there  too  It s an awful snug place for orgies  

 What orgies  

 I dono  But robbers always have orgies  and of course we ve got to
have them  too  Come along  Huck  we ve been in here a long time  It s
getting late  I reckon  I m hungry  too  We ll eat and smoke when we
get to the skiff  

They presently emerged into the clump of sumach bushes  looked warily
out  found the coast clear  and were soon lunching and smoking in the
skiff  As the sun dipped toward the horizon they pushed out and got
under way  Tom skimmed up the shore through the long twilight  chatting
cheerily with Huck  and landed shortly after dark 

 Now  Huck   said Tom   we ll hide the money in the loft of the
widow s woodshed  and I ll come up in the morning and we ll count it
and divide  and then we ll hunt up a place out in the woods for it
where it will be safe  Just you lay quiet here and watch the stuff till
I run and hook Benny Taylor s little wagon  I won t be gone a minute  

He disappeared  and presently returned with the wagon  put the two
small sacks into it  threw some old rags on top of them  and started
off  dragging his cargo behind him  When the boys reached the
Welshman s house  they stopped to rest  Just as they were about to move
on  the Welshman stepped out and said 

 Hallo  who s that  

 Huck and Tom Sawyer  

 Good  Come along with me  boys  you are keeping everybody waiting 
Here  hurry up  trot ahead  I ll haul the wagon for you  Why  it s not
as light as it might be  Got bricks in it   or old metal  

 Old metal   said Tom 

 I judged so  the boys in this town will take more trouble and fool
away more time hunting up six bits  worth of old iron to sell to the
foundry than they would 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 

 Never mind  you ll see  when we get to the Widow Douglas   

Huck said with some apprehension  for he was long used to being
falsely accused 

 Mr  Jones  we haven t been doing nothing  

The Welshman laughed 

 Well  I don t know  Huck  my boy  I don t know about that  Ain t you
and the widow good friends  

 Yes  Well  she s ben good friends to me  anyway  

 All right  then  What do you want to be afraid for  

This question was not entirely answered in Huck s slow mind before he
found himself pushed  along with Tom  into Mrs  Douglas  drawing room 
Mr  Jones left the wagon near the door and followed 

The place was grandly lighted  and everybody that was of any
consequence in the village was there  The Thatchers were there  the
Harpers  the Rogerses  Aunt Polly  Sid  Mary  the minister  the editor 
and a great many more  and all dressed in their best  The widow
received the boys as heartily as any one could well receive two such
looking beings  They were covered with clay and candle grease  Aunt
Polly blushed crimson with humiliation  and frowned and shook her head
at Tom  Nobody suffered half as much as the two boys did  however  Mr 
Jones said 

 Tom wasn t at home  yet  so I gave him up  but I stumbled on him and
Huck right at my door  and so I just brought them along in a hurry  

 And you did just right   said the widow   Come with me  boys  

She took them to a bedchamber and said 

 Now wash and dress yourselves  Here are two new suits of clothes
  shirts  socks  everything complete  They re Huck s  no  no thanks 
Huck  Mr  Jones bought one and I the other  But they ll fit both of you 
Get into them  We ll wait  come down when you are slicked up enough  

Then she left 



CHAPTER XXXIV

HUCK said   Tom  we can slope  if we can find a rope  The window ain t
high from the ground  

 Shucks  what do you want to slope for  

 Well  I ain t used to that kind of a crowd  I can t stand it  I ain t
going down there  Tom  

 Oh  bother  It ain t anything  I don t mind it a bit  I ll take care
of you  

Sid appeared 

 Tom   said he   auntie has been waiting for you all the afternoon 
Mary got your Sunday clothes ready  and everybody s been fretting about
you  Say  ain t this grease and clay  on your clothes  

 Now  Mr  Siddy  you jist  tend to your own business  What s all this
blow out about  anyway  

 It s one of the widow s parties that she s always having  This time
it s for the Welshman and his sons  on account of that scrape they
helped her out of the other night  And say  I can tell you something 
if you want to know  

 Well  what  

 Why  old Mr  Jones is going to try to spring something on the people
here to night  but I overheard him tell auntie to day about it  as a
secret  but I reckon it s not much of a secret now  Everybody knows
  the widow  too  for all she tries to let on she don t  Mr  Jones was
bound Huck should be here  couldn t get along with his grand secret
without Huck  you know  

 Secret about what  Sid  

 About Huck tracking the robbers to the widow s  I reckon Mr  Jones
was going to make a grand time over his surprise  but I bet you it will
drop pretty flat  

Sid chuckled in a very contented and satisfied way 

 Sid  was it you that told  

 Oh  never mind who it was  SOMEBODY told  that s enough  

 Sid  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 never told anybody on the robbers  You can t do any but mean
things  and you can t bear to see anybody praised for doing good ones 
There  no thanks  as the widow says   and Tom cuffed Sid s ears and
helped him to the door with several kicks   Now go and tell auntie if
you dare  and to morrow you ll catch it  

Some 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 Mr 
Jones made his little speech  in which he thanked the widow for the
honor she was doing himself and his sons  but said that there was
another person whose modesty  

And so forth and so on  He sprung his secret about Huck s share in the
adventure in the finest dramatic manner he was master of  but the
surprise it occasioned was largely counterfeit and not as clamorous and
effusive as it might have been under happier circumstances  However 
the widow made a pretty fair show of astonishment  and heaped so many
compliments and so much gratitude upon Huck that he almost forgot the
nearly intolerable discomfort 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 roof and have
him educated  and that when she could spare the money she 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 of the company kept
back the due and proper complimentary laugh at this pleasant joke  But
the silence was a little awkward  Tom broke it 

 Huck s got money  Maybe you don t believe it  but he s got lots of
it  Oh  you needn t smile  I reckon I can show you  You just wait a
minute  

Tom ran out of doors  The company looked at each other with a
perplexed interest  and inquiringly at Huck  who was tongue tied 

 Sid  what ails Tom   said Aunt Polly   He  well  there ain t ever any
making of that boy out  I never   

Tom entered  struggling with the weight of his sacks  and Aunt Polly
did not finish her sentence  Tom poured the mass of yellow coin upon
the table and said 

 There  what did I tell you  Half of it s Huck s and half of it s mine  

The spectacle took the general breath away  All gazed  nobody spoke
for a moment  Then there was a unanimous call for an explanation  Tom
said he could furnish it  and he did  The tale was long  but brimful of
interest  There was scarcely an interruption from any one to break the
charm of its flow  When he had finished  Mr  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 mighty small  I m
willing to allow  

The money was counted  The sum amounted to a little over twelve
thousand dollars  It was more than any one present had ever seen at one
time before  though several persons were there who were worth
considerably more than that in property 



CHAPTER XXXV

THE reader may rest satisfied that Tom s and Huck s windfall made a
mighty stir in the poor little village of St  Petersburg  So vast a
sum  all in actual cash  seemed next to incredible  It was talked
about  gloated over  glorified  until the reason of many of the
citizens tottered under the strain of the unhealthy excitement  Every
 haunted  house in St  Petersburg and the neighboring villages was
dissected  plank 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 possessed weight before  but now their sayings were
treasured and repeated  everything they did seemed somehow to be
regarded as remarkable  they had evidently lost the power of doing and
saying commonplace things  moreover  their past history was raked up
and discovered to bear marks of conspicuous originality  The village
paper published biographical sketches of the boys 

The Widow Douglas put Huck s money out at six per cent   and Judge
Thatcher did the same with Tom s at Aunt Polly s request  Each lad had
an income  now  that was simply prodigious  a dollar for every week day
in the year and half of the Sundays  It was just what the minister got
  no  it was what he was promised  he generally couldn t collect it  A
dollar and a quarter a week would board  lodge  and school a boy in
those old simple days  and clothe him and wash him  too  for that
matter 

Judge Thatcher had conceived a great opinion of Tom  He said that no
commonplace boy would ever have got his daughter out of the cave  When
Becky told her father  in strict confidence  how Tom had taken her
whipping at school  the Judge was visibly moved  and when she pleaded
grace for the mighty lie which Tom had told in order to shift that
whipping from her shoulders to his own  the Judge said with a fine
outburst that it was a noble  a generous  a magnanimous lie  a lie that
was worthy to hold up its head and march down through history breast to
breast with George Washington s lauded Truth about the hatchet  Becky
thought her father had never looked so tall and so superb as when he
walked the floor and stamped his foot and said that  She went straight
off and told Tom about it 

Judge Thatcher hoped to see Tom a great lawyer or a great soldier some
day  He said he meant to look to it that Tom should be admitted to the
National Military Academy and afterward trained in the best law school
in the country  in order that he might be ready for either career or
both 

Huck Finn s wealth and the fact that he was now under the Widow
Douglas  protection introduced him into society  no  dragged him into
it  hurled him into it  and his sufferings were almost more than he
could bear  The widow s servants kept him clean and neat  combed and
brushed  and they bedded him nightly in unsympathetic sheets that had
not one little spot or stain which he could press to his heart and know
for a friend  He had to eat with a knife and fork  he had to use
napkin  cup  and plate  he had to learn his book  he had to go to
church  he had to talk so properly that speech was become insipid in
his mouth  whithersoever he turned  the bars and shackles of
civilization shut him in and bound him hand and foot 

He bravely bore his miseries three weeks  and then one day turned up
missing  For forty eight hours the widow hunted for him everywhere in
great distress  The public were profoundly concerned  they searched
high and low  they dragged the river for his body  Early the third
morning Tom Sawyer wisely went poking among some old empty hogsheads
down behind the abandoned slaughter house  and in one of them he found
the refugee  Huck had slept there  he had just breakfasted upon some
stolen odds and ends of food  and was lying off  now  in comfort  with
his pipe  He was unkempt  uncombed  and clad in the same old ruin of
rags that had made him picturesque in the days when he was free and
happy  Tom routed him out  told him the trouble he had been causing 
and urged him to go home  Huck s face lost its tranquil content  and
took a melancholy cast  He said 

 Don 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 widder s good to
me  and friendly  but I can t stand them ways  She makes me get up just
at the same time every morning  she makes me wash  they comb me all to
thunder  she 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 any air
git through  em  somehow  and they re so rotten nice that I can t set
down  nor lay down  nor roll around anywher s  I hain t slid on a
cellar door for  well  it  pears to be years  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 chaw  I got to wear shoes all Sunday  The widder eats by
a bell  she goes to bed by a bell  she gits up by a bell  everything s
so awful reg lar a body can t stand it  

 Well  everybody does that way  Huck  

 Tom  it don t make no difference  I ain t everybody  and I can t
STAND it  It s awful to be tied up so  And grub comes too easy  I don t
take no interest in vittles  that way  I got to ask to go a fishing  I
got to ask to go in a swimming  dern d if I hain t got to ask to do
everything  Well  I d got to talk so nice it wasn t no comfort  I d got
to go up in the attic and rip out awhile  every day  to git a taste in
my mouth  or I d a died  Tom  The widder wouldn t let me smoke  she
wouldn t let me yell  she wouldn t let me gape  nor stretch  nor
scratch  before folks     Then with a spasm of special irritation and
injury    And dad fetch it  she prayed all the time  I never see such a
woman  I HAD to shove  Tom  I just 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  Looky here  Tom  being rich ain t what it s cracked up to be  It s
just worry and worry  and sweat and sweat  and a wishing you was dead
all the time  Now these clothes suits me  and this bar l suits me  and
I ain t ever going to shake  em any more  Tom  I wouldn t ever got into
all this trouble if it hadn t  a  ben for that money  now you just take
my sheer of it along with your n  and gimme a ten center sometimes  not
many times  becuz I don t give a dern for a thing  thout it s tollable
hard to git  and you go and beg off for me with the widder  

 Oh  Huck  you know I can t do that   Tain t fair  and besides if
you ll try this thing just a while longer you ll come to like it  

 Like it  Yes  the way I d like a hot stove if I was to set on it long
enough  No  Tom  I won t be rich  and I won t live in them cussed
smothery houses  I like the woods  and the river  and hogsheads  and
I ll stick to  em  too  Blame it all  just as we d got guns  and a
cave  and all just fixed to rob  here this dern foolishness has got to
come up and spile it all  

Tom saw his opportunity  

 Lookyhere  Huck  being rich ain t going to keep me back from turning
robber  

 No  Oh  good licks  are you in real dead wood earnest  Tom  

 Just as dead earnest as I m sitting here  But Huck  we can t let you
into the gang if you ain t respectable  you know  

Huck s joy was quenched 

 Can t let me in  Tom  Didn t you let me go for a pirate  

 Yes  but that s different  A robber is more high toned than what a
pirate is  as a general thing  In most countries they re awful high up
in the nobility  dukes and such  

 Now  Tom  hain t you always ben friendly to me  You wouldn t shet me
out  would you  Tom  You wouldn t do that  now  WOULD you  Tom  

 Huck  I wouldn t want to  and I DON T want to  but what would people
say  Why  they d say   Mph  Tom Sawyer s Gang  pretty low characters in
it   They d mean you  Huck  You wouldn t like that  and I wouldn t  

Huck was silent for some time  engaged in a mental struggle  Finally
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 right  Huck  it s a whiz  Come along  old chap  and I ll ask the
widow to let up on you a little  Huck  

 Will you  Tom  now will you  That s good  If she ll let up on some of
the roughest things  I ll smoke private and cuss private  and crowd
through or bust  When you going to start the gang and turn robbers  

 Oh  right off  We ll get the boys together and have the initiation
to night  maybe  

 Have the which  

 Have the initiation  

 What s that  

 It s to swear to stand by one another  and never tell the gang s
secrets  even if you re chopped all to flinders  and kill anybody and
all his family that hurts one of the gang  

 That s gay  that s mighty gay  Tom  I tell you  

 Well  I bet it is  And all that swearing s got to be done at
midnight  in the lonesomest  awfulest place you can find  a ha nted
house is the best  but they re all ripped up now  

 Well  midnight s good  anyway  Tom  

 Yes  so it is  And you ve got to swear on a coffin  and sign it with
blood  

 Now  that s something LIKE  Why  it s a million times bullier than
pirating  I ll stick to the widder till I rot  Tom  and if I git to be
a reg lar ripper of a robber  and everybody talking  bout it  I reckon
she ll be proud she snaked me in out of the wet  



CONCLUSION

SO endeth this chronicle  It being strictly a history of a BOY  it
must stop here  the story could not go much further without becoming
the history of a MAN  When one 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 

Most of the characters that perform in this book still live  and are
prosperous and happy  Some day it may seem worth while to take up the
story of the younger ones again and see what sort of men and women they
turned out to be  therefore it will be wisest not to reveal any of that
part of their lives at present 





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