The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn·

d satisfied. I could see the sun out at one or two holes, but mostly it was big trees all about, and gloomy in there amongst them. There was freckled places on the ground where the light sif

s; pretty soon I hears it again. I hopped up, and went and looked out at a hole in the leaves, and I see a bunch of smoke laying on the water a long ways up -- about abreast the ferry. And there was the ferryboat full of

w they always put quicksilver in loaves of bread and float them off, because they always go right to the drownded carcass and stop there. So, says I, I'll keep a lookout, and if any of them's floating around after me I'll give them a show. I changed to the Illinois edge of the island to see what luck I could have, and I warn't disappointed. A big double loaf come along, and I most got it

ow I reckon the widow or the parson or somebody prayed that this bread would find me, and here it has gone and done it. So there ain't no doubt but there is something in that

was aboard when she come along, because she would come in close, where the bread did. When she'd got pretty well along down towards me, I put out my p

ybody was on the boat. Pap, and Judge Thatcher, and Bessie Thatcher, and Jo Harper, and Tom Sawyer, and his old Aunt

e, and maybe he's washed ashore and got tangled among

y in my face, and kept still, watching with all their might. I could se

on and went out of sight around the shoulder of the island. I could hear the booming now and then, further and further off, and by and by, after an hour, I didn't hear it no more. The island was three mile long. I judged they had got to the foot, and was giving it up. But they didn't yet a while. They turned

ck woods. I made a kind of a tent out of my blankets to put my things under so the rain couldn't get at them. I catched a catfish and haggl

went and set on the bank and listened to the current swashing along, and counted the stars and drift logs and rafts that come dow

t; it all belonged to me, so to say, and I wanted to know all about it; but mainly I wanted to put in the time. I found plenty strawberries, ripe and pri

rotection; thought I would kill some game nigh home. About this time I mighty near stepped on a good-sized snake, and it went sliding off through the grass and

a second amongst the thick leaves and listened, but my breath come so hard I couldn't hear nothing else. I slunk along another piece further, then listened again; and so on, and so on.

time to be fooling around. So I got all my traps into my canoe again so as to have them out of sight, and I

seen as much as a thousand things. Well, I couldn't stay up there forever; so at last I got down, but I kept in the t

out in the woods and cooked a supper, and I had about made up my mind I would stay there all night when I hear a PLUNKETY- PLUNK, PLUNKETY-PLUNK, and says to myself, horses coming; and nex

nd a good place; the horses is ab

d away easy. I tied up in the old place,

the neck. So the sleep didn't do me no good. By and by I says to myself, I can't live this way; I'm a-going to

got my gun and slipped out and into the edge of the woods. I sat down there on a log, and looked out through the leaves. I see the moon go off watch, and the darkness begin to blanket the river. But in a little while I see a pale streak over the treetops, and knowed the day was coming. So I took my gun and slipped off towards where I had run across that camp fire, stopping every minute or two to listen. But I hadn't no luck somehow; I couldn't seem to find the place. But by and by, sure enough, I catched a gli

m!" and sk

Then he drops down on his knees, an

ed dead people, en done all I could for 'em. You go en git in de river agin

I warn't lonesome now. I told him I warn't afraid of HIM telling the people where I was.

's get breakfast. Make

trawbries en sich truck? But you got a gun, hain't

truck," I says. "Is t

it nuffn els

you been on the

e night arter

all tha

- inde

othing but that kind

-- nuff

be most starve

ss. I think I could. How l

night I g

a gun. Oh, yes, you got a gun. Dat's good.

bacon and coffee, and coffee-pot and frying-pan, and sugar and tin cups, and the nigger was set back considerable, because he r

m laid it in with all his might, for he was most about starved. Then when

wuz it dat 'uz killed in da

t was smart. He said Tom Sawyer couldn't get u

be here, Jim, and

and didn't say nothing fo

better no

, Ji

wouldn' tell on me ef I uz t

if I wou

e you, Huck. I

im

ldn' tell -- you know you s

e a lowdown Abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum -- but that don't make no difference. I

lace considable lately, en I begin to git oneasy. Well, one night I creeps to de do' pooty late, en de do' warn't quite shet, en I hear old missus tell de widder she gwyne to sell me down to Orleans, but she didn' want to, but

ht. Dey wuz somebody roun' all de time. 'Long 'bout six in de mawnin' skifts begin to go by, en 'bout eight er nine every skift dat went 'long wuz talkin' 'bout how yo' pap come over to de town en say you's killed. Dese las' skifts wuz full o'

ht arter breakfas' en be gone all day, en dey knows I goes off wid de cattle 'bout daylight, so dey wouldn' 'spec to see me roun' de place, en so dey woul

's agwyne to do. You see, ef I kep' on tryin' to git away afoot, de dogs 'ud track me; ef I stole a skift to cross over, dey'd miss dat skift, you

ll de raff come along. Den I swum to de stern uv it en tuck a-holt. It clouded up en 'uz pooty dark for a little while. So I clumb up en laid down on de planks. De men 'uz all 'way yonder in de middle, whah de lantern wuz

fer de islan'. Well, I had a notion I could lan' mos' anywhers, but I couldn't -- bank too bluff. I 'uz mos' to de foot er de islan' b'fo' I found' a good place. I went into de woods

or bread to eat all this time?

w's a body gwyne to hit um wid a rock? How could a body do it in de

n the woods all the time, of course. D

ter you. I see um go by heah

chickens flew that way, and so he reckoned it was the same way when young birds done it. I was going to catch some of them, but Jim wouldn't let me. He

wn. And he said if a man owned a beehive and that man died, the bees must be told about it before sun-up next morning, or else the bees would all weaken down an

s of signs. He said he knowed most everything. I said it looked to me like all the sign

hairy arms en a hairy breas', it's a sign dat you's agwyne to be rich. Well, dey's some use in a sign like dat, 'kase it's so fur ahead. You see, may

ry arms and a hai

x dat question? Don

are you

rich agin. Wunst I had foteen dollars, but

ou speculat

t I tackle

ind of

ollars in a cow. But I ain' gwyne to resk no mo'

st the ten

s' 'bout nine of it. I sole de hide

nd ten cents left. Did

de niggers went in, but dey didn't have much. I wuz de on'y one dat had much. So I stuck out for mo' dan fo' dollars, en I said 'f I didn' git it I'd start a bank mysef. Well, o' course da

hed a woodflat, en his marster didn' know it; en I bought it off'n him en told him to take de thirty-five dollars when de en' er de year co

do with the te

s lucky, dey say, en I see I warn't lucky. De dream say let Balum inves' de ten cents en he'd make a raise for me. Well, Balum he tuck de money, en when he wuz in church he hear de preacher sa

did come o

gwyne to len' no mo' money 'dout I see de security. Boun' to git yo' money back a hund'd times,

im, long as you're going to be

wns mysef, en I's wuth eight hund'd dollars. I