WE was feeling pretty good after breakfast, and took my canoe and went over the river a-fishing, with a lunch, and had a good time, and took a look at the raft and found her all right, and got home late to supper, and found them in such a sweat and worry they didn't know which end they was standing on, and made us go right off to bed the minute we was done supper, and wouldn't tell us what the trouble was, and never let on a word about the new letter, but didn't need to, because we knowed as much about it as anybody did, and as soon as we was half up stairs and her back was turned we slid for the cellar cubboard and loaded up a good lunch and took it up to our room and went to bed, and got up about half-past eleven, and Tom put on Aunt Sally's dress that he stole and was going to start with the lunch, but says:
"Where's the butter?"
"I laid out a hunk of it," I says, "on a piece of a corn-pone."
"Well, you LEFT it laid out, then -- it ain't here."
"We can get along without it," I says.
"We can get along WITH it, too," he says; "just you slide down cellar and fetch it. And then mosey right down the lightning-rod and come along. I'll go and stuff the straw into Jim's clothes to represent his mother in disguise, and be ready to BA like a sheep and shove soon as you get there."
So out he went, and down cellar went I. The hunk of butter, big as a person's fist, was where I had left it, so I took up the slab of corn-pone with it on, and blowed out my light, and started up stairs very stealthy, and got up to the main floor all right, but here comes Aunt Sally with a candle, and I clapped the truck in my hat, and clapped my hat on my head, and the next second she see me; and she says:
"You been down cellar?"
"Yes'm."
"What you been doing down there?"
"Noth'n."
"NOTH'N!"
"No'm."
"Well, then, what possessed you to go down there this time of night?"
"I don't know 'm."
"You don't KNOW? Don't answer me that way. Tom, I want to know what you been DOING down there."
"I hain't been doing a single thing, Aunt Sally, I hope to gracious if I have."
I reckoned she'd let me go now, and as a generl thing she would; but I s'pose there was so many strange things going on she was just in a sweat about every little thing that warn't yard-stick straight; so she says, very decided:
"You just march into that setting-room and stay there till I come. You been up to something you no business to, and I lay I'll find out what it is before I'M done with you."
So she went away as I opened the door and walked into the setting-room. My, but there was a crowd there! Fifteen farmers, and every one of them had a gun. I was most powerful sick, and slunk to a chair and set down. They was setting around, some of them talking a little, in a low voice, and all of them fidgety and uneasy, but trying to look like they warn't; but I knowed they was, because they was always taking off their hats, and putting them on, and scratching their heads, and changing their seats, and fumbling with their buttons. I warn't easy myself, but I didn't take my hat off, all the same.
I did wish Aunt Sally would come, and get done with me, and lick me, if she wanted to, and let me get away and tell Tom how we'd overdone this thing, and what a thundering hornet's-nest we'd got ourselves into, so we could stop fooling around straight off, and clear out with Jim before these rips got out of patience and come for us.
At last she come and begun to ask me questions, but I COULDN'T answer them straight, I didn't know which end of me was up; because these men was in such a fidget now that some was wanting to start right NOW and lay for them desperadoes, and saying it warn't but a few minutes to midnight; and others was trying to get them to hold on and wait for the sheep-signal; and here was Aunty pegging away at the questions, and me a-shaking all over and ready to sink down in my tracks I was that scared; and the place getting hotter and hotter, and the butter beginning to melt and run down my neck and behind my ears; and pretty soon, when one of them says, "I'M for going and getting in the cabin FIRST and right NOW, and catching them when they come," I most dropped; and a streak of butter come a-trickling down my forehead, and Aunt Sally she see it, and turns white as a sheet, and says:
"For the land's sake, what IS the matter with the child? He's got the brain-fever as shore as you're born, and they're oozing out!"
And everybody runs to see, and she snatches off my hat, and out comes the bread and what was left of the butter, and she grabbed me, and hugged me, and says:
"Oh, what a turn you did give me! and how glad and grateful I am it ain't no worse; for luck's against us, and it never rains but it pours, and when I see that truck I thought we'd lost you, for I knowed by the color and all it was just like your brains would be if -- Dear, dear, whyd'nt you TELL me that was what you'd been down there for, I wouldn't a cared. Now cler out to bed, and don't lemme see no more of you till morning!"
I was up stairs in a second, and down the lightningrod in another one, and shinning through the dark for the lean-to. I couldn't hardly get my words out, I was so anxious; but I told Tom as quick as I could we must jump for it now, and not a minute to lose -- the house full of men, yonder, with guns!
His eyes just blazed; and he says:
"No! -- is that so? AIN'T it bully! Why, Huck, if it was to do over again, I bet I could fetch two hundred! If we could put it off till --"
"Hurry! HURRY!" I says. "Where's Jim?"
"Right at your elbow; if you reach out your arm you can touch him. He's dressed, and everything's ready. Now we'll slide out and give the sheepsignal."
But then we heard the tramp of men coming to the door, and heard them begin to fumble with the padlock, and heard a man say:
"I TOLD you we'd be too soon; they haven't come -- the door is locked. Here, I'll lock some of you into the cabin, and you lay for 'em in the dark and kill 'em when they come; and the rest scatter around a piece, and listen if you can hear 'em coming."
So in they come, but couldn't see us in the dark, and most trod on us whilst we was hustling to get under the bed. But we got under all right, and out through the hole, swift but soft -- Jim first, me next, and Tom last, which was according to Tom's orders. Now we was in the lean-to, and heard trampings close by outside. So we crept to the door, and Tom stopped us there and put his eye to the crack, but couldn't make out nothing, it was so dark; and whispered and said he would listen for the steps to get further, and when he nudged us Jim must glide out first, and him last. So he set his ear to the crack and listened, and listened, and listened, and the steps a-scraping around out there all the time; and at last he nudged us, and we slid out, and stooped down, not breathing, and not making the least noise, and slipped stealthy towards the fence in Injun file, and got to it all right, and me and Jim over it; but Tom's britches catched fast on a splinter on the top rail, and then he hear the steps coming, so he had to pull loose, which snapped the splinter and made a noise; and as he dropped in our tracks and started somebody sings out:
"Who's that? Answer, or I'll shoot!"
But we didn't answer; we just unfurled our heels and shoved. Then there was a rush, and a BANG, BANG, BANG! and the bullets fairly whizzed around us! We heard them sing out:
"Here they are! They've broke for the river! After 'em, boys, and turn loose the dogs!"
So here they come, full tilt. We could hear them because they wore boots and yelled, but we didn't wear no boots and didn't yell. We was in the path to the mill; and when they got pretty close on to us we dodged into the bush and let them go by, and then dropped in behind them. They'd had all the dogs shut up, so they wouldn't scare off the robbers; but by this time somebody had let them loose, and here they come, making powwow enough for a million; but they was our dogs; so we stopped in our tracks till they catched up; and when they see it warn't nobody but us, and no excitement to offer them, they only just said howdy, and tore right ahead towards the shouting and clattering; and then we up-steam again, and whizzed along after them till we was nearly to the mill, and then struck up through the bush to where my canoe was tied, and hopped in and pulled for dear life towards the middle of the river, but didn't make no more noise than we was obleeged to. Then we struck out, easy and comfortable, for the island where my raft was; and we could hear them yelling and barking at each other all up and down the bank, till we was so far away the sounds got dim and died out. And when we stepped on to the raft I says:
"NOW, old Jim, you're a free man again, and I bet you won't ever be a slave no more."
"En a mighty good job it wuz, too, Huck. It 'uz planned beautiful, en it 'uz done beautiful; en dey ain't NOBODY kin git up a plan dat's mo' mixed-up en splendid den what dat one wuz."
We was all glad as we could be, but Tom was the gladdest of all because he had a bullet in the calf of his leg.
When me and Jim heard that we didn't feel so brash as what we did before. It was hurting him considerable, and bleeding; so we laid him in the wigwam and tore up one of the duke's shirts for to bandage him, but he says:
"Gimme the rags; I can do it myself. Don't stop now; don't fool around here, and the evasion booming along so handsome; man the sweeps, and set her loose! Boys, we done it elegant! -- 'deed we did. I wish WE'D a had the handling of Louis XVI., there wouldn't a been no 'Son of Saint Louis, ascend to heaven!' wrote down in HIS biography; no, sir, we'd a whooped him over the BORDER -- that's what we'd a done with HIM -- and done it just as slick as nothing at all, too. Man the sweeps -- man the sweeps!"
But me and Jim was consulting -- and thinking. And after we'd thought a minute, I says:
"Say it, Jim."
So he says:
"Well, den, dis is de way it look to me, Huck. Ef it wuz HIM dat 'uz bein' sot free, en one er de boys wuz to git shot, would he say, 'Go on en save me, nemmine 'bout a doctor f'r to save dis one?' Is dat like Mars Tom Sawyer? Would he say dat? You BET he wouldn't! WELL, den, is JIM gywne to say it? No, sah -- I doan' budge a step out'n dis place 'dout a DOCTOR, not if it's forty year!"
I knowed he was white inside, and I reckoned he'd say what he did say -- so it was all right now, and I told Tom I was a-going for a doctor. He raised considerable row about it, but me and Jim stuck to it and wouldn't budge; so he was for crawling out and setting the raft loose himself; but we wouldn't let him. Then he give us a piece of his mind, but it didn't do no good.
So when he sees me getting the canoe ready, he says:
"Well, then, if you re bound to go, I'll tell you the way to do when you get to the village. Shut the door and blindfold the doctor tight and fast, and make him swear to be silent as the grave, and put a purse full of gold in his hand, and then take and lead him all around the back alleys and everywheres in the dark, and then fetch him here in the canoe, in a roundabout way amongst the islands, and search him and take his chalk away from him, and don't give it back to him till you get him back to the village, or else he will chalk this raft so he can find it again. It's the way they all do."
So I said I would, and left, and Jim was to hide in the woods when he see the doctor coming till he was gone again.
"有了我们也能凑合呀，"他说，" 你这就上地窖里去拿。然后赶紧顺避雷针滑下来，一直跑过去。我去朝吉姆的衣服里塞上草，装作是他母亲，你一到那儿，我就咩咩学羊叫，跟着跑开。"因此，他往外走，我下地窖。那块黄油有人的拳头大，它还在我刚才搁的地方，因此，我拿起那块放黄油的面包，吹灭蜡烛，上了楼梯，偷偷摸摸到地面上，一直也没出事儿。可迎面走来了莎丽姨，她拿着蜡烛，我赶忙把那块黄油面包塞到帽子里，啪地把帽子扣到头上。她看见我了，问道："你下地窖了？""嗯，""你到那下面干什么？""没干什么。""没干！""没干。""那，好吧，深更半夜的，是什么鬼把你给缠住了，叫你下到那儿去的？""我不知道。""你不知道？别这么跟我答话，汤姆，我想知道你在下面在干什么？""我什么事也没干，莎丽姨，老天爷作证，我没干。"我估计这回她该放我走了，要在往常，她会放了我，可是，我想因为近来出了那么多离奇古怪的事情，所以每件小事稍有不明，她都急于弄个清楚。因此，她十分果断地说："你给我到客厅里去，呆在那里等我回来。你准做了十分不该做的事儿，我得查个清楚，才能饶你。"说完她走了，我开门走入客厅。妈呀，那儿可是有一群人！15 个农民，每人握着一杆枪。我紧张极了，悄悄地找把椅子坐下。他们坐了个满地都是，有的三言两语交谈几句，声音很低，他们全都坐立不安宁，却又极力装得毫不在意，可是，我看得出来，因为他们不停地把帽子摘掉又戴上，挠挠头，换换位儿，还不住摸衣服上的扣子。我自己也很不踏实，可我一直不敢摘帽子。
我真心希望莎丽姨快过来，把我的事处理完，要是她乐意就算揍我一顿也没关系，只要让我走开，告诉汤姆我们把这事闹得太过了，让自己闯进了嗡嗡乱叫的马蜂窝，因此，我们要立即停止胡闹，带吉姆尽快逃走，别让这些家伙没了耐心来追我们。
她终于来了，开始盘问我，可是我几乎都烦躁不安。有的主张马上动身，埋伏下来等那帮强盗，还说过不了几分钟就半夜了，另一些人竭力劝他们忍住，等待羊叫信号。可是姨偏要不住地问下去，吓得我浑身发颤，随时都可能晕倒地上，屋里越来越热，那块黄油开始溶化，在我耳朵后头顺着脖子往下流。不一阵，听见一个人说：" 我现在就去，先进那个小屋里躲好，等他们一来就抓住他们。" 我险些儿摔倒，一道黄油顺着我的脑门嘀嗒下来，莎丽姨看见了，面色惨白，说道："天哪，这孩子得了什么病啊！他得的是脑炎，没错，脑浆都渗出来啦！"大家都跑来看，她一把抓掉我的帽子，面包掉出来了，剩下的那点黄油也露出来了，她拽过我，紧紧搂着说："哎呀，你真把我吓坏了！总算没再出倒霉事儿，我是谢天谢地又欢喜呀，因为这一段我们老走背运，怕只怕祸不单行。一看见你头上那样，我就想我们要失去你了，因为我看那颜色和症状，就跟是你的脑浆，要不是，哎呀，哎呀，你干嘛不明白告诉我你下去就是要拿这些东西呀，我一点儿不会在意。赶紧睡觉去吧，睡到早上，别再让我看到你！"我只一秒钟就上了楼，又一秒钟下了避雷针，在黑暗中朝跑斜棚去。我太着急了，几乎喘不过气来，不过还是尽快告诉了汤姆，我们得立刻就逃，一秒钟也不能耽搁--那屋里坐满了人，还带着枪！
他双眼发亮，说道："不会吧，真的吗？真叫绝呀！啊，哈克，如果再做一遍，我准会招来二百人！要是我们能拖到--""快去吧！快！" 我说，" 吉姆在哪儿？""就在你胳膊肘那儿，一伸出胳膊就可以摸着。他穿戴齐了，全准备好了。现在我们偷偷儿摸出去，再发个羊叫信号。"正这时，我们听到有人的脚步声朝门口走来，听到他们开始在挂锁上乱摸，一个人说："我跟你说我们太性急了，他们还没到，门锁着。现在，我把你们几个锁到屋里，你们在黑影中埋伏好，等他们过来就干掉他们，其余的人四处散开，听听能否听到他们过来。"这样，他们进屋了，可看不见我们在黑影里，有人几乎要踩在我们身上，我们正急着往床底下钻。不过我们还是顺顺当当钻到洞里，从洞口出来，轻快敏捷--吉姆第一，我第二，汤姆最后，这是按照汤姆的命令做的。现在我们到了斜棚，听得见外面贴近的脚步声。我们爬到门口，汤姆让我们停下，他把眼睛贴在门缝上看，可什么也看不清楚，天太黑了。他小声告诉我们说，他要听着脚步走远，等他拿胳膊肘一碰我们，吉姆还第一个出去，他压阵。于是，他又把耳朵贴到门缝上听，听啊听啊，脚步声在四周嚓嚓响，就在门外，一直不断，最后他一碰我们，我们溜出来了，弯着腰，憋着气，一点声响也不敢出，偷偷地往篱笆那儿摸去，像印第安人那样排着纵队。到了篱笆前，总算没现什么事儿，我和吉姆翻了过去，可汤姆的裤子被顶上那道栏杆上的裂口给牢牢挂住了。这时，他听到脚步声近了，因此就只得使劲拽，裂口拽开了，刺啦响了一声。当他落到我们身后朝前跑的时候，有人大声叫道："那是谁？快答话！否则我就开枪啦！"可我们不答话，撒开双腿就朝前跑。马上有人追了上来，砰！砰！砰！子弹在我们身旁飕飕划过！我们听见他们叫着："他们在这儿！往河边儿跑啦！伙计们，追上去！把狗放开！"于是，他们全力以赴追了上来。我们能听见，因为他们穿着靴子，喊着叫着，可我们没穿靴子，也不喊叫。我们上了锯木厂那条小道，当他们追得离我们很近时，我们闪身躲入树丛，让他们过去了，然后，又跳出来跟在他们后边跑。他们原本把所有的狗都关起来了，为了不让它们把强盗吓跑，可这时候，就有人把狗放开了。狗都追了过来，汪汪乱叫，听着都有一百万条，可这些狗全是我们家的，因此，等它们追上来时，我们就站到路上，它们一看除了我们没有外人，不值得大惊小怪，就跟我们打声招呼，向人声喧闹那边猛冲过去。然后我们又抖擞精神，跟在后面飞奔，一直跑近锯木厂，钻进丛林，到了拴独木舟的地方，一脚就跳了上去，向大河当中死命地划去，同时又尽力不弄出声响。然后，我们才轻松舒服地朝藏木排的小岛划去。我们还能听到他们在岸边跑上跑下，人喊狗吠，一片嘈杂，后来，我们划远了，声音渐渐减弱消失。我们上木排时，我说："好啦，吉姆，你又自由啦。我保证你再不会去做奴隶啦。""这一回的事儿干得非常好，哈克。计划得漂亮，干得也漂亮。没人能想出这么个计划，既弄得人迷迷糊糊，又精彩绝顶。"我们俩高兴极了，不过最高兴的还是汤姆，因为他腿肚子上中了一颗子弹。
我和吉姆听了这话，再不像刚才那么劲头十足了。子弹伤得他不轻，一直在不停地流血，于是，我们把他抬进了窝棚，把公爵的一件衬衣撕了，要为他包扎，可是他说："把布条给我，我自己可以。现在，别停下来，别在这儿瞎耽搁，这次逃亡行动可真够帅，装好长桨，解开绳索！伙计们，我们干得出色极了！确实很漂亮。我希望我们帮的是路易十六的忙，这样，在他的传记里就会写上"圣路易之子，请你升天吧！" "不会的，先生，我们会带着他偷越国境--对他，我们就要这么做--还要干得巧妙，不把它当回事儿。安上长桨，安上长桨。"但是，我跟吉姆却在商量，认真想，想了一分钟，我说："你说吧，吉姆。"于是他说："那好吧，我有这么个看法，哈克。要是获救的是他，有一个伙计中了弹，他会不会说，'快跑，救我要紧，不必找大夫给这家伙治伤'呢？汤姆·索亚少爷是那种人吗？他会说那种话吗？十拿九稳，他不会！好啦，那么，我吉姆会说那种话吗？不，您哪。要是不找个大夫，我一步也不挪开这个地方，就算等上四十年也不！"我知道他有一颗高尚的心，我料定他会这么说的。所以，现在就好办多了，我就对汤姆说我要去请大夫。他为此大吵了一阵，可我和吉姆执意要请，决不让步，于是他就要爬出来，自己解开木排，可是我们不允许他这样做。后来，他和我们谈了一番他的想法，不过那也没用。
这样，当他见我把独木舟收拾好了，他说："好吧，那么，要是你执意要去，我来告诉你到了村里怎么做。关上房门，蒙上大夫的眼睛，蒙它个结结实实，让他发誓保持沉默，决不声张，朝他手里塞上满满一包金币，然后拽着他穿过偏僻的小巷，在黑暗中多绕几个圈子，再把他领到独木舟上。在小岛当中还得再转几个圈儿，搜搜他身子，拿走他的粉笔，不回到村子里决不还给他，否则，他就会在这个木排上画上粉笔印儿，这样他就会再找到儿了。他们会耍这一套。"于是我说我照办，就离开了，吉姆一看到大夫来，就计划躲到树林里，等他走了再出来。