Well, I catched my breath,Ⓐhistorical collation and most fainted. Shut up on a wreck with such a gang as that! But it warn’t no time to be sentimentering. We’d got to find that boat, now—had to have it for ourselves. So we went a-quaking and shaking down the stabboardⒶemendation side, and slow work it was, too—seemed a week before we got to the stern. No sign of a boat. Jim said he didn’t believe he could go any further—so scared he hadn’t hardly any strength left, he said. But I said come on, if weⒶalteration in the MS get left on this wreck, we are in a fix,Ⓐalteration in the MS sure. So on we prowled, again. We struck for the stern of the texas, and found it, and then scrabbled along forwardsⒶalteration in the MS on the skylight, hanging on from shutter to shutter, for the edge of the skylight was in the water. When we got pretty close to the cross-hallⒶemendation doorⒺexplanatory note, there was the skiff, sure enough!Ⓐalteration in the MS—Ⓐhistorical collationI could just barely see her. I felt ever soⒶalteration in the MS thankfulⒶemendation. In another second I would aⒶalteration in the MS been aboard of her; but just then the door opened. One of the men stuck his head out, only about a couple of foot from me, and I thought I was gone; but he jerked it in again, and says:
“Heave that blameⒶemendation lantern out o’ sight, Bill!”
He flung a bag of something into the boat, and then got in,Ⓐhistorical collation himself, and set down. It was Packard. Then Bill he come out and got in. Packard says, in a low voice:
“All ready—shove off!”Ⓐalteration in the MS
[begin page 87] I couldn’tⒶalteration in the MS Ⓐemendation hardly hang ontoⒶemendation the shutters, I was so weak.Ⓐalteration in the MS But Bill says:
“Hold on—’d you go through him?”
“No. Didn’t you?”
“No. So he’s got his share o’ the cash, yet.”
“Well, then, come along—no use to take truck and leave money.”
“Say—won’t he suspicion what we’re up to?”
“Maybe he won’t. But we got to have it anyway. Come along.”
So they got out and went in.Ⓐemendation
The door slammed to, because it was on the careened side; and in a half secondⒶemendation I was in the boat, and Jim come a-tumblingⒶhistorical collation after me. I out with my knife and cut the rope, and away we went!
We didn’t touch an oar, and we didn’t speakⒶhistorical collation nor whisper, nor hardly even breathe. We went gliding swift along, dead silent, past the tip of theⒶalteration in the MS paddle-boxⒶhistorical collation, and pastⒶemendation the stern; then in a second or two more we was a hundred yards below the wreckⒶalteration in the MS, and the darkness soaked her up, every last sign of her, and we was safe, and knowed it.
When we was threeⒶalteration in the MS or four hundred yards down stream, we see the lantern show like a little spark at the texas door, for a second, and we knowed by that that the rascalsⒶalteration in the MS had missed their boat, and was beginning to understand that they was in just as much trouble, now, as Jim Turner was.
Then Jim manned the oars, and we took out after our raft. Now was the first time that I begun to worry about the men—I reckon I hadn’t had time to,Ⓐhistorical collation before. I begun to think how dreadful it was, even for murderers, to be in such a fix. I says to myself, thereⒶalteration in the MS ain’t no telling but I might come to be a murderer myself, yet, and then how would I like it? So says IⒶemendation to Jim:
“The first light we see, we’ll land a hundred yards below it or above it, in a place where it’s a good hiding placeⒶhistorical collation for you and the skiff, and then I’ll go and fix up some kind of a yarn, and get somebody to go for that gang and get them out of their scrape, so they can be hung when their time comes.”
But that idea was a failure; for pretty soon it begun to storm again, and this time worse than ever. The rain poured down, and never a light showed; everybody in bed, I reckon. We boomed along down [begin page 88] the river, watching for lights and watching for our raft. After aⒶalteration in the MS long timeⒶalteration in the MS the rain let up, but the clouds staidⒶemendation Ⓐtextual note, and the lightning kept whimpering, and by and byⒶhistorical collation a flash showed us a black thing ahead, floating, and we made for it.
It was the raft, and mighty glad was we to get aboard of it again. We seenⒶemendation a light, now, away down to the right, on shore. So I said I would go for it. The skiff was half full of plunder which that gang had stole, there on the wreck. We hustled it onto the raft in a pile, and I told Jim to floatⒶalteration in the MS along down, and show a light when he judged he had gone about twoⒶalteration in the MS mileⒶemendation and keep it burning till I come;Ⓐalteration in the MS then I manned my oars and shoved for the light. As I got down towards it, three or four more showed—up on a hillside. It was a village. I closed in above the shore-light, and laid on my oars and floated. As I went by, I seeⒶalteration in the MS it was a lantern hanging on the jackstaffⒶemendation of a double-hull ferry boatⒶhistorical collation. Everything was dead still, nobody stirring. I floated in under the stern, made fast, and clumb aboard.Ⓐhistorical collation I skimmed around for the watchman, a-wondering whereabouts he slept;Ⓐalteration in the MS and by and byⒶhistorical collation I found him roosting on the bitts, forward, with his head down between his knees. I give his shoulder two or three little shoves, and begun to cry.
He stirred up, in a kind of a startlish way; but when he see it was only me, he took a good gap and stretch, and then he says:
“Hello, what’s up? Don’t cry, bub.Ⓐalteration in the MS What’s the trouble?”
I says:
“PapⒶalteration in the MS, and mam, and sis, and—Ⓐhistorical collation”
Then I broke down. He says:
“OⒶhistorical collation, dang it, now, don’t take on so, we all has to have our troubles,Ⓐhistorical collation and this’n ’llⒶalteration in the MS come out all right. What’s the matter with ’em?”
“They’re—they’re—are you the watchman of the boat?”
“Yes,” he says, kind of pretty-well-satisfied like.Ⓐemendation “I’m the captain,Ⓐhistorical collation and the owner, and the mate, and the pilot,Ⓐalteration in the MS and watchman,Ⓐalteration in the MS and head deck-hand; and sometimes I’m the freight and passengers. I ain’t as rich as old Jim Hornback, and I can’t be so blame’ generous and good to Tom, Dick and Harry as whatⒶalteration in the MS he is, and slam around money the way he does,Ⓐhistorical collation but I’ve told him a many a time’t I wouldn’t trade places with him; for, says I, a sailor’s life’s the life for meⒺexplanatory note, and I’m dernedⒶemendation if I’dⒶhistorical collation live two mile out o’ town, where there ain’t nothing [begin page 89] ever goin’ on, not for all his spondulicks and as much more on top of it. Says I—Ⓐhistorical collation”
I broke in and says:
“They’re in an awful peck of trouble, and—Ⓐhistorical collation”
“Who is?”
“Why, pap, and mam, and sis, and Miss Hooker; and if you’d take your ferry boatⒶhistorical collation and go up there—Ⓐhistorical collation”
“Up where? Where are they?”
“On the wreck.”
“What wreck?”
“Why, there ain’t but one.”
“What, you don’t mean the Walter Ⓐalteration in the MS Scott Ⓔexplanatory note?”
“Yes.”
“Good land! what are they doin’ there, for gracious sakes?”
“Well, they didn’t go there a-purpose.”
“I bet they didn’t! Why, great goodness,Ⓐalteration in the MS there ain’t no chance for ’emⒶalteration in the MS if they don’t git off mighty quick! Why, how in the nation did they ever git into such a scrape?”
[begin page 90] “Easy enough. Miss Hooker was a-visiting, up there toⒶemendation the town—Ⓐhistorical collation”
“Yes, Booth’s Landing—go on.”
“She was a visitingⒶhistorical collation, there at Booth’s Landing, and just in the edge of the evening she started over with her nigger woman in the horse-ferry, to stay all night at her friend’s house, Miss What-you-may-call-her, I disremember her name, and they lost their steering-oar,Ⓐemendation Ⓐtextual note and swung around and went a-floatingⒶemendation down, stern-first, about two mile, and saddle-baggsedⒶemendation on the wreck, and the ferry man and the nigger woman and the horses was all lost, but Miss Hooker she made a grab andⒶalteration in the MS got aboard the wreck. Well, about an hour after dark, we come along down in our trading-scow, and it was so dark we didn’t notice the wreck till we was right on it; and so we saddle-baggsedⒶemendation; but all of us was saved but Bill Whipple—and oh, he was the best cretur!Ⓐalteration in the MS—I most wish’tⒶemendation it had been me, I do.”
“My George! it’sⒶhistorical collation the beatenest thing I ever struck. And then what did you all do?”Ⓐemendation
“Well, we hollered and took on, but it’s so wide,Ⓐhistorical collation there, we couldn’t make nobody hear. So pap said somebody got toⒶemendation getⒶalteration in the MS ashore and get help,Ⓐhistorical collation somehow. I was the only one that could swim;Ⓐhistorical collation so I made a dash for it, and Miss Hooker sheⒶemendation said if I didn’t strike help sooner, come here and hunt up her uncle, and he’d fix the thing. I made the land about a mile below, and been fooling along ever since, trying to get people to do something, but they said, ‘What, in such a night and such a current? there ain’t no sense in it; go for the steam-ferry.’ Now ifⒶemendation Ⓐalteration in the MS you’ll go, and—Ⓐhistorical collation”
“By Jackson, I’d like to, and blameⒶalteration in the MS it I don’t know but I will; but who in the dingnation’s agoin’ to pay for it? Do you reckon your pap—Ⓐhistorical collation”
“Why that’s Ⓐhistorical collation all right. Miss Hooker she told me, particular, that her uncle Hornback—Ⓐhistorical collation”
“Great guns! is he her uncle? Looky here, you break for that lightⒶalteration in the MS over yonder-way, and turn out west when you git there, and about a quarter of a mile out you’ll come to the tavern; tell ’em to dart you out to Jim Hornback’s,Ⓐhistorical collation and he’ll foot the bill. And don’t you fool aroundⒶalteration in the MS any, because he’ll want to know the news. Tell him I’ll have his niece all safe before he can get to town.Ⓐalteration in the MS Hump yourself, now; I’m agoingⒶalteration in the MS up around the corner,Ⓐhistorical collation here, to roust out my engineerⒶemendation.”
[begin page 91] I struckⒶemendation for the light, but as soon as he turned the cornerⒶalteration in the MS I went back and got into my skiff and bailed her out and then pulledⒶalteration in the MS up shore in the easy water about six hundred yards,Ⓐalteration in the MS and tucked myself in among some woodboats; for I couldn’t rest easy till I could see the ferryboatⒶhistorical collation start. But take it all around,Ⓐalteration in the MS I was feeling ruther comfortable,Ⓐhistorical collation on accounts of taking allⒶalteration in the MS this troubleⒶalteration in the MS for that gang, for not many would a done it.Ⓐalteration in the MS I wished the widow knowed about it. I judged she would be proud of me for helping these rapscallions, because rapscallions and dead beats isⒶalteration in the MS the kind the widow and good people takes the most interest in.
Well, before long, here comes the wreck, dim and dusky, sliding along down! A kind of coldⒶemendation shiver went through me, and then I struck out for her. She was very deep, and I see in a minute thereⒶemendation warn’t much chance forⒶemendation anybody being alive in her. I pulled all around her,Ⓐhistorical collation and hollered a little, but there wasn’t any answer; all dead still. I felt a little bit heavy-hearted about the gang, but not much, for I reckoned if theyⒶemendation could stand it, I could.
Then here comes the ferryboatⒶemendation; so I shoved for the middle of the river on a long down-streamⒶemendation slant; and when I judged I was out of eye-reach, I laid on my oars, and looked back and seeⒶemendation her go and smell around the wreck for Miss Hooker’s remainders, because theⒶalteration in the MS captain would know her uncle Hornback would want them; and [begin page 92] then pretty soon the ferryboatⒶhistorical collation give it up and went for shore, and I laid into my work and went a-booming down the river.
It did seem a powerful long time before Jim’s light showed up; and when it did show, it looked like it was a thousand mileⒶemendation off. By the time I got there the sky was beginningⒶalteration in the MS to get a little gray in the east; so we struck for an island, and hid the raft, and sunk the skiff, and turned in and slept like dead people.
weak.] originally ‘weak and excited.’; ‘and excited.’ canceled and the period added after ‘weak’; followed by the passage below, which was revised in the MS and then canceled at a later stage. The superior numbers refer to Mark Twain’s revisions, which are listed following the passage: ‘But just then comes a wail out of Turner:
“O, please, boys, don’t leave me—don’t leave me to be drownded—please,1 please, boys, lemme go with you!”2
“Cuss him, he’s got his gag out, aready!” says Packard; and him and Bill jumped for the door, allowing3 they would fix it this time so it would stick4 till Christmas.’ (emended).
1. please] may have originally been ‘p-p’; ‘lease’ written over wiped-out ‘-p’.
2. you!”] the second closing quotation mark added in pencil.
3. allowing] interlined above canceled ‘swearing’, which was written over wiped-out ‘say’.
4. stick] originally ‘still’; ‘ck’ written over wiped-out ‘ll’.
a sailor’s life’s the life for me] The ferryman echoes a line from a song in Isaac Bickerstaff’s Spoil’d Child, a long-lived two-act farce first staged in 1790:
Just come home from sea, Sir,
Of all the lives I ever led,
A sailor’s life for me, Sir.
Yeo, yeo, yeo! yeo, yeo, yeo!
(act 2, scene 1, in Bickerstaff, 3:21)
illustration] On 25 June 1884, Clemens wrote to his publisher, Charles L. Webster, about the proof of this illustration: “It occurs to me, now, that on the pilot house of that steamboat-wreck the artist has put TEXAS—having been misled by some of Huck’s remarks about the boat’s ‘texas’—a thing which is a part of every boat. That word had better be removed from that pilot house” (NPV, in MTBus , 262). Webster had the picture corrected before publication.