AsⒶemendation soon as we reckoned everybody was asleep, that night, we went down the lightning rodⒶhistorical collation, and shut ourselves up in the lean-to, and got out our pile of fox-fire, and went to work. We cleared everything out of the way, about four or five footⒶemendation along the middle of the bottom log. Tom said weⒶhistorical collation was right behind Jim’s bed,Ⓐhistorical collation now, and we’dⒶemendation dig in under it, and when we got through,Ⓐhistorical collation there couldn’tⒶemendation nobody in the cabin everⒶemendation know there was any hole there, because Jim’s counterpin hung down most to the ground, and you’d have to raise it up and look under,Ⓐhistorical collation to see the hole. So we dug and dug, with the caseknivesⒶhistorical collation, till most midnightⒶhistorical collation; and then we was dog-tired, and our hands was blistered, and yet you couldn’t see we’dⒶemendation done anything, hardly. At last I says:
“This ain’t no thirty-seven year job, this is a thirty-eight year job, Tom Sawyer.”
He never said nothing. But he sighed, and pretty soon he stopped digging, and then for a good little while I knowed he was thinking. Then he says:
“It ain’t no use, Huck, it ain’t agoing to work. If we was prisoners,Ⓐhistorical collation it would, because then we’d have as many years as we wanted, and no hurry; and we wouldn’t getⒶalteration in the MS but a few minutes to dig, every day, while they was changing watches, and so our hands wouldn’t get blistered, and we could keep it up right along, year in and year out, and do it rightⒶhistorical collation and the way it ought to be done. But we can’t fool [begin page 307] along, we got to rush; we ain’t got no time to spare. If we was to put in another night this way, we’d have to knock off for a week to let our hands get well—couldn’t touch a caseknifeⒶhistorical collation with them sooner.”
“Well, then, what we going to do, Tom?Ⓐemendation”
“I’ll tell you. It ain’t right, and itⒶalteration in the MS ain’t moral, and I wouldn’t like it to get out—butⒶalteration in the MS there ain’t only just the one way:Ⓐhistorical collation we got to dig him out with the picks, and let on it’s case-knives.”
“ Now you’reⒶemendation talking!” I says; “YourⒶemendation Ⓐalteration in the MS head gets leveler and leveler all the time, Tom Sawyer,” I says. “Picks is the thingⒶemendation, moral or no moral; and as for me, I don’t care shucks for the morality of it, nohow. When I start in to steal a nigger, or a watermelon, or a Sunday schoolⒶhistorical collation book, I ain’t no ways particular how it’s done,Ⓐhistorical collation soⒶalteration in the MS it’s done. What I want is my nigger; or what I want is my watermelon; or what I want is my Sunday school book:Ⓐhistorical collation and if a pick’s the handiest thing, that’s the thing I’m agoing to dig that nigger or that watermelonⒶemendation or that Sunday schoolⒶhistorical collation book out with; and I don’t give a dead ratⒶemendation what the authorities thinks aboutⒶalteration in the MS itⒶalteration in the MS,Ⓐhistorical collation nutherⒶemendation.”
“Well,” he says, “there’s excuse for picks and letting-on,Ⓐhistorical collation in a case like this; if it warn’t so, I wouldn’t approve of it, nor I wouldn’t stand by and see the rules broke—because right is right, and wrong is wrong, and a body ain’t got no business doing wrong whenⒶalteration in the MS he ain’t ignorant and knows better. It might answer for you to dig Jim out with a pick, without any letting-on, because you don’t know no better; but it wouldn’t for me, because I do know better. Gimme a caseknifeⒶhistorical collation.”
He had his own by him, but I handed him mine.Ⓐalteration in the MS He flung it down, and says:Ⓐalteration in the MS
“Gimme a caseknife Ⓐhistorical collation.”
I didn’t know just what to do—but then I thought. I scratched around amongst the old tools, and got a pick-axeⒶhistorical collation Ⓐalteration in the MS and give it to him, and he took it and went to work, and never said a word.
He was always just that particular. Full of principle.
So then I got a shovel, and then we picked and shoveled, turn about, and made the fur fly. We stuck to it about a half an hour, which was as long as we could stand up; but we had a good deal of a hole to show for it. When I got up stairs, I looked out at the window and see Tom doing his level best with the lightning rodⒶhistorical collation, but he couldn’t come it, his hands was so sore. At last he says:
[begin page 308] “It ain’t no use, it can’t be done. What you reckon I better do? Can’t you think upⒶemendation no way?”
“Yes,” I says, “but I reckon it ain’t regular. Come up the stairs, and let on it’s a lightning rodⒶhistorical collation.”
So he done it.
Next day Tom stole a pewter spoon and a brass candlestick in the house, for toⒶemendation makeⒶalteration in the MS some pens for Jim out of, and six tallow candles; and I hungⒶemendation around the nigger cabins, and laid for a chance, and stole three tin plates. Tom said it wasn’t enough; but I said nobody wouldn’t ever see the plates that Jim throwed out, because they’dⒶemendation fall in the dog-fennel and jimpson weeds under the window-hole—thenⒶalteration in the MS we could tote them back and he could use them over again. So Tom was satisfied. Then he says:
“Now, the thing to study out,Ⓐhistorical collation is, how to get the things to Jim.”
“Take them in through the hole,” I says, “when we get it done.”
He only just looked scornful, and said something about nobody ever heard of such an idiotic idea, and then he went to studying. By [begin page 309] and byⒶhistorical collation he saidⒶalteration in the MS he had ciphered out two or three ways, but there warn’t no need to decide on any of them,Ⓐhistorical collation yet. Said we’d got to post Jim,Ⓐhistorical collation first.
That night we went down the lightning rodⒶhistorical collation a little after ten, and took one of the candles along, and listened under the window-hole, and heard Jim snoring; so we pitched it in, and it didn’t wake him. Then we whirled in with the pick and shovel, and in about two hours and a half the job was done. We crept in under Jim’s bed and into the cabin, and pawed around and found the candle and lit it, and stood over Jim awhileⒶhistorical collation, and found him looking hearty and healthy, and then we woke him up,Ⓐhistorical collation gentle and gradual. He was so glad to see us he most cried; and called us honey, and all the pet names he could think of; and was for having us hunt up a cold chisel to cut the chain off of his leg with, right away, and clearing out without losing any time. But Tom heⒶemendation showed him how unregular it would be, and set down and told him all about our plans, and how we could alter them in a minute any time there was an alarm; and not to be the least afraid, because we would seeⒶemendation he got away, sure. So Jim heⒶemendation said it was all right, and we set there and talked over old times a while, and then Tom asked a lot of questions, and when Jim told him uncleⒶhistorical collation Silas come in every day or two to pray with him, and auntⒶhistorical collation Sally comeⒶalteration in the MS in to see if he was comfortable and had plenty to eat, and both of them wasⒶemendation kind as they could be, Tom says:
“Now I know how to fix it. We’ll send you some things by them.”Ⓐalteration in the MS
I said, “Don’t do nothing of the kind; it’s one of the most jackass ideas I ever struck;” but he never paid no attention to me; went right on. It was his way when he’d got his plans set.Ⓔexplanatory note Ⓐemendation
So he told Jim how we’dⒶemendation have to smuggle in the rope-ladder pie, and other large things, by Nat, the nigger that fed him, and he must be on the lookout, and not be surprised, and not let Nat see him open them; and we would put small things in uncle’s coat pockets and he must steal them out; and we would tie things to aunt’s apron strings or put them in her apron pocket,Ⓐalteration in the MS if we got a chance; and toldⒶemendation him what they would be and what they was for. And toldⒶemendation him how to keep a journal on the shirtⒶalteration in the MS with his blood, and all that. HeⒶemendation told him everything. Jim he couldn’t see no sense in the most of it, but he allowed we was white folks and knowed better than him; so he was satisfiedⒶhistorical collation and said he would do it all just as TomⒶemendation said.
[begin page 310] Jim had plentyⒶemendation corn-cobⒶalteration in the MS pipes and tobacco; so we had a right downⒶalteration in the MS good sociable time; then we crawled out through the hole, and so home to bed, with hands that looked like they’d been chawed by a dogⒶhistorical collation Ⓐtextual note.Ⓐalteration in the MS Tom was inⒶalteration in the MS high spirits. He said it was the best fun he ever had in hisⒶalteration in the MS life, and the most intellecturalⒶemendation; and said if he onlyⒶalteration in the MS could see his way to it we would keep it up all the rest of our lives and leave Jim to our children to get out; for he believed Jim would come to like it better and better the more he got used to it. He said that in that way it could be strung out to as much as eighty year, and would be the best time on record. And he said it would make us all celebrated that had a hand in it.
In the morning we went out to the woodpileⒶhistorical collation and chopped up the brass candlestickⒶhistorical collation into handy sizesⒶemendation, and Tom put them and the pewter spoon in his pocket. Then we went to the nigger cabins, and while I got Nat’s noticeⒶemendation off, Tom shoved a piece of candlestick into the middle of a corn-pone that was in Jim’s pan, and we went along with Nat to see how it would work, and it just worked noble:Ⓐemendation when Jim bit into it it most mashed all his teeth out; and there warn’t ever anything could a worked better. Tom said so himself. Jim he never let on but what it was only just a piece of rock or something like that that’s always gettingⒶalteration in the MS into bread, you know,Ⓐhistorical collation but after that he never bit into nothingⒶemendation but what he jabbed his fork into it in three or four places, first.
And whilst we was a standing there in the dimmishⒶemendation light, here comes a couple of the hounds bulging in, from under Jim’s bed; and they kept on piling in till there was eleven of them, and there warn’t hardly room in thereⒶalteration in the MS to get your breath. By jingsⒶhistorical collation we forgotⒶemendation to fasten that lean-to door. The nigger Nat he onlyⒶemendation just hollered “witches!” once, and keeled over ontoⒶemendation the floor amongst the dogsⒶhistorical collation and begun to groan like he was dying. Tom jerked the door open and flung out a slab of Jim’s meat, and the dogs went for it;Ⓐhistorical collation and in two seconds he was out himself and back again and shut the door, and I knowedⒶalteration in the MS he’dⒶemendation fixed the other door,Ⓐhistorical collation too. Then he went to work on the nigger, coaxing him and petting him, and asking him if he’d been imagining he saw something again. He raised up, and blinked his eyes around, and says:
“Mars Sid, you’ll say I’s a fool, but if I didn’Ⓐhistorical collation b’lieve I see most a millionⒶalteration in the MS dogs, er devils, erⒶemendation some’n, I wisht I may die right heah in [begin page 311] dese tracks. I did, mos’ sholy. Mars Sid, I felt Ⓐalteration in the MS um—I felt um, sah; dey was all over me. DadⒶalteration in the MS fetch it, I jis’ wisht I could git my han’s on one er dem witches jis’ wunst—on’y jis’ wunst—it’s all I’d ast. But mos’ly I wisht dey’d lemme ’lone, I does.”
Tom says:
“Well, I tell you what I think. What makes them come here just at thisⒶalteration in the MS runaway nigger’s breakfast timeⒶhistorical collation? It’s because they’re hungry; that’s the reason. You make them a witch pieⒺexplanatory note; that’s the thing for you to do.”
“But my lan’, marsⒶhistorical collation Sid, how’s I gwyne to make ’m a witch pie? I doanⒶhistorical collation know how to make it. I hain’t ever hearn er sich a thing b’fo’.Ⓐemendation”
“Well, then, I’ll have to make it myself.”
“Will you do it, honey?—will you? I’ll wusshupⒶalteration in the MS de groun’ und’Ⓐalteration in the MS yo’ foot, I will!”
“All right, I’ll do it, seeing it’s you, and you’ve been good to us [begin page 312] and showed us the runaway nigger. But you got to be mighty careful. When we come around, you turn your back; and then whatever we’veⒶalteration in the MS put in the pan, don’t you let onⒶemendation you see it atⒶalteration in the MS all. And don’t you look, when Jim unloads the pan—something might happen, I don’t know what. And above all, don’t you handle the witch-things.”
“ Hannel ’m,Ⓐalteration in the MS Ⓐhistorical collation marsⒶhistorical collation Sid? What is you a talkin’ ’bout? I wouldn’ lay de weight er my finger on um, not f’rⒶemendation ten hund’d thous’n’Ⓐemendation billion dollars, I wouldn’t.”