I wanted to go and look at a place rightⒶalteration in the MS about the middle of the island, that I’d found when I was exploring; so we started, and soon got to it, because the island was only three miles long and a quarter of a mile wide.
This place was a tolerable longⒶhistorical collation, steep hill or ridge, about forty foot high. We had a rough time getting to the top, the sides was so steep and the bushes so thick. We tramped and clumb around all over itⒶhistorical collation and by and byⒶhistorical collation found a good big cavern in the rock, most up to the top on the side towards Illinois. The cavern was as big as two or three rooms bunched together, and Jim could stand up straight in it. It was cool in there. Jim was for putting our traps in there, right away, but I said we didn’t want to be climbing up and down there all the time.
Jim said if we had the canoe hid in a good placeⒶhistorical collation and had all the traps in the cavernⒶhistorical collation we could rush there if anybody was to come to the island, and they would never find us without dogs. And besides, he said them littleⒶalteration in the MS birdsⒶalteration in the MS had said it was going to rain, and did I want the things to get wet?
So we went back and got the canoe and paddled up abreast the cavernⒶhistorical collation and lugged all the traps up there. Then we hunted up a place close by to hide the canoe in, amongst the thick willows. We took some fish off of the lines and set them again, and begunⒶemendation to get ready for dinner.
[begin page 59] TheⒶemendation door of the cavern was big enough to roll a hogshead in, and on one side of the door the floor stuck out a little bit and was flat and a good place to build a fire on. So we built it there and cooked dinner.
We spread the blankets inside for a carpetⒶhistorical collation and eat our dinner in there. We put all the other things handy at the back of the cavern. Pretty soon it darkened up and begun to thunder and lighten; so the birds was right about it. Directly it begunⒶemendation to rain, and it rained like all fury, too,Ⓐalteration in the MS and IⒶemendation never seeⒶemendation the wind blow so. It was one of theseⒶalteration in the MS regular summer storms. It would get so dark that it looked all blue-black outside, and lovely; and the rain would thrash along by so thick thatⒶalteration in the MS the trees off a little ways looked dim and spider-webby; and here would come a blast of wind that would bend the trees down and turn up the pale undersideⒶemendation of the leaves; and then a perfect ripper of a gust would follow along and set the branches to tossing their arms as if they was just wild; and next, when it was just about the bluest and blackestⒶemendation—fst! it was as bright as glory and you’d have a little glimpse of tree-tops a-plunging about,Ⓐalteration in the MS away off yonderⒶalteration in the MS in the storm, hundreds of yards further than you could see before; dark as sin again in a second, and nowⒶalteration in the MS you’d hear the thunder let go with an awful crash and then go rumbling, grumbling, tumbling down the sky towards the undersideⒶhistorical collation of the world, like rolling empty barrels [begin page 60] down stairs, where it’s long stairs and they bounce a good deal, you know.
“Jim, this is nice,” IⒶalteration in the MS saysⒶemendation. “I wouldn’t want to be nowhere else butⒶemendation here. Pass me along another hunkⒶemendation of fish and some hot corn-bread.”
“Well, you wouldn’t a ben here, ’fⒶemendation it hadn’t aⒶemendation ben for Jim. You’d a ben down dah in de woods widout any dinner, en gittn’Ⓐalteration in the MS mos’Ⓐemendation drownded, too, dat you would, honey. Chickens knows when it’sⒶhistorical collation gwyne to rain, enⒶalteration in the MS so do de birds, chile.”Ⓐalteration in the MS Ⓔexplanatory note
The riverⒶemendation went on raisingⒶalteration in the MS and raising for ten or twelve days,Ⓐalteration in the MS till at last it was over the banks. The water was three or four footⒶalteration in the MS Ⓐemendation deep on the island in the low placesⒶemendation and on the Illinois bottom. On that sideⒶalteration in the MS Ⓐemendation it was a good many miles wide; but on the Missouri side it was the same old distance across—a halfⒶemendation a mile—because the Missouri shore was just a wall of high bluffs.
DaytimesⒶemendation we paddled all over the island in the canoe.Ⓐalteration in the MS It was mighty cool and shady in the deepⒶalteration in the MS woods even if the sun was blazingⒶalteration in the MS outside. We went windingⒶalteration in the MS in and out amongst the trees; and sometimes the vines hung so thick we had to back away and go some other wayⒶemendation. Well, on every old broken-downⒶemendation treeⒶhistorical collation you couldⒶemendation see rabbits, and snakes, and such things; and when the island had been overflowed a day or two,Ⓐalteration in the MS theyⒶemendation got so tame, on account of being hungry, that you could paddle right up and put your hand on them if you wanted to; but not the snakes and turtlesⒶalteration in the MS—they would slide off inⒶemendation the water. The ridgeⒶalteration in the MS Ⓐemendation our cavern was in, was full of them.Ⓐalteration in the MS We could aⒶemendation had pets enough if we’dⒶalteration in the MS wanted them.
One night we catched a little section of a lumber raft—nice pine planks. It was twelve footⒶalteration in the MS wide and about fifteen or sixteen foot long, and the top stood above water six or seven inches, a solid level floor. We could see saw-logs go by in the daylight, sometimes, but we let them go; we didn’t show ourselves in daylight.
Another night, when we was up at the head of the island, just before daylight,Ⓐalteration in the MS here comes a frameⒶemendation house down, on the westⒶalteration in the MS side. She was a two-storyⒶemendation, and tilted over, considerableⒶalteration in the MS. We paddled out and got aboard—clumb in at an up-stairs windowⒶalteration in the MS. But it was too dark to see,Ⓐhistorical collation yet, so we made the canoe fast and set in her to wait for daylightⒶemendation.
The light begun to come before we got to the foot of the island. [begin page 61] Then we lookedⒶemendation in at the window. We could make out a bed, and a table, and two old chairs, and lots of things around about on the floor; and there was clothes hanging against the wall. There was something laying on the floor in the far corner that looked like a man. So IⒶalteration in the MS Ⓐhistorical collation Ⓐtextual note says:
“Hello, you!Ⓐalteration in the MS”
But it didn’t budge. So IⒶalteration in the MS hollered again, and then JimⒶalteration in the MS says:
“De man ain’t asleep—he’sⒶalteration in the MS dead. You hold still—I’ll go enⒶalteration in the MS see.”
He went and bent down andⒶalteration in the MS looked, and says:
“It’sⒶalteration in the MS Ⓐemendation a dead man. YesⒶemendation, indeedy;Ⓐalteration in the MS naked, too. He’sⒶemendation ben shot in de back. I reck’nⒶemendation he’s ben dead two erⒶemendation three days. Come in, Huck, but doan’Ⓐemendation look at his faceⒶalteration in the MS—it’s too gashlyⒶemendation.”
I didn’t look at him at all. Jim throwed some old rags over him, but he needn’t done it;Ⓐalteration in the MS IⒶemendation didn’t want to see him. There was heaps of old greasy cards scattered around over the floor, and old whisky bottles, and a couple of masks,Ⓐhistorical collation made outⒶemendation of black cloth;Ⓐalteration in the MS and all over the walls was the ignorantestⒶalteration in the MS Ⓐemendation kind of words and pictures, made with charcoal. There was two old dirty calico dressesⒶhistorical collation and a sun bonnetⒶhistorical collation and some women’s under-clothesⒶhistorical collation hanging against the wall, and some men’s clothingⒶemendation, too. We put the lot into the canoe; it mightⒶemendation [begin page 62] come good. There was a boy’s old speckled straw hat on the floor; I took that,Ⓐhistorical collation too. And there was a bottle that had had milk in it; and it had a rag stopperⒶemendation for a baby to suck. We would a tookⒶemendation the bottle, butⒶemendation it was broke. There was a seedy old chestⒶhistorical collation and an old hair trunk with the hinges broke. They stood open, but there warn’tⒶemendation nothing left in them that was any account. The way things was scattered about, we reckoned the people left in a hurry and warn’t fixed so as to carry off most of their stuff.
We got an old tin lantern, and a butcher knife without any handle, and a bran-new Barlow knife worth two bits in any store,Ⓐemendation and a lot of tallow candles, and a tin candlestick, andⒶalteration in the MS a gourd, and a tin cup, and a ratty old bed quiltⒶhistorical collation offⒶemendation the bed, and a reticule with needles and pins and beeswax and buttons and thread and all such truckⒶemendation in it, and a hatchet and some nails, and a fish-line as thickⒶalteration in the MS as my little finger, with some monstrous hooks on it, and a roll of buckskin,Ⓐalteration in the MS and a leather dog-collar, and a horseshoeⒶhistorical collation, and some vials of medicine that didn’t have no label on them; and just as we was leaving I found a tolerable good curry-combⒶemendation and Jim he found a ratty old fiddle-bowⒶhistorical collation and a wooden leg. The straps was broke off ofⒶemendation it, but barring that, it was aⒶalteration in the MS good enough leg,Ⓐalteration in the MS though it was too long for me and not long enough for Jim, and we couldn’t find the other one, though we hunted all aroundⒶemendation Ⓔexplanatory note.
And so, takeⒶemendation it all around, we made a goodⒶalteration in the MS haul. WhenⒶalteration in the MS we was ready to shove offⒶhistorical collation we was a quarter of a mile below the islandⒶhistorical collation and it was pretty broad day; so I made Jim lay down in the canoe and cover up with the quilt, becauseⒶalteration in the MS if he set up,Ⓐemendation people could tell he was a nigger a good ways off. I paddled over to the Illinois shore, and drifted down most a half a mile doing it. I crept up the dead water under the bankⒶhistorical collation and hadn’t no accidents and didn’t see nobodyⒶemendation. We got home all safe.