The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (story)

Suddenly a noise reached his ears. He instantly became wary. The door leading into the alley closed quietly. Huck rushed to the corner of the brick warehouse. A minute later, two people rushed past him; one seemed to have something under his arm. It must be a chest! This means they want to take the treasure somewhere else. What to do now? Should I call Tom? It would be stupid: during this time they will have time to leave with the chest, and then you won’t find any traces. No, he will follow them and track them down - in such darkness where they will notice him! Huck came out of the ambush and followed them, silently, like a cat, walking with bare feet and keeping at a distance, but at such a distance that the tramps could not hide from sight.
First they walked along the street that ran along the river, passed three blocks, and turned onto Cardiff Mountain. They began to climb along this path. On the slope of the mountain, just halfway, they passed the estate of an old Welshman and, without slowing down, climbed higher and higher. “Yeah,” thought Huck, “they want to bury the money in the old quarry.” But they didn’t stop there either. They walked higher, to the top of the mountain; then we turned onto a narrow path winding between sumac bushes[ Sumac- yellowberry, a short tree with very dense foliage.] and immediately disappeared into the darkness. Huck walked faster, and he managed to get quite close to them, since they could not see him. At first he ran at a trot, then he slowed down a little, afraid that he might bump into them in the dark, walked a little more, then stopped completely. I listened - not a sound; All you can hear is his heart beating. From above, from the mountain, he heard the hoot of an owl - a sound that did not bode well. But no steps are heard. Damn it! Has everything really disappeared? Huck was about to give in, when suddenly, three steps away from him, someone coughed. Huck's heart sank, but he overcame his fear and remained in place, shaking all over, as if all twelve fevers had attacked him at once; he felt very weak and was afraid that he was about to fall. Now it became clear to him where he was: he was standing at the fence surrounding the widow Douglas’s estate, five steps from the climb.
“Okay,” he thought, “let them bury it here - it will be easy to find.”
Then a small voice was heard - the voice of Injun Joe:
- Damn her! She seems to have guests - there are lights in the windows, even though it’s late.
- I don't see any lights.
It was the voice of the stranger they saw in the enchanted house. Huck's heart went cold with horror: this is who they are going to take revenge on! His first thought was to run away. Then he remembered that the Widow Douglas was often kind to him, and these people, perhaps, were going to kill her. So, we need to warn Widow Douglas as soon as possible. But no, he doesn’t have the courage, and he never will: they might notice him and grab him. All this and much more flashed through his mind before Injun Joe had time to respond to the stranger's last words.
- The bushes are blocking your light. Move over here... Like this. Now you see?
- Yes. She actually has guests. Isn't it better to quit this business?
- Quit when I leave here forever! Quit when, perhaps, another such opportunity will never present itself! I tell you again: I don’t need her money - you can take it for yourself. But her husband offended me... offended me more than once... he was a judge and put me in prison for vagrancy. But that's not all, no, not all! This is only the smallest part. He ordered me to be whipped! Yes, to carve with whips in front of the prison itself, like a Negro! And the whole city saw my shame. Whip me, you know? He outwitted me, died, but I will get even with her!
- Don't kill her! Do you hear? No need!
- Kill her? Did I say that I would kill? I would kill him if he were here, but not her. If you want to take revenge on a woman, there is no need to kill her. Disfigure her, that's all! Cut out her nostrils, cut off her ears like a pig!
- God, this is...
- They don’t ask you! Better keep quiet! You will be healthier. I'll tie her to the bed. And if he dies from loss of blood, it’s not my fault. I won’t cry, let him die! You, friend, will help me out of friendship - that’s why you came here; I probably won’t be able to recover alone. If you chicken out, I'll finish you off! Understand? And if I have to kill you, I’ll kill her too, and then no one will know whose hands it was!
- Well! Do this do this. The sooner the better... I'm shaking all over.
- Now? With guests? Oh, look at me, you’re lying about something! No, we'll wait until the lights in the house are turned off. There's no hurry.
Huck felt that now there should be silence, even more terrible than this conversation about bloody crime. So he held his breath and timidly stepped back, carefully feeling with his foot for where to place it, for which he had to balance to the right and left on the other leg, and in doing so he staggered so much that he almost fell. With the same precautions and the same risk, he took another step back, then another and another.
Suddenly a twig crunched under his foot. Huck held his breath and stopped, listening. Not a sound, deep silence. Delighted, he carefully turned between two continuous rows of bushes, as a ship turns in a narrow strait, and quickly but silently walked away. Having reached the quarry, he felt safe and began to run as fast as he could. Lower and lower down the mountain, and finally he reached the Welshman's estate and began banging on his door with his fists. The heads of an old farmer and his two strapping sons poked their heads out of the windows.
- What's that noise? Who's knocking there?
- Let me in quickly!
- Who are you?
- Huckleberry Finn.
- What do you want?
- I'll tell you everything...
- Huckleberry Finn! That's so great! This is not a name that will make all doors open to it. But still, guys, let him in. Let's see what trouble happened.
“Please, just don’t tell anyone that I told you this,” these were Huck’s first words when the door was opened for him, “otherwise I’ll be in trouble!” They'll kill me! But the widow felt sorry for me sometimes, and I want to tell you everything as it is. And I’ll tell you if you promise not to tell anyone that it’s me...
- Honestly, he has something to say, it’s him for a reason! - exclaimed the old man. - Well, lad, tell me what you know, we won’t do anything to anyone!
Three minutes later, the old man and his sons, having taken with them reliable weapons, were already at the top of the hill and, cocking their guns, quietly made their way along the path between the sumac bushes.
Huck brought them to this place, but did not go further. He hid behind a large stone and began to listen.
There was a languid, alarming silence. Suddenly there was the sound of gunshots and someone screaming. Huck didn't wait to continue. He jumped to his feet and rushed down without looking back.

Chapter XXX

TOM AND BECKY IN THE CAVE

On Sunday morning, as soon as dawn began to break, Huck climbed the mountain in the darkness and quietly knocked on the door of the old Welshman. All the inhabitants of the house were asleep, but they slept in an uneasy sleep, because they had not yet had time to calm down after the night's disturbances. They asked from the window:
- Who's there?
Huck answered quietly in a frightened voice:
- Please let me in! It's just me, Huck Finn.
- Before this name, boy, the door of our house is always open day and night. Welcome!
These words sounded strange in the ears of the little tramp. Never before had he heard such pleasant speeches. He couldn't even remember anyone saying to him, "Welcome!" The door was immediately unlocked. Huck was seated on a chair, and the old man and his fine sons began to hastily dress.
- Well, buddy, I think you're pretty hungry. Breakfast will be ready soon, as soon as the sun rises - and a hot breakfast, rest assured! And my boys and I thought that you would spend the night with us.
“I was scared by passion,” explained Huck, “and I gave in.” As soon as you started firing your pistols, I ran as fast as I could and ran for three whole miles without a break. And now I came to find out about this matter, and on purpose before daylight, so as not to stumble upon them, the devils, even if they were already dead.
- Poor thing, you had a bad time that night: you look very exhausted. Well, no problem! Here is the bed; as soon as you have breakfast, go to bed... No, dear, they were not killed, and this is very annoying for us. See how it turned out. From your description we knew where to capture them; They crept up very close to them, because on this path between the sumac bushes it was dark as in a cellar. We stopped about fifteen steps away, and suddenly... - what do you think? - suddenly I feel like I’m about to sneeze. What, by God, trouble! I’m doing this and that, I’m still trying to restrain myself, but there’s nothing to be done - I sneezed as hard as I could. And I walked ahead, holding my pistol at the ready. As soon as I sneezed, the scammers darted off the path into the bushes, branches crunched in the bushes, and I shouted to my friends: “Fire, guys!” And I shoot where it crunches. Boys too. But the villains took off running through the forest. We're behind them. It seems to me that we missed the mark. Before starting to run, they also fired a charge at us, but the bullets whistled through without causing any harm. As soon as their steps died down, we stopped the chase, ran away from the mountain and raised the police to their feet. They gathered people and cordoned off the shore; and as soon as it gets light, the sheriff will make a raid in the forest. My boys will go too. It would be good for us to know what these robbers look like - it would be easier for us to search. But you probably didn’t see them in the dark?
- No, I noticed them in the city and followed them.
- Great! So tell me, tell me, my friend, what are they like?
- One of them is an old deaf-mute Spaniard, who was seen in our city once or twice, and the other is such a pathetic ragamuffin, such a vile face...
- That's enough, honey... We know both. We met them somehow in the forest; they were hanging around the widow’s house, and when they saw us, they ran away!.. Well, guys, get to the sheriff quickly, you’ll have time for breakfast tomorrow!
The Welshman's sons left immediately. As they headed towards the door, Huck rushed after them and shouted:
- Please, don’t say a word about the fact that I saw them!
- OK. If you don't want to, we won't tell you. But you would only be praised for it.
- Oh, no, no! For God's sake, not a word!
When the young people left, the old man turned to Huck:
- They won’t tell, and I won’t help. But why don't you want people to know about it?
Huck did not go into explanations, but only insisted that he knew too much about one of these people and did not want him to know that he knew, and that if he found out, he would certainly kill him.
The old man once again promised to keep the secret, but asked:
- How did it occur to you to keep an eye on them, my friend? Did they seem suspicious to you, or what?
Huck was silent, thinking of a suitable answer. And finally he said:
- You see, I’m a tramp too - at least that’s what everyone says, and I can’t argue anything against it. So sometimes I don’t sleep at night, I keep walking the streets and thinking about how to start living differently. It was the same last night. I couldn’t sleep, so I wandered down the street, thinking about these matters. And it was already midnight. I walk past an old brick warehouse next to the Sobriety tavern, stand against the wall and think... And suddenly I see these two people running past and carrying something under their arms. I decided it was stolen. One was smoking, and the other wanted to light a cigarette - so they stopped two steps away from me. The cigars lit up their faces, and I recognized the tall, deaf-mute Spaniard with gray sideburns and a plaster over his eye. And the other was this scowling devil in rags.
- Could you really see his rags in the light of the cigar?
Huck was embarrassed for a minute.
- I don’t know, but I must have seen it...
- Well, so what? They went, and you...
- And I followed them... yes... And so it happened. I wanted to know what they were up to. I followed them all the way to the widow’s fence - to the climb... There I stood in the dark and listened: he, in rags, stands up for the widow, and the Spaniard swears that he will disfigure her entire face... Well, but I told you and both of you ...
- How! Did the deaf mute speak?
Huck made a terrible mistake again. He tried in every possible way so that it would not even occur to the old man who this “Spaniard” was, but his tongue seemed to have set itself the special task of creating all sorts of tricks for him. Huck tried several times to make up for his mistake, but the old man did not take his eyes off him, and he made one mistake after another. Finally the Welshman said:
- Listen, darling, don’t be afraid of me. I will never touch a hair on your head for anything in the world. No, I will protect you... yes, protect you! This Spaniard is not deaf and dumb. You accidentally let it slip, and now there’s nothing you can do about it. You know something about this Spaniard and you don’t want to say. Trust me, tell me. And rest assured, I won’t give you away.
Huck looked into the old man’s honest eyes, then bent down and whispered in his ear:
- This is not a Spaniard, this is Injun Joe!
The Welshman almost fell out of his chair.
- Well, now the matter is clear, now I understand. When you talked about chopped off ears and cut out nostrils, I was sure that you invented it yourself, for beauty, because white people don’t take revenge in that way. But the Indian! This, of course, is a completely different matter.
At breakfast the conversation continued, and, by the way, the old man said that before leaving, he and his sons lit a lantern and examined the climb on the fence and the ground around the climb to see if there were any blood stains. They didn’t find any stains, but they captured a large bundle with...
- With what?
If the words had been lightning, even then they would not have flown faster from Huck’s whitened lips. His eyes widened, his breath caught in his throat, and he stared at the old man, waiting for an answer. The Welshman, in turn, looked at him for three seconds... five seconds... ten... and then answered:
- A bundle with a thief's tool... But what's wrong with you?
Huck leaned back in his chair, breathing rarely but deeply, feeling unspeakable joy. The Welshman looked at him seriously and curiously and after a while said:
- Yes, a bunch of thieves' tools. Did that seem to calm you down a lot? But what were you afraid of? What do you think we were supposed to find?
Huck was pressed against the wall. The old man did not take his searching eyes off him. The boy would have given everything in the world to come up with a suitable answer, but nothing came to his mind, and the old man’s inquisitive gaze penetrated deeper into his soul. The answer turned up absurd, but there was no time to weigh the words, and Huck barely audibly muttered at random:
- I thought you found... textbooks for Sunday school.
The poor boy was too depressed and could not smile, but the old man laughed so loudly and cheerfully that his whole body shook, and in the end, having laughed his fill, he explained that such a healthy laugh is like money in your pocket, because that it eliminates doctor costs.
- Poor guy! - he added. “You’re so tired and pale... you must be very unwell.” That's why you talk nonsense. Well, it doesn’t matter, everything will pass. You’ll rest, get some sleep… it’ll be all right.
Huck was annoyed to think that he turned out to be such a simpleton and brought suspicion upon himself with his inappropriate anxiety - after all, he understood from the conversation of the villains, there, at the stile, that there was no treasure in the bundle that they carried from the tavern. However, this was only a guess; he probably knew that. That's why the mention of the find excited him so much.
But in general, he was even glad that this incident happened. Now he probably knew that there was no treasure in the found knot. This means that everything is excellent and nothing is lost. Yes, things seem to be going very well: the chest must still remain in room two, both scoundrels will be caught today and put in prison, and tonight he and there without any hassle, without fear of anyone, will go and seize all the gold .
They had just finished breakfast when there was a knock on the door. Huck hastily hid, as he did not want anyone to think that he had anything to do with the night's event. The Welshman led several ladies and gentlemen into the room, including the Widow Douglas, and noticed that here and there on the mountain there were groups of townspeople, taken aback to look at the scene of the incident. Therefore, the news has already become known.
The Welshman had to tell the visitors the story of that night. The widow began to thank him for saving her life.
- Not a word, madam! There is another person to whom you are perhaps even more indebted than to me and my sons, but he does not allow me to tell his name. It would never have occurred to us to go to that place if it weren’t for him.

Becky Thatcher is one of the minor characters in the novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. There are several key moments associated with the girl in the book that clearly show her personality. In this article you can find all the information about heroin and its brief characteristics.

general information

The reader first encounters Becky Thatcher during the story about the main characters. The author does not focus on any of her individual personality traits, and therefore the girl’s character can only be judged by her actions. Becky is the daughter of District Judge Thatcher, and she has a brother, Jeff, in her family.

The heroine fell in love with the central character of the story at first sight. They study in the same class, Tom instantly reciprocated. For this he even left his ex-girlfriend Amy Lawrence. In his novel, Mark Twain does not focus on the personality of Becky Thatcher, but there are several key moments with her participation. It is from them that you can learn more about what kind of person the author made her.

Book moments

When creating a profile of Becky Thatcher, the reader should focus on certain points. The first of these is her quarrel with Tom Sawyer, when he admitted to a former relationship with Amy Lawrence. The girl is very offended that she is not the guy’s first. Jealousy and sensitivity are not alien to this person. In order to somehow reassure the heroine, the boy tries to give his most valuable thing in the form of a copper knob from a tagan.

She was not going to forgive him quickly, and therefore refused to accept Tom’s treasure. Only when he quickly walked out of the school building did she realize her mistake. As a result of this quarrel, the central character decides not to pay attention to it at all. After his pirate adventure, the guy rushes into the arms of his ex-girlfriend Amy Lawrence, who is ready to just listen to Tom's endless stories. At this time, Becky Thatcher feels offended and does not even remember the fact that she herself started a quarrel with the guy. She sinks into an abyss of sadness and takes no steps to regain Sawyer's attention.

Key points

In characterizing the hero Becky Thatcher, it should be noted that the author endowed her with the features of a typical young lady who expects exploits from her beloved man. This is demonstrated by an episode from the novel when the heroine accidentally tore her teacher’s favorite book. She took the item without permission, and when she saw the shadow of Tom Sawyer above her, her nerves only caused more damage to the cover.

Becky began to cry and said that the hero's voyeurism encouraged her to do harm. On the same day, the central character takes the blame for the offense committed and sees the admiring look of his beloved girl. She forgets all past grievances, since Sawyer made a grand gesture. Another telling moment is the last episode, when the couple gets lost in the cave. The guy immediately begins to think constructively and look for a way out of the situation. Children's pranks fade into the background, because they are in danger of death, since no one knows where they went. Becky succumbs to fear and panic while Tom tries to console her and also look for a way out of the situation. He gives the girl half of the pie, which she immediately eats. The guy himself took a little, and left the rest for later, because they didn’t have any more food. Mark Twain endowed the girl with the traits of a young pupil from a good family, who constantly succumbs to emotions. This is visible in her every action.

Character appearance and other facts

If the reader is interested in a photo of Becky Thatcher, then you can take a look at the actresses who played the role of this character in various films. It is worth noting that works based on Mark Twain’s novel began to be published in the first half of the last century.

The last movie, entitled “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” appeared in 2011. During this period, various actresses tried themselves in the role of Thatcher. The author did not concentrate on her appearance, but noted as a feature her long golden hair, which was always braided. Mark Twain created the character of Becky based on the real person Laura Hawkins, who lived in the city of Hannibal in the 1840s.

The settlement government planned to restore her house and turn it into something like a museum that would convey information about Twain’s character. The building was to become a local landmark. And so it happened. Gradual restoration is underway, new exhibits are appearing. Becky Thatcher's (Laura Hawkins) house is now part of a museum complex dedicated to Mark Twain and his heroes.

Audio story for children by the famous American writer of the 19th century Mark Twain "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", chapter 30 - Tom and Becky in the cave.
“On Sunday morning, as soon as dawn began to break, Huck climbed the mountain in the darkness and quietly knocked on the old Welshman’s door... - I came to find out about this matter...” The old man greeted him very respectfully, realizing that the boy was tired and scared . The little tramp was fed and put to bed. During the day, Huck became seriously ill. Widow Douglas looked after him.
In the morning, the whole town was discussing a terrible event near the widow Douglas's estate. Coming out of the church, Mrs. Thacher and Mrs. Harper met. It turned out that Becky did not spend the night with the Harpers. Then Aunt Polly arrived with a question about her Tom. It turned out that no one knew for sure whether Tom and Becky had sailed back on the ship. One young man suggested that maybe the children remained in the cave. "...Five minutes later all the bells were ringing, and the whole city was on its feet! The incident on Cardiff Mountain instantly seemed insignificant, the robbers were immediately forgotten. They saddled the horses, untied the boats. They sent for the steamer... about two hundred people were already on their way both along the river and overland to the cave... during the search, they noticed some flickering light in the distance and... rushed in that direction,.. but alas,.. they found not children, but one of their ...Thus three terrible days and three terrible nights passed..."

TOM AND BECKY IN THE CAVE
On Sunday morning, as soon as dawn began to break, Huck climbed the mountain in the darkness and quietly knocked on the door of the old Welshman. All the inhabitants of the house were asleep, but they slept in an uneasy sleep, because they had not yet had time to calm down after the night's disturbances. They asked from the window:
- Who's there?
Huck answered quietly in a frightened voice:
- Please let me in! It's just me, Huck Finn.
- Before this name, boy, the door of our house is always open day and night. Welcome!
These words sounded strange in the ears of the little tramp. Never before had he heard such pleasant speeches. He couldn’t even remember anyone saying to him, “Welcome!” The door was immediately unlocked. Huck was seated on a chair, and the old man and his fine sons began to hastily dress.
- Well, buddy, I think you're pretty hungry. Breakfast will be ready soon, as soon as the sun rises - and a hot breakfast, rest assured! And my boys and I thought that you would spend the night with us.
“I was scared by passion,” explained Huck, “and I gave in.” As soon as you started firing your pistols, I ran as fast as I could and ran for three whole miles without a break. And now I came to find out about this matter, and on purpose before daylight, so as not to stumble upon them, the devils, even if they were already dead.
- Poor thing, you had a bad time that night: you look very exhausted. Well, no problem! Here is the bed; as soon as you have breakfast, go to bed... No, dear, they were not killed, and this is very annoying for us. See how it turned out. From your description we knew where to capture them; They crept up very close to them, because on this path between the sumac bushes it was dark as in a cellar. We stopped about fifteen steps away, and suddenly... - what do you think? - suddenly I feel like I’m about to sneeze. What, by God, trouble! I’m doing this and that, I’m still trying to restrain myself, but there’s nothing to be done - I sneezed as hard as I could. And I walked ahead, holding my pistol at the ready. As soon as I sneezed, the scammers darted off the path into the bushes, branches crunched in the bushes, and I shouted to my friends: “Fire, guys!” And I shoot where it crunches. Boys too. But the villains took off running through the forest. We're behind them. It seems to me that we missed the mark. Before starting to run, they also fired a charge at us, but the bullets whistled through without causing any harm. As soon as their steps died down, we stopped the chase, ran away from the mountain and raised the police to their feet. They gathered people and cordoned off the shore; and as soon as it gets light, the sheriff will make a raid in the forest. My boys will go too. It would be good for us to know what these robbers look like - it would be easier for us to search. But you probably didn’t see them in the dark?
- No, I noticed them in the city and followed them.
- Great! So tell me, tell me, my friend, what are they like?
- One of them is an old deaf-mute Spaniard, who was seen in our city once or twice, and the other is such a pathetic ragamuffin, such a vile face...
- That's enough, honey... We know both. We met them somehow in the forest; they were hanging around the widow’s house, and when they saw us, they ran away!.. Well, guys, get to the sheriff quickly, you’ll have time for breakfast tomorrow!
The Welshman's sons left immediately. As they headed towards the door, Huck rushed after them and shouted:
- Please, don’t say a word about the fact that I saw them!
- OK. If you don't want to, we won't tell you. But you would only be praised for it.
- Oh, no, no! For God's sake, not a word!
When the young people left, the old man turned to Huck:
- They won’t tell, and I won’t help. But why don't you want people to know about it?
Huck did not go into explanations, but only insisted that he knew too much about one of these people and did not want him to know that he knew, and that if he found out, he would certainly kill him.
The old man once again promised to keep the secret, but asked:
- How did it occur to you to keep an eye on them, my friend? Did they seem suspicious to you, or what?
Huck was silent, thinking of a suitable answer. And finally he said:
- You see, I’m a tramp too - at least that’s what everyone says, and I can’t argue anything against it. So sometimes I don’t sleep at night, I keep walking the streets and thinking about how to start living differently. It was the same last night. I couldn’t sleep, so I wandered down the street, thinking about these matters. And it was already midnight. I pass by an old brick warehouse next to the Sobriety tavern, stand against the wall and think... And suddenly I see these two people running past and carrying something under their arms. I decided it was stolen. One was smoking, and the other wanted to light a cigarette - so they stopped two steps away from me. The cigars lit up their faces, and I recognized the tall, deaf-mute Spaniard with gray sideburns and a plaster over his eye. And the other was this scowling devil in rags.
- Could you really see his rags in the light of the cigar?
Huck was embarrassed for a minute.
- I don’t know, but I must have seen it...
- Well, so what? They went, and you...
- And I followed them... yes... And so it happened. I wanted to know what they were up to. I followed them all the way to the widow’s fence - to the climb... There I stood in the dark and listened: he, in rags, stands up for the widow, and the Spaniard swears that he will disfigure her entire face... Well, but I told you and both of you ...
- How! Did the deaf mute speak?
Huck made a terrible mistake again. He tried in every possible way so that it would not even occur to the old man who this “Spaniard” was, but his tongue seemed to have set itself the special task of creating all sorts of tricks for him. Huck tried several times to make up for his mistake, but the old man did not take his eyes off him, and he made one mistake after another. Finally the Welshman said:
- Listen, darling, don’t be afraid of me. I will never touch a hair on your head for anything in the world. No, I will protect you... yes, protect you! This Spaniard is not deaf and dumb. You accidentally let it slip, and now there’s nothing you can do about it. You know something about this Spaniard and you don’t want to say. Trust me, tell me. And rest assured, I won’t give you away.
Huck looked into the old man’s honest eyes, then bent down and whispered in his ear:
- This is not a Spaniard, this is Injun Joe!
The Welshman almost fell out of his chair.
- Well, now the matter is clear, now I understand. When you talked about chopped off ears and cut out nostrils, I was sure that you invented it yourself, for beauty, because white people don’t take revenge in that way. But the Indian! This, of course, is a completely different matter.
At breakfast the conversation continued, and, by the way, the old man said that before leaving, he and his sons lit a lantern and examined the climb on the fence and the ground around the climb to see if there were any blood stains. They didn’t find any stains, but they captured a large bundle with...
- With what?
If the words had been lightning, even then they would not have flown faster from Huck’s whitened lips. His eyes widened, his breath caught in his throat, and he stared at the old man, waiting for an answer. The Welshman, in turn, looked at him for three seconds... five seconds... ten... and then answered:
- A bundle with a thief's tool... But what's wrong with you?
Huck leaned back in his chair, breathing rarely but deeply, feeling unspeakable joy. The Welshman looked at him seriously and curiously and after a while said:
- Yes, a bunch of thieves' tools. Did that seem to calm you down a lot? But what were you afraid of? What do you think we were supposed to find?
Huck was pressed against the wall. The old man did not take his searching eyes off him. The boy would have given everything in the world to come up with a suitable answer, but nothing came to his mind, and the old man’s inquisitive gaze penetrated deeper into his soul. The answer turned up absurd, but there was no time to weigh the words, and Huck barely audibly muttered at random:
- I thought you found... textbooks for Sunday school.
The poor boy was too depressed and could not smile, but the old man laughed so loudly and cheerfully that his whole body shook, and in the end, having laughed his fill, he explained that such a healthy laugh is like money in your pocket, because that it eliminates doctor costs.
- Poor guy! - he added. “You’re so tired and pale... you must be very unwell.” That's why you talk nonsense. Well, it doesn’t matter, everything will pass. You’ll rest, get some sleep… it’ll be all right.
Huck was annoyed to think that he turned out to be such a simpleton and brought upon himself suspicion with his inappropriate anxiety - after all, he understood from the conversation of the villains, there, at the stile, that there was no treasure in the bundle that they carried from the tavern. However, this was only a guess; he probably knew that. That's why the mention of the find excited him so much.
But in general, he was even glad that this incident happened. Now he probably knew that there was no treasure in the found knot. This means everything is excellent and nothing is lost. Yes, things seem to be going very well: the chest must still remain in room two, both scoundrels will be caught today and put in prison, and tonight he and there, without any hassle, without fear of anyone, will go and seize all the gold .
They had just finished breakfast when there was a knock on the door. Huck hastily hid, as he did not want anyone to think that he had anything to do with the night's event. The Welshman led several ladies and gentlemen into the room, including the Widow Douglas, and noticed that here and there on the mountain there were groups of townspeople, taken aback to look at the scene of the incident. Therefore, the news has already become known.
The Welshman had to tell the visitors the story of that night. The widow began to thank him for saving her life.
- Not a word, madam! There is another person to whom you are perhaps even more indebted than to me and my sons, but he does not allow me to tell his name. It would never have occurred to us to go to that place if it weren’t for him.
Of course, these words aroused such curiosity that even the main event receded into the background. But the Welshman only piqued the curiosity of the guests and did not tell them the secret. Thanks to this, their curiosity soon spread to the entire city. When the guests learned the rest of the details, the widow said:
- I fell asleep reading in bed, and all the time I calmly fell asleep. Why didn't you come and wake me up?
“We decided it wasn’t worth it,” answered the Welshman. “They thought this: the scoundrels were unlikely to return - after all, they were left without tools and could not break down the door. Why did I need to wake you up? To scare you to death? In addition, three of my blacks stood guard near your house until the morning. They've just returned.
New visitors arrived, and for two hours the old man did nothing but repeat his story.
That morning, on the occasion of the holidays, there were no regular classes in Sunday school, but still everyone gathered early for church. Everywhere they talked only about the terrible night event. Everyone already knew that the police had not yet picked up the trail of the attackers. At the end of the sermon, Judge Thacher's wife caught up with Mrs. Garthaer, who was moving with the crowd towards the exit, and said:
- So, my Becky will sleep with you all day? However, I knew that she would be tired to death...
- Your Becky?
- Yes. (Frightened look.) Didn’t she spend the night with you?
- No.
Mrs. Thacher turned pale and sank into the church pew. Just at this time, Aunt Polly passed by, talking animatedly about something with a friend.
- Hello, Mrs. Thacher! - said Aunt Polly. - Good morning, Mrs. Harper! And my boy is lost again. He must have slept with you that night... or with you... and now he is afraid to come to church - he knows that he will get a good thrashing.
Mrs. Thacher shook her head weakly and turned even paler.
“We didn’t have one,” said Mrs. Harper, also beginning to worry.
Aunt Polly's face showed obvious concern.
- Joe Harper, have you seen my Tom this morning? - she asked.
- No.
- When was the last time you saw him?
Joe tried to remember, but couldn't say for sure. Those leaving the church began to stop. Whispers began in the crowd. A shadow of worry appeared on every face. Children and junior teachers were bombarded with questions. It turned out that no one noticed whether Tam and Becky were on the boat when everyone was returning home: it was very dark; It didn’t even occur to anyone to check if everything was assembled. Finally, one young man blurted out that perhaps they remained in the cave. Mrs. Thacher fainted. Aunt Polly began to sob, wringing her hands.
The alarming news spread from mouth to mouth, from crowd to crowd, from street to street. Five minutes later all the bells were ringing and the whole city was on its feet! The incident on Cardiff Mountain instantly seemed insignificant, the robbers were immediately forgotten. They saddled the horses and untied the boats. They sent for a steamer. Less than half an hour had passed since the terrible discovery, when about two hundred people were already heading both along the river and overland to the cave.
The whole town seemed extinct - it was so empty. All day the women visited Aunt Polly and Mrs. Thacher, trying to console them; we cried with them, and it was better than any words.
The town waited all the tedious night for news, but when morning finally dawned, only a few words were received from the cave: “Send more candles and provisions.” Mrs. Thacher was almost mad with grief, and so was Aunt Polly. Judge Thacher sent messages from the cave every now and then to tell them not to lose hope, but his words did not bring them any consolation.
The next day, at dawn, the old Welshman returned home, all stained with candle lard and clay and barely able to stand on his feet. He found Huck in the same bed where he had been put to bed yesterday. The boy was delirious and tossed about in a fever. All the doctors were in the cave, so the widow Douglas began to look after the patient, saying that she would do everything possible for him, since, whether he was good or bad, he was still God’s creation - he should not be abandoned without a care. The Welshman said that Huck had his good qualities, and the widow agreed with him:
- You are absolutely right. What is created by the Lord God has his stamp on it. Every creation of his hands cannot be without God's grace.
By noon, separate groups of tired people began to return to the town, but those townspeople who had at least some energy left still continued the search. The only new thing they learned was that all the distant galleries in the cave, where no one had looked before, had been searched; that all the crevasses, all the nooks and crannies will be examined, that in the labyrinth of corridors lights flicker in the distance here and there, and that the dull echo of distant screams and pistol shots rolls along the gloomy passages every now and then. In one place, far from the part of the cave usually visited by tourists, they found the names “Becky and Tom” written on a stone with soot from a candle, and right there lay a piece of ribbon stained with lard. Mrs. Thacher recognized the ribbon and burst into tears over it. She said that this was the last memory of her dead child. Nothing could be more precious because this is the last item Becky parted with before her terrible death overtook her. Others said that during their search they noticed some kind of flickering light in the distance and about twenty people rushed in that direction with a cry of joy, awakening a loud echo, but, alas, their joy was premature: they did not find children, but one of their own.
Thus passed three terrible days and three terrible nights. The hours dragged on sadly. The whole city finally fell into a kind of hopeless stupor. Everyone's work was falling through the cracks. Even the accidental discovery that the owner of the Sobriety tavern was secretly selling alcoholic beverages, for all its monstrosity, did not excite almost anyone. When the sick Huck came to his senses for a while, he started talking about the tavern and finally asked, vaguely fearing to hear the terrible news, if anything had been found in the “Sobriety” tavern during his illness.
“We found it,” answered the widow.
Huck looked at her wildly and jumped up on the bed.
- What? What did you find?
- Strong alcohol. Vodka... And the tavern is now closed... Lie down, my child. How you scared me!
- Tell me just one thing, just one word. Please! Who found it? Tom Sawyer?
The widow burst into tears.
- Hush, hush, my dear, I already said: you can’t talk so much. You are very, very sick.
“So, it means they didn’t find anything except vodka, because if they had found money, it would have caused a terrible commotion throughout the whole city. This means that the treasure has disappeared forever and ever... But what is she crying about? Strange affair! It seems like what would she cry about?”
These thoughts moved vaguely in Huck's mind and tired him so much that he fell asleep.
“Well, he’s sleeping, poor thing,” the widow said to herself. - “Tom Sawyer found it!” Now go find Tom Sawyer! There are very few people left who have the persistence and strength to look for your Tom Sawyer.”