THE ADVENTURE OF TOM SAWYER, BY MARK TWAIN

Chapter One: Tom and the Fence

‘Tom! Tom!’ There was no answer. ‘Where is that boy? Tom!’ Aunt Polly looked under the bed but she only found a cat. ‘Tom!’ she cried. Then she heard a noise behind her. A small girl ran past and she stopped him with her hand.

‘What are you doing, Tom?’ she asked. ‘Nothing.’ ‘Nothing. Look at your hand and your mouth. I told you not to eat the jam.’ ‘Oh, Aunt Polly, look behind you!’ The old lady looked and Tom ran away. Aunt Polly was surprised and then she laughed. ‘I never learn. Tom always plays tricks on me and I never learn. I love Tom. He’s my sister’s child – she’s dead. But it’s not easy to look after him. Tomorrow is Saturday and there’s no school. But Tom must work tomorrow. He hates work but he must do it.’

Tom lived in the small village of St. Petersburg with his Aunt Polly, his brother Sid and his sister Mary. The summer evenings were long, and in the evenings Tom liked walking around the village. One evening he saw a big boy in front of him. The boy was a stranger. Tom was surprised because he did not see new people often. This boy had very nice, expensive clothes.

‘He’s got shoes, a new shirt and a tie. And it’s not Sunday.’ Tom thought. ‘My clothes are old and ugly.’ Tom looked at him and the big boy looked at Tom. Tom did not like him. Finally he said. ‘I can beat you!’ ‘Why don’t you try?’ said the boy. ‘Well, I can,’ said Tom. ‘No, you can’t.’ ‘Yes, I can.’ There was silent. ‘You’re afraid,’ said the boy. ‘I’m not afraid,’ said Tom. ‘Yes, you are.’ ‘No, I’m not.’ There was more silent. Then Tom pushed the boy and the boy pushed Tom. Soon they were on the ground. Tom pulled the boy’s hair and hit him hard. They both fought a lot. The big boy was angry and started crying. ‘Stop,’ he said, ‘Stop!’ ‘Now, that will teach you something,’ said Tom.

Tom arrived home late and he was very dirty. When Aunt Polly saw his dirty clothes, she thought, ‘What can I do with this boy? Well, tomorrow is Saturday, and he must work.’

Saturday morning was beautiful and sunny. It was summer and the world was happy. Tom sat in front of the fence and looked at it. It was thirty yards long and nine feet high. He was very unhappy. ‘It’s Saturday and I must paint this long fence. All my friends will laugh at me,’ he thought.

He put his long brush in the white paint and started painting. He stopped and looked at his work. Then he continued painting. After a few minutes he had a great idea. He continued painting the fence. He saw his friend Ben Rogers in the street. Ben had an apple in his hand. He came to look at the fence. ‘You’re working for your aunt,’ said Ben. Tom said nothing. He continued painting.

‘I’m going swimming but you can’t come with me. You’re working,’ said Ben. ‘Do you call this work?’ asked Tom. ‘Of course it’s work. You’re painting a fence,’ said Ben. Maybe it’s work but maybe it isn’t. I like it!’ said Tom, ‘I can swim every day, but I can’t paint a fence every day.’

Ben watched Tom. He painted slowly and carefully. He often stopped and moved back from the fence. He looked at his work and smiled. Ben was suddenly interested in the fence and said, ‘Let me paint a little, Tom.’ Tom thought for a moment. ‘I’m sorry, Ben. Aunt Polly wants me to do it because I’m very good at painting. My brother Sid wanted to do it, but he’s not good at painting.’ ‘Oh please, Tom! Please can I paint? I’m good at painting too. Here, you can have some of my apple.’ ‘No, Ben, I can’t-‘ ‘Then take all of my apple!’

Tom was happy but he did not smile. He gave Ben the brush and sat down to eat the apple. Tom’s other friends came by. At first they laughed at him. But soon they all wanted to paint the fence. Billy Fisher gave Tom a kite and Johnny Miller bought him a dead rat. His other friends gave him an old knife, a cat with one eye, an old blue bottle, and an old key and other interesting things. His friends painted the fence and Tom now had a lot of interesting things. He went back home. ‘Aunt Polly, can I go to play now?’

When Aunt Polly saw the beautiful white fence she was very happy. She gave Tom a big apple and said, ‘Yes, go and play! But don’t come home late!’

CHAPTER TWO: TOM AND HUCK

The next day was Sunday. Tom wore his clean Sunday clothes – he hated this! Tom, Sid and Mary always went to Sunday school on Sunday morning. But Tom was not a good student and never listened to the teacher.

After Sunday school Tom and his family went to the church. This Sunday he had a big black beetle in his pocket. When the Reverend started speaking, Tom took the black beetle out of his pocket. He put I on the floor. There was a little dog in the church. It saw the beetle and wanted to play with it. Suddenly the beetle bit the dog’s nose. The little dog barked and everyone looked at it. It jumped and ran after the black beetle. It ran all about the church barking and making a lot of noise.

The people in the church laughed silently. Their faces were red. The Reverend continued talking but no one listened to him. Tom was happy because he had an interesting morning in church. On Monday morning Ton did not want to get up. ‘Get up immediately, Tom, and get ready for school!’ Aunt Polly cried. On his way to school he met his friend Huckleberry Finn. Huck’s father drank whiskey all the time and did not work. Huck had no mother and no home. He lived in the streets and did not go to school. His clothes were old and dirty. He went fishing and swimming when he wanted. Huck was happy.

All the mothers of the village hated him because he was lazy and used bad language. All the children of the town liked him very much. They admired him.

‘Hello, Huckleberry! What’s that? ‘It’s a dead cat,’ said Huck.

‘What will we do with it?’ asked Tom. ‘I want to take it to the graveyard after midnight,’ Huck said, ‘A dead cat can call ghosts out of their graves.’

‘Really?’ Asked Tom. ‘Well, old Mrs. Hopkins told me. She’s a witch and she knows about these things,’ said Huck.

‘Can I come with you?’ asked Tom. ‘Of course! Or are you afraid of ghosts?’ asked Huck. ‘Afraid of ghosts! Of course not!’ said Tom. ‘Come and call me at my window at eleven o’clock tonight.’

Tom was late for school. The teacher was angry and said, ‘Thomas Sawyer! Why are you late again?’ Suddenly Tom saw a new girl in the classroom. She had blue eyes and long blonde hair. She was very beautiful. Tom looked at her. He was in love! There was a free chair next to her and Tom wanted to sit there. But how? Tom thought quickly and said, ‘I stopped to talk to Huckleberry Finn.’

The teacher was very angry. ‘You know you must never talk to that boy!’ The teacher took his stick and hit Tom. ‘Now go and sit with the girls!’ said the teacher. The children laughed at Tom. Tom sat down next to the new girl. He looked at her. Then he drew a picture of a house.

‘Let me see it,’ she whispered. Tom put the picture in front of her. ‘It’s nice. Draw a man,’ she said. Tom drew a man near the house. It was a terrible picture, but the girl liked it. ‘You draw beautifully. I can’t draw,’ said the girl. ‘I can teach you after school,’ said Tom. ‘Oh, thank you!’ ‘What’s your name?’ Tom asked. ‘Becky Thatcher. I know your name. It’s Tom Sawyer.’

That night Tom and Sid were in bed at half past nine. Sid was soon asleep but Tom was not. At eleven o’clock he heard Huck meow. He dressed quickly and went out of the bedroom window. ‘Let’s go!’ whispered Huck. He had his dead cat. Tom and Huck walked down the dark road. They walked for about half an hour.

The graveyard was on a hill. There were a lot of trees and a lot of graves; everything was dark and scary. The win made strange noises and dark clouds covered the moon.

‘Are the ghosts making these noises?’ thought Tom. He was afraid but he said nothing. ‘Now let’s find the grave of Hoss Williams,’ said Huck.

They soon found the grave. ‘Here it is. He died last week,’ said Huck. ‘Do you think Hoss Williams can hear us?’ asked Tom. ‘Well, I think his ghost can hear us,’ said Huck. ‘Then let’s call him Mr. Williams,’ said Tom. ‘Alright,’ said Huck, ‘But everybody called him Hoss.’ ‘Sh!’

‘What is it, Tom?’ asked Huck. ‘Do you hear the noise? Look over there, Huck! Oh, no!’ said Tom.

CHAPTER THREE: THE GRAVEYARD

‘Ghosts!’ said Huck, ‘I can see ghosts! They’re coming over here. I’m really scared!’ ‘Can ghosts see us?’ asked Tom. ‘Ghosts can see everything,’ answered Huck, ‘Oh, why did I come here?’ ‘Don’t be afraid. We must be very quiet,’ said Tom.

The three ghosts moved quietly in the graveyard. They came close to Tom and Huck. ‘Tom!’ whispered Huck. ‘They’re not ghosts. They’re humans. One of them is Muff Potter.’ ‘You’re right. And there’s Injun Joe and Dr. Robinson. But why are they here?’ said Tom.

‘They’re grave robbers. They want to rob a grave. The doctor wants a dead body,’ said Huck. ‘But why?’ asked Tom. ‘He cuts bodies and studies them. My father told me about Dr. Robinson,’ said Huck.

The three men were at Hoss Williams’s grave. Injun Joe and Muff Potter started digging. Soon the grave was open. They found the dead body and pulled it out of the ground. ‘Well, doctor, do you want us to take the body to your house?’ said Muff, ‘You must give us five dollars.’ ‘What!’ said Dr. Robinson angrily, ‘I paid you this morning. I’m not giving you more money!’

‘I want more money, Doctor,’ said Injun Joe, ‘Five years ago I came to your father’s house. I asked you for something to eat. You gave me nothing. I still remember that. Now you must give me more money.’ Injun Joe took the doctor’s arm and the doctor hit him. Injun Joe fell to the ground. ‘Don’t hit my friend!’ cried Muff Potter.

Muff and Dr. Robinson started fighting. Everything happened very quickly. Dr. Robinson hit Muff Potter on the head. Muff fell to the ground. Injun Joe took Muff’s knife.

He saw Muff on the ground and he killed Dr. Robinson with the knife. The doctor fell on top of Muff and covered him with blood. Injun Joe looked at the two men on the ground.

First he robbed the dead doctor. Then he put the bloody knife into Muff’s right hand. A few minutes passed and Muff moved a little and opened his eyes. He pushed the doctor’s body away. He looked at the knife in his hand. ‘What – what happened, Joe?’ he asked slowly. Injun Joe said, ‘Something very bad, Muff.

Why did you killed him?’ ‘I didn’t kill him!’ said Muff. He was very confused, ‘I drank too much whiskey last night. I don’t remember anything! Tell me, Joe. What happened?’ ‘You fought with the doctor. He hit you on the head and you fell to the ground. Then you got up, took your knife and killed him,’ said Injun Joe. ‘I don’t understand, Joe. I never foughtwith a knife. I didn’t want to kill Dr. Robinson. He was young and he had a future.

Oh, this is terrible! It was the whiskey,’ cried Muff, ‘Joe, don’t tell anyone, please.’

‘I won’t tell anyone, Muff. But now you must leave this graveyard quickly. Go!’ said Injun Joe. ‘Thank you, Joe,’ said Muff, ‘You’re a friend.’ Muff Potter ran away and Injun Joe watched him. Then he carefully put Muff’s knife near the doctor’s body and left the graveyard.

Tom and Huck were terrified. It was a terrible scene. They silently moved away from the trees. Then they ran out of the graveyard and back to the village. They arrived at an old house and decided to hide there. ‘What are we going to do?’ asked Tom, ‘We saw everything. Injun Joe killed the doctor.’

‘What can we do? We can’t tell anyone,’ said Huck. ‘Injun Joe is dangerous. I’m afraid of him. Do you want a knife in your heart?’ ‘I’m afraid of Injun Joe too,’ said Tom, ‘You’re right, we can’t tell anyone about Injun Joe.’ ‘Promise not to tell anyone!’ said Huck. ‘I promise,’ said Tom.

CHAPTER 4: JACKSON'S ISLAND
The next day everyone knew about poor Dr. Robinson. The sheriff found Muff Potter’s knife near the body of the doctor. He put Muff in St. Petersburg’s small jail. Tom and Huck looked at each other. ‘We saw Injun Joe kill the doctor,’ said Tom, ‘Muff didn’t kill him, poor Muff!’

‘I know,’ said Huck, ‘But we mustn’t say anything. Remember, Injun Joe is dangerous – very dangerous. I’m sorry for Muff Potter, too.’ The two boys were afraid. ‘We must keep this secret,’ said Tom sadly. Tom could not forget. At night he had bad dreams about Injun Joe and Juff Potter. He kept the terrible secret but he was very unhappy.

Aunt Polly was worried about him. She gave him a lot of different medicines. But Tom did not feel better. He was unhappy at school too. Becky Thatcher didn’t talk to him anymore. ‘No one loves me,’ thought Tom, ‘What a horrible life!’

It was now summer and there was no more school. Tom and his friend Joe Harper went to the Mississippi River. They fished, talked and looked at the boats. One day Tom said, ‘Let’s go do something exciting!’ ‘OK!’ said Joe, ‘But where can we go and what can we do?’ ‘Let’s run away! We can go and live on Jackson’s Island. We can be a pirate. A pirate’s life is exciting,’ said Tom.

Jackson’s Island was a small island in the Mississippi River. It was about three miles south of St. Petersburg. No one lived on the island. ‘Huckleberry Finn can come with us too,’ said Tom, ‘Remember Joe, don’t tell your mother, father or anyone about our adventure. Go home and bring some food. We’ll meet here at midnight.’ Tom and Joe were excited. At midnight the three boys met on the river.

Tom brought some meat to eat. Joe brought some bread and Huck brought a frying pan. They found a small raft and they went down the river to Jackson’s Island. When they arrive on the island they made a fire and cooked some meat.

‘This is fun!’ said Joe. ‘We’re free and we can do everything we want!’ said Tom. ‘What do pirates do?’ asked Huck.

‘They go on ships and take the money. Then they go to an island and hide it in a safe place,’ said Tom. They three boys were happy and slept under the stars.

The next morning they went swimming in the river. Then they went fishing. They cooked the fish on the fire and ate it. It was delicious. After breakfast they walked around the island and went swimming again. In the afternoon they sat around the fire and ate some meat.

Suddenly Tom said, ‘Can you hear a strange noise? Listen!’ ‘What is it?’ asked Joe. ‘Let’s go and see,’ said Huck. They ran to the river. They saw a steamboat and a lot of small boats near it.

‘Every boat from St. Petersburg is out on the river,’ said Joe, ‘What’s happening?’ ‘They’re looking for a dead body,’ said Huck, ‘The same thing happened last summer when Bill Turner fell into the river and drowned.’ ‘Who are they looking for this time?’ asked Joe. Tom thought for a moment and said, ‘I know! It’s US! They think we drowned!’ The three boys felt like heroes and laughed.

‘The people of St. Petersburg are looking for us. They’re talking about us. We’re famous!’ said Tom happily. This was an exciting adventure for Tom, Huck and Joe! They felt like real pirates on Jackson’s Island. The boats and the steamboat went away.

They boys went fishing again and had fish for dinner. Then they slept under the stars. But Tom could not sleep. The next morning he wasn’t there. ‘Where’ Tom?’ asked Joe. ‘I don’t know,’ said Huck. A few minutes Huck said, ‘Look’s Tom swimming in the river. He’s coming to the island.’ Tom told them his story. ‘Last night I couldn’t sleep. I thought about Aunt Polly. So I went home but no one saw me. I saw Aunt Polly and your mother, Joe, Poor Aunt Molly cried a lot. And your mother was very sad too. Everyone thinks we’re dead. I heard some interesting things.’ ‘What did you hear?’ asked Huck.

‘Well, there will be a funeral for us on Sunday at the church,’ said Tom. Huck and Joe looked at him with big eyes. ‘And now I have a great idea. Listen-‘ Tom told Huck and Joe his great idea. They liked it and laughed.

Sunday was the day of the funeral. There were no happy faces in St. Petersburg. Everyone in the village was in the small church. Aunt Polly, Sid, Mary and Joe Harper’s family were all dressed in black. The Reverend said many kind words about the three boys. The boys’ families cried and cried. Becky Thatcher cried. Everyone cried a lot.

Suddenly there was a noise at the church door. The Reverend looked up and stopped speaking. Everyone in the church turned around and looked. Their mouths opened. The three dead boys slowly walked into the church. Tom was first, then Joe and then Huck.

There was great silent for a moment. Then Aunt Polly, Mary and Joe’s mother ran to the boys. They kissed Tom and Joe. Aunt Polly cried and then laughed. Poor Huck did not know what to do. No one kissed him. He started moving away but Tom stopped him.

‘Aunt Polly, it’s not right. Someone must be happy to see Huck,’ said Tom. ‘Oh, you’re right, Tom!’ cried Aunt Polly and she kissed Huck. Tom was very proud of his great idea. Then the Reverend said, ‘Let us sing and be happy!’ Everyone sang and laughed. It was a very happy day.

CHAPTER 5: THE TRIAL

Some weeks later it was time for Muff Potter’s trial. Everyone in the village talked about it. Tom and Huck were worried.

‘Huck, did you tell anyone about – that?’ asked Tom. ‘About what?’ answered Huck. ‘You know what,’ said Tom. ‘Oh, of course not,’ said Huck. ‘Poor old Muff. I’m very sorry for him. People say he’s a killer. But it’s not true. And they’ll hang him!’ said Tom. ‘I’m sorry for Muff, too. But we can’t tell anyone about Injun Joe,’ said Huck, ‘Poor Muff is a kind man. Once he gave me half a fish.’ ‘And once he helped me with my kite,’ said Tom, ‘I want to help him.’ ‘Let’s go to the jail and take him something to eat,’ said Huck.

They went to the small jail and they saw Muff. He was happy to see them. ‘No one remembers old Muff any more. But you’re my friends and you remember me. Thank you, boys!’ said Muff smiling. Now Tom felt terrible. He was worried about the trial. He could not sleep at night. Everyone in the village went to Muff Potter’s trial.

Muff looked old, tired and unhappy. Injun Joe was at the trial too. During the trial there were many questions and answers. All the answers were against old Muff. Then the lawyer said, ‘Call Thomas Sawyer!’

Everyone was surprised and looked at Tom. Why did the lawyer call Tom Sawyer? ‘Thomas Sawyer, where were you on June  at midnight?’ Tom looked quickly at Injun Joe. He waited a few moments and then said, ‘I was in the graveyard.’ ‘Were you near Hoss Williams’s grave?’ asked the lawyer. ‘Yes, sir,’ said Tom.

‘Why were you there?’ asked the lawyer. ‘I went there to see the ghost, with a – a dead cat.’ Everyone laughed. ‘What did you see in the graveyard? Tell us what happened,’ said the lawyer. Tom told his story and people of St. Petersburg listen to him. They were very surprised.

‘…and then Muff Potter fell to the ground and Injun Joe took Muff’s knife and –‘

Tom suddenly heard a very loud noise. Injun Joe jumped out of the window and disappeared! Tom became the hero of St. Petersburg. He saved Muff Potter’s life. Tom’s days were happy but his nights were not. At night he had terrible dreams about Injun Joe. The days passed and no one could find Injun Joe.

CHAPTER 6: THE HAUNTED HOUSE

Every young boy wants to find a treasure.  And Tom did too. One hot summer day he told Huck about his idea. ‘Where can we look for a treasure?’ asked Huck Happily. “Robbers put treasure under old trees or in old houses. We can start digging under the old tree on Cardiff Hill. Come on! Let’s go!’ The boys went to Cardiff Hill and started digging. It was a hot day and they dug for a few hours.

‘There’s nothing under this tree,’ said Huck. ‘I’m hot and tired,’ said Tom, ‘Let’s go to the haunted house. Nobody lives there.’ ‘But haunted houses have ghosts,’ said Huck. ‘Ghosts only come out at night. It’s daytime now,’ said Tom. ‘Well, alright,’ said Huck. They went to the haunted house. It was an old, lonely place. There was silence all around. They were both afraid of this strange place.

They entered quietly and looked around. Everything was old and broken. No one lived here. They looked in all the rooms downstairs and upstairs. But there was no treasure and there were no ghosts. Tom and Huck were upstairs. ‘Sh!’ said Tom. ‘What is it? Do you hear ghosts?’ whispered Huck. ‘No! Don’t move!’ said Tom, ‘Let’s sit down on the floor.’ There were holes in the floor and they could see the rooms downstairs. ‘Oh, no!’ whispered Tom, ‘There are two men downstairs.’ One was an old Spanish man with long, white hair and a big hat. The other was small and wore dirty clothes. ‘Let’s listen to them,’ whispered Tom. The two men sat on the floor. ‘It’s hot in here and I’m tired,’ said the old Spanish man.

When the boys heard his voice they were terrified, ‘That’s Injun Joe!’ whispered Huck. The boys’ faces became white. ‘What are we going to do with the -- $ in silver coins? That was a good robbery!’ said the small, dirty man.

‘Let’s take about $ with us now and hide the bag here. We can come back to get it soon,’ said Injun Joe. The small, dirty man moved a big stone in the fireplace and pulled out a bag. He took some money from the bag. Injun Joe started digging near the fireplace with his knife. Tom and Huck watched with excitement. There was a real treasure downstairs! Six hundred dollars was a wonderful treasure for two young boys! Suddenly Injun Joe stopped digging. ‘There’s something here! I think it’s a box,’ he said. He found an old box and opened it.

‘It’s money!’ cried Injun Joe, ‘Look! There are lots of gold coins!’ The two men looked at the coins and smiled. The box was full of gold coins! Tom and Huck smiled too. ‘This is the treasure of the old Murrel family – now it’s ours!’ said Injun Joe.

‘Where can we hide this gold?’ asked the small man. ‘Can we put it back under the stone?’ ‘Yes,’ said Injun Joe, ‘No, no! The stone isn’t a good place. Someone may find it. Let’s put it under the cross tonight.’

When it was dark outside the two men took the silver and gold away. Tom and Huck did not follow them because they were afraid of Injun Joe. But they wanted to find “the cross’ and the treasure. Where was “the cross”?

CHAPTER 7: McDOUGAL'S CAVE

It was Becky’s Thatcher’s birthday on Saturday and all of Becky’s friends were happy and excited. ‘I’m having a big picnic near the river,’ said Becky to Tom, ‘After the picnic we can visit McDougal’s Cave.’ ‘It’ll be great fun!’ said Tom. He liked Becky a lot. On Saturday morning a big boat took Becky, Tom and their friends down the river. There were no mothers and fathers, but a few boys and girls were eighteen years old. There were a lot of good things to eat and everyone ate, played and had fun. After the picnic the children went to visit McDougal’s Cave. Everybody had candles because it was dark inside the cave. Some children were afraid but they all went in. Caves are exciting and mysterious.

McDougal’s Cave was very, very big. It had hundreds of tunnels, rooms, and secret passages. No one knew all of them. The children played and ran in the tunnels and in the rooms. But they always played near the entrance. They did not want to get lost. Tom and Becky wanted to find a new tunnel. They walked and walked and soon they were alone. Where were the other children? They were lost! In the evening the other children returned to the boat. They laughed and talked, but they were very tire. They did not see that Tom and Becky were not there. The boat took them back to St. Petersburg.

Huck saw the boat but he did not know about the picnic. The mothers of St. Petersburg did not like them. They never invited him to birthday picnics. But tonight Huck was not interested in the birthday picnics. He was interested in Injun Joe’s treasure. He hid behind a tree and watched an old house. ‘Injun Joe’s in that house,’ he thought, ‘I’ll stay here and wait. When he comes out I’ll follow him and I’ll find the treasure.’ It was late and very dark.

Soon two men came out. It was Injun Joe and his friend. Huck followed them quietly. ‘They’re going to Widow Douglas’s house,’ thought Huck, ‘But why?’ Suddenly the two men stopped. Injun Joe said, ‘Many years ago Widow Douglas’s husband was very cruel to me. Now I want to hurt the widow. I want to cut her face, her nose and her ears. And you must help me.’ ‘Oh, please don’t kill her,’ said his friend. Injun Joe laughed. Huck heard this and wanted to run away. But he remembered that Widow Douglas was kind to him. ‘I must help her,’ thought Huck, ‘These men want to kill the poor old woman!’ Huck ran quickly to Bill Welsh’s house.

‘Mr. Welsh, help, help!’ Mr. Welsh opened the door. ‘Mr. Welsh, please help me! Two men want to kill Widow Douglas!’ Mr Welsh and his sons took their rifles. They ran to the widow’s house. Suddenly there was a loud shot. Injun Joe and his friend escaped, but the widow was not hurt.

The next morning Huck returned to see Mr. Welsh. ‘You’re a courageous boy, Huck,’ said Mr. Welsh, ‘You saved the widow’s life. The two men escaped but we’ll find them. Sit down and have breakfast with us!’ Huck was happy because he saved the widow’s life. And now he had new friends, Mr. Welsh and his family. That morning all the people of St. Petersburg knew about Tom and Becky and they were very worried. Where are they? Tom and Becky were lost in McDougal’s Cave. They did not know what to do. They were both afraid. Tom took Becky’s hand. They walked and walked. Tom wanted to find the entrance of the cave, but he couldn’t. Tom and Becky entered a big room with a lot of black bats. It was terrible. The bats flew over their heads and when Tom and Becky ran away the bats followed them. Finally the bats went away. Becky looked at Tom and said, ‘Tom, where are we?’ ‘I don’t know, Becky.’

They continued walking in dark tunnels. They were both tired and hungry. Becky started crying. ‘No one will ever find us, Tom. There are too many tunnels and rooms. Oh, we’re going to die here!’ ‘We’ll get out of this cave, Becky, you’ll see.’ said Tom. They ate their last piece of cake. Soon their last candle went out.

Everything was dark. What time was it? What day was it? They did not know. They were tired and slept. When they woke up they were very hungry. Suddenly, Tom heard a noise. ‘Listen, Becky! Did you hear a noise? Someone is looking for us!’ Becky looked at Tom and smiled. ‘I’m going to see. You stay here, Becky!’ said Tom.

CHAPTER 8: THE TREASURE

Tom went into the dark tunnel. He saw a light and heard a noise. ‘Who is looking for us?’ he thought. Suddenly he saw a hand with a candle. Then he saw a man. It was Injun Joe! Tom was terribly scared. But it was dark and Injun Joe did not see Tom. Injun Joe went away quickly.

Tom returned to Becky but he did not tell her about Injun Joe. She was very weak. It was Tuesday and in St. Petersburg everyone was worried. Where were Tom and Becky? Many people from the village went to the cave and looked for them. But they could not find them.

Mrs. Thatcher became very ill and Aunt Polly’s hair became white. Then on Tuesday night there was a lot of noise in the street of St. Petersburg. ‘They’re here! Becky and Tom are here!’ cried the people happily. No one went to sleep that night. Everyone listened to tom’s story about his adventure in the caves. ‘We were lost for a long time. We were hungry and scared. Then I remember the string in my pocket. I used the long string to help me. I went down many tunnels. And I always returned to Becky because I followed the string. Then I found another entrance to the cave. It was very small and it was near the river.

Tom and Becky were happy but very tired and hungry. Becky stayed in bed for many days because she was weak. Tom stayed in bed for a few days too. Some time after the adventure in the cave, Tom went to visit Becky. Mr. Thatcher asked Tom, ‘Do you want to go to the cave again?’ ‘Oh, I’m not afraid of the cave,’ said Tom. ‘Well, nobody is going to the cave again. There are big doors in front of the entrance now. And I have the keys ,’ said Mr. Thatcher. ‘What!’ Tom’s face became white. ‘Is something wrong, Tom?’ asked Mr. Thatcher. ‘Injun Joe’s in the cave!’ cried Tom. Many men from St. Petersburg went to the cave and opened the big doors. They found Injun Joe on the ground. He was dead.

After Injun Joe’s funeral Tom went to see Huck. ‘Now that Injun Joe is dead, we’ll never find the money,’ said Huck sadly. ‘Listen, Huck,’ said Tom, ‘I know where the money is!’ Really?’ asked Huck with big eyes. ‘The money is in the cave! I saw Injun Joe in the cave. Why was he in the cave? Because he took the money there,’ said Tom. ‘Say it again, Tom,’ said Huck. ‘The money’s in the cave and we can take it.’ ‘But we’ll get lost in the cave,’ said Huck. ‘No, we won’t. I’ve got candles and a long string. Let’s go and get a boat!’ said Tom.

They took a small boat and went down the Mississippi River to McDougal’s Cave. ‘Look, Huck, here’s the other entrance,’ said Tom. ‘It’s very small,’ said Huck. Tom and Huck went into the cave. They were careful and used the long string to help them. Tom suddenly stopped and said, ‘I saw Injun Joe here.’ ‘His ghost is probably here too,’ said Huck, ‘Let’s go now!’ ‘His ghost isn’t here. It’s probably at the other entrance.’ ‘Well, alright. But let’s hurry,’ said Huck. Tom looked around slowly and then cried. ‘Look, here’s the cross! There was a black cross on the wall of the cave. ‘You’re right! It’s the cross!’ said Huck. ‘Let’s dig under the cross.’ They dug and dug. Finally they found a small room. There was a small bed, some old candles and a few bottles. And there was the treasure box ! They opened it and saw the gold and silver coins.

‘We’re rich, Tom, we’re rich!’ cried Huck, ‘This is wonderful!’ ‘I always knew it!’ said Tom, ‘Now let’s take our treasure and leave.’ They followed the long string and were soon out of the cave.

The two boys took their treasure to Aunt Polly’s house. A lot of people in St. Petersburg saw the boys and the treasure. They followed them to Aunt Polly’s house. Aunt Polly was surprised to see the boys and all the people. ‘Tom, what’s in that old box?’ she asked. Tom opened the treasure box. Everyone was amazed. They looked at all the silver and gold coins. There was 10000$,! Tom told his long story about Injun Joe and the treasure. It was a great story and the people listened with their eyes wide open. Now Tom and Huck were rich and famous in St. Petersburg!