The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Read online

  Injun Joe described that night in the graveyard. He said Potter had started the fight. And that Potter had murdered the doctor!

  Huck and Tom couldn’t believe Joe could tell such lies. They expected lightning to strike the liar dead!

  The townspeople wanted to tar and feather Joe. They wanted to ride him out of town for grave robbery. But he was big and strong. Everyone was a little afraid of him.

  Potter was held in jail until the trial. Tom often passed Potter’s window and gave him some treats. It was the least Tom could do. He knew he would never tell what really happened.

  Every night after Potter’s arrest, Tom had awful nightmares. He dreamed about the murder—and Joe coming after him!

  Chapter Four

  Running Away

  As the days passed, Tom stopped thinking about the murder. He had other things on his mind. Becky wasn’t coming to school! She was sick. What if she died?

  Tom was so worried about Becky that he stopped playing with his friends. He put his hoop away. He put his bat away. He hung around outside Becky’s house at night, feeling sad.

  Aunt Polly was worried about Tom. She decided to try out some new cures on him. Aunt Polly read all the health magazines and was a believer in new medicines.

  First she tried the new water treatment. She stood Tom in the woodshed and poured a bucket of ice-cold water on him! Then she scrubbed him with a towel. She wrapped him tightly in blankets so he would sweat. The sickness was supposed to leave Tom’s pores. But it didn’t. Tom was quieter and sadder than ever.

  Aunt Polly tried hot baths, an oatmeal diet, and blister plasters. She tried every cure-all she could find in her magazines.

  Then Aunt Polly heard of Pain-killer. This medicine was as hot as chili peppers. She gave Tom a teaspoonful and watched his face.

  The medicine did the trick. Tom’s stomach was on fire! He roared and screamed and raced around the room! He was more like his old self again. Aunt Polly was sure that her young nephew was cured.

  The next morning Tom decided to stop moping around. He was itching for an adventure. He took the Pain-killer off the shelf and gave a dose to Peter the cat. Peter leaped into the air. He screamed and ran around and around the room. He banged against furniture. He upset flowerpots. He stood on his back legs and pranced around!

  Aunt Polly came into the room just as Peter flew out the window. She peered over her glasses. Tom lay on the floor, roaring with laughter.

  “What’s the matter with that cat?” asked Aunt Polly.

  Then she saw the teaspoon lying on the floor beside Tom. She knew what Tom had done.

  “How could you treat our poor animal that way?”

  “I did it because I felt sorry for him,” replied Tom. “He doesn’t have an aunt to care for him. If he did, she would burn out his stomach with her new medicines.”

  Suddenly Aunt Polly felt sorry. She had been as mean to Tom as he had been to the cat. Her eyes watered. She put her hand on Tom’s head and said gently, “I only wanted you to feel better, Tom. And it did do you good.”

  “I know you was meaning for the best, Auntie. So was I with Peter. It done him good, too. I never saw him move so fast in his life!”

  The best cure of all was waiting for Tom at school. Becky was back!

  Tom tried to get her to notice him. He did cartwheels. He jumped over the fence. He stood on his head. He ran around the school yard chasing boys and yelling and screaming.

  But Becky didn’t even look his way. She was still mad at him for getting engaged to Amy first.

  Tom heard her telling a friend, “Some people think they’re so smart—always showing off!”

  That made Tom angry. He ran into the woods. Maybe Becky would be sorry if he never came back to school!

  In the woods Tom met his old friend Joe Harper. Joe was tired of living with people too. His mother had punished him for drinking cream—and he hadn’t even done it! So Joe had run away.

  The two boys were feeling sorry for themselves. Joe wanted to be a hermit and live alone on an island. He wanted to eat crusts of bread and maybe die from the cold. Then everybody would be sorry.

  But Tom wanted to be a pirate. He wanted to steal his food and live a good life on an island. Joe liked the idea. Being a pirate sounded a lot more fun than being a hermit.

  Jackson’s Island was located on the Mississippi River, three miles south of town. The boys could cross over at the narrowest part of the river. It was the perfect place for pirates.

  On their way the boys found Huck. He was happy to join in the adventure. A pirate’s life was the life for him!

  The boys stole some meat and found a log raft. They paddled across the Mississippi to Jackson’s Island and set up camp.

  Tom wanted to be called “The Black Avenger of the Spanish Main.” Huck was “Huck Finn the Red-handed,” and Joe was “The Terror of the Seas.” The pirates had great battles on land and sea. They sang songs and took turns being villains.

  They made a tent out of an old sail. When the sun set, they built a fire and cooked the meat. It was a good meal.

  “Ain’t it jolly?” said Joe.

  “The others would die to be here,” agreed Tom. “What do you say, Hucky?”

  “I’m happy,” said Huckleberry. “I don’t want nothing better than this.”

  “It’s just the life for me,” said Tom. “You don’t have to get up in the mornings to go to school. You don’t have to wash or nothing.”

  “What else do pirates do?” asked Huck.

  “Oh, they have a great time,” began Tom. “They take ships and burn them. They get the money and bury it in awful places where ghosts watch over it. And they make everybody on the ship walk the plank!”

  Tom’s eyes sparkled with excitement. What an adventure this was going to be!

  Soon the boys were tired. Before falling asleep, each boy wondered if he had done the right thing by running away. Each one decided that stealing was definitely wrong. With their consciences at peace, the three pirates drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter Five

  A Pirate’s Life

  Tom was the first one awake. He rubbed his eyes and wondered where he was. Then he remembered. He was a pirate living on an island!

  It was a cool, gray dawn. Dewdrops hung on the grasses. Thin blue smoke rose from the dead fire. In the woods Tom heard the hammering of a woodpecker.

  Tom woke up the other boys. The three pirates immediately went for a swim in the river. They romped and ran in the shallow water. They came back to camp happy and refreshed. Soon the campfire was blazing again.

  Joe found a spring and brewed tea from hickory leaves. Huck and Tom went fishing. They caught a bass, two perch, and a small catfish.

  After a marvelous fish-fry breakfast, the boys lounged in the shade.

  “Let’s explore!” said Tom.

  Huck and Joe were eager to follow.

  The three pirates tramped into the woods. Maybe there was hidden booty on the island! The boys looked inside hollow logs. They combed the tangled underbrush. But they didn’t find any treasure.

  After another swim, the pirates made lunch.

  They were still eating when they heard a loud noise up the river.

  “What is it?” whispered Joe.

  “Can’t be thunder,” said Huck, “because thunder—”

  “Shh!” Tom interrupted. “Don’t talk.”

  The boys listened and waited. Boom!

  “Let’s see what it is,” said Tom.

  The boys ran to the side of the island that faced town. A steam-powered ferryboat was drifting about a mile below. White smoke burst from the ferryboat’s side.

  “I know!” said Tom. “Somebody’s drowned!”

  “That’s it,” said Huck. “They did that last summer when Bill Turner drowned. They shoot a cannon over the water to make the body come up.”

  “By jings, I wish I was over there now,” said Joe. “I want to know who drowned.”

  The boys watc
hed and listened.

  Suddenly a thought flashed through Tom’s mind. “I know who drowned!” he cried. “It’s us! They’re looking for us!”

  “You’re right,” agreed Huck.

  “We’re heroes,” said Joe.

  The boys were missed! Hearts were breaking. People were crying. They were the talk of the town. Being a pirate was wonderful!

  By evening the ferryboat gave up the search. The boys ate supper around the campfire. They tried to guess what people were saying about them. Tom thought about Aunt Polly. Joe thought about his mother.

  “Maybe it’s time to go home,” Joe suggested timidly.

  Tom and Huck didn’t want to go back. But Tom couldn’t help thinking about poor Aunt Polly. He had to tell her that he was all right.

  After Huck and Joe were asleep, Tom scribbled a note to Aunt Polly on a piece of bark. He rowed across the river and ran along alleys until he came to his aunt’s house.

  A dim light was burning in the window. Tom saw Aunt Polly and Mrs. Harper in the sitting room.

  Tom quietly lifted the latch and crept inside. He crawled under his aunt’s bed. From there he could see and hear everything going on in the sitting room.

  “What is making the candle flicker like that?” asked Aunt Polly. “Why, the door is open.” She got up to close it.

  “Strange things are happening,” said Mrs. Harper. Her eyes were swollen from crying. She clutched a handkerchief in her hands.

  “I hope my Tom’s better off in heaven,” said Aunt Polly. “He wasn’t a bad boy. He never meant any harm. He was the best-hearted boy that ever was.”

  Aunt Polly started to cry. Tom felt awful. Aunt Polly was worried sick about him.

  “My Joe was the same way,” agreed Mrs. Harper. “He was always up to mischief, but just as kind and unselfish as he could be. To think I punished him for taking the cream. I forgot I threw it out because it was sour!

  “Now I’ll never see my poor dear boy again in this world, never, never.”

  Mrs. Harper broke down sobbing.

  “I know just how you feel, Mrs. Harper,” said Aunt Polly, patting her neighbor on the hand. “Just yesterday I was forcing Pain-killer down Tom’s throat. The poor boy went wild with the awful stuff. God forgive me! Oh, my poor dead boy.”

  This last memory was too much for the old lady. She broke down and wept. Under the bed, Tom sniffled a little too.

  Soon Mrs. Harper said good night. Aunt Polly knelt beside her bed to say her prayers. Her words were full of love for her nephew.

  After Aunt Polly fell asleep, Tom slipped out from under the bed. He decided not to leave the note for Aunt Polly. He had a better idea. He put the bark back into his pocket and gently kissed his aunt good night.

  Tom rowed back to the island at daybreak. His fellow pirates were looking for him. Over breakfast Tom told them about his adventure home. But he kept his latest plan to himself.

  Chapter Six

  The Funeral

  Pretty soon the boys got tired of swimming and playing pirates. Joe and Huck were ready to go home. But they were too ashamed to admit it.

  Tom was homesick too. But he tried not to show it. He thought about Becky and Aunt Polly. But he couldn’t go home—not yet.

  Tom saw that Joe was sad. He tried to cheer him up.

  “Let’s look for buried treasure again,” he said. “I bet we’ll find it this time! How would you feel if we came upon a chest full of gold and silver?”

  But Huck and Joe didn’t want to hunt for treasure anymore. Finally Joe said gloomily, “Let’s give it up. I want to go home. It’s so lonesome.”

  “Oh, no, Joe, just think of the fishing,” said Tom.

  “I don’t care about the fishing. I want to go home.” Joe started to sniffle.

  “What a baby,” teased Tom. “You want to see your mother, I bet.”

  “I do want to see my mother,” said Joe. “You would too, if you had one.”

  “We’ll let the crybaby go home to mommy, won’t we, Huck?” said Tom.

  “Y-e-s,” replied Huck sadly.

  Joe was angry. “I’ll never speak to you again as long as I live,” he said to Tom.

  “Who cares?” said Tom. “Go home and get laughed at. Some pirate you are. Huck and me ain’t crybabies. We’ll stay, won’t we, Huck?”

  Tom didn’t really want Joe to leave. But how could he make him stay?

  “I want to go too, Tom,” said Huck. “It was getting so lonesome with just the three of us. Now it will be worse. Let’s go too, Tom.”

  Huck put his hat on. He was ready to leave.

  “Tom, I wish you’d come too,” he said. “Think it over. We’ll wait for you on the other shore.”

  “Wait forever if you want to,” replied Tom. “You can all go if you want to. But I’m staying.”

  Joe and Huck started to leave. Tom wanted to join them, but his pride wouldn’t let him. He ran after them, shouting, “Wait! Wait! I want to tell you something.”

  Tom told his friends about his idea. They would go home, he promised. Just not today. Huck and Joe’s spirits lifted. They hollered and clapped. Then they dived into the river and played all day.

  For supper there were fish and turtle eggs. After they finished eating, Tom and Joe said that they wanted to learn how to smoke. They knew Huck smoked a corncob pipe.

  Huck took out his pipe and filled it with tobacco. He took a puff and passed it around. Tom and Joe copied Huck. They held the pipe the way he did. They puffed the way he did.

  “I think I could smoke a pipe all day,” Joe said feebly. “I don’t feel sick.”

  “Nei-th-er do I,” Tom said slowly.

  But the boys were sick. The tobacco tasted awful. Their throats burned, and their stomachs started to churn. They turned pale, and their hands shook.

  Joe and Tom made excuses to leave the camphre.

  “I’ve lost my knife,” said Tom. “I better go and find it.”

  “I’ll help you,” said Joe. “You go that way. I’ll go this way.”

  The boys ran into the woods and threw up. They each silently vowed never to smoke again.

  The funeral for the three dead boys was held on Sunday. The whole town had come to mourn. The church had never been so full! A group of boys and girls sat in one corner of the church. They all knew Tom and Joe. They were sad. But Becky was the saddest of all.

  Becky wished she had forgiven Tom. She wished she had never said such terrible things to him. Being mad was silly. Now she would never see Tom again.

  Aunt Polly was sitting with Mrs. Harper at the front of the church. Both women were dressed in black.

  The service started with a prayer. A hymn was sung, and then the minister spoke. He said that Tom, Joe, and even Huck were fine boys. He told a few stories about their good deeds.

  By the time the minister finished speaking, there wasn’t a dry eye in the church. Some wept quietly. Others broke down sobbing. Even the minister cried in the pulpit.

  Just then the church door creaked open. The three dead boys marched down the aisle!

  Tom was in the lead, followed by Joe and Huck. They had been hiding in the balcony, waiting for just the right moment to surprise everyone.

  Aunt Polly and Mrs. Harper shouted with joy. They smothered Tom and Joe with kisses. Then Aunt Polly grabbed Huck and smothered him with kisses too!

  The minister announced a hymn of thanksgiving. Everyone was so glad the boys were alive. Their singing nearly took the church roof off! It was a homecoming fit for a pirate.

  Chapter Seven

  Tom’s Dream

  The next morning Aunt Polly’s kisses stopped. Now she was mad!

  “You made me suffer for nearly a week,” Aunt Polly scolded Tom at the breakfast table. “You came over to go to your own funeral. Why didn’t you come to tell me you were all right?”

  “It would have spoiled everything,” explained Tom. “A true pirate wouldn’t do that.”

  “Who cares about pirate
s?” replied Aunt Polly. “Don’t you love me? Even if you only thought about telling me, that would show me you love me.”

  “Now, Auntie, you know I care for you,” said Tom. “Anyway, I dreamed about you. That’s something, isn’t it?”

  “Oh?” replied Aunt Polly. “What did you dream?”

  “I dreamed you were sitting at this table.”

  “Well, so I was,” replied Aunt Polly.

  “Joe Harper’s mother was here too,” continued Tom.

  “Why, she was here!” Aunt Polly exclaimed. “Did you dream any more? Try to remember.”

  Tom pressed his fingers to his forehead. He closed his eyes and concentrated.

  “I’ve got it!” he said finally. “A wind blew the candle … and you got up to close the door.”

  “Go on, Tom, go on!”

  “It’s all coming back to me now!” said Tom excitedly. “You said I wasn’t bad. Then you started to cry.”

  “I did!” said Aunt Polly. “Sereny Harper is going to hear about this before I’m an hour older. Go on, Tom!”

  “Well, then Mrs. Harper started to cry. She said Joe wasn’t bad either. She wished she hadn’t whipped him for taking the cream when she was the one who threw it out.”

  “Tom!” cried Aunt Polly. “You were dreaming like a prophet. Land alive! Go on, Tom!”

  So Tom told his aunt everything he had heard from under the bed that night. He didn’t leave out a thing! Aunt Polly was overcome with awe.

  “I think you prayed for me then,” said Tom, nearing the end. “I was so sorry, I wrote a note on a piece of bark. I wrote, ‘We’re not dead—we are only off being pirates.’ I put the bark on your table and kissed you.”

  “Did you, Tom, did you?” asked Aunt Polly. “I know it’s only a dream, but I can forgive you everything now!”

  The old woman hugged Tom tightly.

  When Tom was at school, Aunt Polly went to visit Mrs. Harper. She wanted to tell her Tom’s dream.

  At lunch Tom came home to a very angry aunt.

  “I should skin you alive,” she said. “I ran over to Sereny Harper’s like an old softy. I told her your amazing dream. She told me that Joe said you were here that night. It wasn’t a dream at all!