CHAPTER XV
A FEW minutes later Tom was in the shoal water of the bar, wadingtoward the Illinois shore. Before the depth reached his middle he washalf-way over; the current would permit no more wading, now, so hestruck out confidently to swim the remaining hundred yards. He swamquartering upstream, but still was swept downward rather faster than hehad expected. However, he reached the shore finally, and drifted alongtill he found a low place and drew himself out. He put his hand on hisjacket pocket, found his piece of bark safe, and then struck throughthe woods, following the shore, with streaming garments. Shortly beforeten o'clock he came out into an open place opposite the village, andsaw the ferryboat lying in the shadow of the trees and the high bank.Everything was quiet under the blinking stars. He crept down the bank,watching with all his eyes, slipped into the water, swam three or fourstrokes and climbed into the skiff that did "yawl" duty at the boat'sstern. He laid himself down under the thwarts and waited, panting.
Presently the cracked bell tapped and a voice gave the order to "castoff." A minute or two later the skiff's head was standing high up,against the boat's swell, and the voyage was begun. Tom felt happy inhis success, for he knew it was the boat's last trip for the night. Atthe end of a long twelve or fifteen minutes the wheels stopped, and Tomslipped overboard and swam ashore in the dusk, landing fifty yardsdownstream, out of danger of possible stragglers.
He flew along unfrequented alleys, and shortly found himself at hisaunt's back fence. He climbed over, approached the "ell," and looked inat the sitting-room window, for a light was burning there. There satAunt Polly, Sid, Mary, and Joe Harper's mother, grouped together,talking. They were by the bed, and the bed was between them and thedoor. Tom went to the door and began to softly lift the latch; then hepressed gently and the door yielded a crack; he continued pushingcautiously, and quaking every time it creaked, till he judged he mightsqueeze through on his knees; so he put his head through and began,warily.
"What makes the candle blow so?" said Aunt Polly. Tom hurried up."Why, that door's open, I believe. Why, of course it is. No end ofstrange things now. Go 'long and shut it, Sid."
Tom disappeared under the bed just in time. He lay and "breathed"himself for a time, and then crept to where he could almost touch hisaunt's foot.
"But as I was saying," said Aunt Polly, "he warn't BAD, so to say--only mischEEvous. Only just giddy, and harum-scarum, you know. Hewarn't any more responsible than a colt. HE never meant any harm, andhe was the best-hearted boy that ever was"--and she began to cry.
"It was just so with my Joe--always full of his devilment, and up toevery kind of mischief, but he was just as unselfish and kind as hecould be--and laws bless me, to think I went and whipped him for takingthat cream, never once recollecting that I throwed it out myselfbecause it was sour, and I never to see him again in this world, never,never, never, poor abused boy!" And Mrs. Harper sobbed as if her heartwould break.
"I hope Tom's better off where he is," said Sid, "but if he'd beenbetter in some ways--"
"SID!" Tom felt the glare of the old lady's eye, though he could notsee it. "Not a word against my Tom, now that he's gone! God'll takecare of HIM--never you trouble YOURself, sir! Oh, Mrs. Harper, I don'tknow how to give him up! I don't know how to give him up! He was such acomfort to me, although he tormented my old heart out of me, 'most."
"The Lord giveth and the Lord hath taken away--Blessed be the name ofthe Lord! But it's so hard--Oh, it's so hard! Only last Saturday myJoe busted a firecracker right under my nose and I knocked himsprawling. Little did I know then, how soon--Oh, if it was to do overagain I'd hug him and bless him for it."
"Yes, yes, yes, I know just how you feel, Mrs. Harper, I know justexactly how you feel. No longer ago than yesterday noon, my Tom tookand filled the cat full of Pain-killer, and I did think the creturwould tear the house down. And God forgive me, I cracked Tom's headwith my thimble, poor boy, poor dead boy. But he's out of all histroubles now. And the last words I ever heard him say was to reproach--"
But this memory was too much for the old lady, and she broke entirelydown. Tom was snuffling, now, himself--and more in pity of himself thananybody else. He could hear Mary crying, and putting in a kindly wordfor him from time to time. He began to have a nobler opinion of himselfthan ever before. Still, he was sufficiently touched by his aunt'sgrief to long to rush out from under the bed and overwhelm her withjoy--and the theatrical gorgeousness of the thing appealed strongly tohis nature, too, but he resisted and lay still.
He went on listening, and gathered by odds and ends that it wasconjectured at first that the boys had got drowned while taking a swim;then the small raft had been missed; next, certain boys said themissing lads had promised that the village should "hear something"soon; the wise-heads had "put this and that together" and decided thatthe lads had gone off on that raft and would turn up at the next townbelow, presently; but toward noon the raft had been found, lodgedagainst the Missouri shore some five or six miles below the village--and then hope perished; they must be drowned, else hunger would havedriven them home by nightfall if not sooner. It was believed that thesearch for the bodies had been a fruitless effort merely because thedrowning must have occurred in mid-channel, since the boys, being goodswimmers, would otherwise have escaped to shore. This was Wednesdaynight. If the bodies continued missing until Sunday, all hope would begiven over, and the funerals would be preached on that morning. Tomshuddered.
Mrs. Harper gave a sobbing good-night and turned to go. Then with amutual impulse the two bereaved women flung themselves into eachother's arms and had a good, consoling cry, and then parted. Aunt Pollywas tender far beyond her wont, in her good-night to Sid and Mary. Sidsnuffled a bit and Mary went off crying with all her heart.
Aunt Polly knelt down and prayed for Tom so touchingly, soappealingly, and with such measureless love in her words and her oldtrembling voice, that he was weltering in tears again, long before shewas through.
He had to keep still long after she went to bed, for she kept makingbroken-hearted ejaculations from time to time, tossing unrestfully, andturning over. But at last she was still, only moaning a little in hersleep. Now the boy stole out, rose gradually by the bedside, shaded thecandle-light with his hand, and stood regarding her. His heart was fullof pity for her. He took out his sycamore scroll and placed it by thecandle. But something occurred to him, and he lingered considering. Hisface lighted with a happy solution of his thought; he put the barkhastily in his pocket. Then he bent over and kissed the faded lips, andstraightway made his stealthy exit, latching the door behind him.
He threaded his way back to the ferry landing, found nobody at largethere, and walked boldly on board the boat, for he knew she wastenantless except that there was a watchman, who always turned in andslept like a graven image. He untied the skiff at the stern, slippedinto it, and was soon rowing cautiously upstream. When he had pulled amile above the village, he started quartering across and bent himselfstoutly to his work. He hit the landing on the other side neatly, forthis was a familiar bit of work to him. He was moved to capture theskiff, arguing that it might be considered a ship and thereforelegitimate prey for a pirate, but he knew a thorough search would bemade for it and that might end in revelations. So he stepped ashore andentered the woods.
He sat down and took a long rest, torturing himself meanwhile to keepawake, and then started warily down the home-stretch. The night was farspent. It was broad daylight before he found himself fairly abreast theisland bar. He rested again until the sun was well up and gilding thegreat river with its splendor, and then he plunged into the stream. Alittle later he paused, dripping, upon the threshold of the camp, andheard Joe say:
"No, Tom's true-blue, Huck, and he'll come back. He won't desert. Heknows that would be a disgrace to a pirate, and Tom's too proud forthat sort of thing. He's up to something or other. Now I wonder what?"
"Well, the things is ours, anyway, ain't they?"
Pretty near, but not yet, Huck. The writing says they
are if he ain'tback here to breakfast."
"Which he is!" exclaimed Tom, with fine dramatic effect, steppinggrandly into camp.
A sumptuous breakfast of bacon and fish was shortly provided, and asthe boys set to work upon it, Tom recounted (and adorned) hisadventures. They were a vain and boastful company of heroes when thetale was done. Then Tom hid himself away in a shady nook to sleep tillnoon, and the other pirates got ready to fish and explore.