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Chapter5 The plan to free Jim |
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When I heard that, I nearly fell through the floor, but it was a big piece of luck |
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It was easy for me to be Tom Sawyer because Tom was my best friend |
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He and his brother Sid lived with their Aunt Polly up in St Petersburg, |
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And I knew all about them |
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Now I learnt that Aunt Polly had a sister, who was Mrs Phelps |
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She and her husband were Tom' s Aunt Sally and Uncle Silas |
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And Tom was coming down south by boat to stay with them for a bit |
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We all sat there talking and I could answer all their questions about the Sawyer family |
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I was feeling really happy about this when suddenly I heard a boat on the river |
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' Tom could be on that boat,' I thought, |
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' and he' s going to walk in here and call out my name before I can stop him |
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I' ve got to go and meet him' |
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So I told the Phelpses that |
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I would go into town to get my bags, which were at the boat station |
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I hurried up the road and before I was halfway to town, |
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There was Tom Sawyer coming along |
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When he saw me, his mouth fell open and he looked a bit white in the face |
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' Aren' t you dead?' he said' Everybody said that you were murdered!' |
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' I' m not dead yet,' I said,' but listen' |
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I told him about my adventures, and Tom loved all that |
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Then I told him about the Phelpses and that they thought I was Tom Sawyer |
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' What shall we do?' I asked him |
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Tom thought for a bit, and then he said,' I know |
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You take my bags and say they' re yours I' ll come to the house in about half an hour' |
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' All right,' I said,' but there' s another thing |
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You know old Miss Watson' s slave Jim, who ran away? |
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Well, he' s a prisoner here, and I' m going to help him escape' |
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' Jim?' Tom said' But he' s' Then he stopped and thought |
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' Right I' ll help, too, I' ll make a really good plan' He looked very excited |
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So I went back to the house with the bags, and Tom came along half an hour later |
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He knocked on the door and when his Aunt Sally opened it, |
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He said he was Sid, Tom' s brother |
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He wanted his visit to be a surprise for his dear old Aunt Sally, he said |
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Well, Aunt Sally was very pleased to see Tom and Sid |
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She thought it was wonderful She and Uncle Silas were really nice people |
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When we were alone later, Tom and I talked about Jim' s escape |
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I said I had a plan, and Tom listened to it |
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' It' s a good plan,' he said when I finished' But it' s too easy! |
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It' s got to be a real escape, like a real adventure in a storybook |
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So we want something difficult and dangerous Now, listen to this' |
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So he told me his plan |
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I knew it would be a good one because Tom' s plans are always crazy and exciting |
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And we sure had a lot of fun with that plan! |
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We knew that Jim was locked up in a hut outside the house |
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Every night we got out through our bedroom window |
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And dug a hole right under the wall of the hut |
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It took us a week, and it was hard work |
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We talked to Jim secretly and told him about the plan, and he was really pleased |
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We also wrote secret letters to everybody |
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Tom said that people always do this in books |
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We wrote that there was a gang of slavethieves coming up from the south |
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They wanted to steal Jim and get the three hundred dollars from his owner |
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Well, the Phelpses and their friends got very excited, |
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And on the night of the escape I went into the sittingroom, |
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And there was a crowd of men in there all with guns! |
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I ran and told Tom, and he said that this was really good |
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' It' s a real adventure now, all right,' he said, very excited |
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' Perhaps they' ll come after us, and shoot, and we' ll all get killed!' |
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Well, there wasn' t time to think about it because it all happened so quickly |
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We got Jim out through the hole under the wall, and began to run down to the river |
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But the men heard us and came after us |
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They began to shoot, and so we ran as fast as we could to the canoe |
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We got in it and went over to Spanish Island My raft was there, |
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And our plan was to escape on that and go on down river |
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' Now, Jim,' I cried,' you' re a free man!' We were all very happy, |
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But Tom was the happiest of all, because he had a bullet in his leg |
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When Jim and I heard that, we weren' t so happy |
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Tom wanted the adventure to go on, |
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But Jim and I said that a doctor must look at Tom' s leg |
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Tom was getting angry about this, but Jim said: |
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' You listen to me, Tom Sawyer You say I' m a free man now, and perhaps I am |
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But old Jim is not going to run away and leave one of his friends with a bullet in his leg! |
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So I' m staying right here until a doctor comes' |
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I knew Jim would say that He was a good, true friend, |
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And you can' t say that about many people |
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Well, that was the end of the adventure, really |
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I went and found a doctor in the town |
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He was a kind old man, and he said he would go over to the island |
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But Tom' s leg got very bad, and the next day |
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The doctor and some other men carried Tom home to the Phelpses' house |
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They brought Jim too, and they locked him up in the hut again |
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But the doctor said,' Be kind to him, |
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Because he didn' t run away and he stayed to help me with the boy' |
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They took Tom up to bed because his leg was really bad, |
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And Aunt Sally sat with him while he slept |
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I didn' t want to answer any questions so I kept out of everybody' s way |
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When Tom woke up the next day, he felt better |
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I was in the room and he said to me,' Jim' s all right, isn' t he?' |
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I didn' t know what to say because Aunt Sally was listening, |
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And before I could stop him, Tom went on: |
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' We did it, Aunt Sally Me and Tom here We helped Jim escape' |
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He told her all about the digging and everything, |
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And Aunt Sally' s mouth was opening and closing like a fish |
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Then she got really angry with Tom |
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' That slave is locked up again and he' s going to stay there And if I catch you again' |
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Tom suddenly sat up in bed' You can' t do that!' he cried |
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' Jim was old Miss Watson' s slave, but she died two months ago |
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Before she died, she wrote that she wanted Jim to be free, and not a slave any more |
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Jim' s a free man, not a slave! |
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Well, that was a surprise to me and Aunt Sally! She thought Tom was crazy |
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' But Sid, why did you help him to escape, if he was free already?' she said |
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' I wanted the adventure, of course!' said Tom |
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' We made a really exciting plan and Oh my! AUNT POLLY!' |
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We turned round, and there was Tom' s Aunt Polly in the doorway! |
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That was the second big surprise |
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Aunt Sally was really pleased to see her sister, |
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And jumped up to put her arms round her |
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I got under the bed as fast as I could |
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There was trouble coming for me and Tom, that was for sure |
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Then Aunt Polly said to Tom, |
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' You always were a terrible boy, Tom Sawyer, and I want to know' |
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' But Polly dear,' said Aunt Sally,' this isn' t Tom It' s Sid |
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Tom was here a minute ago Where is he?' |
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' Where' s Huck Finn, you mean,' replied Aunt Polly |
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' Come out from under that bed, Huck Finn' |
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So Tom and I had to explain everything |
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Aunt Polly said that Aunt Sally wrote and told her that Tom and Sid were there |
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She knew that it wasn' t true, so she decided to come and find out what was happening |
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But she said that it was true about Miss Watson and that Jim was a free man now |
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We got Jim out of the hut and Aunt Sally and Uncle Silas were really nice to him |
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Later, Tom, Jim and I had a long talk by ourselves |
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Tom talked and talked, and then he said, |
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' Let' s all three of us run away one night, |
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And go and have adventures in the wild country down south' |
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It sounded like a good plan to me' The only thing is,' I said, |
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' I haven' t got any money to buy the right clothes and things |
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All my money back in St Petersburg will be in Pop' s pockets by now' |
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' No,' said Tom' Your money' s all there Your Pop never came back' |
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' No, and he won' t come back, Huck,' Jim said |
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' You remember that dead man on the river, |
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When I said" Don' t look at his face"? Well, that was your Pop |
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You can get your money when you want' |
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Tom' s leg is almost better now, and I haven' t got any more to write about |
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I' m really pleased about that because it was very difficult to write a book |
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And I won' t do it again But I think I' m going to have to run away before the others, |
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Because Aunt Sally wants me to live with her |
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I' ll have to sleep in a bed and wear clean clothes and learn to be good, |
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And I can' t do that again I' ve done it once already |
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The End |
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Yours Truly |
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Huck Finn |