The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Chapter 12

Chapter 11

"Come in," the woman said, and I pushed open the door and went in.she says:
"Sit down."

I sat down.She looked me up and down with her bright little eyes, and said:
"What's your name?"

"Sarah? Williams."

"Where do you live? Nearby?"

"No, Auntie. At Hookerville, seven miles from here, straight down. I've walked all the way, and I'm tired."

"I'm probably hungry too. I'll get you something to eat."

"No, Auntie. I was very hungry just now, and I stayed for a while in a village two miles down here, and I ate something, and I am not hungry now. That's why I came here so late. My mother was ill, and the family No money, nothing, and I came here to tell my Uncle Abner Moore about it. Mother says he lives up this town. I've never been here before. Do you know him?"

"I don't know; I don't know all the people in this place. I haven't lived here a fortnight. It's a bit of a walk from here to the top of town. You'll just spend the night here. Take your hat off." .”

"No," I said, "I just want to rest before I go on my way. I'm not afraid of the dark."

She said she couldn't let me go alone, her husband might be back in an hour and a half, and she wanted her husband to accompany me.Then she talked about her husband, about her relatives up and down, about how good things used to be for her family, and then she made a mistake and moved to this town, and she might as well live in the old place —she went on and on about all these mothers-in-laws, so that I was afraid I was wrong to come here, and I shouldn't have come here to find out the news of the town; but then she happened to talk about my father and the murder At this time, I really want to hear her nagging.She talked about me and Tom?Sawyer alone got 6000 yuan (but she said it was [-] yuan), and she talked about my father for a long time, saying that he was terrible, and I was terrible, and then she talked about where I gave people Murderous.I say:
"Who did it? We've heard a lot about it in Hookerville, but we don't know who killed Huck Finn."

"Oh, I think people here are trying to figure out who killed Huck, Finn. Some people suspect that old Finn did it himself."

"No way—how could it be him?"

"Everybody thought so at first, and nearly killed him in private. They changed their minds about it when it was getting dark, and decided it was a runaway nigger called Jim."

"Oh, he—"

I stopped talking.I think it's better to keep quiet.She went on talking again, not paying attention to my interjection.

"That nigger got away the night Huck Fern was murdered. There was a bounty for him--three hundred dollars, and there was a bounty for old Fern--two hundred dollars. You see, the night before After the murder happened, he came to town early the next morning, and told everyone about it, and got on the ferry with everyone to salvage the body, but then he disappeared. It was still dark. They tried to kill him in private then, but lo and behold, he'd run away. The next day they found out the nigger had run away, and he hadn't been seen since ten o'clock that night. So they Put it on him, you see, and now they talk about it forever.

Old Finn came back the next day, crying and begging Judge Thatcher for money to go to Illinois to catch that nigger.The judge gave him some money, and that night he was drunk, and was seen staying in the town till midnight with two menacing men, and then went with them.Well, he hasn't been back since then, and people say he won't come back until it's all settled down, because people think he killed his kids and set up a false scene to make him Robbers were believed to have done it, so he could get Huck's money without a long lawsuit.People said he was the kind of guy who could do that.Yo, I think he's really cunning.If he doesn't come back after a year, then he'll be fine.You see, there's no way to get a hold of him, and then everything will calm down, and that's how he can get Huck's money without much trouble. "

"Yes, I think so too, Auntie. I see it as plain as day. Don't you all suspect the nigger?"

"Oh, no, not all of them. Quite a few people think he did it. They'll catch him before long anyway, and maybe he'll do it if they scare them."

"Why, are they going to catch him?"

"Well, you don't understand that. Is there 300 yuan left there every day for anyone to take? Some people think that the nigger didn't go far. I think so--but I don't go around with people Let’s go. A few days ago, I was chatting with the old couple who lived in the wooden house next door. They happened to mention that there was an island on the river called Jackson Island. Asked. They said no one lived. I didn't say anything more, but I thought about it. I was almost sure I saw smoke on that island just a day or two ago, so I thought, maybe that The nigger was hiding on the island. I figured it would be worth searching the island after all. I haven't seen any smoke since then, so I thought, if it was him, he might have run off again But I'm in charge of the house, and I'm going to go and see, and I'm going to get someone to go with me. He was out up the river on errands, but he came home today, and I told him about it when he got home two hours ago. he."

As soon as I heard this, I couldn't sit still in a hurry. I had to do something, so I picked up a needle from the table and threaded the thread into the nose of the needle.But his hands were trembling, and he couldn't put it on.At this time, the woman stopped talking, and I looked up and saw that she was smiling at me with curious eyes.I put my needle and thread on the table, and pretended to be absorbed in what I heard--which I did--and said in passing:

"Three hundred yuan is a lot of money. If only my mother could get this money. Is the head of your family going there tonight?"

"Oh, yes. He's down in town with the man I was talking about just now, to get a boat, and see if I can borrow another gun. They're leaving there after midnight. .”

"Wouldn't it be better to wait until daytime to see it?"

"Yeah, but doesn't the nigger see better too? He'll be asleep by the end of the night, and they'll be able to walk through the woods in the dark, and if he's got a fire on, the darker the better." .”

"I didn't expect that."

The woman was still looking at me curiously, which made me feel uncomfortable.After a while she said:
"Girl, what did you say your name was?"

"M-Mary? Williams."

But I seemed to think that I was not talking about Mary, so I didn't dare to look up; I seemed to be talking about Sarah, so I felt a little uncomfortable, for fear of showing a flaw in my face.I longed for the woman to say something more; the more silent she was, the more uncomfortable I felt.After a pause, she finally spoke again:
"Girl, I remember you were talking about Sarah when you first came in, right?"

"Oh, yes, Auntie, that's what I said. My full name is Sara? Mary? Williams. Sara is the first word. Some call me Sara and some call me Mary."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Yes, Auntie."

Now I feel more at ease, but I still want to get out of there.I still dare not look up.

Well, the woman finally broke the topic, talking about how bad the harvest was this year, how poor her family was, and the mice running around in the house, and they almost regarded this house as their home, and talked about it A lot, and now I'm at my ease again.She was right about the mice.At that time, there was one that kept protruding its nose from a hole in the corner of the room. She said that when she was alone in the room, she always had something on hand, so that she could throw it at any time to kill the mice, or they would disturb them. Make her restless.She showed me a knot made of twisted thick lead wire, and said she was pretty good at hitting mice with it, but she twisted her arm a day or two ago, so she might not be able to hit it right now.As she talked, she saw a chance and threw it at a mouse with a bang, but she didn't stop, it was far away.She said "ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh".She said that if there is another mouse coming out, she would ask me to give it a try, but I wanted to leave quickly so that the old man would not come back and cause trouble.But I didn't show my feet. I picked up the lead wire as she told me, and as soon as a mouse showed its nose, I threw it hard. If the thing stayed there, it would kick its legs.She said that I really have nothing to say now, and if there are any mice that come out, I will definitely hit them.She went to bring back the lead wire lump and a skein of cotton thread, and asked me to wind it for her.I raised my hands and let her put on the thread, and she walked around and started talking about herself and her man.While talking, he suddenly stopped talking and told me:

"Keep an eye on the mouse, just put the lead wire bump on your leg, it's convenient to use."

While she was talking, she threw the lump of lead onto my leg, and I clamped my legs and clamped the lump of lead.She went on chattering again, but only for a while, and then took the thread out of my hand, and looking at my face, rather kindly, asked me:

"Okay, what's your name?"

"Wh-what, Auntie?" "What's your name anyway? Is it Bill, Tom, Bob, or something else?"

I felt like I was trembling like a leaf, and I lost my mind and didn't know what to do.But I still spoke up:

"Auntie, I'm a poor girl, don't make fun of me. If I annoy you here, I'll—"

"No, don't worry, sit still, I won't hurt you, and I won't expose you. Just tell me your secret, trust me, I will keep it for you; besides, I will I'll do you a favor. My man will help you if you want. You see, you're an apprentice, and you've run away from your master—no problem. It's nothing, no fault. The master treats you badly, You make up your mind and run away. God bless you, boy, I'll never tell you. Tell me all—good boy."

Hearing what she said, I simply said that it's useless to pretend anymore, so let's confess everything to her, but she can't count her words.Then I told her my parents were dead, and the court sentenced me to a mean old farmer who lived in the country thirty miles from the river and treated me so badly that I couldn't stand it.It happened that he was going to go out for two or three days, so I took the opportunity to steal some old clothes from his daughter and ran away.It took me three nights to walk the thirty miles.I traveled at night and slept in hiding during the day. I took a bag of meat and bread with me and ate it all the way, and there was still a lot left.I said I believed Uncle Abner?Moore would take me, that's why I came to Goshen.

"Goshen, boy? This ain't Goshen, this is St. Petersburg. Ten miles up the river to Goshen. Who told you it was Goshen?"

"Why, I met a man at dawn this morning, and he told me that as I was turning into the woods to go to sleep. He told me to turn right at the fork ahead, and five miles to Go state."

"I think he's drunk. He just pointed you the wrong way."

"Oh, he looks like he's drunk like that, and it doesn't matter now, I'll just keep going. We'll be at Goshen before dawn."

"Wait a minute, I'll get you something to eat. You're probably hungry."

She got me something to eat, and said:

"I ask you, if a lying cow wants to get up, which one will get up first? I want you to answer right away, don't think about it. Which one will get up first?"

"Behind, Auntie."

"Okay, so what about the horse?"

"Ahead, Auntie."

"Which side of the tree grows moss?"

"north."

"There are fifteen cows grazing on the hillside, how many of them are grazing with their faces facing one direction?"

"Fifteen heads all point in one direction, Auntie."

"Well, it looks like you live in the country, and I thought you were teasing me again. So what's your name?"

"George Peters, Auntie."

"Well, you've got to keep that name in your head, don't forget it. But don't tell me your name is Alexander when you're leaving, and when I catch your mistake, you say George-Alexander again. I'll let you go out. Don't wear this old flowered sarong and walk around in front of women. You're acting too badly as a girl. You might as well just coax a man. Boy, don't die when you're threading through the eye of a needle. Hold the thread firmly, move the needle lightly, hold the needle still, and thread it in. Women do this, and men do just the opposite. When throwing things to hit mice, stand on tiptoe, Raise your hands above your head, do whatever you want to look stupid, and don't hit a mouse, it's better to be within seven feet or eight feet.

When throwing, the arm should be stiff, as if there is a rotating shaft on the shoulder - like a girl; don't stretch the arm out to the side and swing it with the wrist and arm, it will be like a boy .There is another thing to remind you that when a girl catches something with her legs, she separates her knees, not clamping her knees together like you catch the lead ball.See, I could tell you were a boy when you were threading the eye of the needle, and then I figured out some other way, just to be sure.Now, hurry to your uncle, Sarah?Mary?Williams?George?Alexander?Peters, if you're in trouble, to Judith?Mrs. Loftus, which is me, send a word and I'll try to get you out of trouble.I have been walking along the avenue by the river, and next time I go out for a long walk, I must wear shoes and socks.The avenue by the river is full of stones.I reckon you'll have enough feet when you get to Goshen. "

I walked up the bank about fifty yards, and then turned back, and found my canoe, which was far from the house.I jumped into the boat and rowed away.I paddled a long way upstream, calculating how far I would go to get to the island, and then paddled sideways.I took off the sun hat, because there was no need to cover my face at this time.When I was rowing to the middle of the river, I heard the bell ringing, so I stopped and listened for a while. The bell sounded very faintly on the water, but I could clearly hear it was eleven.When I landed on the island, I was already panting with exhaustion, but I didn't even delay to catch my breath. I went into the woods and came to the place where I first camped. Make a great campfire.

Then I jumped in the canoe again, and paddled hard down to where we lived, a mile and a half up, up the bank, through the woods, up the ridge, and into the cave.Jim was lying on the ground, sound asleep.I woke him up and said:

"Get up, cheer up, Jim! There's no time to lose, they're coming!"

Jim didn't ask anything, didn't say a word, but for the next half hour his energy showed how frightened he was.At this time, all our things were moved onto the wooden raft hidden under the willow trees in the bay, so we could go out and go on the road.We first extinguished the campfire at the entrance of the cave, and afterwards not even the light of a candle was exposed outside.

I propped the canoe away from the bank, and looked about me, but I couldn't see a boat, even if it was near by, for I couldn't see anything clearly in the starlight and in the shadows.Then we got out of the raft and slid down under the shadows of the trees, and slid across the end of the island, all without saying a word.

(End of this chapter)