The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Chapter 25 (1)
Chapter 20 (1)
They asked us a lot of questions, wondering why we kept the raft covered up like that, why we didn't go during the day, but stopped--isn't Jim a runaway nigger?
I said, "For God's sake, what runaway nigger dare go South?"

Won't.They also think not.But I had to make some sense, so I said:
"My family lived in Piketown, Missouri, where I was born, and the family died, and it was just my dad, me, and my brother Ike. Dad wanted to get out of there and go downriver and call my name Ben's uncle lived with. My uncle had a little bit of land by the river 44 miles down Orleans. Papa was jingling poor and in debt. When he paid off, there was nothing but our niggers Except for Jim, there was only 16 yuan left. This money is not enough to travel fourteen hundred miles, steerage is not enough, nothing is enough. Then, when the river rose, Dad had a little luck. He picked up When we got to this raft, we wanted to get on it and go to Orleans. But my father's luck didn't last long. One night, a steamer hit the front corner of the raft, and we were all thrown into the water and crushed to the ground. Under the wheels. Me and Jim swam up, all right, but Daddy got drunk and Ike was four and didn't make it to the surface. We got into a lot of trouble the next day or two, people Always came in a boat trying to get Jim out of my hands, saying he was a runaway nigger. We never dared go away in the daytime after that; .”

said the duke, "I'll think of an idea, so that we can walk in the daytime if we want to. I'll think it over and make a plan to deal with it. Let's let it go today, because we don't want to go through that town in broad daylight." , maybe not very safe."

In the evening, the thick clouds began to part, as if it was going to rain.There was lightning everywhere around the clouds, and the leaves were shaking, and it looked like the rain was coming hard.The duke and the king went into our huts to see what our beds looked like.My bed is a straw mattress, a little better than Jim's.His mattress is made of corn cob husks, with many stalks of corn cobs mixed into it. Sleeping on it makes his body hurt, and when he turns over, the mattress makes a rattling sound, like a pile of dead leaves. The sound is so loud that it can wake people from sleep.The duke wants to sleep in my bunk, but the king wants to sleep in my bunk too.He said:
"We are two different people, and you should know that a cornhusk mattress is not suitable for me. Your Excellency should sleep on a cornhusk mattress."

Jim and I were worried about them again, lest they might start another row, so we were all glad to hear the Duke say:

"It seems that I am always destined to be trampled by iron hoofs and trampled into muddy ground. The unfortunate fate has shattered my former noble temperament. I admit defeat and let you. It is only my fault. I am now Adrift alone in the world, let me suffer. I can bear it."

When it was dark and there was no danger, we rowed out the raft immediately.The king told us to row the raft down to the middle of the river, so that no light would shine until it was far past the town.Soon, we saw a faint light, which was the town.We slipped past it and drifted another half mile or so ahead without incident.When we were about three-quarters of a mile out of that town, we lit the signal.When it was about ten o'clock there was a terrible storm, thunder and lightning.The king told us both to stay outside until the weather was better, and then he and the duke went into the hut to sleep.Then it was my turn to keep watch until twelve o'clock.

I don't care, I can't sleep with a bunk in this weather, because this storm doesn't happen every day of the week.My God, the wind is howling violently, how thrilling!Every second or two, a flash of lightning split the night sky and illuminated the waves for a half-mile radius.Through the rain and fog, one can see the gray sandbars, the trees are swaying violently in the wind and rain, and then there is a deafening loud noise-boom!Boom!Rumble!Rumble!Boom!Boom!Boom!Boom!The thunder roared like this, gradually faded away, and finally quieted down.Immediately afterwards, there was another flash of lightning, and another overwhelming roar.Sometimes the waves were big enough to throw me in the water, but I didn't have anything on, so I didn't care.Our raft did not hit the dead trees in the river, and the lightning was so frequent that it illuminated the surroundings, and we could see those dead trees in time, and paddled the raft to avoid them.

It was my turn to watch in the middle of the night, but when I got there I was sleepy as hell, and Jim said he would watch the first half for me, and he was always so kind to me, and Jim is such a nice guy.I got into the shed, but the king and the duke had their legs all over the place, and there was no place for me to lie down, so I had to lie outside.I didn't mind the rain because it was warm and the waves weren't too big.But at two o'clock the storm picked up again.Jim was going to wake me up, but he changed his mind. He thought that the wind and waves would not do any harm, but he was wrong. Soon there came a very big wave, which swept me into the river at once. .Jim laughed so hard when he saw it.Jim was the happiest smiling black person ever.

I took over the watch, and Jim lay down and started snoring.The storm gradually weakened, and finally stopped completely.I woke him when I saw the first light, and we rowed the raft to a place where we could hide from the day.

After breakfast the king took out a battered deck of cards, and played sevens at five cents a game.Later, when they got tired of playing, they started talking about, as they said, "planning a big campaign."The Duke dug out a number of small printed leaflets from his tattered felt bag, and read them aloud.A leaflet stated that "the prestigious Dr. Armand de Montalban in Paris" was going to "give a lecture on phrenology" at a certain place, with blank dates and times, a dime for admission, and "Provide phrenology atlases, twenty-five cents each." The Duke said that the doctor was himself.Another leaflet described him as "Garrick the Younger, the world-renowned Shakespearean Tragedist of Drury Lane, London." In other leaflets he was known by many other names, and had done still greater things.For example, he has used a "magic fork" to find underground water sources and buried gold, and he can also perform various tricks such as "exorcism and ghosts", and so on.Later, he said:

"Acting is the favorite thing. Have you ever been on the stage, my lord?"

"No," said the king.

"Then, my wretched lord, I shall have you on the stage within three days," said the duke, "and as soon as we arrive in a decent town, we shall rent a theater and perform a part in Richard III." A sword scene and a scene of love talk on the balcony in "Romeo and Juliet". I don't know what you like?"

"Bridgewater, as long as I can earn money, I can do anything. However, I don't know anything about acting, and I haven't even watched much. When my father invited the troupe to perform in the palace, I still A child. Can you really teach me?"

"It's so easy!"

"Okay then. I just like new stuff. Let's get to it right away."

The duke began to play to him, telling him who Romeo was, and who Juliet was, and said that he was used to playing Romeo, so the king could play Juliet.

"But Juliet is such a young girl, duke, and isn't it queer for me to play her with a bald head and a white beard?"

"Don't you worry, the rednecks in these places don't understand it at all. Besides, you think, you're wearing a costume, and that covers everything up; Juliet in her nightgown and ruffled nightcap , to watch the moon on the balcony before going to bed. This is the costume for this role."

He took out two or three suits of patterned cloth for curtains, which he said were medieval armor worn by Richard III and the other character, and a white dressing-gown and a matching nightgown with ruffles. cap.The king was very satisfied at first sight.So the duke took out his play-book, and read his lines vividly, and strode up and down as he said them, and acted them out, and taught the King how to act.Then he gave the king his playbook and told him to learn his lines by heart.

There was a little market town about three miles down the bend, and after lunch the duke said he had an idea of ​​walking in the daytime without Jim being in danger, he said he was going to the town Go up and do this.The king said he would go with him too, and see if he could do something by the way.We ran out of coffee, and Jim said I'd better row with them and get some coffee.

When we got to the town, we found that there was no one there at all.The streets were empty and lifeless, like it was on a Sunday.We saw a sick Negro basking in the sun in a backyard, and he said that, except the very old, too young, and the sick, all went to a field sermon in the woods two miles from here went.The king asked for directions, said he was going to make good use of that sermon, and said I could go too.

(End of this chapter)