The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Chapter 9 (2)
Chapter 8 (2)
What's the use of starting a fire?There is no need to cook strawberries or anything.Do you have a gun?Let's stop eating strawberries and make something delicious. "

"Strawberries and stuff," I said, "is that all you eat?"

"I can't get anything else," he said.

"Well, how long have you been on this island, Jim?"

"I came the night you killed someone."

"What, stayed so long?"

"Yes, that's right."

"But you've got nothing to eat but that shit."

"No more, nothing else to eat."

"Gee, so you're starving, aren't you?"

"I think I could eat a horse right now. How long have you been on the island?" "From the night I got someone killed until now."

"Yeah! No way, what do you eat then? But you have a gun, oh, yes, you have a gun, and that's all right. Now you go and get something, and I'll make the fire."

So we went to where the canoe was, and he lit a fire in a clear patch of grass in the woods, and I went to the canoe to get the bacon, and the coffee, and the coffee-pot, and the pan, and the sugar, and the cups.Jim the nigger was startled when I brought these things, and thought I got them by magic.I also caught a big catfish, and Jim cleaned it up with his knife, and fried it on the pan.

When the meal was ready, the two of us sat on the grass and ate it comfortably while it was hot.Jim ate like hell because he was starving to death.When we are full and full, we lie down on the ground and pass the time.

After a while Jim said:
"But tell me, Huck, if it wasn't you who got killed in that cabin, who was it?"

I told him all about it, and he said it was a good job, and Tom?Sawyer couldn't think of such a wonderful way.I say:
"How did you come here, how did you come here?" He became nervous when he heard it, and couldn't speak for a while.After a while he said:

"I think it's better not to say anything."

"Why, Jim?"

"Well, I have my troubles, but if I tell you, you can't tell, will you, Huck?"

"Damn me to hell if I tell, Jim."

"Well, I can trust you, Huck. I—I ran away."

"Jim!"

"But remember, what you said you would never say--you said it yourself, you know that, Huck."

"Yes, I said it. I said I wouldn't tell anyone, and I'll do what I say. I won't lie to you. Then people will definitely call me a scoundrel, some kind of abolitionist, and despise me, because I saw it and said nothing about it—but that's all right, I just don't talk about it, and I'm never going back anyway. Well, you can tell me all about it."

"Well, that's what it is. The old lady—that's Miss Watson—finds me all the time and is very hard on me, and she's always saying she won't sell me to Orleans, but this time Now, I saw a nigger who was always hanging around in that area, and I couldn't be relieved. I sneaked to the door late one night, and the door was ajar, and I heard the old lady tell the widow that she was going to I sold me to Orleans, which she didn't intend to do, but if she sold me, she would get eight hundred dollars, which she couldn't refuse. The widow tried to persuade her not to do it, but I I'm not in the mood to listen any further. Let me tell you, I just slipped out.

"As soon as I came out, I ran down the mountain, intending to sneak into the town and steal a small boat by the river, but there were still people walking around at that time, so I hid in that dilapidated cooper's shop by the river , I want to wait until no one can see. Hey, I stayed there all night. There are people coming and going in that place all night. About six o'clock in the morning, there are small boats on the river. When it was about eight or nine o'clock, people in every passing boat said that your father was coming to town, and that you had been killed. Afterwards, the boats were full of gentlemen and wives. I want to go there to watch the excitement. Sometimes their small boats have to stop on the bank for a rest before crossing the river. At this time, I can hear them talking, and I can understand the ins and outs of the matter after listening. Last. I was heartbroken to hear you got killed, Huck, but I ain't heartbroken just now.

"I lay there all day among the shavings, and I was hungry, but I was not afraid, because I knew that the old lady and the widow were going to a crusade after dinner in the morning, and would be walking all day, and she They knew that I would drive the cattle out at dawn, and they would not be suspicious of my absence, and they would not be aware of my absence until after dark at night. The other servants would not be aware of my absence, because the two old women Walking on the front foot, they slipped out on the back foot and gave themselves a holiday.

"Haha, after dark, I walked up the road by the river, two or three miles, and got to where no one lived. I made up my mind to do it. You know, if I If I go on like this, the dog can catch me; if I steal a canoe and cross the river, people will find that the canoe is lost, and you see, they can still know where I cross the river. So I I said to myself, I must find a raft, and then no one will know my whereabouts.

"After a while, I saw a bright light coming from the corner of the river. I thought it was probably a raft, so I jumped into the river and pushed a log and swam forward until I passed the middle of the river. I mingled among the drifting logs, and kept my head low. I swam up against the water until the raft floated up to me. I swam behind the raft and grabbed it. Then a cloud came up, It was dark for a while. I took the opportunity to climb up and lay down on the plank. I saw that the people on the raft were all staying in the middle of the lighted place. The river was rising, and the current was very fast. By three o'clock in the morning I'd be twenty-five miles downriver, and before daylight I'd slip in, swim to the shore, disembark at the Illinois end, and go into the woods.

"But by bad luck, when we were almost at the head of the island, a man came behind the raft with a lamp. I knew it would be bad to wait any longer, so I slipped into the water and swam towards the island. I thought I could get ashore anywhere, and it turned out not to be the case--the bank was so steep! I found a good place to get ashore when I was almost at the end of the island. Once I got ashore, I went into the woods, thinking that I would never On to the raft, and as long as they go up and down the raft with their lamps, I'll be out of trouble. My pipe, tobacco, and matches are all in the hat, and I'm safe now .”

"So you haven't eaten meat and bread these days? Why don't you catch turtles and eat them?"

"Do you think it's so easy to catch? You can't sneak over and grab it with your hands. Even if you hit it with a stone, can you hit it? It's so dark at night, can you see it? I don't want to come in the daytime Go to the shore and let others see."

"Well, that's true. Of course, you'll have to stay in the woods. Did you hear them fire?"

"Oh, I hear you. I know they're looking for you all over the world. I saw them pass here, too, from behind the bushes."

A few little birds came flying by, always flying a yard or two and then coming down.Jim said it was going to rain when the chicken flew that way, so he guessed it was the same for the bird that flew that way.I was going to catch some birds, but Jim wouldn't let me.He said catching a bird would kill a person.He also said that his father was very ill that time, and someone caught a bird, and his grandmother said that his father would die, and he did.

Jim also said that the things used for cooking must never be counted, otherwise it will be bad luck.Likewise, the tablecloth cannot be shaken after the sun goes down.He said that if a beekeeper dies, you must tell the bees about it before the sun rises the next day, otherwise the bees will be exhausted, and if they don't collect honey, they will die slowly.I don't believe Jim when he says bees don't sting fools, because I've tried a lot and they just don't sting me.

I've heard some of these claims in the past, but not many.Jim was amazing, he didn't know a good omen or a bad omen.He said he knew almost everything.I said that all omens seemed to bring disasters to people, so I asked him if there were any omens that would bring people luck.He said:
"Too little—and no use to people anyway. Why do you have to know when good luck comes your way? Do you want to avoid good luck?" He went on: "If you have two arms Hairy hair on the chest and chest, that's a good sign of money to come. Yes, it's a useful sign, because it's a long way off. You see, maybe you'll be poor for a long time first, If you don't know that this omen means that you will get rich in the future, maybe you will be discouraged in life, and you may commit suicide." "Are your arms and chest covered with hair?"

"Why do you ask that? I have hair all over my arms and chest, don't you see?"

"So, do you have money?"

"No, but I have had money before, and I will have money in the future. I had 14 yuan before, and then I used it to speculate and lost it all."

"What kind of speculation are you doing, Jim?"

"Oh, first I bought a treasure that can make money."

"What kind of money-making baby?"

"Oh, it's a cow. It's a cow, you know. I put ten dollars on a cow. But I don't want to risk that money any more, don't want to buy or sell cattle. I got the cow died."

"So you threw away ten dollars for nothing."

"No, not that much. I only spent about nine dollars for nothing. I sold the hide and butter for a dollar and a dime."

"You still have five dollars and ninety cents. Any other speculation?"

"Did it. You know that nigger with one leg at old Mr. Bradish's? See, he set up a money bank, and he said whoever put a dollar in there would get four dollars at the end of the year. That way, all All the niggas put money there, but they don't have much money. I'm the one with the most money. So I just told him to pay more than four dollars, and I said I couldn't get the one I said Numbers, I want to open a bank by myself. The black man is naturally unwilling to let me steal his job. He said that the business in that place is not enough for two banks, so he promised me to save 35 yuan and give me [-] yuan at the end of the year.

"That's what I did. Then I was going to trade the thirty-five dollars. There was a black person named Bob who was fishing a punt, and the owner didn't know anything about it, so I bought his boat, They asked him to get the 35 yuan at the end of the year, but unexpectedly the boat was stolen that night, and the next day the one-legged black man said that the bank was doomed as well. As a result, everyone's money was gone. "

"What did you do with the dime you had left, Jim?"

"Well, I'd like to spend it, but I had a dream and the dream told me to give the money to a black person called Barham--everybody called him stupid Barr Tom, he's kind of a fool, you know. But he's said to be lucky, and I know I'm not. The dream told me to let Barham go into business with the dime, Give me some money back. Well, I'll tell Barham to take the dime, and when he went to church, he heard the preacher say that whoever gives to the poor is lending money to God. , and it would surely bring back a hundredfold. So Barham gave the dime to the poor, and waited to see what would happen."

"Well, how did it turn out, Jim?"

"It turned out to be nothing. I can't even get the dime back, and Barham can't do anything about it. In the future, I will never lend money to anyone unless it is absolutely sure. The pastor also said that he will definitely get it back." A hundred times the money! Even if I can get that dime back, I will consider it fair, and even such a small opportunity will make me happy."

"Well, that's all right, Jim, you're going to get rich sooner or later anyway."

"Yes—I've made a fortune right now. Look, I'm my own master. You know, I'm worth 800 yuan. It would be great to get this money, and I don't want more. .”

(End of this chapter)