The news spread very quickly. Many men went to the cave in boats. The ferryboat followed them with more people. Tom Sawyer was in a boat with Judge Thatcher.
They unlocked the cave door. They saw a very sad sight. Injun Joe was on the ground. He was dead. His face was very close to the crack of the door. He wanted to see the light of the outside world before he died. Tom Sawyer felt sorry for him. Tom Sawyer knew how hard it was to be lost in the cave. But Tom Sawyer also felt safe. He was not afraid of Injun Joe anymore.
The bowie-knife (a large, sharp hunting knife) of Injun Joe was near him. It was broken in two. Injun Joe tried to cut the wood of the door. He worked very hard. But there was a large rock behind the wood. He could not escape. He had no food in the cave. He ate the old candles. He even caught some bats and ate them. The poor man died of hunger.
Near the door, there was a stone on the ground. Every three minutes, a drop of water fell from the roof. Injun Joe made a small hole in the stone. He wanted to catch the water. He could only drink a very small amount every day. That water fell for thousands of years. It was falling when the pyramids were built. It falls today. It will fall for a long time.
The people buried Injun Joe near the cave. Many people came to the funeral. They came in boats and wagons. They brought their children and food. They all wanted to see the end of the bad man.
Some people wanted to help Injun Joe before he died. They signed a petition (a special letter to a leader asking for a change). They wanted the leader of the state to forgive Injun Joe. They wanted him to be free. But Injun Joe killed five people in the town. Now he was dead. The petition did not matter.
The morning after the funeral, Tom Sawyer talked to Huck Finn. Huck Finn knew about the cave adventure now. He was sad. He thought the money was gone. "I know you went to the tavern," Huck Finn said. "You only found alcohol. We will never find the treasure now."
"Huck Finn, the money was never at the tavern," Tom Sawyer said.
"What?" Huck Finn asked. He looked at Tom Sawyer. "Do you know where the money is?"
"The money is in the cave!" Tom Sawyer said.
The eyes of Huck Finn were very wide. "Are you serious, Tom Sawyer?"
"I am very serious," Tom Sawyer said. "Will you go into the cave with me? We can get the gold."
Huck Finn wanted to go. But he was afraid of getting lost. Tom Sawyer told him not to worry. Tom Sawyer knew a secret way into the cave. It was a very short path. He promised to take Huck Finn in a boat. Huck Finn did not have to walk much.
"Let’s go now!" Huck Finn said.
"All right," Tom Sawyer said. "We need bread and meat. We need some bags and some string. We also need some lucifer matches (an old type of match used to start a fire). I wanted them when I was lost before."
In the afternoon, the boys borrowed a small boat. They went down the river for several miles. Tom Sawyer looked at the high shore. Everything looked the same. But then he saw a white place on the hill. It was a landslide (when a lot of earth and rocks fall down a hill).
"That is my mark!" Tom Sawyer said. They went to the shore.
"We are standing near the hole," Tom Sawyer said. "Can you find it, Huck Finn?"
Huck Finn looked everywhere. He found nothing. Then Tom Sawyer went to some thick bushes. "Here it is!" he said. He showed Huck Finn a small hole. Tom Sawyer wanted to be a robber. He wanted to use this cave for his gang. He called it "Tom Sawyer's Gang."
"Who will we rob?" Huck Finn asked.
"Most anybody," Tom Sawyer answered. "We will stop people on the road. We will take their money. We will keep them in the cave for a ransom (money paid to free a prisoner). We will be very polite to the women. Robbers in books are always polite."
Huck Finn thought this was a great idea. It was better than being a pirate. The boys went into the hole. Tom Sawyer went first. They tied their string to a rock. They walked to the spring of water. Tom Sawyer felt a little scared when he saw the spring. He remembered being lost with Becky Thatcher.
They walked to a very deep hole in the cave. It was a steep hill made of dirt. Tom Sawyer held his candle high. "Look around the corner, Huck Finn," he said. "Do you see that mark on the big rock?"
"Tom Sawyer, it is a cross (a mark made of two lines that meet)!" Huck Finn cried.
"That is where I saw Injun Joe!" Tom Sawyer said. "The treasure is under that cross!"
Huck Finn was very afraid. "Let's leave!" he said. "The ghost of Injun Joe is here!"
"No," Tom Sawyer said. "Ghosts do not come near a cross. We are safe here."
Huck Finn agreed. They climbed down the dirt hill. They looked under the big rock. They found some old blankets and some bones. But they did not see the money. They looked again and again. They were very disappointed.
Then Tom Sawyer saw something. There were footprints on one side of the rock. There was candle wax on the ground there too. "The money is under the rock!" Tom Sawyer said. He started to dig in the dirt with his knife.
Soon, he hit wood. "Huck Finn! Do you hear that?"
They both dug in the dirt. They found some wood boards. They moved the boards. There was a hole under the rock. Tom Sawyer went inside. He followed a small path. Then he shouted, "Look here, Huck Finn!"
It was the treasure box! The room was small. There were also guns and old shoes. The gold was finally theirs. "We are rich, Tom Sawyer!" Huck Finn cried.
The box was very heavy. It weighed fifty pounds. Tom Sawyer could not carry it easily. He put the gold coins into the small bags he brought. They left the guns in the cave. They wanted to use them for their robber meetings.
They left the cave and went back to their boat. They ate their lunch and smoked their pipes. The sun was going down. They rowed the boat back to the town.
"We will hide the money in the widow’s shed," Tom Sawyer said. "Tomorrow we will count it. Then we will find a safe place in the woods."
Tom Sawyer got a small wagon. He put the bags of money in the wagon. He covered the bags with old rags. They started to walk toward the house of the Widow Douglas. They met the Welshman at his door.
"Who is there?" the Welshman asked.
"It is Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer," Tom Sawyer said.
"Good! Follow me," the Welshman said. "Everyone is waiting for you. I will pull the wagon. Is it full of old metal?"
"Yes," Tom Sawyer said.
The Welshman pulled the wagon. He took the boys to the house of the Widow Douglas. Huck Finn was worried. He thought he was in trouble. "We didn't do anything wrong," Huck Finn said. The Welshman laughed and told them not to be afraid.
They entered the house. It was full of lights and people. All the important people in the town were there. The Thatchers, the Harpers, and Aunt Polly were there. Everyone wore their best clothes.
Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn looked very dirty. They had dirt and candle wax on their clothes. Aunt Polly was very embarrassed. She shook her head at Tom Sawyer. The Widow Douglas took the boys to a bedroom.
"Wash yourselves and dress," the widow said. She gave them two new suits of clothes. "We will wait for you. Come downstairs when you are ready."