It was about one o’clock in the morning when we finally passed the island. The raft moved very slowly. We were afraid a big boat might see us. If a boat came, we planned to take the canoe (a small, narrow boat) to the shore. But we forgot to put a gun or food in the canoe. We were too worried to think about those things. It was a mistake to put everything on the raft.
When the sun started to come up, we stopped at a tow-head (a sandbar in the river with many small trees). We cut branches from the trees with a hatchet. We covered the raft with the branches. Now the raft looked like a part of the river bank. We stayed there all day. We watched many big boats go past us on the river.
I told Jim about the woman in the town. Jim said the woman was very smart. He said she would use a dog to find us. Jim thought the men went to the town to get a dog. That was why they did not find us yet. Jim said we were lucky to be sixteen miles away from the village. I was just happy that they did not catch us.
When it became dark, we looked at the river. We did not see any other boats. Jim took some wood from the raft and built a wigwam (a small hut or shelter). This shelter kept us dry when it rained. Jim also made a floor for the hut. He raised the floor so the water from the big boats did not touch our blankets.
We put some dirt in the middle of the hut. We built a small fire on the dirt. The hut hid the light of the fire from other people. We also made an extra oar (a long piece of wood used to move or steer a boat). We had an old lantern, too. We must light the lantern when a big boat comes toward us. This stops the big boats from hitting our raft.
We traveled for seven or eight hours that night. The river was very fast. We caught fish and we talked. Sometimes we went for a swim so we did not fall asleep. It was very quiet on the big river. We looked at the stars and felt very serious. We did not talk loudly and we did not laugh much.
We passed towns every night. We saw only the lights of the houses on the hills. On the fifth night, we passed the city of St. Louis. The city had thousands of lights. It was very beautiful and very quiet. I never believed a city could be so big until I saw all those lights.
Every night at ten o'clock, I went to a small village. I bought meat and bread to eat. Sometimes I took a chicken from a farm. My father always said it was okay to take a chicken. He said if you do not want it, you can give it to someone else. My father always wanted the chicken for himself, but he liked to say that anyway.
In the mornings, I went into fields. I took watermelons or corn. My father said this was "borrowing" if you planned to pay later. But the widow said it was just another name for stealing. Jim and I talked about this for a long time. We decided to stop taking some fruits but continue taking others. We felt better after we made this choice.
On the fifth night after St. Louis, there was a big storm. There was much thunder and lightning. The rain was very heavy. We stayed inside the hut. Suddenly, the lightning showed a big boat ahead of us. It was a wreck (a boat that is broken and sinking). It hit a rock and was leaning over in the water.
The boat looked lonely and dark. I wanted to go onto the boat. I wanted to see what was inside. I told Jim we should go there. Jim did not want to go. He said it was dangerous. He thought a watchman might be on the boat.
I told Jim that no watchman would stay there in a storm. I said we might find something valuable in the captain’s room. I told Jim that Tom Sawyer would go onto the boat. Tom Sawyer loved adventures. Finally, Jim agreed to go. We tied our raft to the broken boat and went on board.
The deck was high. We walked slowly and quietly in the dark. We reached a room and saw a light. We heard voices inside. Jim was very scared and wanted to leave. I wanted to stay. I heard a man crying and asking for help.
I crawled on the floor to see better. I saw a man on the floor. His hands and feet were tied. Two other men stood over him. One man had a lantern. The other man had a gun. They were very angry with the man on the floor. His name was Jim Turner.
The two men went into another room to talk. I followed them and hid in a bed. I listened to them. One man wanted to shoot Jim Turner. The other man, Packard, had a different plan. He said the boat would break apart in two hours. He wanted to leave Jim Turner there to drown.
The men went to find their things. I ran back to Jim. I told Jim there were murderers on the boat. I said we must find their boat and take it. Then the murderers could not leave the wreck. The police would come and catch them.
I told Jim to look on one side of the boat while I looked on the other. But Jim was very upset. He cried out in fear. He told me the terrible news. Our raft was gone. It broke loose and moved away in the river. Now we were trapped on the wreck.