Huck Finn and Jim slept during the day. They started their trip again at night. They saw a very large raft on the river. This raft was as long as a long line of people. It had thirty men on it and five wigwams (small tents made of cloth or skin). It also had a big campfire in the middle. Huck Finn thought the men on that raft were very lucky.
The night was hot and dark. The river was very wide with tall trees on both sides. Huck Finn and Jim talked about the town of Cairo. They did not know if they could find it in the dark. Huck Finn heard that Cairo only had twelve houses. If the lights in the houses were off, they would not see the town.
Jim said the two big rivers meet at Cairo. That would help them find the town. But Huck Finn was still worried. Huck Finn decided to go to the shore in a canoe (a small, light boat) when he saw a light. Huck Finn planned to ask someone how far it was to Cairo. Jim thought this was a good plan.
Jim was very excited because he was close to freedom. Jim jumped up every time he saw a light. But the lights were only small bugs. Jim said he felt shaky and nervous because he was almost a free man.
But Huck Finn began to feel bad. Huck Finn thought he was doing something wrong. Huck Finn was helping Jim run away from Miss Watson. Miss Watson was Jim's owner. Miss Watson tried to teach Huck Finn books and manners. Huck Finn felt very guilty (feeling bad because you did something wrong).
Huck Finn felt so miserable that he wanted to die. Jim talked about his plans for the future. Jim said he would save all his money. Then Jim would buy his wife from her owner. After that, Jim and his wife would work to buy their two children.
If the owner did not sell the children, Jim had another plan. Jim would ask an abolitionist (a person who wanted to stop slavery) to help steal them. This talk shocked Huck Finn. Huck Finn thought it was wrong for Jim to steal children from a man he did not know. Huck Finn decided to go to the shore and tell someone about Jim.
Soon, they saw a light on the shore. Jim was very happy. Jim thought they reached Cairo. Huck Finn took the canoe to look at the town. As Huck Finn moved away, Jim called out to him.
Jim said, "You are my best friend, Huck Finn. You are the only white man who ever kept his promise to old Jim."
Huck Finn felt sick. Huck Finn wanted to tell on Jim, but now he felt very sad. Suddenly, two men in a small boat came near Huck Finn. The men had guns. They were looking for five runaway slaves. The men asked Huck Finn if the man on his raft was white or black.
Huck Finn tried to tell the truth, but the words did not come. Huck Finn was not strong enough to tell on his friend. Huck Finn told a lie instead.
Huck Finn said, "He is white."
The men wanted to see the raft for themselves. Huck Finn told another lie to stop them. Huck Finn said his father, his mother, and his sister were on the raft. Huck Finn said they were all very sick with smallpox (a very dangerous disease that spreads easily).
The men were very afraid of the disease. They did not want to get sick. The men felt sorry for Huck Finn because his family was ill. Each man put a twenty-dollar gold piece on a board and let it float to Huck Finn. Then the men paddled away quickly.
Huck Finn went back to the raft. Huck Finn felt bad because he did not do the "right" thing. But Huck Finn knew he would also feel bad if he gave Jim to the men. Huck Finn decided to stop worrying about right and wrong. Huck Finn decided to do whatever was easiest from then on.
Jim was hiding in the river under the raft. Jim only had his nose out of the water. Jim heard the talk and was very happy. Jim said Huck Finn was very smart to save him from the men.
The next day, they realized they passed the town of Cairo. They missed the town because of the thick fog on the night before. Then they saw that their canoe was gone. Someone stole it, or it floated away. This was very bad luck.
Huck Finn and Jim had to stay on the raft. They needed to find a new canoe to go back up the river to Cairo. They floated for three hours. The night was gray and it was hard to see.
Suddenly, a large steamboat (a big ship moved by steam) came up the river. The steamboat moved very fast. It was like a black cloud with red lights. The steamboat did not see the raft. It hit the raft and broke it into pieces.
Jim jumped off one side of the raft. Huck Finn jumped off the other side. Huck Finn dived deep into the river. The big wheel of the steamboat went over him. When Huck Finn came up, he called for Jim. Jim did not answer.
Huck Finn found a piece of wood in the water. Huck Finn used the wood to swim to the shore. The current moved Huck Finn to the left side of the river. Huck Finn climbed up the bank and walked through the grass.
Finally, Huck Finn saw a big log house. Suddenly, many dogs jumped out. The dogs began to bark and howl at Huck Finn. Huck Finn stood very still and did not move.