Huck and The King worked hard all day. They built a stage and a curtain. They put candles in a row for lights. That night, many men came to the house. The house was very full.
The Duke stood in front of the curtain. He gave a speech. He said the show was a great tragedy (a very sad and serious play). He said the show was very exciting. He talked about a famous actor.
Finally, The Duke opened the curtain. The King came onto the stage on his hands and knees. The King had no clothes on. He had paint all over his body.
The King had many colors like a rainbow. It was very funny. The people laughed a lot. The King ran around the stage. Then The King went behind the curtain.
The people clapped. They shouted for more. The King did it again. He did it three times. It was very silly.
The Duke closed the curtain. He bowed to the people. He said the show was finished. The people were surprised. They asked if that was the whole show.
The Duke said yes. Then the people became angry. They felt like the actors stole their money. They wanted to attack the stage.
But a tall man stood on a bench. He shouted to the crowd. He told them to listen. The people stopped to hear him.
The tall man said they were all fooled. He said the town would laugh at them. He did not want people to laugh at him. He told them to stay quiet.
He said they must tell the rest of the town the show was good. Then everyone in the town would lose their money. This was a smart plan. Everyone agreed.
The next day, everyone talked about the show. They said it was wonderful. The house was full again on the second night. The Duke and The King fooled the new people too.
On the third night, the house was full again. But these were the same people from before. Huck stood with The Duke at the door.
Huck saw that the men had heavy pockets. He smelled bad eggs. He smelled rotten vegetables. He knew they had dead cats too.
The people wanted to throw things at The Duke and The King. The Duke saw the danger. He gave a man some money to watch the door.
Then The Duke and Huck ran away. They ran fast in the dark. They reached the raft (a flat boat made of wood) and pushed it into the river.
They moved quietly into the middle of the water. Huck thought The King was still at the show. But The King was already on the raft. The King was hiding.
They did not use any lights. They traveled ten miles down the river. They ate dinner and laughed. The Duke and The King were happy.
They made four hundred and sixty-five dollars in three nights. Huck had never seen so much money. Later, The Duke and The King went to sleep.
Jim asked Huck about kings. Jim said these men were rapscallions (dishonest or bad people). Huck said that all kings are bad.
Huck told Jim about King Henry the Eighth. Huck said that Henry married a new wife every day. Then he killed her the next morning.
Huck mixed up many stories from history. He said kings are always trouble. Jim was surprised. Jim said he did not like kings.
Huck went to sleep. When Huck woke up, it was morning. Jim was sitting with his head down. Jim was crying quietly.
Huck knew Jim was sad. Jim missed his wife and his children. Jim was homesick (sad because he was away from his home).
Huck realized that Jim loved his family very much. Jim spoke about his children, Elizabeth and Johnny. He was afraid he would never see them again.
Jim told Huck a story about his daughter, Elizabeth. She was four years old. She was very sick with scarlet fever (a dangerous illness that causes a red rash).
Elizabeth got better, but she was different. One day, Jim told Elizabeth to close the door. She did not do it. She just smiled at Jim.
Jim told her again. He shouted at her. She did not move. Jim was very angry. He hit Elizabeth on the side of her head.
Elizabeth fell down. She began to cry. Jim went into another room for ten minutes. When Jim came back, the door was still open.
Elizabeth was standing in the door. She was crying. Then, the wind blew hard. The door closed with a loud noise behind Elizabeth.
Elizabeth did not move. She did not hear the noise. Jim was very scared. He went to her and made a loud sound near her ear.
Elizabeth did not move. Then Jim knew. Elizabeth was deaf (unable to hear anything). Jim cried and held her.
Jim felt very bad because he hit her. He could not forgive himself. He loved his daughter very much.