The sun came up, but we did not stop the raft. The King and the Duke woke up and jumped into the river. The swim made them feel better. After breakfast, the King sat on the raft. He began to learn his lines for the play.
The Duke taught the King how to act. He told the King to speak softly because Juliet is a young girl. The Duke said, "Do not shout like a bull." The King practiced his lines many times. He tried to act like a sweet young woman.
They also practiced a sword-fight (a fight using long, sharp metal weapons). The Duke called himself Richard III. They jumped around the raft with wood swords. The King fell into the water by mistake. After that, they rested and talked.
The Duke wanted to add more to the show. He wanted to do a famous speech from a play called Hamlet. He tried to remember the words. He walked up and down the raft and made sad faces. Then he stood up and shouted the speech.
The King liked the speech very much. He learned the words quickly. The raft was a busy place for a few days. The King and the Duke practiced their acting all day. They were very excited about their show.
We arrived at a small town in Arkansas. We tied the raft in a hidden place. The King, the Duke, and I went to the town. Many people were there for a circus (a show with animals and performers in a large tent). The Duke rented a building for our play.
The Duke put up his posters (large pieces of paper with information about a show). The town was very old and dirty. The houses were on poles because the river flooded often. The gardens only had weeds and old trash in them.
Men sat in front of the stores all day. They wore large straw hats and chewed tobacco. They were very lazy. They talked slowly and used bad words. They liked to watch dog fights and cause trouble for pigs in the street.
The streets were full of deep black mud. The river was slowly destroying the town. Around noon, more people arrived from the country. A man named Boggs arrived on a horse. He was very drunk and he was shouting.
Boggs came to town every month to get drunk. Today, he wanted to kill Colonel Sherburn. Boggs shouted that Colonel Sherburn was a bad man. He rode his horse to the store and yelled. Many people watched and laughed at Boggs.
Colonel Sherburn came out of his store. He was a rich man with nice clothes. He spoke to Boggs very quietly. He said, "I am tired of your shouting. You must stop by one o'clock. If you speak against me after that, I will find you."
Colonel Sherburn went back inside. Boggs did not stop. He shouted even more. His friends tried to take him home, but Boggs refused. Someone ran to find the daughter of Boggs. She was sixteen years old.
Suddenly, Colonel Sherburn came out with a pistol (a small gun held in one hand). Colonel Sherburn stood still in the street. The daughter of Boggs arrived. Boggs saw the gun and was afraid. He shouted, "Do not shoot!"
Colonel Sherburn shot Boggs twice. Boggs fell to the ground. His daughter cried over his body. Colonel Sherburn tossed his gun on the ground and walked away. The people took Boggs to a small store.
I looked through the window. They put a Bible under the head of Boggs. He breathed slowly a few times and then he died. The townspeople were very excited. They crowded around the window to see the body.
Everyone talked about the shooting. One man showed the crowd exactly how it happened. He marked the ground with a stick. He showed where Boggs stood and where Colonel Sherburn stood. The people watched him and felt happy.
Soon, the crowd became very angry. Someone shouted that they should kill Colonel Sherburn. They wanted to lynch (to kill someone without a legal trial) him. Everyone started running toward the house of Colonel Sherburn. They were very loud and dangerous.