Huck Finn walked quietly to the bedroom doors and listened. The men inside were snoring. Huck Finn walked on his toes down the stairs. The house was very quiet. Huck Finn looked through a small hole in the dining room door. He saw the men who were watching the corpse (the body of a dead person). The men were all asleep in their chairs.
The door to the parlor (a formal room for guests) was open. The corpse of Peter Wilks was in that room. There was a candle in both rooms. Huck Finn walked past the dining room. He saw Peter Wilks in the parlor, but no one else was there. Huck Finn tried to open the front door. It was locked and the key was gone.
Suddenly, Huck Finn heard someone coming down the stairs. He ran into the parlor to hide. He had the bag of money in his hands. He looked for a place to hide it. The only place was the coffin (a wooden box for a dead person). The lid was open a little bit. Huck Finn saw the dead man’s face. He put the money bag under the lid near the dead man’s hands. The body felt very cold and Huck Finn felt afraid. He ran across the room and hid behind the door.
Mary Jane Wilks came into the room. She walked slowly to the coffin and knelt down. She looked at Peter Wilks and began to cry. Her back was toward Huck Finn. Huck Finn walked out of the room very quietly. He looked into the dining room again. The men were still asleep.
Huck Finn went up to his bed. He felt very sad. He worked hard to get the money, but now the money was in a coffin. Huck Finn thought about the future. He thought, "Maybe I can write a letter to Mary Jane Wilks later. I can tell her to dig up the coffin and find the money." But then Huck Finn worried. He thought the King would find the money when the men closed the coffin. Huck Finn wanted to go down and take the money back. But he was afraid. It was almost morning. He did not want the men to catch him with the money.
In the morning, the parlor door was closed. The men were gone. Only the family and the King and the Duke were there. Huck Finn watched their faces. He wanted to know if they found the money. But their faces did not tell him anything.
In the middle of the day, the undertaker (a person who prepares a funeral) arrived. He and another man put the coffin on two chairs in the middle of the room. They put many chairs in rows for the neighbors. The parlor and the dining room were full of people. The coffin lid was still open a little. Huck Finn wanted to look inside, but there were too many people.
Many people came into the house. The King, the Duke, and the girls sat in the front row. For half an hour, the people walked past the coffin. They looked at the dead man and they cried. Everything was very still and solemn. The only sounds were people walking and people crying into their handkerchiefs.
The house was very full. The undertaker moved quietly in his black gloves. He was very soft and silent like a cat. He did not speak. He used his hands to show people where to sit. He moved people and made paths in the room. Then he stood against the wall. He never smiled.
The family borrowed a melodeon (a small musical instrument like a piano). A young woman sat down and played it. The music was not very good. Everyone sang a song. Then Reverend Hobson began to speak. Suddenly, a loud noise started in the cellar. It was a dog. The dog made a very loud noise and did not stop. The Reverend had to wait. No one knew what to do.
The undertaker made a sign to the Reverend. The sign meant, "Do not worry. I will help." The undertaker walked quietly along the wall. The dog continued to make a loud noise. Finally, the undertaker went down into the cellar. A moment later, there was a loud hit. The dog made one last sound and then it was quiet.
The undertaker came back into the room. He walked quietly to the Reverend. He put his hands around his mouth and whispered loudly. He said, "He had a rat!" The people were happy to hear this. They liked the undertaker because he fixed the problem.
The funeral was very long and boring. Then the King spoke and said many silly things. Finally, the funeral was over. The undertaker took a screwdriver. Huck Finn was very nervous. He watched the undertaker. The undertaker moved the lid and screwed it down tight. Now Huck Finn did not know if the money was still in the coffin. He thought, "Maybe someone stole the bag." He was afraid to write to Mary Jane Wilks now. If she did not find the money, she would be angry. Huck Finn decided to stay quiet.
They buried Peter Wilks and went home. Huck Finn watched the King and the Duke. He wanted to see if they were angry. But they seemed fine. In the evening, the King was very friendly to everyone. He told the people he had to go back to England quickly. He said he and the Duke would take the girls with them. This made the girls very happy. They forgot their sadness. They told the King to sell the house and everything in it.
Huck Finn felt very bad for the girls. The King was lying to them. But Huck Finn did not know how to stop the King. The King decided to have an auction (a public sale where people buy things) in two days.
The next day, something very sad happened. Two men came to buy the King’s slaves. The King sold them. He sent the sons up the river and he sent the mother down the river. This separated the family. The girls and the slaves cried very much. They were heartbroken. The girls never thought the King would separate the slave family. Huck Finn felt sick when he saw them crying. He wanted to tell the truth, but he stayed quiet.
The people in the town were angry too. They thought it was wrong to separate a mother and her children. The King did not care. The Duke was worried, but the King continued with his plan.
The next morning was the day of the auction. The King and the Duke came to Huck Finn's room in the attic. They looked very worried. The King asked, "Were you in my room two nights ago?" Huck Finn said, "No, your majesty." The King asked again, "Were you there yesterday?" Huck Finn said, "No, your majesty. I am telling the truth."
The Duke asked, "Did you see anyone else go in there?" Huck Finn thought for a moment. He saw a chance to blame someone else. He said, "I saw the slaves go in there many times." The King and the Duke jumped. They were very surprised. The Duke asked, "All of them?"
Huck Finn said, "I saw them on the morning of the funeral. They walked very quietly. I think they went in to clean the room. Maybe they saw you were asleep and they left quietly."
The King and the Duke looked very sick. They thought the slaves stole the money. The Duke said, "The slaves were very smart. They acted sad because they were leaving, but they stole our money!" The Duke was very angry. He said the slaves were great actors. He was sad because they sold the slaves for a small price.
Huck Finn asked, "Is something wrong?" The King turned to Huck Finn and shouted. He told Huck Finn to be quiet. He told Huck Finn to mind his own business. The King and the Duke went down the stairs. They were arguing. The Duke was angry because the King sold the slaves too fast. The King was angry at Huck Finn and at himself.
Huck Finn was very glad. The King and the Duke believed his story. He was happy because he did not hurt the slaves with his lie. He knew the slaves were already gone, but they would be free soon when the people learned the truth about the King.