Huckleberry Finn and the others did not stop at any towns for many days. They traveled south on the big river. The weather was very warm. They saw trees with Spanish moss (a gray plant that hangs from trees like a long beard). Huckleberry Finn thought the woods looked very sad. The King and the Duke felt safe now. They began to work in the small villages again.
First, they gave a speech about not drinking alcohol (strong drinks like wine or beer). But they did not make much money. In another village, they started a dancing school. But the King and the Duke were very bad dancers. The people in the town made them leave quickly. They tried many other jobs, but they had no luck. Soon, they had no money at all. They sat on the raft and felt very desperate.
The King and the Duke began to talk quietly in the wigwam (the small house on the raft). Huckleberry Finn and Jim were worried. They thought the two men were planning something bad. Huckleberry Finn and Jim made a plan. They decided to leave the King and the Duke at the first chance. One morning, they hid the raft near a village called Pikesville. The King went to the village to look for a way to make money.
The King said he would return at midday. But at midday, the King was still in town. Huckleberry Finn and the Duke went to find him. They found the King in a small, dirty shop. The King was very drunk. He was shouting and angry. The Duke and the King began to fight. Huckleberry Finn saw his chance. He ran back to the river road as fast as a deer. He wanted to leave with Jim and the raft forever.
Huckleberry Finn reached the raft and called for Jim. But Jim did not answer. The raft was there, but Jim was gone. Huckleberry Finn shouted and looked in the woods. He could not find Jim anywhere. Huckleberry Finn sat down and cried. Then he went to the road and saw a boy. He asked the boy if he saw a man like Jim.
The boy said a farmer named Silas Phelps caught a runaway slave (a person who is owned by another person). The boy said an old man told Silas Phelps about Jim. This old man had a handbill (a small paper with an advertisement). The paper said Jim was a runaway from a place near New Orleans. The old man sold Jim to Silas Phelps for forty dollars. Huckleberry Finn knew the old man was the King.
Huckleberry Finn went back to the raft to think. He felt very sad. He and Jim traveled a long way together. Now, the King and the Duke sold Jim for forty dollars. Huckleberry Finn thought about his soul. He thought that helping a slave was a sin. He tried to pray, but he could not. He knew his heart was not right. He was trying to act good, but he still loved his friend Jim.
Huckleberry Finn decided to write a letter to Miss Watson. She was the woman who owned Jim. He wrote that Jim was at the Phelps farm. After he wrote the letter, Huckleberry Finn felt clean. He thought he was a good person now. But then he began to think about Jim. He remembered their trip on the river. He remembered the storms and the moonlight.
Huckleberry Finn remembered how kind Jim was. Jim often stayed awake at night so Huckleberry Finn could sleep. Jim was always happy to see him. Jim said Huckleberry Finn was his only friend. Huckleberry Finn looked at the letter. He had to choose between the law and his friend. He said, "All right, I will go to hell." Then Huckleberry Finn tore up the letter.
Huckleberry Finn decided to help Jim escape from slavery (the system where people own other people). He hid the raft near an island. He put rocks in the canoe and sank it in the water. Then he walked toward the Phelps farm. He saw the Duke in the town. The Duke was putting a paper on a wall. The Duke was surprised to see Huckleberry Finn.
The Duke asked about the raft. Huckleberry Finn told a lie. He said a man paid him to help with a sheep. He said the sheep ran away and he had to chase it. When he returned to the river, the raft was gone. Huckleberry Finn began to cry. He asked the Duke where Jim was. The Duke did not want Huckleberry Finn to find Jim.
The Duke told Huckleberry Finn another lie. He said a man named Abram Foster bought Jim. He said Abram Foster lived forty miles away. The Duke wanted Huckleberry Finn to walk for three days in the wrong direction. Huckleberry Finn pretended to believe the Duke. He started walking away from the town. But when the Duke was gone, Huckleberry Finn turned back. He went straight toward the Phelps farm to save Jim.