Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer waited until they thought everyone was asleep. They climbed down the lightning-rod (a metal pole on a house that protects it from lightning). They went into the lean-to (a small building joined to the side of a house). They took their fox-fire (a type of wood that glows in the dark) to see in the dark.
The boys began to work at the bottom of the cabin. They moved everything away from the middle log. Tom Sawyer said he was right behind Jim’s bed. They decided to dig a hole under the bed. No one in the cabin could see the hole because the bed cover was very long.
Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer dug with small knives until midnight. They were very tired and their hands had blisters (painful red bubbles on the skin). They looked at the hole, but it was very small. Huckleberry Finn said the work would take thirty-eight years.
Tom Sawyer did not say anything. He sighed and stopped digging for a while. Then Tom Sawyer said the knives did not work. He said real prisoners had many years to dig. But Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer did not have any time to waste.
Tom Sawyer said their hands were too sore. If they used knives again, they could not work for a week. Huckleberry Finn asked what they should do. Tom Sawyer said there was only one way. They must use a pickaxe (a heavy tool for breaking hard ground).
Tom Sawyer said using a pickaxe was not the "right" way in stories. But they had to pretend the pickaxes were small knives. Huckleberry Finn was happy about this idea. Huckleberry Finn did not care about the rules of stories. He only wanted to help Jim.
Tom Sawyer said he knew the rules, but Huckleberry Finn did not. So, Huckleberry Finn could use a pickaxe without pretending. But Tom Sawyer must follow the rules. Tom Sawyer threw his knife down and asked for a "knife." Huckleberry Finn gave Tom Sawyer the pickaxe.
Huckleberry Finn got a shovel and they both worked very hard. They worked for thirty minutes and made a big hole. Then they were too tired to stand up. Huckleberry Finn went to his room and looked out the window. Tom Sawyer tried to climb the lightning-rod, but his hands were too sore.
Tom Sawyer asked Huckleberry Finn for a new plan. Huckleberry Finn told Tom Sawyer to come up the stairs. He told Tom Sawyer to pretend the stairs were a lightning-rod. Tom Sawyer liked this idea and went up the stairs.
The next day, Tom Sawyer stole a spoon and a metal candle holder. He wanted to make pens for Jim. Huckleberry Finn stole three metal plates from the other cabins. Huckleberry Finn said Jim could throw the plates out of the window. The tall grass would hide the plates.
Tom Sawyer thought about how to give these things to Jim. Huckleberry Finn said they could use the hole. Tom Sawyer thought that was a very simple and bad idea. Tom Sawyer said they must talk to Jim first.
That night, they went down the lightning-rod at ten o’clock. They took a candle and listened at Jim’s window. They heard Jim sleeping, so they threw the candle inside. Then they used the pickaxe and the shovel. In two hours, the hole was finished.
Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer crawled under the bed and into the cabin. They found the candle and lit it. They stood over Jim and saw that he looked healthy. Then they woke Jim up very slowly. Jim was so happy to see them that he almost cried.
Jim wanted Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer to cut his chain. He wanted to leave the cabin immediately. But Tom Sawyer said that was not the "regular" way. Tom Sawyer sat down and told Jim all about his plans. He told Jim not to be afraid.
Jim said the plan was fine. They sat and talked about old times for a while. Jim said Uncle Silas came every day to pray with him. He said Aunt Sally came to see if he had enough food. Jim said Uncle Silas and Aunt Sally were very kind.
Tom Sawyer said he would send things to Jim through Uncle Silas and Aunt Sally. Huckleberry Finn thought this was a very bad idea. But Tom Sawyer did not listen to Huckleberry Finn. Tom Sawyer told Jim to look for things in Uncle Silas’s pockets.
Tom Sawyer also wanted to tie things to Aunt Sally’s clothes. He told Jim to keep a journal (a book where you write about your day) on a shirt. Jim did not understand the plan, but he agreed. Jim said he would do everything Tom Sawyer said.
The boys had a good time with Jim. Then they crawled out through the hole and went home to bed. Their hands were very sore. Tom Sawyer was very happy. He said it was the best fun of his life.
The next morning, the boys broke the metal candle holder into small pieces. Tom Sawyer put a piece of metal inside Jim’s bread. They went with Nat, the man who fed Jim. Jim bit the bread and hit the metal. It hurt his teeth, but Jim pretended nothing was wrong.
Suddenly, eleven dogs came into the cabin through the hole under the bed. The room was very crowded and there was no space to breathe. Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer forgot to close the door of the lean-to! Nat was very scared and shouted "Witches!"
Tom Sawyer opened the door and threw some meat to the dogs. The dogs ran out of the cabin. Then Tom Sawyer talked to Nat. He asked Nat if Nat was imagining things again. Nat was very afraid and blinked his eyes.
Nat told Tom Sawyer that he felt a million dogs or devils. Tom Sawyer said the witches came because they were hungry. Tom Sawyer told Nat to make a "witch pie." Nat did not know how to make one. Tom Sawyer said he would make it himself.
Nat was very happy and thanked Tom Sawyer. Tom Sawyer told Nat to be very careful. Nat must turn his back when the boys were near. Nat must not look at Jim’s food pan. Most importantly, Nat must never touch the "witch things."