Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer walked on their toes. They followed a path through the trees. They went to the end of the garden of the Widow Douglas. They moved their heads down so the branches did not hit them.
The boys passed the kitchen. Huckleberry Finn fell over a tree root. He made a loud noise. Both boys stayed very still on the ground. Jim was sitting in the kitchen door. Jim was a servant of Miss Watson. The boys could see Jim because there was a light behind him.
Jim stood up and listened for a minute. Jim said, "Who is there?" He listened more. Then Jim walked on his toes toward the boys. Jim stood right between Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. The boys were very close to Jim.
Everything was very quiet for many minutes. Then Huckleberry Finn felt an itch on his ankle. He did not scratch it because he was afraid. Then his ear began to itch. Next, his back began to itch. Huckleberry Finn felt like he would die if he did not scratch.
This always happens in quiet places. If you are at a funeral or trying to sleep, you will itch in a thousand places. Soon, Jim spoke again. Jim said he heard something. Jim said he would sit down and listen until he heard the noise again.
Jim sat on the ground between the two boys. Jim put his back against a tree. He put his legs out. One of Jim’s legs almost touched Huckleberry Finn. Then the nose of Huckleberry Finn began to itch. It itched until tears came to his eyes.
Huckleberry Finn wanted to scratch his nose very much. This was very difficult for six or seven minutes. Huckleberry Finn itched in eleven different places. Then Jim began to breathe heavily. Soon, Jim began to snore (make a loud noise while sleeping). Huckleberry Finn felt comfortable again.
Tom Sawyer made a small noise with his mouth. The boys crawled away on their hands and knees. When they were ten feet away, Tom Sawyer whispered to Huckleberry Finn. Tom Sawyer wanted to tie Jim to the tree for a joke.
Huckleberry Finn said no. Jim might wake up and make a noise. Then the Widow Douglas would know Huckleberry Finn was not in his bed. Tom Sawyer wanted more candles. Tom Sawyer went into the kitchen and took three candles. Tom Sawyer left five cents on the table to pay for them.
Then Tom Sawyer crawled to the place where Jim was sleeping. Huckleberry Finn waited for a long time. Everything was very still and lonely. Finally, Tom Sawyer came back and the boys ran along the path.
The boys went to the top of a hill. Tom Sawyer said he took the hat off the head of Jim. Tom Sawyer hung the hat on a tree branch right above Jim. Jim moved a little but he did not wake up.
Later, Jim told a big story about that night. Jim said that witches (people with magic powers who do bad things) put him in a trance (a state like sleep where a person cannot move). Jim said the witches rode him across the whole world. Jim said the witches hung his hat on the tree to show their power.
Jim was very proud of this story. He would not talk to the other servants. Other people came from many miles to hear Jim tell his story. Jim became a very famous person in that country.
Jim wore the five-cent piece on a string around his neck. Jim said the devil (the king of all evil spirits) gave the coin to him. Jim said the coin could cure sick people. People gave Jim everything they had just to see the coin.
Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer looked down from the hill. They saw the lights of the village. They saw the big river. The river was one mile wide and very quiet. The boys went down the hill and found Jo Harper and Ben Rogers. They also found other boys at the tanyard (a place where people make leather from animal skins).
The boys took a skiff (a small, light boat). They moved down the river for two miles. They went to a big hole on the side of a hill. They went to some bushes. Tom Sawyer made every boy promise to keep a secret.
Tom Sawyer showed them a hole in the hill. They lit their candles and crawled inside. They went two hundred yards into a cave. Then they entered a room that was cold and damp. Tom Sawyer spoke to the boys.
Tom Sawyer said, "We will start a group of robbers. We will call it Tom Sawyer’s Gang. Every boy must take an oath (a very serious and holy promise). You must write your name in blood."
All the boys wanted to join. Tom Sawyer read the oath from a piece of paper. The oath said every boy must stay in the gang. If a boy told a secret, the other boys would kill him. They would also kill the family of that boy.
The boys liked the oath. They asked Tom Sawyer if he wrote it himself. Tom Sawyer said he took some parts from books about pirates and robbers. Every great gang had an oath like this.
Then Ben Rogers spoke. Ben Rogers said, "Huckleberry Finn does not have a family. What will we do about Huckleberry Finn?" Tom Sawyer asked about the father of Huckleberry Finn.
Ben Rogers said the father of Huckleberry Finn was always drunk. No person had seen the father for a year. The boys wanted to remove Huckleberry Finn from the gang. They said every boy must have a family to kill.
Huckleberry Finn wanted to cry. Then he had an idea. Huckleberry Finn offered Miss Watson to the gang. The boys could kill Miss Watson if Huckleberry Finn told a secret. The boys agreed and Huckleberry Finn joined the gang.
Every boy used a pin to get blood from his finger. Huckleberry Finn signed his name on the paper. Ben Rogers asked what the gang would do. Tom Sawyer said they would rob and kill people.
Ben Rogers asked if they would steal cattle. Tom Sawyer said no. Tom Sawyer said they were highwaymen (robbers who stop people on a road). They would wear masks (covers for the face) and stop carriages (wagons pulled by horses).
Tom Sawyer said they would take watches and money. He said they must kill the people. But they would keep some people for ransom (money paid to free a prisoner). Tom Sawyer did not know the meaning of the word. He thought it meant keeping people until they died.
Tom Sawyer also said they would not kill women. They would bring the women to the cave and be very polite. Then the women would fall in love with the robbers and stay forever. Ben Rogers did not like this idea, but he agreed.
A boy named Tommy Barnes was asleep. The boys woke him up. Tommy Barnes was scared and cried. Tommy Barnes wanted to go home to his mother. He did not want to be a robber.
The other boys laughed at him. Tom Sawyer gave Tommy Barnes five cents to stay quiet. The boys decided to meet again next week. They chose Tom Sawyer as the first captain. They chose Jo Harper as the second captain.
Huckleberry Finn went home and climbed through his window. It was almost morning. Huckleberry Finn was very tired. His new clothes were dirty and he went to sleep.