Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn ran very fast. They ran toward the village because they were very afraid. They looked behind them many times. They feared that someone was following them. Every tree looked like a man and an enemy.
The boys passed some small houses near the village. The dogs at the houses began to bark. This made the boys run even faster. They wanted to reach a safe place quickly.
“We must reach the old tannery (a place where people make leather from animal skins),” Tom Sawyer whispered. He could not breathe well because he ran so fast. “I am very tired,” Tom Sawyer said.
Huckleberry Finn did not answer. He was breathing very loudly. The boys ran toward their goal. Finally, they reached the building and ran through the open door. They fell on the floor in the dark shadows.
After some time, their hearts slowed down. Tom Sawyer whispered to his friend. “Huckleberry Finn, what will happen now?” Tom Sawyer asked.
“If Doctor Robinson dies, the killer will hang,” Huckleberry Finn answered. Tom Sawyer thought about this for a long time. Then he asked another question.
“Who will tell the truth about the murder? Will we tell?” Tom Sawyer asked. Huckleberry Finn looked at Tom Sawyer. He was worried.
“No! If Injun Joe does not hang, he will kill us. He is a very dangerous man,” Huckleberry Finn said. Tom Sawyer agreed with Huckleberry Finn. They were both afraid of Injun Joe.
“If someone tells, let Muff Potter do it,” Huckleberry Finn said. “He is a fool and he is usually drunk.” Tom Sawyer stayed silent and thought.
“Huckleberry Finn, Muff Potter does not know the truth,” Tom Sawyer whispered. “Injun Joe hit Muff Potter on the head before the murder. Muff Potter did not see anything.”
“You are right, Tom Sawyer!” Huckleberry Finn said. Huckleberry Finn thought Muff Potter might even be dead from the hit. But Huckleberry Finn knew that drunk people are very strong.
“Huckleberry Finn, can you keep a secret?” Tom Sawyer asked. Huckleberry Finn said they must keep the secret. If they spoke, Injun Joe would kill them like cats.
“Let’s make a promise,” Huckleberry Finn said. “We must swear to keep the secret.” Tom Sawyer liked this idea. He thought a promise was very important.
“We should write the promise,” Tom Sawyer said. “And we should use blood.” This was a dark and serious idea. Tom Sawyer found a shingle (a small, flat piece of wood) on the floor.
Tom Sawyer took a piece of red keel (a red stone used for writing) from his pocket. The moon gave him light. He slowly wrote some words on the wood. He worked very hard on the writing.
The writing said: ‘Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer promise they will keep this secret. They want to fall down dead if they ever tell.’ Huckleberry Finn liked Tom Sawyer’s writing very much.
Huckleberry Finn took a pin to prick his skin. “Stop!” Tom Sawyer said. “That pin is made of brass. It might have verdigris (a green poison that grows on old metal) on it.”
Tom Sawyer said that verdigris was a poison. He used a needle instead. Both boys pricked their thumbs and squeezed out a drop of blood. Tom Sawyer used his blood to sign his initials (the first letters of a person’s name).
Tom Sawyer showed Huckleberry Finn how to write an H and an F. The promise was now finished. They buried the wood near the wall. They said incantations (magic words that people say in a ceremony) during the burial.
The boys felt that their secret was now locked. A person moved quietly at the other end of the building. But Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn did not see the person.
“Tom Sawyer, must we keep this secret forever?” Huckleberry Finn asked. Tom Sawyer said yes. He said they would drop down dead if they ever spoke.
Suddenly, a dog began to howl outside the building. The sound was very sad and scary. The boys held each other because they were afraid. They thought the dog was a sign of death.
“Who is the dog looking at?” Huckleberry Finn asked. He was shaking. Tom Sawyer looked through a crack in the wall. He saw the dog.
“Oh, Huckleberry Finn, it is a stray dog!” Tom Sawyer whispered. In their village, a stray dog meant that someone would die soon. The boys thought they were going to die.
“I have been very bad,” Huckleberry Finn said. Tom Sawyer began to cry a little bit. He was sorry that he was a naughty boy. He promised to be good if he lived.
Then Tom Sawyer looked again. The dog was not looking at the boys. Its back was toward them. Tom Sawyer felt much better. The dog was not a sign for them.
The dog stopped howling. Then the boys heard a new sound. It sounded like someone was snoring. “What is that?” Tom Sawyer asked. They went to look.
They walked quietly on their toes. Tom Sawyer stepped on a stick and it broke. A man moved in the moonlight. The boys saw his face. It was Muff Potter.
The boys felt safe now. They walked out of the building. They saw the stray dog again. The dog was standing near Muff Potter. The dog looked at Muff Potter and howled.
“Oh, no! The dog is looking at Muff Potter!” the boys said. They believed Muff Potter would die soon. They talked about other people who died after a dog howled.
Then the boys went to their own homes. Tom Sawyer climbed through his bedroom window. He was very quiet. He thought nobody saw him. But his brother Sid was awake and saw everything.
The next morning, Tom Sawyer woke up late. Sid was already dressed and gone. Tom Sawyer was worried. Usually, his family shouted at him to wake up.
Tom Sawyer went downstairs. The family was finished with breakfast. They were very quiet. They did not shout at Tom Sawyer. This silence was very scary for Tom Sawyer.
After breakfast, Aunt Polly took Tom Sawyer to a room. She did not hit him. She began to cry. She asked Tom Sawyer why he was breaking her heart.
Aunt Polly said she could not help Tom Sawyer anymore. Tom Sawyer felt terrible. He cried and asked for forgiveness. He promised to be a good boy many times.
Tom Sawyer went to school. He was very sad and miserable. The teacher gave Tom Sawyer a flogging (a punishment where a person is hit with a stick) because he missed school the day before.
Tom Sawyer sat at his desk. He felt something hard in his pocket. He took it out. It was his andiron knob (a round metal ball from a fireplace).
Becky Thatcher gave the gift back to him. She did not want his gift anymore. This was the final sad thing for Tom Sawyer. He felt that his heart was broken.