Tuesday afternoon came and went. The village of St. Petersburg was very sad. The lost children were still missing. Everyone in the town prayed for Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher. Most of the searchers stopped looking. They went back to their daily work. They believed the children were dead. Mrs. Thatcher was very sick. She called for Becky all the time. Aunt Polly was very sad too. Her gray hair became almost white. The village was very quiet and unhappy on Tuesday night.
In the middle of the night, the village bells started to ring loudly. People ran into the streets in their night clothes. "They have been found! They have been found!" everyone shouted. People hit pans and blew horns to make noise. Everyone ran toward the river. They met a carriage. Tom and Becky were inside the carriage. The citizens shouted with joy. They followed the carriage up the main street.
The village was full of light. No one went back to bed. It was the greatest night in the history of the town. Many people went to Judge Thatcher's house. They kissed Tom and Becky, and they held Mrs. Thatcher's hand. Everyone cried because they were so happy. Aunt Polly was finally happy again. Mrs. Thatcher felt much better too. She sent a messenger to the cave to tell Judge Thatcher the good news.
Tom lay on a sofa. Many people stood around him to listen. Tom told the story of their adventure. He added many exciting details to the story. He told them how he left Becky to explore the cave. He used his kite-line to find his way back. He followed two paths but found nothing. He followed a third path as far as the string would go.
Suddenly, Tom saw a tiny speck of light. It looked like daylight. He dropped the string and crawled toward it. He pushed his head and shoulders through a small hole. He saw the great Mississippi River! If it had been night, he would not have seen the light. He would not have found the hole. He went back to find Becky. He told her the good news. Becky was very tired. She told Tom to stop talking. She thought she was going to die.
Tom worked hard to help Becky. Finally, he convinced her to move. She saw the blue light and she almost died of joy. Tom pushed his way out of the hole and helped Becky out. They sat by the river and cried. Some men in a boat saw them, and Tom told them their story. At first, the men did not believe that the children had come from the cave. "The cave entrance is five miles away!" the men said. But the men took the children into their boat. They went to a house and gave the children supper. They brought them home after dark.
Before the sun came up, messengers followed the searchers’ strings into the cave and told them the good news. The searchers used their strings to find the way out. They were very happy to hear the news. Tom and Becky were very weak. They stayed in bed all day Wednesday and most of Thursday. Tom got up for a little while on Thursday. He went into town on Friday. Becky stayed in her room until Sunday. She looked very thin and sick.
Tom heard that Huck Finn was sick. He went to see Huck on Friday, but the doctor said no. He tried again on Saturday and Sunday, but he still could not go in. After Sunday, he was allowed to visit Huck every day. The Widow Douglas stayed in the room. She told Tom to be quiet. She did not want him to tell exciting stories to Huck. Tom also heard about the man in the dirty clothes. The man drowned in the river while he was trying to escape from the police.
Two weeks passed. Tom went to visit Huck. Huck was strong enough to talk now. On the way, Tom stopped at the house of Judge Thatcher. The Judge and some friends were there. Someone asked Tom if he wanted to go to the cave again. Tom said he did not mind. Judge Thatcher laughed. "Other people feel the same way, Tom," the Judge said. "But no one will get lost in that cave again."
"Why not?" Tom asked.
"Because I closed the big door two weeks ago," Judge Thatcher said. "The door is covered with heavy iron. It has three locks. I have the keys."
Tom became as white as a sheet of paper. He looked very scared.
"What is the matter, boy?" Judge Thatcher cried. "Someone bring some water!"
Someone threw water on Tom's face. He opened his eyes. "Are you okay now, Tom?" the Judge asked.
"Oh, Judge Thatcher," Tom said. "Indian Joe is in the cave!"