The news spread very quickly. Many men went to the cave in boats. The ferryboat followed them with more people. Tom Sawyer was in a boat with Judge Thatcher.
They unlocked the cave door. They saw a very sad sight. Indian Joe was on the ground. He was dead. His face was very close to the crack of the door. He wanted to see the light of the outside world before he died. Tom felt sorry for him. Tom knew how hard it was to be lost in the cave. But Tom also felt safe. He was not afraid of Indian Joe anymore.
The bowie-knife of Indian Joe was near him. It was broken in two. Indian Joe tried to cut through the wood at the bottom of the door. He worked very hard. But there was solid rock under the door. He could not escape. He had no food in the cave. He ate the old candles. He even caught some bats and ate them. The poor man died of hunger.
Near the door, there was a stone on the ground. Every three minutes, a drop of water fell from the roof. Indian Joe made a small hole in the stone. He wanted to catch the water. He could only drink a very small amount every day. Drops of water had been falling there for thousands of years. It was falling when the pyramids were built. It falls today. It will fall for a long time.
The people buried Indian Joe near the cave. Many people came to the funeral. They came in boats and wagons. They brought their children and food. They all wanted to see the end of the bad man.
Before Indian Joe died, some people had signed a petition for him. Even though Indian Joe had killed five people in the town, they wanted the governor to pardon him. Now he was dead, so the petition did not matter.
The morning after the funeral, Tom talked to Huck Finn. Huck knew about the cave adventure now. He was sad. He thought the money was gone. "People searched the room at the tavern," Huck said. "They only found alcohol. We will never find the treasure now."
"Huck, the money was never at the tavern," Tom said.
"What?" Huck asked. He looked at Tom. "Do you know where the money is?"
"The money is in the cave!" Tom said.
Huck's eyes were very wide. "Are you serious, Tom?"
"I am very serious," Tom said. "Will you go into the cave with me? We can get the gold."
Huck wanted to go. But he was afraid of getting lost. Tom told him not to worry. Tom knew a secret way into the cave. It was a very short path. He promised to take Huck in a boat. Huck did not have to walk much.
"Let’s go now!" Huck said.
"All right," Tom said. "We need bread and meat. We need some bags and some string. We also need some lucifer matches. I wanted them when I was lost before."
In the afternoon, the boys borrowed a small boat. They went down the river for several miles. Tom looked at the high shore. Everything looked the same. But then he saw a white place on the hill. It was a landslide.
"That is my mark!" Tom said. They went to the shore.
"We are standing near the hole," Tom said. "Can you find it, Huck?"
Huck looked everywhere. He found nothing. Then Tom went to some thick bushes. "Here it is!" he said. He showed Huck a small hole. Tom told him that he wanted to be a robber. He wanted to use this cave for his gang and call it "Tom's Gang."
"Who will we rob?" Huck asked.
"Almost anyone," Tom answered. "We will stop people on the road. We will take their money. We will keep them in the cave for a ransom. We will be very polite to the women. Robbers in books are always polite."
Huck thought this was a great idea. It was better than being a pirate. The boys went into the hole. Tom went first. They tied their string to a rock. They walked to the spring of water. Tom felt a little scared when he saw the spring. He remembered being lost with Becky Thatcher.
They walked to a very deep hole in the cave. A steep slope of dirt led down into it. Tom held his candle high. "Look around the corner, Huck," he said. "Do you see that mark on the big rock?"
"Tom, it is a cross!" Huck cried.
"That is where I saw Indian Joe!" Tom said. "The treasure is under that cross!"
Huck was very afraid. "Let's leave!" he said. "The ghost of Indian Joe is here!"
"No," Tom said. "Ghosts do not come near a cross. We are safe here."
Huck agreed. They climbed down the dirt hill. They looked under the big rock. They found some old blankets and some bones. But they did not see the money. They looked again and again. They were very disappointed.
Then Tom saw something. There were footprints on one side of the rock. There was candle wax on the ground there too. "The money is under the rock!" Tom said. He started to dig in the dirt with his knife.
Soon, he hit wood. "Huck! Do you hear that?"
They both dug in the dirt. They found some wooden boards. They moved the boards. There was a hole under the rock. Tom went inside. He followed a small path. Then he shouted, "Look here, Huck!"
It was the treasure box! The room was small. There were also guns and old shoes. The gold was finally theirs. "We are rich, Tom!" Huck cried.
The box was very heavy. It weighed fifty pounds. Tom could not carry it easily. He put the gold coins into the small bags he brought. They left the guns in the cave. They wanted to use them for their robber meetings.
They left the cave and went back to their boat. They ate their lunch and smoked their pipes. The sun was going down. They rowed the boat back to the town.
"We will hide the money in the widow’s shed," Tom said. "Tomorrow we will count it. Then we will find a safe place in the woods."
Tom got a small wagon. He put the bags of money in the wagon. He covered the bags with old rags. They started to walk toward the house of the Widow Douglas. They met the Welshman at his door.
"Who is there?" the Welshman asked.
"It is Huck and Tom," Tom said.
"Good! Follow me," the Welshman said. "Everyone is waiting for you. I will pull the wagon." The wagon was very heavy. "Is it full of bricks or old metal?" he asked.
"Yes," Tom said.
The Welshman pulled the wagon. He took the boys to the house of the Widow Douglas. Huck was worried. He thought he was in trouble. "We didn't do anything wrong," Huck said. The Welshman laughed and told them not to be afraid.
They entered the house. It was full of lights and people. All the important people in the town were there. The Thatchers, the Harpers, and Aunt Polly were there. Everyone wore their best clothes.
Tom and Huck looked very dirty. They had dirt and candle wax on their clothes. Aunt Polly was very embarrassed. She shook her head at Tom. The Widow Douglas took the boys to a bedroom.
"Wash yourselves and dress," the widow said. She gave them two new suits of clothes. "We will wait for you. Come downstairs when you are ready."