The news about the gold made a big stir in the village of St. Petersburg. Everyone talked about the money. People thought it was incredible. Many men started looking for more treasure in old houses. They dug up the floors of many buildings. Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn were famous now. People listened to everything they said. Everything the boys did seemed important. The village newspaper wrote stories about the boys’ lives.
The Widow Douglas and Judge Thatcher helped the boys with their money. The boys had a lot of income. Each boy got a dollar every day. This was a lot of money in those days. A boy could buy food and clothes for only a dollar and a quarter a week. Tom and Huck were as rich as the minister.
Judge Thatcher liked Tom very much. Becky Thatcher told her father a secret. She told him that Tom lied and took a whipping for her at school. Judge Thatcher was very touched. He said it was a noble lie. He compared Tom to George Washington. Judge Thatcher wanted Tom to become a great lawyer or a soldier one day. He wanted Tom to go to the best schools.
Huck was rich now. He lived with the Widow Douglas. He was part of society. But Huck was not happy. The servants kept him clean. He had to eat with a fork and a knife. He had to use a napkin. He had to go to church and school. He had to talk very politely. He felt like he was in prison because of civilization.
Huck was brave for three weeks. Then he ran away. The Widow Douglas looked everywhere for him. Everyone in the town was worried. On the third morning, Tom went to an old house. He looked inside an old hogshead. He found Huck inside the barrel. Huck was wearing his old rags. He was smoking his pipe and he looked comfortable.
Tom told Huck to come home. Huck was very sad. "I cannot do it, Tom," Huck said. "I am not used to it. The Widow Douglas is good to me, but I hate her rules. I have to get up at the same time every morning. I have to wash and they comb my hair. I cannot sleep in the woodshed."
"Everybody lives that way, Huck," Tom said.
"I am not everybody!" Huck cried. "I have to ask to go fishing. I have to ask to go swimming. I have to wear shoes all Sunday. The Widow Douglas does everything when a bell rings. It is too regular. And she prays all the time! Being rich is just worry and trouble. I like my old clothes and my barrel. Please take my money and tell the widow I am not coming back."
Tom saw a way to help. "Huck, being rich will not stop me from being a robber," Tom said.
"Really? Are you serious, Tom?" Huck asked.
"I am very serious," Tom said. "But you cannot be in the gang if you are not respectable. A robber is a very important person. Robbers are like kings and dukes. People will say bad things about my gang if you are a dirty boy. You must stay with the widow."
Huck was silent for a while. He thought about the gang. He wanted to be a robber very much. "Well, I will go back to the widow for one month," Huck said. "I will try to stay there if I can belong to the gang, Tom."
"That is a deal!" Tom said. "I will ask the Widow Douglas not to be so strict with you."
"Thank you, Tom," Huck said. "When will we start the gang?"
"Right away," Tom said. "We will have an initiation tonight. We will swear to help each other. We will promise never to tell the gang's secrets. We will do it at midnight in a scary place. We will sign our names in blood."
"That sounds great!" Huck said. "I will stay with the widow. Maybe one day she will be proud of me because I am a famous robber."