Around twelve o’clock, the whole village heard the terrible news. They did not have a telegraph (a machine that sends messages quickly through wires). But the news traveled very fast from person to person. The schoolmaster gave the children a holiday for the afternoon. Everyone in the town wanted to talk about the murder.
Someone found a gory (covered in a lot of blood) knife near the dead man. The people knew the knife belonged to Muff Potter. A citizen saw Muff Potter at two o'clock in the morning. Muff Potter was washing himself in a branch (a small river or stream). This was very strange because Muff Potter did not usually wash himself.
The people looked for Muff Potter everywhere in the town. They could not find him. Men on horses went down all the roads to look for him. The Sheriff (the most important police officer in a town) wanted to catch him before night. All the people in the town walked toward the graveyard.
Tom Sawyer was very sad, but he followed the people. He did not want to go to the graveyard. But a strange feeling made him go there. He pushed through the crowd and saw the dead doctor. It felt like a very long time since he was there.
Someone pinched Tom Sawyer’s arm. He turned and saw Huckleberry Finn. They looked at each other quickly and then looked away. They did not want people to know their secret. Everyone around them was talking about the murder.
The people felt sorry for the young doctor. They said Muff Potter must hang for his crime. Then the minister said that God was punishing the doctor. Tom Sawyer began to shake with fear. He saw the cold face of Injun Joe.
Suddenly, the crowd began to move and shout. “It is him! He is coming!” they cried. The people asked who was coming. “Muff Potter is coming!” they shouted.
Muff Potter stopped and looked like he wanted to run away. But the Sheriff held Muff Potter’s arm and led him to the crowd. Muff Potter’s face looked thin and very tired. His eyes showed that he was very afraid.
Muff Potter stood before the dead man and began to shake. He put his hands over his face and cried. “I did not do it, friends,” Muff Potter said. “I promise that I did not do it.”
“Who said you did it?” a voice asked. Muff Potter looked around with no hope in his eyes. He saw Injun Joe and spoke to him. “Oh, Injun Joe, you promised me you would never tell,” Muff Potter said.
The Sheriff showed the knife to Muff Potter. “Is this your knife?” the Sheriff asked. Muff Potter almost fell to the ground. He told Injun Joe to tell the people the truth.
Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn stood quietly. They listened to Injun Joe tell a very big lie. Injun Joe was very calm. The boys expected God to hit Injun Joe with lightning. But the sky stayed clear and Injun Joe stayed alive.
The boys thought Injun Joe was a friend of the devil. They were too afraid to break their promise. They thought the devil would kill them if they spoke. Muff Potter cried because he could not escape the graveyard.
A few minutes later, there was an inquest (an official meeting to find out why a person died). Injun Joe told the same lie again. The boys watched Injun Joe’s face. They were very interested in him because he was so evil. They decided to watch him at night.
Injun Joe helped put the dead body into a wagon. The people whispered that the body bled a little when Muff Potter was near. In the past, people believed this happened near a killer. This made the villagers more sure that Muff Potter was the murderer.
Tom Sawyer could not sleep well for a week. He was very worried about his secret. One morning, Sid spoke to Tom Sawyer at breakfast. “Tom Sawyer, you talk in your sleep,” Sid said. “You keep me awake.”
Tom Sawyer’s face went white and he looked down. “That is a bad sign,” Aunt Polly said. She asked Tom Sawyer what was on his mind. Tom Sawyer said nothing was wrong, but his hand shook. He spilled his coffee on the table.
“You say strange things,” Sid said. “Last night you said ‘It is blood!’ many times.” Sid asked Tom Sawyer what he wanted to tell. Tom Sawyer felt very sick and nervous.
Aunt Polly looked at Tom Sawyer with kindness. She said the murder was a terrible thing. She told Tom Sawyer that she also had bad dreams about the murder. Sid was satisfied with this answer. Tom Sawyer left the room quickly.
Tom Sawyer pretended to have a toothache for a whole week. He tied a cloth around his jaw every night. He did this so Sid could not hear him talk in his sleep. But Sid watched Tom Sawyer every night and listened to him.
After some time, Tom Sawyer felt better and stopped pretending. The children at school played a game. They had an inquest (a meeting to study a death) on dead cats. Tom Sawyer did not want to play this game. Sid noticed that Tom Sawyer stayed away from the cats.
Every two days, Tom Sawyer went to the jail (a building where the police keep criminals). The jail was a small brick building near the edge of the village. There were no guards there. Tom Sawyer gave small gifts and food to Muff Potter through the window.
These gifts helped Tom Sawyer feel better about his secret. The villagers were very angry with Injun Joe for stealing bodies. They wanted to punish him, but they were too afraid. Injun Joe was a very dangerous man, so the people did nothing.