A man spoke from a window. He told the dogs to be quiet. He asked who was there. Huck Finn said his name was George Jackson. Huck Finn said he fell off a steamboat (a large ship moved by steam).
The man was suspicious. He asked if Huck Finn knew the Shepherdsons. Huck Finn said he never heard of them. The man told Huck Finn to come to the door very slowly.
The family was ready to fight. Three men pointed guns at Huck Finn. The men were handsome and dressed well. There was also an old lady and two young women.
The old man was named Saul Grangerford. Saul Grangerford felt Huck Finn’s pockets to look for weapons. Saul Grangerford saw that Huck Finn was alone and had no gun. He told Huck Finn to feel at home.
The old lady was named Rachel Grangerford. Rachel Grangerford saw that Huck Finn was wet and hungry. She told a servant to get food. She told her son, Buck, to give Huck Finn dry clothes.
Buck was about thirteen or fourteen years old. Buck was a little bigger than Huck Finn. Buck brought a gun with him because he thought a Shepherdson was outside. He was disappointed because there was no fight.
Buck took Huck Finn to a room upstairs. Huck Finn put on dry clothes. Buck told Huck Finn a riddle (a difficult question with a funny answer).
Buck asked, "Where was Moses when the candle went out?" Huck Finn did not know. Buck laughed and said, "He was in the dark!" Buck told Huck Finn he must stay at the house forever.
Huck Finn ate a big dinner of corn-bread and beef. Huck Finn told the family a story about his life. Huck Finn said his family lived on a farm in Arkansas. He said all his relatives died or ran away.
Huck Finn said he was alone now. Saul Grangerford said Huck Finn could live with them. Everyone went to bed. In the morning, Huck Finn forgot his fake name.
Huck Finn asked Buck, "Can you spell, Buck?" Buck said yes. Huck Finn said, "I bet you cannot spell my name." Buck spelled out G-E-O-R-G-E J-A-X-O-N. Huck Finn wrote the name down so he would remember it.
The Grangerford house was very nice. It was the nicest house Huck Finn ever saw. The door had a brass knob. There was a big fireplace. On the mantelpiece (the shelf above the fireplace), there was a big clock.
The room had many interesting things. There were colorful parrots made of chalk. There were animals made of crockery (a type of hard clay used for plates). There was a basket of fruit made of the same material. The fruit looked better than real fruit.
There were many books on the table. One book was a large Bible with pictures. Another book was about a man who went on a long journey. There were also books about medicine and poetry.
Huck Finn looked at the pictures on the walls. One daughter, Emmeline Grangerford, made the pictures before she died. The pictures were very sad. They were mostly black.
One picture showed a woman crying at a tombstone (a stone that marks a grave). Another picture showed a lady crying because her bird was dead. These pictures made Huck Finn feel a little bit sad and strange.
Emmeline Grangerford also wrote poetry about dead people. She kept a scrap-book (a book where you save papers and pictures). She collected obituaries (short stories in a newspaper about people who died).
Emmeline Grangerford wrote a poem about a boy named Stephen. Stephen fell into a well and died. She wrote the poem very quickly. She could write a poem for anyone who died in the town.
Emmeline Grangerford died when she was only fifteen years old. The family kept her room very clean and nice. Nobody else slept in her room. The family missed her very much.
The house had a piano, too. The young ladies sang songs and played music. The walls were clean and the floors had carpets. Huck Finn thought everything in the house was perfect. The food was very good and there was plenty of it.