Pap was soon healthy again. He went to the court to see Judge Thatcher. Pap wanted the judge to give him the money of Huck Finn. Pap was also angry because Huck Finn went to school. Pap caught Huck Finn two times and hit him. But Huck Finn went to school anyway. Huck Finn wanted to make Pap angry.
The court case was very slow. Huck Finn borrowed money from Judge Thatcher and gave it to Pap. This stopped Pap from hitting Huck Finn for a short time. Pap used the money to buy whiskey (a very strong alcohol). Every time Pap was drunk, he caused trouble in the town. Then the police put Pap in jail.
Pap started to visit the house of Widow Douglas. Widow Douglas told Pap to leave. She said she would cause trouble for him. Pap was very angry. He said he was the boss of Huck Finn. One day, Pap caught Huck Finn. Pap took Huck Finn three miles up the river in a skiff (a small, light boat).
They went to the shore in Illinois. It was a place with many trees and no houses. Pap had an old log hut (a small, simple house made of wood). The trees were very thick there. No person could find the house. Pap kept Huck Finn there all the time. Huck Finn never had a chance to run away.
Pap always locked the door at night. He put the key under his head when he slept. Pap had a gun that he stole. They caught fish and hunted animals for food. Sometimes Pap locked Huck Finn inside the house. Then Pap walked three miles to a store to trade fish for whiskey. Pap got drunk and hit Huck Finn.
Widow Douglas found out where Huck Finn was. She sent a man to help Huck Finn. But Pap chased the man away with the gun. After that, Huck Finn became comfortable. He liked the life in the woods. He only hated it when Pap hit him with a wooden stick.
Life was lazy and fun. Huck Finn smoked and fished all day. He did not have books or study. Two months passed. The clothes of Huck Finn were dirty and old. Huck Finn did not want to go back to Widow Douglas. He did not like to wash or eat from a plate. He liked to be free in the woods.
But soon, Pap hit Huck Finn too much. Huck Finn had many marks on his skin. Sometimes Pap locked Huck Finn in the house for three days. Huck Finn was very lonely and scared. He thought Pap was dead. He thought he would never get out. Huck Finn made a plan to leave.
Huck Finn tried to find a way out of the house. The window was too small for a dog. The door was very thick and strong. Pap was careful and did not leave a knife in the house. Huck Finn looked everywhere many times. Finally, Huck Finn found an old wood-saw (a tool with a metal blade for cutting wood).
Huck Finn used grease to make the saw work well. There was an old blanket on the wall to stop the wind. Huck Finn went under a table behind the blanket. He began to saw a hole in the bottom of the house. He was almost finished when he heard Pap’s gun. Huck Finn hid the saw and waited.
Pap was in a bad mood. He said the court case was slow. Judge Thatcher was trying to stop Pap from getting the money. Pap also said people wanted to give Huck Finn back to Widow Douglas. They wanted Widow Douglas to be the guardian (a person who looks after a child) of Huck Finn.
This made Huck Finn worried. He did not want to go back to the house of Widow Douglas. Pap started to shout and say bad words. He was angry at everyone. Pap said he would move Huck Finn to a secret place. He said nobody would ever find them. This made Huck Finn very uneasy.
Huck Finn decided to run away that night. He did not want Pap to take him away. Pap told Huck Finn to go to the boat. Huck Finn carried a large bag of corn and some meat. He also carried ammunition (bullets for a gun) and a big bottle of whiskey. Huck Finn sat on the boat and thought.
He decided to take the gun and live in the woods. He wanted to go very far away so Pap could not find him. It was dark when they went back to the house. Huck Finn cooked dinner. Pap drank a lot of whiskey. He was very dirty because he fell in the mud in town.
Pap began to shout about the government. He said the law was bad. He was angry because the law wanted to take his son away. Pap said he was a rich man, but he lived in a poor house. He wore old clothes and a broken hat. Pap was also angry because he saw a free Black man in town.
The man was a teacher and wore fine clothes. Pap was angry because that man could vote. Pap said he would never vote again. He was very full of hate. Pap walked around the room while he shouted. He did not look where he was going. He fell over a big tub of meat and hurt his legs.
Pap was very angry and kicked the tub. But he had holes in his shoes. He hurt his toes and screamed. He rolled on the floor and said many bad words. After dinner, Pap drank more whiskey. Huck Finn thought Pap would soon be very drunk. Then Huck Finn could take the key and leave.
But Pap did not sleep well. He made loud noises and moved a lot. Huck Finn was very tired. Huck Finn fell asleep with the candle burning. Suddenly, a loud scream woke Huck Finn. Pap looked crazy. He jumped around the room and shouted about snakes.
Pap said snakes were crawling on his legs. He screamed that a snake bit his face. But Huck Finn did not see any snakes. Pap ran around the house and shouted for help. Pap was very tired and fell down. He kicked his legs and grabbed the air. He said devils were holding him.
Then Pap was quiet for a long time. Huck Finn heard wolves in the woods. Everything was very still. Then Pap looked up and whispered. He said the dead were coming for him. Pap crawled on the floor and cried. He went under the table and hid in his blanket.
Then Pap jumped up again. He looked at Huck Finn with a crazy face. Pap took a knife and chased Huck Finn around the room. Pap called Huck Finn the "Angel of Death." He said he wanted to kill Huck Finn. Huck Finn shouted that he was only Huck Finn. But Pap only laughed and chased him.
One time, Pap grabbed the jacket of Huck Finn. Huck Finn moved fast and jumped out of the jacket. Finally, Pap was too tired to move. He sat against the door with his knife. He said he would rest and then kill Huck Finn. Pap fell asleep.
Huck Finn found an old chair and climbed up. He was very quiet. He took the gun down from the wall. Huck Finn checked the gun to see if it was loaded. He pointed the gun at Pap. Then Huck Finn sat down and waited for Pap to wake up. The time passed very slowly.