English
THEREcomesatimeineveryrightly–constructedboy'slifewhenhehasaragingdesiretogosomewhereanddigforhiddentreasure.
ThisdesiresuddenlycameuponTomoneday.
HesalliedouttofindJoeHarper,butfailedofsuccess.
NexthesoughtBenRogers;hehadgonefishing.
PresentlyhestumbleduponHuckFinntheRed–Handed.Huckwouldanswer.
Tomtookhimtoaprivateplaceandopenedthemattertohimconfidentially.Huckwaswilling.
Huckwasalwayswillingtotakeahandinanyenterprisethatofferedentertainmentandrequirednocapital,forhehadatroublesomesuperabundanceofthatsortoftimewhichisnotmoney."Where'llwedig?"saidHuck.
"Oh,mostanywhere."
"Why,isithidallaround?"
"No,indeeditain't.It'shidinmightyparticularplaces,Huck—sometimesonislands,sometimesinrottenchestsundertheendofalimbofanolddeadtree,justwheretheshadowfallsatmidnight;butmostlyunderthefloorinha'ntedhouses."
"Whohidesit?"
"Why,robbers,ofcourse—who'dyoureckon?Sunday–schoolsup'rintendents?"
"Idon'tknow.If'twasmineIwouldn'thideit;I'dspenditandhaveagoodtime."
"SowouldI.Butrobbersdon'tdothatway.Theyalwayshideitandleaveitthere."
"Don'ttheycomeafteritanymore?"
"No,theythinktheywill,buttheygenerallyforgetthemarks,orelsetheydie.
Anyway,itlaystherealongtimeandgetsrusty;andbyandbysomebodyfindsanoldyellowpaperthattellshowtofindthemarks—apaperthat'sgottobecipheredoveraboutaweekbecauseit'smostlysignsandhy'roglyphics."
"HyroQwhich?"
"Hy'roglyphics—picturesandthings,youknow,thatdon'tseemtomeananything."
"Haveyougotoneofthempapers,Tom?"
"No."
"Wellthen,howyougoingtofindthemarks?"
"Idon'twantanymarks.Theyalwaysburyitunderaha'ntedhouseoronanisland,orunderadeadtreethat'sgotonelimbstickingout.
Well,we'vetriedJackson'sIslandalittle,andwecantryitagainsometime;andthere'stheoldha'ntedhouseuptheStill–Housebranch,andthere'slotsofdead–limbtrees—deadloadsof'em."
"Isitunderallofthem?"
"Howyoutalk!No!"
"Thenhowyougoingtoknowwhichonetogofor?"
"Goforallof'em!"
"Why,Tom,it'lltakeallsummer."
"Well,whatofthat?Supposeyoufindabrasspotwithahundreddollarsinit,allrustyandgray,orrottenchestfullofdi'monds.How'sthat?"
Huck'seyesglowed.
"That'sbully.Plentybullyenoughforme.JustyougimmethehundreddollarsandIdon'twantnodi'monds."
"Allright.ButIbetyouIain'tgoingtothrowoffondi'monds.Someof'em'sworthtwentydollarsapiece—thereain'tany,hardly,but'sworthsixbitsoradollar."
"No!Isthatso?"
"Cert'nly—anybody'lltellyouso.Hain'tyoueverseenone,Huck?"
"NotasIremember."
"Oh,kingshaveslathersofthem."
"Well,Idon'knownokings,Tom."
"Ireckonyoudon't.ButifyouwastogotoEuropeyou'dseearaftof'emhoppingaround."
"Dotheyhop?"
"Hop?—yourgranny!No!"
"Well,whatdidyousaytheydid,for?"
"Shucks,Ionlymeantyou'dSEE'em—nothopping,ofcourse—whatdotheywanttohopfor?
—butImeanyou'djustsee'em—scatteredaround,youknow,inakindofageneralway.LikethatoldhumpbackedRichard."
"Richard?What'shisothername?"
"Hedidn'thaveanyothername.Kingsdon'thaveanybutagivenname."
"No?"
"Buttheydon't."
"Well,iftheylikeit,Tom,allright;butIdon'twanttobeakingandhaveonlyjustagivenname,likeanigger.Butsay—whereyougoingtodigfirst?"
"Well,Idon'tknow.S'posewetacklethatolddead–limbtreeonthehillt'othersideofStill–Housebranch?"
"I'magreed."
Sotheygotacrippledpickandashovel,andsetoutontheirthree–miletramp.Theyarrivedhotandpanting,andthrewthemselvesdownintheshadeofaneighboringelmtorestandhaveasmoke.
"Ilikethis,"saidTom.
"SodoI."
"Say,Huck,ifwefindatreasurehere,whatyougoingtodowithyourshare?"
"Well,I'llhavepieandaglassofsodaeveryday,andI'llgotoeverycircusthatcomesalong.IbetI'llhaveagaytime."
"Well,ain'tyougoingtosaveanyofit?"
"Saveit?Whatfor?"
"Why,soastohavesomethingtoliveon,byandby."
"Oh,thatain'tanyuse.Papwouldcomebacktothish–yertownsomedayandgethisclawsonitifIdidn'thurryup,andItellyouhe'dcleanitoutprettyquick.Whatyougoingtodowithyourn,Tom?"
"I'mgoingtobuyanewdrum,andasure–'noughsword,andarednecktieandabullpup,andgetmarried."
"Married!"
"That'sit."
"Tom,you—why,youain'tinyourrightmind."
"Wait—you'llsee."
"Well,that'sthefoolishestthingyoucoulddo.Lookatpapandmymother.Fight!Why,theyusedtofightallthetime.Iremember,mightywell."
"Thatain'tanything.ThegirlI'mgoingtomarrywon'tfight."
"Tom,Ireckonthey'reallalike.They'llallcombabody.Nowyoubetterthink'boutthisawhile.Itellyouyoubetter.What'sthenameofthegal?"
"Itain'tagalatall—it'sagirl."
"It'sallthesame,Ireckon;somesaysgal,somesaysgirl—both'sright,likeenough.Anyway,what'shername,Tom?"
"I'lltellyousometime—notnow."
"Allright—that'lldo.OnlyifyougetmarriedI'llbemorelonesomerthanever."
"Noyouwon't.You'llcomeandlivewithme.Nowstiroutofthisandwe'llgotodigging."
Theyworkedandsweatedforhalfanhour.Noresult.Theytoiledanotherhalf–hour.Stillnoresult.Hucksaid:
"Dotheyalwaysburyitasdeepasthis?"
"Sometimes—notalways.Notgenerally.Ireckonwehaven'tgottherightplace."
Sotheychoseanewspotandbeganagain.
Thelabordraggedalittle,butstilltheymadeprogress.
Theypeggedawayinsilenceforsometime.
FinallyHuckleanedonhisshovel,swabbedthebeadeddropsfromhisbrowwithhissleeve,andsaid:
"Whereyougoingtodignext,afterwegetthisone?"
"Ireckonmaybewe'lltackletheoldtreethat'soveryonderonCardiffHillbackofthewidow's."
"Ireckonthat'llbeagoodone.Butwon'tthewidowtakeitawayfromus,Tom?It'sonherland."
"SHEtakeitaway!Maybeshe'dliketotryitonce.Whoeverfindsoneofthesehidtreasures,itbelongstohim.Itdon'tmakeanydifferencewhoselandit'son."
Thatwassatisfactory.Theworkwenton.ByandbyHucksaid:
"Blameit,wemustbeinthewrongplaceagain.Whatdoyouthink?"
"Itismightycurious,Huck.Idon'tunderstandit.Sometimeswitchesinterfere.Ireckonmaybethat'swhat'sthetroublenow."
"Shucks!Witchesain'tgotnopowerinthedaytime."
"Well,that'sso.Ididn'tthinkofthat.Oh,Iknowwhatthematteris!Whatablamedlotoffoolsweare!
Yougottofindoutwheretheshadowofthelimbfallsatmidnight,andthat'swhereyoudig!"
"Thenconsoundit,we'vefooledawayallthisworkfornothing.Nowhangitall,wegottocomebackinthenight.It'sanawfullongway.Canyougetout?"
"IbetIwill.We'vegottodoitto–night,too,becauseifsomebodyseestheseholesthey'llknowinaminutewhat'shereandthey'llgoforit."
"Well,I'llcomearoundandmaowto–night."
"Allright.Let'shidethetoolsinthebushes."
Theboysweretherethatnight,abouttheappointedtime.Theysatintheshadowwaiting.
Itwasalonelyplace,andanhourmadesolemnbyoldtraditions.
Spiritswhisperedintherustlingleaves,ghostslurkedinthemurkynooks,thedeepbayingofahoundfloatedupoutofthedistance,anowlansweredwithhissepulchralnote.
Theboysweresubduedbythesesolemnities,andtalkedlittle.
Byandbytheyjudgedthattwelvehadcome;theymarkedwheretheshadowfell,andbegantodig.Theirhopescommencedtorise.
Theirinterestgrewstronger,andtheirindustrykeptpacewithit.
Theholedeepenedandstilldeepened,buteverytimetheirheartsjumpedtohearthepickstrikeuponsomething,theyonlysufferedanewdisappointment.Itwasonlyastoneorachunk.AtlastTomsaid:
"Itain'tanyuse,Huck,we'rewrongagain."
"Well,butweCAN'Tbewrong.Wespottedtheshaddertoadot."
"Iknowit,butthenthere'sanotherthing."
"What'sthat?".
"Why,weonlyguessedatthetime.Likeenoughitwastoolateortooearly."
Huckdroppedhisshovel.
"That'sit,"saidhe."That'stheverytrouble.Wegottogivethisoneup.
Wecan'tevertelltherighttime,andbesidesthiskindofthing'stooawful,herethistimeofnightwithwitchesandghostsa–flutteringaroundso.
Ifeelasifsomething'sbehindmeallthetime;andI'mafeardtoturnaround,becuzmaybethere'sothersinfronta–waitingforachance.
Ibeencreepingallover,eversinceIgothere."
"Well,I'vebeenprettymuchso,too,Huck.Theymostalwaysputinadeadmanwhentheyburyatreasureunderatree,tolookoutforit."
"Lordy!"
"Yes,theydo.I'vealwaysheardthat."
"Tom,Idon'tliketofoolaroundmuchwherethere'sdeadpeople.Abody'sboundtogetintotroublewith'em,sure."
"Idon'tliketostir'emup,either.S'posethisoneherewastostickhisskulloutandsaysomething!"
"Don'tTom!It'sawful."
"Well,itjustis.Huck,Idon'tfeelcomfortableabit."
"Say,Tom,let'sgivethisplaceup,andtrysomewhereselse."
"Allright,Ireckonwebetter."
"What'llitbe?"
Tomconsideredawhile;andthensaid:
"Theha'ntedhouse.That'sit!"
"Blameit,Idon'tlikeha'ntedhouses,Tom.
Why,they'readernsightworse'ndeadpeople.
Deadpeoplemighttalk,maybe,buttheydon'tcomeslidingaroundinashroud,whenyouain'tnoticing,andpeepoveryourshoulderallofasuddenandgrittheirteeth,thewayaghostdoes.
Icouldn'tstandsuchathingasthat,Tom—nobodycould."
"Yes,but,Huck,ghostsdon'ttravelaroundonlyatnight.Theywon'thenderusfromdiggingthereinthedaytime."
"Well,that'sso.Butyouknowmightywellpeopledon'tgoaboutthatha'ntedhouseinthedaynorthenight."
"Well,that'smostlybecausetheydon'tliketogowhereaman'sbeenmurdered,anyway—butnothing'severbeenseenaroundthathouseexceptinthenight—justsomebluelightsslippingbythewindows—noregularghosts."
"Well,whereyouseeoneofthembluelightsflickeringaround,Tom,youcanbetthere'saghostmightyclosebehindit.Itstandstoreason.
Becuzyouknowthattheydon'tanybodybutghostsuse'em."
"Yes,that'sso.Butanywaytheydon'tcomearoundinthedaytime,sowhat'stheuseofourbeingafeard?"
"Well,allright.We'lltackletheha'ntedhouseifyousayso—butIreckonit'stakingchances."
Theyhadstarteddownthehillbythistime.
Thereinthemiddleofthemoonlitvalleybelowthemstoodthe"ha'nted"house,utterlyisolated,itsfencesgonelongago,rankweedssmotheringtheverydoorsteps,thechimneycrumbledtoruin,thewindow–sashesvacant,acorneroftheroofcavedin.
Theboysgazedawhile,halfexpectingtoseeabluelightflitpastawindow;thentalkinginalowtone,asbefittedthetimeandthecircumstances,theystruckfarofftotheright,togivethehauntedhouseawideberth,andtooktheirwayhomewardthroughthewoodsthatadornedtherearwardsideofCardiffHill.
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