English
HUCKsaid:"Tom,wecanslope,ifwecanfindarope.Thewindowain'thighfromtheground."
"Shucks!whatdoyouwanttoslopefor?"
"Well,Iain'tusedtothatkindofacrowd.Ican'tstandit.Iain'tgoingdownthere,Tom."
"Oh,bother!Itain'tanything.Idon'tminditabit.I'lltakecareofyou."
Sidappeared.
"Tom,"saidhe,"auntiehasbeenwaitingforyoualltheafternoon.MarygotyourSundayclothesready,andeverybody'sbeenfrettingaboutyou.Say—ain'tthisgreaseandclay,onyourclothes?"
"Now,Mr.Siddy,youjist'tendtoyourownbusiness.What'sallthisblow–outabout,anyway?"
"It'soneofthewidow'spartiesthatshe'salwayshaving.
Thistimeit'sfortheWelshmanandhissons,onaccountofthatscrapetheyhelpedheroutoftheothernight.
Andsay—Icantellyousomething,ifyouwanttoknow."
"Well,what?"
"Why,oldMr.Jonesisgoingtotrytospringsomethingonthepeoplehereto–night,butIoverheardhimtellauntieto–dayaboutit,asasecret,butIreckonit'snotmuchofasecretnow.
Everybodyknows—thewidow,too,forallshetriestoletonshedon't.
Mr.JoneswasboundHuckshouldbehere—couldn'tgetalongwithhisgrandsecretwithoutHuck,youknow!"
"Secretaboutwhat,Sid?"
"AboutHucktrackingtherobberstothewidow's.IreckonMr.Joneswasgoingtomakeagrandtimeoverhissurprise,butIbetyouitwilldropprettyflat."
Sidchuckledinaverycontentedandsatisfiedway.
"Sid,wasityouthattold?"
"Oh,nevermindwhoitwas.SOMEBODYtold—that'senough."
"Sid,there'sonlyonepersoninthistownmeanenoughtodothat,andthat'syou.
IfyouhadbeeninHuck'splaceyou'd'a'sneakeddownthehillandnevertoldanybodyontherobbers.
Youcan'tdoanybutmeanthings,andyoucan'tbeartoseeanybodypraisedfordoinggoodones.
There—nothanks,asthewidowsays"—andTomcuffedSid'searsandhelpedhimtothedoorwithseveralkicks.
"Nowgoandtellauntieifyoudare—andto–morrowyou'llcatchit!"
Someminuteslaterthewidow'sguestswereatthesupper–table,andadozenchildrenwereproppedupatlittleside–tablesinthesameroom,afterthefashionofthatcountryandthatday.
AtthepropertimeMr.Jonesmadehislittlespeech,inwhichhethankedthewidowforthehonorshewasdoinghimselfandhissons,butsaidthattherewasanotherpersonwhosemodesty—
Andsoforthandsoon.HesprunghissecretaboutHuck'sshareintheadventureinthefinestdramaticmannerhewasmasterof,butthesurpriseitoccasionedwaslargelycounterfeitandnotasclamorousandeffusiveasitmighthavebeenunderhappiercircumstances.
However,thewidowmadeaprettyfairshowofastonishment,andheapedsomanycomplimentsandsomuchgratitudeuponHuckthathealmostforgotthenearlyintolerablediscomfortofhisnewclothesintheentirelyintolerablediscomfortofbeingsetupasatargetforeverybody'sgazeandeverybody'slaudations.
ThewidowsaidshemeanttogiveHuckahomeunderherroofandhavehimeducated;andthatwhenshecouldsparethemoneyshewouldstarthiminbusinessinamodestway.Tom'schancewascome.Hesaid:
"Huckdon'tneedit.Huck'srich."
Nothingbutaheavystrainuponthegoodmannersofthecompanykeptbackthedueandpropercomplimentarylaughatthispleasantjoke.Butthesilencewasalittleawkward.Tombrokeit:
"Huck'sgotmoney.Maybeyoudon'tbelieveit,buthe'sgotlotsofit.Oh,youneedn'tsmile—IreckonIcanshowyou.Youjustwaitaminute."
Tomranoutofdoors.Thecompanylookedateachotherwithaperplexedinterest—andinquiringlyatHuck,whowastongue–tied.
"Sid,whatailsTom?"saidAuntPolly."He—well,thereain'teveranymakingofthatboyout.Inever—"
Tomentered,strugglingwiththeweightofhissacks,andAuntPollydidnotfinishhersentence.Tompouredthemassofyellowcoinuponthetableandsaid:
"There—whatdidItellyou?Halfofit'sHuck'sandhalfofit'smine!"
Thespectacletookthegeneralbreathaway.Allgazed,nobodyspokeforamoment.
Thentherewasaunanimouscallforanexplanation.
Tomsaidhecouldfurnishit,andhedid.
Thetalewaslong,butbrimfulofinterest.
Therewasscarcelyaninterruptionfromanyonetobreakthecharmofitsflow.Whenhehadfinished,Mr.Jonessaid:
"IthoughtIhadfixedupalittlesurpriseforthisoccasion,butitdon'tamounttoanythingnow.Thisonemakesitsingmightysmall,I'mwillingtoallow."
Themoneywascounted.Thesumamountedtoalittleovertwelvethousanddollars.
Itwasmorethananyonepresenthadeverseenatonetimebefore,thoughseveralpersonsweretherewhowereworthconsiderablymorethanthatinproperty.
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