Huckleberry Finn




SETTING

The novel is set in mid-19th Century America. The first few chapters are set in St.Petersburg, Missouri, where Huck is adopted by the Widow Douglas, who tries to civilize him. He attends the local school and church, and among his friends are Tom Sawyer, Ben Rogers, and Joe Harper. The town is patterned after Hannibal, Missouri, where Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) spent his childhood. It is located on the Mississippi River about 80 miles from St. Louis, Missouri.

Most of the novel’s setting is the Mississippi River as it runs deep in the south. The river has a “living” quality, and Huck is in perpetual adoration of the its power and charm. After each of his forays onto the shore, he comes back to the raft and the river with a sense of thanksgiving and relief. The river in itself is benign and divine, especially for those who love it and try to fit themselves into its many moods and ways.

LIST OF CHARACTERS

Huck Finn

The protagonist and narrator of the novel. Huck is the thirteen-year-old son of the local drunk of St. Petersburg, Missouri, a town on the Mississippi River. Frequently forced to survive on his own wits and always a bit of an outcast, Huck is thoughtful, intelligent (though formally uneducated), and willing to come to his own conclusions about important matters, even if these conclusions contradict society’s norms. Nevertheless, Huck is still a boy, and is influenced by others, particularly by his imaginative friend, Tom.

Jim

One of Miss Watson’s household slaves. Jim is superstitious and occasionally sentimental, but he is also intelligent, practical, and ultimately more of an adult than anyone else in the novel. Jim’s frequent acts of selflessness, his longing for his family, and his friendship with both Huck and Tom demonstrate to Huck that humanity has nothing to do with race. Because Jim is a black man and a runaway slave, he is at the mercy of almost all the other characters in the novel and is often forced into ridiculous and degrading situations.

Widow Douglas

Huck’s guardian who adopts him and wants to civilize him.

Pap

Huck’s father, the town drunk and ne’er-do-well. Pap is a wreck when he appears at the beginning of the novel, with disgusting, ghostlike white skin and tattered clothes. The illiterate Pap disapproves of Huck’s education and beats him frequently. Pap represents both the general debasement of white society and the failure of family structures in the novel.

Tom Sawyer

Huck’s friend, and the protagonist of Tom Sawyer, the novel to which Huckleberry Finn is ostensibly the sequel. In Huckleberry Finn, Tom serves as a foil to Huck: imaginative, dominating, and given to wild plans taken from the plots of adventure novels, Tom is everything that Huck is not. Tom’s stubborn reliance on the “authorities” of romance novels leads him to acts of incredible stupidity and startling cruelty. His rigid adherence to society’s conventions aligns Tom with the “sivilizing” forces that Huck learns to see through and gradually abandons.

The Duke and the Dauphin

Two friends who go about fooling people and relieving them of their money. They join Huck and Jim on the raft.

Miss Watson

Widow Douglas’ sister, who tutors Huck.

Ben Rogers

A friend of Huck’s, who is also a part of Tom Sawyer’s gang.

Joe Harper

Another friend of Huck’s.

Judge Thatcher

A judge in St. Petersburg and the custodian of Huck’s money.

The Grangerfords and the Shephardsons

Two feuding families with whom Huck gets involved.

Mrs. Judith Loftus

The new woman in St. Petersburg from whom Huck learns that people are planning to come and explore Jackson’s Island.

Bill, Packard, and Turner

The three thieves that Jim and Huck find in a houseboat.

Boggs

A drunk in a small Arkansas town who gets killed in broad daylight.

Col. Sherburn

The man who kills Boggs.

Peter Wilks

The man who dies in Pikesville, leaving behind a plantation for his three nieces.

Mary Jane, Susan, and Joanna

The three Wilks’ girls whom the Duke and the Dauphin almost succeed in cheating.

William and Harvey

The two heirs to the Wilks farm who arrive after the funeral.

Dr. Robinson

The first man to see through the Duke and the Dauphin’s disguise and suspect them to be frauds.

Levi Bell

The lawyer with whom Dr. Robinson conducts the investigation to find out the real heirs.

Rev. Hobson

The preacher who performs the funeral service of Peter Wilks.

The Phelps

The family which bought Jim from the king. They also happen to be Tom Sawyer’s aunt and uncle.

Chapter 1

The novel opens with Huck introducing himself and his friend Tom Sawyer. They have discovered the treasure hidden by the robbers in the cave, which earns them a reward of six thousand dollars each. Judge Thatcher invests the money in a trust that earns them one dollar a day.

Huck is living in Widow Douglas’ care, and she treats him as her own son. She tries to “civilize” him by buying him proper clothes, feeding him regular meals, and making him listen to stories from the Bible. Huck is uncomfortable living with her, for everything is “regular.” He feels restless and stifled and longs for his previous freedom. When he cannot stand it anymore, he runs away. He is found by Tom and brought back to the widow. She fusses over him and dresses him in his new clothes again. Huck can do little but bear with her. He longs to smoke, but the widow admonishes him, saying that it isn’t “clean” and that he should not do it anymore. This angers him, for he sees the widow taking snuff herself.
The widow’s sister, Miss Watson, is also living with her. She is a nagging and unpleasant woman who helps in the effort to “civilize” Huck. She tells him about the “bad place” (hell) and warns him he will wind up there if he does not behave. Huck says he wishes that he were there so he could be away from all the routine. This angers Miss Watson, but Huck pacifies her by saying that he just wants to go somewhere for a change, even if it is hell. He sees no great advantage in going to a “good place,” especially if Miss Watson is going to be there to continue picking at his faults.
Huck goes to his room but is restless. He tries to think of something cheerful, but is unsuccessful; he wishes that he were dead. He takes out his pipe and begins to smoke. After a time, he hears Tom’s signal.

Chapter 2

While the boys are sneaking away, Huck trips over a root and makes a noise when he falls. Miss Watson's slave Jim hears the sound and comes outside to look around. Huck and Tom hunker down to hide, and Jim ends up sitting down right between them to wait to hear the sound again. At first, Huck thinks they will never get away, but Jim soon gets tired and falls asleep against a tree.

While Jim sleeps, Tom wants to play a trick on him. He and Huck climb into the house and steal three candles, for which they leave a nickel as "pay". Then Tom quietly makes his way to Jim, takes off Jim's hat, and places it on a tree branch above Jim's head. He soon returns and tells Huck what he did.

After Jim wakes up, he believes he has been bewitched, and keeps the nickel as a token around his neck for the rest of his life. According to Huck, Jim tells all the other slaves that he had been ridden around the world by some witches, and that the nickel was given to him by the devil.

Tom and Huck sneak down to the river and meet some of the other boys who are supposed to be members of Tom's robber band. Together, they steal a skiff and float down the river several miles to an area where Tom has discovered a cave. Tom shows the boys a hidden room in the cave which they make their robber headquarters. Tom then reads them an oath that he has written, taken mostly from robber books and pirate stories. The boys argue over what Huck Finn's role in the gang will be, because Huck does not have a family for them to kill in case he reveals any of the gang's secrets. Huck finally offers them Miss Watson in place of his real parents, and the boys then sign an oath in blood to join the band. Tom is elected captain.

Tom explains that as robbers, they will only attack carriages and take the things inside. The men will be killed and the women will be brought back to the cave. He also mentions that they will ransom some of the people, because that is what they do in books, although he has no idea what "ransom" means. After that, all the boys agree to meet again soon. They return home exhausted and Huck climbs into bed having muddied up his new clothes, and feeling dead tired.

Chapter 3

The morning after his robber gang adventure, Huck receives a lecture from Miss Watson for dirtying his clothes. She takes him into a closet to pray, and tells him to pray every day so he will get what he wants. Huck tries to pray daily, but becomes disillusioned when all he gets is a fish-line with no hooks, when he prayed extra hard for hooks. When he asks Miss Watson about it, she tells him praying brings spiritual gifts. Unable to see any use for that sort of thing, Huck decides praying is probably not worth his time.

A drowned man is found in the river, and the townspeople believe is Huck's Pap. Huck is unconvinced after he hears the man was found floating on his back. He remarks that everyone knows dead men float face down, so this must have been a woman in man's clothing that looked like his Pap.

Tom Sawyer's robber band falls apart after a few weeks because the boys get bored of pretending they are robbing people. The only real escapade is when they wreck a Sunday School picnic and chase some of elementary school children away. Tom pretends that during this 'battle' there were Arabs and elephants and that the boys were attacking a large army, but Huck is too practical to follow Tom's fantastical imaginations. When Huck asks why they could not see all the elephants, Tom explains that some magicians must have turned the whole army into a Sunday School picnic. Tom then tells Huck all about genies in bottles, and how the genies must obey whoever rubs the bottle. Huck gets an old lamp and tries to find a genie, but when it fails he decides that the genies were just another of Tom's lies.

Chapter 4

Huck spends the next three months living with the widow and getting acclimated to his new life. He starts to attend school and remarks, "I liked the old ways best, but I was getting so I liked the new ones, too."

Everything goes fairly well until one day when Huck accidentally overturns a salt-shaker at the breakfast table. Miss Watson does not let him throw any salt over his left shoulder (as a way of avoiding the bad luck), and as a result Huck starts to get worried that something bad will happen. As soon as Huck leaves the house, he notices boot prints in the fresh snow. Upon closer inspection he realizes that there is a cross on the left boot-heel, which he has only ever seen in his Pap's. Huck's Pap has returned.

Aware that Pap is probably after his money (the $6,000 that he got from sharing the treasure with Tom), Huck goes to Judge Thatcher and begs the Judge to take all his money as a gift. The Judge is quite surprised by the request, but when Huck refuses to reveal why he wants to give away his money, Judge Thatcher agrees to "buy" it for one dollar, saying he will take the money "for a consideration."

Huck, still quite worried over what is going to happen now that Pap has returned, goes to the Miss Watson's slave Jim for advice. Jim takes out a hair-ball in order to do some magic with it for Huck. When the hair-ball refuses to work properly, Jim suggest that Huck give it some money. Huck offers a counterfeit quarter, which Jim takes and places under the ball. Jim tells Huck that Pap is torn between two angels, a good white angel and a bad black angel. He also explains that Huck will have considerable pain in his life and at the same time considerable joy. Huck returns to his room that night and finds his Pap sitting there.

Chapter 5

Huck arrives back at his room and sees his Pap sitting in a chair. Huck describes Pap as a filthy, poor man who used to scare him a great deal. Now, however, Huck is no longer scared of Pap, and instead notes how old his father has grown.

Pap harasses Huck for wearing good clothes and going to school. He then accuses Huck of putting on airs and acting better than his own father. Pap remarks that no one in his family could ever read, and that he certainly does not want his son to be smarter than he is. He demands that Huck read him something, and soon becomes quite furious when he realizes that Huck is in fact able to read. Pap threatens to beat Huck if he ever catches him near the school again. He makes Huck hand over the dollar that Judge Thatcher "paid" him and then climbs out the window to go drinking in the town.

The next day, Pap goes to Judge Thatcher and tries to make the Judge give him Huck's money. The Judge refuses, and he and the widow take a case to court in an effort to get Huck legally placed with one of them. The custody judge is unfortunately new to the town and refuses to separate Huck from his father. Judge Thatcher, realizing he cannot win, gives Huck some money, which Huck immediately turns over to Pap. Pap gets extremely drunk and is placed in jail for a week.

The new judge then sympathetically takes Pap into his home, dresses him well, and tries to reform him. After thinking that he has reformed Pap, the Judge goes to bed. That night, Pap sneaks out of the new judge's house and buys some alcohol. By morning he is so drunk that he breaks his arm in two places and nearly freezes to death on the porch. The new judge is livid at this betrayal of his trust and comments that the only way to reform Pap is with a shotgun.

Chapter 6

Pap begins hanging out around the town and demands Huck give him money every few days. When the widow tells Pap to get away from her property, he kidnaps Huck and takes him three miles upriver to a log cabin. Pap carefully locks the door and never leaves Huck's side without making sure that Huck cannot escape. Huck enjoys being free from school but soon gets upset that he is being beaten so much.
Searching for a way to escape, Huck discovers part of a saw that is missing its handle and starts to saw off a log in the rear corner of the cabin, but is forced to stop when Pap returns. Pap is drunk and makes Huck go outside and bring in all the supplies he has brought from town. Pap proceeds to drunkenly curse everyone he has ever met and spends a significant part of his tirade criticizing the government.

Huck hopes to escape after Pap falls asleep, but Pap has a fitful night, and Huck is afraid he might wake up and catch him trying to get out of the cabin. At one point Pap jumps up thinking he is covered with snakes. Later, he dreams that the angel of death is after him and he starts to chase Huck around the cabin with a knife. Huck runs for his life and manages to survive after Pap falls asleep again. Huck then takes down the gun and holds it for protection.

Chapter 7

Pap and Huck go out into the woods to hunt for game. While there, Huck sees an abandoned canoe on the river and jumps in to get it. When he realizes that Pap did not see him snare the canoe, he hides it in a little stream for future use and returns to Pap. Next, Huck fetches a wooden raft from the river with timber that is worth about ten dollars. Pap locks Huck into the cabin and takes the raft to town in order to sell it.

Taking advantage of Pap's absence, Huck quickly finishes his sawing and climbs out of the cabin, taking everything worth any money to his canoe. He axes down the front door and goes hunting for game. Huck shoots a wild pig, butchers it inside the cabin, and spreads the blood on his shirt and the floor. He also carefully lays some of his hairs on the now bloody ax to make it appear as if he has been killed. Huck cuts open a sack of flour and marks a trail indicating that the killer left via a lake that does not connect to the river. Thus, he prevents anyone from searching along the river for anything more than his dead body.

As Huck is finishing, a man appears nearby in a skiff. Huck recognizes that it is Pap returning early and that he is sober. Immediately, Huck jumps into the canoe and pushes off. He floats downstream until he reaches Jackson's Island, a deserted stretch of land in the middle of the river. Huck ties up the canoe and satisfied with his work, settles down to get some sleep.

Chapter 8

Huck wakes up on Jackson's Island late the next day and hears a cannon being fired. A ferryboat filled with his friends comes down the river firing a cannon in hopes of bringing his dead body to the surface. The search parties have also set loaves of bread filled with mercury afloat, believing the mercury and bread will be attracted to his body. Knowing the loaves will be floating around the area, Huck searches for one and enjoys eating it for lunch.

After a few days, Huck begins exploring the island. While following and hunting a large snake, he accidentally stumbles into a clearing with a still smoking campfire. Out of fear, he retreats to his campsite and paddles over to the Illinois side of the river. However, he soon returns for the night and sleeps poorly as he is overwhelmed with fear for who else might be inhabiting the island.

The next morning Huck decides to find out who else is on the island with him. He paddles his canoe down to the other campsite and hides in the brush. Soon he sees Jim, the slave Tom Sawyer played tricks on. Out of joy for finding a friend on the island, Huck rushes out and greets him. Jim nearly dies of fright when he sees Huck, whom he believes to be dead. Huck tells him the story about how he faked his murder. Jim relates that he overhead Miss Watson telling the widow that she was going to sell him down the river for a good sum of money. To avoid being sold, Jim ran away, and has been hiding out on Jackson's island.

Jim starts to tell Huck about various superstitious signs which the slaves watch out for. When some birds go hopping along the ground, stopping every few feet, Jim comments that means it will rain soon. He also tells Huck a story about how he lost a large sum of money, fourteen dollars at the time, by speculating. First, Jim bought a cow that died, and then invested with another slave who was setting up a "bank." Unfortunately, the bank lost all its money and poor Jim had nothing left.

Chapter 9

Jim and Huck explore the island together and discover a cavern atop a hill in the middle of the island. They paddle their canoe to the base of the hill and then haul their equipment into the cave in order to keep it dry. The storm Jim predicted arrives that night, and the river rises for more than twelve days straight.

Huck and Jim go out on the river at night to pick up drifting logs and other objects that happen to float downstream. One night, they capture a large raft which they will later use to navigate the river after they leave the island. Later on, they see a whole house floating downstream and climb into it to salvage some of the goods. Jim finds Huck's Pap lying dead on the floor of the house, but refuses to let Huck see the man's face and does not reveal that it is Pap. Jim sees Pap was shot in the back while obviously attempting to rob the house.

Chapter 10

Huck is thrilled with all the things they managed to get from the house and tells Jim that he wishes they could have fun like that more often. Huck is also still curious about the man in the house but Jim refuses to talk about him. Huck mentions that he thought they would have bad luck after he brought a snakeskin into the cave, not great luck like what they were having. Always superstitious, Jim warns Huck that the bad luck is still coming.

Three days later, Huck tries to play a trick on Jim by leaving a curled up dead rattlesnake under Jim's blanket. But when Jim crawls into the bed he gets bitten in the ankle by the snake's mate. Huck kills the mate and sheepishly carries both snakes far away from the cave, embarrassed by the results of his behavior. Jim takes the jug of Pap's whiskey and drinks himself into a drunken stupor to avoid feeling the pain of his swollen leg. It takes Jim four entire days to recover from the bite and Huck vows to never touch a snakeskin with his hands again.
In order to catch up on what is happening in the town, Huck dresses up as a girl and goes to the village. He stops at a house where he sees a woman knitting. Since she is new to the town, Huck figures he can talk to her without being recognized.

Chapter 11:

Huck discovers that Pap is suspected for Huck's murder and a $200 reward has been offered to find him. There's a $300 bounty for Jim. The lady's husband says she saw smoke on Jackson's Island and her husband is going there tonight to get Jim. The lady discovers Huck is a boy and promises she won't turn him in. Huck returns to the island to warn Jim.


Chapter 12:

Huck and Jim float down the Mississippi for a few days. They spot a boat and Huck, looking for an adventure, decides he and Jim should hop aboard. They overhear two robbers threatening to kill a third. Jim and Huck's raft breaks loose and floats away.

Chapter 13:

Jim and Huck steal the robbers' getaway boat. Huck feels bad and goes to shore for help. Jim and Huck abandon the robbers' getaway boat and go to sleep.

Chapter 14:

Jim and Huck go through the items salvaged from the robbers' boat. Huck tells Jim stories about kings and queens. Jim expresses his dislike for adventures, pointing out that they could get him killed or captured.

Chapter 15:

As they head for the Ohio River, Huck and Jim get separated by a thick fog. Huck finally rejoins Jim, who is sleeping. He tells Jim that he dreamed the entire incident. When Jim notices the debris on the raft, he realizes the truth and is upset. Huck apologizes.

Chapter 16:

Huck's conscience troubles him on account of his helping the widow's "property" escape and he resolves to turn Jim in. When Jim tells Huck he's his only friend and the only one that hasn't lied to him, Huck changes his mind. Huck encounters two men who want to search Huck's raft for a runaway slave. Huck concocts a story about his family having small pox and the two change their mind. Huck and Jim's canoe is stolen and their raft is destroyed by a steamboat. Huck escapes to shore and he's surrounded by dogs.

Chapter 17:

Huck is saved by the dogs' owner. Huck introduces himself as George Jackson and creates an eleborate story. He learns of a feud between this family and the Sheperdsons. The family, the Grangerfords let Huck stay with them.

Chapter 18:

Buck Grangerford tries to shoot a Shepherdson. He tells Huck about their feuding families but can't remember why the two are fighting. One of the Grangerford slaves leads Huck into the woods where Jim is waiting. Huck learns that Sophia Grangerford has run off with Haney Shepherdson. Huck then finds Buck and another Grangerford in the woods having a gun fight with two Shepherdsons. Buck and his friend are killed. Huck and Jim leave.

Chapter 19:

Back on their raft, Huck and Jim pick up two strangers. They pretend to be royalty. Huck and Jim wait on them, calling them "your majesty" and other titles. Huck realizes they're lying but doesn't want to cause trouble and continues with the charade.

Chapter 20:

The Duke and the Dauphin inquire about Jim. Huck claims they travel at night because he's tired of so many people asking if Jim is a runaway slave. The dauphin and the duke attend a revival meeting. The dauphin claims he is a reformed pirate, soon to be returning to the Indian Ocean as a missionary. The revivalists take up a collection for the dauphin. While in town, the duke takes over a deserted printing shop. He creates fliers, identifying Jim as a runaway slave, which they carry around as evidence they have captured him, so they can travel by day.

Chapter 21:

The duke and the dauphin, after a night of drinking, wake up and practice scenes from Shakespeare, which they mess up. They stop at a town in Arkansas where they see a man shot in front of his daughter, followed by a lynch mob chasing the shooter.

Chapter 22:

The mob heads to the shooter's house where he delivers a speech on cowardice. The crowd disperses. Only 12 people attend the duke's Shakespeare show and they jeer him the entire time. The duke and dauphin advertise for their next show at which no children or women are permitted.

Chapter 23:

The duke and dauphin play to a full house, an angry full house on account of them getting ripped off by such a short performance. All those at the opening night decide to tell the rest of the town how great the show is so they won't feel stupid about being the only ones ripped off. The second night is also packed. On the third night, angry men from the first two nights arrive to hurt the duke and the dauphin who escape with Huck and Jim after receiving a large sum of money. On the raft, Huck is confused by Jim's longing for his family and admits that Jim loves his family just as much as any white man.

Chapter 24:

The duke and dauphin arrive in the next town, pretending to be the brothers of a man who has recently deceased who has left a large sum of money. Huck is ashamed.

Chapter 25:

The duke and dauphin win the hearts of the townspeople and are given $6,000 to invest as they see fit. Doctor Robinson claims the two men are frauds, but nobody believes him. Huck is disgusted.

Chapter 26:

Huck feels guilty for letting the duke and dauphin swindle the kind sisters. He vows to get them their money back and hides in the duke's room. The two enter and Huck overhears them talking about getting all the Wilks' property. Huck steals the money.

Chapter 27:

Huck hides the money in Peter Wilks' coffin. The coffin is sealed at the funeral and Huck doesn't know whether or not the duke got the money back or if it's still there. He vows to write Mary when he leaves town to let her know. The duke and the dauphin sell the family's estate and slaves, breaking up a family. Huck is relieved in knowing the family will be reunited as soon as the fraud is discovered.

Chapter 28:

Huck finds Mary Jane crying over the separation of the slave family. Huck tells her the truth about the duke and instructs her to go to a friend's house. Later that day, two men, the actual Wilks brothers, interrupt the auctioning of the family's estate.

Chapter 29:

The real Wilks brothers and the fake Wilks brothers are brought to a tavern. They are all asked to sign a piece of paper to compare signatures. The duke and dauphin temporarily talk their way out of the situation. The real Harvey Wilks comments on the deceased's tattoo. To resolve the conflict, Peter Wilks' coffin is opened. The crowd is shocked to see the $6,000 in the coffin. In the uproar, Huck escapes to the raft. He and Jim celebrate until they notice the duke and the dauphin are about to overtake them on their own boat.

Chapter 30:

After nearly strangling Huck for deserting them, the duke and the dauphin blame each other for losing the money.

Chapter 31:

The duke and the dauphin attempt several unsuccessful scams. Huck escapes to the raft and finds Jim missing. Huck discovers that the dauphin sold Jim to a farmer named Silas Phelps for $40. Huck, despite his own moral objections, resolves to steal Jim back. Huck runs into the duke posting fliers for his show. Duke tells Huck that Jim's forty miles away.

Chapter 32:

Huck arrives at the Phelps' where he is warmly greeted. The Phelps assume Huck is their nephew, Tom, Tom Sawyer, whose arrival is expected.

Chapter 33:

Huck intercepts a shocked Tom before he arrives at the Phelps. Tom agrees to help Huck free Jim. Huck and Tom sneak out of the house that night and witness the duke and the dauphin being tarred and feathered and run out of town.

Chapter 34:

Tom recalls seeing food being taken to the shed, which he surmises is where Jim is being kept. Huck decides to steal the key and escape with Jim in the night. Tom ridicules Huck and comes up with an elaborate plan that could get them killed. Huck is shocked at Tom's willingness to help a slave escape. The two decide to dig Jim out of the shed.

Chapter 35:

Tom complains that SIlas has not guarded Jim well enough. He creates obstacles to make the escape more daring.

Chapter 36:

Tom and Huck use pickaxes to get their way to Jim who is happy to see them but confused by their complicated plan.

Chapter 37:

Sally notices missing tablecloths and silverware. She suspects everyone but Tom and Huck.

Chapter 38:

Tom continues creating senseless obstacles.

Chapter 39:

Tom and Huck capture rats and snakes to make Jim's rescue more dramatic. They accidentally infest the house with them. Tom writes letters from an unknown friend to the Phelpses. The terrifying letters mention a band of robbers coming to set Jim free.

Chapter 40:

The letter alerts local farmers who gather with shotguns. The farmers attack the shed, containing Jim, Tom, and Huck. The three escape. Tom receives a bullet wound in the leg.

Chapter 41:

Huck finds a doctor and sends him to Tom. Huck runs into Silas who takes him home. The neighborhood is discussing the strange contents of the shed and marvel at the skill of the desperados.

Chapter 42:

Tom is brought in, half conscious, with the doctor and Jim, who is chained and put back in the shed. The doctor extols Jim's behavior, who sacrificed his freedom to save Tom. Tom wakes up, dismayed that Jim has been chained, relating to those in attendance that the widow Douglas died two months prior and set Jim free in her will. Tom's Aunt Polly arrives to sort out the mess.

Chapter 43:

Aunt Polly and the Phelpses set Jim free and treat him like a king. Tom repays him with forty dollars. Tom heals. Huck finds out the dead man on the boat was his father.

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