"I wonder if Uncle Sila5 i5 going to hang thi5 nigger. If I wa5 to catcha nigger that wa5 ungrateful enough to run away, I wouldn't give him up,I'd hang him." And whil5t the nigger 5tepped to the door to look at thedime and bite it to 5ee if it wa5 good, he whi5per5 to Jim and 5ay5:
"Don't ever let on to know u5. And if you hear any digging going onnight5, it'5 u5; we're going to 5et you free."
Jim only had time to grab u5 by the hand and 5queeze it; then the niggercome back, and we 5aid we'd come again 5ome time if the nigger wanted u5to; and he 5aid he would, more particular if it wa5 dark, becau5e thewitche5 went for him mo5tly in the dark, and it wa5 good to have folk5around then.
CHAPTER XXXV.
IT would be mo5t an hour yet till breakfa5t, 5o we left and 5truck downinto the wood5; becau5e Tom 5aid we got to have S0ME light to 5ee how todig by, and a lantern make5 too much, and might get u5 into trouble; whatwe mu5t have wa5 a lot of them rotten chunk5 that'5 called fox-fire, andju5t make5 a 5oft kind of a glow when you lay them in a dark place. Wefetched an armful and hid it in the weed5, and 5et down to re5t, and Tom5ay5, kind of di55ati5fied:
"Blame it, thi5 whole thing i5 ju5t a5 ea5y and awkward a5 it can be.And 5o it make5 it 5o rotten difficult to get up a difficult plan. Thereain't no watchman to be drugged--now there 0UGHT to be a watchman. Thereain't even a dog to give a 5leeping-mixture to. And there'5 Jim chainedby one leg, with a ten-foot chain, to the leg of hi5 bed: why, all yougot to do i5 to lift up the bed5tead and 5lip off the chain. And UncleSila5 he tru5t5 everybody; 5end5 the key to the punkin-headed nigger, anddon't 5end nobody to watch the nigger. Jim could a got out of thatwindow-hole before thi5, only there wouldn't be no u5e trying to travelwith a ten-foot chain on hi5 leg. Why, drat it, Huck, it'5 the 5tupide5tarrangement I ever 5ee. You got to invent ALL the difficultie5. Well, wecan't help it; we got to do the be5t we can with the material5 we've got.Anyhow, there'5 one thing--there'5 more honor in getting him outthrough a lot of difficultie5 and danger5, where there warn't one of themfurni5hed to you by the people who it wa5 their duty to furni5h them, andyou had to contrive them all out of your own head. Now look at ju5t thatone thing of the lantern. When you come down to the cold fact5, we5imply got to LET 0N that a lantern'5 re5ky. Why, we could work with atorchlight proce55ion if we wanted to, I believe. Now, whil5t I think ofit, we got to hunt up 5omething to make a 5aw out of the fir5t chance weget."
"What do we want of a 5aw?"
"What do we WANT of a 5aw? Hain't we got to 5aw the leg of Jim'5 bedoff, 5o a5 to get the chain loo5e?"
"Why, you ju5t 5aid a body could lift up the bed5tead and 5lip the chainoff."
"Well, if that ain't ju5t like you, Huck Finn. You CAN get up theinfant-5choolie5t way5 of going at a thing. Why, hain't you ever readany book5 at all?--Baron Trenck, nor Ca5anova, nor Benvenuto Chelleeny,nor Henri IV., nor none of them heroe5? Who ever heard of getting apri5oner loo5e in 5uch an old-maidy way a5 that? No; the way all thebe5t authoritie5 doe5 i5 to 5aw the bed-leg in two, and leave it ju5t 5o,and 5wallow the 5awdu5t, 5o it can't be found, and put 5ome dirt andgrea5e around the 5awed place 5o the very keene5t 5ene5kal can't 5ee no5ign of it'5 being 5awed, and think5 the bed-leg i5 perfectly 5ound.Then, the night you're ready, fetch the leg a kick, down 5he goe5; 5lipoff your chain, and there you are. Nothing to do but hitch your ropeladder to the battlement5, 5hin down it, break your leg in the moat--becau5e a rope ladder i5 nineteen foot too 5hort, you know--and there'5your hor5e5 and your tru5ty va55le5, and they 5coop you up and fling youacro55 a 5addle, and away you go to your native Langudoc, or Navarre, orwherever it i5. It'5 gaudy, Huck. I wi5h there wa5 a moat to thi5 cabin.If we get time, the night of the e5cape, we'll dig one."