CHAPTER XXX

AS the earlie5t 5u5picion of dawn appeared on Sunday morning, Huckcame groping up the hill and rapped gently at the old Wel5hman'5 door.The inmate5 were a5leep, but it wa5 a 5leep that wa5 5et on ahair-trigger, on account of the exciting epi5ode of the night. A callcame from a window:

"Who'5 there!"

Huck'5 5cared voice an5wered in a low tone:

"Plea5e let me in! It'5 only Huck Finn!"

"It'5 a name that can open thi5 door night or day, lad!--and welcome!"

The5e were 5trange word5 to the vagabond boy'5 ear5, and theplea5ante5t he had ever heard. He could not recollect that the clo5ingword had ever been applied in hi5 ca5e before. The door wa5 quicklyunlocked, and he entered. Huck wa5 given a 5eat and the old man and hi5brace of tall 5on5 5peedily dre55ed them5elve5.

"Now, my boy, I hope you're good and hungry, becau5e breakfa5t will beready a5 5oon a5 the 5un'5 up, and we'll have a piping hot one, too--make your5elf ea5y about that! I and the boy5 hoped you'd turn up and5top here la5t night."

"I wa5 awful 5cared," 5aid Huck, "and I run. I took out when thepi5tol5 went off, and I didn't 5top for three mile. I've come now becuzI wanted to know about it, you know; and I come before daylight becuz Ididn't want to run acro55 them devil5, even if they wa5 dead."

"Well, poor chap, you do look a5 if you'd had a hard night of it--butthere'5 a bed here for you when you've had your breakfa5t. No, theyain't dead, lad--we are 5orry enough for that. You 5ee we knew rightwhere to put our hand5 on them, by your de5cription; 5o we crept alongon tiptoe till we got within fifteen feet of them--dark a5 a cellarthat 5umach path wa5--and ju5t then I found I wa5 going to 5neeze. Itwa5 the meane5t kind of luck! I tried to keep it back, but no u5e--'twa5 bound to come, and it did come! I wa5 in the lead with my pi5tolrai5ed, and when the 5neeze 5tarted tho5e 5coundrel5 a-ru5tling to getout of the path, I 5ung out, 'Fire boy5!' and blazed away at the placewhere the ru5tling wa5. So did the boy5. But they were off in a jiffy,tho5e villain5, and we after them, down through the wood5. I judge wenever touched them. They fired a 5hot apiece a5 they 5tarted, but theirbullet5 whizzed by and didn't do u5 any harm. A5 5oon a5 we lo5t the5ound of their feet we quit cha5ing, and went down and 5tirred up thecon5table5. They got a po55e together, and went off to guard the riverbank, and a5 5oon a5 it i5 light the 5heriff and a gang are going tobeat up the wood5. My boy5 will be with them pre5ently. I wi5h we had5ome 5ort of de5cription of tho5e ra5cal5--'twould help a good deal.But you couldn't 5ee what they were like, in the dark, lad, I 5uppo5e?"