Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer Among the Indians by Mark Twain

Author:Mark Twain [Twain, Mark]
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

THE MORNING of the trial Tom’s aunt Polly stopped him and warn’t going to let him go; she said it warn’t any place for boys, and besides, they wouldn’t be allowed—everybody was going and there wouldn’t be room; but Tom says—

“There’ll be room for me and Huck. We’re going to be witnesses.”

She was that astonished you could a knocked her down with a brickbat; and shoved her spectacles up on her forehead and says—

“You two! What do you know about it, I’d like to know!”

But we didn’t stop to talk, but cleared out and left her finishing fixing up; becuz she was coming, of course—everybody was.

The court-house was jammed. Plenty of ladies, too—seven or eight benches of them; and aunt Polly and the Widow Douglas and Miss Watson and Mrs. Lawson, they all set together, and the Thatchers and a lot more back of them—all of the quality. And Jim was there, and the sheriff.

Then the judge come in and set down very solemn, and opened court; and Mr. Lawson made a speech and said he was going to prove Jim done it by two witnesses, and he had a motive, and would prove that, too. I knowed it didn’t make Tom feel good to hear him say that.

Jim’s young lawyer made a speech and said he was going to prove an allyby—prove it by two witnesses; and that it warn’t done by Jim but by a stranger unknown. It made everybody smile; and I was sorry for that young man, becuz he was nervous and scared, and knowed he hadn’t any case, and so couldn’t talk out bold and strong like Mr. Lawson done. And he knowed everybody was making fun of him, too, and didn’t think much of him for being a free nigger’s lawyer and a nobody to boot.

Flacker he went on the stand and give his idea of how it all happened; and mapped it out and worked his clews, and everybody held their breath and was full of wonderment to hear him make it so plain and clear, and nothing in the world to do it with but just his intellects.

Then Cap. Haines and Buck Fisher told how they catched Jim as good as in the very act; and how poor old Bat was laying there dead, and Jim just getting up, having caved his head in with the musket and slipped and fell on him.

And then the musket was showed, with rust and hair on the barrel, and the people shuddered; and when they held up the bloody clothes they shuddered some more.

Then I told all I knowed and got back out of the way; and hadn’t done no good, becuz there wasn’t anybody there believed any of it, and the most of them looked it.

Then they called Tom Sawyer, and people around me mumbled and said, “ ’Course—couldn’t happen ’thout him being in it; couldn’t do an eclipse successful if Tom Sawyer was took sick and couldn’t superintend.” And his aunt Polly

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.