Chapter 3. A Meeting with a King
We go slowly down the river in the night. When the sun comes up the next morning, we leave the canoe by the riverbank and cover it with branches. We sit on the riverbank and watch the rafts and steamboats go up and down the river all day, and we talk and talk.
Every night we get in the canoe and go a little more down the river. We fish and talk. Sometimes we swim in the river and sometimes we look at the stars. Every night we pass towns. Sometimes we stop at the town and I find a chicken or something else to eat. On the fifth night we pass St. Louis. There are lots of lights but everybody is asleep.
One night there's a big storm and we see a steamboat stuck on the rocks. I want to go and look inside but Jim says no.
“There are things inside we can take,” I tell Jim. “Let's go and see.”
I want an adventure. Jim thinks for a minute then says it's alright to go. So we get on the steamboat.
But on the steamboat we hear people speaking. Jim is scared. He goes back to the canoe but I stay. I want to see what's happening, just like Tom Sawyer. I see a man on the floor and two men standing over him. One has a gun. I listen. Then I get scared too and go back to Jim. We go down the river but soon there's another storm. We pass more towns and have lots more adventures.
Jim and I stay many days on the river, fishing and talking. We talk about everything, about kings and princes, speaking French and saying silly things.
We go to Cairo, where the Ohio River comes in. We decide to sell the canoe and get a steamboat, to make things easier for us. But the fog comes down and we can't see anything. One day a strong current takes us away from each other and I can't find Jim anywhere. The next morning, Jim is back and we have even more adventures. We continue down the river but we never get to Cairo, so we cook fish, swim in the river and watch the stars. Then one day everything changes.
One morning I am looking for some fruit when I see two men running towards me.
“Help! Help!” they say. “Some men and dogs are chasing us!”
“Jump on the raft with me so the dogs can't find you,” I tell them.
We wait, then we hear some men and dogs running by. They don't see us. We go up the river. Everything is quiet. We're safe now.
One of the men is about seventy years old. He's bald and has a grey beard, a hat and a stick. The other man is about thirty years old and is well-dressed.
They have breakfast with us and we talk. We don't think they know each other. Jim and I listen to their stories and adventures. Then the young one says: “I must tell you that I'm really a Duke!” We're amazed when we hear this.
“Really? !” says the old man.
“Yes,” says the young man. “My great-grandfather was the eldest son of the Duke of Bridgewater so I'm now the Duke of Bridgewater. But here I'm lost, tired and hunted by men.”
Jim feels sad for him, and so do I. We want to help him. He tells us that we must speak to him in a special way and call him “Your Grace”, or “Bridgewater”. Then he says one of us has to serve him dinner. So that's easy, we think.
But the old man is silent. After some time he says, “Look, Bridgewater, you aren't the only person to have troubles like that.”
“Ah no?” he replies.
“No, you aren't. I'm the King of France!” he cries.
Jim and I look at the old man. We're even more surprised.
He says, “Call me Your Majesty.” So we do, and we give him his meals first and help him with everything. But the Duke isn't very happy.
Some time later, I realise that the Duke and King are just fraudsters but I don't say anything. They are on the run like me and Jim. They ask us lots of questions, so I make up stories because I don't want to tell them the truth.
We travel down the river together at night.
The King and the Duke whisper to each other. I know they are planning how to cheat money out of people.
In each new town, they do something different. In one town, the King preaches to people in a church and tells them about some bad people who robbed him. They believe him when he starts crying and give him some money! Later, we count the money – there are eighty-seven dollars and seventy-five cents.
One day, they make a poster. There's a picture of a runaway slave and “$200 reward” in words. The description of the slave is just like Jim. The Duke says this way we can run during the daytime too. We think it's a good idea.
In another town, they plan a show. The Duke takes people's money at the door and when the curtain goes up, the King comes onto the stage in a strange costume. He jumps around doing something from Shakespeare and then runs off. When the crowd realises the men are fraudsters, they're very angry.
We run back to the raft. The King and the Duke count their money and laugh.
The next day, the King and the Duke talk about new ideas to make money but they can't think of a good plan. So the King decides to go into town. He tells me to put on my new clothes and take him to the steamboat. We get in the canoe and go down the river. After some time, we meet a young man sitting by the river.
“Where are you going, young man?” asks the King.
“I'm getting the steamboat to New Orleans ,” he replies.
“Come with us. We're going too. My servant, Adolphus, can help you with your bags,” he says looking at me. They talk as we go down the river.
“Are you Mr Wilks?” asks the young man.
“No, my name's Blodgett – Reverend Alexander Blodgett,” says the King. “I hope Mr Wilks comes soon.”
“Yes, because, you see, his brother Peter is dead. We hope Harvey comes for Peter's funeral.”
“And then there's his brother William,” he continues. “He's deaf and dumb - about thirty, he is. There's another brother too, George. He and his wife are dead. Harvey and William are the only ones left. Then there are George's daughters - Mary Jane, the red-headed one. She's a kind girl. You see, there's a letter for Harvey telling him where Peter's money is and who he wants to give his property to.”
“Where does Harvey live?” asks the King, suddenly interested in the man's story.
“In England,” he replies.
“And is Peter Wilks a wealthy man?” the King continues.
“Oh yes, quite wealthy. He has houses and land, and about three or four thousand dollars. The funeral's tomorrow.”
“Well, it's a really sad story,” says the King as the young man gets on the steamboat. We don't get on.
“Go back and get the Duke,” the King tells me. I know what his plan is now.
