Chapter 6. Freedom
Jim and I are worried.
“We need to get a Doctor,” says Jim.
“No, no!” says Tom.
“No,” I say. “You need to see a Doctor. Jim can hide in the woods when the Doctor comes.”
I find the Doctor. He's an old man, a very nice, old man. I tell him a story and say my brother needs help.
“Who are your folks?” he asks.
“The Phelps,” I tell him.
So he gets his lantern and follows me to the canoe.
He frowns and says, “This is too small for two people. I need to go on my own. Wait here.”
So I sit down and fall asleep. When I wake up the sun is shining. I run to the Doctor's house but he isn't there. Then I meet Uncle Silas.
“Tom!” he shouts. “Your Aunt is worried! Come here!”
“Sorry, Uncle Silas!” I say. “Sid and I like playing. There are some men and dogs down there. We like going in the canoe, things like that, you know. Sid's at the post office now.”
So we go to the post office together, but of course, Sid isn't there. We wait some time, then Uncle Silas says, “Let's go home and see Aunt Sally.”
When we get home, Aunt Sally is so happy to see me. She laughs and cries and hugs me. The house is full of farmers' wives. They talk and talk about the runaway slave and the thieves.
“And where's Sid?” asks Aunt Sally.
“I can run to town and get him,” I say.
“No, no!” Aunt Sally replies. “You stay right here. I don't want to lose you too. Your Uncle can go if Sid isn't here for supper.”
Suppertime comes and there's no Sid, so Uncle Silas goes looking for him.
But Uncle Silas comes back at about ten. He can't find Tom. Aunt Sally is very worried now.
“Don't worry, boys are boys,” he says.
I go to bed and Aunt Sally gets me a candle and tucks me in. It's nice to be mothered, I think. She talks to me for a long time about Sid, saying what a good boy he is and asking me if I think he is lost or drowned.
“The door isn't locked but be good, Tom,” she says to me before she leaves the bedroom. “Don't go anywhere.” I really want to go and see where Tom is but I don't want to upset Aunt Sally anymore so I stay in bed.
I don't sleep very well that night and the next morning Uncle Silas is in town before breakfast. But he can't find Tom anywhere.
At breakfast, they're sad. Then Uncle Silas says to Aunt Sally,
“There's a letter here from the post office.”
He gives the letter to Aunt Sally.
“It's from St. Petersburg. It's from my sister!” she says.
I'm worried now. What does the letter say?
She's opening the letter when we hear a noise. We look out of the window and see Tom Sawyer!
She drops the letter on the floor.
He's on a mattress and there's the old Doctor, and Jim, and lots of people. Jim's hands are tied behind his back.
I quickly pick up the letter and hide it. Then I run outside with Aunt Sally and Uncle Silas.
“He's dead, he's dead. I know he's dead!” Aunt Sally shouts.
Just then, Tom moves his head a little and says something.
“Oh, thank God!” shouts Aunt Sally. “He's alive!” Then she kisses him and runs into the house to make him a bed.
The Doctor and Uncle Silas go into the house but I stay outside. There are lots of men around Jim and they're arguing about what to do with him.
“Hang him!” one shouts.
“Yes, that's right,” another says. “That's a lesson for the other slaves around here – they mustn't run away like this one!”
“No!” says another. “That's not the answer. He isn't our slave.”
So they continue arguing and beat Jim too.
Jim doesn't say anything. Then they take him to the hut in the garden and tie him up again.
The Doctor comes out of the house and says,
“Don't hurt him! He isn't a bad person. He's a very helpful man, especially with the boy. I think he's a good man, gentlemen.”
Everyone is silent for a moment, then someone says, “Well, I like what I hear, Doctor, I must say.”
The others nod their heads in agreement. I want to thank the Doctor for his words.
The next morning, Tom is much better. I go into his room but he's sleeping. Aunt Sally is still in the room too. So I sit down and wait for him to wake up. After some time, he opens his eyes.
“Hello!” he says. “I'm home! Where's Jim?”
“He's all right,” I say.
“Does Aunt Sally know?” he asks.
“About what, Sid?” asks Aunt Sally.
“That Jim is a free man!” says Tom.
“What's he talking about? !” Aunt Sally asks. “Is he ill again?”
“No, I'm not ill, Aunt, I know what I'm talking about,” Tom says. Then he tells her all the story.
“Goodness me!” says Aunt Sally. “You're very naughty boys! You make everyone frightened with your silly games. Well, I don't want you to have anything to do with him again!”
“Who with? ” asks Tom.
“With the slave, of course!” says Aunt Sally.
“But isn't he free?” asks Tom.
“No,” says Aunt Sally. “He's back in the hut eating bread and water and tied up! And he's staying there till we sell him!”
“No!” shouts Tom. “He isn't a slave. Free him!”
“What does the child mean?” asks Aunt Sally.
“I mean every word, Aunt Sally,” he says. “Miss Watson died two months ago, and it's in her will that Jim is a free man now.”
“So you and Tom rescued a free man?” she says.
“Yes, because I love a good adventure!” he replies. Then he shouts, “Aunt Polly!”
Aunt Sally jumps up and hugs her sister. They cry and talk, and I quickly hide under the bed.
Then Aunt Polly looks at Tom and says:
“Yes, look away, Tom.”
“That's Sid, not Tom!” says Aunt Sally. “Tom is here somewhere. Where is he? Tom!”
“You mean, where's Huck Finn?” says Aunt Polly. “I know who Tom is, and Huck Finn is under the bed. Come on out, Huck!”
So I come out. Aunt Sally is confused, then Uncle Silas comes into the room and they tell him the story and Aunt Polly tells them who I am.
“I write letters to you,” she says to her sister “but there are no answers from you.”
“But there are no letters here,” says Aunt Sally.
Then Aunt Polly looks at Tom.
“Give me the letters, Tom!” she says.
“They're in the trunk,” he says. “I never look at them, I promise!”
I don't say anything.
They untie Jim quickly and when Aunt Polly, Aunt Sally and Uncle Silas hear how helpful he is, they're very kind to him. They give him all he wants to eat and Tom gives him forty dollars for being so patient. Jim is very happy.
Then Tom talks about having more adventures together. I say that's fine by me. “But I have no money. I think he has all my money now.”
“No,” says Jim. “He hasn't got your money. It's all there – all six thousand dollars and more.”
I look at Jim. I don't understand.
“He ain't coming back, Huck” Jim says.
“Why Jim?” I ask.
“Do you remember that house on the river and the dead man inside? Well, that was him, your father,” Jim says putting his hands on my shoulders. I stare at Jim. Pap is dead.
So that's the end of the story. Tom is better now. He wears the bullet from his leg around his neck. Aunt Sally and Uncle Silas want to adopt me but that isn't for me. I'm leaving soon.
