Chapters 21 to 23 - The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain

View our full collection of podcasts at our website: https://www.solgood.org/ or YouTube channel: www.solgood.org/subscribe

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Chapter twenty one, Eloquence and theMaster's gilded dome vacation was approaching. The
schoolmaster all was severe, grew severerand more exacting than ever, for he
wanted the school to make a goodshowing on examination day. His rod and
his ferule were seldom idle now,at least among the smaller pupils. Only

(00:24):
the biggest boys and young ladies ofeighteen and twenty escaped lashing. Mister Dobbins
lashings were very vigorous ones, too, for although he carried under his wig
a perfectly bald and shiny head,he had only reached middle age, and
there was no sign of feebleness inhis muscle. As the great day approached,
all the tyranny that was in himcame to the surface. He seemed

(00:45):
to take a vindictive pleasure in punishingthe least shortcomings. The consequence was that
the smaller boys spent their days interror and suffering, and their nights in
plotting revenge. They threw away noopportunity to do the Master a mischief,
but he kept ahead all the time. The retribution that followed every vengeful success
was so sweeping and majestic that theboys all was retired from the field and

(01:08):
badly worsted. At last, theyconspired together and hit upon a plan that
promised a dazzling victory. They sworein the sign painter's boy told him the
scheme and asked his help. Hehad his own reason for being delighted,
for the master boarded in his father'sfamily and had given the boy ample cause
to hate him. The master's wifewould go on a visit to the country

(01:32):
in a few days, and therewould be nothing to interfere with the plan.
The master always prepared himself for greatoccasions by getting pretty well fuddled,
and the sign painter's boy said thatwhen the dominie had reached the proper condition
on examination evening, he would managethe thing while he napped in his chair.
Then he would have him awakened atthe right time and hurried away to

(01:53):
school in the fullness of time.The interesting occasion arrived at eight in the
evening. The school house was brilliantlylighted and adorned with wreaths and festoons of
foliage and flowers. The master satthroned in his great chair upon a raised
platform with his blackboard behind him.He was looking tolerably mellow, three rows

(02:15):
of benches on each side, andsix rows in front of him were occupied
by the dignitaries of the town andby the parents of the pupils. To
his left, back of the rowsof citizens was a spacious temporary platform upon
which were seated the scholars who wereto take part in the exercises of the
evening. Rows of small boys,washed and dressed to an intolerable state of

(02:38):
discomfort, rows of gawky big boys, snow banks of girls and young ladies
clad in lawn and muslem and conspicuouslyconscious of their bare arms, their grandmother's
ancient trinkets, their bits of pinkand blue ribbon, and the flowers in
their hair. All the rest ofthe house was filled with non participating scholars.

(02:59):
The exercise as began, a verylittle boy stood up and sheepishly recited,
you'd scarce expect one of my ageto speak in public on the stage,
etc. Accompanying himself with the painfullyexact and spasmodic gestures which a machine
might have used, supposing the machineto be a trifle out of order.
But he got through safely, thoughcruelly scared, and got a fine round

(03:22):
of applause when he made his manufacturedbow and retired, A little shamefaced girl
lisped. Mary had a little lambet ce, performed a compassion inspired curtsy,
got her meed of applause, andsat down, flushed and happy.
Tom Sawyer stepped forward with conceited confidenceand soared into the unquenchable and indestructible give

(03:45):
me liberty or give me death speechwith fine fury and frantic gesticulation, and
broke down in the middle of it. A ghastly stage fright seized him.
His legs quaked under him, andhe was like to choke. True,
he had the manifest sympathy of thehouse, but he had the house's silence,
too, which was even worse thanits sympathy. The master frowned,

(04:06):
and this completed the disaster. Tomstruggled awhile and then retired utterly defeated.
There was a weak attempt at applause, but it died early. The boys
stood on the burning deck, followedalso the Assyrian came down, and other
declamatory gems. Then there were readingexercises and a spelling fight. The meager

(04:29):
Latin class recited with honor. Theprime feature of the evening was in order
now original compositions by the young ladies. Each in her turn stepped forward to
the edge of the platform, clearedher throat, held up her manuscript tied
with dainty ribbon, and proceeded toread with labored attention to expression and punctuation.

(04:50):
The themes were the same that hadbeen illuminated upon similar occasions by their
mothers before them, their grandmothers,and doubtless all their ancest in the female
line clear back to the Crusades.Friendship was one memories of other days.
Religion in history dream Land, theadvantages of culture, forms of political government

(05:15):
compared and contrasted melancholy, filial love, heart longings, etc. Etc.
A prevalent feature in these compositions wasa nursed and petted melancholy. Another was
a wasteful and opulent gush of finelanguage. Another was a tendency to lug
in by the ears, particularly prizedwords and phrases, until they were worn

(05:39):
entirely out. And a peculiarity thatconspicuously marked and marred them was the inveterate
and intolerable sermon that wagged its crippledtail at the end of each and every
one of them. No matter whatthe subject might be, a brain racking
effort was made to squirm it intosome aspect or other that the moral and
religious mind contemplate with edification. Theglaring insincerity of these sermons was not sufficient

(06:04):
to compass the banishment of the fashionfrom the schools, And it is not
sufficient today it never will be sufficientwhile the world stands. Perhaps there is
no school in all our land wherethe young ladies do not feel obliged to
close their compositions with a sermon.And you will find that the sermon of
the most frivolous and the least religiousgirl in the school is always the longest

(06:28):
and the most relentlessly pious. Butenough of this homely truth is unpalatable.
Let us return to the examination.The first composition that was read was one
entitled is this then Life? Perhapsthe reader can endure and extract from it
in the common walks of life withwhat delightful emotions? Does the youthful mind

(06:51):
look forward to some anticipated scene offestivity? Imagination is busy sketching rose tinted
pictures of joy. In fancy,the voluptuous rotary of fashion sees herself amid
the festive throng, the observed ofall observers. Her graceful form, arrayed
in snowy robes, is whirling throughthe mazes of the joyous dance. Her

(07:14):
eye is brightest, her step islightest in the gay assembly. In such
delicious fancies, time quickly glides by, and the welcome hour arrives for her
entrance into the elysian world of whichshe has had such bright dreams. How
fairy like does everything appear to herenchanted vision. Each new scene is more
charming than the last. But aftera while she finds that beneath this goodly

(07:38):
exterior all is vanity. The flatterywhich once charmed her soul now grates harshly
upon her ear. The ballroom haslost its charms, and with wasted health
and embittered heart, she turns awaywith a conviction that earthly pleasures cannot satisfy
the longings of the soul. Andso forth and so on. There was

(07:58):
a buzz of gratification from time totime during the reading, accompanied by whispered
ejaculations of how sweet, how eloquent, so true, et cetera. And
after the thing had closed with apeculiarly afflicting sermon. The applause was enthusiastic.
Then arose a slight, melancholy girlwhose face had the interesting paleness that
comes of pills and indigestion, andread a poem two stanzas of it will

(08:24):
do a Missouri Maiden's farewell to Alabama, Alabama, goodbye. I love THEE
well, But yet for a whiledo I leave thee? Now? Sad?
Yes, sad thoughts of thee.My heart to swell, and burning
recollections throng my brow. For Ihave wandered through thy flowery woods, have

(08:45):
roamed and read near Tallapoosa's stream,have listened to Talouse's warring floods, and
wooed on Cusa's side Aurora's beam.Yet shame I not to bear an orful
heart, nor blush to turn mytearful eyes tis from no stranger land.
I now must part tis to nostranger's left. I yield these sighs welcome

(09:09):
and home were mine within this state, whose veils I leave, whose spires
fade fast from me, and coldmust be mine eyes and heart, and
tete. When dear Alabama they turnedcold on thee. There were very few
there who knew what tete meant,but the poem was very satisfactory. Nevertheless,

(09:31):
next appeared a dark complexioned, blackeyed, black haired young lady who
paused an impressive moment, assumed atragic expression, and began to read in
a measured, solemn tone of vision. Dark and tempestuous was night around the
throne on high. Not a singlestar quivered, but the deep intonations of

(09:52):
the heavy thunder constantly vibrated upon theear, whilst the terrific lightning reveled in
angry mood through the cloud chambers ofheaven, seeming to scorn the power exerted
over its terror by the illustrious Franklin. Even the boisterous winds unanimously came forth
from their mystic homes and blustered about, as if to enhance by their aid

(10:13):
the wildness of the scene at sucha time, so dark, so dreary
for human sympathy my very spirit side. But instead thereof my dearest friend,
my counselor my comforter and guide,my joy in grief, my second bliss
in joy, came to my side. She moved like one of those bright

(10:33):
beings pictured in the sunny walks offancies Eden by the Romantic and young,
a queen of beauty, unadorned saveby her own transcendent loveliness. So soft
was her step it failed to makeeven a sound, And but for the
magical thrill imparted by her genial touch, as other unobtrusive beauties, she would

(10:54):
have glided away, unperceived, unsought. A strange sadness rested upon her features,
like icy tears upon the robe ofDecember, as she pointed to the
contending elements without and bade me contemplatethe two beings presented. This nightmare occupied
some ten pages of manuscript, andwound up with a sermon so destructive of

(11:18):
all hope to non Presbyterians that ittook the first prize. This composition was
considered to be the very finest effortof the evening. The mayor of the
village, in delivering the prize tothe author of it, made a warm
speech in which he said that itwas by far the most eloquent thing he
had ever listened to, and thatDaniel Webster himself might well be proud of

(11:43):
it. It may be remarked inpassing that the number of compositions in which
the word beauteous was overfondled, andhuman experience referred to as life's pages,
was up to the usual average.Now the Master, mellow, almost to
the verge of geniality, put hischair aside, turned his back to the

(12:03):
audience, and began to draw amap of America on the blackboard to exercise
the geography class upon. But hemade a sad business of it with his
unsteady hand, and a smothered titterrippled over the house. He knew what
the matter was and set himself towrite it. He sponged out lines and
remade them, but he only distortedthem more than ever, and the tittering

(12:26):
was more pronounced. He threw hisentire attention upon his work now, as
if determined not to be put downby the mirth. He felt that all
eyes were fastened upon him. Heimagined he was succeeding, And yet the
tittering continued, it even manifestly increased. And well it might. There was
a garret above, pierced with ascuttle over his head, and down through

(12:46):
this scuttle came a cat, suspendedaround the haunches by a string. She
had a rag tied about her headand jaws to keep her from mewing.
As she slowly descended, she curvedupward and clawed at the string. She
swung downward and clawed at the intangibleair. The tittering rose higher and higher.
The cat was within six inches ofthe absorbed teacher's head. Down down

(13:09):
a little lower, and she grabbedhis wig with her desperate claws, clung
to it, and was snatched upinto the garret in an instant, with
her trophy still in her possession.And how the light did blaze abroad from
the master's bald pate for the signpainter's boy had gilded it that broke up
the meeting. The boys were avenged, vacation had come. Note the pretended

(13:35):
compositions quoted in this chapter are takenwithout alteration, from a volume entitled Prose
and Poetry by a Western Lady.But they are exactly and precisely after the
schoolgirl pattern, and hence are muchhappier than any mere imitations could be.
End of Chapter twenty one. Chaptertwenty two, Huck Finn quote scriptures.

(14:01):
Tom joined the new order of Cadetsof Temperance, being attracted by the showy
character of their regalia. He promisedto abstain from smoking, chewing, and
profanity as long as he remained amember. Now he found out a new
thing, namely, that to promisenot to do a thing is the surest
way in the world to make abody want to go and do that very

(14:22):
thing. Tom soon found himself tormentedwith a desire to drink and swear.
The desire grew to be so intensethat nothing but the hope of a chance
to display himself in his red sashkept him from withdrawing from the order.
Fourth or July was coming. Buthe soon gave that up, gave it
up before he had worn his shacklesover forty eight hours, and fixed his

(14:45):
hopes upon old Judge Frazer, Justiceof the Peace, who was apparently on
his deathbed and would have a bigpublic funeral since he was so high and
official. During three days, Tomwas deeply concerned about the judge's condition and
hungry for news of it. Sometimeshis hopes ran high, so high that
he would venture to get out hisregalia and practice before the looking glass,

(15:07):
But the judge had a most discouragingway of fluctuating. At last, he
was pronounced upon the mend, andthen convalescent. Tom was disgusted and felt
a sense of injury too. Hehanded in his resignation at once, and
that night the judge suffered a relapseand died. Tom resolved that he would
never trust a man like that again. The funeral was a fine thing.

(15:31):
The cadets paraded in a style calculatedto kill the late member with envy.
Tom was a free boy again.However, there was something in that he
could drink and swear now, butfound, to his surprise that he did
not want to. The simple factthat he could took the desire away and
the charm of it. Tom presentlywondered to find that his coveted vacation was

(15:52):
beginning to hang a little heavily onhis hands. He attempted a diary,
but nothing happened during three days,and so he abandoned it. The first
of all the Negro minstrel shows cameto town and made a sensation. Tom
and Joe Harper got up a bandof performers and were happy for two days.
Even the glorious fourth was in somesense a failure, for it rained

(16:15):
hard. There was no procession inconsequence, and the greatest man in the
world as Tom supposed mister Benton,an actual United States Senator, proved an
overwhelming disappointment, for he was nottwenty five feet high, nor even anywhere
in the neighborhood of it. Acircus came, the boys played circus for
three days. Afterward, intents madeof rag carpeting, admission three pins for

(16:38):
boys, two for girls, andthen circusing was abandoned. A phrenologist and
a mesmerizer came and went again,and left the village duller and drearier than
ever. There were some boys andgirls parties, but they were so few
and so delightful that they only madethe aching voids between ache the harder.

(16:59):
Becky Thatcher was gone to her Constantinoplehome to stay with her parents during vacation.
So there was no bright side tolife anywhere. The dreadful secret of
the murder was a chronic misery.It was a very cancer for permanency and
pain. Then came the measles.During two long weeks, Tom lay a
prisoner, dead to the world andits happenings. He was very ill.

(17:22):
He was interested in nothing. Whenhe got upon his feet at last and
moved feebly downtown, a melancholy changehad come over everything and every creature.
There had been a revival, andeverybody had got religion, not only the
adults, but even the boys andgirls. Tom went about, hoping against
hope for the sight of one blessedsinful face, but disappointment crossed him everywhere.

(17:45):
He found Joe Harper studying a testament, and turned sadly away from the
depressing spectacle. He sought Ben Rogersand found him visiting the poor with a
basket of tracts. He hunted upJim Hollis, who called his attention to
the precious blood of his late measlesas a warning. Every boy he encountered
added another ton to his depression,and when in desperation he flew for refuge

(18:07):
at last to the bosom of HuckleberryFinn, and was received with a scriptural
quotation. His heart broke and hecrept home and to bed, realizing that
he alone of all the town waslost forever and forever. And that night
there came on a terrific storm,with driving rain, awful claps of thunder,
and blinding sheets of lightning. Hecovered his head with his bedclothes and

(18:30):
waited in a horror of suspense forhis doom, for he had not the
shadow of a doubt that all thishubbub was about him. He believed he
had taxed the forbearance of the powersabove to the extremity of endurance, and
that this was the result. Itmight have seemed to him a waste of
pomp and ammunition to kill a bugwith a battery of artillery, but there
seemed nothing incongruous about the getting upsuch an expensive thunderstorm as this to knock

(18:55):
the turf from under an insect likehimself. By and by, the tempest
spent itself and died without accomplishing itsobject. The boy's first impulse was to
be grateful and reform. His secondwas to wait, for there might not
be any more storms. The nextday the doctors were back. Tom had
relapsed. The three weeks he spenton his back this time seemed an entire

(19:18):
age. When he got abroad atlast, he was hardly grateful that he
had been spared, remembering how lonelywas his estate, how companionless and forlorn
he was. He drifted listlessly downthe street and found Jim Hollis, acting
as judge in a juvenile court,that was trying a cat for murder in
the presence of her victim, abird. He found Joe Harper and Huck

(19:41):
Finn up an alley eating a stolenmelon. Poor lads, they, like
Tom, had suffered a relapse.End of chapter twenty two, Chapter twenty
three, the Salvation of Muff Potter. At last, the sleepy atmosphere was
stirred and vigorously. The murder trialcame on in the court. It became

(20:03):
the absorbing topic of village talk.Immediately Tom could not get away from it.
Every reference to the murder sent ashudder to his heart. For his
troubled conscience and fears almost persuaded himthat these remarks were put forth in his
hearing as feelers. He did notsee how he could be suspected of knowing
anything about the murder, but stillhe could not be comfortable in the midst

(20:26):
of this gossip. It kept himin a cold shiver all the time.
He took Huck to a lonely placeto have a talk with him. It
would be some relief to unseal histongue for a little while, to divide
his burden of distress with another sufferer. Moreover, he wanted to assure himself
that Huck had remained discreet. Huck, have you ever told anybody about that?

(20:48):
But what you know? What?Oh? Of course I haven't,
never a word, never a solitaryword. So help me. What makes
you ask? Well? I wasafeared? Why Tom sawyer? We wouldn't
be alive two days if that gotfound out? You know that Tom felt
more comfortable after a pause, Huck. They couldn't anybody get you to tell?

(21:12):
Could they get me to tell?Why? If I wanted that half
breed devil to drown me, theycould get me to tell? They ain't
no different way. Well that's allright then, I reckon. We're safe
as long as we keep mum.But let's swear again anyway, it's more
sure. I'm agreed. So theyswore again with dread solemnities. What is

(21:33):
the talk around, Huck? I'veheard a power of it talk. Well,
it's just muff Potter, Muff Potter, muff potter all the time.
It keeps me in a sweat.Constant says I want to hide somewheres.
That's just the same way they goon round me. I reckon, he's
a gonner. Don't you feel sorry? For him sometimes, most always,
most always, he ain't no account, But then he ain't ever done anything

(21:56):
to hurt anybody. Just fishes alittle to get money, to get drunk
on and loase around considerable. ButLord, we all do that leastways,
most of us preachers and such like. But he's kind of good. He'd
give me half a fish once whenthere weren't enough for two, and lots
of times he's kind of stood byme when I was out of luck.

(22:18):
Well, he's mended kites for me, huck, and knitted hooks onto my
line. I wish we could gethim out of there. We couldn't get
him out, Tom, And besides, to n't do any good they catch
him again, Yes, so theywould, But I hate to hear him
abuse him so like the Dickens,when he never done that. I do

(22:38):
too, Tom, Lord, Ihear him say he's the bloodiest looking villain
in this country, and they wonderhe wasn't ever hung before. Yes,
they talk like that all the time. I've heard him say that if he
was to get free, they'd lynchhim. And they do it too.
The boys had a long talk,but it brought them little comfort. As
the twilight drew on, they foundthemselves hanging about the neighborhood of a little

(23:02):
isolated jail, perhaps with an undefinedhope that something would happen that might clear
away their difficulties. But nothing happened. There seemed to be no angels or
fairies interested in this luckless captive.The boys did as they had often done
before, went to the cell gratingand gave Potter some tobacco and matches.
He was on the ground floor andthere were no guards. His gratitude for

(23:25):
their gifts had always smoked their consciencebefore, it cut deeper than ever.
This time. They felt cowardly andtreacherous to the last degree. When Potter
said, you've been mighty good tome, boys, better than anybody else
in this town. And I don'tforget it. I don't often, I
says to myself, says I.I used to mend all the boys kites
and things, and show em wherethe good fishing places was, and befriend

(23:48):
them what I could. And nowthey've all forgot old Muff when he's in
trouble. But Tom don't and Huckdon't. They don't forget him, says
I, And I don't forget themwell, boys, I had done an
awful thing drunk and crazy at thetime. That's the only way I count
for it. And now I gotto swing for it. And it's right,
right and best too. I reckonand I hope. So anyway,

(24:11):
well, we won't talk about that. I don't want to make you feel
bad. You've befriended me. Butwhat I want to say is, don't
you ever get drunk, then youwon't ever get here. Stand a little
further west. So that's it.It's a prime comfort to see faces that's
friendly when a body's in such amuck of trouble and there don't none come

(24:32):
here but yourn good friendly faces.Good friendly faces, get up on one
other's backs and let me touch him. That's it. Shake hands. Urnal
comes through the bars, but mine'stoo big, little hands and weak.
And they've helped Muff Potter of power, and they'd help him more if they

(24:52):
could. Tom went home miserable,and his dreams that night were full of
horrors. The next day and theday after, he hung about the courtroom,
drawn by an impossibly resistible impulse togo in, but forcing himself to
stay out. Huck was having thesame experience they studiously avoided each other.
Each wandered away from time to time, but the same dismal fascination always brought

(25:15):
them back. Presently. Tom kepthis ears open when idlers sauntered out of
the courtroom, but invariably heard distressingnews. The toils were closing more and
more relentlessly around poor Potter. Atthe end of the second day, the
village talk was to the effect thatInjun Joe's evidence stood firm and unshaken,
and that there was not the slightestquestion as to what the jury's verdict would

(25:37):
be. Tom was out late thatnight and came to bed through the window.
He was in a tremendous state ofexcitement. It was hours before he
got to sleep. All the villageflocked to the court house the next morning,
for this was to be the greatday. Both sexes were about equally
represented in the packed audience. Aftera long wait, the jury filed in

(25:57):
and took their places. Shortly afterward, Potter, pale and haggard, timid
and hopeless, was brought in withchains upon him, and seated where all
the curious eyes could stare at him. No less conspicuous was injun Joe,
stolid as ever, there was anotherpause, and then the judge arrived and
the sheriff proclaimed the opening of thecourt. The usual whisperings among the lawyers

(26:21):
and gathering together the papers followed.These details, and accompanying delays, worked
up an atmosphere of preparation that wasas impressive as it was fascinating. Now
a witness was called, who testifiedthat he found Muff Potter washing in the
brook at an early hour the morningthat the murder was discovered, and that
he immediately sneaked away. After somefurther questioning, counsel for the prosecution said,

(26:45):
take the witness. The prisoner raisedhis eyes for a moment, but
dropped them again when his own counselsaid, I have no questions to ask
him. The next witness proved thefinding of the knife near the corpse.
Counsel for the prosecution said, takethe witness. I have no questions to
ask him. Potter's lawyer replied.A third witness swore he had often seen

(27:07):
the knife in Potter's possession. Takethe witness. Counsel for Potter declined to
question him. The faces of theaudience began to betray annoyance. Did this
attorney mean to throw away his client'slife without an effort. Several witnesses deposed
concerning Potter's guilty behavior when brought tothe scene of the murder. They were
allowed to leave the stand without beingcross questioned. Every detail of the damaging

(27:30):
circumstances that occurred in the graveyard uponthat morning, which all present remembered so
well, was brought out by crediblewitnesses, but none of them were cross
examined by Potter's lawyer. The perplexityand dissatisfaction of the house expressed itself in
murmurs and provoked a reproof from thebench. Counsel for the prosecution, now
said, by the oaths of citizens, whose simple word is above suspicion,

(27:55):
we have fastened this awful crime beyondall possibility of question upon the unhappy prisoner
at the bar, we rest ourcase. Here. A groan escaped from
poor Potter, and he put hisface in his hands and rocked his body
softly to and fro, while apainful silence reigned in the courtroom. Many
men were moved, and many women'scompassion testified itself in tears. Counsel for

(28:22):
the defense rose and said, yourhonor in our remarks at the opening of
this trial, we foreshadowed our purposeto prove that our client did this fearful
deed while under the influence of ablind and irresponsible delirium produced by drink.
We have changed our mind. Weshall not offer that plea. Then to
the clerk, call Thomas Sawyer.A puzzled amazement awoke in every face in

(28:48):
the house, not even accepting potters. Every eye fastened itself with wondering interest
upon Tom as he rose and tookhis place upon the stand. The boy
looked wild enough, for he wasbadly scared. The oath was administered,
Thomas Sawyer, Where were you?On the seventeenth of June. About the
hour of midnight, Tom glanced atInjun Joe's iron face, and his tongue

(29:12):
failed him. The audience listened breathless, but the words refused to come.
After a few moments, however,the boy got a little of his strength
back and managed to put enough ofit into his voice to make part of
the house here in the graveyard alittle bit louder. Please don't be afraid
you were in the graveyard. Acontemptuous smile flitted across Injun Joe's face.

(29:37):
Were you anywhere near Horse William's grave? Yes, sir, speak up just
a trifle louder. How near wereyou near? As I am to you?
Were you hidden or not? Iwas hid? Where behind the elms
that's on the edge of the grave. Injun Joe gave a barely perceptible start.

(29:59):
Anyone with you, Yes, sir, I went there with Wait,
wait a moment, never mind mentioningyour companion's name. We will produce him
at the proper time. Did youcarry anything there with you? Tom hesitated
and looked confused. Speak out,my boy, don't be diffident. The
truth is always respectable. What didyou take there? Only a dead cat?

(30:23):
There was a ripple of mirth,which the court checked. We will
produce the skeleton of that cat.Now, my boy, tell us everything
that occurred. Tell it in yourown way. Don't skip anything, and
don't be afraid. Tom began hesitatinglyat first, But as he warmed to
his subject, his words flowed moreand more easily. In a little while,

(30:44):
every sound ceased but his own voice. Every eye fixed itself upon him
with parted lips and bated breath.The audience hung upon his words, taking
no note of time wrapped in theghastly fascination of the tail. The strain
upon ent emotion reached its climax whenthe boy said, And as the doctor
fetched the board around and muff Potterfell injun Joe jumped with a knife and

(31:11):
crash, quick as lightning, Thehalf breed sprang for a window, tore
his way through all opposers, andwas gone. End of Chapter twenty three.