Lots of children had gone to the pi

Lots of children had gone to the picnic at
McDougal’s Caves on Saturday. It was quiet in
St Petersburg. Huck sat by the river. In the
evening, he saw the old steamboat come back.
He saw all the tired children walking home. He did
not see Tom. Where was Tom?
At eleven o’clock, the lights in the town started to
go out. Huck walked out of the town. He was going to sleep in
a barn.
Suddenly, Huck saw somebody in front of him. It was Injun
Joe! Huck followed him.
‘He’s carrying something,’ Huck said to himself. ‘He’s going to
bury the treasure!’
Soon, Injun Joe met the Stranger. The two men walked up a
hill outside the town. They stopped next to a house.
‘That’s Mrs Douglas’ house,’ Huck said to himself. ‘Are they
going to bury the treasure on her land?’
‘There’s a light in the house,’ Injun Joe said to the Stranger.
‘We’ll wait here. She’ll go to bed soon.’
‘No! Let’s go away,’ said the Stranger.
‘We’ll go in. Wait! The light will go out soon,’ said Injun Joe.
Suddenly, Huck was frightened. Was this Injun Joe’s
revenge? Was he going to murder Mrs Douglas? Huck heard
Injun Joe’s voice again.
‘The woman’s husband was a judge. The judge sent me to
jail. I was going to get revenge on him. But the judge died. So
I’ll get my revenge on his wife!’
‘Don’t kill her!’ said the Stranger. ‘I don’t want to kill anybody!’
‘No, I won’t kill her. I don’t kill women,’ replied Injun Joe. ‘But
I want revenge. I’ll cut her face and her ears. And you must
help—’
Huck moved away very, very slowly. Then he turned and ran
down the hill. Mrs Douglas was a good lady. Mrs Douglas gave
him food sometimes. He had to get help.
Huck ran and ran. He ran to Judge Thatcher’s house. He
knocked on the door. A window opened
‘Who’s that? Why are you knocking on the door?’
said a voice.
‘Let me in – quickly,’ said Huck. ‘Please!’
‘Who are you?’
‘Huck. Huckleberry Finn. Please be quick.’
Judge Thatcher knew about Huck. ‘Well, Huck
Finn,’ he said.
‘Many people will not open their doors for you. But I will open
mine.’
The judge opened the door and Huck ran into the house.
Three minutes later, the judge and some other men came out
of the house. They ran up the hill.
Huck started to follow them. Suddenly, he was very tired. He
stopped and he sat down on the ground.
Then Huck heard the sound of a gun. He jumped up and ran
away down the hill.
Early on Sunday morning, there was a knock on the judge’s
door.
‘Who’s there?’
‘Huck Finn.’
‘Come in, Huck Finn,’ said Judge Thatcher. ‘You’re very
welcome.’
Huck was surprised. People did not say, ‘You’re very
welcome’ to him!
The door opened and Huck went in.
‘I want to talk to you,’ said the judge. ‘Why did you run away
last night?’
‘I heard the gun,’ said Huck. ‘I was frightened.’
‘Poor boy,’ said Judge Thatcher. ‘Everything is all right now.
We frightened those men away. We didn’t catch them. But we’ll
catch them soon. What did they look like? Who were they?’
‘There was a stranger,’ said Huck. ‘And Injun Joe.’
‘Injun Joe!’ The judge stood up. ‘I’ll tell the
sheriff.’
Soon, there was something else to tell the
sheriff. Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher were
lost. They were lost in McDougal’s Caves. All
the men from the town went to the caves. They looked
for the children all day and all night.
Huck slept all day and all night at the judge’s house. Huck was
ill. On Monday, Mrs Douglas took him to her house.
‘I will take care of the boy,’ she said.
The people of St Petersburg looked for Tom and Becky on
Monday and Tuesday. But on Wednesday morning, they
stopped. The children were lost for ever!
Judge Thatcher and some other men went to the door at the
entrance to the caves. They put a big piece of metal across the
door.
‘Now, nobody can get in. Nobody will ever get lost in the
caves again,’ said Judge Thatcher