Chapter 5 Tragedy in the Graveyard.
Tom's pirate adventures would have to wait for a while, since he had to meet up with Huck Finn that very night.
After it got dark, Tom did his best to lie still in his bed so as not to wake his brother Sid and arouse his suspicions.
But Tom's eyes stayed wide open, staring at the dark window.
The night was quiet, but Tom could hear everything from the creaking of the wood rafters to the crickets chirping outside.
Then, suddenly, a dog barked in the distance.
It was soon followed by a loud crash, the sound of glass breaking against Aunt Polly's woodshed and a voice crying out Scat.
You devil!
A minute later, Tom was dressed and headed out the window down to the garden where Huck Finn was waiting.
A half an hour later, the boys were creeping through the tall grass of the graveyard.
The graveyard sat perched on a hill and was surrounded by an old crumbling fence that leaned inward in some places and outward in others, went every direction but straight.
All the graves were covered with weeds and dead grass.
A faint wind moaned through the branches of the trees.
Tom felt sure it was the voices of the dead, upset at being disturbed.
The two boys stepped carefully making their way to the heap of new stones that marked Hoss William's grave.
There were three great elms bunched together near the grave, and the boys settled in behind them.
For a long time, nothing happened.
As the silence grew deep, Tom became more and more fearful.
It's awful quiet, Tom. said Huck Finn.
Too quiet.
There was a long pause.
Finally, Tom whispered again.
Say, Huck, do you think Toss Williams can hear us talking?
Of course he can, Huck said.
At least his spirit can.
The conversation died again.
Tom didn't dare to speak, wondering whether or not Hoss Williams' ghost was listening and if he thought badly of them.
Suddenly, he shot up, grabbing Huck's arm.
Shh!
What is it, Tom?
The boys clung together, two hearts beating wildly.
Shh!
There it is again.
Tom! common.
The devils are coming for sure.
What do we do?
I don't know.
Will they see us?
Oh, Tom, they can see in the dark, just like cats.
Why did we come here?
Don't be afraid, Huck.
If we keep perfectly still, maybe they won't notice us at all.
The boys sat silently, scarcely daring to breathe.
Three strange figures approached, one of them swinging an old-fashioned tin lantern that freckled the ground with light.
It's devils for sure, Huck whispered.
We're done for.
Tom started praying.
Now I lay me down to sleep.
Shh!
What is it, Huck?
That's Muff Potter's voice.
They're human.
But it is.
Keep still.
He's too busy to notice us.
Say, Huck, I know another one of those voices.
It's Injun Joe.
The boys grew quiet again as the mysterious visitors had reached the grave and now stood just a few feet from the trees that Tom and Huck were hiding behind.
Here it is, said the third voice, holding up his lantern to reveal young Dr. Robinson.
Muff Potter and Injun Joe were carrying a wheelbarrow with a couple of shovels and some rope in it.
Dropping their load, they began to open Hoss Williams's grave.
The doctor placed the lantern at the head of the grave and then sat back against one of the elm trees, so close that the boys could have touched him.
Hurry up, he said in a low voice.
The moon will be out soon.
The two other men growled and kept on with their digging.
Tom and Huck listened to the noisy sound of the spades hitting dirt and gravel.
In barely a whisper, Tom asked Huck, What are they doing?
Grave!
Robin, Huck replied in a faint, trembling voice.
Doctors sometimes use dead bodies for experiments and stuff, but they ain't supposed to.
Finally, the boys heard a different sound as one of the shovels struck the wood coffin.
Muff Potter and Engine Joe then used the rope to pull the coffin up as Dr Robinson sat and watched.
They pulled up the lid and rudely dumped the body out onto the ground.
The moon was out now.
Rising through the clouds, it cast a glow on Hoss Williams' pale, lifeless face.
Then Williams was lifted into the wheelbarrow and Injun Joe covered him with a blanket while Muff Potter firmly tied down the body, then cut off the rope with his knife.
The darn thing's done, Injun Joe said.
Now, it'll be five dollars more if you want it to go anywhere.
What's the meaning of this?
Dr. Robinson said, jumping to his feet.
We agreed on a price, and you were paid in advance.
That's not all you done, Injun Joe growled, stepping closer.
Five years ago, I... came to your father's kitchen, begging for something to eat.
Your father had me jailed as a drifter.
Did you forget?
Did you think I'd forget?
Injun Joe was closer now, shaking his fist in the doctor's face.
Suddenly, Robinson punched Injun Joe, hitting him so hard that he fell flat on his back.
Say, Meth Potter cried angrily, dropping his knife.
Don't hit my partner!
Potter then started fighting with the doctor.
As they struggled, Injun Joe got back to his feet.
Snatching up Potter's knife, he crept carefully behind the doctor.
All at once the doctor pushed Potter away and grabbed the heavy headboard from Haas Williams' grave.
He swung it hard and knocked out Muff Potter with one blow.
In the same instant, Injun Joe saw his chance and drove the knife into the doctor's chest.
Injun Joe always settles his scores.
Then he robbed the doctor's body, taking his watch and wallet.
Next, Injun Joe took the bloody knife and placed it in Muff Potter's hand.
Then he sat down on the empty coffin and waited.
Soon enough, Muff Potter moaned, closing his hand on the knife.
His eyes opened in the sight of the blade, and his hand sent a shudder straight through him.
Joe, he sat up, looking at his partner confusedly.
Joe, what happened?
It's dirty business, Engine Joe answered.
What did you do it for?
I didn't, Joe.
Stop it now.
That talk won't wash.
Potter trembled and grew white.
Joe, I can't remember a thing.
It's them dizzy spells.
It's awful, Joe, just awful.
He was so young.
You two was scuffling, Injun Joe said calmly.
He hit you with that headboard and laid you out.
You surprised him.
You grabbed that knife and jammed it into him just as he hit you again.
It's the spells that done it, Muff moaned.
I never used a weapon in my life.
The poor fellow dropped to his knees, clasping his hands.
Say, you won't tell, Joe.
Please, I beg of you.
You've always been square with me, Joe replied.
No, I won't tell.
Oh, Joe, I'll bless you for this as long as you live.
And with that, Muff Potter started to cry.
There's no time for that, Injun Joe said, shaking his partner by the shoulders.
You need to move now, far away, and don't leave no tracks behind you.
Muff slowly got to his feet.
Thank you, Joe, he said.
Oh, thank you.
Injun Joe smiled wickedly as he watched Muff Potter start to run away.
The moon now passed behind a cloud.
Coming out again.
It shone on the murdered doctor, the blanketed corpse, the lidless coffin in the open grave.
All was still again.
Tom and Huck were speechless with horror as they fled the scene.
They feared they were followed but didn't dare look back as they raced through the trees and past the cottages out by the edge of the village.
The old tannery lay ahead, and both boys fixed their eyes on it.
I can't stand it much longer, Tom whispered hoarsely.
Huck was panting too hard to respond.
The tannery got closer and closer until they finally burst through its open door.
Shutting it behind them, the boys collapsed on the floor.
For a while, the only sound to be heard was that of their own heavy breathing.
Huckleberry.
What do you reckon will come of this?
Hanging?
If Dr. Robinson's dead, it means hanging.
Tom thought a while.
But who'll tell?
He thought again.
Well, we tell, Huck.
What are you talking about?
Suppose something happens and Injun Joe escapes hanging.
He'll come after us for sure.
Let Muff Potter tell.
Huck, Muff Potter can't tell because he doesn't know.
He was out cold the whole time.
By golly, that's so.
There was another long pause.
Huck, you reckon you can keep quiet?
Tom, we got to keep quiet.
Injun Joe wouldn't think twice about stabbing us.
We've got to swear it, Tom.
Swear to keep mom.
It's the best thing.
We'll just shake hands and swear that we... No, Tom, that won't do.
That'll do for little things with gals and stuff, but this is serious.
We need to have writing and blood.
Tom picked up a clean shingle that lay in the moonlight and took a little piece of red chalk that lay in his pocket.
Working slowly, he scrawled out the following lines.
Huck, Finn, and Tom saw your swears.
They will keep Mom about this, and they wish they may drop down dead if they ever do.
Next, Tom took a needle from his pocket and each boy pricked his thumb, squeezing out a drop of blood.
Tom signed his initials using the ball of his little finger and then showed Huck, who never learned to write, how to make an H and a F.
Tom, does that keep us from ever telling?
I reckon so.
By the time Tom finally crept back through his bedroom window, the night was nearly over.
He took off his clothes slowly and eased quietly into bed so as not to wake up his brother.
What Tom didn't know was that it was Sid who was now pretending to be asleep.
When Tom woke up, Sid was dressed and gone.
Why hadn't Aunt Polly come to wake him, Tom wondered.
Downstairs, the family had finished breakfast.
Tom felt sore and drowsy, and the silence at the table chilled him.
No one even looked him in the eye.
When Aunt Polly finally spoke to him she began weeping and asking him how he could keep breaking her old heart so.
Hearing her cry, Tom's heart grew as sore as his tired body.
He cried and pleaded with her for forgiveness, and he promised to be good over and over again.
He felt so bad that he even forgot to be angry with Sid for telling on him.
Aunt Polly, however, said nothing.
Now grief-stricken, Tom moped off to school.
