Chapter 19 The End of the Tale By the next morning, Tom was feeling a good deal better.
He woke up while Aunt Sally and I were in his room.
Huh, I'm home, he said, looking at me.
How's that?
Where's the raft?
It's all right, I said.
And Jim?
The same, I said, but it's pretty hard to talk with Aunt Sally in the room.
Good.
Splendid.
Now we're all right and safe.
Did you tell Auntie?
I was going to say yes, but she interrupted and said, About what, Sid?
Why, about the way the whole thing was done.
What whole thing?
Why?
The whole thing, how Tom and I set the runaway slave free.
My goodness, what is this child talking about?
We did set him free, me and Tom.
We planned it all and we did it.
We did it elegantly, too.
Then he told her about our weeks of planning, how we took all those items from the house and left the letters and drawings, and how the men had chased and shot at us.
Well, I have never heard anything like it, she said.
So it was you, you little rascals.
You were the ones who made all the trouble and scared everyone so much.
She was very angry, but Tom was so proud and joyful that he couldn't contain his happiness.
Of course, he wasn't so happy when he learned that Jim wasn't free anymore.
He sat up in his bed and he demanded that they set Jim free.
He's as free as anyone else, he said.
What are you talking about?
I've known him all my life, and so has Tom.
Old Miss Watson died two months ago.
After Jim left, she felt terrible about wanting to sell him.
She set him free in her will.
Why on earth did you go through all that effort to help him escape if you knew he was already free?
For the adventure of it, of course, he said.
Then he stared at the door and said, Aunt Polly.
And there she stood, looking as sweet and friendly as an angel.
Aunt Sally ran to her, and they hugged and cried.
I crawled under the bed.
Aunt Polly said hello to Tom, and Aunt Sally said, That isn't Tom.
It's Sid.
Tom was here just a moment ago.
Where is he now?
You mean, where is Huck Finn, said Aunt Polly, and she told me to come out from under the bed.
Well, it all came out then.
Aunt Polly told her sister and Uncle Silas about me.
The letter that Aunt Sally had been about to read before Tom came back was from Aunt Polly.
She was writing to tell them that she was coming to visit.
She'd heard that Tom and Sid were both there, and she knew that Sid was back at home, so she wanted to see what was really happening.
We had Jim out of his chains in no time.
When Aunt Polly, Aunt Sally and Uncle Silas learned how much Jim had helped the doctor with Tom, they made a great fuss over him.
They gave him all he wanted to eat and a good place to stay.
Tom Jim and I talked a great deal about having some more adventures together, but I said I wouldn't be able to go along because I didn't have any money left.
My pap must have taken it all from the Judge Thacker by now.
No, he hasn't, Tom said.
It's all there.
Your pap hasn't been back since you left.
At least he hadn't been when I left town.
Jim looked very serious just then and said, He's not coming back anymore, Huck.
Why, Jim?
I asked.
He didn't want to say anything, but I insisted, and he finally told me.
Do you remember that house we saw floating down the river with the dead man inside?
Remember how I looked at him, but I wouldn't let you come in to see.
Well...
You can get your money when you want it, because that man was your pap.
Tom's almost healed now, and there isn't much more to write about.
I'm happy about that.
If I would have known how hard it was to write a book, I wouldn't have started and I won't do any more of it.
I think I might head out again soon, though.
Aunt Sally says she's going to adopt me and civilize me.
I can't stand that.
I've been there before.
