TOM SAWYER, DETECTIVE

uneasy, and they got to talking about this prisoner’s

threats, and took to the idea, which I didn’t take

no stock in, that my brother was murdered so they

hunted around and tried to find his body, but

couldn’t and give it up. And so I reckoned he was

gone off somers to have a little peace, and would

come back to us when his troubles was kind of healed.

But late Saturday night, the 9th, Lem Beebe and

Jim Lane come to my house and told me all — told me

the whole awful ‘sassination, and my heart was

broke. And THEN I remembered something that hadn’t

took no hold of me at the time, because reports said

this prisoner had took to walking in his sleep and

doing all kind of things of no consequence, not

knowing what he was about. I will tell you what that

thing was that come back into my memory. Away late

that awful Saturday night when I was wandering

around about this prisoner’s place, grieving and

troubled, I was down by the corner of the tobacker-

field and I heard a sound like digging in a gritty

soil; and I crope nearer and peeped through the

vines that hung on the rail fence and seen this

prisoner SHOVELING — shoveling with a long-handled

shovel — heaving earth into a big hole that was

most filled up; his back was to me, but it was

bright moonlight and I knowed him by his old green

baize work-gown with a splattery white patch in

the middle of the back like somebody had hit him

with a snowball. HE WAS BURYING THE MAN HE’D MURDERED!”

And he slumped down in his chair crying and sob-

bing, and ‘most everybody in the house busted out

wailing, and crying, and saying, “Oh, it’s awful —

awful — horrible! and there was a most tremendous ex-

citement, and you couldn’t hear yourself think; and

right in the midst of it up jumps old Uncle Silas, white

as a sheet, and sings out:

“IT’S TRUE, EVERY WORD — I MURDERED HIM IN COLD

BLOOD!”

By Jackson, it petrified them! People rose up wild

all over the house, straining and staring for a better look

at him, and the judge was hammering with his mallet

and the sheriff yelling “Order — order in the court —

order!”

And all the while the old man stood there a-quaking

and his eyes a-burning, and not looking at his wife and

daughter, which was clinging to him and begging him

to keep still, but pawing them off with his hands and

saying he WOULD clear his black soul from crime, he

WOULD heave off this load that was more than he could

bear, and he WOULDN’T bear it another hour! And

then he raged right along with his awful tale, every-

body a-staring and gasping, judge, jury, lawyers, and

everybody, and Benny and Aunt Sally crying their

hearts out. And by George, Tom Sawyer never

looked at him once! Never once — just set there

gazing with all his eyes at something else, I couldn’t

tell what. And so the old man raged right along,

pouring his words out like a stream of fire:

“I killed him! I am guilty! But I never had the

notion in my life to hurt him or harm him, spite of all

them lies about my threatening him, till the very

minute I raised the club — then my heart went cold! —

then the pity all went out of it, and I struck to kill! In

that one moment all my wrongs come into my mind;

all the insults that that man and the scoundrel his

brother, there, had put upon me, and how they laid in

together to ruin me with the people, and take away

my good name, and DRIVE me to some deed that would

destroy me and my family that hadn’t ever done THEM

no harm, so help me God! And they done it in a mean

revenge — for why? Because my innocent pure girl

here at my side wouldn’t marry that rich, insolent,

ignorant coward, Brace Dunlap, who’s been sniveling

here over a brother he never cared a brass farthing

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