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Every night we passed towns, some of them away up on black hillsides, nothing but just a shiny bed of lights; not a house could you see. The fifth night we passed St. Louis, and it was like the whole world lit up. In St. Petersburg they used to say there was twenty or thirty thousand people in St. Louis, but I never believed it till I see that wonderful spread of lights at two o’clock that still night. There warn’t a sound there; everybody was asleep.
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We passed a few towns each night. The towns way up on the hillsides looked light nothing but patches of shiny lights because you couldn’t see any houses. On the fifth night, we passed St. Louis. It was so bright that it looked like the whole world was lit up. People in St. Petersburg used to say that there were twenty or thirty thousand people in St. Louis. I never believed them until I saw all those amazing lights at two o’clock that quiet night. Everyone was asleep and you couldn’t hear a sound.
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Every night now I used to slip ashore towards ten o’clock at some little village, and buy ten or fifteen cents’ worth of meal or bacon or other stuff to eat; and sometimes I lifted a chicken that warn’t roosting comfortable, and took him along. Pap always said, take a chicken when you get a chance, because if you don’t want him yourself you can easy find somebody that does, and a good deed ain’t ever forgot. I never see pap when he didn’t want the chicken himself, but that is what he used to say, anyway.
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Around ten o’clock every night, I’d swim ashore to whatever little village we’d happen to be passing. I’d buy ten or fifteen cents worth of corn meal or bacon or other food. Sometimes I even stole a chicken that wasn’t roosting comfortably. Pap always said to take a chicken when you had the chance because you can always give it away if you don’t want to eat it. Then that person will owe you a favor. I never knew pap to actually turn down a chicken, but that’s what he used to say.
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Mornings before daylight I slipped into cornfields and borrowed a watermelon, or a mushmelon, or a punkin, or some new corn, or things of that kind. Pap always said it warn’t no harm to borrow things if you was meaning to pay them back some time; but the widow said it warn’t anything but a soft name for stealing, and no decent body would do it. Jim said he reckoned the widow was partly right and pap was partly right; so the best way would be for us to pick out two or three things from the list and say we wouldn’t borrow them any more—then he reckoned it wouldn’t be no harm to borrow the others. So we talked it over all one night, drifting along down the river, trying to make up our minds whether to drop the watermelons, or the cantelopes, or the mushmelons, or what. But towards daylight we got it all settled satisfactory, and concluded to drop crabapples and p’simmons. We warn’t feeling just right before that, but it was all comfortable now. I was glad the way it come out, too, because crabapples ain’t ever good, and the p’simmons wouldn’t be ripe for two or three months yet.
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Every morning just before dawn I’d sneak into cornfields and borrow some watermelon, mushmelon, pumpkins, corn, or something like that. Pap always said there wasn’t any harm in borrowing things if you meant to pay them back at some point. The widow, though, said borrwing was just a nicer way of saying stealing, which decent people didn’t do. Jim said he figured that pap and the widow were both right. He said it’d be best if we compromised by promising ourselves that we just wouldn’t borrow certain things anymore but continue borrowing others. So we talked about it one night while we were drifting down the river. We tried to decide whether we’d give up watermelon, cantaloup, or mushmelons. By dawn, we’d decided to give up borrowing crabapples and persimmons. We’d been feeling a little guilty before, but now we felt much better about things. I was glad that we hadd settled this way, since crabapples never taste and persimmons wouldn’t be ripe for another two or three months.
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We shot a water-fowl now and then that got up too early in the morning or didn’t go to bed early enough in the evening. Take it all round, we lived pretty high.
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Every now and then we’d shoot a waterfowl that woke up too early or went to bed too late. All in all, we lived pretty well.
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The fifth night below St. Louis we had a big storm after midnight, with a power of thunder and lightning, and the rain poured down in a solid sheet. We stayed in the wigwam and let the raft take care of itself. When the lightning glared out we could see a big straight river ahead, and high, rocky bluffs on both sides. By and by says I, “Hel-LO, Jim, looky yonder!” It was a steamboat that had killed herself on a rock. We was drifting straight down for her. The lightning showed her very distinct. She was leaning over, with part of her upper deck above water, and you could see every little chimbly-guy clean and clear, and a chair by the big bell, with an old slouch hat hanging on the back of it, when the flashes come.
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A big storm hit just after midnight on the fifth night after we’d passed St. Louis. There was lots of thunder and lightning, and the rain came down in a solid sheet. We stayed in the wigwam and let the raft take care of itself. When the lightning flashed, we could see the big river straight ahead and high, rocky cliffs on both sides. At one point I said, “Hey, Jim! Look over there!” I pointed to a steamboat that had run aground on a rock directly in our path. We could see the boat clearly each time the lightning flashed. The boat was leaning over to one side, with only part of the topmost deck above water. You could see each little smokestack and a chair by the big bell that had an old hat hanging on the back of it.
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Well, it being away in the night and stormy, and all so mysterious-like, I felt just the way any other boy would a felt when I see that wreck laying there so mournful and lonesome in the middle of the river. I wanted to get aboard of her and slink around a little, and see what there was there. So I says:
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Since the storm made things dark and spooky, I felt like any other boy would feel if he saw that shipwreck just listing there so lonely in the middle of the river: I just had to get aboard and explore! So I said,
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“Let’s land on her, Jim.”
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“Let’s land on it, Jim.”
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But Jim was dead against it at first. He says:
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Jim didn’t want to at first. He said,
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“I doan’ want to go fool’n ’long er no wrack. We’s doin’ blame’ well, en we better let blame’ well alone, as de good book says. Like as not dey’s a watchman on dat wrack.”
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“I don’t want to go fooling around on that wreck. We’re doing fine without it, and we’d better let it alone, like the Bible says. More likely than not there are guards protecting that wreck.”
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“Watchman your grandmother,” I says; “there ain’t nothing to watch but the texas and the pilot-house; and do you reckon anybody’s going to resk his life for a texas and a pilot-house such a night as this, when it’s likely to break up and wash off down the river any minute?” Jim couldn’t say nothing to that, so he didn’t try. “And besides,” I says, “we might borrow something worth having out of the captain’s stateroom. Seegars, I bet you—and cost five cents apiece, solid cash. Steamboat captains is always rich, and get sixty dollars a month, and THEY don’t care a cent what a thing costs, you know, long as they want it. Stick a candle in your pocket; I can’t rest, Jim, till we give her a rummaging. Do you reckon Tom Sawyer would ever go by this thing? Not for pie, he wouldn’t. He’d call it an adventure—that’s what he’d call it; and he’d land on that wreck if it was his last act. And wouldn’t he throw style into it?—wouldn’t he spread himself, nor nothing? Why, you’d think it was Christopher C’lumbus discovering Kingdom-Come. I wish Tom Sawyer WAS here.”
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“Guards, my butt,” I said. “There’s nothing for guards to watch for but the cabins and the pilothouse. Do you think anyone would risk his neck to protect a cabin and a pilothouse on a night like this, when the whole boat is about to break up and float down the river any minute?” Jim didn’t have a response, so he said nothing. “Besides,” I said. “We might find something in the captain’s quarters that’s worth borrowing. I bet we find cigars worth five dollars in cash each. All steamboat captains are rich. They get paid sixty dollars a month, and they don’t care what anything costs. They just buy whatever they want. Here, put a candle in your pocket, Jim. I’m not going to be able to sleep until we rummage around. Do you think Tom Sawyer would ever pass up an opportunity like this? Not for anything, he wouldn’t. He’d call it an adventure. He’d board that wreck if he knew it’d be the last thing he did before he died. He’d do it in style, too. Why, you’d swear he was Christopher Columbus discovering the New World. Man, I wish Tom Sawyer WERE here.”
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Jim he grumbled a little, but give in. He said we mustn’t talk any more than we could help, and then talk mighty low. The lightning showed us the wreck again just in time, and we fetched the stabboard derrick, and made fast there.
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Jim grumbled a bit, but he gave in. He said we mustn’t talk anymore than was absolutely necessary, and only then in low voices. The lightning flashes showed us the way to the wreck, and we grabbed hold of the starboard derrick and tied the raft to it.
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The deck was high out here. We went sneaking down the slope of it to labboard, in the dark, towards the texas, feeling our way slow with our feet, and spreading our hands out to fend off the guys, for it was so dark we couldn’t see no sign of them. Pretty soon we struck the forward end of the skylight, and clumb on to it; and the next step fetched us in front of the captain’s door, which was open, and by Jimminy, away down through the texas-hall we see a light! and all in the same second we seem to hear low voices in yonder!
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The deck of the steamboat was pretty high above the water. We pulled up to the boat’s port side. We snuck in the dark toward the cabins, slowly feeling our way along the deck with our feet and spreading our hands out in front to fend off any guards. It was so dark that we wouldn’t have seen any sign of them. Pretty soon we got to the front end of the skylight, so we climbed on to it. Our next step brought us to the open door of the captain’s quarters. We looked in, and by golly, we saw a light down in the cabin! And we could hear voices down in there, too!
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Jim whispered and said he was feeling powerful sick, and told me to come along. I says, all right, and was going to start for the raft; but just then I heard a voice wail out and say:
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Jim whispered to me that he had a bad feeling about this. He told me we better get going. I agreed and was about to head for the raft when I heard a voice from below cry out:
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“Oh, please don’t, boys; I swear I won’t ever tell!”
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“Oh please don’t, guys. I swear I won’t ever tell!”
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Another voice said, pretty loud:
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Another voice then said pretty loudly:
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“It’s a lie, Jim Turner. You’ve acted this way before. You always want more’n your share of the truck, and you’ve always got it, too, because you’ve swore ’t if you didn’t you’d tell. But this time you’ve said it jest one time too many. You’re the meanest, treacherousest hound in this country.”
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“You’re lying, Jim Turner. You’ve acted like this before. You always want more than your share of the loot, and you always get it, because you’ve sworn you’d tell if you didn’t get it. Well, you’ve joked around one too many times. You’re the most awful, most treacherous rascal around.”
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By this time Jim was gone for the raft. I was just a-biling with curiosity; and I says to myself, Tom Sawyer wouldn’t back out now, and so I won’t either; I’m a-going to see what’s going on here. So I dropped on my hands and knees in the little passage, and crept aft in the dark till there warn’t but one stateroom betwixt me and the cross-hall of the texas. Then in there I see a man stretched on the floor and tied hand and foot, and two men standing over him, and one of them had a dim lantern in his hand, and the other one had a pistol. This one kept pointing the pistol at the man’s head on the floor, and saying:
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By this time Jim had gone to the raft. My curiousity was killing me, though. I told myself that Tom Sawyer wouldn’t back out now, so I decided that I wouldn’t either. I was going to see what was going on down there. I dropped to my hands and knees inside the little passageway and crept in the dark toward the back of the ship. I got to where there was only one stateroom between me and the cabin hallway. I peeked in and saw a man stretched out on the floor with his hands and feet bound. There were two men standing over him, one of them holding a dim lantern. The other man had a pistol, and he kept pointing it at the head of the man on the floor, saying:
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“I’d LIKE to! And I orter, too—a mean skunk!”
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“I’d LIKE to shoot you! And I ought to, you damned skunk!”
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The man on the floor would shrivel up and say, “Oh, please don’t, Bill; I hain’t ever goin’ to tell.”
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The man on the floor would curl up and say things like, “Oh, please don’t, Bill! I’m not ever going to tell!”
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And every time he said that the man with the lantern would laugh and say:
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And every time he said that the man with the lantern would laugh and say:
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“’Deed you AIN’T! You never said no truer thing ’n that, you bet you.” And once he said: “Hear him beg! and yit if we hadn’t got the best of him and tied him he’d a killed us both. And what FOR? Jist for noth’n. Jist because we stood on our RIGHTS—that’s what for. But I lay you ain’t a-goin’ to threaten nobody any more, Jim Turner. Put UP that pistol, Bill.”
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“Indeed you won’t! You’ve never said a truer word than that!” Once he said: “Listen to him beg! But if we hadn’t beaten him and tied him up, he would’ve killed us both. And what FOR? Because he could. Just because we stood up for our RIGHTS, that’s why. But I swear you aren’t going to threaten anybody ever again, Jim Turner. Put that pistol away, Bill.”
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Bill says:
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Bill said:
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“I don’t want to, Jake Packard. I’m for killin’ him—and didn’t he kill old Hatfield jist the same way—and don’t he deserve it?”
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“I don’t want to put it away, Jake Packard. I want to kill him. Didn’t he kill old Hatfield the same way? Doesn’t he deserve to die?”
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“But I don’t WANT him killed, and I’ve got my reasons for it.”
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“But I’ve got my reasons for not wanting him killed.”
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“Bless yo’ heart for them words, Jake Packard! I’ll never forgit you long’s I live!” says the man on the floor, sort of blubbering.
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“Bless you, Jake Packard! I’ll never forget you as long as I live,” blubbered the man on the floor.
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Packard didn’t take no notice of that, but hung up his lantern on a nail and started towards where I was there in the dark, and motioned Bill to come. I crawfished as fast as I could about two yards, but the boat slanted so that I couldn’t make very good time; so to keep from getting run over and catched I crawled into a stateroom on the upper side. The man came a-pawing along in the dark, and when Packard got to my stateroom, he says:
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Packard didn’t notice him, but hung his lantern on a nail. He started walking toward where I was hiding and motioned for Bill to follow. I crawled as fast as I could for about two yards. It took me longer than it normally would since the boat was slanted to one side. I crawled up the slant and into a stateroom to avoid getting stepped on and caught. The other man came walking up in the dark, and when Packard got to the stateroom, he said:
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“Here—come in here.”
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“Hey—come in here.”
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And in he come, and Bill after him. But before they got in I was up in the upper berth, cornered, and sorry I come. Then they stood there, with their hands on the ledge of the berth, and talked. I couldn’t see them, but I could tell where they was by the whisky they’d been having. I was glad I didn’t drink whisky; but it wouldn’t made much difference anyway, because most of the time they couldn’t a treed me because I didn’t breathe. I was too scared. And, besides, a body COULDN’T breathe and hear such talk. They talked low and earnest. Bill wanted to kill Turner. He says:
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He and Bill came inside, but I had crawled in the upper birth before they arrived. I was cornered and regretted my decision to stay on the boat. They stood there talking, their hands on the ledge of the berth. I couldn’t see them, but I could tell where they were by the whisky on their breath. I was glad I hadn’t drunk any whiskey myself, but it wouldn’t have made much of a difference since I was holding my breath. I was so scared. But even if I wasn’t scared, I wouldn’t be able to hear them talking if I breathed. They talked in low but earnest voices. Bill wanted to kill Turner. He said:
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“He’s said he’ll tell, and he will. If we was to give both our shares to him NOW it wouldn’t make no difference after the row and the way we’ve served him. Shore’s you’re born, he’ll turn State’s evidence; now you hear ME. I’m for putting him out of his troubles.”
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“He said he’ll tell, and he will. Even if we gave both our shares to him now, it wouldn’t make any difference, now that we’ve fought him and tied him up. I’m sure he’ll turn state’s evidence and testify against us. Now you listen. I say we put him out of his misery.”
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“So’m I,” says Packard, very quiet.
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“I agree,” said Packard quietly.
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“Blame it, I’d sorter begun to think you wasn’t. Well, then, that’s all right. Le’s go and do it.”
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“Damn it, I was beginning to think you weren’t. Well then, that’s that. Let’s go and do it.”
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“Hold on a minute; I hain’t had my say yit. You listen to me. Shooting’s good, but there’s quieter ways if the thing’s GOT to be done. But what I say is this: it ain’t good sense to go court’n around after a halter if you can git at what you’re up to in some way that’s jist as good and at the same time don’t bring you into no resks. Ain’t that so?”
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“Hold on a minute—I haven’t said everything I want to say yet. Listen to me. Shooting a man is fine, but there are quieter ways to kill him. I don’t think it makes any sense to invite trouble if you can do the same thing with less risk. Am I right?”
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“You bet it is. But how you goin’ to manage it this time?”
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“You bet. But how are you thinking of killing him?”
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“Well, my idea is this: we’ll rustle around and gather up whatever pickins we’ve overlooked in the staterooms, and shove for shore and hide the truck. Then we’ll wait. Now I say it ain’t a-goin’ to be more’n two hours befo’ this wrack breaks up and washes off down the river. See? He’ll be drownded, and won’t have nobody to blame for it but his own self. I reckon that’s a considerble sight better ’n killin’ of him. I’m unfavorable to killin’ a man as long as you can git aroun’ it; it ain’t good sense, it ain’t good morals. Ain’t I right?”
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“Well, we can rummage around the boat and gather up anything else in the staterooms that we overlooked. Then we can head to shore and hide our loot. Then we’ll wait. I don’t think it’s going to be more than two hours before this wreck breaks up and washes down river. See what I mean? He’ll drown, and everyone will blame him for his own death. I think that’s much better than killing him. I’m against killing anyone if you can get around it. It’s not good sense. It’s not good morals. Am I right?”
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“Yes, I reck’n you are. But s’pose she DON’T break up and wash off?”
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“Yes, I suppose you are. But what if the boat doesn’t break up and wash away?”
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“Well, we can wait the two hours anyway and see, can’t we?”
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“Well, we can wait a couple hours and see, can’t we?”
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“All right, then; come along.”
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“All right then, let’s go.”
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So they started, and I lit out, all in a cold sweat, and scrambled forward. It was dark as pitch there; but I said, in a kind of a coarse whisper, “Jim!” and he answered up, right at my elbow, with a sort of a moan, and I says:
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They started off, and I hurried out. I was in a cold sweat as I scrambled forward in the pitch dark. I whispered, “Jim!” and he answered me with a soart of moan right at my elbow. I said:
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“Quick, Jim, it ain’t no time for fooling around and moaning; there’s a gang of murderers in yonder, and if we don’t hunt up their boat and set her drifting down the river so these fellows can’t get away from the wreck there’s one of ’em going to be in a bad fix. But if we find their boat we can put ALL of ’em in a bad fix—for the sheriff ’ll get ’em. Quick—hurry! I’ll hunt the labboard side, you hunt the stabboard. You start at the raft, and—”
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“Quick, Jim. This isn’t a time for fooling around and moaning. There’s a gang of murderers inside. If we don’t find their boat and set it loose so these guys can’t get away, one of them is going to get murdered. But if we find their boat, then they’ll all be stuck and the sheriff can arrest them. Quick, hurry! I’ll look for their boat on the port side, and you hunt on the starboard side. Get the raft ready, and….”
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“Oh, my lordy, lordy! RAF’? Dey ain’ no raf’ no mo’; she done broke loose en gone I—en here we is!”
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“Oh lordy, lordy! Raft?! There’s no raft! It’s broken loose and gone. Now we’re stuck on this wreck, too!”
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