Chapter six
Under the cross
The day after Injun Joe's funeral, Huck was out of bed. He
and Tom walked slowly
out of the village. They had a good, long talk, and Huck heard all about the picnic, the
cave, and Injun Joe.
'We're never going to find the money now,' said Huck.
'Huck,' said Tom. 'The money isn't in St Petersburg. It's in the cave - I know it is!
Why was Injun Joe in the cave? Because he took the box of money there! Right?'
Huck looked excited. 'Say that again, Tom!'
'The money's in the cave! And we can get to it easily. Let's go there now! I've got
some candles and a long string. We can take a boat and put it back later.'
Twenty minutes later the boys were in a boat on the Mississippi. They went eight
miles down the river, and then Tom stopped by some small trees.
'Here we are!' he said.
Tom's hole was just behind the trees. Tom took a candle and climbed in. Huck
climbed in after him.
'Injun Joe
never found this hole,' said Tom. 'Or he did find it and couldn't get
through it. It's very small.'
The boys went carefully through the tunnels with their string. Then Tom stopped.
The boys went eight miles down the river.
'I saw Injun Joe about here,' he said. 'And look, Huck - there's the cross!'
There was a big smoke cross on the tunnel wall. The boys looked up and down the
tunnel, but there was no box of money.
'Injun joe said under the cross,' said Tom. 'Perhaps it's under the ground. Look, we
can move these stones.'
The boys took their knives and began to dig by the tunnel wall. Very soon, they
found a second, smaller tunnel under the wall.
They climbed down into it, and came
into a small room. There was a bed, two whiskey bottles, some old shoes - and the
box of money,
When somebody finds treasure, everybody hears about it very quickly. The
two boys
carried the box through the village. And when they got to Aunt Polly's house, half the
village was with them. Everybody went into the house.
'Oh, Tom, Tom!' cried Aunt Polly. 'What is it now? And what have you got there?'
Tom put the box on the table and opened it.
There were twelve thousand dollars in that box. And suddenly, Tom Sawyer and
Huckleberry Finn were the richest people in St Petersburg.