GIT up! What you 'bout?"

I opened my eyes and looked around, trying to make out where I was. It was after sun-up, and I had been sound asleep. Pap was standing over me looking sour補nd sick, too. He says:

"What you doin' with this gun?"

I judged he didn't know nothing about what he had been doing, so I says:

"Somebody tried to get in, so I was laying for him."

"Why didn't you roust me out?"

"Well, I tried to, but I couldn't; I couldn't budge you."

"Well, all right. Don't stand there palavering all day, but out with you and see if there's a fish on the lines for breakfast. I'll be along in a minute."

He unlocked the door, and I cleared out up the river-bank. I noticed some pieces of limbs and such things floating down, and a sprinkling of bark; so I knowed the river had begun to rise. I reckoned I would have great times now if I was over at the town. The June rise used to be always luck for me; because as soon as that rise begins here comes cordwood floating down, and pieces of log rafts -- sometimes a dozen logs together; so all you have to do is to catch them and sell them to the wood-yards and the sawmill.

I went along up the bank with one eye out for pap and t'other one out for what the rise might fetch along. Well, all at once here comes a canoe; just a beauty, too, about thirteen or fourteen foot long, riding high like a duck. I shot head-first off of the bank like a frog, clothes and all on, and struck out for the canoe. I just expected there'd be somebody laying down in it, because people often done that to fool folks, and when a chap had pulled a skiff out most to it they'd raise up and laugh at him. But it warn't so this time. It was a drift-canoe sure enough, and I clumb in and paddled her ashore. Thinks I, the old man will be glad when he sees this -- she's worth ten dollars. But when I got to shore pap wasn't in sight yet, and as I was running her into a little creek like a gully, all hung over with vines and willows, I struck another idea: I judged I'd hide her good, and then, 'stead of taking to the woods when I run off, I'd go down the river about fifty mile and camp in one place for good, and not have such a rough time tramping on foot.

It was pretty close to the shanty, and I thought I heard the old man coming all the time; but I got her hid; and then I out and looked around a bunch of willows, and there was the old man down the path a piece just drawing a bead on a bird with his gun. So he hadn't seen anything.

When he got along I was hard at it taking up a "trot" line. He abused me a little for being so slow; but I told him I fell in the river, and that was what made me so long. I knowed he would see I was wet, and then he would be asking questions. We got five catfish off the lines and went home.

While we laid off after breakfast to sleep up, both of us being about wore out, I got to thinking that if I could fix up some way to keep pap and the widow from trying to follow me, it would be a certainer thing than trusting to luck to get far enough off before they missed me; you see, all kinds of things might happen. Well, I didn't see no way for a while, but by and by pap raised up a minute to drink another barrel of water, and he says:

"Another time a man comes a-prowling round here you roust me out, you hear? That man warn't here for no good. I'd a shot him. Next time you roust me out, you hear?"

Then he dropped down and went to sleep again; but what he had been saying give me the very idea I wanted. I says to myself, I can fix it now so nobody won't think of following me.

About twelve o'clock we turned out and went along up the bank. The river was coming up pretty fast, and lots of driftwood going by on the rise. By and by along comes part of a log raft -- nine logs fast together. We went out with the skiff and towed it ashore. Then we had dinner. Anybody but pap would a waited and seen the day through, so as to catch more stuff; but that warn't pap's style. Nine logs was enough for one time; he must shove right over to town and sell. So he locked me in and took the skiff, and started off towing the raft about halfpast three. I judged he wouldn't come back that night. I waited till I reckoned he had got a good start; then I out with my saw, and went to work on that log again. Before he was t'other side of the river I was out of the hole; him and his raft was just a speck on the water away off yonder.

I took the sack of corn meal and took it to where the canoe was hid, and shoved the vines and branches apart and put it in; then I done the same with the side of bacon; then the whisky-jug. I took all the coffee and sugar there was, and all the ammunition; I took the wadding; I took the bucket and gourd; I took a dipper and a tin cup, and my old saw and two blankets, and the skillet and the coffee-pot. I took fish-lines and matches and other things -- everything that was worth a cent. I cleaned out the place. I wanted an axe, but there wasn't any, only the one out at the woodpile, and I knowed why I was going to leave that. I fetched out the gun, and now I was done.

I had wore the ground a good deal crawling out of the hole and dragging out so many things. So I fixed that as good as I could from the outside by scattering dust on the place, which covered up the smoothness and the sawdust. Then I fixed the piece of log back into its place, and put two rocks under it and one against it to hold it there, for it was bent up at that place and didn't quite touch ground. If you stood four or five foot away and didn't know it was sawed, you wouldn't never notice it; and besides, this was the back of the cabin, and it warn't likely anybody would go fooling around there.

It was all grass clear to the canoe, so I hadn't left a track. I followed around to see. I stood on the bank and looked out over the river. All safe. So I took the gun and went up a piece into the woods, and was hunting around for some birds when I see a wild pig; hogs soon went wild in them bottoms after they had got away from the prairie farms. I shot this fellow and took him into camp.

I took the axe and smashed in the door. I beat it and hacked it considerable a-doing it. I fetched the pig in, and took him back nearly to the table and hacked into his throat with the axe, and laid him down on the ground to bleed; I say ground because it was ground -- hard packed, and no boards. Well, next I took an old sack and put a lot of big rocks in it -- all I could drag -- and I started it from the pig, and dragged it to the door and through the woods down to the river and dumped it in, and down it sunk, out of sight. You could easy see that something had been dragged over the ground. I did wish Tom Sawyer was there; I knowed he would take an interest in this kind of business, and throw in the fancy touches. Nobody could spread himself like Tom Sawyer in such a thing as that.

Well, last I pulled out some of my hair, and blooded the axe good, and stuck it on the back side, and slung the axe in the corner. Then I took up the pig and held him to my breast with my jacket (so he couldn't drip) till I got a good piece below the house and then dumped him into the river. Now I thought of something else. So I went and got the bag of meal and my old saw out of the canoe, and fetched them to the house. I took the bag to where it used to stand, and ripped a hole in the bottom of it with the saw, for there warn't no knives and forks on the place -- pap done everything with his clasp-knife about the cooking. Then I carried the sack about a hundred yards across the grass and through the willows east of the house, to a shallow lake that was five mile wide and full of rushes -- and ducks too, you might say, in the season. There was a slough or a creek leading out of it on the other side that went miles away, I don't know where, but it didn't go to the river. The meal sifted out and made a little track all the way to the lake. I dropped pap's whetstone there too, so as to look like it had been done by accident. Then I tied up the rip in the meal sack with a string, so it wouldn't leak no more, and took it and my saw to the canoe again.

It was about dark now; so I dropped the canoe down the river under some willows that hung over the bank, and waited for the moon to rise. I made fast to a willow; then I took a bite to eat, and by and by laid down in the canoe to smoke a pipe and lay out a plan. I says to myself, they'll follow the track of that sackful of rocks to the shore and then drag the river for me. And they'll follow that meal track to the lake and go browsing down the creek that leads out of it to find the robbers that killed me and took the things. They won't ever hunt the river for anything but my dead carcass. They'll soon get tired of that, and won't bother no more about me. All right; I can stop anywhere I want to. Jackson's Island is good enough for me; I know that island pretty well, and nobody ever comes there. And then I can paddle over to town nights, and slink around and pick up things I want. Jackson's Island's the place.

I was pretty tired, and the first thing I knowed I was asleep. When I woke up I didn't know where I was for a minute. I set up and looked around, a little scared. Then I remembered. The river looked miles and miles across. The moon was so bright I could a counted the drift logs that went a-slipping along, black and still, hundreds of yards out from shore. Everything was dead quiet, and it looked late, and SMELT late. You know what I mean -- I don't know the words to put it in.

I took a good gap and a stretch, and was just going to unhitch and start when I heard a sound away over the water. I listened. Pretty soon I made it out. It was that dull kind of a regular sound that comes from oars working in rowlocks when it's a still night. I peeped out through the willow branches, and there it was -- a skiff, away across the water. I couldn't tell how many was in it. It kept a-coming, and when it was abreast of me I see there warn't but one man in it. Think's I, maybe it's pap, though I warn't expecting him. He dropped below me with the current, and by and by he came a-swinging up shore in the easy water, and he went by so close I could a reached out the gun and touched him. Well, it WAS pap, sure enough -- and sober, too, by the way he laid his oars.

I didn't lose no time. The next minute I was aspinning down stream soft but quick in the shade of the bank. I made two mile and a half, and then struck out a quarter of a mile or more towards the middle of the river, because pretty soon I would be passing the ferry landing, and people might see me and hail me. I got out amongst the driftwood, and then laid down in the bottom of the canoe and let her float. I laid there, and had a good rest and a smoke out of my pipe, looking away into the sky; not a cloud in it. The sky looks ever so deep when you lay down on your back in the moonshine; I never knowed it before. And how far a body can hear on the water such nights! I heard people talking at the ferry landing. I heard what they said, too -- every word of it. One man said it was getting towards the long days and the short nights now. T'other one said THIS warn't one of the short ones, he reckoned -- and then they laughed, and he said it over again, and they laughed again; then they waked up another fellow and told him, and laughed, but he didn't laugh; he ripped out something brisk, and said let him alone. The first fellow said he 'lowed to tell it to his old woman -- she would think it was pretty good; but he said that warn't nothing to some things he had said in his time. I heard one man say it was nearly three o'clock, and he hoped daylight wouldn't wait more than about a week longer. After that the talk got further and further away, and I couldn't make out the words any more; but I could hear the mumble, and now and then a laugh, too, but it seemed a long ways off.

I was away below the ferry now. I rose up, and there was Jackson's Island, about two mile and a half down stream, heavy timbered and standing up out of the middle of the river, big and dark and solid, like a steamboat without any lights. There warn't any signs of the bar at the head -- it was all under water now.

It didn't take me long to get there. I shot past the head at a ripping rate, the current was so swift, and then I got into the dead water and landed on the side towards the Illinois shore. I run the canoe into a deep dent in the bank that I knowed about; I had to part the willow branches to get in; and when I made fast nobody could a seen the canoe from the outside.

I went up and set down on a log at the head of the island, and looked out on the big river and the black driftwood and away over to the town, three mile away, where there was three or four lights twinkling. A monstrous big lumber-raft was about a mile up stream, coming along down, with a lantern in the middle of it. I watched it come creeping down, and when it was most abreast of where I stood I heard a man say, "Stern oars, there! heave her head to stabboard!" I heard that just as plain as if the man was by my side.

There was a little gray in the sky now; so I stepped into the woods, and laid down for a nap before breakfast.

“起来，你怎么搞的！”
    我张开眼睛，四下里一望，想知道自己身在何处。太阳已经升起，我是睡得熟了。爸爸
站在我面前，一脸不快的模样——而且病歪歪的。他说：
    “你摆弄这枝枪干什么来的？”
    我断定他对自己那场所作所为全不知晓，就说：
    “有人想进来，我埋伏好了。”
    “干什么不叫醒我？”
    “我叫过，可叫不醒，推你也推不醒。”
    “嗯，好吧。别一整天站在那儿，废话连篇。跟我一起出门去看看，看有没有鱼上钩，
好弄来吃早饭，我一会儿就来。”
    他把上了锁的门打开了，我走了出去，上了河岸边。见到有些树枝之类的东西往下漂
去，还有些树皮。这样，我就知道大河开始涨水了。我思量，如果我是在那边镇上的话，如
今该是我的大好时光了。六月涨水，我往常总会交好运。因为一开始涨水，总有些大块木料
漂下来，还有零散的木筏子——有时候会有整打原木捆绑在一起的，你只要拦住，便可以卖
给木材场或者锯木厂。
    我往河岸上走去，一只眼睛留意着爸爸，另一只眼睛留心看这回涨水能捞到些什么。
啊，但见一只独木小舟，看起来多么漂漂亮亮的，长十三、四英尺，浮在水上面活象一只鸭
子。我象一只青蛙一般，从岸上纵身一跃，身上的衣服还全都没有脱，朝独木小舟游去。我
料想，会有人躺在船身里，因为人家往往喜欢这么作弄人，只等有人把船划近，他就直起身
来，把人家取笑一顿。可是这一回倒不是这样。这是一只漂来的无主的独木小舟，肯定是如
此，我爬上了这独木小舟，划到了岸边。我心想，老头子一见到，准定会高兴——这小舟能
值十块大洋。不过我一上岸，不见爸爸的影子。我把小舟划到了一条类似溪沟的小河浜里，
水面上挂满了藤萝和柳条，这时我心生一计。我断定，小舟我能藏好，不会有差错，等我出
逃时，不必钻树林子了，不妨下到下游五十英里开外的去处，挑一个地方露营扎寨，免得靠
双脚走，搞得累死累活的。
    这里离木屋很近，我仿佛老觉得老头儿正在走回来。不过，我还是把独木小舟给藏了起
来。接着，我走了出来，绕着一丛杨柳树，往四下里一张望，但见老头儿正沿着小径往下走
来，正用他那枝枪瞄准了一只小鸟。这样说来，他什么也没有看见啰。
    他走过来的时候，我正使劲把拦河钩绳①往上拉。他责怪了我几句干得太慢之类的话，
不过我对他说，我掉进了河水里，这才把时间拖久了。我知道，他会看到我湿漉漉的身子，
还会问这问那。我们从拦河钩上搞到了五条大鲶鱼，就回到了家里。    ①诺顿版注：拦河钩绳是一条很长的钓鱼绳，上面拴着许多钓鱼钩，横在河上，一头放在水底，一头拴在岸旁树枝上。

吃了早饭以后，我们开始休息，准备睡一觉。我们两人全都累坏了。我可得盘算盘算，要是我能找到个什么法子，不让我爸爸和那个寡妇老缠着我不放，那就肯定比光靠运气要来得强，好叫我在他们还没有发觉以前，就来个远走高飞。啊！暂时嘛，我还没有找到一个法子。这时，爸爸起身又喝了一罐水。他说：“下一回再看见有人蹑手蹑脚到这儿转游，务必把我叫醒，听到了吧？此人来者不善，我要打死他。下一回，你可要叫醒我，听到了吧？”说过，就往下一躺，又睡了。——可他的话激起了我恰恰正急切需要的一个念头。此时此刻，我得打定一个主意，好叫谁也不用想来追踪我。十二点钟左右，我们出了门，沿着河岸走动。河水流得好急。随着涨水，不少木料淌过去——有九根原木紧紧捆绑在一起的。我们驾着小船追过去，拖到了岸边。接着，吃了中饭。除了爸爸，谁都会一整天守在那里，好多捞些东西，可他不是那种风格的人。一回有九根原木，那就足够啦。他必须立时立刻搞到镇上去，把原木给卖了。这样，他就把我锁在了屋内，驾着小船，把木筏子拖走，时间是下午三点半钟。我断定，今晚上他是不会回来了。我安心等着，等到他早已动身了，便取出了我那把锯子，又对那个原木干开了。在他划到河对岸以前，我已经从洞中爬了出来，他和他那节木筏子在远处河上只是一个黑点子罢了。我拿了那袋玉米粉，拿到了藏那只独木小舟的地方，拨开了藤萝枝桠，放到了小舟上。接着把那块腌肉和威士忌酒瓶放到了小舟上。还拿走了所有的咖啡和糖，还有火药，也全部带走。我还带走了塞弹药的填料，还有水桶和水瓢。还有一只勺子和一只洋铁杯子。还有我那把锯子，两条毯子。还有平底锅和咖啡壶。我还带走了钓鱼竿、火柴和诸如此类的东西——凡是值一分钱以上的东西，一股脑儿带走。我把那个地方都给搬空了。我需要一把斧子，不过没有多的了，只有柴堆那边唯一的一把了。我懂得为什么要把这个留下来。我找出了那杆枪。这样，我此时此刻，一切都搞好了。我从洞洞里爬出来，又拖出了这么多的东西，把地面磨平得相当厉害。因此我就从外面用心收拾了一下，在那里撒些尘土，把磨平的地方用锯屑给盖住了。接下来把那段木头放回原处，在木头下面垫上了两块石头，另外搬一块顶住那节木头，不让它坠下来——因为木头正是在这儿有点儿弯，并不贴着地面。你要是站在四五步外，不会知道这节木头是锯过了的。再说，这是在木屋的背后，没有人会到那儿去转游。从这里到独木小舟那边，一路上尽长着青草，因此我并没有留下什么痕迹。我沿路察看了一遍。我站在河岸上，望着外边的大河之上。一切太平无事。我便提了枪，走进了林子，走了有一箭之遥，想打几只鸟。这时，我发现了一头野猪。家养的猪，从草原之上的农家一跑出来，不久便成了野猪。我一枪把那头野猪打死了，往回拖到住处。我拿起了斧头，砸开了门——我又劈又砍，使了好大劲，才成功了。我把猪拖了进去，拖到了离桌子不远之处，一斧头砍进了猪的喉咙口，把它放在地上流血——我这里说的是地上，因为这确实是地面上。是夯结实的地面，没有铺木板。好啊，下一步呢，我拿来了一只旧的麻袋，往里面放进了不少大的石头——能拖来多少就拖多少——就从猪身子旁边开始，拖着口袋，拖到门口，推进林子，拖到河边，扔进河里，口袋就沉了下去，不见踪影。你一眼便可看出，在这里，有什么东西在地面上给拖过了的。我但愿汤姆·索亚能在这里。我知道，他对这类玩意儿肯定会兴趣十足，搞出些异想天开的点子来。在这方面，没有人赶得上汤姆·索亚那么内行。啊，最后呢，我拔了我的几根头发，在斧头上涂满了猪血，并且把头发沾在斧头的一边。接下来，我抱起那只猪来，贴紧了我胸前的外衣上（这样血就不会滴下来），一直到我找定了屋外一处理想的地方，然后扔进了河里。在这么一个时刻，我又想到了另外一个念头。我便走回去，把那袋玉米和我那把锯子，从独木小舟给取了出来，送回了木屋。把袋子放回平常安放的原处，用锯子在口袋底下钻了一个小洞，因为那里没有刀子或者叉子——爸爸烧菜总是光用他那把折叠刀。接下来，我背着那个袋子，走了一百码的光景，经过那片青草地，穿过屋外东手那个柳树林，到了那浅浅的湖边，有五英里宽，长满了芦苇——你不妨说，一到季节，还会有野鸭哩。在湖面的另一头，有一个水沟或者一处溪沟，可以通出去几英里之外，不知道通往何处，不过并非是注入大河的。王米粉一路漏出来，到浅湖边上，留下了小小的一道印子。我把爸爸的磨刀石也掉在那里，人家一看，会以为是无意间掉下来的。然后我把玉米粉袋的口子给缝了起来，不会再漏了，便把那个袋子和我那把锯子又带回了独木小舟上。这时，天擦黑了，所以我把小舟放到了河上，河岸上的几株柳树覆盖着小舟，我就在那儿等着月亮升起。我把独木舟系紧在一株柳树上。我吃了口东西，隔了一会儿，在小舟上躺了下来，吸了口烟，然后计上了心头。我在心里算计，人家会跟踪这袋石块，一直追到岸边，然后往河里寻找我。人家还会跟踪这玉米粉袋，一直追到湖面上，然后沿着从湖水流出的小溪，寻找那些杀死了我、抢劫了财物的强盗。人家往河里找的，无非只是我的尸体。不用多久，人家就会找得厌烦了，不会再为了我烦心。好吧，我哪里都可以去得。杰克逊岛①呢，对我来说，可说是个好去处。这座岛我挺熟悉，没有别的人去过。这样，到了夜晚，我就可以划到镇上去，到处偷偷地遛遛，捡些我用得着的东西。杰克逊岛恰好是这样的去处。

①诺顿版注：《汤姆·索亚历险记》中也写了杰克逊岛，乃虚构的名字、实为格拉索克岛，在马克·吐温故乡附近的密西西比河上，后被淹没掉了。

我也真累了，不知不觉便睡着了。待到醒回来，一时间不知道身子在何方。我直起身子，四周一张望，可吓了一跳。不久就又回想起来了。河面上仿佛有好多英里宽。月亮通明，那往下漂过的圆木，我几乎能数得清清楚楚。离河岸上百码外，一片漆黑，一片寂静。一切死一般静悄悄。看来不早了，你闻得出来，时间不早了。我是什么个意思，你准知道——我不知道用什么样的词才能表达我的这个意思。我打了一个呵欠，伸了一下懒腰，刚准备解开绳子打算走的时候，听到远处河面上传来一点声响。我仔细听了一下。很快，我就听出来了。这是每逢寂静的夜晚，船桨在桨架子上发出的那种有节奏的沉闷的声音。我从柳树枝桠缝缝里往外偷偷张望，可不——河对面正有一只敞篷平底船。上面有多少人，我一时间还看不清。它正迎面驶来，等到几乎来到我面前的时候，才见到原来只有一个人。我心想，也许正是我爸爸吧。尽管我才不盼望是他呢。他顺着水势，在我的下面停了桨，在水势平稳的地方划到岸边。他离我离得那么贴近，我要是把枪杆支出去，就能触着他的身子。啊，正是爸爸，千真万确——并且不是喝醉的样子，这从他划桨的那个模样可以看得出来。我毫未迟疑，马上就沿着岸荫底下，悄悄地、快速地朝下游划去。我划了两英里半，然后朝河中央划了四分之一英里多一些，因为我很快便会划到渡口，人家可能会看到我，跟我打招呼。我插到了漂着的木头中间，然后在独木小舟上往下一躺，听任着它漂到哪里就是哪里。我躺在那里，舒舒服服地休息，吸了一口烟，望着远处的天空，只见万里无云。在月光下，躺着望天，才发现天这么幽深，这是我从前所不知道的。象这样的夜晚，河上的声音，老远老远都听得到！渡口那边的说话声，我也听到了。还一个字一个字听得一清二楚。只听见有一个人在说，现今是快到日长夜短的时刻了。另一个人说，依他看，今晚上还不是夜短的时刻——接着他们笑了起来。这人把上面的话又说了一遍，两人又笑了起来。接下来，他叫醒了另一个人，对他也说了一遍，并且笑开了，可是这人并没有笑，只说了句气话，叫人家别惹他。第一个人说，他要把这话告诉他老婆——她准定会认为说得很对。不过，要是和他当年说过的一些话相比，这就算不上什么了。我又听见一个人在说，快三点钟了，但愿等天亮，不必象等一星期那么久。在这以后，谈话声越来越远，再也听不清在说些什么了，不过还能依稀传来些声响，间或有一声笑声，从远处传来。现今我已经漂过了渡口。我直起身来，杰克逊岛就在眼前啦，就在河下两英里半外，林木深深，耸立在大河中央。又大，又黑森森，又沉稳，活象一只没有点灯的大轮。岛上顶端的沙洲，连一点儿影子也看不见——如今都沉在水里了。我没有花多大功夫就划到了那里。水流很急，我的小舟箭一般划过岛的顶端。接下来划到了静水地段，便在面对着伊利诺斯州的一边上了岸。我把小划子划到了我本来熟悉的一个深湾里去。我得拨开柳树丛的枝桠，这才进得去。等我们小划子栓好后，谁也无法从外边看到它的影子。我上了岸，坐在岛顶端一根圆木上，朝外一望，只见前边是大河，还有黑森森漂流着的木头，三英里路外便是镇上了，只见三四点光亮在闪闪烁烁。上游一英里路外，正有一排庞然大物似的木筏子漂过来，木排正中间点着一盏灯。我看着它慢悠悠地过来，快到跟前时听到一个男子在说，“喂，摇尾浆啊！往右边掉头！”听得一清二楚，就仿佛这人是在我身边说的话。天上有些发灰了。我便钻进了林子，躺了下来，在吃早饭以前，先打个瞌睡吧。