WE went tiptoeing along a path amongst the trees back towards the end of the widow's garden, stooping down so as the branches wouldn't scrape our heads. When we was passing by the kitchen I fell over a root and made a noise. We scrouched down and laid still. Miss Watson's big nigger, named Jim, was setting in the kitchen door; we could see him pretty clear, because there was a light behind him. He got up and stretched his neck out about a minute, listening. Then he says:

"Who dah?"

He listened some more; then he come tiptoeing down and stood right between us; we could a touched him, nearly. Well, likely it was minutes and minutes that there warn't a sound, and we all there so close together. There was a place on my ankle that got to itching, but I dasn't scratch it; and then my ear begun to itch; and next my back, right between my shoulders. Seemed like I'd die if I couldn't scratch. Well, I've noticed that thing plenty times since. If you are with the quality, or at a funeral, or trying to go to sleep when you ain't sleepy -- if you are anywheres where it won't do for you to scratch, why you will itch all over in upwards of a thousand places. Pretty soon Jim says:

"Say, who is you? Whar is you? Dog my cats ef I didn' hear sumf'n. Well, I know what I's gwyne to do: I's gwyne to set down here and listen tell I hears it agin."

So he set down on the ground betwixt me and Tom. He leaned his back up against a tree, and stretched his legs out till one of them most touched one of mine. My nose begun to itch. It itched till the tears come into my eyes. But I dasn't scratch. Then it begun to itch on the inside. Next I got to itching underneath. I didn't know how I was going to set still. This miserableness went on as much as six or seven minutes; but it seemed a sight longer than that. I was itching in eleven different places now. I reckoned I couldn't stand it more'n a minute longer, but I set my teeth hard and got ready to try. Just then Jim begun to breathe heavy; next he begun to snore -- and then I was pretty soon comfortable again.

Tom he made a sign to me -- kind of a little noise with his mouth -- and we went creeping away on our hands and knees. When we was ten foot off Tom whispered to me, and wanted to tie Jim to the tree for fun. But I said no; he might wake and make a disturbance, and then they'd find out I warn't in. Then Tom said he hadn't got candles enough, and he would slip in the kitchen and get some more. I didn't want him to try. I said Jim might wake up and come. But Tom wanted to resk it; so we slid in there and got three candles, and Tom laid five cents on the table for pay. Then we got out, and I was in a sweat to get away; but nothing would do Tom but he must crawl to where Jim was, on his hands and knees, and play something on him. I waited, and it seemed a good while, everything was so still and lonesome.

As soon as Tom was back we cut along the path, around the garden fence, and by and by fetched up on the steep top of the hill the other side of the house. Tom said he slipped Jim's hat off of his head and hung it on a limb right over him, and Jim stirred a little, but he didn't wake. Afterwards Jim said the witches bewitched him and put him in a trance, and rode him all over the State, and then set him under the trees again, and hung his hat on a limb to show who done it. And next time Jim told it he said they rode him down to New Orleans; and, after that, every time he told it he spread it more and more, till by and by he said they rode him all over the world, and tired him most to death, and his back was all over saddle-boils. Jim was monstrous proud about it, and he got so he wouldn't hardly notice the other niggers. Niggers would come miles to hear Jim tell about it, and he was more looked up to than any nigger in that country. Strange niggers would stand with their mouths open and look him all over, same as if he was a wonder. Niggers is always talking about witches in the dark by the kitchen fire; but whenever one was talking and letting on to know all about such things, Jim would happen in and say, "Hm! What you know 'bout witches?" and that nigger was corked up and had to take a back seat. Jim always kept that five-center piece round his neck with a string, and said it was a charm the devil give to him with his own hands, and told him he could cure anybody with it and fetch witches whenever he wanted to just by saying something to it; but he never told what it was he said to it. Niggers would come from all around there and give Jim anything they had, just for a sight of that fivecenter piece; but they wouldn't touch it, because the devil had had his hands on it. Jim was most ruined for a servant, because he got stuck up on account of having seen the devil and been rode by witches.

Well, when Tom and me got to the edge of the hilltop we looked away down into the village and could see three or four lights twinkling, where there was sick folks, maybe; and the stars over us was sparkling ever so fine; and down by the village was the river, a whole mile broad, and awful still and grand. We went down the hill and found Jo Harper and Ben Rogers, and two or three more of the boys, hid in the old tanyard. So we unhitched a skiff and pulled down the river two mile and a half, to the big scar on the hillside, and went ashore.

We went to a clump of bushes, and Tom made everybody swear to keep the secret, and then showed them a hole in the hill, right in the thickest part of the bushes. Then we lit the candles, and crawled in on our hands and knees. We went about two hundred yards, and then the cave opened up. Tom poked about amongst the passages, and pretty soon ducked under a wall where you wouldn't a noticed that there was a hole. We went along a narrow place and got into a kind of room, all damp and sweaty and cold, and there we stopped. Tom says:

"Now, we'll start this band of robbers and call it Tom Sawyer's Gang. Everybody that wants to join has got to take an oath, and write his name in blood."

Everybody was willing. So Tom got out a sheet of paper that he had wrote the oath on, and read it. It swore every boy to stick to the band, and never tell any of the secrets; and if anybody done anything to any boy in the band, whichever boy was ordered to kill that person and his family must do it, and he mustn't eat and he mustn't sleep till he had killed them and hacked a cross in their breasts, which was the sign of the band. And nobody that didn't belong to the band could use that mark, and if he did he must be sued; and if he done it again he must be killed. And if anybody that belonged to the band told the secrets, he must have his throat cut, and then have his carcass burnt up and the ashes scattered all around, and his name blotted off of the list with blood and never mentioned again by the gang, but have a curse put on it and be forgot forever.

Everybody said it was a real beautiful oath, and asked Tom if he got it out of his own head. He said, some of it, but the rest was out of pirate-books and robber-books, and every gang that was high-toned had it.

Some thought it would be good to kill the FAMILIES of boys that told the secrets. Tom said it was a good idea, so he took a pencil and wrote it in. Then Ben Rogers says:

"Here's Huck Finn, he hain't got no family; what you going to do 'bout him?"

"Well, hain't he got a father?" says Tom Sawyer.

"Yes, he's got a father, but you can't never find him these days. He used to lay drunk with the hogs in the tanyard, but he hain't been seen in these parts for a year or more."

They talked it over, and they was going to rule me out, because they said every boy must have a family or somebody to kill, or else it wouldn't be fair and square for the others. Well, nobody could think of anything to do -- everybody was stumped, and set still. I was most ready to cry; but all at once I thought of a way, and so I offered them Miss Watson -- they could kill her. Everybody said:

"Oh, she'll do. That's all right. Huck can come in."

Then they all stuck a pin in their fingers to get blood to sign with, and I made my mark on the paper.

"Now," says Ben Rogers, "what's the line of business of this Gang?"

"Nothing only robbery and murder," Tom said.

"But who are we going to rob? -- houses, or cattle, or --"

"Stuff! stealing cattle and such things ain't robbery; it's burglary," says Tom Sawyer. "We ain't burglars. That ain't no sort of style. We are highwaymen. We stop stages and carriages on the road, with masks on, and kill the people and take their watches and money."

"Must we always kill the people?"

"Oh, certainly. It's best. Some authorities think different, but mostly it's considered best to kill them -- except some that you bring to the cave here, and keep them till they're ransomed."

"Ransomed? What's that?"

"I don't know. But that's what they do. I've seen it in books; and so of course that's what we've got to do."

"But how can we do it if we don't know what it is?"

"Why, blame it all, we've GOT to do it. Don't I tell you it's in the books? Do you want to go to doing different from what's in the books, and get things all muddled up?"

"Oh, that's all very fine to SAY, Tom Sawyer, but how in the nation are these fellows going to be ransomed if we don't know how to do it to them? -- that's the thing I want to get at. Now, what do you reckon it is?"

"Well, I don't know. But per'aps if we keep them till they're ransomed, it means that we keep them till they're dead. "

"Now, that's something LIKE. That'll answer. Why couldn't you said that before? We'll keep them till they're ransomed to death; and a bothersome lot they'll be, too -- eating up everything, and always trying to get loose."

"How you talk, Ben Rogers. How can they get loose when there's a guard over them, ready to shoot them down if they move a peg?"

"A guard! Well, that IS good. So somebody's got to set up all night and never get any sleep, just so as to watch them. I think that's foolishness. Why can't a body take a club and ransom them as soon as they get here?"

"Because it ain't in the books so -- that's why. Now, Ben Rogers, do you want to do things regular, or don't you? -- that's the idea. Don't you reckon that the people that made the books knows what's the correct thing to do? Do you reckon YOU can learn 'em anything? Not by a good deal. No, sir, we'll just go on and ransom them in the regular way."

"All right. I don't mind; but I say it's a fool way, anyhow. Say, do we kill the women, too?"

"Well, Ben Rogers, if I was as ignorant as you I wouldn't let on. Kill the women? No; nobody ever saw anything in the books like that. You fetch them to the cave, and you're always as polite as pie to them; and by and by they fall in love with you, and never want to go home any more."

"Well, if that's the way I'm agreed, but I don't take no stock in it. Mighty soon we'll have the cave so cluttered up with women, and fellows waiting to be ransomed, that there won't be no place for the robbers. But go ahead, I ain't got nothing to say."

Little Tommy Barnes was asleep now, and when they waked him up he was scared, and cried, and said he wanted to go home to his ma, and didn't want to be a robber any more.

So they all made fun of him, and called him crybaby, and that made him mad, and he said he would go straight and tell all the secrets. But Tom give him five cents to keep quiet, and said we would all go home and meet next week, and rob somebody and kill some people.

Ben Rogers said he couldn't get out much, only Sundays, and so he wanted to begin next Sunday; but all the boys said it would be wicked to do it on Sunday, and that settled the thing. They agreed to get together and fix a day as soon as they could, and then we elected Tom Sawyer first captain and Jo Harper second captain of the Gang, and so started home.

I clumb up the shed and crept into my window just before day was breaking. My new clothes was all greased up and clayey, and I was dog-tired.

我们踮着脚尖，沿着树丛中小道，朝寡妇园子尽头往回走，一路上弯下身子，免得树桠
子擦破脑袋。我们走过厨房时，我给树根绊了一跤，发出了响声。我们伏下不动。华珍小姐
那个大个儿的黑奴，名叫杰姆的①，正坐在厨房门口。我们把他看得一清二楚，因为他身后
有灯光。只见他站起身来，把颈子往前探，仔细听了一会儿。接着，他说，“谁呀？” ①企鹅版注：杰姆的原型为马克·吐温幼年时叔叔家田庄上的黑奴叫做丹尼尔的。马克·吐温曾夸他品性好。 他又仔细听了一会儿，然后踮起脚尖走下来，就在我们俩的当中，我们几乎能摸到他的身子了。就这样，几分钟、几分钟过去了，一点儿也没有响动，可我们又都靠得那么拢。这时候我脚脖子上有一处发痒，不过我没有动手抓。接着，我耳朵又痒起来了，然后在我的背上，正在我两肩的中间，又痒起来了。真是再不抓便要死了。是啊，从这以后，我发现有好多回就是如此这般。你要是跟有身份的人在一起，或者参加一处葬仪，或是明明睡不着偏要睡，——不论在哪里，只要那里不容许你抓痒，那你就全身会有一千处发起痒来。不一会儿，杰姆在说：“喂——你史（是）谁啊？史（是）什么人？我约（要）是没听到什摸（么），才见鬼哩。好吧，我知道该怎么办。我要坐在这里，等到再听到响声才息（歇）。”这样，他就坐在地上，就在我和汤姆的中间，他背靠着一棵树，两脚往前伸开，一条腿几乎碰到了我的一条腿。我的鼻子开始发痒，痒得我的眼泪都流了出来，不过我没有抓。接着，我鼻孔里也痒了起来，然后是鼻子底下发痒。我真不知道怎样能这么坐着一动也不动。这么难受的罪啊，一直熬了有六七分钟之久，不过在感觉上觉得不止六七分钟。接着，我身上有十一处在发痒。我估摸着，再熬一分钟以上，我可就要顶不住啦。不过，我还是咬咬牙，准备再顶一顶。就在这个时刻，杰姆呼吸得气粗了。再过一会儿，他打起呼噜来了。——这样，我就马上又舒坦起来了。汤姆呢，他给了我一个信号——嘴里发出一点声响，——我们就手脚并用爬开去。爬了十步远，汤姆在我耳朵边低声说，他要把杰姆捆绑在一棵树上，这样好玩儿。我说不行，这样会弄醒他，就会闹将起来，人家就会发现我不在屋里。接着，汤姆说他蜡烛不够用，他想溜进厨房去多找几根蜡烛。我劝他别这么干，我说，杰姆说不定会醒，会跟着来。不过汤姆要冒一冒险，这样，我们就溜了进去，取了三支蜡烛。汤姆在桌上留下了五分钱，算是蜡烛钱。然后，我们出了厨房。我急于想溜走，可是怎么也阻止不了汤姆，他非要手脚并用爬到杰姆那边，跟他开个玩笑。我等着，仿佛等了很久，四下里一片寂静，感觉很孤单。汤姆一回来，我们就绕着园子的围墙，沿着小径往前走。一步步摸上了屋那头陡陡的小山顶。汤姆说他把杰姆的帽子从他头上轻轻摘了下来，挂在他头顶上一根枝桠上。杰姆身子动了一下，不过没有醒。这件事过后，杰姆对人说，妖巫对他施了魔法，搞得他神志昏迷，然后骑着他飞往本州各地，然后把他降落到原来那棵树下，并且把他的帽子桂在枝桠上，好让他知道这究竟是谁干的。到下一回，杰姆告人说，他们把他一直骑到了新奥尔良。再后来，每次对人家吹起来，地界越吹越宽。最后，他告人说，他们骑在他身上飞遍了全世界，搞得他几乎累得要死，他背上也长满了马鞍子磨破了的泡泡。杰姆对这一回的经过，得意得忘乎所以，甚至不把别的黑奴放在眼里。各地的黑奴从老远的地方来听听杰姆讲述这种种经过，他成了这一方黑奴中间最受抬举的人。外地来的黑奴嘴张得大大的，上上下下打量他，仿佛见到了个珍奇宝贝。黑奴一般爱讲黑地里、灶火边，妖巫怎么样怎么样。不过，逢到有人这么讲，显得自己在这方面无所不知，无所不晓。这时，杰姆总会插一嘴，说一声，“哼！你懂得什么‘妖巫’？”那个黑奴就被堵住嘴，不得不往后靠了。杰姆总是把那个五分钱的角子用细绳挂在颈子上，说这是那个妖巫亲手给他的一种法宝，还亲口告诉他这能治一切疑难杂症。并且说只要念念有词，他可以随时把妖巫招请来，不过妖巫告诉他念的那些词，他可从没有对人讲过。黑奴从四面八方来，还给杰姆带来他们所能有的礼物。他们的目的只是为了能见识一下那个五分钱的钱币。不过他们对钱币不敢碰一下，因为这是魔鬼的手摸过了的。作为一个仆人，杰姆这下子可给毁了。因为他既然见过魔鬼，又给妖巫骑在身上过，他就自然而然地神气起来，目空一切了。再说，汤姆和我到了小山头的边边上，我们往下面村子①里一望，见到有三四处闪着灯光。也可能那里有病人吧。我们头顶上的星星呢，闪烁着迷人的光亮。下面村子边上，流淌着那条大河②，整整一英里。那么宽阔，那么寂静，那么庄严。我们走下小山头，找到了乔·哈贝和朋·罗杰斯，还有两三个别的男孩子，都是躲在废了的鞣皮工场里的。于是，我们就解开了一只小舟，顺水划了两英里半路，到了小山边上一处大岩石那儿，就上了岸。 ①指书中的圣彼得堡，原型即作者故乡密苏里的汉尼拔小镇。本为移殖运动中边疆小村，此时已是运输相当繁忙的河港。②指密西西比河。 我们走进了一簇矮树丛，汤姆让大家一个个都宣了誓，表示决心保守秘密，然后领他们到小山上一处山洞前。那里正是矮树丛里树木长得最密的地方。我们就点起了蜡烛，连走带爬地进去了。到了里边两百码处，豁然开朗。汤姆在那一条条过道之间摸索了一阵子，便在一道石壁那里钻了下去，在那里，你根本看不到有一处洞口。我们沿着一条狭窄的过道，闯进了一处类似一个小间的地方，那里一片湿漉漉的，又冷。我们就在那儿停了下来。汤姆说：“啊，我们这个强盗帮就在这里成立啦。我们给它起个名字，就叫它汤姆·索亚帮吧。凡是有心参加的，都得起个誓，还要用血写下自己的名字。”那是人人愿意的。汤姆取出了一张纸，上面写好了誓词，他把誓词念了一遍。誓词说，每个哥儿们忠于本帮，决不把本帮的秘密告诉任何一个人。如果有任何人伤害本帮任何一个哥儿们，因而命令任何一个哥儿们去杀死那个人和他的家里人，那他必须照办。在他把他们杀死，并在他们胸膛上用刀划下本帮的标记也就是十字以前，一概不准吃东西，不准睡觉。凡非本帮的人，一律不得使用这个标志；凡使用了的，初犯者要被控告，再犯者处死。凡本帮成员对外泄露秘密者，必须割断他的喉管，并把尸体烧掉。把骨灰撒掉，名字从血书的名单上除掉。凡属本帮哥儿们，从此一律不许再提到他的名字，而且要加以诅咒，直到永远。人人都说，这才是一个真正了不起的誓词。还问汤姆，这是不是用他自己的脑袋想出来的。他说，有些地方是的，不过其余的出自海盗书上与强盗书上的①。还说，每个强盗帮，凡是帅帅的，都有誓词。有的人认为，凡泄露秘密的哥儿们的家属，理该处死。汤姆说这个意见很好，便用笔记了下来。接着，朋·罗杰斯说：“这儿的哈克·芬呢②，他可没有家属啊——对他该怎么办才好？” ①诺顿版注：吐温对孩子们“假发誓”等的心理描写，暗含着作者对浪漫作品及作家一贯的讥刺态度。译者认为，写密西西比河上水手们的下一代孩子们从小抱打不平的侠义心理，而又充满了幻想、想象，写得如此逼真，如此迷人，这是主要问题所在。当然这并不排斥作者借此对消极浪漫派的笔法讽刺一下。②诺顿版注：乃哈克贝里·芬的简称和昵称。 “啊，他不是有个父亲么？”汤姆·索亚说。“不错，他是有个父亲。不过，在这些日子里，你从来没有见到过他的人影。他老是喝得醉醺醺的，在鞣皮工场的猪圈里睡。在这一带，有一年多见不到他这个人影了。”他们就进行了讨论，还正准备着把我排除在外，理由是每个哥儿们非得有个家或是有个什么人可以杀掉才行啊。不然的话，对其他的人来说，那就太不公平了。是啊，谁都想不出一个办法来——一个个都一筹莫展，呆呆地坐在那里，我真是快要哭出来了。可是突然之间，我想出了一个解决办法。我给大伙儿推出了华珍小姐——他们可以杀死她啊。于是一个个都说：“哦，她行，她行。成了，成了。哈克能加入了。”接着，大伙儿用针头刺自个儿的手指头，刺出血来，写了姓名，我也在纸上血书了姓名。“那么”，朋·罗杰斯说，“我们这个帮干什么样的行当呢？”“就只是抢劫和杀人，其它一律不干，”汤姆说。“可是我们要抢的是什么呢？房子——还是牲口——还是——”“胡说！偷牲口，以及诸如此类，那算什么强盗，那是偷盗，”汤姆说。“我们可不是偷东西的，这算什么气派。我们是拦路行劫的好汉，我们在大路之上拦劫驿车和私家马车，我们头戴面具，我们杀人，我们夺他们的表，夺他们的钱财。”“我们非得老是要杀人么？”“哦，那当然，杀是上策。有些老行家不是这么看，不过大多数认为杀是上策。除非是那类的人，我们把他押到山洞里来，看押在这里，到送来赎金为止。”“赎金？那是怎么一回事啊？”“我也不知道，不过人家就是这么干的，我看到书上是这么写的。因此，我们自然也得这么干。”“我们连那是什么一回事都还没有搞清楚，怎么个干法？”“别光说泄气话，反正我们得干。我不是跟你们说过了么，书上是这么说的。难道你们准备不按书上写的，另搞一套，把事情搞得一团糟？”“哦，说说很容易，汤姆·索亚。不过，要是我们不知道该怎样对付这些人，他妈的，怎样勒索到赎金？我要搞清楚的恰恰正是这个。你估摸着，那该是怎么个办法？”“啊，这我不知道。不过，也许是这样，我们把他们看押好，一直到勒索到赎金，这就是说，一直到他们死去为止。”“嗯，这还多少象句话。这能解决问题，你为什么不早说呢？我们要把他们看押住，直到死去拉倒——也会有不少麻烦事，把什么都吃得光光的，还总是想逃跑。”“看你说的，朋·罗杰斯。有警卫看守着他们，人家怎样能溜得掉，只要胆敢一迈腿，就干掉他们。”“一个警卫。嗯，这倒好。那就得有人整夜值班，决不打瞌睡，就只是为了把他们看押好。我看这是个笨主意。为什么不可以把他们一押到这里，就派人拿一根棍子，马上就勒索赎金？”“就只是因为书上没有这么写——这就是原因所在。朋·罗杰斯，我问你，你是愿意照规矩办事，还是不愿意？——问题恰恰在这里。你以为，写书的人不知道怎样才是正确的办法么？你自以为比他们更高明么？才不呢！先生，不，我们还是要按照通常的规矩勒索赎金。”“好吧，我不在意，不过，我还得说这是个笨办法。——再说，妇女，我们也杀么？”“啊，朋·罗杰斯，我要是跟你一般的笨头笨脑，我不会随便乱说。杀妇女？不——这样的事，谁也从没有在任何哪一本书上看到过。你把她们带到了山洞里。从始至终，你总是对她们斯斯文文的；慢慢地，她们就爱上了你，再也不想回家啦。”“好，要是这样的话，我赞成。不过，我看这行不通。不用好久，山洞里就会挤满妇女和待赎的人，没有强盗待的地方。不过，就这么干吧，我没有什么要说的了。”小汤米·巴恩斯这会儿睡着了，人家把他弄醒的时候，他吓坏了，哭了起来，说要回家，回到妈那里，再也不想干什么强盗了。大家就都笑话他，叫他是个爱哭的娃娃。这样一来，把他可气疯了，说他要马上走，把全部秘密说出去。不过，汤姆给了他五分钱，叫他别作声。还说，我们全体回家转，下星期再聚齐，然后抢劫它几个人，杀它几个人。朋·罗杰斯说他不能多出门，除了逢星期天。因此他主张下星期天再聚会，不过，其余的哥儿们都说星期天干这样的事是邪恶的。这样，问题就定下来了。他们赞成要再碰一次头，尽快定一个日子。接着，我们选举汤姆·索亚为本帮的首领，乔·哈贝为副手，大家就打道回家了。我爬上了棚屋，爬进我的窗户，那正是天蒙蒙亮的时刻。我的新衣服上尽是油渍和土。我困得要命。