you most to death.' So then I couldn't sleep that night, and
the next mornin' I started early for the farm, to get you to go now to
see Tom Sawyer; for when a thing like this happens, the only thing to do
is to go away, just as fur as you can."

Mitch had been talkin' slower and slower, and finally he gave a kind of
long breath, and I knew he was asleep. I crawled to the edge of the roof
and looked out at the river, at the red lanterns on the bridge which was
reflected in the water, at the river, which I could see movin' like a
tired snake, at the dark woods across the river. Then I slid back near
to Mitch and fell asleep too.

CHAPTER XIX

Something woke me up. I don't know what. I didn't know where I was at
first. There wasn't a sound except a dog barkin' way off. Mitch was
sound asleep. Pretty soon I thought I heard somethin' way down the
river. I kept lookin', past the bridge where the red lanterns hung, way
down into the darkness of the river, between the woods. And all of a
sudden I saw two lights, then more lights, then fire shot straight up
from smokestacks. It was a steamboat. It must be the _City of Peoria_,
from St. Louis.

I shook Mitch and got him to. He rubbed his eyes, then jumped up sudden
and strong. He stood up and looked. "Skeet," he says, "there she is. Who
knows Tom Sawyer may have seen her this week or last week? Tom Sawyer
may have been on her. What would you think if Tom Sawyer was actually on
her, takin' a trip? For he can go anywheres he wants to, havin' as much
money as he has."

So we stood up and watched her. And pretty soon we could hear her puff,
and see all the lights and see the fire and the sparks shoot out of the
smokestacks; and as far as I could see, there wasn't no one but Mitch
and me watchin' her and waitin' for her to come in. It seemed she'd
never get in. She puffed and blowed. The current must have been awful
strong. By and by we thought we could hear voices on her; we could hear
the bell. And finally she came under the bridge, blowin' smoke and
noise right against the floor of the bridge with a louder noise. That
was about a half a mile away, it seemed. And pretty soon then she swung
to right opposite the shed where we was, and nosed in. They threw down a
gang plank and the men began to work, niggers and such. We went down and
watched 'em. The captain came along, and Mitch says to me, "Now we got
to find out about the boat, and we've got to get a job on her and wo