08 Mark Twain, 'Huckleberry Finn'

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knees. I give his shoulder two or three little shoves, and begun to
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cry.
He stirred up, in a kind of a startlish way; but when he see it was
only me, he took a good gap and stretch, and then he says:
"Hello, what's up? Don't cry, bub. What's the trouble?"
I says:
"Pap, and mam, and sis, and-"
Then I broke down. He says:
"Oh, dang it, now, don't take on so, we all has to have our
troubles and this'n 'll come out all right. What's the matter with
'em?"
"They're- they're- are you the watchman of the boat?"
"Yes," he says, kind of pretty-well-satisfied like. "I'm the
captain and the owner, and the mate, and the pilot, and watchman,
and head deck-hand; and sometimes I'm the freight and passengers.
I ain't as rich as old Jim Hornback, and I can't be so blame'
generous and good to Tom, Dick and Harry as what he is, and slam
around money the way he does; but I've told him a many a time 't I
wouldn't trade places with him; for, says I, a sailor's life's the life
for me, and I'm derned if I'd live two mile out o' town, where there
ain't nothing ever goin'on, not for all his spondulicks and as much
more on top of it. Says I-"
I broke in and says:
"They're in an awful peck of trouble, and-"
"Who is?"
"Why, pap, and mam, and sis, and Miss Hooker; and if you'd
take your ferry-boat and go up there-"
"Up where? Where are they?"
"On the wreck."
"What wreck?"
"Why, there ain't but one."
"What, you don't mean the Walter Scott?"
"Yes."
"Good land! What are they doin' there, for gracious sakes?"
"Well, they didn't go there a-purpose."
"I bet they didn't! Why, great goodness, there ain't no chance for
'em if they don't git off mighty quick! Why, how in the nation did
they ever git into such a scrape?"
"Easy enough. Miss Hooker was a-visiting, up there to the
town-"
"Yes, Booth's Landing- go on."
"She was a-visiting, there at Booth's Landing, and just in the
edge of the evening she started over with her nigger woman in the
horse-ferry, to stay all night at her friend's house, Miss
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What-you-may-call-her, I disremember her name, and they lost
their steering-oar, and swung around and went afloating down,
stern-first, about two mile, and saddle-baggsed on the wreck, and
the ferry man and the nigger woman and the horses was all lost,
but Miss Hooker she made a grab and got aboard the wreck. Well,
about an hour after dark, we come along down in our trading-scow,
and it was so dark we didn't notice the wreck till we was right on
it; and so we saddle-baggsed; but all of us was saved but Bill
Whipple- and oh, he was the best cretur!- I most wish't it had been
me, I do."
"My George! It's the beatenest thing I ever struck. And then
what did you all do?"
"Well, we hollered and took on, but it's so wide there, we
couldn't make nobody hear. So pap said somebody got to get
ashore and get help somehow. I was the only one that could swim,
so I made a dash for it, and Miss Hooker she said if I didn't strike
help sooner, come here and hunt up her uncle, and he'd fix the
thing. I made the land about a mile below, and been fooling along
ever since, trying to get people to do something, but they said,
'What, in such a night and such a current? there ain't no sense in it;
go for the steam-ferry.' Now if you'll go, and-"
"By Jackson, I'd like to, and blame it I don't know but I will; but
who in the dingnation's agoin' to pay for it? Do you reckon your
pap-"
"Why that's all right. Miss Hooker she told me, particular, that
her uncle Hornback-"
"Great guns! is he her uncle? Looky here, you break for that
light over yonder-way, and turn out west when you git there, and
about a quarter of a mile out you'll come to the tavern; tell 'em to
dart you out to Jim Hornback's and he'll foot the bill. And don't
you fool around any, because he'll want to know the news. Tell
him I'll have his niece all safe before he can get to town. Hump
yourself, now; I'm agoing up around the corner here, to roust out
my engineer."
I struck for the light, but as soon as he turned the corner I went
back and got into my skiff and bailed her out and then pulled up
shore in the easy water about six hundred yards, and tucked myself
in among some woodboats; for I couldn't rest easy till I could see
the ferry-boat start. But take it all around, I was feeling ruther
comfortable on accounts of taking all this trouble for that gang, for
not many would a done it. I wished the widow knowed about it. I [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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