mountain. He began to wish he could see a flash from the lantern--it

would frighten him, but it would at least tell him that Tom was alive

yet. It seemed hours since Tom had disappeared. Surely he must have

fainted; maybe he was dead; maybe his heart had burst under terror and

excitement. In his uneasiness Huck found himself drawing closer and

closer to the alley; fearing all sorts of dreadful things, and

momentarily expecting some catastrophe to happen that would take away

his breath. There was not much to take away, for he seemed only able to

inhale it by thimblefuls, and his heart would soon wear itself out, the

way it was beating. Suddenly there was a flash of light and Tom came

tearing by him: "Run!" said he; "run, for your life!"

He needn't have repeated it; once was enough; Huck was making thirty

or forty miles an hour before the repetition was uttered. The boys

never stopped till they reached the shed of a deserted slaughter-house

at the lower end of the village. Just as they got within its shelter

the storm burst and the rain poured down. As soon as Tom got his breath

he said:

Huck, it was awful! I tried two of the keys, just as soft as I could;

but they seemed to make such a power of racket that I couldn't hardly

get my breath I was so scared. They wouldn't turn in the lock, either.

Well, without noticing what I was doing, I took hold of the knob, and

open comes the door! It warn't locked! I hopped in, and shook off the

towel, and, GREAT CAESAR'S GHOST!"

264

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer