The Adventures of Tom Sawyer


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reasoned. Tom's fright weakened every muscle in his body. He said to  
himself that if he had strength enough to get back to the spring he  
would stay there, and nothing should tempt him to run the risk of  
meeting Injun Joe again. He was careful to keep from Becky what it was  
he had seen. He told her he had only shouted "for luck."  
But hunger and wretchedness rise superior to fears in the long run.  
Another tedious wait at the spring and another long sleep brought  
changes. The children awoke tortured with a raging hunger. Tom believed  
that it must be Wednesday or Thursday or even Friday or Saturday, now,  
and that the search had been given over. He proposed to explore another  
passage. He felt willing to risk Injun Joe and all other terrors. But  
Becky was very weak. She had sunk into a dreary apathy and would not be  
roused. She said she would wait, now, where she was, and die--it would  
not be long. She told Tom to go with the kite-line and explore if he  
chose; but she implored him to come back every little while and speak  
to her; and she made him promise that when the awful time came, he  
would stay by her and hold her hand until all was over.  
Tom kissed her, with a choking sensation in his throat, and made a  
show of being confident of finding the searchers or an escape from the  
cave; then he took the kite-line in his hand and went groping down one  
of the passages on his hands and knees, distressed with hunger and sick  
with bodings of coming doom.  
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Page
304 305 306 307 308

Quick Jump
1 85 170 254 339