splint-bottom arm-chair, was dozing, lulled by the drowsy hum of study.

The interruption roused him.

Thomas Sawyer!"

Tom knew that when his name was pronounced in full, it meant trouble.

"Sir!"

"Come up here. Now, sir, why are you late again, as usual?"

Tom was about to take refuge in a lie, when he saw two long tails of

yellow hair hanging down a back that he recognized by the electric

sympathy of love; and by that form was THE ONLY VACANT PLACE on the

girls' side of the schoolhouse. He instantly said:

I STOPPED TO TALK WITH HUCKLEBERRY FINN!"

The master's pulse stood still, and he stared helplessly. The buzz of

study ceased. The pupils wondered if this foolhardy boy had lost his

mind. The master said:

You--you did what?"

Stopped to talk with Huckleberry Finn."

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer