The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Chapter 33

The village sends several men back to the cave, along with Tom and Judge Thatcher. They open the door and find Injun Joe's dead body, face pressed to the crack at the floor. Tom feels both pity and relief. Injun Joe's knife is near by, broken in his struggle against the door frame. "...if the beam had been wholly cut away Injun Joe could not have squeezed his body under the door, and he knew it. So he had hacked that place in order to be doing something--in order to pass the weary time--in order to employ his tortured faculties." Chapter 33, pg. 191 Obviously, Injun Joe went insane from hunger. He had eaten old candles and bats to stay alive and drank drops of water dripping from the ceiling. His body is buried near the cave, and many people from all over come to the funeral. "[They] confessed that they had had almost as satisfactory a time at the funeral as they could have had at the hanging." Chapter 33, pg. 192 After the funeral, people give up the idea of asking the Governor to pardon Injun Joe, a popular, if short-lived, idea.

Topic Tracking: Religion 9

The next day, Tom and Huck get together and talk about everything that happened. Huck tells Tom about his adventure following Injun Joe to Widow Douglas' house, and guesses that whoever found the whisky found the treasure at the tavern. Tom stops him, and tells him that the treasure wasn't ever in Room Two at the tavern--it's in the cave. Tom says he will give Huck everything he owns if he's wrong.

They get supplies, including candles, kite string, and some bags, and go to the cave, "borrowing" a skiff to get down the river. Tom takes Huck to the hole he and Becky escaped from, and swears him to secrecy. He says he plans on having that be their hiding place when they're all robbers in Tom Sawyer's Gang. They will rob and kidnap people and hold them for ransom, and the women they kidnap will fall in love with them, just like in books.

Topic Tracking: Imagination 11

They enter the hole, and use kite string to lay their trail. When they reach the spring, Tom remembers the time he spent there, and shudders. He tells Huck about watching the candle go out, and the boys get very quiet. Tom leads Huck to where he saw Injun Joe before. He shows Huck a big rock, with a cross burned on it with candle smoke, exactly where he saw Injun Joe standing. Huck gets scared and says they should leave before Injun Joe's ghost gets them. Tom argues that Injun Joe's ghost is where he died, miles away, but he and Huck both know that the ghost would be with the treasure. He realizes, however, that the ghost wouldn't come around a cross, and the boys feel safe again.

Topic Tracking: Superstition 12

The boys search the room, find nothing, and then begin to dig under the rock. They strike wood and find a hole that leads under the rock. They crawl down the hole and find a small room with the box, some guns, and other supplies. Tom and Huck fill their bags with the treasure. They leave the cave and are back in town just after dark.

They haul their treasure in a wagon towards Widow Douglas' woodshed. On the way, they run into the Welshman, who offers to help with the wagon. Mr. Jones hurries them to the Widow's house, but won't say why. When they get there, they find all the important people in the village there, including the Thatchers, the Harpers, Aunt Polly, Sid, and Mary. The Widow gives them two new suits and tells them to get cleaned up.