Глава15: Tom eavesdrops on the conversation of relatives

Tom waded through the shallows to the opposite shore. When the depth of the
water reached his waist and began to interfere with the flow, he swam, trying not to
be blown away. Having barely reached the shore, he saw a steamer nearby, to
which a shuttle was tied. He climbed into the shuttle and lay down on the bottom.
Soon the steamer sailed, and in fifteen minutes Sawyer reached his shore. Coming
ashore, he quickly ran through the deserted alleys and soon was near his house. He
looked in the window and saw Mary, Sid, Aunt Polly and Joe Harper's mother
sitting in the room. They were talking about something.
Tom managed to get into the room and get under the bed, which was located near
the door. He could hear the whole conversation now. Aunt Polly and Harper's mom
talked about how Tom and Joe were good, kind boys. Of course, they were
mischievous, but they did not wish harm to anyone. The women regretted that they
had treated the children so severely. Everyone sitting at the table lamented and
sobbed so much that Sawyer, sitting under the bed and listening to them, shed
tears.
He wanted to get out from under the bed and appear in front of everyone alive and
well. But he restrained this impulse and continued to listen. Relatives tried to
understand how it all happened. At first they thought that the accident happened
while bathing. But then they noticed that the raft had disappeared, which was later
found in the middle of the river. The town decided that the boys drowned here.
Soon Mrs. Harper left, sobbing. Mary and Sid went to bed in tears. Aunt Polly got
down on her knees and prayed for Tom. There was so much love and grief in her
words that the boy began to cry again. Sawyer stayed under the bed for a long
time. He waited until the woman went to bed and stopped tossing and moaning
restlessly. Then he got out, looked at Aunt Polly sleeping for a long time, feeling
sorry for her in his soul. He wanted to leave the bark with the inscription on the
table, but then changed his mind, kissed his aunt and left.
On the shore, he boarded a steamer. There was no one there. He untied the shuttle
and swam back, crossed the river and landed in the right place. He rested in the
forest, and then continued on his way. The night was already ending. Then he
swam across the shoal and headed for the camp. The sun has already risen. Tom
showed up just as Joe and Huck were talking about Sawyer's disappearance. Joe
said that Tom would come back, as he was a reliable man and the honor of the
pirate was dear to him. He thought Sawyer was up to something and would
definitely come to breakfast. At this moment, Tom appeared in front of his friends.
During breakfast, he told about his journey, embellishing everything that happened
to him a little. Friends felt like heroes again. Tom went to bed, and Joe and Huck
went fishing and exploring the island.
Chapter 16: Boys try smoking tobacco for the first time
After lunch, the pirate friends began to look for turtle eggs buried in the sand on
the sandbank. They found up to six dozen eggs. These days they had sumptuous
food. In their free hours, they swam on the shallows, chased each other, ran far to
shallow water, splashed water at each other. The boys were struggling in the water.
The winner doused everyone with his head. Tired, they ran to the beach, lay on the
hot sand, burrowing into it, then swam again. They played in a circus, where
everyone was a clown; they played with balls in "podkidalka", "tianukha", in
"tepki". Then they got tired of everything and, lying on the sand, they looked in the
direction where their hometown was. Sawyer wrote the word "Becky" in the sand,
erased and wrote again. Joe missed home the most. He couldn't take it anymore
and almost cried. Huckleberry also became sad. Tom hid his depressed state from
his comrades. He kept a secret that could improve the mood of his friends, but he
didn't want to talk about it yet.
First Sawyer suggested looking for a chest full of gold on the island. But this offer
did not interest the boys. Joe finally said he wanted to go home and started getting
dressed, trying not to react to Tom's taunts. Huck hesitated at first, but then
decided to leave too, saying that it got boring here. Sawyer began to worry. Joe got
dressed and waded through the water. Huck followed him, dressed, and left. Tom
watched them go. He wanted to throw away his pride and go after them. He waited
for the boys to stop and look back, but they continued to wade knee-deep in water.
Then Tom rushed after them and told them about his secret. Friends, after
listening, were very happy. They said he had a wonderful idea and decided to stay.
Games, conversations, and admiration for Tom, who had come up with such a
clever idea, began again.
After a delicious dinner, Sawyer wanted to learn how to smoke. Joe joined him.
Huck filled his pipes with tobacco and gave them. At first, the smoke seemed
pleasant to the guys, but then they began to feel a little sick. The guys boasted to
each other that they could smoke like that all day. They wanted other boys to see
them now and envy them. Gradually, there was a lot of saliva in the mouth from
the smoke, they barely had time to spit. Finally Joe barely uttered that he had lost
the knife and would go look for it. Tom said with difficulty that he would go and
help him in the search for the missing thing. The two guys were gone for an hour,
so Huck went to look for friends. He found them in the forest far from each other:
pale, they were fast asleep. After dinner, Harper and Sawyer refused to smoke.
At night, the boys woke up from the heat and stuffiness. They became anxious.
Soon lightning began to flash, thunder rumbled, a cold stream of air blew out the
smoldering fire. A thunderclap sounded right above the guys. Rare but large
raindrops dripped. Friends rushed to run under the canopy. A strong wind has
risen. Lightning flashed one after another. A downpour began, which flooded
everything around in a continuous stream. The storm drowned out the voices of
friends. Soon a gust of wind tore off the canopy made of an old sail and carried it
away. The boys, holding hands, ran to an old oak tree and hid under it. The storm
felled trees, the thunder did not subside. It seemed that the hurricane would destroy
everything on the island.
Gradually, the storm subsided and ended. The friends returned to the camp.
Everything was flooded with water. The sycamore tree, under which they always
spent the night, burned down from a lightning strike. The oak tree under which the
children were hiding protected them from imminent death. The fire went out, but
the ashes were still smoldering under a large log, and the boys were able to light a
fire by putting dry chips and bark that they found under fallen trunks.
The pirates cheered up, sitting around the campfire until dawn, discussing their
night adventure. When the sun rose, they went to the sandbank and lay down to
sleep on the sand. After sleep and breakfast, Tom noticed that Joe and Huck had
regained the desire to go home. He tried to entertain them, but playing and bathing
didn't help. Then Sawyer reminded them of the great secret, raising the spirits of
his friends a little. Then he came up with a game of Indians. The boys painted
themselves with black mud, imagining that they were leaders, and ran into the
forest to launch an attack on the English settlers. Then they split into three warring
tribes and began to hide, and then suddenly attack each other. Satisfied with the
game, during dinner they "broke the bread of friendship", first smoking a "pipe of
peace". The friends took turns puffing on their pipes and smoked a little more after
dinner. They weren't as sick as the first time. They stayed in a great mood, and the
evening was very fun.
QUESTIONS!!!
1. What did Aunt Polly and Harper's mom talk about?
Aunt Polly and Harper's mom thought the boys were dead. They talked about how
Tom and Joe were good, kind boys. Of course, they were mischievous, but they did
not wish harm to anyone. The women regretted that they had treated the children
so severely. They regretted not giving the boys all their love.
2. How did Tom feel when he listened to his aunt and Harper's mom talk?
Sawyer, sitting under the bed and listening to them, shed tears. He wanted to get
out from under the bed and appear in front of everyone alive and well. But he
restrained this impulse and continued to listen.
3. What and who did the boys miss?
Tom missed Becky. Sawyer wrote the word "Becky" in the sand, erased and wrote
again. Joe missed home the most. He couldn't take it anymore and almost cried.
Huckleberry also became sad.
4. What did the boys decide to learn?
After a delicious dinner, Sawyer wanted to learn how to smoke. Joe joined him.
Huck filled his pipes with tobacco and gave them. At first, the smoke seemed
pleasant to the guys, but then they began to feel a little sick.
5. What happened last night? What are the guys scared of?
At night, the boys woke up from the heat and stuffiness. They became anxious.
Soon lightning began to flash, thunder rumbled, a cold stream of air blew out the
smoldering fire. A thunderclap sounded right above the guys. Rare but large
raindrops dripped. Friends rushed to run under the canopy.
6. What did the guys do after the rain?
Gradually, the storm subsided and ended. The friends returned to the camp.
Everything was flooded with water. The fire was almost extinguished, but the boys
were able to light a fire by laying dry chips and bark, which they found under
fallen trunks. The pirates cheered up, sitting around the campfire until dawn,
discussing their night adventure.
7. What new game did the boys come up with?
They invented the game of Indians. The boys painted themselves with black mud,
imagining that they were leaders, and ran into the forest to launch an attack on the
English settlers. Then they split into three warring tribes and began to hide, and
then suddenly attack each other