Back in the village, everyone was in mourning. It was Tuesday, and the children had been missing for three days. Most of the searchers had given up and gone back to their everyday lives, certain that Tom and Becky would never be found.
Mrs. Thatcher was very ill. People who visited her said it was heartbreaking to hear her call Becky’s name, raise her head to listen for an answer, then collapse wearily with a moan.
Aunt Polly had drooped into a depression,
On Tuesday, the townsfolk went to sleep, sad and forlorn, only to be awakened in the middle of the night by a wild peal from the village bells. Within moments, the streets were swarming with frantic, half-dressed people shouting, “They’re found, they’re found!”
Tin pans and horns were added to the din as the villagers gathered and moved toward the river. An open carriage drawn by shouting citizens delivered Tom and Becky into their arms.
The village was all lit up and alive with excitement. It was the greatest night the little town of St. Petersburg had ever seen! During the first half-hour, a procession of villagers filed through the Thatcher house, touching Tom and Becky, kissing them, and trying to speak. But nobody could. Everyone was crying
Aunt Polly’s happiness was complete, but Mrs. Thatcher had to get a message to her husband first. He was still out at the cave searching for the children.
Tom lay upon the sofa with an eager audience around him. He told the history of the wonderful adventure, putting in many extra little tidbits to make it even more exciting. He described how he had left Becky and gone on an exploring expedition; how he had followed two passages as far as his kite string would reach; how he had followed the third to the fullest stretch of the kite string; and how he had been about to turn back, when he suddenly glimpsed a far-off speck that looked like daylight. At that moment, he had dropped the string and groped towards the speck of light. Reaching it, he had pushed his head and shoulders through a small hole. And there was the broad Mississippi River below!
“Just think,” Tom added, “if it had happened at night, I wouldn’t have seen that speck of daylight, and I wouldn’t have explored that passage any more. So, I went back to Becky and broke the good news to her, but she told me not to bother her with such stuff, for she was tired, and she knew she was going to die. I talked and talked until I finally convinced her that I’d found an opening. Then she almost died with joy when I led her to that blue speck of daylight.
“We climbed out and sat beside the cave, crying with happiness until some men came along. I hailed them and told them our story. At first, they didn’t believe me. They said it was a wild tale, but they took us home, fed us, and let us sleep for a few hours before bringing us back home.”
Three days of toil and hunger in the cave were not to be shaken off at once, as Tom and
Tom learned that Huck, too, was ill and was staying with Mr. Welsh and his sons. He went to visit his friend and was warned to keep still, not to excite Huck, and not to mention the incident with the Widow Douglas. Tom had already been told of Huck’s brave act and about the discovery of a body in the river—a body identified as Injun Joe’s partner. The man had obviously been drowned while trying to escape from the Welshes.
About two weeks after Tom’s rescue from the cave, he stopped off to see Becky. Mr. Thatcher
Tom turned white as a sheet.
“What’s the matter, boy?” cried Mr. Thatcher. “Run, somebody! Get a glass of water!”
The water was brought and thrown into Tom’s face.
“What’s the matter?” repeated Mr. Thatcher.
“Injun Joe’s in the cave!” whispered Tom.