Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain
Contents
CHAPTER XIII
Overview
Huck and Jim escape the wreck by stealing the robbers’ skiff and later recover their raft. Huck, uneasy about leaving the men to die, lies to a ferryboat watchman about “Miss Hooker” to prompt a rescue. The wreck drifts and likely sinks before help arrives, and Huck reunites with Jim at dawn.
Summary
Cornered on the wreck, Huck and Jim creep along the flooded decks and discover the robbers’ skiff near the texas door. When Packard and Bill step out to retrieve more money, Huck cuts the skiff loose, and he and Jim silently drift away, leaving the gang stranded.
Downstream, a lantern flicker at the wreck signals the robbers have discovered their loss. Jim rows as they search for their own raft. Huck, now troubled by the men’s plight despite their crimes, resolves to get help so they can be arrested rather than drown.
They find the raft and transfer the stolen plunder from the skiff. Huck directs Jim to drift two miles and show a light, then rows to a nearby village. He awakens a ferryboat watchman and spins a story about “Miss Hooker,” supposedly niece to Jim Hornback, trapped on the Walter Scott, prompting the watchman to launch a rescue.
Huck hides to watch. The wreck slides past, riding low; no one answers his calls, and it appears doomed. The ferryboat noses around the wreck, then gives up and heads for shore, likely to report back. Huck rows hard downstream to rejoin Jim.
Before dawn, Huck reaches Jim’s distant light. They beach on an island, hide the raft, sink the skiff to avoid suspicion, and collapse into sleep, having escaped the wreck and attempted to summon help for the stranded robbers.
Who Appears
- Huckleberry FinnNarrator; steals the robbers’ skiff to escape, then lies about “Miss Hooker” to spur a ferry rescue.
- JimHuck’s companion; rows the skiff, helps recover the raft, hides it, and reunites with Huck at dawn.
- PackardRobber on the wreck; briefly boards the skiff, then returns inside, later stranded without a boat.
- BillRobber with Packard; debates taking Turner’s money, reenters the wreck, left marooned when skiff is stolen.
- Ferryboat watchman/captainGullible but active; roused by Huck’s tale and takes the ferry to search the wreck.
- Jim TurnerRobber marked for murder by his partners; never seen, presumed trapped on the sinking wreck.