CHAPTER XV

Huck and Jim aim to reach Cairo in about three nights so they can sell the raft, board a steamboat up the Ohio, and reach free states. On the second night, a heavy fog sets in as they try to tie up to a towhead. The raft tears loose, the current surges, and Huck, in the canoe, is swept into blinding fog and loses sight of Jim and the raft.

Huck tries to navigate by whoops, but the fog distorts direction. He drifts among towheads and snags, repeatedly misjudging where the sounds come from, and finally gives up, exhausted. He falls asleep in the canoe and awakens under bright stars with the fog gone, then chases down several dark specks until he locates the raft.

Huck finds Jim asleep on the battered raft with a smashed oar and debris everywhere, showing they endured a rough passage. Huck plays a trick, pretending he was never gone and that Jim only dreamed the separation. Confused, Jim recounts the night as a “dream,” then interprets it as an omen about future warnings, quarrels, and eventual safety if they keep their heads.

When Huck presses about the wreckage, Jim realizes the lie. Jim quietly but firmly explains how terrified and heartsick he was when Huck was lost, and calls Huck’s prank “trash,” shaming him for making a friend feel low. Huck feels deeply mean, humbles himself, apologizes to Jim, and resolves not to play such cruel tricks again, marking a step in Huck’s moral development and their partnership.