Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain
Contents
CHAPTER XXX
Overview
The king assaults Huck for slipping away, but Huck’s explanation and the duke’s intervention defuse it. The king and duke turn on each other over the hidden gold, culminating in the king’s coerced confession. After drinking, they reconcile and fall asleep, giving Huck relief and a chance to debrief Jim.
Summary
Back on the raft, the king seizes Huck, accusing him of trying to escape. Huck pleads and explains he fled only when a townsman urged him to run after the gold was found, fearing a hanging. Jim confirms Huck’s story, but the king threatens him until the duke intervenes, forcing the king to release Huck.
The conversation shifts as the duke berates the king for their botched con, crediting the blue-arrow ruse for saving them. The king thought the servants took the money, but the duke challenges that assumption, and both men begin accusing each other of hiding the gold in Peter Wilks’s coffin.
The quarrel escalates into a physical struggle. Pressed by the duke, the king first denies, then “owns up” to having hidden the money, easing Huck’s fear that suspicion might return to him or Jim. The duke condemns the king’s greed and hypocrisy, especially letting blame fall on the servants.
Exhausted, both men retreat to their bottles, grow affectionate as they drink, and pass out together. Huck notes the king’s determination not to retract his confession, which reassures Huck. With the con men asleep, Huck talks at length with Jim and recounts everything that happened.
Who Appears
- Huckleberry FinnNarrator; explains his flight from the mob, survives the king’s assault, and later debriefs Jim.
- The KingCon man; attacks Huck, quarrels with the duke, coerced into confessing he hid the gold, then drinks and reconciles.
- The DukeCon man; defends Huck, confronts and overpowers the king, forces a confession, then drinks and makes up.
- JimHuck’s ally; confirms Huck’s account, later hears the full story once the con men sleep.