Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain
Contents
CHAPTER II
Overview
Huck and Tom sneak from the Widow Douglas’s house, narrowly avoid being discovered by Jim, and Tom plays a prank after stealing candles. The boys convene in a cave to found Tom Sawyer’s Gang, swearing a violent oath, muddling through ransom rules, and electing captains. Huck gains admission by naming Miss Watson as his family proxy. They disperse before dawn, sealing a childish yet ominous pact that frames their imagined outlaw exploits.
Summary
Huck and Tom creep through the Widow Douglas’s garden at night. When Huck stumbles near the kitchen, Jim comes to investigate and sits so close the boys hardly dare breathe. After Jim dozes, Tom insists on mischief: he steals candles from the kitchen, leaves five cents as payment, and secretly moves Jim’s hat, setting up a future tale Jim will interpret as witchcraft.
With the danger past, Huck and Tom meet Jo Harper, Ben Rogers, and other boys at the tanyard, then row downriver to a hillside cave. Tom demands secrecy, leads them into a hidden chamber, and proposes forming Tom Sawyer’s Gang. He reads an oath copied from adventure books, requiring absolute secrecy, revenge killings, and a bloody signature.
When Ben notes Huck lacks a convenient family target for reprisals, the boys consider excluding him. To qualify, Huck offers Miss Watson to fill the requirement, and the gang accepts. Everyone pricks a finger to sign in blood.
Tom dictates their criminal style: not burglars but highwaymen who rob coaches, kill victims, and hold some for ransom, though Tom cannot define ransom beyond what books suggest. The boys debate the logistics and whether to kill women; Tom insists on book-style gallantry toward women and guards for prisoners.
Little Tommy Barnes wakes frightened, threatens to reveal their secrets, and is bribed with five cents to keep quiet. The boys postpone their first robbery, elect Tom first captain and Jo Harper second captain, and break up the meeting. Huck sneaks home at daybreak, exhausted and dirty, his role in the fanciful gang secured.
Who Appears
- Huckleberry FinnNarrator; sneaks out, evades discovery by Jim, joins Tom’s new gang by naming Miss Watson.
- Tom SawyerRingleader; steals candles, pranks Jim, founds the gang, dictates oath and fanciful rules from books.
- JimMiss Watson’s enslaved man; nearly discovers the boys; later credits witches for Tom’s prank.
- Ben RogersGang member; questions ransom, challenges logistics, and points out Huck’s lack of family.
- Jo HarperPresent at the cave; elected second captain of Tom Sawyer’s Gang.
- Tommy BarnesYoungest boy; cries and threatens to tell; bribed with five cents to stay quiet.
- Miss WatsonHuck offers her as his family proxy so the gang will accept him.