Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain
Contents
CHAPTER XXVII
Overview
Huck hides the stolen Wilks gold in Peter Wilks’s coffin, but the funeral proceeds and the coffin is sealed and buried, leaving Huck unsure the money remains inside. The king accelerates the estate’s liquidation, even selling and separating the Wilks family’s enslaved people, stirring public unease. When the missing money is suspected, Huck deflects suspicion onto the servants, and the king and duke decide to keep quiet and continue the fraud.
Summary
Huck sneaks downstairs at night, finds the watchers asleep, and, hearing someone approach, hides the Wilks gold in Peter Wilks’s coffin before slipping away. Mary Jane enters to grieve, forcing Huck to retreat to bed, worried the money will be discovered when the coffin is sealed.
By morning, the undertaker prepares the funeral. The townspeople file past the body, and a cellar dog’s uproar halts the sermon until the undertaker silences it and reports, “He had a rat,” pleasing the crowd. The coffin lid is then quietly screwed down, leaving Huck uncertain whether the money still lies inside.
Peter Wilks is buried, and Huck anxiously studies faces but learns nothing. That evening, the king charms the townsfolk and insists on settling the estate quickly so he and the duke can take the Wilks sisters to England, which delights the girls and reassures the town.
Soon after, the king sells the house, other property, and the Wilks family’s enslaved people, separating a mother from her sons. The girls and the enslaved family are heartbroken, and many townspeople call it scandalous. The duke is uneasy, but the king presses on.
On auction day morning, the king and duke suspect the gold has been stolen and grill Huck. He denies involvement and claims he saw the servants in the king’s room, diverting suspicion onto them. The pair decide to keep quiet and “swallow” the loss while continuing their scheme, and Huck is relieved to have protected himself without, he believes, truly harming the servants.
Who Appears
- Huckleberry FinnNarrator; hides the Wilks gold in Peter’s coffin, worries after burial, and diverts theft suspicion onto the servants.
- The King (Dauphin)Lead impostor; smooths the town, rushes the estate, sells and separates the enslaved family, suspects theft, and keeps quiet.
- The DukeYounger con man; uneasy about the sales, joins in suspecting theft, agrees to stay silent and continue the scheme.
- Mary Jane WilksEldest Wilks sister; mourns at the coffin and is pleased by plans to go to England, unaware of the con.
- UndertakerSilent, efficient funeral director; stops the dog’s disturbance and seals the coffin, unwittingly trapping the hidden gold.
- Reverend HobsonPreacher who conducts Peter Wilks’s lengthy funeral sermon, interrupted by the dog commotion.
- Wilks family’s enslaved mother and sonsFamily cruelly sold and separated by the king, causing deep grief and local outrage.
- Widow BartleyNeighbor present during the mourning and funeral; part of the household scene.