WELL, I catched my breath and most fainted. Shut up on a wreck¹ with such a gang as that! But it warn't no time to be sentimentering. We'd GOT to find that boat now -- had to have it for ourselves. So we went a-quaking and shaking down the stabboard side, and slow work it was, too -- seemed a week before we got to the stern. No sign of a boat. Jim said he didn't believe he could go any further -- so scared he hadn't hardly any strength left, he said. But I said, come on, if we get left on this wreck we are in a fix, sure. So on we prowled again. We struck for the stern of the texas, and found it, and then scrabbled along forwards on the skylight, hanging on from shutter³ to shutter, for the edge of the skylight was in the water. When we got pretty close to the cross-hall door there was the skiff, sure enough! I could just barely see her. I felt ever so thankful. In another second I would a been aboard of her, but just then the door opened. One of the men stuck his head out only about a couple of foot from me, and I thought I was gone; but he jerked it in again, and says:

"Heave that blame lantern out o' sight, Bill!"

He flung a bag of something into the boat, and then got in himself and set down. It was Packard. Then Bill HE come out and got in. Packard says, in a low voice:

"All ready -- shove off!"

I couldn't hardly hang on to the shutters⁴, I was so weak. But Bill says:

"Hold on -- 'd you go through him?"

"No. Didn't you?"

"No. So he's got his share o' the cash yet."

"Well, then, come along; no use to take truck and leave money."

"Say, won't he suspicion what we're up to?"

"Maybe he won't. But we got to have it anyway. Come along."

So they got out and went in.

The door slammed to because it was on the careened side; and in a half second I was in the boat, and Jim come tumbling after me. I out with my knife and cut the rope, and away we went!

We didn't touch an oar², and we didn't speak nor whisper, nor hardly even breathe. We went gliding⁵ swift along, dead silent, past the tip of the paddlebox, and past the stern; then in a second or two more we was a hundred yards below the wreck, and the darkness soaked her up, every last sign of her, and we was safe, and knowed it.

When we was three or four hundred yards downstream we see the lantern show like a little spark at the texas door for a second, and we knowed by that that the rascals⁶ had missed their boat, and was beginning to understand that they was in just as much trouble now as Jim Turner was.

Then Jim manned the oars⁷, and we took out after our raft. Now was the first time that I begun to worry about the men -- I reckon I hadn't had time to before. I begun to think how dreadful it was, even for murderers, to be in such a fix. I says to myself, there ain't no telling but I might come to be a murderer myself yet, and then how would I like it? So says I to Jim:

"The first light we see we'll land a hundred yards below it or above it, in a place where it's a good hiding-place for you and the skiff, and then I'll go and fix up some kind of a yarn⁸, and get somebody to go for that gang and get them out of their scrape, so they can be hung when their time comes."

But that idea was a failure; for pretty soon it begun to storm again, and this time worse than ever. The rain poured down, and never a light showed; everybody in bed, I reckon. We boomed along down the river, watching for lights and watching for our raft. After a long time the rain let up, but the clouds stayed, and the lightning kept whimpering, and by and by a flash showed us a black thing ahead, floating, and we made for it.

It was the raft, and mighty⁹ glad was we to get aboard of it again. We seen a light now away down to the right, on shore. So I said I would go for it. The skiff was half full of plunder¹⁰ which that gang had stole there on the wreck. We hustled¹¹ it on to the raft in a pile, and I told Jim to float along down, and show a light when he judged he had gone about two mile, and keep it burning till I come; then I manned my oars and shoved for the light. As I got down towards it three or four more showed -- up on a hillside. It was a village. I closed in above the shore light, and laid on my oars and floated. As I went by I see it was a lantern hanging on the jackstaff of a double-hull ferryboat. I skimmed around for the watchman, awondering whereabouts he slept; and by and by I found him roosting on the bitts forward, with his head down between his knees. I gave his shoulder two or three little shoves, and begun to cry.

He stirred up in a kind of a startlish way; but when he see it was only me he took a good gap and stretch, and then he says:

"Hello, what's up? Don't cry, bub. What's the trouble?"

I says:

"Pap, and mam, and sis, and --"

Then I broke down. He says:

"Oh, dang it now, DON'T take on so; we all has to have our troubles, and this 'n 'll come out all right. What's the matter with 'em?"

"They're -- they're -- are you the watchman of the boat?"

"Yes," he says, kind of pretty-well-satisfied like. "I'm the captain and the owner and the mate and the pilot and watchman and head deck-hand; and sometimes I'm the freight and passengers. I ain't as rich as old Jim Hornback, and I can't be so blame' generous and good to Tom, Dick, and Harry¹² as what he is, and slam around money the way he does; but I've told him a many a time 't I wouldn't trade places with him; for, says I, a sailor's life's the life for me, and I'm derned if I'D live two mile out o' town, where there ain't nothing ever goin' on, not for all his spondulicks and as much more on top of it. Says I --"

I broke in and says:

"They're in an awful peck of trouble, and --"

"WHO is?"

"Why, pap and mam and sis and Miss Hooker; and if you'd take your ferryboat and go up there --"

"Up where? Where are they?"

"On the wreck."

"What wreck?"

"Why, there ain't but one."

"What, you don't mean the Walter Scott?"

"Yes."

"Good land! what are they doin' THERE, for gracious sakes?"

"Well, they didn't go there a-purpose."

"I bet they didn't! Why, great goodness, there ain't no chance for 'em if they don't git off mighty quick! Why, how in the nation did they ever git into such a scrape?"

"Easy enough. Miss Hooker was a-visiting up there to the town --"

"Yes, Booth's Landing -- go on."

"She was a-visiting there at Booth's Landing, and just in the edge of the evening she started over with her nigger woman in the horse-ferry to stay all night at her friend's house, Miss What-you-may-call-her I disremember her name -- and they lost their steeringoar, and swung around and went a-floating down, stern first, about two mile, and saddle-baggsed on the wreck, and the ferryman and the nigger woman and the horses was all lost, but Miss Hooker she made a grab and got aboard the wreck. Well, about an hour after dark we come along down in our trading-scow, and it was so dark we didn't notice the wreck till we was right on it; and so WE saddle-baggsed; but all of us was saved but Bill Whipple -- and oh, he WAS the best cretur ! -- I most wish 't it had been me, I do."

"My George! It's the beatenest thing I ever struck. And THEN what did you all do?"

"Well, we hollered and took on, but it's so wide there we couldn't make nobody hear. So pap said somebody got to get ashore¹³ and get help somehow. I was the only one that could swim, so I made a dash for it, and Miss Hooker she said if I didn't strike help sooner, come here and hunt up her uncle, and he'd fix the thing. I made the land about a mile below, and been fooling along ever since, trying to get people to do something, but they said, 'What, in such a night and such a current? There ain't no sense in it; go for the steam ferry.' Now if you'll go and --"

"By Jackson, I'd LIKE to, and, blame it, I don't know but I will; but who in the dingnation's a-going' to PAY for it? Do you reckon your pap --"

"Why THAT'S all right. Miss Hooker she tole me, PARTICULAR, that her uncle Hornback --"

"Great guns! is HE her uncle? Looky here, you break for that light over yonder-way, and turn out west when you git there, and about a quarter of a mile out you'll come to the tavern¹⁴; tell 'em to dart¹⁵ you out to Jim Hornback's, and he'll foot the bill. And don't you fool around any, because he'll want to know the news. Tell him I'll have his niece all safe before he can get to town. Hump yourself, now; I'm agoing up around the corner here to roust out my engineer."

I struck for the light, but as soon as he turned the corner I went back and got into my skiff and bailed¹⁶ her out, and then pulled up shore in the easy water about six hundred yards, and tucked myself in among some woodboats; for I couldn't rest easy till I could see the ferryboat start. But take it all around, I was feeling ruther comfortable on accounts of taking all this trouble for that gang, for not many would a done it. I wished the widow knowed about it. I judged she would be proud of me for helping¹⁷ these rapscallions, because rapscallions and dead beats is the kind the widow and good people takes the most interest in.

Well, before long here comes the wreck, dim and dusky, sliding along down! A kind of cold shiver went through me, and then I struck out for her. She was very deep, and I see in a minute there warn't much chance for anybody being alive in her. I pulled all around her and hollered a little, but there wasn't any answer; all dead still. I felt a little bit heavy-hearted about the gang, but not much, for I reckoned if they could stand it I could.

Then here comes the ferryboat; so I shoved for the middle of the river on a long down-stream slant¹⁸; and when I judged I was out of eye-reach I laid on my oars, and looked back and see her go and smell around the wreck for Miss Hooker's remainders, because the captain would know her uncle Hornback would want them; and then pretty soon the ferryboat give it up and went for the shore, and I laid into my work and went a-booming down the river.

It did seem a powerful long time before Jim's light showed up; and when it did show it looked like it was a thousand mile off. By the time I got there the sky was beginning to get a little gray in the east; so we struck for an island, and hid the raft, and sunk the skiff, and turned in and slept like dead people.

啊，我吓得停止了呼吸，几乎晕了过去。跟这样一帮人困在一条破船上！不过，这可不
是感叹的时候啊。我们得把那条小船找到，马上找到——非得找来给我们自己用。我们便一
边全身抖抖嗦嗦，一边顺着右舷摸过去。这事儿干得也真慢，——仿佛花了整整一个星期的
时间才摸到了船尾。可没有小船的影子啊。杰姆说他再也走不动了，——他说，已经吓得他
有气无力了。不过我说，要挺住，要是我们给困在这条破船上，那我们准得遭殃。于是我们
继续摸索。我们朝着顶舱的后尾摸过去，摸到了，然后攀着天窗一路摸过去，抓住一块窗
板，再挪到另一块窗板，因为天窗的边儿已经歪到了水里。我们快到十字厅大门口的时候，
只见一条小船正在那儿，千真万确是在那儿！我刚好能望到这条小船。真是谢天谢地！只要
再有一秒钟，我就会上船了。可正是在这一刻，门开了。其中的一个人探出头来，离我才只
几步远。我以为这下子我可完蛋了。不过，他又把头缩了回去，说：
    “把他妈的那盏灯拿开吧，别叫人家看见了，比尔！”
    他把一袋子什么东西扔进了小船，接着上了船，在船上坐了下来。原来是巴卡特。接着
是比尔本人走了出来，上了船。巴卡特轻声地说：
    “全搞好了——撑船吧！”
    我在窗户板上几乎挂不住了。我全身虚弱无力。不过比尔说：
    “等一等——你搜过他身子了么？”
    “没有啊，你搜过了么？”
    “没有啊。这么说，他那一份现金还是拿到了手。”
    “那就动手吧——只把东西拿走，可钱却留了下来，这象什么话。”
    “喂，——他会不会猜到了我们是要干什么来着？”
    “也许不会。不过我们反正非得拿到手不可。走吧。”
    他们便跳出小船，钻到舱里去了。
    门砰地一声关上了，因为门在破船上歪着的一面。一刹那间，我跳上了船，杰姆跟着一
跌一撞上了船。我取出了小刀，割断了绳索，我们便溜之大吉啦！
    我们连桨都没有摸，也不说话，连悄声说话也没有说，连呼吸都几乎停住了。我们一声
不响，飞快地朝前直溜，溜过了外轮盖的尖顶①，溜过了船尾，刹那间离破船已有一百码。
黑暗把我们吞没了，连最后一点影子也给吞没了。我们安全啦。这我们是清楚的。   

　　①当时轮船靠安装在外的明轮旋转推动，轮子四周有框架保护。

    朝下游划了三四百码远以后，我们还能看到那盏灯在顶舱门口忽地闪?
们知道，那两个流氓找不到他们那条船，逐渐明白了他们如今正跟杰姆·透纳一样陷进了绝
路。
随后杰姆摇起了桨，我们就去追赶我们的木筏子。到这个时刻，我才第一次想到那帮家
伙的处境。——在这以前，我实在顾不上。我在想，就算是杀人犯吧，陷入如此的绝境也真
是够受的。我对自己说，说不定哪一天我自己也会是个杀人犯呢，难道我会高兴么？我便对
杰姆说：
“我们只要一遇见灯光，便在这地方的上游或者下游一百码处登岸，找一个你我和小船
躲藏的好去处。接下来，我再编出一个故事来，让人家听了去寻找那帮家伙，先把他们救出
来，时辰一到，好把他们给绞死。”
但是这个主意落空了。不一会儿，又是风雨交加，比先前还要厉害。大雨一个劲地往下
倒。又全不见一丝灯光。依我看，人们全都睡了吧。我们顺着水流往下游冲去，一边寻觅灯
光，一边寻找我们的木筏子。隔了很长一段时辰，雨停了，不过云还没有散开，电光还在一
闪一闪。电光闪处，只见前边有一个黑乌乌的什么东西，在水上漂浮。我们就追上去。
正是我们的木筏子。能重新登上自己的木筏，我们那个高兴劲儿，是没有好说的。这时
候，我们见到有一处灯光，在下游右手，在岸上。我就说，我去。小船上放着那帮家伙从旧
船上偷来的赃物，装了满满的半船。我们把这些东西胡乱堆在木筏上。我叫杰姆顺水往下
漂，估计漂出有两英里路远，便点一个灯，一直点到我回来。接下来，我摇起桨，朝灯光划
去。我顺着下水划去的时候，陆续出现了三四处灯光——在小山坡上。是个村子。我往岸上
灯光那边靠拢，停住了桨，朝下边漂去。漂过时，见到那是一艘双舱渡船，船头旗竿上挂着
灯。我四处找寻那边看船的人，心想不知道他在哪处睡觉。一会儿发现他坐在船头系缆桩
上，脑袋垂在两个膝盖当中。我轻轻地推了他肩膀两三下，就哭将起来。
他就醒了，还有点儿吃惊。不过，他见到只是我，便打了一个好大的呵欠，伸了伸懒
腰。接着说：
“啊，什么事啊？别哭了，小家伙。有什么难处啊？”
我说：
“我爸爸、妈妈、姐姐——”
我哭得说不下去了。他说：
“哦，该死的。好了，别这么伤心吧。我们各人都会有各人的为难之处，一切会好的。
他们究竟怎么啦？”
“他们——他们——你是船上看船的么？”
“是的，”他说，仿佛颇为得意的样子。“我是船长，又是船主，又是大副，又是领
港，又是看船的，又是水手头儿。有的时候，我还是货物和乘客。我比不上老杰姆·洪贝克
那么富，我对待汤姆、狄克和哈利，就不能象他那么大方，那么好，象他那样把钱给乱花。
不过，我对他讲过不只一回了，我可不愿意跟他对调一下位置。我说，因为一个水手的生
活，这便是我的生活。要是叫我住在镇子外面两英里路的地方，没有什么地方好玩的，别说
他那点儿臭钱都给了我，就是再加上一倍，我也不会干。我说啊——”
我插嘴说：
“他们大难临头啦，而且——”
“谁啊”
“啊，我爸爸、妈妈和姐姐，还有胡克小姐。只要你把渡船往上游那边开过去——”
“往上游哪里啊？他们现今在哪里啊？”
“在那艘破船上。”
“什么破船？”
“怎么啦，还不是只有一条破船么？”
“什么？你不是说‘华尔特·司各特’①么？”    

　　①诺顿版注：马克·吐温戏称这艘沉没中的轮船为华尔特·司各特，因为他对这位
英国著名作奇作家评价不高，认为他也在沉没之中。

    “正是。”
“天啊！他们到那儿去干什么啊，真是天知道。”
“嗯，他们可不是存心故意要去的。”
“我想他们也不会。可是如果他们不能赶快离开，那就天啊，那就没有命啦。怎么搞
的，他们怎么会钻进那么一个要命的地方呢？”
“说起来也是事出有因。胡克小姐是到上游那个镇上走亲戚去的——”
“是啊，是步斯渡口——往下说。”
“她是走亲戚去的。在步斯渡口。正是黄昏时分，她和黑女佣上了渡骡马的渡船，准备
在一个朋友家住一晚上，那个朋友叫什么什么小姐来着，名字我记不住了。渡船上的人丢了
掌舵的桨，船就打圈圈，往下游漂去，船尾朝前，漂了两英里多路，碰到那条破船上，就给
撞翻了。摆渡的和黑女佣以及一些马匹，全都冲走了。只是胡克小姐一把抓住了那条破船，
就爬了上去。嗯，天黑以后一个钟点左右，我们坐着我们做生意的平底船往上前开去。天
黑，我们没有注意到那条破船，到了近处，就来不及了，所以也给撞翻了。不过我们都得了
救，除了比尔·惠贝尔一人——啊，他可是个天大的好人啊——我宁愿那是我。”
“天啊，这可真是我平生遇到的最伤心的事了。接下来，你们又干了些什么呢？”
“啊，我们大声喊救命，闹了半天，可是河面太阔，我们再喊，也没有人听见。这样，
爸爸说，总得有人上岸去求救啊。会游泳的，就只我一个人。于是我就争着由我来干。胡克
小姐说，要是我一时不能马上找到人来搭救，就可以到这儿来，寻找他的叔叔，他会把事情
安排得妥妥当当的。我在下边一英里路的地方上了岸，一直在白费劲，想找人帮忙，可是人
家说，‘什么，夜这么深，水这么急，要人家干？简直是胡闹。还是去找渡船吧。’现如
今，要是你愿去——。”
“我倒是愿去。我要是不愿去，那才怪呢。不过，由谁来付这笔费用呢？你看你爸爸—
—”
“啊，那好办。胡克小姐对我说，是特为对我说的，说她叔叔霍恩贝克——”
“好家伙！原来他就是她的叔叔啊。你听我说，你朝远处有灯光的那个方向跑过去，再
往西拐，走四分之一英里，你就到了那家酒店，你告诉他们，要他们赶快带你去找杰姆·霍
恩贝克。他准定会付这笔钱的。你别再瞎耽搁时间了，因为他会急于想知道你带去的消息。
你告诉他，在他到镇上来以前，我肯定已经把他的侄女儿给平平安安地救出来了。你马上加
把劲跑吧，我马上到这儿拐角那一头，去把我的司机叫起来。”
我就朝有灯光的那边走去。不过，等到他在拐角处一转弯，我就往回赶，跳上船，把船
上的积水舀光，把船停靠在六百码外静水区域的岸边，自己挤到几只木船那里看着，因为不
见渡轮出动，我就安不下心来。不过，九九归一，为了对付那帮家伙费了这么大的劲，我心
里还是舒坦的，只因为肯象我这么干的，怕为数还不多。我倒是但愿寡妇会知道这件事。据
我判断，她会把我这么帮助那帮恶棍引为骄傲，就因为这类恶棍和骗子正是寡妇和正人君子
们最感兴趣的人哩。
啊，没有多久，前面就是那条破船了，黑乌乌的一片，往下游漂漂荡荡。一时间，我全
身打了个冷战。我朝着它冲过去。它往水里下沉已经沉得挺深了。我一下子就看明白了船上
活着的人没有多少指望了。我围着它划了一圈，高声喊了几下子，不过毫无回音，一片死一
般静。我倒是为这帮家伙而感到心情沉重，不过也并非过份沉重。因为如果他们能顶得住，
那我也能顶得住。
仿佛等了好长一段时间，才见到杰姆的灯光升起。升起时，仿佛灯光远在千里之外。待
到我走拢，东方已经开始灰白。我们便去寻觅一座小岛，把木筏子藏起来，把小舟沉到水
里，钻进窝棚里，睡得死死的。