WELL, when they was all gone the king he asks Mary Jane how they was off for spare rooms, and she said she had one spare room, which would do for Uncle William, and she'd give her own room to Uncle Harvey, which was a little bigger, and she would turn into the room with her sisters and sleep on a cot; and up garret was a little cubby, with a pallet in it. The king said the cubby would do for his valley -- meaning me.

So Mary Jane took us up, and she showed them their rooms, which was plain but nice. She said she'd have her frocks and a lot of other traps took out of her room if they was in Uncle Harvey's way, but he said they warn't. The frocks was hung along the wall, and before them was a curtain made out of calico that hung down to the floor. There was an old hair trunk in one corner, and a guitar-box in another, and all sorts of little knickknacks and jimcracks around, like girls brisken up a room with. The king said it was all the more homely¹ and more pleasanter for these fixings, and so don't disturb them. The duke's room was pretty small, but plenty good enough, and so was my cubby.

That night they had a big supper, and all them men and women was there, and I stood behind the king and the duke's chairs and waited on them, and the niggers waited on the rest. Mary Jane she set at the head of the table, with Susan alongside of her, and said how bad the biscuits was, and how mean the preserves was, and how ornery and tough the fried chickens was -- and all that kind of rot, the way women always do for to force out compliments; and the people all knowed everything was tiptop, and said so -- said "How DO you get biscuits to brown so nice?" and "Where, for the land's sake, DID you get these amaz'n pickles²?" and all that kind of humbug³ talky-talk, just the way people always does at a supper, you know.

And when it was all done me and the hare-lip had supper in the kitchen off of the leavings, whilst the others was helping⁴ the niggers clean up the things. The hare-lip she got to pumping me about England, and blest if I didn't think the ice was getting mighty⁵ thin sometimes. She says:

"Did you ever see the king?"

"Who? William Fourth? Well, I bet I have -- he goes to our church." I knowed he was dead years ago, but I never let on. So when I says he goes to our church, she says:

"What -- regular?"

"Yes -- regular. His pew's right over opposite ourn -- on t'other side the pulpit."

"I thought he lived in London?"

"Well, he does. Where WOULD he live?"

"But I thought YOU lived in Sheffield?"

I see I was up a stump⁶. I had to let on to get choked with a chicken bone, so as to get time to think how to get down again. Then I says:

"I mean he goes to our church regular when he's in Sheffield. That's only in the summer time, when he comes there to take the sea baths."

"Why, how you talk -- Sheffield ain't on the sea."

"Well, who said it was?"

"Why, you did."

"I DIDN'T nuther."

"You did!"

"I didn't."

"You did."

"I never said nothing of the kind."

"Well, what DID you say, then?"

"Said he come to take the sea BATHS -- that's what I said."

"Well, then, how's he going to take the sea baths if it ain't on the sea?"

"Looky here," I says; "did you ever see any Congress-water?"

"Yes."

"Well, did you have to go to Congress to get it?"

"Why, no."

"Well, neither does William Fourth have to go to the sea to get a sea bath."

"How does he get it, then?"

"Gets it the way people down here gets Congresswater -- in barrels. There in the palace at Sheffield they've got furnaces, and he wants his water hot. They can't bile that amount of water away off there at the sea. They haven't got no conveniences for it."

"Oh, I see, now. You might a said that in the first place and saved time."

When she said that I see I was out of the woods again, and so I was comfortable and glad. Next, she says:

"Do you go to church, too?"

"Yes -- regular."

"Where do you set?"

"Why, in our pew."

"WHOSE pew?"

"Why, OURN -- your Uncle Harvey's."

"His'n? What does HE want with a pew?"

"Wants it to set in. What did you RECKON he wanted with it?"

"Why, I thought he'd be in the pulpit."

Rot him, I forgot he was a preacher. I see I was up a stump again, so I played another chicken bone and got another think. Then I says:

"Blame it, do you suppose there ain't but one preacher to a church?"

"Why, what do they want with more?"

"What! -- to preach before a king? I never did see such a girl as you. They don't have no less than seventeen."

"Seventeen! My land! Why, I wouldn't set out such a string as that, not if I NEVER got to glory. It must take 'em a week."

"Shucks, they don't ALL of 'em preach the same day -- only ONE of 'em."

"Well, then, what does the rest of 'em do?"

"Oh, nothing much. Loll around, pass the plate -- and one thing or another. But mainly they don't do nothing."

"Well, then, what are they FOR?"

"Why, they're for STYLE. Don't you know nothing?"

"Well, I don't WANT to know no such foolishness as that. How is servants treated in England? Do they treat 'em better 'n we treat our niggers?"

"NO! A servant ain't nobody there. They treat them worse than dogs."

"Don't they give 'em holidays, the way we do, Christmas and New Year's week, and Fourth of July?"

"Oh, just listen! A body could tell YOU hain't ever been to England by that. Why, Hare-l -- why, Joanna, they never see a holiday from year's end to year's end; never go to the circus, nor theater, nor nigger shows, nor nowheres."

"Nor church?"

"Nor church."

"But YOU always went to church."

Well, I was gone up again. I forgot I was the old man's servant. But next minute I whirled in on a kind of an explanation how a valley was different from a common servant and HAD to go to church whether he wanted to or not, and set with the family, on account of its being the law. But I didn't do it pretty good, and when I got done I see she warn't satisfied. She says:

"Honest injun, now, hain't you been telling me a lot of lies?"

"Honest injun," says I.

"None of it at all?"

"None of it at all. Not a lie in it," says I.

"Lay your hand on this book and say it."

I see it warn't nothing but a dictionary, so I laid my hand on it and said it. So then she looked a little better satisfied, and says:

"Well, then, I'll believe some of it; but I hope to gracious if I'll believe the rest."

"What is it you won't believe, Joe?" says Mary Jane, stepping in with Susan behind her. "It ain't right nor kind for you to talk so to him, and him a stranger and so far from his people. How would you like to be treated so?"

"That's always your way, Maim⁷ -- always sailing in to help somebody before they're hurt. I hain't done nothing to him. He's told some stretchers, I reckon, and I said I wouldn't swallow it all; and that's every bit and grain I DID say. I reckon he can stand a little thing like that, can't he?"

"I don't care whether 'twas little or whether 'twas big; he's here in our house and a stranger, and it wasn't good of you to say it. If you was in his place it would make you feel ashamed; and so you oughtn't to say a thing to another person that will make THEM feel ashamed."

"Why, Maim, he said --"

"It don't make no difference what he SAID -- that ain't the thing. The thing is for you to treat him KIND, and not be saying things to make him remember he ain't in his own country and amongst his own folks."

I says to myself, THIS is a girl that I'm letting that old reptle rob her of her money!

Then Susan SHE waltzed in; and if you'll believe me, she did give Hare-lip hark from the tomb!

Says I to myself, and this is ANOTHER one that I'm letting him rob her of her money!

Then Mary Jane she took another inning, and went in sweet and lovely again -- which was her way; but when she got done there warn't hardly anything left o' poor Hare-lip. So she hollered.

"All right, then," says the other girls; "you just ask his pardon."

She done it, too; and she done it beautiful. She done it so beautiful it was good to hear; and I wished I could tell her a thousand lies, so she could do it again.

I says to myself, this is ANOTHER one that I'm letting him rob her of her money. And when she got through they all jest laid theirselves out to make me feel at home and know I was amongst friends. I felt so ornery and low down and mean that I says to myself, my mind's made up; I'll hive that money for them or bust⁸.

So then I lit out -- for bed, I said, meaning some time or another. When I got by myself I went to thinking the thing over. I says to myself, shall I go to that doctor, private, and blow on these frauds? No -- that won't do. He might tell who told him; then the king and the duke would make it warm for me. Shall I go, private, and tell Mary Jane? No -- I dasn't do it. Her face would give them a hint, sure; they've got the money, and they'd slide right out and get away with it. If she was to fetch in help I'd get mixed up in the business before it was done with, I judge. No; there ain't no good way but one. I got to steal that money, somehow; and I got to steal it some way that they won't suspicion that I done it. They've got a good thing here, and they ain't a-going to leave till they've played this family and this town for all they're worth, so I'll find a chance time enough. I'll steal it and hide it; and by and by, when I'm away down the river, I'll write a letter and tell Mary Jane where it's hid. But I better hive it tonight if I can, because the doctor maybe hasn't let up as much as he lets on he has; he might scare them out of here yet.

So, thinks I, I'll go and search them rooms. Upstairs the hall was dark, but I found the duke's room, and started to paw around it with my hands; but I recollected⁹ it wouldn't be much like the king to let anybody else take care of that money but his own self; so then I went to his room and begun to paw around there. But I see I couldn't do nothing without a candle, and I dasn't light one, of course. So I judged I'd got to do the other thing -- lay for them and eavesdrop¹⁰. About that time I hears their footsteps coming, and was going to skip under the bed; I reached for it, but it wasn't where I thought it would be; but I touched the curtain that hid Mary Jane's frocks, so I jumped in behind that and snuggled in amongst the gowns, and stood there perfectly¹¹ still.

They come in and shut the door; and the first thing the duke done was to get down and look under the bed. Then I was glad I hadn't found the bed when I wanted it. And yet, you know, it's kind of natural to hide under the bed when you are up to anything private. They sets down then, and the king says:

"Well, what is it? And cut it middlin' short, because it's better for us to be down there a-whoopin' up the mournin' than up here givin' 'em a chance to talk us over."

"Well, this is it, Capet. I ain't easy; I ain't comfortable. That doctor lays on my mind. I wanted to know your plans. I've got a notion, and I think it's a sound one."

"What is it, duke?"

"That we better glide¹² out of this before three in the morning, and clip it down the river with what we've got. Specially¹³, seeing we got it so easy -- GIVEN back to us, flung at our heads, as you may say, when of course we allowed to have to steal it back. I'm for knocking off and lighting¹⁴ out."

That made me feel pretty bad. About an hour or two ago it would a been a little different, but now it made me feel bad and disappointed, The king rips out and says:

"What! And not sell out the rest o' the property? March off like a passel of fools and leave eight or nine thous'n' dollars' worth o' property layin' around jest sufferin' to be scooped¹⁵ in? -- and all good, salable¹⁶ stuff, too."

The duke he grumbled¹⁷; said the bag of gold was enough, and he didn't want to go no deeper -- didn't want to rob a lot of orphans¹⁸ of EVERYTHING they had.

"Why, how you talk!" says the king. "We sha'n't rob 'em of nothing at all but jest this money. The people that BUYS the property is the suff'rers; because as soon 's it's found out 'at we didn't own it -- which won't be long after we've slid -- the sale won't be valid¹⁹, and it 'll all go back to the estate. These yer orphans 'll git their house back agin, and that's enough for THEM; they're young and spry, and k'n easy earn a livin'. THEY ain't a-goin to suffer. Why, jest think -- there's thous'n's and thous'n's that ain't nigh so well off. Bless you, THEY ain't got noth'n' to complain of."

Well, the king he talked him blind; so at last he give in, and said all right, but said he believed it was blamed foolishness to stay, and that doctor hanging over them. But the king says:

"Cuss the doctor! What do we k'yer for HIM? Hain't we got all the fools in town on our side? And ain't that a big enough majority in any town?"

So they got ready to go down stairs again. The duke says:

"I don't think we put that money in a good place."

That cheered me up. I'd begun to think I warn't going to get a hint of no kind to help me. The king says:

"Why?"

"Because Mary Jane 'll be in mourning from this out; and first you know the nigger that does up the rooms will get an order to box these duds up and put 'em away; and do you reckon a nigger can run across money and not borrow some of it?"

"Your head's level agin, duke," says the king; and he comes a-fumbling under the curtain two or three foot from where I was. I stuck tight to the wall and kept mighty still, though quivery; and I wondered what them fellows would say to me if they catched me; and I tried to think what I'd better do if they did catch me. But the king he got the bag before I could think more than about a half a thought, and he never suspicioned I was around. They took and shoved the bag through a rip in the straw tick that was under the feather-bed, and crammed²⁰ it in a foot or two amongst the straw and said it was all right now, because a nigger only makes up the feather-bed, and don't turn over the straw tick only about twice a year, and so it warn't in no danger of getting stole now.

But I knowed better. I had it out of there before they was half-way down stairs. I groped along up to my cubby, and hid it there till I could get a chance to do better. I judged I better hide it outside of the house somewheres, because if they missed it they would give the house a good ransacking²¹: I knowed that very well. Then I turned in, with my clothes all on; but I couldn't a gone to sleep if I'd a wanted to, I was in such a sweat to get through with the business. By and by I heard the king and the duke come up; so I rolled off my pallet and laid with my chin at the top of my ladder, and waited to see if anything was going to happen. But nothing did.

So I held on till all the late sounds had quit and the early ones hadn't begun yet; and then I slipped down the ladder.

等到大伙儿都走了，国王问玛丽·珍妮，有没有空闲的屋子。她说有一间是空的，威廉
叔叔可以住这一间。她呢，要把她自己那一间更大些的留给哈维叔叔住。她会搬到妹妹的房
间去，睡一张帆布床。上面顶楼有个小间，摆着一张小床铺。国王说，这可以叫他的跟随住
——也就是说我。
    玛丽·珍妮领我们上楼，让他们看了自己的房间。房间陈设简单，不过倒也挺舒适。她
说，如果哈维叔叔嫌碍事的话，她可以把她的一些衣衫和零星什物从她房间里搬出去。不过
国王说，不用搬了。那些衣衫是沿墙挂着的，一排衣衫前面有一张印花布的幔子从上面垂到
地板上。一个角落里，有一只旧的毛皮箱子，另一个角落放着一只吉它盒子，各式各样的零
星小家什、小玩意儿，散在各处，都是些姑娘家爱用来点缀房间的东西。国王说，这些家具
使得房间里增添了家常气氛，也更舒适，因此不必挪动了。公爵的房间小巧而舒适。我那个
小间也是这样。
    那天晚餐很丰盛，男男女女，济济一堂，我站在国王和公爵坐的椅子后边侍候他们，其
余的人由黑奴们侍候。玛丽·珍妮坐在桌子一头的主人席上，苏珊坐在她的旁边。她们的话
题是说油饼的味道怎么糟，果酱怎么不行，炸鸡怎么炸老了，口味差——如此等等的废话，
尽是妇女们搬出来的一套客气话，用来逼客人说些恭维的话。客人都明白今天的饭菜全是上
品，并且也这么说了：“这油饼你是怎么烤的，烤得这么鲜美？”“天啊，你哪里弄来这么
好吃的泡菜啊？”诸如此类的废话，不一而足。你知道，人们在饭桌上就爱搬弄这一些。
    把大伙儿都侍候过了，我和豁嘴在厨房里吃剩下的饭菜，别的一些人帮着黑奴收拾整
理。豁嘴一个劲儿地要我多讲讲英国。有的时候，我真怕快要露出破绽来了。她说：
    “你见过国王么？”
    “谁？威廉第四？啊，我当然见过——他上我们的教堂去的。”我知道他几年前死了，
不过我没有露出一点口风。我说他去过我们的教堂以后，她就说：
    “什么——每星期都去么？”
    “是的——每星期都去。他的座位正好在我的座位的对面——在布道台的那一边。”
    “我原以为他住在伦敦啊，不是么？”
    “哦，是的。他不住在伦敦住哪里啊？”
    “不过我原以为你是住在谢菲尔德哩！”
    我这下子知道自己快招架不住了。我不得不装做给一根鸡骨头卡住了喉咙，好抓住时间
想一个脱身之计。我说：
    “我的意思是说，他在谢菲尔德的时间里每星期上我们的教堂。这只是说夏季，他夏季
来洗海水浴。”
    “啊，看你说的——谢菲尔德并非靠海啊。”
    “嗯，谁说靠海啦？”
    “怎么啦，你说的嘛。”
    “我可没有说。”
    “你说了的！”
    “我没有说。”
    “你说了的！”
    “我从没有说过这类的话。”
    “好，那你说了些什么呢？”
    “我说的是他来洗海水浴——我说的是这个。”
    “好吧，如果不靠海，他怎么洗海水浴？”
    “听我说，”我说，“你看见过国会水①么？”   

　　①诺顿版注：纽约萨拉托迦的国会泉有矿泉水。

    “看见过。”
“好，你是不是非到国会去才弄得到这个水？”
“怎么啦，不是啊。”
“好啊，威廉也并非必须得到海上去才能洗海水浴啊。”
“那么他怎么搞到的呢？”
“这里的人怎样搞到国会水，他也就怎样搞到海水——一桶桶运吧。在谢菲尔德的宫
里，有锅炉，他洗的时候就是要水烫些才好。在海边人家没有法子烧开这么多的水。他们没
有这样方便的条件嘛。”
“哦，我如今明白了。你可以一开头便说清楚嘛，也好节省些时间。”
听到她这么说，我知道我总算得救啦。我就舒坦、快活了起来。下面她说：
“你也上教堂么？”
“是的——每星期去。”
“你坐哪里呢？”
“怎么啦，坐在我们的长椅上啊。”
“谁的长椅？”
“怎么啦？我们的啊——你叔叔哈维的啊。”
“他的？他要长椅有什么用？”
“坐嘛。依你看，他要了有什么用？”
“啊，我原以为他是站在布道台后边的。”
糟了，我忘了他是个传教师。我知道我又快招架不住了。因此，我就再一次玩起了鸡骨
头的法宝，好再想一想。随后我说：
“真该死，你以为一个教会只有一个传教师么？”
“啊，多了有什么用呢？”
“嘿！——在国王面前布道么？象你这样傻的姑娘，我还从没有见过。他们一共有十七
位之多呢。”
“十七位！我的天！要我听这么一长串，即便进不了天堂，我也坐不住啊。听他们布完
道，得一个星期吧。”
“别胡说了，他们并非同一天都布道——只有其中一个布道。”
“那么其余的人干些什么呢？”
“哦，没有多少事。到处走走，递递盘子，收收布施，——
如此等等。不过一般他们不干什么。”
“那么，要他们有什么用？”
“哈，是为了有气派嘛。你怎么什么都不知道。”“我才不要懂得这样的蠢事呢。英国
人对待佣人怎么样？
他们对待佣人比我们对待黑奴强些么？”
“不！一个佣人在那里是不算人的。他们所受的待遇连狗还不如。”
“象我们这样给他们假期么？象圣诞节啊，新年啊，七月四日等等的。”
“哦，听我说！从这一些，人们就知道你没有去过英国。啊，豁①——嗳，琼娜，他们
从年初一到年底，从没有假期，从没有去过马戏团，从没有上过戏院，也没有看过黑奴表
演，哪儿也不去。”    

　　①哈克在这里几乎说出了“豁嘴”这样不礼貌的话，幸亏说了“豁”急忙收住。

    “教堂也不去么？”
“教堂也不去。”
“不过你怎么经常上教堂？”
啊，我又给问住了。我忘了自个儿是老头儿的仆人啦。不过一转眼间，我马上胡乱抓住
了一种解释，说一个侍从怎样跟一个仆人是不同的，不论他本人高兴或者不高兴，他非得上
教堂去，去跟一家人坐在一起，因为这是法律上有了规定的。不过我这个解释搞得不怎么
样，我解释完以后，她仿佛还不满意。她说：
“说老实话，你是不是一直在跟我撒谎？”
“我说的是老实话。”我说。
“连一句假话也没有？”
“连一句假话也没有，没有撒一句谎。”我说。
“把你的手放在这一本册子上，然后这么说一遍。”
我一看，不是什么别的书，只是一本字典，所以我就把手按在上面，然后又说了一遍。
这样，她显得比较满意些，说道：
“那好吧，其中有一些，我信。不过其余的话，要我的命也不能信。”
“琼，你不信的是什么啊？”玛丽·珍妮跨进门来，苏珊跟在她的后面。“你这样对他
说话，他一个生人，离自己的人那么遥远，这样说话既不应该，又不客气。换个位置，你愿
意人家这样对待你么？”
“你总是这样个脾气，玛丽——怕人家受委屈，爱半道上便插进来帮人家。我并没有得
罪他啊。依我看，他有些事说得加油加醋的，我在说，我不能句句都照吞不误。我就说了这
么几句话。这么小事一桩，我想他还受得住，不是么？”
“我才不管是小事还是大事哩。他是在我们家作客，你说这一些是不对的。你要是在他
的位置上，这些话会叫你害臊的，因为这个缘故，凡是能叫人家害臊的话，你都不该对别人
说。”
“只是，玛丽，他在说——”
“他说些什么，这不相干——问题不在这里。问题是应该对他和和气气，凡是足以让人
家感觉到自己不在本乡本土、不是和自家人在一起的话，一概不说。”
我对自个儿说，“恰恰正是这样一位姑娘，我却听任那个老流氓去抢劫她的钱财！”
随后苏珊她也插了进来。你信不信，她把豁嘴狠狠地剋了一顿！
我便对自个儿说，这是又一位姑娘，我却听任那个老流氓抢劫她的钱财！
随后玛丽·珍妮又责怪了一通，随后又甜甜蜜蜜、亲亲热热地说起话来——这是她的章
法——不过等到她把话说完，可怜的豁嘴就无话可说了，只是一迭声地央告起来。
“那么好吧，”另外两位姑娘说，“你就请他原谅吧。”
她也照着办了。而且她说得多么动人啊。她是说得如此动人，听起来叫人多么快乐。我
真是但愿能给她讲一千回的谎话，好叫她再这么说一回。
我对自个儿说，这是又一位姑娘，我正听任那位老流氓抢劫她的钱财。她赔了不是以
后，她们便对我百般殷勤，让我觉得是在自己家里，是和朋友在一起。我呢，只觉得自己何
等缺德、何等卑鄙、何等丧失人格。我对自个儿说，我已经下定了决心，我死活也要把那笔
钱给藏起来。
于是我就跑开了，——我嘴里说是去睡觉的，我的意思却是说等一会儿再说吧。我一个
人在的时候，独自把当前的事从头至尾在心里过了一遍。我对自个儿说，要不要由我私下里
去找那位医生，把这两个骗子都加以告发呢？不——这不妥。他说不定会说出来是谁告诉了
他的。那么，国王和公爵准会狠狠地收拾我。我该不该私下里去告诉玛丽·珍妮呢？不——
这个办法不行。她脸上的表情准定会表现出一种暗示来。如今既然他们把钱弄到了手，他们
便会立刻溜之大吉，把钱带走，不见踪影。要是她找人帮忙，我看啊，在事情真相大白以
前，我会被卷了进去。不，除了一个办法，其它的路子都行不通。无论如何，非得由我把钱
偷到手。我非得找出一个办法来，把钱偷到手，而又不致叫他们起疑心，以为是我偷的。他
们在这里正得手哩。他们是不会马上就离开的。在把这家人家和这个镇子油水挤干以前，是
不会走的。所以我还有的是机会。我要把钱偷到手，藏起来。等我到了大河下游，我可以写
封信，告诉玛丽·珍妮钱藏在哪里。不过嘛，只要做得到的话，最好今晚上便能偷到手。因
为医生不见得象他所说的真的撒手不管这事了，他未必真会善罢甘休。他反倒兴许会把他们
吓得从这里逃走哩。
于是我思量，还是由我去房间里搜一搜。在楼上，厅堂里是黑的。我先找到了公爵的那
一间卧室，便用手到处摸着。不过我一想，按照国王的脾气，未必会肯叫别人照管好这笔
钱，而是非得由他自己管不可的，于是我去了他那间房间，到处掏摸。然而我发现，没有一
支蜡烛，我什么也干不成。当然啰，我并没有点燃蜡烛。依我看，还是得走另一条路——躲
起来，偷听。正在这个时刻，我听到有脚步声。我想钻到床底下面为好，便伸手去摸床。不
过我原以为放床的地方，却并没有床。我摸到的是遮住珍妮小姐衣衫的布幔，我便纵身一
跃，跳到了布幔后边，躲在衣衫中间，一动不动站着。
他们进来了，随后把门一关。公爵干的第一件事便是弯下身子，朝床底下张望。我真是
高兴极了，刚才我本想摸到床，可并没有摸到。不过嘛，你要知道，人如果干什么偷偷摸摸
的勾当，便很自然的会想到要藏到床底下去。他们坐了下来。国王说：
“你有什么话要说？有话就快说。因为咱们要是在楼下大着嗓子谈论丧事，总要比在楼
上让人家议论我们来得安全些。”
“喂，我要说的是：卡贝，我心里不安着哪。我感到不舒坦啊。那个医生老压在我的心
上。我要知道你的打算。我如今想到了一个念头，我看是稳妥的。”
“什么念头，公爵？”
“今晨三点钟以前，我们最好溜之大吉，带了已经到手的，飞快地赶到大河下游去。特
别是这样，既然得来这么轻易——又还给了我们，简直可以说是当面扔给我们的。我们原本
以为非得重新偷回来才行哩。我主张就此罢手，来个溜之大吉。”
这话叫我感到情况不妙。在一两个钟头以前，也许感觉会不一样，可如今听了，感到情
况不妙，很是灰心失望。国王发急了，嚷道：
“什么？其余的财产还没有拍卖掉就走？像两个傻瓜蛋那样就此开路。值八九千块钱的
财产就在我们手边，尽我们捡，反倒丢着不管，——而且全都是能轻易便脱手的。”
公爵嘟嘟囔囔地说，那袋金洋就够了嘛，他可不愿进一步冒什么险啦——不愿意把几个
孤女抢个精光。
“嘿，听你说的！”国王说，“我们并没有抢劫她们，不过就只是这钱嘛。那些买家产
的才是受害者嘛。因为只要一发现我们并非财产的主人——我们溜掉以后，不用多久便会查
明的——那么这回买卖便并无法律效力，财产就会物归原主。这些孤女就会重新取得这些财
产，这对她们来说，就心满意足啦。她们还年轻，手脚轻快，挣钱吃饭并非难事。她们并不
会受什么苦。啊，你只要好生想一想，世上赶不上她们的，还有成千上万个人呢。天啊，她
们还有什么好抱怨的呢。
国王把公爵说得晕头晕脑，他最后便屈服了，说那就这样吧。不过他还说，这样耽下
去，还有医生威胁着他们，他确信那是傻瓜才会这么干。不过国王说：
“滚他妈的医生！我们还在乎他么？镇上所有的傻瓜不都是站到了我们这一边么？这难
道不是占任何一个镇子上的大多数了么？”
于是他们准备重新到楼底下去。公爵说：
“我看这笔钱藏的地方不合适。”
这话我听了为之精神一振。我原本以为我得不到什么线索找到这笔钱啦。国王说：
“为什么？”
“因为玛丽·珍妮从现在起要守孝。她会吩咐那个收拾这间屋子的黑奴，把衣物装进盒
子里收起来。难道你以为黑奴发现了这笔钱，不会顺手借一些么？”
“公爵，你的脑袋又精明起来啦。”国王说。他在离我两三英尺的地方的布幔下边摸了
一会儿。我紧贴住墙，纹丝不动，尽管身子在颤抖。要是这些家伙抓住了我的话，真不知道
他们会对我说些什么。我就思忖着，要是他们真的把我给逮住了，我该怎么办？不过，我还
来不及在念头一闪以后进一步进行思考，国王已经把钱袋拿到了手。他根本没有怀疑到我竟
然就在旁边。他们拿过袋子，往羽绒褥子底下一张草垫子的裂缝里使劲塞，塞了足足有一两
英尺深。还说，这么一放，不会有什么问题了，因为一个黑奴只会整理整理羽绒褥子，不会
动草垫子，草垫子一年只翻两回，把钱塞在里面，就不会有被偷的危险啦。
不过我比他们知道得更多一些吧。他们才只下了三步楼梯，我就把东西取到了手。我摸
着上去，走进了我的小间，先行找个地方藏了起来，以便以后再找个更好的地方。据我判
断，放在屋子外面什么一个地方为好。因为一旦这些家伙发现丢了，肯定会在整个屋子里搜
个不亦乐乎，这我很明白。于是我转身睡了，身上的衣服一件未脱。但是要睡也睡不着，心
里火烧火燎似的，只想把事情办了。随后听到国王和公爵走上楼来。我便从毛毡上滚下来，
下巴颏搁在梯子口上，等着看会不会发生什么危险。不过什么事也没有。
我就这样等着。后来夜深了，一切的声音全都静了下来，而清早的声息呢，也还没有开
始，我这才溜下了梯子。