Summary—Chapter 30: Tom and Becky in the Cave
The next morning, a Sunday, Huck creeps to the Welshman’s
house and learns that the whole town is out looking for the deaf
and mute Spaniard and his companion—both of whom the old man and
his sons chased away the night before. (The Welshman does not yet know
the Spaniard’s true identity.) Huck then describes how he followed
the intruders the previous night. He tries not to mention the treasure,
but eventually he describes the deaf and mute man’s speech and so
has to admit that the Spaniard is actually Injun Joe. The Welshman
tells him that the package the two men were carrying contained burglary
tools, which relieves Huck considerably, because it means that the
treasure must still be in the tavern.
Soon everyone has heard about the events at the widow’s
house, but the Welshman keeps the identity of the boy who saved
the widow a secret, in order to make it a great surprise. At church
that morning, everyone discusses the excitement, and then Mrs. Thatcher
asks Mrs. Harper where Becky is. Mrs. Harper says that Becky did
not stay with her, and then Aunt Polly appears, wondering where
Tom is. Eventually everyone realizes, to a collective horror, that
Tom and Becky must still be in the cave.
A search party is organized and sets out for the cave
immediately. The day drags on with no word from the missing children,
and Huck, meanwhile, acquires a fever. The Widow Douglas, who remains
ignorant of Huck’s actions the previous night, takes care of him.
Eventually, the searchers in the cave begin to give up—the only
traces found of the children are the words “BECKY & TOM,”
written on the cave walls in candle-smoke soot, and one of Becky’s
ribbons.
In the days that follow, the town discovers that Temperance
Tavern serves liquor. When Huck wakes from his feverish sleep at
one point, he asks Widow Douglas if anything has been found at the Temperance
Tavern. She tells him that alcohol has been discovered and the tavern
shut down, so Huck assumes the treasure is gone. Tom and Becky remain
lost.
Summary—Chapter 31: Found and Lost Again
The story returns to Tom and Becky on the day of the picnic.
They wander away from the larger group, exploring and using smoke
to make marks on the walls so that they can find their way back.
Eventually, they come to a large room filled with bats, and the
bats attack them and chase them into unknown passages. After escaping
the bats, they realize how far from the others they are and decide
to go back, but they cannot go the way they came, as the bats are
blocking it. Tom chooses another passage to follow, and, after a
while, they realize they are completely lost. Tom hasn’t made any
marks, and even finding the bats again seems impossible.
The couple wanders on, occasionally calling for help.
Becky sleeps for a time. When she wakes up, they realize that their
parents will not miss them until the following day. Despair sets
in for a while. They then hear the voices of rescuers and call in
reply. The search parties do not hear them, and the children find
their way blocked by crevices and pitfalls. The voices grow fainter
and eventually cease. The children grope their way to a spring and
sit down, knowing they will soon run out of candles.
