I 'uz off too fur to hear what dey say to you--I wuz 'fraid o' de dogs; but when it 'uz all quiet agin I knowed you's in de house, so I struck out for de woods to wait for day.

Early in de mawnin' some er de niggers come along, gwyne to de fields, en dey tuk me en showed me dis place, whah de dogs can't track me on accounts o' de water, en dey brings me truck to eat every night, en tells me how you's a-gitt'n along." "Why didn't you tell my Jack to fetch me here sooner, Jim ?" "Well, 'twarn't no use to 'sturb you, Huck, tell we could do sumfn--but we's all right now.

I ben a-buyin' pots en pans en vittles, as I got a chanst, en a-patchin' up de raf' nights when--" "WHAT raft, Jim ?" "Our ole raf'." "You mean to say our old raft warn't smashed all to flinders ?" "No, she warn't.

She was tore up a good deal--one en' of her was; but dey warn't no great harm done, on'y our traps was mos' all los'.

Ef we hadn' dive' so deep en swum so fur under water, en de night hadn' ben so dark, en we warn't so sk'yerd, en ben sich punkin-heads, as de sayin' is, we'd a seed de raf'.