Приключения Тома Сойера / The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

D’you ever try it, Huck?’

�No, but old Mother Hopkins told me.’

�Well, I reckon it’s so, then. Becuz they say she’s a witch.’

�Say! Why, Tom, I KNOW she is. She witched pap. Pap says so his own self. He come along one day, and he see she was a-witching him, so he took up a rock, and if she hadn’t dodged, he’d a got her. Well, that very night he rolled off’n a shed wher’ he was a layin drunk, and broke his arm.’

�Why, that’s awful. How did he know she was a-witching him?’

�Lord, pap can tell, easy.

Pap says when they keep looking at you right stiddy, they’re a-witching you. Specially if they mumble. Becuz when they mumble they’re saying the Lord’s Prayer backards.’

�Say, Hucky, when you going to try the cat?’

�To-night. I reckon they’ll come after old Hoss Williams to-night.’

�But they buried him Saturday. Didn’t they get him Saturday night?’

�Why, how you talk! How could their charms work till midnight? – and THEN it’s Sunday.

Devils don’t slosh around much of a Sunday, I don’t reckon.’

�I never thought of that. That’s so. Lemme go with you?’

�Of course – if you ain’t afeard.’

�Afeard! �Tain’t likely. Will you meow?’

�Yes – and you meow back, if you get a chance. Last time, you kep’ me a-meowing around till old Hays went to throwing rocks at me and says �Dern that cat!’ and so I hove a brick through his window – but don’t you tell.

’

�I won’t. I couldn’t meow that night, becuz auntie was watching me, but I’ll meow this time. Say – what’s that?’

�Nothing but a tick.’

�Where’d you get him?’

�Out in the woods.’

�What’ll you take for him?’

�I don’t know. I don’t want to sell him.’

�All right. It’s a mighty small tick, anyway.’

�Oh, anybody can run a tick down that don’t belong to them. I’m satisfied with it. It’s a good enough tick for me.

’

�Sho, there’s ticks a plenty. I could have a thousand of ’em if I wanted to.’

�Well, why don’t you? Becuz you know mighty well you can’t. This is a pretty early tick, I reckon. It’s the first one I’ve seen this year.’

�Say, Huck – I’ll give you my tooth for him.’

�Less see it.’

Tom got out a bit of paper and carefully unrolled it. Huckleberry viewed it wistfully. The temptation was very strong.