Tom entered, struggling with the weight of his
sacks, and Aunt Polly did not finish her sentence.
Tom poured the mass of yellow coin upon the table
and said:

"There--what did I tell you? Half of it's
Huck's and half of it's mine!"

The spectacle took the general breath away. All
gazed, nobody spoke for a moment. Then there
was a unanimous call for an explanation. Tom
said he could furnish it, and he did. The tale was
long, but brimful of interest. There was scarcely
an interruption from any one to break the charm of
its flow. When he had finished, Mr. Jones said:

"I thought I had fixed up a little surprise for
this occasion, but it don't amount to anything now.
This one makes it sing mighty small, I'm willing to
allow."

The money was counted. The sum amounted to
a little over twelve thousand dollars. It was more
than any one present had ever seen at one time
before, though several persons were there who were
worth considerably more than that in property.

-284-