Hello,
It's Gina here.
We'll be continuing with a modernised version of Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer,
Chapter 7.
The harder Tom tried to force his mind onto his books,
The more his thoughts drifted away.
So at last,
With a sigh and a yawn,
He gave up.
It seemed to him the noon recess would never arrive.
The air was completely still,
Not a breath stirred.
It was the sleepiest of sleepy days.
The drowsy murmur of the twenty-five students studying soothes the soul the way the hum of bees can.
Far away in the blazing sunshine,
Cardiff Hill lifted its soft green slopes through the simmering veil of heat,
Tinted purple by distance.
A few birds drifted lazily high in the sky.
No other living thing could be seen except some cows,
And they were asleep.
Tom's heart ached to be free,
Or else to have something interesting to do to make this dreary time pass.
His hand wandered into his pocket,
And his face brightened with a glow of gratitude that was practically a prayer,
Though he didn't know it.
Then stealthily,
The percussion cap box came out.
He released the tick and set it on the long,
Flat desk.
The creature lightly glowed with a gratitude that was practically a prayer too.
But it was too soon,
Because when it began to travel off thankfully,
Tom redirected it with a pin and forced it onto a new course.
Tom's closest friend sat behind him,
Suffering as Tom had been,
And in an instant he became deeply and gratefully absorbed in this new entertainment.
This close friend was Joe Harper.
The two boys were sworn friends all week,
And fierce enemies on Saturdays.
Joe pulled the pin from his lapel and began helping exercise the prisoner.
The game grew more and more interesting every moment.
Soon,
Tom said they were getting in each other's way,
And neither was getting the full enjoyment out of the trick.
So he set Joe's slate on the desk and drew a line straight down the middle from top to bottom.
Now he said,
As long as he's on your side,
You can stir him up and I'll leave him alone.
But if you let him get away and cross onto my side,
You have to leave him alone as long as I can keep him from crossing back.
All right,
Go ahead,
Start him up.
Before long,
The tick escaped Tom and crossed the equator.
Joe pestered it for a while,
And then it got away and crossed back again.
This change of territory happened again and again.
While one boy worried the tick with intense focus,
The other watched with just as much interest.
Two heads bent close over the slate,
And two souls dead to everything else.
At last luck seemed to settle on Joe.
The tick tried its route,
That route and the other,
And grew as excited and anxious as the boys.
But time after time,
Just as victory seemed within its grasp,
And Tom's fingers began twitching to begin,
Joe's pin would skillfully block it and keep possession.
At last,
Tom couldn't stand it any longer.
The temptation was too strong,
So he reached out and helped with his pin.
Joe got angry immediately.
He said,
Tom,
Leave him alone.
I just want to stir him up a little,
Joe.
No,
Sir,
It's not fair.
You leave him alone.
Blast it,
I'm not going to be bothering him much.
Leave him alone,
I tell you.
I won't.
You will.
He's on my side of the line.
Look here,
Joe Harper,
Whose tick is this?
I don't care whose tick it is.
He's on my side of the line,
And you're not going to touch him.
Well,
I bet I will.
He's my tick,
And I'll do whatever I want with him,
Or die.
A tremendous smack came down on Tom's shoulder,
And the same on Joe's,
And for the next two minutes,
Dust flew from their jackets while the whole school enjoyed the show.
The boys had been too absorbed to notice the hush that had slipped over the room a little earlier when the teacher had tiptoed down the aisle and stopped above them.
He had watched a good part of the performance before adding his own bit of variety to it.
When school let out that afternoon,
Tom rushed to Becky Thatcher and whispered in her ear,
Put on your bonnet and act like you're going home,
And when you get to the corner,
Slip away from the rest of them and turn through the lane and come back.
I'll go the other way and slip around the same way.
So one left with one group of students and the other with another.
Before long,
They met at the bottom of the lane,
And when they reached the schoolhouse,
They had it all to themselves.
They sat together with a slate in front of them.
Tom gave Becky a pencil and held her hand in his,
Guiding it,
And together they created another astonishing house.
When the excitement about drawing began to fade,
They turned to talking.
Tom was floating in happiness.
He said,
Do you like rats?
No,
I hate them.
Well,
I do,
Live ones.
But I mean dead ones to swing around your head on a string.
No,
I don't care much for rats anyway.
What I like is chewing gum.
Oh,
Absolutely.
I wish I had some right now.
Do you?
I've got some.
I'll let you chew it a while,
But you have to give it back.
That sounded fine.
So they took turns chewing it and dangled their legs against the bench in perfect contentment.
Have you ever been to a circus?
Tom asked.
Yes,
It's my pa's going to take me sometime again if I'm good.
I've been to the circus three or four times,
Lots of times.
Church is nothing compared to a circus.
Things are happening at the circus all the time,
And I'm going to be a clown in the circus when I grow up.
Oh,
Are you?
That will be nice.
They're so lovely,
All spotted up.
Yes,
That's true,
And they make loads of money,
Almost a dollar a day,
Ben Rogers says.
Say,
Becky,
Have you ever been engaged?
What's that?
Engaged to be married?
No.
Would you like to?
I suppose so.
I don't know.
What's it like?
Like,
It's not like anything.
You just tell a boy that you will never have anyone but him,
Ever,
Ever,
Ever,
And then you kiss and that's all.
Anyone can do it.
Kiss?
What do you kiss for?
Well,
You know,
As to,
Well,
They always do it.
Everybody?
Yes,
Everyone who's in love with each other.
Do you remember what I wrote on the slate?
Yes.
What was it?
I'm not going to tell you.
Want me to tell you?
Yes,
But some other time.
No,
Now.
No,
Not now,
Tomorrow.
Oh,
No,
Now,
Please,
Becky,
I'll whisper.
I'll whisper it softly.
Becky hesitated.
Tom took her silence for agreement,
Put his arm around her waist,
And whispered the words very softly with his mouth close to her ear.
Then he added,
Now you whisper it to me just the same.
She resisted a while,
Then said,
Turn your face away so I can't see,
And then I will.
But you must never tell anyone,
Will you,
Tom?
You won't,
Will you?
No,
Truly,
Truly,
I won't.
Now,
Becky.
He turned his face away.
She bent timidly around until her breath stirred his curls and whispered,
I love you.
Then she jumped away and ran around the desks and benches with Tom chasing her until she finally took refuge in a corner with her little white apron over her face.
Tom put his arms around her neck and begged,
Now,
Becky,
It's all done,
All over,
Except the kiss.
Don't be afraid of that.
It's nothing at all.
Please,
Becky.
He tugged at her apron with her hands.
After a while,
She gave in and let her hands drop,
Her face glowing from the struggle,
Lifted and gave in.
Tom kissed her red lips and said,
Now it's all done,
Becky,
And from now on,
You know,
You never need to love anyone but me,
And you never need to marry anybody but me,
Ever,
Never and forever,
Will you?
No,
I'll never love anyone but you,
Tom,
And I'll never marry anyone but you,
And you're not to ever marry anyone but me either.
Of course,
Certainly,
That's part of it.
And every day going to school or going home,
You're to walk with me and when nobody's watching.
And at parties,
You choose me and I choose you,
Because that's what you do when you're engaged.
That's so nice.
I've never heard of it before.
Oh,
It's really wonderful.
Why,
Me and Amy Lawrence.
The big eyes showed Tom had made a mistake and he stopped flustered.
Oh,
Tom,
Then I'm not the first you've been engaged to.
Child began to cry.
Tom said,
Oh,
Don't cry,
Becky.
I don't care about her anymore.
Yes,
You do,
Tom,
You know you do.
Tom tried to put his arm around her neck,
But she pushed him away,
Turned her face to the wall and kept crying.
Tom tried again with soothing words,
Ready,
But he was pushed away again.
Then his pride rose up and he marched outside.
He stood around restlessly and uneasy for a while,
Glancing at the door now and again,
Hoping she would regret it and come to find him,
But she didn't.
Then he began to feel bad and to fear that he was the one in the wrong.
It was a hard struggle to make a new attempt now,
But he forced himself to it and went back inside.
She was still there in the corner,
Sobbing with her face to the wall.
Tom felt guilty.
He went to her and stood a moment,
Not sure how to begin.
Then he said hesitantly,
Becky,
Becky,
I don't care about anyone but you.
No answer,
Only sobs.
Becky,
He pleaded.
Becky,
Won't you say something?
More sobs.
Tom pulled his greatest treasure,
A brass knob from the top of a fireplace at dawn,
Held it around so that she could see it and said,
Please,
Becky,
Won't you take it?
She knocked it to the floor.
Then Tom marched out of the schoolhouse and over the hills and far away and he did not return to school that day.
Before long,
Becky began to suspect something.
She ran to the door.
He was nowhere in sight.
She dashed to the playground and he wasn't there either.
Then she called,
Tom,
Come back,
Tom.
She listened hard,
But no answer came.
She had no companions but the silence and loneliness.
So she sat down to cry again and scold herself.
And by then the other students began to gather again and she had to hide her grief,
Quiet her broken heart and take up the burden of a long,
Dreary,
Aching afternoon with no one among the strangers around her to share her sorrows with.
