"
Why, you never heard such a howl! -- and it come
from the whole house:
"What WAS it you seen him do? Stay where you
are, you little devil! You think you are going to
work a body up till his mouth's a-watering and stop
there? What WAS it he done?"
That was it, you see -- he just done it to get an
"effect "; you couldn't 'a' pulled him off of that plat-
form with a yoke of oxen.
"Oh, it wasn't anything much," he says. "I seen
him looking a little excited when he found Uncle Silas
was actuly fixing to hang himself for a murder that
warn't ever done; and he got more and more nervous
and worried, I a-watching him sharp but not seeming
to look at him -- and all of a sudden his hands begun
to work and fidget, and pretty soon his left crept up
and HIS FINGER DRAWED A CROSS ON HIS CHEEK, and then I
HAD him!"
Well, then they ripped and howled and stomped and
clapped their hands till Tom Sawyer was that proud
and happy he didn't know what to do with him-
self.
And then the judge he looked down over his pulpit
and says:
"My boy, did you SEE all the various details of this
strange conspiracy and tragedy that you've been de-
scribing?"
"No, your honor, I didn't see any of them."
"Didn't see any of them! Why, you've told the
whole history straight through, just the same as if
you'd seen it with your eyes. How did you manage
that?"
Tom says, kind of easy and comfortable:
"Oh, just noticing the evidence and piecing this and
that together, your honor; just an ordinary little bit of
detective work; anybody could 'a' done it.
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