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much of it. But I never said so. I asked her if she reckoned Tom

Sawyer would go there, and, she said, not by a considerable sight. I was

glad about that, because I wanted him and me to be together.

Miss Watson she kept pecking at me, and it got tiresome and lonesome.

By-and-by they fetched the niggers in and had prayers, and then everybody

was off to bed. I went up to my room with a piece of candle and put

it on the table. Then I set down in a chair by the window and tried to

think of something cheerful, but it warn't no use. I felt so lonesome I

most wished I was dead. The stars was shining, and the leaves rustled in

the woods ever so mournful; and I heard an owl, away off, who-whooing

about somebody that was dead, and a whippowill and a dog crying about

somebody that was going to die; and the wind was trying to whisper some-

thing to me and I couldn't make out what it was, and so it made the cold

shivers run over me. Then away out in the woods I heard that kind of a

sound that a ghost makes when it wants to tell about something that's on its

mind and can't make itself understood, and so can't rest easy in its grave

and has to go about that way every night grieving. I got so down-hearted

and scared, I did wish I had some company. Pretty soon a spider went

crawling up my shoulder, and I flipped it off and it lit in the candle; and

before I could budge it was all shriveled up. I didn't need anybody to tell

me that that was an awful bad sign and would fetch me some bad luck, so

I was scared and most shook the clothes off of me. I got up and turned

around in my tracks three times and crossed my breast every time; and

then I tied up a little lock of my hair with a thread to keep witches

away. But I hadn't no confidence. You do that when you've lost a

horse-shoe that you've found, instead of nailing it up over the door, but I

hadn't ever heard anybody say it was any way to keep off bad luck when

you'd killed a spider. ssssssssss

I set down again, a shaking all over, and got out my pipe for a smoke;

for the house was all as still as death, now, and so the widow wouldn't

know. Well, after a long time I heard the clock away off in the town

go boom -- boom -- boom -- twelve licks -- and all still again -- stiller than

ever. Pretty soon I heard a twig snap, down in the dark amongst the

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