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One morning I happened to turn over the salt-cellar at breakfast. I reached

for some of it as quick as I could, to throw over my left shoulder and keep off

the bad luck, but Miss Watson was in ahead of me, and crossed me off. She says,

"Take your hands away, Huckleberry -- what a mess you are always making." The

widow put in a good word for me, but that warn't going to keep off the bad luck,

I knowed that well enough. I started out, after breakfast, feeling worried and

shaky, and wondering where it was going to fall on me, and what it was going

to be. There is ways to keep off some kinds of bad luck, but this wasn't one of

them kind; so I never tried to do anything, but just poked along low-spirited and

on the watch-out. ssssssssss

I went down the front garden and clumb over the stile, where you go through

the high board fence. There was an inch of new snow on the ground, and I seen

somebody's tracks. They had come up from the quarry and stood around the

stile a while, and then went on around the garden fence. It was funny they hadn't

come in, after standing around so. I couldn't make it out. It was very curious,

somehow. I was going to follow around, but I stooped down to look at the tracks

first. I didn't notice anything at first, but next I did. There was a cross in the

left boot-heel made with big nails, to keep off the devil.

I was up in a second and shinning down the hill. I looked over my shoulder

every now and then, but I didn't see nobody. I was at Judge Thatcher's as quick

as I could get there. He said: ssssssssss

"Why, my boy, you are all out of breath. Did you come for your interest?"

"No sir," I says; "is there some for me?"

"Oh, yes, a half-yearly is in, last night. Over a hundred and fifty dollars.

Quite a fortune for you. You better let me invest it along with your six thou-

sand, because if you take it you'll spend it."

"No sir," I says, "I don't want to spend it. I don't want it at all -- nor the

six thousand, nuther. I want you to take it; I want to give it to you -- the six

thousand and all." ssssssssss

He looked surprised. He couldn't seem to make it out. He says:

"Why, what can you mean, my boy?"

I says, "Don't you ask me no questions about it, please. You'll take

it -- won't you?" ssssssssss

ssssssssss

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