Part 40 (1/2)
”Journal your granny?_Jim_ can't write”
”S'pose he _can't_ write?he can make marks on the shi+rt, can't he, if we make him a pen out of an old pewter spoon or a piece of an old iron barrel-hoop?”
”Why, Tooose and make him a better one; and quicker, too”
”_Prisoners_ don't have geese running around the donjon-keep to pull pens out of, you ins They _always_ hest, troubleso like that they can get their hands on; and it takes them weeks and weeks and ot to do it by rubbing it on the wall _They_ wouldn't use a goose-quill if they had it It ain't regular”
”Well, then, what'll we make him the ink out of?”
”Many makes it out of iron-rust and tears; but that's the common sort and women; the best authorities uses their own blood Jim can do that; and when he wants to send any little coe to let the world knohere he's captivated, he can write it on the bottom of a tin plate with a fork and throw it out of theThe Iron Mask always done that, and it's a blaot no tin plates They feed hiet him some”
”Can't nobody _read_ his plates”
”That ain't got anything to _do_ with it, Huck Finn All _he's_ got to do is to write on the plate and throw it out You don't _have_ to be able to read it Why, half the ti a prisoner writes on a tin plate, or anywhere else”
”Well, then, what's the sense in wasting the plates?”
”Why, blame it all, it ain't the _prisoner's_ plates”
”But it's _somebody's_ plates, ain't it?”
”Well, spos'n it is? What does the _prisoner_ care whose?”
He broke off there, because we heard the breakfast-horn blowing So we cleared out for the house
Along during theI borrowed a sheet and a white shi+rt off of the clothes-line; and I found an old sack and put theot the fox-fire, and put that in too I called it borrowing, because that hat pap always called it; but To He said as representing prisoners; and prisoners don't care how they get a thing so they get it, and nobody don't blame them for it, either It ain't no criet aith, To a prisoner, we had a perfect right to steal anything on this place we had the least use for to get ourselves out of prison with He said if arn't prisoners it would be a very different thing, and nobody but a mean, ornery person would steal when he warn't a prisoner So we alloould steal everything there was that cohty fuss, one day, after that, when I stole a waterer-patch and eat it; and hethem what it was for To we _needed_ Well, I says, I needed the wateret out of prison with; there's where the difference was
He said if I'd a wanted it to hide a knife in, and sle it to Jiht So I let it go at that, though I couldn't see no advantage in ot to set down and chaw over a lot of gold-leaf distinctions like that every ti a water till everybody was settled down to business, and nobody in sight around the yard; then Tom he carried the sack into the lean-to whilst I stood off a piece to keep watch By and by he come out, and ent and set down on the woodpile to talk He says:
”Everything's all right now except tools; and that's easy fixed”
”Tools?” I says
”Yes”
”Tools for what?”
”Why, to dig with We ain't a-going to _gnaw_ his in there good enough to dig a nigger out with?” I says