flashed upon him that it was only a dream. He bounded back, rushed to
the sitting-room, and felt a great trembling revulsion of joy when he
found it really empty. He told Pamela the dream, then put it out of his
mind as quickly as he could. The Pennsylvania sailed from St. Louis as
usual, and made a safe trip to New Orleans.

A safe trip, but an eventful one; on it occurred that last interview
with Brown, already mentioned. It is recorded in the Mississippi book,
but cannot be omitted here. Somewhere down the river (it was in Eagle
Bend) Henry appeared on the hurricane deck to bring an order from the
captain for a landing to be made a little lower down. Brown was somewhat
deaf, but would never confess it. He may not have understood the order;
at all events he gave no sign of having heard it, and went straight
ahead. He disliked Henry as he disliked everybody of finer grain than
himself, and in any case was too arrogant to ask for a repetition. They
were passing the landing when Captain Klinefelter appeared on deck and
called to him to let the boat come around, adding:

"Didn't Henry tell you to land here?"

"No, sir."

Captain. Klinefelter turned to Sam:

"Didn't you hear him?"

"Yes, sir."

Brown said: "Shut your mouth! You never heard anything of the kind."

By and by Henry came into the pilot-house, unaware of any trouble. Brown
set upon him in his ugliest manner.

"Here, why didn't you tell me we had got to land at that plantation?" he
demanded.

Henry was always polite, always gentle.

"I did tell you, Mr. Brown."

"It's a lie."

Sam Clemens could stand Brown's abuse of himself, but not of Henry. He
said: "You lie yourself. He did tell you."

Brown was dazed for a moment and then he shouted:

"I'll attend to your case in half a minute!" and ordered Henry out of
the pilot-house.

The boy had started, when Brown suddenly seized him by the collar and
struck him in the face.--[In the Mississippi book the writer states
that Brown started to strike Henry with a large piece of coal; but, in a
letter written soon after the occurrence to Mrs. Orion Clemens, he
says: "Henry started out of the pilot-house-Brown jumped up and collared
him--turned him half-way around and struck him in the face!-and him
nearly six feet high-struck my little brother. I was wild from that
moment. I left the boat to steer herself, and avenged the insult--and
the captain said I was right."]--Instantly Sam was upon Brown, with a