you ever see. His own mother wouldn't 'a' knowed him. He asked us if he
looked like his brother Jubiter, now.

"No," Tom said; "there ain't anything left that's like him except the
long hair."

"All right, I'll get that cropped close to my head before I get there;
then him and Brace will keep my secret, and I'll live with them as
being a stranger, and the neighbors won't ever guess me out. What do you
think?"

Tom he studied awhile, then he says:

"Well, of course me and Huck are going to keep mum there, but if you
don't keep mum yourself there's going to be a little bit of a risk--it
ain't much, maybe, but it's a little. I mean, if you talk, won't people
notice that your voice is just like Jubiter's; and mightn't it make them
think of the twin they reckoned was dead, but maybe after all was hid
all this time under another name?"

"By George," he says, "you're a sharp one! You're perfectly right.
I've got to play deef and dumb when there's a neighbor around. If I'd a
struck for home and forgot that little detail--However, I wasn't striking
for home. I was breaking for any place where I could get away from these
fellows that are after me; then I was going to put on this disguise and
get some different clothes, and--"

He jumped for the outside door and laid his ear against it and listened,
pale and kind of panting. Presently he whispers:

"Sounded like cocking a gun! Lord, what a life to lead!"

Then he sunk down in a chair all limp and sick like, and wiped the sweat
off of his face.

CHAPTER III. A DIAMOND ROBBERY

FROM that time out, we was with him 'most all the time, and one or
t'other of us slept in his upper berth. He said he had been so lonesome,
and it was such a comfort to him to have company, and somebody to talk
to in his troubles. We was in a sweat to find out what his secret was,
but Tom said the best way was not to seem anxious, then likely he
would drop into it himself in one of his talks, but if we got to asking
questions he would get suspicious and shet up his shell. It turned out
just so. It warn't no trouble to see that he WANTED to talk about it,
but always along at first he would scare away from it when he got on the
very edge of it, and go to talking about something else. The way it come
about was this: He got to asking us, kind of indifferent like, about
the passengers down on deck. We told him about them. But he warn't
satisfied; we warn't particular enough. He told us to descr