The Bound Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Part 6 - Escape
This story is a work of fiction, all characters and plot lines are fictional. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
The Bound Adventures of Tom Sawyer remains the property of the author. The story or characters may not be reproduced or republished elsewhere without the expressed written consent of the author.
"Red, yo' come quick now," yelled Muff. “We got more visiters requirin' a welcome.”
Red pounded up at a run and stared open mouthed at the two boys. "Oh my Lord, they two more on 'em. Now how in tarnation is we gonna keep three little brats from runnin' off at the mouth?”
"Best we ties 'em up with the other one so's we kin have a good think how's best to dispose of 'em safe like. But what we gonna tie em with? Done used up all the rope on the Finn brat."
Red looked around and his eye lighted on Tom. "You boy! Strip off yo' shirt!"
Tom wanted to refuse but the revolver was still at Joe's temple and he thought it best to comply. Slowly, he unbuttoned and stripped off his shirt. Red snatched it and began to rip the fabric into strips. Tom winced at the thought of what Aunt Polly might say if she were here to witness this sacrilege.
"Git down on the floor boy! Put yo' hands behind you an' if'n yo' gives me any trouble then Muff here kin make sure your frien' here pays the price!"
Tom had no choice but to obey. The man knelt on his back keeping him pinned down while he bound Tom's wrists with a strip of cloth. Tom tried to retain some slack but Red worked out all the looseness in the turns and cinched it tightly between the wrists and knotted it off. His legs were then crossed at the ankles and tied in a similar fashion. Rolling Tom onto his back, the man roughly stuffed a strip of shirt into Tom's mouth and bound it in place with another cloth strip between his teeth. With Tom now secured the two men turned their attention to Joe who very soon joined Tom on the floor similarly bound and gagged.
"Sleep tight, don' let the bugs bite," laughed Muff and the men were gone back to the warmth of their fire leaving the trussed up boys alone in the darkness.
Gagged as they were, the boys could make only indistinct mumbles as they squirmed around testing the bindings. Tom soon discovered he had a good deal of freedom to move around. The men had not thought to hogtie the boys, and thus Tom was soon able to roll onto his back and sit up, and from there scoot around on his butt pretty well. He wriggled over to where he was sitting real close to Joe's head and by feeling around with his hands was able to get a grip on Joe's gag and pull it down over his chin. Joe spat out the cloth stuffed into his mouth. With a bit more wriggling and squirming, the boys were able to reverse the process and free Tom's mouth. Now they could talk.
"Joe, In the pocket of my britches is the clasp knife. If'n we sits real close you kin dip yo' fingers in an' pull him out," Tom whispered.
It wasn't easy but with a lot of wriggling and straining around Joe finally managed to get his fingertips into Tom's pocket and the clasp knife fell to the ground.
"That's mighty fine work, Joe. Now I'm gonna scoop up the knife and hold it 'tween my teeth. You scoot around, reach back and pull out the blade."
It took a few attempts to get this right, but eventually the open clasp knife lay clenched between Tom's teeth and by wriggling about on his side he was able to apply it to the bindings between Joe's wrists. Tom's jaw ached so bad he thought he'd never be able to open his mouth again but eventually one turn of the cloth binding was severed and Joe was able to work his wrists loose enough to pull them free. It was now an easy matter to free themselves of the remainder of the cloth bindings and together they set about releasing poor Huck. He was in a bad way after his prolonged confinement in the tight ropes and the rough treatment that the men had dealt out. Tom and Joe did their best to help him recover, rubbing his limbs to help restore circulation and encouraging him to stretch his cramped extremities. It was soon apparent that, for a while at least, Huck was in no condition to outrun their captors, nor indeed to creep away stealthily.
Expecting the return of their captors, the Tom and Joe armed themselves with stout lengths of wood from the wreckage of the fallen roof and settled in the shadows to wait. After what seemed a very long while, they heard the approach of one of the men come to check on the prisoners. He had no sooner poked his head into the building, when Joe struck it a mighty blow with the length of timber. Muff grunted and fell to his knees stunned by the force of the blow. The revolver flew from his grasp and skidded across the floor where Tom pounced upon it. Joe clamped his hand across the man's mouth to stifle his groans. With Tom menacing him with the gun and Huck threatening a further trouncing with the balk of timber they were able to bind his hands and feet and gag him using strips of Tom's shirt.
When Muff did not return from his errand, Red grew concerned and warily approached the building, but by then Tom had sneaked outside with the revolver to surprise the man from behind. As soon as Red glimpsed his fallen partner, he sensed the danger and turned to flee, but by then Tom was standing behind him holding the revolver in two outstretched trembling hands and pointing it unsteadily in the general direction of his head.
"Yo' stand real still mister! I got this gun and I aint a'feerd to use it!"
"You half-assed, snot nosed little brat, you aint got the balls to shoot nobody!"
Red lurched forward intending to snatch the gun from Tom's shaking hands. Tom jerked back instinctively and loosed off a shot that missed Red by a mile but ricocheted dangerously around the ruined building. With remarkable presence of mind, Huck swung his length of timber and caught the man at the back of his knees, sending him sprawling onto the ground. The shot from the gun gave Red reason to reappraise Tom's determination and with the violently trembling gun barrel still menacing him he had no choice but to submit to being tied like his partner.
The three boys enthusiastically reinforced their ropework on the bound robbers, using the ropes that had recently been used on Huck as well as strips of Tom's shirt. When they were finished, the two men were trussed and hogtied so effectively they could scarcely move an inch. Working together, the boys dragged and carried the men to the row-boat and tumbled them carelessly in.
Taking turns at the oars, they laboriously rowed back upstream to the cave. Leaving Tom to hold the revolver on the bound but struggling men, Huck and Joe nervously made their way into the cave and emerged shortly with the mysteriously clanking sack. Peeping into the sack, Huck whistled and held up an ornate silver teapot.
"Whoo eee!" he whooped, "There's a mighty fine treasure hoard here! All sorts of fancy pots and pans, an silver an gold an stuff. Seems likely that we might be in line for some sorta reward."
The clanking sack joined the captives in the bottom of the boat and the boys manned the oars once more and rowed off again up river towards the little jetty that served the town.
It was daylight by the time they drew up to the jetty and the town was in state of pandemonium. The robbery at the widow Abrahams had been discovered and a couple of sheriff's deputies were trying to pacify a group of outraged citizens who were all set to go off and lynch the first likely suspect they encountered. Tom and Joe's absence had been noticed and another group of citizens were arguing over who should lead the search party for the missing boys. Aunt Polly and Mrs Harper clung to each other weeping copiously in the midst of a clutch of worthy ladies who were trying to comfort them with tales of supposedly drowned folks who had returned alive. So busy were they with all these good intentions that nobody would take any notice of them until Tom loosed off a shot from the revolver into the air.
Well, that sure got folks attention. After the revolver had been confiscated, much to Tom's annoyance, the boys got to tell their story – and then again to the judge – and again to Rev. Wilkins – and again to widow Abrahams – and again to Aunt Polly – and again…
Fame is a transitory thing. For a week or two, the boys were heroes and were followed around by a gaggle of worshipping small boys, but soon the admirers faded away and things returned to normal. There was a reward, but the widow Abrahams had not come by her silver collection by being overly generous, and the Aunt Polly confiscated most of Tom's share to purchase a new shirt to replace the one which the robbers had torn up. However, there was enough left over to purchase some fish hooks, which demonstrates the power of prayer.
Huck received several offers of adoption from worthy Christian ladies who though that civilising this heroic but tragically orphaned youth would make a good project. Huck spurned them all, thinking school and church and washing a poor recompense for the loss of tobacco and cussing. As he said to Tom as they sat together in the woods.
"How's we gonna have more a'ventures if'n I all trussed up in Sunday best togs? Now hold out yo're hands so I kin git em tied tight."
© Copyright Cinched 2009
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