“Most always⁠—most always. He ain’t no account; but then he hain’t ever done anything to hurt anybody. Just fishes a little, to get money to get drunk on⁠—and loafs around considerable; but lord, we all do that⁠—leastways most of us⁠—preachers and suchlike. But he’s kind of good⁠—he give me half a fish, once, when there warn’t enough for two; and lots of times he’s kind of stood by me when I was out of luck.”

“Well, he’s mended kites for me, Huck, and knitted hooks on to my line. I wish we could get him out of there.”

“My! we couldn’t get him out, Tom. And besides, ’twouldn’t do any good; they’d ketch him again.”

“Yes⁠—so they would. But I hate to hear ’em abuse him so like the dickens when he never done⁠—that.”

“I do too, Tom. Lord, I hear ’em say he’s the bloodiest looking villain in this country, and they wonder he wasn’t ever hung before.”

“Yes, they talk like that, all the time. I’ve heard ’em say that if he was to get free they’d lynch him.”