Tom's secret night visit home

1 Under a starry sky, Tom wades waist-deep off Jackson's Island toward the Illinois shore

2 Tom is still wet from the river.

3 Tom's soaked head appears in the crack of the back door as the candle flame bends

4 Tom lies hidden under the bed in tears, just short of his grieving aunt's slipper

5 Tom lies hidden under the bed and hears that his funeral will be preached on Sunday.

6 Aunt Polly kneels alone by candlelight and prays for the boy she thinks has drowned.

7 Tom lays the white sycamore scroll by his sleeping aunt's candle, shading the flame

8 Tom, soaked from the river and believed drowned, kisses his sleeping Aunt Polly

9 Tom dives into the sunlit Mississippi from the Illinois bank, heading for the island

10 Tom, still dripping from the river, strides into the island camp: Which he is!