Preparations and the Butter Incident
After a seemingly carefree day of fishing, Huck and Tom return to the Phelps farm to find the household in an uproar over the anonymous warning letter they had planted. Sent to bed immediately after supper, the boys sneak down to the cellar to gather provisions for their escape with Jim. Tom dons one of Aunt Sally's dresses as a disguise and sends Huck back to the cellar to retrieve a forgotten hunk of butter. On his way back upstairs, Huck encounters Aunt Sally and frantically hides the butter under his hat.
The Armed Farmers and a Melting Disguise
Aunt Sally marches Huck into the sitting room, where he discovers fifteen armed farmers gathered and waiting to ambush the supposed gang of robbers the warning letter described. Huck sits in terrified silence, unable to remove his hat because of the hidden butter. As the tension mounts and the room grows warmer, the butter begins to melt and trickle down Huck's forehead. Aunt Sally spots the streaks and, in a panic, believes the boy is suffering from brain fever and his brains are oozing out. She snatches off his hat, finds only bread and butter, and sends the relieved Huck to bed in a flood of gratitude that he is not actually dying.
The Escape and the Chase
Huck dashes upstairs, slides down the lightning rod, and races to the lean-to where Tom and Jim are waiting. He warns them the house is full of armed men, but Tom is thrilled rather than alarmed, wishing he could attract even more pursuers. They crawl through their escape tunnel, creep past the farmers who have entered the cabin to set an ambush, and make for the fence. Tom's trousers snag on a splinter, snapping it loudly enough to alert the men. Gunfire erupts as the three fugitives sprint for the river. The farmers release their dogs, but the hounds recognize the boys and ignore them. Huck, Tom, and Jim reach the canoe, paddle to the island where the raft is hidden, and push off into the current. As the sounds of pursuit fade behind them, Huck declares Jim a free man at last.
Tom's Wound and Jim's Sacrifice
The celebration is cut short when Tom reveals he has been shot in the calf during the escape. Jim refuses to leave Tom's side without medical attention, insisting he will not move from the raft even if it takes forty years. His selfless decision to risk his own freedom for a white boy's life underscores his deep moral character and stands in stark contrast to Tom's reckless adventurism. Huck agrees to fetch a doctor, and Tom, still caught up in romantic fantasy, instructs him to blindfold the physician and lead him by a roundabout route so no one can trace the raft. Huck sets off alone in the canoe while Jim hides in the woods to wait.