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Then
there was a dispute about who saw the dead boys last in life, and many
claimed that dismal distinction, and offered evidences, more or less
tampered with by the witness; and when it was ultimately decided who DID
see the departed last, and exchanged the last words with them, the lucky
parties took upon themselves a sort of sacred importance, and were gaped
at and envied by all the rest. One poor chap, who had no other grandeur to
offer, said with tolerably manifest pride in the remembrance:
"Well,
Tom Sawyer he licked me once."
But
that bid for glory was a failure. Most of the boys could say that, and so
that cheapened the distinction too much. The group loitered away, still
recalling memories of the lost heroes, in awed voices.
When
the Sunday-school hour was finished, the next morning, the bell began to
toll, instead of ringing in the usual way. It was a very still Sabbath,
and the mournful sound seemed in keeping with the musing hush that lay
upon nature. The villagers began to gather, loitering a moment in the
vestibule to converse in whispers about the sad event. But there was no
whispering in the house; only the funereal rustling of dresses as the
women gathered to their seats disturbed the silence there. None could
remember when the little church had been so full before. There was finally
a waiting pause, an expectant dumbness, and then Aunt Polly entered,
followed by Sid and Mary, and they by the Harper family, all in deep
black, and the whole congregation, the old minister as well, rose
reverently and stood until the mourners were seated in the front pew.
There was another communing silence, broken at intervals by muffled sobs,
and then the minister spread his hands abroad and prayed. A moving hymn
was sung, and the text followed: "I am the Resurrection and the
Life."
As
the service proceeded, the clergyman drew such pictures of the graces, the
winning ways, and the rare promise of the lost lads that every soul there,
thinking he recognized these pictures, felt a pang in remembering that he
had persistently blinded himself to them always before, and had as
persistently seen only faults and flaws in the poor boys. The minister
related many a touching incident in the lives of the departed, too, which
illustrated their sweet, generous natures, and the people could easily
see, now, how noble and beautiful those episodes were, and remembered with
grief that at the time they occurred they had seemed rank rascalities,
well deserving of the cowhide. The congregation became more and more
moved, as the pathetic tale went on, till at last the whole company broke
down and joined the weeping mourners in a chorus of anguished sobs, the
preacher himself giving way to his feelings, and crying in the pulpit.
There
was a rustle in the gallery, which nobody noticed; a moment later the
church door creaked; the minister raised his streaming eyes above his
handkerchief, and stood transfixed! First one and then another pair of
eyes followed the minister's, and then almost with one impulse the
congregation rose and stared while the three dead boys came marching up
the aisle, Tom in the lead, Joe next, and Huck, a ruin of drooping rags,
sneaking sheepishly in the rear! They had been hid in the unused gallery
listening to their own funeral sermon!
Aunt
Polly, Mary, and the Harpers threw themselves upon their restored ones,
smothered them with kisses and poured out thanksgivings, while poor Huck
stood abashed and uncomfortable, not knowing exactly what to do or where
to hide from so many unwelcoming eyes. He wavered, and started to slink
away, but Tom seized him and said:
"Aunt
Polly, it ain't fair. Somebody's got to be glad to see Huck."
"And
so they shall. I'm glad to see him, poor motherless thing!" And the
loving attentions Aunt Polly lavished upon him were the one thing capable
of making him more uncomfortable than he was before.
Suddenly
the minister shouted at the top of his voice: "Praise God from whom
all blessings flow -- SING! -- and put your hearts in it!"
And
they did. Old Hundred swelled up with a triumphant burst, and while it
shook the rafters Tom Sawyer the Pirate looked around upon the envying
juveniles about him and confessed in his heart that this was the proudest
moment of his life.
As
the "sold" congregation trooped out they said they would almost
be willing to be made ridiculous again to hear Old Hundred sung like that
once more.
Tom
got more cuffs and kisses that day -- according to Aunt Polly's varying
moods -- than he had earned before in a year; and he hardly knew which
expressed the most gratefulness to God and affection for himself.
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