In chapter 24, the innocent young man on the raft tells the King about a deceased man from the area who is named Peter Wilks. Before he died, this wealthy man sent for Harvey and William Wilks, his two brothers from Sheffield, England.
The "rapscallions," as Huck alludes to the King and the Duke, have taken in hundreds of dollars with their Royal Nonesuch plays, so now they push on down the river with Huck...
In chapter 24, the innocent young man on the raft tells the King about a deceased man from the area who is named Peter Wilks. Before he died, this wealthy man sent for Harvey and William Wilks, his two brothers from Sheffield, England.
The "rapscallions," as Huck alludes to the King and the Duke, have taken in hundreds of dollars with their Royal Nonesuch plays, so now they push on down the river with Huck and Jim. Since they have profited so well from their audiences, the two hucksters feel that they should move on because the news of their fraudulent behavior may have circulated by now. The King orders Huck to head for a steamboat which they can board in order to travel to a village nearby. As the raft skims along a bluff bank in smooth water, they spot an innocent-looking "young country jake" with a couple of carpet-bags, who is resting on a log as he wipes his face.
"Run her nose in shore," says the king.... "Wher' you bound for, young man?"
"For the steamboat; going to Orleans."
"Git aboard," says the king.
Once he is aboard, the King begins to talk with this naive young man, who reveals that a man named Peter Wilks has left a rather sizable fortune to his brother, Harvey Wilks. Immediately, of course, the greedy King encourages the young innocent to tell him more. After being informed of the past of the recently-deceased Peter Wilks, the King learns that their passenger will be going to Rio de Janeiro to visit his uncle. So, after dropping the young man off, the King says no more about Huck's promised ride on the steamboat. Instead, he orders Huck to "paddle up to a lonesome place." Once they go ashore, he tells Huck to summon the Duke to meet him with two new carpet-bags: "Now hustle back, right off.... Shove along now."
When Huck and the Duke return, the King conspires with the Duke, and, as he does, he practices his English accent. Later, he offers to pay the captain of a steamboat a dollar a mile for the short trip he takes with the Duke and Huck. When the boat stops, there are nearly two dozen men waiting for William and Harvey Wilks. Of course, they mistake the King and the Duke for these men, just as the two rapscallions have hoped.
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