Chapter Summaries
Chapter 25:
In this chapter, the duke and the dauphin, pretending to be the Wilks', greet two young ladies. The ladies think that they are their long lost uncles. The whole town comes and cries with the girls, thankful that the Wilks' have come home. Peter Wilks' has left his land to his brothers, and $3,000 to his nieces. The duke and dauphin collect the money and give it to Peter Wilks' daughters. A doctor comes along and to everyone's surprise, states that the duke and dauphin are a fraud. He tells Peter Wilks' daughter, Mary Jane, to tell the men to leave, and she does, along with giving them the $6,000 from the letter left to them.
Chapter 26:
In chapter 26, the duke, dauphin, and Huck spend the night at the Wilks' house. Huck gets served dinner by a Wilks' sister who has a birth defect, Joanna. She is skeptical of Huck, and tests him on his knowledge of England. Since the young man is claiming to be the Duke of England, and Huck is claiming to be form England, he should know a lot. He makes a few mistakes, furthering Joanna's thoughts that he is a fraud. She asks him if he's s fraud, but gets reprimanded by her sisters, saying to be nice to their guest. Huck feels guilty about letting them be so kind to him when they're stealing their money, so he plans to secretly give the $6,000 back to them. He sneaks into the duke and dauphin's room when they're not there and finds the money.
Chapter 27:
In this chapter, Huck hides the money in the first place he can find, which is Peter Wilks' coffin. His daughters then come in the room, and Huck has to leave, with the money still hidden in the unlocked coffin. During the funeral, a dog disrupts the procedure by making a racket in the cellar. Someone goes to find out what happened and says that the dog killed a rat. After the interruption, the coffin gets sealed with the money inside. The duke and the dauphin then sell Peter Wilks' estate and the slaves, promising to take the Wilks girls to England with them. When the duke and dauphin find out the money is missing, Huck says that the slaves must have taken it with them when they left.
Chapter 28:
In chapter 28, Huck tells Mary-Jane where the hidden money is. He finds her crying in her room over the separated slaves. Huck accidentally tells her that they will see each other soon. Because of this slip, he has to tell her the whole story. When she knows, Huck tells her to hide until he and Jim escape. He also tells her to avoid seeing the duke and dauphin until they're gone, so she doesn't give away that she knows. Huck also tells her that the money is locked in her father's coffin, and she says she will retrieve it after everyone leaves. While Huck is leaving, he convinces the other Wilks' sisters that Joanna is going to see a sick friend, and they believe her. There's an auction for all the rest of the Wilks' belongings, and two men come along, saying their the real Wilks brothers.
Discussion Questions
Why does Huck want Mary Jane to leave the house after he tells her the truth?
Huck doesn't want Mary Jane to let it slip that Huck has told her the truth. If she leaves, she wil be safe and not accidentally give anything away.
How is Huck's increasing maturity shown in these chapters?
Huck starts to feel guilty for things he didn't used to. For example, when the Wilks sisters are feeding him and giving him shelter, he feels bad. He feels bad because they are treating him so well when he and the duke and dauphin are in the middle of conning them.
What qualities do the Wilks girls have that allow them to be duped so easily?
The girls are very kind people, which makes them very gullible. They will help people who need it, whether they are being true about it or not. Also, if one sister is skeptical of something, the others will convince her that she is wrong. They have a bond between each other that makes them very gullible and able to be easily duped.
Reflections
We start to see Huck with a better sense of right and wrong in these chapters. He tells Mary Jane the truth aout the slaves because he knows she feels bad for them. He knows it will make her feel better that she knows the truth. Also, Huck plans to return the money to the Wilks sisters. He thinks they are kind people for taking care of him and doesn't think it's right to take their rightful money. This is showing how he's getting a sense of how guilty he feels for conning people and he can see the good in everyday people.