Huckleberry Finn Chapter 39

Tom and Huck collect all of the animals - spiders, snakes, and rats. Jim hates sleeping with them, but it gives him something to write about in his journal every night. Things start to look pretty good for his escape.

Uncle Silas talks about how he is going to advertise Jim because he hasn't heard anything from New Orleans, the place from which Jim supposedly ran away (according to the Duke's sign he made up in the printing office that one day). Tom decides that it's time to write anonymous letters to let people know that trouble is brewing. Huck is going to be the servant girl who sticks the anonymous letter under the front door, and Tom is going to be the prisoner's mother who helps him escape by exchanging clothes with him. Everyone in the house gets very nervous from the series of letters they receive. Aunt Sally and Uncle Silas assign two slaves to keep watch over things. That night, Tom sneaks over to one of the slaves and puts the final letter in the back of his neck. It warns them that a gang of robbers is planning on stealing their runaway slave. It says that he will "baaaa" like a sheep to warn them that the robbers are in the cabin. With that, they should run out to the shed and lock the robbers in. Until then, they should do nothing and act like nothing is wrong. It is signed, "Unknown Friend."