Summary Chapter 19

Three days go by. They hide during the day and travel by night. They are usually naked. Life is easygoing and fine.

Huck finds a canoe. He is searching for berries when two men come along. They beg him to let them in the boat. Men and dogs are chasing them. Huck doesn’t hear the men and dogs, so he tells the men to get into the water to lose the scent. The men do as they are told. They crawl into the boat from the water. The men and dogs come and then leave after a futile search.

Once the trouble subsides, the men get to know each other. One got into trouble for selling a product that takes the tartar and enamel off teeth. The other had been successful at a temperance revival until they learned he liked to sneak a drink.

The men decide to pair up. Both have done a variety of scams. The younger man claims he was a duke by birth. Huck and Jim are impressed and feel sorry for him because he was deprived of his inheritance. They agree to call him ‘Your grace’ and serve him.

The other man is sulky and finally reveals that he is the late Dauphin. Huck and Jim don’t know what that is. He tells them he is Louis 17th, the rightful king of France. He looks older than he is, for his troubles have prematurely aged him. Jim and Huck treat him with the same respect. The duke and Dauphin seem to be in competition but make peace. Huck realizes they are lying, but he doesn’t say anything. Keeping peace on a raft is an important thing, and he doesn’t mind pretending. He learned from his father that the best way to get along with people is to let them have their own way.