Summary Chapter 21

The duke and king rehearse Romeo and Juliet and Richard III. They practice extra bits to do for encores. The duke tries to do Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” speech from memory and screws it up. They print up show bills.

They come to a small town in Arkansas. All but Jim go into town to see if it is a good place to put on a play. There is a circus leaving town. The duke rents a place and puts up show bills.

They explore the town. It is a town of loafers. Huck is unnerved when an old man challenges him to a fight, but the locals assure Huck he is a drunk. However, the old man (named Boggs) is more interested in fighting Colonel Sherburn. Colonel Sherburn shoots and kills him. The mob decides to lynch Sherburn.