Summary Chapter 19

Aunt Polly is angry at Tom. She made a fool of herself in front of Mrs. Harper by telling her about Tom’s “dream”. Mrs. Harper had found out from Joe that Tom had really been there that night.

Tom feels bad. He hadn’t considered it anything more than a joke. Aunt Polly says that is always the problem with him. He never considers other people’s feelings.

Tom says he did come over initially from the island to assure them they were safe. Aunt Polly doesn’t believe him. He claims he changed his mind about telling them when he heard about the funeral.

Aunt Polly softens when he tells her he kissed her that night while she slept. When he is gone, she examines his coat and finds the bark he had told her about—which had a message that the boys were safe. She realizes he was telling the truth, and he did think about them a little bit.