Huck and Jim are travelling with 2 con-men, who call themselves “the duke” and “the dauphin” (or” the duke” and “the
king”) because they have told Huck and Jim that they are the missing heirs to the throne of France (in case you can’t
tell, they are NOT). These con-men travel from small town to small town, putting on really bad plays based on halfremembered Shakespeare soliloquies and looking for other ways to cheat people.
Chapter 21:
The duke and the king set to practicing their Shakespeare. The king is less than adept, and the
duke informs him that he should play Juliet more gently, as she doesn't "bray like a jackass" (21.1).
Apparently the duke, despite all his "expertise," can't really keep his plays straight. In the midst of
their Romeo and Juliet, he starts calling himself "Richard III." Then, for good measure, he completely
jumbles Hamlet's soliloquy ("To be or not to be; that is the bare bodkin"). Check it out—it will make you
feel super-smart because you will be able to tell how very wrong it is, my Shakespeare scholars.
They print up some playbills using fake stage-names for themselves and charging 25 cents
admission. Then Huck describes the unlucky town on which the duke and king have decided to bestow
their acting talents. Even “unsivilized” Huck can tell that this is a rough place. For example, he details the
way they argue about borrowing "tobacker" (tobacco) from each other, which seems to be the main
activity in town.
Soon enough, we meet the town's most colorful character, a drunk named Boggs who has a habit
of getting wasted and riding through town on his horse threatening to kill everyone he doesn't like.
Everyone is used to Boggs and his empty threats, so they're more inclined to laugh at him than run
screaming in the other direction. However, this time, Boggs makes the mistake of threatening Sherburn, a
tough guy who owns the biggest store in town. Sherburn comes out to the front of his store and gives
Boggs a warning: leave by one o'clock, or… die. Boggs, being Boggs, continues to insult Sherburn while
standing outside his store. The townspeople know that Sherburn is one serious man and hurry to get
Boggs's daughter to try to calm her father down. Sherburn comes out on his front porch, aims his pistol,
shoots twice, kills Boggs, and leaves. The townspeople lay a Bible under his head just as his sixteen-yearold daughter comes running onto the scene, weeping and so forth. Then the angry mob decides that they
should put their angry mob skills to use and lynch Sherburn.
Chapter 22: The description of the mob scene continues, though it turns out that no one is lynched because
the mob is full of cowards. Colonel Sherburn mocks them for not being a bunch of followers who can’t act
independently.
The Shakespeare show also takes place this night, but with only a meager turnout, the king and duke
change their plan for the next night and put up signs around the town for a show called "The Royal
Nonesuch." The real appeal of the show is the fact that women and children are prohibited from coming.
This will surely cause some excitement, the duke proudly exclaims.
Chapter 23: The first two nights of the Royal Nonesuch performance takes place in this chapter. What the
show really amounts to is simply the duke walking onto stage and telling everyone that they have been
duped and asks them to mention the show for the following two evenings to their friends. The people, who
have each been conned into paying 50 cents for the "show," are enraged and start to rush stage when one
among them calls for them to stop, saying that they will be the "laughing-stock" of the town if they don't
con their fellow citizens into buying tickets for the following two nights. Everyone agrees, and no violence
is done to the king or duke at this time. The following two nights follow the same pattern, except on the
third night the duke doesn't dare to enter the stage, knowing that the people plan to get their revenge on him
this time. So instead, he and Huck run back to the raft, getting away with over four hundred dollars for the
three "performances."
The most important part of the chapter, however, is a conversation between Huck and Jim, when Huck
realizes that Jim severely misses his family. (You should read this part for real, because it is lovely and
poignant.) This causes Huck to admit, "I do believe he cared just as much for his people as white folks does
for their'n." Thus, Huck continues to realize that Jim is as much a person as anyone else (not a surprising
notion to us, but a huge breakthrough for Huckleberry).
Chapter 24: Meeting a fellow traveler, the king starts up a conversation with the man, finding out that the
town is anticipating the arrival of the English brothers of Peter Wilks, a wealthy landowner who has
recently died and thus has quite a sizable inheritance to give to his relatives. The king and duke jump on
this opportunity, and after leaving the man who possessed such valuable information, ask for directions to
the Wilks' home.
Chapter 25: They arrive at the house, pretending to be the brothers of the deceased, and they seem to fool
everyone in the town. The king gives a speech, where he even brings himself to tears over the apparent
death of his brother. One man, however, the family physician, doesn't believe that these men are genuine,
but tells the town that they must be frauds. Their English accents, for one, don't seem quite authentic to his
trained ear. Luckily for the king and duke, however, the town doesn't believe the doctor, but rallies behind
them instead.
Chapter 26: The king and duke, now in one of the Wilks' private rooms, plot their next move. A bag of
gold has come into their possession and they decide to hide it for safe-keeping. Huck, however, feels
guilty and partially responsible for the scheme, since he is with the king and duke. He decides to hide the
gold himself to prevent the king and duke from getting their hands onto it.
Chapter 27: Now with the bag of gold, Huck proceeds to find a place to hide it. Unfortunately, someone is
heard approaching from another room, and fearing that he will be caught with the bag in his hand, he is
forced to hide the gold in the casket itself.
Soon the funeral ceremony takes place, and though many people are near the casket, no one seems to
discover the gold.
Planning their getaway, the king and duke realize that the gold is no longer where they had hidden it.
They interrogate Huck about the matter, but they ultimately come to believe that some of the house slaves
must have stolen the gold.
Chapter 28: In this chapter Huck meets with Mary Jane, one of the Wilks girls with whom he has become
especially close, and he tells her that the king and duke are frauds and that he has taken the money from
them. He writes a note to her telling her where he has hidden the gold. (It seems that Huck does not have
the heart to be part of this con—he knows that Mary Jane is a good person and he does not want to hurt
her. Huck is starting to figure out that he does not want to live like the king and the duke.)
By the end of the chapter, real trouble for the king and duke has come with the arrival of the legitimate
heirs. It seems a confrontation will soon follow.
Chapter 29: To make a long story short, there's a lengthy dispute between the two pairs of heirs. As time
passes, however, it becomes increasingly clear that the king and duke are frauds. All of the tension comes
to a fountainhead at the burial of Peter Wilks, where the gold is discovered.
Leaving the king and duke to pay the penalty for their fraudulent scheming, Huck breaks free from the
group and runs back to the river, where Jim has been waiting for him. Unfortunately, the king and duke
follow him to the raft, angry that Huck was trying to give them the slip.
Chapter 30: So the foursome continues its journey down river, free from the town, but with the king and
duke's scheme utterly foiled. Taking the pressure off of Huck for a moment, the king and duke argue
amongst themselves, now suspecting each other of betrayal.