The Price of Adventure — The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Tom wakes on the island to birds, dew, and quiet woods. The boys swim, fish, and explore the island from end to end. They catch bass for breakfast and feel like real outlaws with no school and no baths required. Freedom tastes sweet for the first few hours.

After a while the fun fades. Everyone feels a little homesick but nobody wants to say it out loud. They play games and tell stories, yet the silence between jokes grows longer. Then they hear a deep boom from the river. Men on the ferry are shooting a cannon over the water to raise drowned bodies. Tom realizes the town thinks someone drowned. A minute later he knows the drowned boys are them.

Being missed feels wonderful. They imagine the whole town crying and regretting meanness. They count how many people will weep at their funeral and feel proud of their own importance. At night Joe hints about going home, but Tom mocks him and Joe backs down. After the others sleep, Tom writes messages on pieces of bark, leaves treasures in Joe's hat, and slips away toward the river alone with a secret plan nobody else knows about yet. The other boys sleep on, unaware.