Mr. Dobbins, the teacher, asked Tom where he had been.

Tom usually made up a story when he was late. But not today. Tom saw an empty seat beside the new girl on the girls’ side of the room. He knew he would be punished if he said he had been with Huck Finn. He would be sent to sit beside the new girl!

“I stopped to talk with Huckleberry Finn!” Tom proudly announced to the class.

Mr. Dobbins stared in surprise.

“Thomas Sawyer! This is a most astounding confession!” Mr. Dobbins said, and sent Tom over to the girls’ side of the room.

Tom sat at the end of the pine bench next to the new girl. Winks and whispers flew around the classroom. But Tom didn’t care. He pretended to read a book.

Soon everyone went back to their schoolwork.

Tom looked casually at the new girl. She saw his gaze and made a face. She turned away from Tom. When she turned back, there was a peach on her desk.

Tom wrote on his slate: PLEASE TAKE IT. I GOT MORE.

Then Tom began to draw. With his left hand, he hid what he was drawing. The girl tried to ignore him. But she couldn’t help wondering what was on the slate.

“Let me see it,” she whispered.

Tom had drawn a house with smoke coming out of the chimney. A stick man stood in front of the house. Tom’s drawing wasn’t that good, but the girl was impressed.

“I wish I could draw,” she said.

“It’s easy,” whispered Tom. “Stay for lunch and I’ll teach you. What’s your name?”

“Becky Thatcher. What’s yours? Oh, I know. It’s Thomas Sawyer.”

“They only call me that when I’m bad. I’m Tom when I’m good. You call me Tom, will you?”

Then Tom began to scrawl some words on the slate. He hid them from Becky. She begged to see what he had written.

“Promise you won’t tell.”

“I promise. Cross my heart.”

Tom let his hand slip a little. The message came into view.