The "English Uncles:" Tricking the Wilks Sisters

While on a steamboat (in new, nice-looking clothes), a young man informs the king that Peter Wilks (a pretty wealthy guy) has just died.  The king keeps asking him questions and gets more and more interested.  Apparently, Peter had sent for his brothers, Harvey (a preacher) and William (deaf and mute), who live in Sheffield, England.

"Harvey" crying.

Then, the king and duke walk into town, pretending to be Harvey and William, respectively.  When the king hears of Peter's death, he pretends to be surprised and starts to cry.  He then makes a speech that Huck remarks is "all full of tears and flapdoodle." (164).  Mary Jane (oldest of the three Wilks daughters) runs inside and fetches her father's will.  Peter left $3,000 and the house to his daughters, Mary Jane (19), Susan (15), and Joanna (14).  He left another $3,000 and the rest of the estate to Harvey and William.  The king and duke count the money, but it is $415 short, so they make up the deficit with their own money.  Then, they count the money in front of the crowd and give it to the girls; the king speaks, and the girls accept him.
 

Everyone in the town accepts the king and duke as Harvey and William except the doctor.  After the king says, "orgies" instead of "obsequies" and makes a big fool of himself trying to explain his mistake, Dr. Robinson's suspicions are aroused.  The doctor tries to convince the Wilks daughters, but they just brush it off and give all the money back to the frauds.

Huck Takes the Money

After supper, Joanna asks Huck a bunch of questions about England, and Huck forgets his own lies.  Joanna is suspicious, but Huck eases her by laying his hand on a dictionary.  Huck eavesdrops on the king and duke, then he takes the money and hides it in the coffin.

The next morning, there is the funeral, then the coffin is buried.  The king offers to take the girls back to England and starts selling off the estate (including the slaves).  The day after the funeral, several slave traders arrive, and the king splits up a family of slaves in order to sell them.  The girls and the slaves cry over each other.  The next day is the auction, and the king asks Huck a bunch of questions about stealing the gold.  Huck lies and says he saw slaves go in the room.  The king and duke feel even more uneasy. 

The next morning, Huck finds Mary Jane crying because she is so sad about the separated slave family.  Huck feels so sorry for her that he devises a plan with her.  He also reveals that the king and duke are frauds, but asks her not to tell anyone yet because he was worried about Jim's safety.  "But there's be another person that you don't know about who'd be in big trouble." (189).  At the auction, the king sells pretty much everything.  Then, the real Wilks brothers show up.

The Real Wilks Brothers

The king stands his ground (even though probably the wisest decision would be to escape).  The townsmen try to figure out who is real when Huck begins to lie about England.  The lawyer tells Huck, "I reckon you ain't used to lying  ...  You do it pretty awkward." (199).  They perform a handwriting test, but both Harveys' handwriting do not match up.  The real Harvey claims that his brother William copies and writes letters for him, (which is pretty legitimate, considering that letters from Harvey and William are in the same handwriting,) but William cannot write because his arm is broken.  Harvey asks the king if he knows what is tattooed onto Peter's chest, but neither of their answers were correct, according to the memory of the undertakers.

The crowd (with the frauds and possible frauds held) rushes to the cemetery to look.  When the coffin is opened, someone discovers the bag of gold on his chest.  The crowd goes crazy, and Huck manages to escape.  But, sadly the king and duke also escape onto the raft.  They argue about who hid the gold in the coffin, and the king finally confesses (under pressure).  They both get drunk and fall asleep.  Huck tells Jim everything, and the journey continues.

Pictures:

First picture courtesy of: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/76/old/orig76-h/p5.htm#c24

Second picture courtesy of: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/76/old/orig76-h/p6.htm#c28

Third picture courtesy of: http://flaglerlive.com/20054/huckleberry-finn-text-chapter-29/