After the king and the duke had fallen asleep in the hut on the raft, Jim said to me, "Do you think the duke and the king are rascals?"
"Yes, I do," I replied. "From the books I've read, I've learned that many kings are rascals."
"Then I hope we don't meet any more of them," said Jim. "These two are all I can stand."
I went to sleep while Jim kept watch.
He was supposed to wake me later so that I could take my turn to watch, but he let me sleep.
When I awoke, it was dawn. I saw Jim sitting with his head bent low, and I knew he was feeling sad.
I asked him if he was thinking about his wife and children.
"Yes, I am," he replied. "I miss them so much.
I'm afraid I'll never see my little Elizabeth and my little Johnny again."
I tried to comfort him. I was thinking that black slaves had all the same feelings as white people.
They loved their families just as much. I began to wonder how anyone could sell a man and separate him from his family.
The king and the duke wished they could stage the Royal Nonesuch again because they had made so much money.
But they were afraid news of their trick might have spread to other towns.
If it had, they would need to think of a new scam.
Meanwhile, they bought themselves fine new clothes at the next town we came to.
They even bought some new clean clothes for me.
They told me that it was easier to fool people if you looked rich and respectable, and they proved this to me the next day.
The king and the duke asked me to take them in our canoe to the nearest steamboat wharf.
There we could board a big steamboat. Then they could arrive at the next town as if they were very important people.
They said that I could pretend to be their servant, Adolphus.
I didn't like that name, but I was so excited to be riding on a steamboat for the first time in my life that I didn't object.
As we boarded the steamboat, the king started a conversation with a friendly and trusting young man.
"When I first saw you, I thought you might be Mr. Harvey Wilks," the young man said.
The king replied, "No, I am Alexander Blodgett—but who is Mr. Wilks?"
"Well, everyone in our town has been waiting for Harvey Wilks and his brother William—William can't hear or speak—to arrive from England.
They are coming to see their brother Peter, who lived in our town.
When Peter fell very ill a month ago, he wrote to them asking them to come, but I'm afraid Peter passed away yesterday."
"Didn't Peter have any other relatives?" asked the king.
"He did have a brother George, who lived nearby.
But George and his wife both died a few months ago, leaving three daughters."
Then the young man's face brightened. "But at least Peter left a letter for Harvey.
People in town say that the letter tells Harvey where Peter hid all his money.
Peter wanted to be sure that Harvey would share the money with George's three daughters because their father was a poor man."
"Why, what are the dear girls' names?" asked the king keenly.
"Mary Jane is the oldest—she's 19. Then there's Susan, who is 15, and Joanna, 14."
The king shook his head at the sadness of their young lives, and then continued his questioning: "Was Peter Wilks a wealthy man?"
"Oh, yes," replied the young man innocently.
"He owned several houses and land. People say he had three or four thousand dollars hidden away somewhere."
"Have Harvey and William Wilks ever come to visit before?"
"No," said the young man. "Everyone in town is very curious to meet them."
By the time we got off that steamboat, the king had found out everything there was to know about Peter Wilks.
The friendly young man was continuing south to New Orleans where he would board a ship to South America.
So there was no one to stop the king and the duke from pretending to be Harvey and William Wilks.
And that is just what they did.
The king and the duke walked from the steamboat wharf into the town.
I followed them, carrying their suitcases. There they met some men who had gathered to watch the steamboat arrive.
The king asked anxiously, "Can anyone tell me where Mr. Peter Wilks lives?"
"I'm very sorry, sir," said one of the men. "Peter Wilks has died."
The king grabbed the man and sobbed on his shoulder, "Oh no! Our poor brother!" Then the duke started crying too.
The townspeople gathered around and said how sorry they were.
Then they led us to a house where three girls were standing in a doorway.
The oldest girl—I knew she must be Mary Jane—was red-haired and beautiful.
She ran to hug the king, who she thought was her uncle Harvey.
The other two girls cried and hugged the duke, who they thought was their deaf uncle William.
I felt ashamed of these two liars and ashamed of myself for being with them.