CHAPTER VI

A CLOUDY NIGHT

It was not needed that I should walk very far in order to find Seth Jepson. He was on the westerly side of the dock when I came into the square, talking to two or three lads whom I had good reason to believe were of Tory leanings.

Instead of appearing disconcerted because of my finding him in such company, he acted much as if it gave him pleasure that I was come, and straightway leaving his companions, advanced eagerly to meet me.

"Have you been up to the prison in the hope of having speech with Archie Hemming?" he asked as soon as we were within speaking distance, and I, suspicious of the lad, believed he thus counted on learning what we might have in mind to do, therefore replied with somewhat of sourness in my tone:

"It is too dangerous a matter to be seen loitering about that place, especially for a lad like me, whose father is known to be a Son of Liberty."

"I have seen Harvey Pearson there more than once, and thought most like you had sent him."

By this time it was clear to me that Seth was striving to learn if we had any plan on foot to release Archie, and striving to appear indifferent, as if to my mind the matter was so fraught with difficulties that it would be useless to make any attempt, I said:

"If Harvey chooses to loiter where there is great danger of being taken into custody, it is no affair of mine. On first learning that Archie had been imprisoned, I was so foolish as to say, without really believing it could be done, that we would form some plan for his rescue; but came to see right soon that it would be a piece of folly to raise our hands in such direction." What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. Who was the narrator walking to meet?
2. Where did he find him?
3. Did he have to go a long way to get there?
4. What was Seth doing?
5. To whom?
6. What kind of sympathies did the narrator think they had?
7. Was Seth unhappy to run into the narrator?
8. Who did he ask the narrator about?
9. Did the narrator trust him?
10. Did the narrator admit going to the prison?
11. What did the narrator mention his dad was?
12. Who did Seth claim to have spotted at the jail?
13. Did he think the narrator had told him to go there?
14. How did the narrator try to present his appearance as?
15. Did he appear excited?
Answer: 1. Seth Jepson
2. on the westerly side of the dock
3. no
4. talking
5. two or three lads
6. Tory
7. no
8. Archie Hemming
9. no
10. no
11. a Son of Liberty
12. Harvey Pearson
13. yes
14. unknown
15. no

Many of the stories written by Mark Twain take place in Hannibal, Missouri. The small wooden house where he lived as a boy still stands there. Next to the house is a wooden fence. It is the kind described in Twain's book, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," published in1876.

In that story, Tom has been told to paint the fence. He does not want to do it. But he acts as if the job is great fun. He tricks other boys into believing this. His trick is so successful that they agree to pay him money to let them finish his work. "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" is considered one of the best books about an American boy's life in THE the1800s.

Tom Sawyer's good friend is Huckleberry, or "Huck," Finn. Mark Twain tells this boy's story in "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." Huck is a poor child, without a mother or home. His father drinks too much alcohol and beats him.

Huck's situation has freed him from the restrictions of society. He explores in the woods and goes fishing. He stays out all night and does not go to school. He smokes tobacco.

Huck runs away from home. He meets Jim, a black man who has escaped from slavery. They travel together on a raft made of wood down the Mississippi River. Huck describes the trip: "It was lovely to live on the raft. Other places seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don't. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft... Sometimes we'd have that whole river to ourselves for the longest time... We had the sky up there, all speckled with stars, and we used to lay on our backs and look up at them---. " What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. Where do many of his stories take place?
2. Who was told to paint the fence?
3. Who runs away from home?
4. When was The Adventures of Tom Sawyer published?
5. Who does huck meet when he runs away from home?
6. What is Huck's full name?
7. Does he smoke tobacco?
8. Does he go to school?
9. Did Huck enjoy living on the raft?
10. Does the house where Mark Twain grew up still exist?
11. What stands next to it?
12. Who does Tom trick into painting the fence for him?
13. Does huck come from a wealthy family?
14. Does he have a mother?
15. Does he have a home?
16. Who beats him?
17. Is Jim a white man?
18. What is Jem's race?
19. Where did he escape from?
20. Did Huck and Jim get along?
Answer: 1. Hannibal, Missouri
2. Tom
3. Huck
4. 1876.
5. He meets Jim, a black man who
6. Huckleberry, or "Huck," Finn.
7. Yes
8. No
9. Yes
10. Yes
11. Next to the house is a wooden fence.
12. He tricks other boys
13. No
14. No
15. No
16. His father beats him
17. No
18. Black
19. from slavery.
20. Yes

Children can spend hours a day looking at computer screens and other digital devices . Some eye doctors say this leads to an increase in "computer vision syndrome ." Nathan Bonilla-Warford is an optometrist in Tampa, Florida. He has seen an increase in problems in children. "A lot more children come into the office either because their parents have noticed that they have headaches or red or watery eyes or discomfort, or because their nearsightedness appears to be increasing and they're worried," he says. Dr. Bonilla-Warford says part of the problem is that children may be more likely to pay no attention to early warning signs than adults. "Even if their eyes start to feel uncomfortable or they start to get a headache, they're less likely to tell their parents, because they don't want to have the game or the computer or whatever taken away," he explains. He says another part of the problem is that people blink less often when they use digital devices. He says, "A person who uses an electronic device blinks about one third as much as we normally do in everyday life. And so that can result in the front part of the eye drying and not staying protected like normal." Eye doctors offer suggestions like following which is known as the 20/20/20 rule. That means every twenty minutes look away twenty feet or more for at least twenty seconds from whatever device you're using. Other suggestions include putting more distance between you and the device and using good lighting. Of course, another way is to spend less time looking at screens. Many experts say children should spend no more than two hours a day using digital devices--with no screen time for children under two. But not all eye doctors have noticed an increase in problems in children. Dr. David Hunter, from Children's Hospital Boston, has not seen an increase in his practice. "While it is possible to develop _ looking at screens for a long period of time, there's certainly no proof that it actually causes any damage to the eyes." he says. What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. What do kids spend hours a day looking at?
2. Where is the doctor located?
3. Does he see more computer related eye problems?
4. Who's worried?
5. Why won't they tell their parents?
Answer:
1. at computer screens and other digital devices
2. in Tampa, Florida
3. have headaches or red or wateryiscomfort, or because their nearsightedness appears to be increasing and they're worried,
4. children
5. because they don't want to have the game or the computer or whatever taken away,