Huck and his father
Three or four months passed and it was now the middle of the winter, with the deep snow on the ground. All this time I had attended school, and I could now spell and read and write a little. At first I hated school but little by little I got used to it. I was also getting used to Widow Douglas's ways and I think that sometimes she was pleased with me.
One morning, at breakfast, I upset the salt. That, of course, meant bad luck unless I threw a little over my left shoulder. I was going to do this when Miss Watson stopped me."Keep your hands out of the salt," she told me, sharply, adding"What a clumsy boy you are!"
I left the house feeling quite worried,for I knew that something bad was surely going to happen. I was right. Just outside the gate I came across footprints in the snow. I bent down to have a look at them. There was a cross in the left boot-heel, made with big nail, to keep the devil away. I knew that they were my father's footprints. My father was somewhere near and I knew why.