After the funeral Tom was treated like a hero, and he loved it.
At school he knew everyone was watching him.
The schoolchildren thought Joe and Tom were the greatest heroes in Petersburg, Missouri.
Some even thought they were the greatest heroes in the whole state of Missouri.
Tom had decided that he should be free of Becky because being a hero was better than love.
His eyes, however, often betrayed him.
He pretended not to see her, but his eyes followed her everywhere.
Becky also decided to be free of Tom, but her eyes also betrayed her.
When Becky saw Tom talking to Amy Lawrence, she felt a sharp pang in her heart.
One day she tried to walk away but her feet wouldn't obey, and she found herself standing next to Tom.
She looked at Mary Austin and said, "Mary, why didn't you come to Sunday school yesterday?"
"I did come. Didn't you see me?" she replied.
"Why no," lied Becky. "Where did you sit?"
"I sat where I always sit," answered Mary. "I saw you."
"You did?" said Becky. "Anyway, I wanted to tell you about the picnic."
"What picnic?" asked Mary.
"The one my ma's going to let me have," answered Becky.
"She said I can invite anyone. Do you want to come?"
Mary thought it was a great idea, so she agreed.
Other boys and girls were soon asking to come, and Becky said yes to each one.
The only ones who didn't ask were Tom and Amy.
At lunch Becky waited just outside the schoolhouse in case Tom wanted to say something then.
But to Becky's surprise, Tom didn't ask about the picnic at all.
This made Becky very upset.
She was planning her revenge on Tom when she saw Alfred Temple spilling ink on Tom's spelling book.
Becky was about to tell Tom, but then she changed her mind.
If she didn't tell on Alfred, then Tom would be punished for the spilled ink!
That would serve Tom right for his treatment of Becky!
As Becky went back into the schoolhouse, she noticed that Mr. Dobbins had left a key on his desk.
Mr. Dobbins was a schoolteacher who dreamed of being a doctor.
When the students were busy reading or studying, Mr. Dobbins would open his locked desk and remove a book.
Every child had a theory about what the book contained, but no one had actually seen its contents.
Becky realized that this was her chance to read from the secret book!
Swiftly, she unlocked the drawer and reached for the book.
The title had something to do with anatomy, but that meant nothing to Becky.
So she began to flip through the book, and saw two colorful figures: a man and a woman.
She was startled to find that both figures were completely naked.
Just then a long shadow fell across the teacher's desk.
Somebody was at the door!
In her haste to close the book and put it away, Becky tore a page.
She turned to see who was there—it was Tom!
She shouted at him, "Oh! You're so mean sneaking up on me like that."
"I didn't know you were looking at something," replied Tom.
"Still, it's your fault I ripped a page.
Now you're going to tell on me, and I'm going to be whipped.
I've never been whipped at school before," she cried.
Tom wanted to say that he wouldn't tell, but Becky continued, "Be mean if you want, but you're going to be punished too, for spilled ink on your book."
Tom could see that Becky was really afraid.
When the teacher returned, Tom looked over at Becky.
Her face was still full of fear and guilt.
"Girls just can't lie like boys can," thought Tom.
The first lesson after lunch was spelling.
Tom got whipped for the ink that had been spilled in his spelling book.
Tom couldn't remember if he had or hadn't spilled the ink, and he protested loudly.
After the spelling lesson, the teacher told them to read.
Mr. Dobbins took out his own book.
When he opened it, he noticed the tear and shouted, "Who ripped this page?"
The students answered him with silence.
So Mr. Dobbins began asking each student in turn.
Tom noticed that Becky was becoming more and more anxious.
"She's going to confess," thought Tom.
At last the teacher said, "Becky Thatcher, did you tear this page?"
"I did it," blurted out Tom.
Every student was horrified. Tom Sawyer never admitted to anything.
Tom took his whipping.
When he got back to his seat, there was a note from Becky.
"You're so noble," it read.