- Tom wakes up to the beautiful sound and variety of nature.
- He looks around and plays with a few bugs before rousing his fellow pirates, and soon enough they've stripped down and started to play.
- Once they've had their fill of play, they return to camp and make breakfast; Joe cooks up some bacon and some fish that Tom and Huck catch and they have themselves a good meal.
- They spend the day lying around, exploring the island, swimming, and eating, but eventually homesickness gets the best of them.
- Soon they notice the steam ferry, packed with people, off in the distance.
- The boys realize someone's drowned, and watch the search party for a while until he realizes: they're the ones who've drowned.
- Tom, Huck, and Joe take great pleasure in being thought dead – a strange fantasy if there ever was one – and they realize then just how sweet being a pirate can be.
- When dusk comes and the search party gives up, the boys return to camp, cook supper, and then start talking about what the townspeople must be thinking.
- This gets Tom and Joe to thinking that, you know, maybe, certain people wouldn't be so thrilled to hear that they had died. They feel guilty again.
- When Joe proposes they return to civilization, however, Tom makes fun of him, and Huck joins in. Joe is convinced to give up the idea.
- Once Joe and Huck fall asleep, however, Tom gets up, picks out two pieces of bark, and writes a message on each. He puts one in Joe's hat, along with a bunch of his various curiosities (marbles, a rubber ball), puts the other in his pocket, and makes his way toward the beach.