{"id":"01KG16S5RAXNWCM8GHSTJAFGPW","cid":"bafkreiheomc4mgfujnl2bvbruoc6l5yiasjl5c6s5quph3gzjj5vu6zi2y","type":"chunk","properties":{"end_line":3713,"extracted_at":"2026-01-28T02:26:36.680Z","extracted_by":"structure-extraction-lambda","label":"Chunk 3","source_file":"01KG0K71QZ8KK7RGEGSNTB5534","start_line":3661,"text":"roasted his bowels out of him ’thout any more feeling than if he was a\r\nhuman!”\r\n\r\nAunt Polly felt a sudden pang of remorse. This was putting the thing in\r\na new light; what was cruelty to a cat _might_ be cruelty to a boy, too.\r\nShe began to soften; she felt sorry. Her eyes watered a little, and she\r\nput her hand on Tom’s head and said gently:\r\n\r\n“I was meaning for the best, Tom. And, Tom, it _did_ do you good.”\r\n\r\nTom looked up in her face with just a perceptible twinkle peeping\r\nthrough his gravity.\r\n\r\n“I know you was meaning for the best, aunty, and so was I with Peter. It\r\ndone _him_ good, too. I never see him get around so since—”\r\n\r\n“Oh, go ’long with you, Tom, before you aggravate me again. And you try\r\nand see if you can’t be a good boy, for once, and you needn’t take any\r\nmore medicine.”\r\n\r\nTom reached school ahead of time. It was noticed that this strange thing\r\nhad been occurring every day latterly. And now, as usual of late,\r\nhe hung about the gate of the schoolyard instead of playing with his\r\ncomrades. He was sick, he said, and he looked it. He tried to seem to\r\nbe looking everywhere but whither he really was looking—down the road.\r\nPresently Jeff Thatcher hove in sight, and Tom’s face lighted; he gazed\r\na moment, and then turned sorrowfully away. When Jeff arrived, Tom\r\naccosted him; and “led up” warily to opportunities for remark about\r\nBecky, but the giddy lad never could see the bait. Tom watched and\r\nwatched, hoping whenever a frisking frock came in sight, and hating the\r\nowner of it as soon as he saw she was not the right one. At last frocks\r\nceased to appear, and he dropped hopelessly into the dumps; he entered\r\nthe empty schoolhouse and sat down to suffer. Then one more frock passed\r\nin at the gate, and Tom’s heart gave a great bound. The next instant he\r\nwas out, and “going on” like an Indian; yelling, laughing, chasing boys,\r\njumping over the fence at risk of life and limb, throwing handsprings,\r\nstanding on his head—doing all the heroic things he could conceive of,\r\nand keeping a furtive eye out, all the while, to see if Becky Thatcher\r\nwas noticing. But she seemed to be unconscious of it all; she never\r\nlooked. Could it be possible that she was not aware that he was there?\r\nHe carried his exploits to her immediate vicinity; came war-whooping\r\naround, snatched a boy’s cap, hurled it to the roof of the schoolhouse,\r\nbroke through a group of boys, tumbling them in every direction, and\r\nfell sprawling, himself, under Becky’s nose, almost upsetting her—and\r\nshe turned, with her nose in the air, and he heard her say: “Mf! some\r\npeople think they’re mighty smart—always showing off!”\r\n\r\nTom’s cheeks burned. He gathered himself up and sneaked off, crushed and\r\ncrestfallen.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r","title":"Chunk 3"},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KG16PT5GNEER549GM5S62X85","peer_label":"CHAPTER XII","peer_type":"chapter","predicate":"in"},{"peer":"01KG0K71QZ8KK7RGEGSNTB5534","peer_label":"tom_sawyer.txt","peer_type":"file","predicate":"extractedFrom"},{"peer":"01KFXT0KM64XT6K8W52TDEE0YS","peer_label":"More Classics","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KG16S5R5BE2Q1HPJQF9WB4WD","peer_label":"Chunk 2","peer_type":"chunk","predicate":"prev"}],"ver":2,"created_at":"2026-01-28T02:26:37.109Z","ts":"2026-01-28T02:26:37.893Z","edited_by":{"method":"manual","user_id":"01KFF0H3YRP9ZSM033AM0QJ47H"}}