Tom sees Becky the next day, after the Thatchers return from their vacation. They play with schoolmates, and the next day will be the long-awaited picnic. That night, there is no signal from Huck.

In the morning, the children gather at Judge Thatcher’s house. Mrs. Thatcher tells Becky to stay with Susy Harper if it gets too late to come home. Tom wants them to stop at the Widow Douglas’s house for ice cream. Becky agrees. Then he worries that Huck might come that night and signal him while he is gone. However, the thought of immediate fun compels Tom more than the fear of potential action that night.

On the ferry chartered for the picnic, the children eat and then disembark to enter McDougal’s Cave. They light candles and pass through a wooden door at the top of a hill. It is rumored to be an endless labyrinth, but Tom knows as much of the cave as anyone. As they explore, various groups eventually separate into branching tunnels, but they never stray far from the main group.

Huck sees the ferry that evening, returning the children from their expedition. Near midnight, he sees two men in the dark.