James and Huck continue downriver for several days, traveling by night and foraging by day because James is still a wanted fugitive. When the river briefly narrows, they consider traveling in daylight, but seeing men on a riverboat point at them sends them back into hiding. During a nighttime camp, Huck asks why James does not simply cross into Illinois and become free. James explains that slavery does not truly stop at a border, that he needs money, and that he does not want to abandon Huck or move farther from his family.

Later that night, a storm strikes while they are on the river. Lightning and rough water make James want to avoid more danger, but Huck spots a wrecked steamboat, the Walter Scott, grounded on a shoal. Huck insists on exploring it in hopes of finding treasure or food. James remains outside to keep watch while Huck climbs aboard.

Huck soon returns terrified and reveals that robbers are inside the wreck, dividing stolen goods and planning to kill another man. Before James and Huck can flee, they discover that their own small boat has drifted away. Forced to hide in the brush, they watch the robbers load loot into a skiff. When the storm batters the wreck and the robbers go back aboard, James and Huck seize the chance, run to the skiff, untie it, and let the current carry them away while the robbers shout behind them.

After James gets the skiff safely to shore, he and Huck inspect the stolen goods in daylight. Huck is excited by the adventure and the jewelry, clothing, and cigars, but James is most stirred by the books, especially works by Voltaire and Rousseau and a pamphlet narrating the life of an African man. James hides how much the books matter to him and claims only that they feel good in his hands. Huck cannot understand why James refuses easy freedom in Illinois yet values books so deeply, and the exchange exposes both Huck's limited view of James and James's guarded inner life.