After catching a huge catfish, James and Huck eat as much as they can, knowing most of the fish will go to waste because they cannot stop to preserve it. Huck saves some pieces as bait for the road. They rest briefly and then travel at night along the river, but James remains angry and alert, certain that pursuit will eventually resume and that stealing the notebook has added to the charges against him.

While walking in the dark, James decides that staying close to the river is dangerous because the soft ground will hold their tracks and make them easy to find. At daylight, James and Huck move inland and discover a well-used north-south trail. James suspects the path might be tied to the underground railroad, but before they can act on that thought, he hears a large group approaching and pulls Huck into hiding.

From the bushes, James and Huck watch seven young white men in blue uniforms march south with rifles, packs, shovels, and blankets. Huck recognizes them as soldiers and repeats what he heard on the riverboat: that conflict involving slavers in South Carolina has begun a wider war. A single young soldier who has fallen behind then comes upon James and Huck directly, stares at them in fear, and hurries away without raising an alarm.

The sight of the soldiers leads Huck to speak excitedly about war and even imagine joining it, while James remains focused on survival and escape. James asks Huck to keep going north with him because James wants Huck safe, but Huck resists and points out that James does not own him. Their argument shifts into a deeper discussion of freedom and family: James says Huck is already free and should return to the protection of Miss Watson and Judge Thatcher, while James plans to sneak back near Hannibal, recover Sadie and Lizzie, and flee to a free state, perhaps Illinois or even Canada. Huck questions why James would leave his own son behind, and James answers that a father’s duty is to keep his child safe.

When they try to reorient themselves by returning to the river, James reflects that the Mississippi is always changing and is difficult to navigate, especially when traveling southward on foot. Because they do not know exactly where they are and stealing a boat would not help them move upriver efficiently, James and Huck continue on foot with the river somewhere to their right, still uncertain of their route and unresolved about their future together.