I'll leave literary speculation to others, but if you reeeeally want to be annoyed consider that when it came time for the publisher to choose an illustration from the book to use in their advertising envelope and poster, they chose the illustration of the king dressed as a pirate at the camp meeting (p. 174). Not Huck, or Jim, or any of the plot-advancing or theme-enriching moments of the book, but the king decked out like Yosemite Sam. That's what they thought would entice buyers. Kevin Mac Donnell Austin TX