Tom and Huck start to head home until they here a stray dog howling.  Now supposedly, according to Tom and Huck, whenever a stray dog howls at you, and it means that you are going to die.  They then started to get all freaked out but then the dog left.  Then after that they heard someone moaning and snoring outside, so they decided to go and check it out.  It ended up being Muff Potter and they thought that the dog howling meant that he was going to die.  When Tom went home, he tried to sneak through his window, but his little brother, Sid, caught him and told their aunt the next morning.