After some time on the island he comes across a bonfire that has been put out and he now realizes that someone is here on the island with him as well. Huck meets the other individual and it turns out to be a slave named Jim. Jim says he ran away because he heard Mrs. Watson talking about selling him down the river for $800 and sent him to New Orleans as a field worker in the Deep South , taking him away from his family. Huck promises straight away not to tell anyone that Jim ran away. He knows there is a risk. Keeping such a secret is a big deal. Jim goes hunting and any white person who sees him will take him and sue him.