Answer:
He thinks that they're getting what they deserve.
Explanation:
In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the duke is a character who, along with the dauphin, scams people out of money with cons and falsehoods. Moreover, the duke has a very low opinion of the townspeople that he is deceiving. He believes that they are stupid and ignorant, and that they cannot appreciate art or intellectual pursuits. This way of thinking leads the duke to believe that the townspeople are getting what they deserve.
