Breathless, I now glanced downward and was
terrified to see that in falling the basswood had carried away the lower
branches of the hemlock and left no means of climbing down. If the trunk
of the hemlock had been smaller I could have clasped my arms about it
and slid down; but it was far too big round for that. In fact, to get
down unassisted was impossible, and I was badly frightened, I suppose I
was perched not more than thirty-five feet above the ground; but to me,
glancing fearfully down on the rocks in the bed of the brook, the
distance looked a hundred!
Moreover, the trunk of the basswood had split open when it struck, and
all the bees were out. Clouds of them, rising as high as my legs, began
paying their respects to me as the cause of their trouble. Luckily the
veil kept them from my face and neck.
I could see old Hughy on the brink of the gully, staring across at me,
open-mouthed, and in my alarm I called aloud to him to rescue me. He did
not reply and seemed at a loss what to do.
I had started to climb higher into the shaggy top of the hemlock, to
avoid the bees, when I heard some one call out, "Hello!" The voice
sounded familiar and, glancing across the gully, I saw Willis Murch
coming through the woods.
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