"You've got to jolly well catch them first."
I had the sandwiches and a sling made of lether, which hurls a stone
friteful distances. I had also got in secresy a packet of 'Windsor
Pearl' cigarets and a box of matches. These I did not intend to show to
Morris, because it wood have upset his honour again; but I had been a
smoaker for years, having been tought by Steggles, and it seemed to me
if I couldn't have a cigaret in the summer holidays now and then, I
might as well give up smoaking all together.
There were tongue sandwiches, and bread and butter ones, and two
hard-boiled eggs each, and two large lumps of carraway seed cake. It
seemed a good deel to carry and yet not much to eat. I also took an
india-rubber cup for water; but Morris said the water in the qwarry was
no doubt where the draggon-flies lived in the first stages of their
careers, and he douted if we could drink it with safety. He littel nue
that he would soon drink it whether it was safe or not.
[Illustration: AT ONE SPOT THE DESCENT WAS VERY PERILOUS.]
There was only one way into the qwarry and that was down a very steep
and dangerous place. The opening into the qwarry was all filled up and
there were raillings all round it to keep anybody from falling into it
by night. Morris funked getting down for some time; then a draggon-fly
actually sored past and so much excited him that he said he was reddy if
I went first. I told him to see exactly what I did and then I went
down. At one spot the dissent was very perilous owing to a huge stone
that stuck out in the middle of the cliff. You had to curl over it and
feal with your feet for a tree-root below, then, for one grate moment,
you had to let go with your hands and cluch at a pointed stone on the
right hand side. This stone was allways loose and wanted very delicate
handling. To me, with years of practice, it was eesy; but I fealt sure
it would be a bit of a twister for Morris.
He lowered down his killing-bottle and net and caterpillar-box, then he
began to slowly dissend. But at the critikal moment he stretched for the
pointed stone before he had got his foot on the root and all his wait
came on the stone with the terrible result that the stone gave way. And
when the big stone gave way, about a million other stones gave way also,
so that Morris fell to the ground in an avvalanch of stones and the
woods resounded with the sound. My first thort was keepers and my
second thort was Morris.
He was alive and hardly hurt at all more than a spraned ankle. He went
very white and sat down and shivered and felt his bones and limbs one by
one. He said it was his first great escape from deth.