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162 among the tree branches and away, and that was the last I saw of the creature.

By the appearance of the bird I knew that the top of the hollow was open, and I likewise calculated that the opening came to an end ten or twelve feet above my head.

It certainly looked as if I was booked to remain in the hollow for an indefinite period—perhaps until starvation overtook me. At this thought my heart sank within me like a lump of lead. I did not deem that I was deserving of such a harsh fate.

I had tried to get out at the top, and had failed. Now I resolved to try the bottom, and after a good deal of trouble got my hands down at my sides and felt around.

To my joy I discovered a portion of the tree which seemed rotten. I dug my finger into the soft wood and, by picking and scraping, at last managed to make a hole large enough to admit of the passage of my hand.

As soon as the opening was made, there came a draught of cooling air through the tree which revived me greatly, and, encouraged by the progress produced even at the cost of several split finger nails, I continued to dig at the opening, and soon pulled away a strip of wood and bark several inches wide and over a foot and a half long. As the hole was enlarged in an upward