Page:Stringer - Lonely O'Malley.djvu/391

 He wished he could get away and go in for a good swim. The hornets buzzed noisily about him; one even settled on the calf of his leg, and in a sudden terror of fear he wondered if it would sting him; and if so, could he keep from hollering.

It seemed to get hotter as time wore on. By stretching his neck carefully he could catch a glimpse of the limpid and cool-looking river water, ruffling and shimmering in the afternoon sunlight. He scratched himself once more, and even wished he could go to sleep. The blue flies buzzed; the bees and hornets hummed, the leaves stirred lazily; the relaxing little bare leg fell forward. A moment later Lonely was fast asleep up among Captain Steiner's Strawberry Reds.

His head drooped lower and lower; his body sagged comfortably down in the wide tree-crotch. The old Captain wakened, removed his red bandanna, and was gazing dreamily and contentedly up into the gloomy and cool-looking shadows of the tree, when suddenly a boy's hat fell, as from an open sky, into his startled lap.

The old Captain examined that hat carefully;