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d; "that's your only chance." I was always considered a pretty good climber, so, after a little hesitation (for this was an unusually difficult tree), I started up the slippery trunk, and, with Ned's friendly aid, pulled myself among the lower limbs. It was an easy matter to reach the particular bough that I wanted, but then came the tug. I was half-inclined to give up the whole thing and go down to the ground, but Ned kept egging me on so confidently that I determined to go through with it. Straddling the limb, I took a firm hold with both hands in front of me, for no other boughs were close enough to be grasped, and thus inch by inch I moved cautiously forward. The branch creaked and groaned, and at last began to bend in such an alarming fashion that I stopped short. There was the club, not four feet away now, and far below I could see the quiet waters of the creek, wrinkling the reflected foliage as a dropping nut or stray leaf rippled the surface. "You're nearly there, now," cried Ned, with hearty encouragement; "just a little more, Jack, and you'll have it. "But the limb will break," I called down. "No, it won't," he insisted, "don't be afraid." That settled it. I wasn't afraid, and Ned should know it. I took a firmer grip on the bough, and slid forward half a foot. Crack, crack,--the big branch slowly began to split, and as I made a frantic effort to crawl back, a strange noise from the bushy part of the tree overhead turned my gaze upward. It's a wonder my hair didn't turn white that very instant, for what I saw was a big, tawny wild-cat, with blazing eyes and quivering claws, crouched on a narrow limb. I knew the animal was going to spring, and I tried to shout as loudly as I could, but my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth, and the only sound I made was an odd cry that caused Ned to laugh, for he couldn't see what was the matter from where he stood. Then like a streak the brute plumped down on my back, and with a tremendous splash, limb, wildcat, and myself went into the creek. I heard Ned shout, as the water closed over me, and then everything became dark. I rose to the surface terribly frightened, for, sad to relate, I had never learned to swim, and Ned could do very little in that direction. Instead of clutching at the empty air, as most drowning persons do, I caught hold of something substantial; and when the water was out of my eyes and out of my stomach, for I had swa
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