retreating snake.

The poor thing struggled hard for its life and liberty, but in spite of
its struggles and menacing attitude, Philip struck at it boldly with his
stick and soon rendered his adversary _hors de combat_, when the victor
dragged his prize to his companion, and displayed to his wondering gaze
a snake upwards of a yard long, and very thick. Philip then secured his
trophy by slipping a noose of whipcord over its head, and tying it to
his stick.

At last, time slipped by and no Harry made his appearance, while plenty
of indications showed that evening was fast closing in: moths began to
flutter about the different leaves; every now and then, too, came the
low evening drowsy hum of the cockchafer, while Fred gave a regular jump
when a gigantic stag-beetle stuck him right in the cheek and then fell
crawling about in his lap.

"Ouf!" said Fred, "take the beast off. Is it poisonous?"

Philip laughed heartily at his cousin, as he assured him to the
contrary; but the beetle saved him the trouble of brushing his horny
body away by making a fresh flight, and disappearing over the trees.

"Come on," said Philip, "let's go."

"But how about Harry?" said Fred.

"Oh, we'll go and find him," and so the lads pushed right ahead as they
thought, and in the direction in which Harry's voice was last heard; but
they soon grew bewildered, and at last stood gazing disconsolately at
one another, and then, as is stated at the beginning of this chapter,
"Whoo-oo-oo-oop!" sang out Philip.

"Hoop--hoop--hoop!" shouted Fred as loudly as he could, and then,
feeling the loneliness oppress him more than he could bear, he sat down
on a stump, and seemed half disposed to cry.

"Oh, I say," said Philip, who was nearly as bad, "don't look like that,
or we shall never get out of the wood. Don't you know what a many times
Robert Bruce tried before he got his kingdom? Let's try again; the wood
is not so very big, and we must come out somewhere."

"Do you think we ever shall get out again?" said Fred.

"Oh, of course we shall," said Philip, "and there ain't no wild beasts
or anything of that kind, so come on and let's start."

And start they did--creeping through some bushes, pushing others aside,
but somehow or another getting flogged by the returning twigs, and
scratched by the brambles in a way they had not suffered in the morning.
Once Fred tripped over a stump and fell heavily down, where he lay
crying silently, but without