at table, and now he's climbing that tree like
a boy."

"Or a monkey, Jack," said the doctor, who had come up behind, and Sir
John with him. "I didn't hear you," said Jack, starting. "Not likely
when you were talking aloud with your ears glued to that lorgnette.
Well, eyes then. But it's the air, my lad; I feel ready to do any
stupid thing of that kind. I'd challenge you to climb the two next
trees if we were alone."

"_I_ hope the foolish fellow will not meet with an accident," said Sir
John.

"Pooh! not he," said the doctor. "The lads have been challenging him, I
suppose."

"I think that's it, but he has gone to get a cocoa-nut for me."

"You did not send him to do it, Jack?"

"No, father: he came and proposed it."

"Tree's getting gradually thinner," said the doctor. "Easier to climb."

"I hope he will be successful," said Sir John. "The men will banter him
so if he fails."

"How the tree begins to bend!" said Jack anxiously. "Why don't you
shake it?" he cried, without considering that his words could not be
heard. But, oddly enough, just at that moment the idea seemed to have
occurred to Ned, who held on with his legs and shook the tree violently.

"You will not do it like that, my fine fellow," said the captain, coming
up; "and lucky for you that you can't. A crack from one of those nuts
would be no joke."

"Yes, they must be pretty heavy," said Sir John.

"Heavy enough to kill any one if they fell upon his bare head."

"Oh, look how the tree's bending over!" cried Jack.

"Yes, he had no business to choose such a slight one," said the captain,
as the tree swayed beneath the man's weight.

"Had I better stop him?" said Sir John.

"I think perhaps you had better not startle him and make him nervous,
father. We don't want any accidents."

"Indeed we don't," said the doctor; "better let him be. Why, if he goes
on like this the tree will bend over like a fishing-rod, and he can drop
from the top to the ground."

Then silence fell upon the group, and the sailors ceased to cheer, as,
with the elastic rod-like tree bending more and more over, and swaying
up and down, Ned climbed on, till the last part of his progress was
after the fashion of a sloth, hanging back downward, and at every
movement coming nearer, till the great crown of leaves and nuts, which
had stood forty feet in the air, was not more than twenty.

"Another two or three feet will do it," said the doctor; "but I'm afraid