Legrand, highly delighted, "what is it?"

"Why, 'taint noffin' but a skull--somebody bin lef' him head up de
tree, and de crows done gobble ebery bit ob de meat off."

"A skull, you say! Very well; how is it fastened to the limb? What
holds it on?"

"Shure 'nuff, massa; mus' look. Why, dis berry curous sarcumstance,
'pon my word--dare's a great big nail in do skull, what fastens ob it
on to de tree."

"Well now, Jupiter, do exactly as I tell you--do you hear?"

"Yes, massa."

"Pay attention, then!--find the left eye of the skull."

"Hum! hoo! dat's good! why, dare ain't no eye lef' at all."

"Curse your stupidity! do you know your right hand from your left?"

"Yes, I nose dat--nose all 'bout dat--'tis my lef' hand what I chops
de wood wid."

"To be sure! you are left-handed; and your left eye is on the same
side as your left hand. Now, I suppose you can find the left eye of
the skull, or the place where the left eye has been. Have you found
it?"

Here was a long pause. At length the negro asked:

"Is de lef' eye ob de skull 'pon de same side as de lef' hand ob de
skull, too?--'cause the skull ain't got not a bit ob a hand at
all--nebber mind! I got de lef' eye now--here de lef' eye! what mus'
do wid it?"

"Let the beetle drop through it, as far as the string will reach, but
be careful and not let go your hold of the string."

"All dat done, Massa Will; mighty easy ting for to put de bug fru de
hole; look out for him dar below!"

During this colloquy no portion of Jupiter's person could be seen; but
the beetle, which he had suffered to descend, was now visible at the
end of the string, and glistened, like a globe of burnished gold, in
the last rays of the setting sun, some of which still faintly
illumined the eminence upon which we stood. The _scarabaeus_ hung
quite clear of any branches, and if allowed to fall, would have fallen
at our feet. Legrand immediately took the scythe, and cleared with it
a circular space, three or four yards in diameter, just beneath the
insect, and, having accomplished this, ordered Jupiter to let go the
string and come down from the tree.

Driving a peg, with great nicety, into the ground, at the precise spot
where the beetle fell, my friend now produced from his pocket a
tape-measure. Fastening one end of this at that point of the trunk of
the tree which was nearest the peg, he unrolled it till it reached the
peg, and thence farther unrolled it, in the direction alread