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