t, the
officer in command unlocked a little door in the trunk of the tree,
Hortense and Andy entered their prison, and he closed and locked the
door after them. It was very dark, but as their eyes became accustomed
to it, Andy and Hortense could see a little.

The hollow trunk made a round room, which was carpeted with pine
needles for a bed. There was nothing else whatsoever. Above them the
room reached high into the trunk, and at the very top they could see a
little patch of light.

"It's probably a knot hole," said Andy, "and if we could climb so high,
we might crawl through and get outside."

"We couldn't get down without being seen even then," reasoned Hortense.

"There's a chance," said Andy. "Anyway, they might not see us and just
decide we had already escaped. It's worth trying."

"Very carefully they searched the trunk of the tree, seeking something
that would help them climb.

"Here's something that looks like a crack in the trunk," said Andy. "If
I could get a foothold in that, I believe I could climb to the top.
Give me a hand here."

Hortense did as she was bid, and Andy began to climb.

"It gets easier," he said in a moment. "Can you find a foothold and
follow me?"

Try as she would, Hortense couldn't manage a start.

"I'll come back," said Andy, descending until he could give Hortense a
hand. With Andy's aid Hortense succeeded in climbing a few feet and
after that was able to make her own way.

Up and up they climbed, coming at last to the hole at the top which was
just big enough to crawl through. Outside was a great limb, and on this
they rested.

"The Little People will hardly see us here, we're so high up," said
Andy.

"But we can't get down," said Hortense, "so it does us little good."

Andy made no reply, for he was looking about him.

"These trees grow very close together," said he. "I believe I'll see
where this branch goes."

Off he went, and Hortense waited. At last he came back, saying, "We can
get to the next tree, and from that to another. When we are far enough
away from the sentry, we'll try to climb down."

With Andy leading the way, they went out to the end of the branch which
just touched the branch of the next tree. Onto this they were able to
climb, and they made their way slowly to the trunk; then out on a
branch on the other side, and so to the next tree. In this way they
progressed from tree to tree, but each was as big as the last and it
was impossible for su