20 THE FALLING OF THE TEEE. 



Meanwhile my tree was only half severed. Keturning to it an in- 

 cision was begun on the upper side. I had been solicitous about the 

 straightness and smoothness of the undercut — that the " corners " should 

 be squarely at right angles to the line of fall, etc. ; but I gave all that 

 worry up now, and eared only that somehow the tree should be got down. 

 The scientific work I had seen in the great red-wood forests of California 

 might apply here, or might not; I didn't care. So long as the Doctor 

 lay idly gazing at me with an amused smile, I was anxious only to bring 

 that obstinate oak to the ground as speedily as possible. But this upper- 

 cut I had thought would be so easy proved another fraud. The decayed 

 part of the wood was only skin-deep ; under it lay a mass, dead, to be sure, 

 but hard and dry — nearly as tough as iron. I chopped at it until I was 

 nearly ready to drop with fatigue. 



"Don't work so rapidly," my monitor called out; "you should strike 

 no faster than you can keep up all day, never stopping to rest at all." 



At last, however, there came a faint cracking sound of overstrained 

 fibre. I jumped back, but the tree stood there, its great green head rust- 

 ling unconcernedly as of old. " Keep at it," said the Doctor, and I did 

 so, working with exasperated energy at the points I thought gave the 

 strongest support all around the trunk. Fibres cracked, but there was no 

 shivering for a long time. It was astonishing how that enormously heavy, 

 far-leaning, mass of wood and foliage held its erect position. Finally, a 

 sharp report of rending tendons was heard — a sudden lurch of the top- 

 most boughs was seen ; then a second's pause, as though the giant was 

 about to recover itself — a slow swaying forward — a swiftly-gathered force 

 and motion — a tremendous, swinging crash to the shaken ground. 



The tree was down, and I climbed upon the log with intense satis- 

 faction. 



" I must buy an axe !" I exclaimed, feeling that whole forests were 

 ahead of me. 



" There is one," said the smiling Doctor, picking up the tool I had 

 just thrown aside, " for which I paid one dollar and a quarter. What will 

 you give for it ?" 



" Seventy-five cents," I answered. 



" Done !" said he, and handed it over. 



" Now you will get a new one," I remarked. 



"Perhaps so— by-and-by," he replied, slowly, with that provoking 

 twinkle in his eyes; "but as you have been borrowing mine for a while 

 I think I'll borrow yours when I want one this winter — eh?" 



