164 The Honey-Makers 



tree in which they had taken refuge out of the ten thousand 

 that covered the side of the mountain." 



There came forth one hot July noontime another of 

 Mr. Burroughs's swarms that proceeded to make off. 



"The house was situated on a steep hillside. Behind it, 

 the ground rose for a hundred rods or so, at an angle of 

 nearly forty-five degrees, and the prospect of having to 

 chase them up this hill, if chase them we should, promised 

 a good trial of wind at least ; for it soon became evident 

 that their course lay in this direction. Determined to 

 have a hand, or rather a foot, in the chase, I threw off my 

 coat and hurried on, before the swarm was yet fairly organ- 

 ized and under way. 



"The route soon led me into a field of standing rye, 

 every spear of which held its head above my own. Plung- 

 ing recklessly forward, my course marked to those watching 

 from below by the agitated and wriggling grain, I emerged 

 from the miniature forest just in time to see the runaways 

 disappearing over the top of the hill, some fifty rods in 

 advance of me. Lining them as well as I could, I soon 

 reached the hill-top, my breath utterly gone and the per- 

 spiration streaming from every pore of my skin. On the 

 other side the country opened deep and wide. A large 

 valley swept around to the north, heavily wooded at its 

 head and on its sides. It became evident at once that 

 the bees had made good their escape, and that whether 

 they had stopped on one side of the valley or the other, 

 or had indeed cleared the opposite mountain and gone 

 into some unknown forest beyond, was entirely problemat- 

 ical. I turned back, therefore, thinking of the honey-laden 

 tree that some of these forests would hold before the falling 

 of the leaf." 



One more engaging story Burroughs must tell us of run- 

 away bees : — 



