Part 22 (1/2)
By this time Nan, Bert and Nellie had also found some of the nuts under different trees, though none were nicely piled up like those Flossie happened upon. The nuts were down under the dried leaves, which had fallen from the trees earlier in the season. By brus.h.i.+ng the leaves to one side with a stick the nuts could be seen.
”This is too slow for me,” said George Parks at last. ”I want to pick nuts up faster than this.”
”How can you do it?” asked Charley Mason.
”By shaking some down from a tree. Let's find a tree that has a lot of nuts on it, and shake it. Then the nuts will fall down, and they won't get under the leaves. We can easily pick them up then.”
”Good!” cried Bert Bobbsey. ”We'll do it.”
They searched through the woods until they found just the tree they wanted. Looking up they could see the burrs clinging to the branches.
The frost had opened the burrs and the brown nuts could be seen, just ready to fall.
”If there was a good wind,” said George, ”that would blow the nuts down: but, as there isn't, we must shake the tree.”
”It's too big to shake,” remarked Nan. ”Why, you never could shake that tree. I can't even reach around it.”
”You can't shake it by standing on the ground and pus.h.i.+ng against it,”
said George. ”I'll climb up among the branches and shake them. I've often done it.”
”How are you going to climb such a big tree, when you can't get your arms around it?” Bert demanded.
”I'll show you,” answered George. ”Do you see this little thin tree, growing close to the big chestnut?”
”Yes,” Bert answered.
”Well, I'm going to climb up the little tree until I get high enough to step from it into the branches of the big one,” went on George. ”Then we'll have plenty of nuts.”
”And after we pick up all we want, can we eat?” asked Freddie.
There was a laugh at this.
”Hungry already; are you?” asked George. ”Well, it does give one an appet.i.te to come out on a crisp, cold day like this. Yes, after we gather up the nuts I'm going to shake down we'll see what mother put in the box.”
George started to climb up the small tree. This was easy for him to do, for he could put his hands and legs around it. Up and up he went, just as you boys have often climbed trees. He was about ten feet from the ground when Bert suddenly saw the little tree beginning to bend over.
”Look out, George!” Bert called. ”That tree is going to break with you!”
George looked down. And, just as he did so, there was a sharp, cracking sound and the tree broke and bent suddenly over. George fell toward the ground. Nan, Flossie and Nellie were screaming.
CHAPTER XV
THE STORM
”Look out there, George!”
”Jump over this way--away from the rocks!”
Bert and Charley called loudly to the boy who had climbed the little tree which broke with him. But George seemed to know what he was doing.