“Well, what if they are? What’s to prevent our getting the nuts; they would be a fine change in our diet, and the milk, too, would be very acceptable.”

“Yes, that’s true, sure enough, but we can’t get them. Those trees are from fifty to seventy-five feet high, and it takes a fellow that’s used to climbing them, to reach the nuts. I can tell you that.”

“Why,” said Allen, “can’t you climb one of those trees? You were nimble enough when you had to go aloft to set a sail, and I think it must be quite as hard to climb a mast as a tree.”

“No sir, that’s where you’re wrong. When a fellow’s going up the rigging, don’t you see he has all the ropes to help him, but to climb a cocoanut tree it’s a sight different. You’ve got nothing to lay hold of, and have got to trust to your feet and hands having a good grip on the bark.”

“I think you could do it if you tried,” said Allen.

“Well, I know as how I ain’t smart enough to do 32it, for I have tried it afore now. You see I’ve been around a good bit in the South Seas, and there ain’t no fellow but what’ll try his hand at climbing a cocoanut tree if he thinks he can do it.”

32

By this time they were in the midst of the graceful, tall trees which held their plume-like heads high against the sky, as if in proud defiance of all such aspiring mortals as should wish to rob them of their royal crown of fruit. But now that they had reached the cocoanut grove, they found that there were a number of other trees of much lower growth in the neighborhood. On going up to these trees they found them to have very broad leaves that spread out from the top of the trunk, each leaf being held in an almost horizontal position by a thick, pulpy stem, from three to five feet in length. The lower round of leaves having the largest stems, and each row being somewhat shorter than the one beneath, forming a most agreeable shade, as its shape was that of an immense umbrella. Clustered closely around the trunk, and directly under the leaves, were about a dozen bright, orange-colored fruits, resembling a quince somewhat in shape, only larger. Allen was the first to see these, and called to Harry, “What are those trees ahead of us, do you know?”

“Yes, they are papiea trees, and the fruit is mighty good to eat, too.”

They were not long in gathering a number of these, and also some guavas, which they found 33in abundance. Now, as it 

 Prev. P 18/76 next