The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1906-02-02

Fred never knew why he did not go
with it. lie caught instinctiyely at
the granite, dropping smoker and bar,
and threw himself forward upon his
knee. He found himself sitting on the
narrow shelf, with his legs dangling
over forty feet of space, and cloud of
desperately Infatuated bees round his
head
He glanced at the stump Of the tree,
measuring the distance. 1t was too
far to reach, too far to jump. The
dead branches would snap if he fell
among them. Yet the cliff was too pre-
cipitOus % be scaled. either above or
below him, and the few bushes grow
ing in the crannies were too weak to
offer hope
The air about his face was darkened
with the flying insects, and Fred in
voluntarily Quaied before their fury,
although he did not think that they
could get at him. They settled on
the gauze Of his veil in scores, in hun
dreds, till the stuff sagged heavily
with their weight and became as
opaque as leather, and half a dozen
burning stabs on his legs and body
showed that they had managed to get
under his clothing Suddenly lie felt
sharp thrust on his cheek, then an
other. He thought the veil must have
sagged against the skin but to his hor-
ror he felt bees crawling on his cheek.
The thin gauze had ripped probably
in a weak spot under the weight OF the
quart or two of bees.
Fred had the misfortunc-for q bee
keeper-to be quickly and severely af-
fected by stings, and he could feel his
face putting up already. He closed his
eyes tight to protect them as far as
possible The bees were back upon
him in myriads, and when they were
once under the veil it was impossible
to brush them out
The smell of the bees nauseated the
boy, and he grew dizzy and faint. He
rallied from this in a moment, but a
numb listlessness overcame him. He
thought he heard, far away, a noise as
Of some one chopping wood, and tried
to open his eyes. The lids would un-
close burt a crack.
He realized vaguely that he was i'll
danger Of fainting and topping from
his narrow perch, but he felt as if he
did not much care. There might be
worse things than to fall gently, softly
through the cool air, and be free from
his buzzng tormentors. He was seized
by n strong temptation to let himself
slip over. 1t would be so easy! He
seemed to hear a voice above the whirr
and roar of the wings.
Jump it repeated. Jump!
Jumpw
He resisted the prompting as long
as he was able; he did not know how
long. Then, suddenly yielding, he put
his hands on the rock beside him and
swung off.
Smash! He went almost immedi-
ately into cracking branches The
shock brought him to himself. The
| branches broke as he grasped them,
| but there was something more solid
under him. 1t was tree trunk He
grasp2d it, and slid down blindy, los
ing most of the clinging bees in the
descent, till his feet touched solid
ground, and he felt an arm thrown
round his shoulder. Il was calling to
YOU for ten minutes 10 jump" eX-
claimed Lee. Il thought you'd be
stung to death"
With admirable resource Lee had
felled the tree so that ii leaned against
the bluff directly beneath Fred's perch.
He could not have missed it in jump
ing.
Fred lay on the grass for the rest
of the afternoon. with his face painted
with wet mud. st sunset he was able
to walk the three miles to his home,
although weakly, and with a counte-
nance swollen out of human semblance.
The swelling abated in a day or two,
however, ard did no permanent harm;
but for more than a month the odor
of bees or wax produced such n violent
nausea that he was unable to do his
share Of the work Of the joint apiary.
The wild bees still dwell and pros
per in the rocks. AS the tree is broken
Off. their stronghold is more inaccess
/ ible than ever. -YOuth'SCOmpaniOn.
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