Moving like a shadow himself, he hurried noiselessly to his work. One
of the shorter ladders would be long enough to reach the lower
branches, and he could climb from them as high as he wished. He
fetched the ladder from the yard, fixed it in position against the
walnut tree, and then went back to the yard for the other things he
wanted.
In the loft where the tools were kept he remained much longer than he
had intended. At first there was scarcely any light at all up here,
and, having stupidly forgotten to bring a box of matches, he had to
grope about fumblingly; but gradually the light improved. He found a
saw, and, attaching it to a light cord, slung it round his neck in the
approved woodman fashion. The saw would be carried merely for the sake
of appearances. Then he hunted for the particular rope that he
required for his purposes, and could not find it. He had seen it two
days ago, neatly rolled, in the corner with other tackle; but now the
corner was all untidy, a confused mass of cordage, and the good new
strong rope was concealing itself beneath weak old rubbish. He knew
that he could trust this rope, because it was the exact fellow of the
one on the pulleys--and with the pulley rope they let down loads that
were a good deal heavier than any man.
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