"The teacher never locks his desk at noon, so it will be easy enough to
slip it in before he gets back."
"But when he opens the desk and the hornets sail out, what will become
of _us_?" was the pertinent inquiry of Will Horton.
"Why the minute the things begin to swarm out I'll yell, and we'll all
rush out doors."
"Won't the teacher do the same thing?"
"But he'll be the last and he'll catch it the worst. He'll be right
among the critters, and they'll just go for him, so his head will swell
up like a bushel basket and we'll have a week's vacation. By that time
he'll learn how to treat us fellers."
"_I_ am," was the proud reply; "come on and I'll show you."
As he spoke, Tom sprang to his feet and started on a trot toward Bear
Hollow, with the others streaming after him.
It cannot be denied that the youth displayed considerable pluck and
coolness when he came to the test. There hung the hornet's nest from
the lower limb of an oak, so near the ground that it could be easily
reached by one of the larger boys. It was gray in color and of
enormous size. It resembled in shape an overgrown football or
watermelon, pendant by one end. In some portions faint ridges were
visible, like the prints left by tiny wavelets on the sand. Near the
base was a circular opening about as large as an old-fashioned penny.
This was the door of the hornets' residence, through which all the
occupants came and went.
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