“Here you are! Here, Professor! Here’s a butterfly with big yellow bands on its wings!”
“Watch him! Don’t let him get away! I’ll be there in a minute!” eagerly cried the little scientist.
“Shall I catch him under my hat?” asked Bob.
“No! Oh no! Never do that! You would crush the wings. I must get him in the net. I’m coming!”
Professor Snodgrass ran toward Bob, who stood near a bush, intently gazing at some object on it. With his long-handled net the professor raced forward. And then something happened.
His foot slipped, the handle of the net caught on a tree branch, and then went between his legs. The result may be imagined. The professor fell down full length, and there was a cracking sound when the handle of the net broke.
Ned and Jerry rushed forward to pick up the unfortunate little scientist, and Bob also turned away from the bush to lend his aid. But Professor Snodgrass saw Bob’s action, and raising himself to his knees, he cried:
“Don’t move, Bob! Don’t stir! Don’t take your eyes off that butterfly. It’s just what I’ve been seeking for many years. Watch him! I’m not hurt. I can get up myself.”
This he did, springing to his feet with the nimbleness of a boy, and without any aid from Ned or Jerry.
“Are you hurt?” asked the tall lad.