“What’s the matter?” asked the tall lad. “Are you sick, Mr. Snodgrass?”
“Sick? No, Jerry. But I’m in trouble.”
“Trouble? What is it?” asked Mr. Glassford solicitously. “Can we help you? You seem to be caught in the hole.”
“No, I have caught something in the hole, to be more correct,” spoke the professor calmly. “Only he won’t let go, and I can’t pull him out, or get my hand loose.”
“What is it?” asked Ned.
“A large mud turtle of a very rare variety,” was the reply. “I was walking along, looking for specimens, and I saw this one crawling on the bank of the brook. I made a grab for him, just as he was sliding into a muskrat’s hole, and got him by the tail. However, he managed to get into the opening a little way, and as my hand kept slipping from his tail, I had to reach farther and farther in, until my whole arm, up to the shoulder, is down the hole, as you can see.”
“Well, why don’t you pull your arm up?” asked one of Mr. Glassford’s helpers.
“I can’t,” replied the professor simply. “You see the turtle has hold of my hand, and won’t let go.”
“How can he have hold of your hand, when you have him by the tail?” asked Jerry.