“But then we could not take our bateau through.”
“Oh, we can easily chop out a section when we are ready to go.”
“If anyone is near he will hear the sound of the axe.”
“It is better to risk that, Blaise, than to leave the entrance open. We will go look at the tree and see what we can do.”
The leaning, top-heavy cedar had tipped so far that several of its roots had pulled loose from their anchorage, bringing with them a section of the shallow soil and exposing the rock below. On one side the roots still held, supplying enough nourishment to the limbs to keep part of them alive. Some of the thick sprays of foliage were brown and dead, but many were still green and flourishing. The tree certainly looked as if the slightest additional strain would tip it the rest of the way. Before testing it, the boys noted where it would fall. It stood a few feet above the water and slanted out at an angle across the passageway.
“It will not catch in any tree when it goes down,” Hugh observed. “Fresh breaks in other trees or bushes would betray how recently it had fallen. Of course the fact that it is partly green will prove it hasn’t been down very long.”
“An uprooted tree lying in the water will stay green for many days,” Blaise replied.
“I think we had better try to push it over,” Hugh decided. “To make a way out to-night we shall not need to chop through the trunk. This end will be high enough from the water so, by cutting off a few of the lower limbs, we can take the boat underneath.”
“If the water is deep enough at this side,” added Blaise.
First attempts to bring down the slanting tree failed, however. It was not so insecure as it appeared. The tough roots that still held were stronger anchors than the boys had suspected. Pushing and pulling with all their might had little effect.