Smaller twigs and branches had given way with her weight and she would have fallen to the ground, had not a friendly bough caught her under the arms and suspended her momentarily. Then the smaller bough that grew from the friendly one snapped short off under the girl’s weight, and the sharp up-thrusting section left on the tree ran right through the suspender-straps at the back of her overalls. There she hung, like a toy doll on a Christmas Tree,—her feet dangling and her head and hands helplessly held out to be taken down by some kind friend.
The terrifying scream brought Rachel running from the kitchen and Mrs. James up from the cellar, where she had gone to hunt for more containers for the cherries. When Rachel saw what had happened she wrung her fat hands in agony.
“Oh, m’ Honey! My li’l’ chile—hang on t’ dat limb fer all you’se wuth!” yelled she. Then she rushed over the grass to the rescue,—but Natalie dangled just out of reach above her head.
Janet slid down the rough trunk of the cherry-tree the moment she heard her friend shriek. Her thin stockings hung in strips when she reached the ground, and her legs were skinned from knees to ankles, but she felt no pain, as she was so excited over the outcome of this accident.
“Quick! Someone get that step-ladder we had here!” cried she, jumping up and down in her fear that Natalie would let go and fall; yet she was too excited to run for the ladder herself.
Rachel instantly comprehended and jumped across the intervening space between the two trees and caught a firm hold of the lower part of the step-ladder. She never stopped to see if anyone was on the top step. But one of the Scouts had been standing on it with her form hidden in the foliage of the tree. As Rachel whirled the ladder out from under her, the Scout was left in mid-air, instinctively clutching the branches to save herself.
The other Scouts had descended the trees by this time, and some ran over to help save Natalie, while others stopped under the tree where the new accident threatened to take place.
“Help! Help!” yelled the girl who was dangling from a bough.
Miss Mason had been measuring the cherries impartially, half for the individual pickers and half for Mrs. James, when the first accident happened. She was out of the house and crossing the grass when the second scream reached her ears. She saw an old hemp hammock hanging from a clothes pole on the drying-place, and had a sudden idea.
The hammock was snatched and carried over to the tree where the Scout hung. “Here, girls! Spread it out quickly! We will have a life-saving net and win a reward for our presence of mind!” ordered the teacher.