Again laying out my course—for I had varied it slightly in search of a good landing for my ship—I proceeded.
The pain of the poison deposited in my foot by the insect rapidly became so great that I was compelled to sit down and rest.
I had traveled a great while, and was now overlooking the country from another precipice. It is impossible for me to describe my delight as by the aid of my magnificent field glass I was enabled to discover the paper with the arrow still resting upon it. It was yet at a great distance in a direct line and I should be compelled to travel around the mountain, or across its top, before I could reach it.
Looking about me in dismay, I discovered a huge log, many feet in diameter, upon which there was a thin, tough bark. In a short time I had a section of this bark removed and carried out into the sun. It being green I laid it with the curved side up, and when the warmth of the sun had made it flat and smooth, I pushed it to the edge of the precipice, and, by the aid of a long pole, launched it upon the air, myself sitting quietly in the center of it. I had provided a long, narrow strip of the same bark, which I now used as a rudder. By the aid of this simple contrivance, I sailed to the immediate spot of my treasure.
As I was directly above it, I adopted the tactics of the bird, turning my rudder over and depressing it, thus stopping my airship gently and quietly at the desired speed and at the desired spot.
I said I landed quietly. This is not strictly true, and I have no intention to be inaccurate even in the slightest particular.
Perhaps I depressed my rudder too quickly, or perhaps I had misjudged the inclination of my aeroplane. However it was, I must have produced a gust of wind; for I saw the thing I so much sought making off at great speed.
I quickly tied two arrows together, not being able to resort to my former experiment as the paper was rising and at not sufficient distance. The force of the air had straightened it out and it was sailing away as I had sailed down. I still had no desire to injure the paper, and therefore took careful aim, with such exactness that the arrows met the paper in such fashion that it entered between them and was safely brought to earth.
Going to where it had fallen, what was my astonishment to discover that it had descended within the hollow stub of a tree. The hole into which it had gone was too small for me to enter and too deep for me to reach it with any pole that I could obtain.
I gazed about me for some means of getting it, for I had neither axe nor saw. I sat down on a stump to meditate, when I heard a noise beneath me. Upon investigation I found the stump was hollow, and by running my hand into it I brought forth a nice, fat squirrel. It then occurred to me that I was dreadfully hungry and was on the point of preparing it as a meal when I thought I might first obtain my document with it.