She flew to the casement, and saw
Chiquita, in the tree opposite, signing to her to open it, and swinging
back and forth the long horse-hair cord, with the iron hook attached to
it. She hastened to comply with the wishes of her strange little ally,
and, as she stepped back in obedience to another sign, the hook, thrown
with unerring aim, caught securely in the iron railing of the little
balcony. Chiquita tied the other end of the cord to the branch to which
she was clinging, and then began to cross over the intervening space
as before; but ere she was half-way over, the knot gave way, and poor
Isabelle for one moment of intense agony thought that the child was
lost. But, instead of falling into the moat beneath her, Chiquita, who
did not appear to be in the least disconcerted by this accident, swung
over against the wall below the balcony, and climbing up the cord hand
over hand, leaped lightly into the room, before Isabelle had recovered
her breath. Finding her very pale, and tremulous, the child said
smilingly, "You were frightened, eh? and thought Chiquita would fall
down among the frogs in the moat. When I tied my cord to the branch,
I only made a slip-knot, so that I could bring it back with me. I must
have looked like a big spider climbing up its thread," she added, with a
laugh.
Pages:
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519