John tried his arms round it. It was just not too big at the bottom. Higher up he would be able to swarm it easily enough.
“The trouble is, I can’t swarm up it if I’ve got anything in my hands.”
He tied one end of the rope round his waist, and gave the rest of the coil to Titty.
“Now,” he said, “you pay the rope out, and see that it doesn’t catch on anything.”
“Aye, aye, sir,” said Titty.
Captain John spat on his hands, and rubbed them. This does not help much in climbing a rough-barked tree like a pine, but it seems to, so it is always worth doing.
Then he started. It was really not so difficult as it looked. The higher he got the easier it was, because the trunk was not so thick, and it was easier to get a good grip of it with his legs each time he wanted to move his hands up.
“Don’t stand right underneath,” he called down, and Titty moved a yard or two away.
“Don’t stand on the rope, Roger,” she said. She had the coil of rope on the ground, and was paying it out as John climbed.
The difficult moments were those when he had to pass one of the places where once upon a time there had been a bough. There was nearly always a sharp piece sticking out where the branch had been. It was easy to pass these sticking-out pieces with his arms, but not so easy to get his legs over them. They were strong enough to be awkward, but not strong enough to be used as footholds.