"
With a yell of delight Dick's chums ran to the spot. Dr. Bentley
came, too, though he walked.
Dick's success did not seem destined, how ever to last. A halt
and a rest seemed to give the bull strength far greater than it
had used in pulling against the rope before. With an angry snort
the animal dug its hind hoofs into the soil and began to back
away.
"Help!" called Prescott, suddenly, for he found the rope slipping
through his fingers, the friction burning his flesh. Mr. Bull
had succeeded in backing four feet away from the tree. He would
speedily be able to free himself altogether.
Tom and Dave now came running. They threw their weight and muscle
upon the rope to hinder the captive animal. But that great creature
seemed likely soon to overcome the strength of all those combined
against him.
"Come on!" called Dick, backing away on a new course. "Off this
way, to the next tree behind me. Hold on and pull for every pound
you're worth."
Seeing his opponents plainly engaged in making some new move the
wild animal halted, eyeing them balefully. That hesitation proved
fatal to his immediate freedom, for Dick had succeeded in getting
the rope around the tree behind him. Now he took another quick
hitch, supplementing this with a knot, then another and a third.
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