Nelson crawled to the edge and peered over. Then he crawled back, and seemed to be having a fit on the turf. Tom looked down, and then joined Nelson. Bob stared at them as though they had suddenly gone insane. “What’s the matter, you idiots?” he cried. But Tom only shrieked the louder, while Nelson rolled onto his back, held his sides, and kicked his heels into the turf, gasping. In disgust Bob got cautiously to his knees, tied the line around a stake, and had a look for himself. Thirty feet beneath sat Dan on his wooden seat, muttering incoherently under a baptism of bright blue paint. The can had caught on the edge of a tiny projecting ledge and had tilted in such a way that a portion of the contents had slopped over onto Dan’s bare head, and even yet was still trickling a tiny stream. At first glance, so thoroughly was Dan’s head and face adorned, it seemed to Bob that the entire contents of the can must have been emptied. But a second glance showed him that at least three-fourths of the paint still remained at the end of the cord. He swung it away so that it no longer dripped, and hailed Dan. “What’s the good of wasting the stuff like that, Dan?” he asked with simulated anger. Dan raised a strange blue visage from which his eyes peeped coyly upward. “If you’ll haul me up I’ll lick you within an inch of your life!” he said solemnly. Then he spat and sputtered and tried to wipe the sticky fluid from his face with his arm, his hands being already well covered. Tom and Nelson, who had managed to creep to the edge for another look, here retired precipitately so that they might indulge their mirth where there was no danger of laughing themselves over the edge. “Too bad, Dan,” laughed Bob. “Haven’t you got a handkerchief?” “_Handkerchief!_” said Dan scornfully. “What good would that be? What I need is a Turkish bath and a dozen towels. Say, did you do that on purpose, you--you blamed fool?” “No, honest, Dan, I didn’t. I didn’t know what was up, until Nelson was taken with a fit.” “Fit! I’ll fit him!” said Dan with a grin. “How do I look?” “Like New Haven after a football victory!” “Huh! Well, let’s have that stuff and get this fool job done!” “Sure you don’t want to come up and clean off a bit?” “I’m not coming up until the thing’s done, I tell you. Lower away on that paint, only for goodness’ sake be careful!” “Of course I will! What’s the saying about gilding refined gold and painting the lily, Dan? There’s no use wasting any more of this precious stuff on you; you’re complete now. I couldn’t add to your beauty if I had gallons and gallons here!” “Shut up!” said Dan cheerfully; “and tell those two other idiots that if they don’t stop laughing I’ll go up there and paint ’em from head to feet!” Here Tom looked over. “Su-su-say, Dan,” he shouted, “di-di-didn’t you mean ‘Re-re-requiescat in pu-pu-pu-paint’?”