The oak on which he had mounted was one of the tallest in that quarter of the wood , and easily out-topped its neighbours by a fathom and a half ; and when Dick had clambered into the topmost fork and clung there , swinging dizzily in the great wind , he saw behind him the whole fenny plain as far as Kettley , and the Till wandering among woody islets , and in front of him , the white line of high-road winding through the forest . The boat had been righted -- it was even now midway on the ferry . Beyond that there was no sign of man , nor aught moving but the wind . He was about to descend , when , taking a last view , his eye lit upon a string of moving points about the middle of the fen . Plainly a small troop was threading the causeway , and that at a good pace ; and this gave him some concern as he shinned vigorously down the trunk and returned across the wood for his companion . CHAPTER IV -- A GREENWOOD COMPANY Matcham was well rested and revived ; and the two lads , winged by what Dick had seen , hurried through the remainder of the outwood , crossed the road in safety , and began to mount into the high ground of Tunstall Forest . The trees grew more and more in groves , with heathy places in between , sandy , gorsy , and dotted with old yews . The ground became more and more uneven , full of pits and hillocks . And with every step of the ascent the wind still blew the shriller , and the trees bent before the gusts like fishing-rods . They had just entered one of the clearings , when Dick suddenly clapped down upon his face among the brambles , and began to crawl slowly backward towards the shelter of the grove . Matcham , in great bewilderment , for he could see no reason for this flight , still imitated his companion 's course ; and it was not until they had gained the harbour of a thicket that he turned and begged him to explain . For all reply , Dick pointed with his finger . At the far end of the clearing , a fir grew high above the neighbouring wood , and planted its black shock of foliage clear against the sky . For about fifty feet above the ground the trunk grew straight and solid like a column . At that level , it split into two massive boughs ; and in the fork , like a mast-headed seaman , there stood a man in a green tabard , spying far and wide . The sun glistened upon his hair ; with one hand he shaded his eyes to look abroad , and he kept slowly rolling his head from side to side , with the regularity of a machine . The lads exchanged glances . `` Let us try to the left , '' said Dick . `` We had near fallen foully , Jack . '' Ten minutes afterwards they struck into a beaten path .
`` Here is a piece of forest that I know not , '' XXXXX remarked .
Dick Kettley Matcham clearings fishing-rods gorsy islets left minutes yews