1.Robert and his brother James were one day passing a church，where some men were at work mending the roof.It was dinner-time，and the men had all gone home，so the two boys climbed up the ladder.
2.There was a large hole in the roof where the slates had been removed，and the boys crept through this opening and found themselves inside the church，far up among the beamsof the roof.The floor seemed very far below them；but they could climb well，and they were not in the least afraid of falling.
3.Soon they made their way to the end of the church，where a little opening led into the tower or belfry.The boys crept through this opening and climbed up to the top of the tower，where the church bell was hanging.
4.There were little openings in the tower，and through these they could see the country for miles around.“We must go down，”suddenly exclaimed Robert.“There are the men coming back to their work.
They will be angry if they find that we have climbed up the ladder.”
5.The two boys hurried out of the belfry and along the rafters，until they reached the opening in the roofagain.In their haste they both stepped on the end of a small plank，which had been laid on the beams for the men to stand on，and their weight made the plank turn over.
6.Both boys lost their balance.Robert had just timeto clutchone of the beams as he fell，and he clungto it with both hands.James missed the beam，but managed to seize his brother round the legs，and he held on in despair .
7.In this awful position the lads hung，shouting for help.But the workmen were still too far off to hear their cries，and as it was not yet time to begin work，they were walking along slowly.
8.At last the strain of the double weight became more than Robert‘s hands could bear.His strength was failinglonger.and he told James that he could hold on no9.“Could you save yourself if I let go？”asked James.“I think I could，”he replied.
“Then good-bye，and God bless you！”cried the noble boy，as he let go his hold of his brother and fell helplessly on the floor far below.
10.Robert then managed to climb on to the beam，and reached the ladder outside just as the workmen arrived.When they heard the sad story，they ran into the building，and there they found on the floor the dead body of the noble boy，who had given up his own life in order that his brother might be saved.
