He was coming for the whip.
"Beechnut," said Malleville, "I wish that you would speak to Phonny." "_Is_ it foolish for me to learn to climb ?" asked Phonny.

In order to see Beechnut while he asked this question, Phonny had to twist his head round in a very unusual position, and look out under his arm.

It was obvious that in doing this he was in imminent danger of falling, so unstable was the equilibrium in which he was poised upon the rail.
"Is not he foolish ?" asked Malleville.
Beechnut looked at him a moment, and then said, as he resumed his walk through the entry, "Not very;--that is for a boy.

I have known boys sometimes to do foolisher things than that." "What did they do ?" asked Phonny.
"Why once," said Beechnut, "I knew a boy who put his nose into the crack of the door, and then took hold of the latch and pulled the door to, and pinched his nose to death.

That was a _little_ more foolish, though not much." So saying Beechnut passed through the door and disappeared.
Phonny was seized with so violent a convulsion of laughter at the idea of such absurd folly as Beechnut had described, that he tumbled off the bannisters, but fortunately he fell _in_, towards the stairs, and was very little hurt.