One of the hunters immediately ran up with a whisp of lighted hay as defense against the bees. the latter, however, made no attack and sought no revenge; they seemed unintelligent by the catastrophe and unsuspicious of its cause, and remained crawling and buzzing about the ruins without offering us any mole station. every one of the party now fell to, with spoon and hunting knife, to scoop out the flakes of honey-comb with which the hollow trunk was stored. some of them were of old date and a deep brown colour, others were beautifully white, and the honey in their cells was almost limpid. such of the combs as were entire were placed in camp kettles to be conveyed to the encampment; those which had been shivered in the fall were devoured upon the spot. which words best describe the overall tone of the passage? a) dry and factual b) arrogant and formal c) personal and lively d) scholarly and pedantic e) weird and cryptic