5 3 2 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



between the cardboard and the tin rim of his cage, he dropped 

 down and stood shaking the wounded member, just as a boy 

 shakes his hand when he has caught his finger in a door ; then he 

 licked his bruises, holding up the tiny claw and carefully exam- 

 ining it. 



Early on the morning of the seventh day after his capture, his 

 friend the small boy announced that the devirs-riding-horse had 

 shed his skin, and had grown to twice his former size ! But this 

 was not strictly accurate. The mantis had indeed shed his skin, 

 which lay in the bottom of his cage like a shrunken and discarded 

 garment, or rather like a sort of abandoned self, so perfect was 

 every feature of the outgrown mask ; but the devil's-riding-horse, 

 though wonderfully expanded in his new estate, was not twice as 

 large as we had known him the day before. In other respects, 

 also, he showed a difference : he was beginning to change color ; a 

 small brown spot was visible on the back of his folded wings, and 

 in two days more he was as brown as his cage — as brown as any 

 twig he might elect, in his coming freedom, to alight upon. But, 

 strangest change of all, the missing right hind-leg was there, very 

 much shorter than its fellow; and, whereas our devirs-riding- 

 horse had never heretofore seemed to be conscious of his deficiency, 

 he now went lame ! However, for yet another marvel, in a few 

 days more, that tardy leg was as well developed as the others. 



About this time we discovered that something ailed our 

 prisoner. He clung more persistently than ever to the top of his 

 cage, and could hardly be induced to stir, even for a fly. Still, he 

 would at his leisure make a dash at every insect offered him ; but, 

 though he captured and killed his prey, he did not devour it. 

 Therefore, lest he should die on our hands, we decided to release 

 him. For this purpose we took him to the same flower-stand 

 where he had been captured, and on a bare shelf, exposed to the 

 blazing noon, we reversed the fly-trap, leaving it open to the sky. 

 The captive was, as usual, clinging to the tin top of his prison- 

 house, but, the instant he perceived himself at the abhorred bot- 

 tom, he began to crawl up the side of the cage. 



Now, we had expected that the release of this prisoner would 

 be a very tame affair of ready wings ; but there was a dramatic 

 surprise in store for us. When we looked to see our mantis 

 1 spread his sheeny vans for flight," he paused on the tin rim that 

 bound the wire gauze, and lifting that queer head of his until it 

 almost lay back on his neck, he gazed up at the sky; turning 

 slowly from side to side, he took a long survey of the heavens, his 

 vision in no way troubled, it would seem, by the blinding light. 

 After several seconds of this sky-gazing, he shifted his position 

 slightly, and peered down at the depth from which he had as- 

 cended ; then he looked at the sky again, and again he peered at 



