ANT COMMUNITIES 



As it promised to be a long engagement, I left them 

 alone in their box and turned to view the battle. When 

 I next saw the pair the duel was finished. The maimed 

 warrior lay dead and near by the victor was seated 

 upon a pebble nonchalantly preening her ruffled coat, 

 and with comb and tongue and spined limbs was re- 

 pairing the damage of battle. 



I placed her near the Gamma gate, wishing to see if 

 she could find her way home, and what would be her 

 conduct and reception. She ran about in an involved 

 path for nearly fifteen minutes, covering a great space, 

 and at last fell upon the regular trail to the nest used by 

 the ants of that commune. But as she showed no 

 familiarity with the field, I concluded that she be- 

 longed elsewhere, and transferred her to the vicinage of 

 gate Beta, one of the outlets in the territory of the Alpha 

 colony. 



She circled around in an irregular course, always 

 drawing a little nearer to Beta. In her march she met 

 a pair of combatants, exchanged antennal salutations, 

 and passed on. Presently she came upon another duel, 

 again challenged, and again passed on. She acted as if 

 lost, but kept bearing gradually toward Alpha gate. 

 Now she met several scouts who challenged her with 

 some evident doubt as to her status, but let her go. 

 Next she was stopped by a group with whom, plainly 

 enough, was exchanged a satisfactory password and 

 "How d'e do!" and then she was off with a joyous trot. 

 She had struck the home trail ! In a moment she dived 

 into the gate. Home at last home from the wars! 

 Doubtless there may have been, on her part, a passing 

 satisfaction like that which Burns sang in The Soldier's 

 Return: 



216 



