The Spiders' Exodus 



time, a spontaneous dehiscence seems called 

 for. Where will it be effected ? 



The idea occurs off-hand that it will take 

 place long the edges of the top cover. Re- 

 member the details given in an earlier chap- 

 ter. The neck of the balloon ends in a wide 

 crater, which is closed by a ceiling dug out 

 cup-wise. The material is as stout in this part 

 as in any other; but, as the lid was the finish- 

 ing touch to the work, we expect to find an in- 

 complete soldering, which would allow it to 

 be unfastened. 



The method of construction deceives us: 

 the ceiling is immovable; at no season can my 

 forceps manage to extract it, without destroy- 

 ing the building from top to bottom. The 

 dehiscence takes places elsewhere, at some 

 point on the sides. Nothing informs us, noth- 

 ing suggests to us that it will occur at one 

 place rather than another. 



Moreover, to tell the truth, it is not a de- 

 hiscence prepared by means of some dainty 

 piece of mechanism; it is a very irregular tear. 

 Somewhat sharply, under the fierce heat of the 

 sun, the satin bursts like the rind of an over- 

 ripe pomegranate. Judging by the result, we 

 think of the expansion of the air inside, which, 



207 



