INSECT ENGmEEBING. 193 



under his partial teacher's praise. "Well, my boy, 

 what say you ? Was it your work ?" 



"No, sir; I uever ! I've got a 'flutter wheel' up 

 there by the riffles, but nary bridge. I duuno who did 

 it at all." 



"1 quite believe you, Harry. Let me show you how 

 the bridge was made, and that will help us to find the 

 architect." 



In lieu of a blackboard I had provided a package of 

 wide Manilla wrapping-paper and crayons. These 

 served admirably for the rude outline sketching, by 

 which I hoped in future to make our conversations 

 somewhat more interesting to a mixed company, such 

 as ours. 



" Here is the run ; on this clump of cat-tails was fixed 

 one of the anchorages ; on the opposite bank, a-top of 

 this cluster of flags, was the other abutment. Here 

 from side to side was stretched a foundation line, and 

 just below it another." 



"What sort of stufl" were they made of?" asked 

 Hugh Bond. 



"To be s^ire, I should have mentioned tliat before. 

 They were silken lines. Between tlie two, near the 

 middle point, was constructed a series of truss-like sup- 

 ports, something like this." 



The family group had gathered about the table, and 

 bent over, eagerly watching the movements of my pen- 

 cil. Before I had finished the sketch two or three voices 

 exclaimed in chorus" : 



" A spider's web ?" 



