302 TENANTS OF AN OLD FAV.lf. 



quite near in the direct course of the threads the lines 

 will soon entangle and be short ; but if there be a wide, 

 open space before the lines they will stretch out for a 

 goodly distance. Our Townes' Run bridge cables were 

 not above ten feet long, but I have seen such lines 

 twenty-five, thirty, and even some of forty feet in 

 length stretched from tree to tree across a country 

 road." 



"I mind seein' one, sir," said Hugh," right licrc on 

 the old farm much longer than them. I was crossin' 

 the yard a leetle arter sun-up w'en I seed suthin' 

 gliutiu' in the air like a fine wire. It stretched from 

 a bush, aside the kerriage-entrance, across the track. 

 I didn't see the ends of the thing, just the middle jmrt, 

 and I thot at wunst that some rascal had been stretchin' 

 a wire across the road to knock ofi" the hats of horse- 

 men — it was about that height. I was mighty angry, 

 'v course, and went to pull down the wire, w'en lo, an' 

 behold, it wur a spider web ! I felt powerful small at 

 bein' fooled so, but somehow the thread seemed 

 magnified by the sun, an' I only seed it now an' ag'in 

 as the light twinkled on it. However, I concluded to 

 measure it. 1 followed it Avith my eye clare to the top 

 'v the old sycamore tree, and calkerlated that it was 

 more 'n a hundred feet long. I never thot much about 

 it, and never said nothin' till now. I 've often seed 

 them stringin' webs around the place, but nt'ver one 

 anythin' like \s long as that "n. I never know'd how 

 they wur made nuthcr ; an' I 'm very nuicli obleeged 

 to you fer tellin" us.'' 



