2GG 



TENANTS OF AN OLD FARM. 



'■" What did the gates look hke ?" asked Harry, 



"They are simply little heaps of dry leaves, twigs, 



and such like refuse, which are seen scattered here and 



there over the mound as one approaches it in day-time. 



(Fig. 91.) When I first saw them, as I have told you. 



,i3r^= 



FIG. 91. — THE G.\TE CLOSED. 



I was completely deceived, and thought them nothing 

 more than accidental accumulations. I found out, 

 however, that these piles were raised above the surface 

 opening of the galleries that penetrated the mound, 

 and that they filled the mouths to the depth sometimes 

 of an inch and a half. The leaves and chips were in- 

 termingled with pellets of soil, and occasionally below 

 them the gallery was quite sealed with pellets. The 

 galleries frequently slant inward from the gate, and at 

 as great an angle as forty-five degrees. Sometimes 

 they deflect a .short distance from the top. Tliese con- 

 formations allow more readih' the process of closing, as 

 they give a purchase to the material used, 



"The doors are opened about dusk. First npjiear the 



