The Glow-Worm and Other Beetles 



hinder part of the Mole; they twitch and 

 jerk it now in this direction, now in that. 

 Nothing comes of it; the thing refuses to 

 give. A fresh sortie is made by one of 

 them, to find out what is happening over- 

 head. The second strap is perceived, is se- 

 vered in turn ; and henceforth the work goes 

 on as well as could be wished. 



My compliments, perspicacious cable-cut- 

 ters ! But I must not exaggerate. The 

 Mole's straps were for you the little cords 

 with which you are so familiar in turfy soil. 

 You broke them, as well as the hammock of 

 the previous experiment, just as you sever 

 with the blades of your shears any natural 

 thread stretching across your catacombs. It 

 is an indispensable trick of your trade. If 

 you had had to learn it by experience, to 

 think it out before practising it, your race 

 would have disappeared, killed by the hesi- 

 tations of its apprenticeship, for the spots 

 prolific of Moles, Frogs, Lizards and other 

 viands to your taste are usually covered with 

 grass. 



You are capable of much better things 

 still; but, before setting forth these, let us 

 examine the case when the ground bristles 

 with slender brushwood, which holds the 

 corpse at a short distance from the ground. 

 332 



