The Three Dagger-thrusts 



a Cricket stretched on his back, a week, a 

 fortnight even or more after the murder, we 

 see the abdomen heaving deeply at long in- 

 tervals. Pretty often we can still perceive 

 a few quiverings in the palpi and exceedingly- 

 pronounced movements on the part of both 

 the antennae and the abdominal threads, 

 which diverge and separate and then sud- 

 denly come together. I have succeeded, by 

 placing the sacrificed Crickets in glass tubes, 

 in keeping them perfectly fresh for a month 

 and a half. Consequently, the Sphex-grubs, 

 which live for less than a fortnight before 

 shrouding themselves in their cocoons, are 

 certain of fresh meat until their banquet is 

 finished. 



The chase is over; the three or four Crick- 

 ets that are the allotted portion of each cell 

 are stacked methodically, lying on their 

 backs, with their heads at the far end of the 

 cell and their feet at the entrance. An egg 

 is laid on one of them. The burrow must 

 now be closed. The sand resulting from the 

 excavation, which is lying in a heap outside 

 the front-door, is quickly swept backwards 

 down the passage. From time to time, some 

 fair-sized bits of gravel are picked out 

 singly, by scratching the heap of rubbish with 

 87 



