The Mason-bees 



hibited. I am therefore very apprehensive as 

 to the success of my experiment when I return 

 to Orange, after first trying to steal some 

 fresh secret from the Aygues Mason-bee of 

 the Pebbles. 



I have scarcely reached the house before 

 Aglae greets me, her cheeks flushed with ex- 

 citement : 



"Two !" she cries. "Two arrived at twenty 

 minutes to three, with a load of pollen under 

 their bellies!" 



A friend of mine had appeared upon the 

 scene, a grave man of the law, who on hearing 

 what was happening, had neglected code and 

 stamped paper and insisted upon also being 

 present at the arrival of my carrier-pigeons. 

 The result interested him more than his case 

 about a party-wall. Under a tropical sun, in 

 a furnace heat reflected from the wall of the 

 shed, every five minutes he climbed the ladder 

 bare-headed, with no other protection against 

 sunstroke than his thatch of thick, grey locks. 

 Instead of the one observer whom I had 

 posted, I found two good pairs of eyes watch- 

 ing the Bees' return. 



I had released my Insects at about two 

 o'clock; and the first arrivals returned to the 

 52 



