Fire-flies 247 



fingers upon it so that there will be no cheating ( ? ) . 

 Under your finger you have ]Mr. Snap-bug (Fig. 

 224), back down; a slight pressure will cause him 

 to make a decided rapping noise. In all well-regu- 

 lated spiritual seances they began by saying: "If 

 there are any spirits present they will please mani- 

 fest themselves by rapping." This is the time for 

 your snap-bug to answer. Then you ask the spirit 

 to rap once for Yes and twice for Xo, after which 

 you can ask any question you choose and get just 

 the answer you want, at the same time greatly 

 astonishing and mystifying the rest of the circle. 

 I am telling you tliis to show you that even a lowly 

 snap-bug, a wood borer, an outlaw, is of some use 

 in the world, for anything which can serve the 

 purpose of harmless amusement is doing the world 

 a great service. After the snap-beetles come the 

 fire-flies and these fire-flies are no more flies than 

 are the snap-bugs bugs; they are all of them beetles. 



FIRE-FLIES 



Of course the fire-flies, hke all other creatures, 

 have a lot of relatives; they really are, I beheve, 

 only a sub-family, but the lamps they carry give 

 them a distinction which their relatives cannot 



