THE MASONS 215 



ber Two finally dropping to the ground, 

 and Number One going for more spiders. 



Number Two was not out of the com- 

 bat for good, however. She promptly 

 returned to the nest, went to the back of 

 it, gnawed into a closed cell, triumphantly 

 hauled out a spider and flew off with it. 

 She did not eat it, but flying to a bush 

 near at hand, she dropped it and returned 

 to the nest. 



Did the spider so cast out contain the 

 egg of her hated rival? The observer 

 made a faithful search for the discarded 

 spider, but it was impossible to find it in 

 the thick foliage of the bush. 



The case was getting serious ; the wasps 

 fought constantly, and the one that was 

 carrying spiders was so disturbed that 

 there was little probability of the nest 

 being completed, when the observer came 

 to the rescue. Troublesome Number Two 

 was incarcerated in an insect net, which 

 mishap, no doubt, greatly rejoiced the 



