﻿TENT 
  CATERPILLAR 
  SNODGRASS. 
  345 
  

  

  diagonally 
  over 
  a 
  bare 
  garden 
  plot 
  that 
  had 
  been 
  plowed 
  and 
  har- 
  

   rowed, 
  but 
  beaten 
  down 
  fairly 
  smooth 
  and 
  solid 
  by 
  recent 
  rains, 
  ex- 
  

   cept 
  where 
  it 
  had 
  since 
  been 
  raked. 
  The 
  traveler 
  proceeded 
  over 
  

   smooth 
  ground 
  and 
  over 
  raked 
  ground, 
  changing 
  his 
  course 
  for 
  noth- 
  

   ing, 
  being 
  neither 
  deterred 
  nor 
  deflected 
  by 
  any 
  obstacle 
  on 
  the 
  road. 
  

   He 
  climbed 
  over 
  stones 
  and 
  rough 
  clods, 
  dodged 
  between 
  the 
  leaf 
  

   stems 
  of 
  occasional 
  plantains 
  that 
  stood 
  in 
  the 
  path, 
  and 
  threaded 
  

   his 
  way 
  through 
  labyrinths 
  of 
  upturned 
  roots, 
  but 
  always 
  held 
  the 
  

   course 
  to 
  the 
  southeast. 
  For 
  70 
  feet 
  there 
  was 
  not 
  a 
  deviation 
  of 
  

   more 
  than 
  2 
  feet 
  on 
  either 
  side 
  of 
  a 
  straight 
  line. 
  Yet 
  there 
  was 
  no 
  

   prominent 
  mark 
  ahead 
  ; 
  the 
  sun 
  was 
  a 
  little 
  west 
  of 
  south 
  and 
  a 
  high 
  

   board 
  fence 
  on 
  the 
  east 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  yard 
  crossed 
  the 
  line 
  of 
  the 
  course 
  

   at 
  an 
  angle 
  of 
  45°. 
  Neither 
  sun 
  nor 
  fence, 
  therefore, 
  appeared 
  to 
  be 
  

   the 
  objective; 
  so, 
  it 
  seems 
  that 
  the 
  traveler 
  must 
  have 
  secretly 
  carried 
  

   a 
  compass 
  somewhere 
  on 
  his 
  person. 
  At 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  70 
  feet 
  he 
  ab- 
  

   ruptly 
  veered 
  a 
  little 
  to 
  the 
  south 
  and 
  headed 
  now 
  directly 
  toward 
  a 
  

   large 
  apple 
  tree 
  not 
  far 
  distant. 
  When 
  12 
  feet 
  from 
  ; 
  the 
  trunk 
  he 
  

   was 
  lost 
  to 
  sight 
  in 
  some 
  tall 
  grass 
  and 
  weeds 
  growing 
  at 
  the 
  edge 
  

   of 
  the 
  garden. 
  Up 
  to 
  this 
  point 
  the 
  caterpillar 
  had 
  covered 
  just 
  100 
  

   feet 
  and 
  had 
  made 
  the 
  journey 
  in 
  34 
  minutes. 
  

  

  Half 
  an 
  hour 
  later 
  the 
  trunk 
  of 
  the 
  tree, 
  which 
  was 
  banded 
  with 
  

   tanglefoot 
  4 
  feet 
  from 
  the 
  ground, 
  was 
  examined 
  to 
  see 
  if 
  any 
  travel- 
  

   ing 
  caterpillar 
  had 
  arrived. 
  None 
  was 
  on 
  the 
  trunk, 
  but 
  four 
  were 
  

   sitting 
  quietly 
  on 
  the 
  stems 
  of 
  water 
  sprouts 
  beside 
  it. 
  In 
  the 
  even- 
  

   ing 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  day 
  nine 
  caterpillars 
  were 
  feeding 
  on 
  the 
  leaves 
  of 
  

   these 
  sprouts 
  and 
  one 
  was 
  crawling 
  up 
  the 
  tree. 
  On 
  the 
  next 
  even- 
  

   ing 
  there 
  were 
  12 
  in 
  all. 
  Evidently 
  here 
  was 
  a 
  rendezvous. 
  

  

  This 
  tree 
  stood 
  a»t 
  the 
  corner 
  of 
  a 
  small 
  orchard 
  of 
  large 
  apple 
  

   trees, 
  the 
  trunks 
  of 
  all 
  of 
  which 
  were 
  circled 
  with 
  tanglefoot. 
  Water 
  

   sprouts 
  were 
  abundant 
  through 
  the 
  orchard, 
  but 
  only 
  two 
  caterpillars 
  

   were 
  found 
  elsewhere 
  than 
  on 
  those 
  by 
  the 
  corner 
  tree. 
  Yet 
  the 
  latter 
  

   was 
  not 
  the 
  nearest 
  tree 
  to 
  the 
  tents 
  — 
  the 
  trees 
  directly 
  south 
  could 
  

   have 
  been 
  reached 
  by 
  a 
  shorter 
  course, 
  while 
  the 
  plot 
  of 
  small 
  trees 
  

   containing 
  the 
  tents 
  offered 
  an 
  abundance 
  of 
  forage 
  close 
  at 
  hand. 
  

   No 
  tents 
  were 
  to 
  be 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  orchard. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  unfortunate 
  that 
  other 
  caterpillars 
  were 
  not 
  followed 
  in 
  their 
  

   travels. 
  But 
  since 
  many 
  were 
  found 
  at 
  this 
  time 
  scattered 
  here 
  and 
  

   there 
  on 
  the 
  small 
  trees 
  in 
  the 
  yard 
  it 
  is 
  evident 
  that 
  their 
  journeys 
  

   had 
  not 
  taken 
  them 
  far. 
  These 
  quietly 
  rested 
  during 
  the 
  day 
  on 
  the 
  

   twigs 
  and 
  fed 
  on 
  the 
  leaves 
  in 
  the 
  evening, 
  and 
  probably 
  all 
  night. 
  

   The 
  excitement 
  and 
  hurry 
  of 
  leaving 
  the 
  tents 
  had 
  been 
  but 
  a 
  mo- 
  

   mentary 
  spasm 
  in 
  their 
  lives. 
  Once 
  on 
  the 
  new 
  feeding 
  ground 
  their 
  

   normal 
  placid 
  temperaments 
  returned. 
  The 
  12 
  caterpillars 
  on 
  the 
  

   water 
  sprouts 
  lived 
  there 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  quiet 
  manner, 
  but 
  soon 
  their 
  

  

  