Wasps and Ants 47 



him to sleep. The speculation was, however, 

 mightily aided by the noise of daubers at 

 work. It was a sharp vibrant metallic hum- 

 ming, which began as the mud-ball was set 

 on the wall, and ended when the last grain 

 was properly spread. Joe thought if fairies 

 played on the jew's-harp it must sound much 

 the same. He was, you see, a jew's-harp 

 player himself. When half a dozen daubers 

 worked and harped at the same time, he found 

 there was a difference of almost half a note 

 in the volume of sound at the end, and the 

 beginning. It was loudest at first, and strong- 

 est and clearest when the mortar spread easily. 

 Daubers did not always make good jobs of 

 the spreading. Often Joe saw lumps bitten 

 off, and whole new earth-cords gone over. 

 For the most part the galleries ran straight 

 and plumb, but one much harried builder, ran 

 up a fifth nest with walls as crooked as could 

 be, and slapped on fresh galleries wholly at 

 haphazard. 



The daubers crawled with wings flat at 

 the sides, now and then lifting them, and 

 dropping them with a faint flick. Sometimes 

 only the wings on one side went up. More 

 commonly they raised wings on both sides. 

 The wing opening and shutting was almost 

 instantaneous. The daubers did not crawl 

 with spread wings. They left that to the 



