150 THE WONDERS OF INSTINCT 



head outside, their glassy eyes staring, their legs gathered 

 for a spring, for hours and hours they wait, motionless, 

 bathing voluptuously in the sun. 



Should a tit-bit to her liking happen to pass, forthwith 

 the watcher darts from her tall tower, swift as an arrow 

 from the bow. With a dagger-thrust in the neck, she 

 stabs the jugular of the Locust, Dragon-fly or other prey 

 whereof I am the purveyor; and she as quickly scales 

 the donjon and retires with her capture. The perform- 

 ance is a wonderful exhibition of skill and speed. 



Very seldom is a quarry missed, provided that it pass 

 at a convenient distance, within the range of the hunt- 

 ress' bound. But, if the prey be at some distance, for 

 instance on the wire of the cage, the Lycosa takes no 

 notice of it. Scorning to go in pursuit, she allows it to 

 roam at will. She never strikes except when sure of her 

 stroke. She achieves this by means of her tower. Hid- 

 ing behind the wall, she sees the stranger advancing, 

 keeps her eye on him and suddenly pounces when he 

 comes within reach. These abrupt tactics make the thing 

 a certainty. Though he were winged and swift of flight, 

 the unwary one who approaches the ambush is lost. 



This presumes, it is true, an exemplary patience on the 

 Lycosa's part ; for the burrow has naught that can serve 

 to entice victims. At best, the ledge provided by the 

 turret may, at rare intervals, tempt some weary wayfarer 

 to use it as a resting-place. But, if the quarry do not 

 come to-day, it is sure to come to-mprrow, the next day, 

 or later, for the Locusts hop innumerable in the waste- 

 land, nor are they always able to regulate their leaps. 



