THIRD BATTLE WITH EYELESS ROBBERS 235 



who murdered 410 of our ants and kidnapped and ate the 

 babies. If ours had given up the babies without a fight, 

 they wouldn't have lost an ant. 



CECIL. I see that about one in six has a barb, spine or 

 something at the end of the abdomen. 



KENNETH. One book says that Ecitons attack above 

 ground generally. These did the second and third time, 

 but I think they attacked under ground the first time. At 

 least our undertaker or something carried forty dead 

 Robbers up out of the nest after the first battle. 



DOROTHY. Look! There goes one of ours carrying a 

 queen, and several of the rescue squad are packing away 

 some of the rattled ants. 



FLORENCE. Rattled! Maybe they've been gassed or 

 wounded. This isn't the first time we've seen our ants try 

 to rescue their wounded from other ants. 



KENNETH. Ours may have carried away their eggs, 

 babies and queens when the battle began, but they wouldn't 

 have time to save their grain. But the Robbers got the 

 babies if they could, and as they won the battle, I fear 

 they did so. 



DOROTHY. The enemy has moved into both the old 

 parts of the captured house and the new. 



ALBERT. Just look at the feelers of our 250 dead ants 

 lying around here. The murderers know how to make an 

 ant helpless, it seems. 



CECIL. Yes. An insect's feeler is the most sensitive 

 organ in nature, I have read. A bat's wing comes second. 

 An ant's brain is spread out over its feelers; a bat's, over 

 its wings, as I have said before. 



ALBERT. A wild duck struck my wireless and fell 

 down on the roof of our house. 



CECIL. No danger of a bat doing this. 



