26o The Life of the Spider 



Why ? Because her telegraph, being out of 

 order, no longer tells her of the shaking of the 

 web. The captured prey is too far off for her 

 to see it ; she is all unwitting. A good hour 

 passes, with the Locust still kicking, the Spider 

 impassive, myself watching. Nevertheless, in 

 the end, the Epeira wakes up : no longer feeling 

 the signalling-thread, broken by my scissors, as 

 taut as usual under her legs, she comes to look 

 into the state of things. The web is reached, 

 without the least difficulty, by one of the lines 

 of the framework, the first that offers. The 

 Locust is then perceived and forthwith en- 

 swathed, after which the signalling-thread is 

 remade, taking the place of the one which I have 

 broken. Along this road the Spider goes home, 

 dragging her prey behind her. 



My neighbour, the mighty Angular Epeira, 

 with her telegraph-wire nine feet long, has 

 even better things in store for me. One morning, 

 I find her web, which is now deserted, almost 

 intact, a proof that the night's hunting has not 

 been good. The animal must be hungry. With 

 a piece of game for a bait, I hope to bring her 

 down from her lofty retreat. 



