THE BURROWERS 



passed before. The place looked so promising that we 

 sat down to watch it, and a few minutes later we were 

 rewarded by a glimpse of some antennae down the gal- 

 lery, and then a little face with yellow markings appeared 

 but quickly vanished. Now followed a very coquettish 

 performance. The wasp came slowly creeping up again 

 and again, only to drop out of sight as soon as she had 

 reached the opening. After a time she grew bolder, and 

 sat in her doorway, twitching her head this way and 

 that in a very expressive manner, as though she were 

 planning the work of the day; but it was plain that 

 although she was up early, business cares were not 

 weighing heavily upon her mind, for forty minutes 

 passed before she came out of the nest, and after making 

 three or four circles about the spot, flew away. 



How much livelier and more interesting it would have 

 been if we could have followed her! We tried to guess 

 at what she was doing, and imagined her hunting in- 

 dustriously. After fifteen or twenty minutes it seemed 

 to us that she must have caught something, and that 

 she was surely returning. Most probably she was not 

 working at all, but was breakfasting leisurely and ex- 

 changing compliments with her neighbors ; for when she 

 did come home after keeping us waiting for an hour 

 and a half, she brought nothing with her, and seemed 

 145 



