THE MOTHER MURRE 67 



grass-stem, fighting and biting until she got to the 

 sack, which she seized in her strong jaws and made off 

 with as fast as her long, rapid legs would carry her. 



I laid the stem across her back and again took 

 the sack away. She came on for it, fighting more 

 fiercely than before. Once more she seized it ; once 

 more I forced it from her jaws, while she sprang at 

 the grass-stem and tried to tear it to pieces. She 

 must have been fighting for two minutes when, by 

 a regrettable move on my part, one of her legs was 

 injured. She did not falter in her fight. On she 

 rushed for the sack as fast as I pulled it away. She 

 would have fought for that sack, I believe, until she 

 had not one of her eight legs to stand on, had I 

 been cruel enough to compel her. It did not come 

 to this, for suddenly the sack burst, and out poured, 

 to my amazement, a myriad of tiny brown spider- 

 lings. Before I could think what to do that mother 

 spider had rushed among them and caused them to 

 swarm upon her, covering her, many deep, even to 



