HIDDEN TREASURE 99 



seem to be almost impossible. On the outside of 

 the nest I counted over a hundred separate bits 

 of lichen, and then undoubtedly overlooked many; 

 while in the next layer of seed-husks there were 

 probably at least three times as many. Bit by bit, 

 flake by flake, the little worker had gathered her 

 material, and from it had spun, and woven and built 

 a nest which was not only soft and secure for her 

 little ones, but, when finished, was absolutely dis- 

 guised. No prowler on the ground or pirate of the 

 air could tell that nest from a lichen-covered knot, 

 unless, as had been my fortune, the little mother 

 herself showed it to them. 



So endeth the tale of my first treasure-hunting. 

 If you are not one of us, don't let another summer 

 go by without joining our Order. You will find a 

 wealth of happiness which no thief can steal nor mis- 

 fortune lose, and which, as the years go by, pays 

 ever-increasing dividends of joyous memories. 



