THICK ICE 



and ferocious-looking insects that skip 

 about on the surface, the tips of their long 

 legs denting it but never being wet. There 

 is a big black land spider that lives on the 

 water's edge summers, who is husky and 

 heavy, yet will run along the surface, 

 galloping and jumping just as if on a dry 

 and sandy beach and neither falling in 

 nor wetting his feet. 



When I see the silver dimples that the 

 water strider's feet make in this elastic 

 surface and note this land spider gallop- 

 ing across a cove, the disk of the pond's 

 summer telephone receiver and transmit- 

 ter becomes very real to my eyes. Very 

 likely the under-water people, mullet and 

 bream and perch, read these messages in 

 summer and know in advance what the 

 weather is going to be. If not, what is 

 it that stops their feeding and disturbs 

 them before any rumble of the approach- 

 239 



