70 THE WONDERS OF INSTINCT 



itself by the mere downfall of the shaken soil. Useful 

 shovels at the tips of their claws, powerful backs, capable 

 of creating a little earthquake : the diggers need nothing 

 more for the practice of their profession. Let us add — 

 for this is an essential point — the art of continually 

 jerking and shaking the body, so as to pack it into a 

 lesser volume and cause it to pass when passage is ob- 

 structed. We shall presently see that this art plays a 

 part of the greatest importance in the industry of the 

 Necrophori. 



Although he has disappeared, the Mole is still far from 

 having reached his destination. Let us leave the under- 

 takers to complete their task. What they are now doing 

 below ground is a continuation of what they did on the 

 surface and would teach us nothing new. We will wait 

 for two or three days. 



The moment has come. Let us inform ourselves of 

 what is happening down there. Let us visit the retting- 

 vat. I shall invite no one to be present at the exhuma- 

 tion. Of those about me, only little Paul has the courage 

 to assist me. 



The Mole is a Mole no longer, but a greenish horror, 

 putrid, hairless, shrunk into a round, greasy mass. The 

 thing must have undergone careful manipulation to be 

 thus condensed into a small volume, like a fowl in the 

 hands of the cook, and, above all, to be so completely de- 

 prived of its fur. Is this culinary procedure undertaken 

 in respect of the larvae, which might be incommoded by 

 the fur? Or, is it just a casual result, a mere loss of hair 

 due to putridity? I am not certain. But it is always 



