THE ISLE OF BIRDS. 205 



looked again, and then witnessed a remarkable 

 performance. A big, gorgeously-colored spider 

 appeared in view, clinging to the middle of the 

 web. Upon touch- 

 ing the network, the 

 spider, a clever fel- 

 low indeed, raised its 

 big body and im- 



parted tO the Web a ^ od ^ marine-crab that lives on land. 



swinging motion that rapidly increased until 

 the acrobat almost disappeared from view, on 

 the same principle that the eye can not follow 

 an object moved to and fro with extreme ra- 

 pidity. 



Dick raised a cheer at the spider's cunning, 

 and some time was spent practicing on what 

 Tom termed the magic spider, until, convinced 

 that it was found out, it dropped to the ground 

 and moved away. There were numbers of these 

 spiders here, and the doctor called attention to 

 them as illustrating a most interesting method 

 of protection. If an enemy, as an insectivorous 

 bird, approached, the spider could almost imme- 

 diately render itself invisible. 



