148 The Bee People. 
but it might as well be, for it is the piping 
of another young queen just about to come 
forth from its cell. 
The throne is not secure, after all, for 
there is another queen to dispute it. 
Of course there are ways of disposing of 
rivals to the throne, or there used to be, 
as any one who has read the early history 
of England knows. 
You may smother them in a_ tower, 
or poison them, or do something of that 
sort. 
Bees know how to smother bees that 
they hate, and they know how to poison 
them, but queen bees prefer to fight like 
queens for their thrones, and not get them 
by stealth or by striking in the dark; that 
is, If the rival is already out of her cradle. 
If a second queen hatches out of her cell 
before the first young queen finds her, there 
is a fight. 
The workers stand around and watch 
the conflict, but they never interfere, nor 
