102 THE BROOK BOOK 



I had found isolated webs before, along the 

 roadside or among the low shrubs bordering a 

 woods' path, and no dead hemlock branch seemed 

 complete without at least one web; but here was 

 a veritable village of them. They were strung 

 in every direction and some of the spiders had 

 evidently feasted, as remnants of gnats hung in 

 their broken webs. No matter what the con- 

 dition of the web, whether fresh and perfect or 

 reduced to a single thread fringed with ends of 

 the cross lines, the patient spider sat near the twig 

 holding the taut line as if life depended upon it. 



Choosing an individual whose position was such 

 that I could see her and sit comfortably at the 

 same time, I determined to watch for develop- 

 ments. The creature remained absolutely motion- 

 less for half an hour. My eyes wandered and 

 found a second spider holding on strenuously to a 

 thread stretched between two neighboring twigs. 

 Seeing them sit thus in idleness and sloth exas- 

 perated me. Neither had more than a single 

 thread, which constituted no snare whatever. My 

 patience began to ooze. Had I not selected these 

 two and honored them with my attention? Should 

 they then be suffered to sit idly, refusing to per- 

 form? I had abstained from disturbing them by 

 any pokings or shakings and felt hurt at their 

 inattention. 



Determined that something should take place, 

 I transferred my observations to the second spider. 

 With my pencil I released her taut line from its 

 support and let it dangle. For a moment she 



