THE ARMY ANTS’ HOME TOWN 73 
back to the column. For the next few minutes, 
until the scent wore off, they aroused suspicion 
wherever they went. Meanwhile, the hyena-like 
rove-beetles, having hedged themselves within a 
barricade of their malodor, proceeded to feast, 
quarreling with one another as such cowards are 
wont to do. 
Thus I thought, having identified myself with 
the army ants. From a broader, less biased point 
of view, I realized that credit should be given to 
the rove-beetles for having established themselves 
in a zone of such constant danger, and for being 
able to live and thrive in it. 
The columns converged at the foot of the post, 
and up its surface ran the main artery of the 
nest. Halfway up, a flat board projected, and 
here the column divided for the last time, half 
going on directly into the nest, and the other 
half turning aside, skirting the board, ascending 
a bit of perpendicular canvas, and entering the 
nest from the rear. The entrance was well 
guarded by a veritable moat and drawbridge of 
living ants. A foot away, a flat mat of ants, 
mandibles outward, was spread, over which every 
passing individual stepped. Six inches farther, 
and the sides of the mat thickened, and in the last 
