HIDDEN TREASURE 99 
seem to be almost impossible. On the outside of 
the nest I counted over a hundred separate bits 
of lichen, and then undoubtedly overlooked many; 
while in the next layer of seed-husks there were 
probably at least three times as many. Bit by bit, 
flake by flake, the little worker had gathered her 
material, and from it had spun, and woven and built 
a nest which was not only soft and secure for her 
little ones, but, when finished, was absolutely dis- 
guised. No prowler on the ground or pirate of the 
air could tell that nest from a lichen-covered knot, 
unless, as had been my fortune, the little mother 
herself showed it to them. 
So endeth the tale of my first treasure-hunting. 
If you are not one of us, don’t let another summer 
go by without joining our Order. You will find a 
wealth of happiness which no thief can steal nor mis- 
fortune lose, and which, as the years go by, pays 
ever-increasing dividends of joyous memories. 
