for hours afterward in squirming agony. 
The red ants break past the guards 
that are holding the entrance. Into the 
hill they go, fighting their way through 
the tunnels. And now there is nothing 
to keep them from carrying off whatever 
they can find. 
When the red ants have gone at last, 
there are few signs of life around the 
hill. They have left destruction behind 
them. Many of the eggs and young ones 
are gone. The ground is littered with 
wounded bodies. 
Those ants that managed to escape 
returned. Some of the wounded stir, 
begin to move, and crawl wearily to help 
others worse off than themselves. There 
is a great deal of work to be done. 
First they make certain that their 
Queen is not harmed. Then the young 
ants and eggs that remain must be tended 
more carefully than ever, for the colony 
has lost many of its workers. The battle- 
38 
