TEMPERAMENTS 
97 
She jumped, gave me one glance, screamed at the 
top of her lungs, and dashed away out of sight and 
sound. . . . She did not come back, and I lay 
there, feeling miserable again and disgusted with 
mankind’s (or woman- kind’s) heartlessness. 
However, before very long, my horizontal posi¬ 
tion, combined with the cool freshness of the room 
produced a reviving effect and I knew I felt better 
because I began to laugh and view the scene with 
the eyes of the frightened boarder, not my own— 
Who wouldn't scream and run if they went in 
a room and found a strange woman dressed in an 
old smock covered with honey stains, and a black 
veil nearly enshrouding her head, lying prone on the 
floor, with a devilish looking tin utensil beside her, 
emitting a steady stream of smoke . . .? 
What could that poor, innocent child be expected 
to know of bees and bee-women and their habits! 
Finally I roused myself and departed from the 
scene of action, praying to hear next morning that 
the bees had all united in the hive and could be 
moved away. Also, I felt entirely out of conceit with 
the bee business and determined to give up such en¬ 
terprises in the future. 
However, the next morning came and with it 
word that there were practically no bees in the hive, 
