A CLEVER LOCKSMITH 
“ John, you pride yourself on being a rather 
clever locksmith, don’t you? ” queried Aunt 
Ruth, tactfully. “ I wish you would please see 
if you can fix the lock on the linen closet door. 
Something’s gone wrong with the mechanism, 
and I don’t like the idea of leaving the door ajar 
at this season of the year. I killed three clothes 
moths on the back porch this morning. Some 
way I had the feeling that every one of them had 
heard about that door, and were just watching 
for a chance to flit up the stairs.” 
“Locksmith! I say,” exclaimed Tommy, 
catching eagerly at the hint of craftsmanship, 
“ there’s a trade we haven’t thought of! But, of 
course, there are no locksmiths among Nature’s 
corp of laborers.” 
“ Indeed there are,” affirmed Uncle John, 
stoutly. “ And one of the cleverest of clever lit¬ 
tle people in the bargain! The trap-door spider. 
I meant to tell you about her this evening. I 
was reading about her a while ago. She is a trop¬ 
ical species, and quite as ingenious a miner as she 
is a locksmith. Her retreat is a shaft sunk in the 
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