CHAPTER X 
The Web of Life 
In Mr. Arthur Thomson’s big red book, “The Out¬ 
line of Science,” there is a beautiful colored photograph 
of a spider’s web, with old Mrs. Spider squatting in the 
center on the watch for silly Mr. Fly. Old Mrs. Spider 
does not always stay on her web, she often hides in a 
nearby shelter, but she has a signal which tells her when 
she has caught her dinner. A special line runs from the 
web to her den, and when this line shakes she knows the 
web is shaking with the weight of her victim. Like 
the fisherman with a taut line between his fingers, Mrs. 
Spider can tell by the strength of the pull whether her 
