of smell, it were well to renew the experiment under
better conditions and to remove everything containing a vestige of
scent.

A few days later, when I have definitely decided on my plan, Lucie
resumes her watch and soon comes to tell me of a sortie. I was counting
on it, for the Amazons rarely miss an expedition during the hot
and sultry afternoons of June and July, especially when the weather
threatens storm. Hop-o'-my-Thumb's pebbles once more mark out the road,
on which I choose the point best-suited to my schemes.

A garden-hose is fixed to one of the feeders of the pond; the sluice is
opened; and the Ants' path is cut by a continuous torrent, two or three
feet wide and of unlimited length. The sheet of water flows swiftly and
plentifully at first, so as to wash the ground well and remove anything
that may possess a scent. This thorough washing lasts for nearly a
quarter of an hour. Then, when the Ants draw near, returning from the
plunder, I let the water flow more slowly and reduce its depth, so as
not to overtax the strength of the insects. Now we have an obstacle
which the Amazons must surmount, if it is absolutely necessary for them
to follow the first trail.

This time, the hesitation lasts long and the stragglers have time to
come up with the head of the column. Nevertheless, an attempt is made to
cross the torrent by means of a few bits of gravel projecting above the
water; then, failing to find bottom, the more reckless of the Ants are
swept off their feet and, without loosing hold of their prizes, drift
away, land on some shoal, regain the bank and renew their search for
a ford. A few straws borne on the waters stop and become so many shaky
bridges on which the Ants climb. Dry olive-leaves are converted into
rafts, each with its load of passengers. The more venturesome, partly by
their own efforts, partly by good luck, reach the opposite bank without
adventitious aid. I see some who, dragged by the current to one or the
other bank, two or three yards off, seem very much concerned as to what
they shall do next. Amid this disorder, amid the dangers of drowning,
not one lets go her booty. She would not dream of doing so: death sooner
than that! In a word, the torrent is crossed somehow or other along the
regular track.

The scent of the road cannot be the cause of this, it seems to me, for
the torrent not only washed the ground some time beforehand but also
pours fresh water on it all the time that the