Directly underneath it you come upon the
tiny circular trap-door, which you will notice in the nest we send
with these letters. You will see how wonderfully it is made, with
its silken weaving inside, and its bits of bark and leaves outside;
and I know you will admire the hinge, which the tarantula must have
invented, and which is as pretty a bit of workmanship as the most
accomplished mechanic could turn out. We tore away the web and the
door from one of the nests, and then poured water down the hole. The
spider was at home, came out as fact as his clumsy legs would carry
him, and clutched the end of the stick Jack held out to him. Then we
tumbled him into the tomato-can just as he appeared to be making for
us. The two didn't agree at all. One of them despatched the other
on the way home--the same hero who had killed the other four; but, on
hearing his bloody record, Aunt Truth refused to have him about the
camp; so we gave him an alcohol bath, and you shall see his lordship
when you come. As Dr. Paul says, they have been known to clear
fourteen feet at a jump, perhaps you will feel happier to know that
he is in alcohol, though their bite is not necessarily fatal if it is
rightly cared for.
The girls have been patronising the landscape by naming every peak,
valley, grove, and stream in the vicinity; and as there is nobody to
object, the names may hold.
We carry about with us a collection of strong, flat stakes, which
have various names painted on them in neat black letters.
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