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Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a4961fd --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #68284 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/68284) diff --git a/old/68284-0.txt b/old/68284-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 36a210d..0000000 --- a/old/68284-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3333 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Happy, by Walter Flavius McCaleb - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Happy - The life of a bee - -Author: Walter Flavius McCaleb - -Illustrator: Clement B. Davis - -Release Date: June 10, 2022 [eBook #68284] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Charlene Taylor and the Online Distributed Proofreading - Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from - images generously made available by The Internet - Archive/American Libraries.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HAPPY *** - - - - - - -[Illustration: AS IT LOOKED TO HAPPY FROM THE KNOLL] - - - - - HAPPY - The LIFE OF A BEE - - by - WALTER FLAVIUS MCCALEB - - Illustrations - and Decorations - by - CLEMENT B. DAVIS - - HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS - NEW YORK AND LONDON - - - - - HAPPY: THE LIFE OF A BEE - - Copyright, 1917, by Harper & Brothers - Printed in the United States of America - Published April, 1917 - - D-R - - - - -[Illustration: TO MY MOTHER] - - - - -[Illustration: Contents] - - - CHAP. PAGE - - FOREWORD 9 - - I. THE AWAKENING 15 - - II. THE CELL-HOUSE 20 - - III. MYSTERIES 24 - - IV. THE FIRST FLIGHT 28 - - V. ROBBERY 34 - - VI. CRIP 40 - - VII. CRIP, THE WISE 45 - - VIII. A GLEANER OF HONEY 50 - - IX. A STORM 56 - - X. THE AFTERMATH 60 - - XI. THE FIGHT WITH THE WEB-WORMS 65 - - XII. THE WOUNDING OF CRIP 72 - - XIII. THE SWARMING FEVER 77 - - XIV. PERILS 86 - - XV. A MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE 95 - - XVI. TIDINGS OF WOE 101 - - XVII. THE DEATH OF THE QUEEN 106 - - XVIII. CRIP AND THE IMPOSTOR 112 - - XIX. FAREWELL 116 - - - - -[Illustration: FOREWORD] - - -Years ago, banished into the far Rio Grande region, I became a keeper of -bees. As a child I had loved them, even caressed them, and many a time -have I held them one and a hundred at once in my hands. I knew their -every mind and their wilful ways; I loved their sweet contrarieties, -their happy acceptation of the inevitable, and their joyous facing of -life. - -So it came about that, grown older, I returned to my old engagements, -and, far from human habitation, amid the wild, brush-set wilderness -enveloping Lake Espantoso, I built my house and brought my bees. And, -too, there came with me a little Shadow, and at his heels a shepherd-dog. -There, in that land of boundless spaces, we waited and watched and -dreamed. - -The years went by silently, uneventfully—day following day noiselessly, -as sounds die in the sea. Spring came with its bounty of flowers; and -fast on the trail of retreating winter they leaped forth in multitudes: -daisy and phlox and poppy and bluebonnet and Indian feather and anemone -all tossed their heads and flung their beautiful wings into the sunlight. -The earth was sweet with the wild, fresh sweetness of flowers. Even the -cacti and the brush blossomed like roses of Cashmere, hiding their thorns -amid a profusion of loveliness. - -Then the winter came, brief, primordial in its changes. The brown earth -and the brown-gray sweep of the horizon, stretching inimitably away, -wakened in rueful contrast to the riot of the vernal months. - -Season after season went by until, indeed, I seemed but a ghost -fluttering in and out among the whirling days. Overhead a sky of -perennial blue; in my face the winds from every zone, and in my ears -the somnolent sounds of the years gone to dust. I was overwhelmed by -the impalpable significance of the primeval world—and by the mysterious -unfoldings of life. - -Hours at a time I sat amid my little brothers, the bees, now and again -catching up the harmonies of their existence and marveling much at the -divine rhythm of their speech. The longer I sat and brooded the more I -grew into their lives, until I seemed to know their every mood and to -sound the mysteries of their being. - -They seemed to know me and to love me. Often in their flight, tired and -overladen, they would rest for a moment on my sleeve, and then away. Many -a one did I raise from the earth where he had fallen—all too like our -fellow-mortals—weighted down by burdens too heavy to bear. And how happy -I was to see them, with ever so little help, again take wing and fly -heartened to their homes. I have sometimes thought that, after all, men -are but bees in their ultimate essence. - -Thus, with the passing years, I, a keeper of bees, came to be one of -them; and even now, though far distant, I wander in dreams through the -open aisles about which their white houses cluster, and through that -sweet rose-garden. - -My cottage was framed in roses. Clambering Maréschal Neills, yellow as -the sun; and Augusta Victorias, white as the snows of dead winters, -leaned upon the walls; and all about varieties innumerable and known only -to my mother, lifted their heads and prayed for the fulfilment of the law. - -One rose there was of all roses the most beautiful. She called it the -Queen of the Prairie. Red it was as the blood of the martyrs; and, huge -as a lotus leaf, it blew the most wonderful of flowers. Here was my -special pride. I loved it because of her hands; I loved it because it -aspired toward perfection. - -Early in a morning now gone—a gorgeous spring dawning—I rose and went -into the garden, as was my wont. The sun had not yet risen, and there -was in the air a brooding, a sound of far-away symphonies. From rose -to rose I turned, until presently I came to the most marvelous of them -all. Wonderful beyond words, I drew it to me—a Queen of the Prairie. I -breathed its fragrance, thrilled at its beauty, when, with a start, I saw -deep within the folds of its heart a little bee, drowsing in sleep. I -could but gaze and wonder, and while I gazed one leg quivered a moment -and then was still. - -It is the story of his life that I would tell. - -I plucked the rose and bore it away with me; and even now, as I write, -its crumbled leaves lie over him in a memorial urn; and I shall be happy -if I have truly caught the meaning of his life, which carried with it so -much of the sweetness of endeavor, so much of the joy of living, and so -much of love for the Kingdom of Light. - - BEECHHURST, LONG ISLAND, - March, 1917. - - - - -HAPPY - -THE LIFE OF A BEE - - - - -[Illustration: CHAPTER ONE - -The Awakening] - - -My name is “Happy”—at least that is what the bees have always called me; -and well I remember the first time I heard the word. I suppose I was -joyfully flapping my wings at having emerged, white and feeble, but a -living being, from the darkness of my cell, when I heard a queer, thin -voice saying: “He[1] isn’t a minute old, and yet what a fuss he’s making -with his wings! Let’s call him ‘Happy’!” - -All around I could hear little noises of approval; any number of -strange faces came hurrying to look me over; two or three actually -jostled me, and one even drew his tongue across my face—and for the -first time I tasted honey. I found out afterward that this was the -customary salutation to all newly-born bees. Of course I was too young to -appreciate all they said and did, and I soon forgot the jubilation, for I -happened, in my wanderings, upon a cell brimming with honey, and, without -asking permission, I ate and ate until I could not hold another mouthful. - -Then a strange drowsiness seized me, and I scarcely knew which way to -turn. But I fell in with what I afterward learned were nurse bees, and -they took me in charge. Presently, hanging fast to the comb with my -half-a-dozen legs, I fell asleep. - -Wonderful things had happened in a very few minutes. It seemed to me, as -I began to drowse and the light to fade, that once more I was falling -asleep in my cell, whence I had so shortly emerged. The something that -had awakened within me, that had caused me to turn round and round in my -cell, and that had cried gently in my ear, “See the light—cut your way -through the door and live,” sang me to sleep. - -When I awoke, for a moment I imagined I was still in my cell. I thought -I could hear my neighbors, on all sides of me, biting at the wax doors -that closed them in, and that I could see the thin, transparent shutters -giving way before the eager heads which appeared in the doorways—tiny, -whitish-black heads, with huge eyes that slowly issued from the -dungeon-like cells. I, too, unconsciously trying my mandibles, must -have been biting on the combs about me, for presently I was stopped -by an important-looking bee that cried, sharply, “What are you about, -youngster?” - -He was rough to me, but I had learned that one must not bite the combs -just for the pleasure of biting; it began to dawn on me that it cost -infinite labor to build the thousands of little six-sided houses which, -laid side by side, made up the combs of our hive. And almost before I -knew it, I came to have vast respect for all the things I could see about -me, for the things I felt lay out there in the unexplored depths of our -home, and for the things which existed only in the consciousness of the -colony. - -I was still so young I walked but feebly; but everywhere I was greeted -as a brother. Some of the little fellows climbed over me in their hurry; -some of them, hustling about me, almost knocked me from the combs; and -one actually stopped me, mumbling something I could not understand; but -his meaning was soon made clear. I suppose he said: - -“I see you are a novice; you have on your swaddling-clothes. This will -never do. I must clean you up.” - -Whereat he proceeded, in spite of my protest, to lick me all over and to -rub my legs and body, saying, “This white powder must come off; you can’t -stand here looking like that; you must get busy and be a real bee!” - -When he had finished with me I found that I was no longer so wobbly, that -my wings moved more freely, and, to my astonishment, a smart little bee -came up to me and said: - -“I note that you are changed; you are no longer grayish-white, but look -like everybody else; your eyes are gray-black, a little delicate fuzz -is in the middle of your back, and beautiful alternating black and gold -bands make up the rest of your body. You look like a real somebody.” - -Then he hurried on, and I heard him make the same speech to another bee. - -Still heeding the small voice, I had gone but a little way on my round of -exploration when I plumped into the biggest bee! He was in such a hurry -he nearly ran me down. As he passed I saw on his two rearmost legs great -balls of yellow-looking stuff. - -“Out of the way!” he called. “The bread-man! The bread-man!” - -Every one seemed to have understood except me, and even I, a moment -later, heard the cry and gave way to a newly-arrived bread-man. Just what -character of bee he was I had yet to learn, and little did I then dream -that I, too, should one day be a bread-man, carrying great baskets of -bread on my legs. - -By this time I was again hungry, and presently, as I traversed a white -strip of comb, I came upon a great store—cell after cell, like a thousand -open pots, full to overflowing with honey. I was on the point of helping -myself when I was turned away. - -“This is not to be eaten,” a worker said. “We are ripening it and soon it -will be sealed for the winter. On over there you will find some.” - -He was busy and gave no further heed to me, but as I turned away I -noticed fully a hundred bees standing ever so still—fanning, fanning -with their wings the open cells to hasten the ripening processes. He -left unanswered my wish to know what the ripening of honey meant—and the -winter. - -As indicated by the worker, I soon found plenty of honey and quite gorged -myself. This time I took away with me a supply in my honey-sac. Again I -felt sleepy, and started back to my cell. Finally I reached it. I was -dumfounded to find that it had been over-hauled and that the bread-men -had filled it with shining yellow loaves. Wondering, I fell asleep -hanging between the combs. The last sound that I heard had been a long, -low murmur, which afterward I came to know to be the voice of my hive -singing an immemorial hymn, a hymn, I have been told, the bees have sung -for a hundred times a thousand years. - -[1] It is well known that all worker bees are females. But I have changed -Happy to the other sex. Here I have taken a liberty, warranted, I think, -under the circumstances.—THE AUTHOR. - - - - -[Illustration: CHAPTER TWO - -The Cell House] - - -How long I slept I cannot say, but I was awakened by a sharp blow which -nearly knocked me from the combs. So nearly was I toppled over that I -seized the first thing my feet fell upon. I felt immediately, by the -way I was being dragged about, that I had grappled something dangerous; -and imagine my consternation when I succeeded in opening my eyes! I was -holding fast to the biggest bee that ever lived. Many of the same kind I -have seen since that awakening, but none ever looked so terrible. When -I had managed to loose my hold on this monster and stood fairly on the -combs, I asked the nearest bee: - -“Who is that?” - -“Nobody; he is just a drone.” - -“Please, then, what are drones?” for I had developed a wholesome respect -for one of them. - -“A drone is a great, worthless bee that won’t work. They stand around -the hive until the time comes for them to die. He is nearly the last. For -almost a month we have been driving them away, and when they won’t go -sometimes we sting them. You see, they never work and are useless. Of an -afternoon they fly up into the sky with a deal of buzzing. Sometimes they -follow the Queen into the deep of heaven. If they would stop there! But -worse than that, they bluster about over the hive and eat a lot of honey. -Besides, they get in the way and are just a nuisance.” - -I was listening very intently to this speech, when the very same drone -that had collided with me came tearing past me with two mad workers -clinging to his wings. - -“Poor fellow,” I cried, “are they driving you away?” - -He headed straight for me, as though a friend had come to his rescue, and -the next thing I knew I began to fall and fall, until I landed plump on -the bottom-board of the hive. - -In all my life I never fell quite so far again, although once I was high -in the air with a great load of honey when a whirlwind caught me and -hurled me to the earth. You see, I then knew nothing of distance. - -I got up on my legs as quickly as I could and staggered about a bit, -trying to get my bearings. Now, indeed, I had gone a long way from the -tiny cell-house where I was born; but strangely enough, I knew the way -back to it without even thinking. I had, up to that time, moved but a few -inches away from it, but suddenly the world seemed to have yawned and -swallowed me up. However, I quickly regained my composure, for around me -bees were running, humming strange words as they went; and over me I -could hear the croon of the nurse bees and other sounds which were still -foreign and mysterious. - -Without even thinking of the direction I took, I started on the way back -to my cell. Crawling along the bottom-board until I reached the side of -the hive, I climbed up it until I came to a bridge of comb stretching -to a frame, and a moment later I was crossing from comb to comb, and, -ere long, to my great joy, stood on the spot whence I had started. In -my passage I had met hundreds and hundreds of my brothers, none of whom -seemed glad to see me, although I thought a few stopped to watch me -stumbling along on my way. However, I now know that not one actually -paused from his work. The world they live in is too full of duties and -the dark days of winter are always too close at hand, while eternally is -sounding in their ears the refrain, “Work, work, for the frost is coming.” - -I went round and round the cell which had been my house. I couldn’t make -out why I did this, because I was absolutely sure of my location. Still, -to make doubly sure, I even thrust my head into the doorway and scented -the bread with which it had been filled. There still remained about it -a curious odor, which I never forgot, and at this late day, with my -eyes closed, I could find my cell—perhaps not by the smell, but through -the same divining sense that has led me across ten thousand fields and -streams and hills to my home again. I found, however, that I had been a -little bruised by my fall. The foremost leg on my right side was hurting -me. It had probably been sprained when I struck the bottom-board. I began -to claw at it, when a bee interrupted who seemed to understand what -troubled me. Forthwith he laid hold of the lame leg and pulled and pushed -it unceremoniously, and presently, without a word, went on his way. I -found immediately that it gave me no further pain, and I was engaged in -licking my other legs when I seemed suddenly to grow sleepy and in a -trice I planted myself on a comb and prepared to sleep. - -If I really slumbered, it could not have been long, for when I began to -drowse a bread-man was busy taking the yellow pollen from the baskets on -his hindmost legs, and when I wakened he was just drawing himself out of -the cell where he had stored it away. In fact, I saw him at the moment -packing it down. - -“What are you doing?” I asked, sleepily. - -“Can’t you see?” he answered. - -Then it all dawned on me. It was interesting to watch him draw himself -out and thrust himself in, head-on, battering down the loaves of bread. - -“Why does he do that?” I ventured, of a bee that seemed to be loitering. - -“In order that he may store a great deal in the cell, so that it will -keep through the cold, wet months when there are no flowers. Bread comes -from flowers, you know.” - -“Flowers! What are flowers?” I cried. “And bread?” - -“You shall learn for yourself,” he answered, patiently, turning away. - - - - -[Illustration: CHAPTER THREE - -Mysteries] - - -I thought he might have answered my questions, but, without knowing why, -I started off on an excursion, and surprised myself at feeling so much -stronger. At least I could scamper along without swaying and staggering -and clutching at every bee and thing I met. I began to feel brave and big. - -As I went forward I encountered a stream of workers. They were humming -a home-coming song as they hurried up the combs to deposit their loads -of honey. I overheard some of them saying that the dark had dropped on -them suddenly out of a cloud and that rain had begun to fall. I could -not then understand what terrors were couched in these words—rain and -darkness—else I might better have appreciated the thanksgiving hymn -which these late-returning, rain-draggled workers were uttering. In days -to come I was to learn what danger meant, for more than once I, too, -was forced to flee before a storm in the growing blackness, bearing a -load almost too much for my wings; and to spend a night in the woods, -hiding as best I might under a leaf, and quaking at the nameless fears -that beat about me in the gloom. There was no comfort even in the tiny -lights that glowed over my head, nor in the small voices that called to -me in the night. It was not fear that I should be lost that oppressed -me, but that the load I had gathered with so much travail should never -reach the storehouse upon which the life of the colony depended, for -food was necessary to life. And life? I knew naught of it. But was it -consciousness of imperative duty that made me shake in every passing -wind? Even to this day my own life has given me no concern. I scarcely -know that I have any interest in living, apart from serving, apart from -the lives of these, my little brothers. - -I noticed as I moved onward that the workers brought home no pollen. -Their baskets were empty. I thought this strange and inquired about it, -learning that the flowers yield pollen more freely in the morning; that -the sun, wind, and insects tend to dissipate it, and that, therefore, -bread was largely gathered in the early hours. I also learned that as a -food it was far less important than honey; and that honey, too, was more -abundant when the day was young. I knew that the incoming hordes were -now laden with honey, and instinctively where it was carried, for my own -sac was still stuffed nearly to bursting. - -On I went without thinking, at each turn facing laden and singing -workers. It never occurred to me that my progress would eventually lead -me to the door of the hive, which was the boundary between my home and -the wide universe that spread away to the stars. Many things there were -that stopped me on the way. The last laden workers had passed, and I -found myself still wandering on. The night song of the hive was already -submerging the hymn of the late-arriving workers; but the two were -strangely commingling, the one flowing into the other, even as the shades -of twilight merge with the dark. - -A mysterious feeling was creeping over me. I felt as though something -imponderable was pressing upon me. Suddenly a whiff of air dashed in -my face and I stopped, stricken with an indefinable fear. Then, the -reassuring note of the guards at the door brought again my courage, and -boldly I walked out into the night. - -Several of the guards ran up to me, smelling me strangely, then let me -pass. I must have been wandering as in a trance; all around me the night -lay black and the soft wind shook my wings, and the little stars seemed -hanging just over my head. I was seized with a wild desire to try my -wings, to fly into the beckoning unknown. But my wings could not lift me, -and happily one of the guards, seeing me approach too near the edge of -the alighting-board, cautioned me and suggested my going back into the -hive. - -As I turned in I cast one long look back into the great black space that -lay outside, and wondered and wondered. Overhead the sprinkled lights, -like flowers in the gardens of heaven, leaned a little wistfully toward -the earth; and near, ever so near it seemed, a wonderfully bright light -shone, calling me to fly into its embrace. - -“What is that?” I asked of the gentle guard. - -“The Master’s lamp,” he said. - -The Master’s lamp! What might that be? But I asked no more questions. -There was too much of mystery around me. I clambered over the combs as -rapidly as I might, back to my cell; but even there it was a long time -before I slept, so spellbound was I, so stirred to the depths. Vast -harmonies seemed athrob in the outer world, and one dim undercurrent of -tone, the night song of my hive, ebbed and flowed ceaselessly around me. -Gradually I seemed to lose my identity and to merge with the spirit of -the things about me. - -In a flash I felt that I was no longer just a helpless little bee, -floating about in the maze of life, intent on my own purposes, bound no -whither, owning no duties and driven by no destinies. Up to the moment -I had given no concern to things beyond dipping into honey-cells for -food, to exploring the house in which I found myself, to groping about -with eyes wide and ears that missed no sound. But now I had been shaken -with new desires. I seemed to have climbed out of myself, even as I had -crawled out of my cell on that other day, now but a memory—so far away it -seemed. My thoughts, my activities, my soul were no longer my own—they -belonged to my little brothers buzzing in the alcoves or busy with -endless tasks which I seemed to know without knowing. - - - - -[Illustration: CHAPTER FOUR - -The First Flight] - - -My sleep was interrupted by I know not what strange dreams or fantasies. -I suppose I was shaking my wings or my legs unduly, when a kindly nurse -laid her hands on me. - -“What troubles you?” she asked. - -I did not immediately answer, because I was at a loss for a reply and -seemed still to be clinging to the edge of things. Such wonderful vistas -had been opened to me, I suppose I acted like one entranced. - -“I don’t know,” I answered at last. - -“Wake up a bit, then.” - -Again I seemed quite alone, although all around me hundreds of my -brothers were sleeping, or working at their manifold tasks. - -It was still very dark, but I began to move about drowsily, giving no -heed to the way. From comb to comb I clambered, passing over unexplored -regions. Presently I came to what was clearly the outermost comb. I -saw a lot of workers tugging and pulling at the cells. I stopped and -watched them. Each cell had its bee or bees busily engaged upon it. -They would seize the sides of it with their sharp mandibles, and, by -dint of biting and drawing, extend it little by little. I could see -that it was a laborious process, this building of comb. I was standing -quite still, looking on and meditating, when, without ceremony, one of -the comb-builders rushed up to me and began to touch my body, then left -as suddenly as he had come. Instantly I was inclined to resent this -treatment, and called to him as he turned: - -“What is all this about?” - -He did not stop to answer, and I was left to discover that he had -mistaken me for a comb-grower. Just what that meant I was soon brought to -understand. - -Hours passed and still I hung around the comb-builders, until I felt that -I had mastered the secret of the art. Then slowly I turned and made my -way back to my home cell, tired, but greatly pleased with my experiences. - -I suppose I must have slept, for with startling suddenness it dawned on -me that the night had passed. The faintest light was coming into our -hive, and over the whole colony there was ringing the early summons to -the field. The cry caught me and unconsciously I moved forward with the -workers, a solid stream of them making way to the entrance. I, too, -passed out, and once more—now the full dawn upon me—stopped upon the -alighting-board and flapped my wings, essaying flight, only to find that -I could not lift myself. - -I was distressed and sick at heart. I wanted to go—I knew not where; -but instead, there I was, an obstruction; and I could not immediately -re-enter the hive on account of the outward press of workers. The growing -light, and then the sudden burst of the sun, quite fascinated me. Besides -this, the flight of a thousand of my brothers, each taking the note of -the field-worker when about to embark, filled me with longing to go into -the wide world that spread around and that called me with infinitely -tender phrases. - -I suppose I was acting strangely, as well as blockading the entrance, -when one of the guards mildly remonstrated with me and suggested -my re-entering the hive. By this time practically all the veteran -honey-gatherers had gone, and indeed those first out were beginning to -return, chanting the song that tells of a successful foray into the -fields. So, following the mandate of the guard, I seized the opportunity -of falling in the wake of a laden bee. Instinctively I followed him. - -He rushed along like mad, darting into the hive, and then over the -bottom-board to a point where a bridge of wax stretched downward within -his reach. Up it he scampered, with me at his heels, until he came to the -very spot where the workers had been building cells the night before. -Finding one to his liking, he buried himself in it, and in a moment had -emptied his sac, depositing the honey at the bottom of the cell. Before -I could turn around from inspecting what he had done he had gone. He -appeared delighted to think he had been one of the first to return with -a load, and as he went out I heard him calling aloud to his fellows to -follow him, for he had found a new rich harvest field. - -I hurried along and reached the alighting-board in time to see him fly, -closely pursued by half-a-dozen eager workers. I rambled about on the -alighting-board, constantly buzzing my wings for I knew not what reason, -when I overheard one say: - -“There’s that Happy again!” - -It made no difference to me, for I was determined to stay to watch the -incoming bees, and presently the worker I had followed inside returned -and, at the briefest intervals, those that had gone with him. And now a -real sensation was astir. These half-a-dozen all began to cry aloud: - -“Hurry—hurry—honey—honey.” - -In the briefest space a multitude was flying over the field to I knew not -what rich storehouse. Indeed, every worker, on returning, was told the -great news, and from one I gathered that a colony was being robbed, that -something tremendous had happened. _The Queen had died!_ - -I knew not what robbery meant, nor had I ever heard the word _queen_. - -“What is a queen?” I asked. - -One of the guards stared at me impatiently. “You had better go inside.” - -I refused to comply with the suggestion; on the contrary, I remained -where I was, ever and anon flapping my wings, and presently to my -overpowering joy I felt my body being lifted off my legs, and without -thinking I rose in the air! It was a wonderful sensation. I hardly knew -what I was doing, but back and forth I flew about our hive, looking and -looking to make sure I should know it when I returned; for now, indeed, I -felt my soul bounding within me and that the wide world, upon which I had -yearningly gazed, was about to swallow me up. Back and forth I flew, ever -widening the distance, taking into view other white-faced hives and trees -and houses, until presently, in a long spiral I rose into the heavens. -Up and up I went toward the sun, glorying in the power of wings and the -infinite grandeur of the world that spread out below me. How far away -it seemed and how cool and green and inviting! I could hear around me -strange noises, mingled with the whirring of wings. The note of my hive -now and again faintly broke on my ears, and I knew that my brothers were -traveling the airy spaces, working ever toward a goal far removed from -thinking. - -I did not feel lonely at all, but after a time I decided to return to -my house to make sure that I knew the way. You would be surprised to -know how straight I came back to it. Down and down I dropped into the -bee-yard, and, turning right and left, without further thought I landed -on the alighting-board. Immediately a guard fell upon me, but passed me -without question. Then, with glee bubbling in my soul, I fled into the -hive and set up such a buzzing for joy as I think none ever surpassed. - - - - -[Illustration: CHAPTER FIVE - -Robbery] - - -Now that I had taken my first flight into the blue, I felt at last that -the world had truly opened for me, and that I was a real bee with duties -and responsibilities—and without hesitation I accepted them. Rushing -around in uncontrolled delight, I heard again the laden workers murmuring -about the great stores of honey they were taking. It seemed, from what I -could gather, that practically all the workers of the hive were directing -their course to this new, rich field. - -I was listening as hard as ever I might to all this converse, when an -important bee cried out: - -“Why don’t you get to work?” - -Up to that moment I had done nothing nor had I even then thought of it, -but at the suggestion I made off, following to the entrance and then -into the air a worker bound for the unknown treasure-field. I got off a -little more slowly than he, but to my surprise I found I could easily -outfly him. We had gone but a short distance when he began to descend, -and, with no ceremony, landed at the same instant on the alighting-board -of a strange hive where a thousand bees were struggling. I discovered -immediately that many of the bees around were strangers to me and that -all acted like mad—pushing, pulling, and fighting. Some were struggling -to get in and some to get out. I saw at once that those outward bound -were heavily laden with honey, and that they had to fight the hungry -bees scrambling for a taste of the nectar. I collided with an old fellow -heavily loaded and was about to attack him, when he hurled me aside. I -was now aflame with the passion of acquisition. Honey I must have, even -if it cost my life! - -I scrambled along with the rest to get in and finally succeeded. But -there the trouble began. Whether it was because I looked young or was -really ignorant of the procedure, the first thing I knew a bad-tempered, -elderly bee attacked me. I learned long afterward that he was one of the -last survivors of the colony, fighting to the end. First, he seized me by -the leg, but I kicked him off; then, undaunted, he got me by the wing in -such a way that I could not shake him, and the next thing I knew he was -about to sting me. Other bees were rushing pell-mell over us. I felt the -tiniest prick of his stinger, and then with a supreme effort I escaped -his clutches. I rushed away from the spot and soon came upon a batch -of honey over which it appeared ten thousand bees were quarreling and -fighting. Without thinking, I fell into the scrimmage and by some chance -finally landed on a half-filled cell, and into it I plunged. - -Here my troubles began afresh. Hundreds of bees piled on top of me and -all but drowned me in the honey I was intent on possessing. For a minute -my head was buried in it and I began to strangle. But by a mighty effort -I escaped. - -It was almost as difficult to get out of the hive as it was in; and on -my return journey a hungry, malevolent bee intercepted me and demanded -that I divide my load with him. On my refusing he seized me by a wing -and jerked me so violently that I thought he had all but torn it off. -I fought him from the start, but, he being a stalwart and I heavily -laden, he thrashed me almost into a lifeless state. To add to my terrible -mischance, another freebooter, more vicious than the first, joined -against me, and the two of them overcame me quickly and robbed me of my -load. They left me half senseless and I was only too glad to escape with -my life. - -I flew as straight as an arrow to my home, feeling outraged and -exhausted. After all, I was not powerful—not important. I was -crestfallen; but I did not even have to think of the direction or the -location of my house, and you may be assured I was glad to return to it, -if only to make sure that I was alive and knew the road. At the same time -I was still under the impression that I had some honey in my sac. Nobody -had taught me how to unload it, but I went forward to a cell. Imagine -how downcast I was to find that not an atom of honey had been left me! -I was infuriated; so resolved at once to try again. Hurriedly I went -to the place for another load, but found the bees had nearly all gone. -Once inside, I discovered that not a drop of honey remained, hence the -reason for their leaving. I was wandering about when a poor crippled bee -approached. Could this be one of the rascals that robbed me and who had -suffered a worse fate? - -“Won’t you have pity on me and let me go home with you?” he said, -sorrowfully. “I’m all alone in the world.” - -His tone and request cut me deeply; he was clearly no robber, for I saw -that he was broken-hearted and had but five legs—one of his basket-legs -was missing. And how wretched he looked! - -“Have you no home?” I asked, with compassion. - -“This was my home, but you and ten thousand like you have destroyed it. -There wasn’t much left of it, though, when our Queen-Mother died.” - -I felt guilty as a thief caught red-handed. Remorse was at my throat. - -“Yes,” I said, “you may go home with me. But tell me about your -Queen-Mother. What became of her?” - -Then he began a fascinating story which kept me rooted to the place, -desolate as it was. - -“Well, it was this way: One sunny afternoon, a long time ago, our -Queen-Mother went for a flight into the outer world, a thing she did but -rarely—and never returned. Have you ever lived in a house without a -Queen-Mother? You do not understand, then, what a terrible thing that is.” - -He stopped short and would say no more. - -“Please go on!” I urged. - -“Some day I’ll tell you all of it. It is a long story, but for us the -end was in sight. In the large economy of the universe our efforts were -futile. Better for us and for the great Life of the Bee that the honey -we had gathered should be conserved by strange colonies, and that our -short lives should be yielded up or dedicated to strengthening them, than -that it should be left rich booty to web-worms and mice. So it came to -pass, you and others found out our condition and sought our stores, as it -has been written you should. We fought at first, half-heartedly—as one -without friends or kinsmen or home will fight. You saw the end of the -battle. It is over. And now will you let me go home with you? You see -I have but five legs, but I can still work and help do the things that -remain to be done.” - -So absorbing had been his story, I quite forgot myself, and while I -answered, “I’m so sorry for you, and want you to come,” my thoughts were -far away. - -The things he had told me out of his life and out of the life of the -colony had gone deep in my breast. Turning from him, I looked around and, -lo! the hive was silent as death. Not a thing of life remained except -this poor, miserable, orphaned bee. Death had come, and now stood guard -over the portal of the little home where once a beautiful spirit had -brooded, and where some of the laws we may not understand had come to -fulfilment.... - -“Come with me,” I said, in a whisper. - -He followed, limping but uncomplaining. - -On the bottom-board we saw a number of dead bees which I had not noticed -on going in, I had been in such haste. - -“So many of my brothers are dead,” he murmured, “why should I want -to live? Because I am needed? You think I am needed? You think I am -commanded by the high powers to give my energies and my intelligence to -the problems that confront us? Perhaps that is true, and I shall bide by -the call and give my life to my new family.” - -We came at length to the entrance; I noticed that he turned and looked in -a dazed way at the things about him. It was a sad farewell. His little -brothers had gone. His tribe had perished. He should see his home never -again. - -Then I rose on my wings and he followed me ever so closely. A new chapter -in our lives had opened. - - - - -[Illustration: CHAPTER SIX - -CRIP] - - -Scarcely were we risen in the air when I discovered the Master walking -near my home. I seemed to know instinctively that he was our Master. -Towering into the air and walking with such majestic tread, he filled me -with wonder and admiration. Nor was I less interested in the Little One -that ran at his heels. Stories there were of these two, eddying about -the hive—of their kindness and also their malevolence. How mighty they -appeared! I had seen them but once before. That picture was still vivid. - -We were not long in reaching home. Without ceremony I lit on the -board and instantly my friend was beside me. At the same moment a -guard accosted him and seized him, recognizing him as an intruder. I -interfered, but almost unavailingly, for the guard was about to sting -him. The two of us escaped this guard only to be attacked by another, -which we beat off, and hurriedly entered the hive. I was almost certain -that yet others would question the stranger, and sure enough, we had -barely got inside before another guard summarily attacked him. Poor -fellow, with only five legs and tired from the combats of the day, he -could make but a poor fight. Again I rescued him, and again we raced into -the interior. And now, happily, our troubles were over. Without thinking, -I made straight for my cell, with “Crip,” as I began to call him, at my -heels. - -He seemed to realize that he was a stranger and that he owed his life to -me, for he clung to me as closely as possible. He seemed to know, too, -that the ground whereon I stood was sacred to me. He did not speak for a -time, nor did I. We simply hung limp on the comb, and rested. He broke -the silence: - -“You have a wonderful colony, I can see. I hope I shall grow into it as -though it were my own. Indeed, in a sense it is my own, for all bees are -sprung from the same source, and the life of the bee is kept alive by us, -each in his own cell. I know now that I shall grow into it. Listen to -that voice! How long it is since I heard a Queen-Mother sing!” - -I roused myself, somewhat confused. “Queen-Mother!” I stammered. - -“Yes. Won’t you take me to her?” - -I hardly knew how to answer; I had never seen her myself, although I knew -from Crip’s story and from some unknown source that there was somewhere a -reigning spirit. But my life had been so brief and I had already learned -so many things, I said, as lightly as I might, “Let us go.” - -He seemed to know the way to her. He hobbled along as best he might on -his five legs. He was now no longer suspected as an intruder, and we -marched without interruption. Presently we climbed through a hole in a -comb and came face to face with our Queen-Mother. - -I stopped, dazed, overcome by her serenity. The grace and magnificent -proportions of her body and the fire of her eyes held me entranced. I -shall not live long enough fitly to describe my emotions. There she was, -queenly and wonderful, and yet simple as any one of us. She approached us -and appeared to nod, as if to say, “I salute you, my children.” Then she -went on with her labors. - -I turned to Crip. He was speechless. - -Immediately we started back to our cell, for it was henceforth to be his -also. - -“It is strange,” he said. “I do not understand it. Life and death are in -her keeping, and yet she knows it not. You and I don’t count for much. -We pass like the leaves, but life everlasting lingers in her body—the -very spirit of things ranges through her. But I am content with my -insignificant place, to live my life, doing my duty from day to day.” - -I did not answer him. We fell silent as we made our way across the combs. - -“Suppose we take a turn in the woods,” he suddenly suggested, wheeling -about and heading for the door. “I have new bearings to get and you have -new lands to explore.” - -“I supposed you knew this country,” I ventured. - -“I do, but the way to this new home of mine must be learned.” - -Out into the air we hurried, but he flew back and forth many times before -our door. He wanted to make sure that he knew it; then, flying round and -round in ever wider circles, we mounted with ecstasy into the higher -reaches. Lake Espantoso, with its border of great oaks, lay below us like -a bar of silver; and the Master’s house stood like a sentinel beside the -white hives which, row on row, spread beneath us in the sun. - -“That prominent knoll,” said Crip, “is a thing to remember, if you are -returning late and flying low. And remember, too, that in that window of -the Master’s house a lantern burns. This may sometimes be a guide. But, -mark you, never fly into it, though you may be tempted. Better still, -get in before it is too dark. Just there by that row of hives is a tree -to remember. It is a glory in the spring with its yellow flowers, until -the cutting ants get it. They clip off the leaves and blossoms. But it -is an excellent land-mark, nevertheless. And there’s the Master,” went -on Crip, “and the Little One, and that horrid dog. That little boy sits -by for hours while the great one labors with some of us. The horrid dog -sleeps—I’d like to sting him. Things will go wrong—the Master sets them -to rights. He seems to know everything; and yet, when he took away some -of our honey, in spite of our having vast stores of it, we fought him. -The little he took harmed us not at all, and I suppose we fight him -because our brothers have done so for centuries. But I talk too much.” - -After a rather long flight, and much interesting converse, we reached our -door again. Crip’s experience with the guard was still fresh in his mind, -for he clung closely to me for protection. But the guard this time passed -him without a word. He had acquired the scent and the note of the hive, -and henceforth his life and all the energies of his body would be merged -with that of the colony. - - - - -[Illustration: CHAPTER SEVEN - -Crip, the Wise] - - -When we had returned to our cell we halted, and for a season remained -quiet. Indeed, we slept a tiny bit, as much as ever a bee can sleep at -a stretch, and then we fell into meditation. Among other things, I was -wondering what the Queen-Mother was doing when she popped her long, thin -body into each cell as she made her rounds. I could not understand and so -I called on Crip to explain. - -“Why, laying eggs!” he said, right sharply, as though annoyed at my -ignorance. - -“Well, what are eggs?” for I was still no wiser. - -“Come with me,” he said, and off we went across the combs. - -He did not stop until he reached the very spot where we had seen the -Queen. The odor of her was still strong thereabouts, but she had gone. - -“Now look, stupid!” Crip said. “At the bottom of each of the cells in -this section of comb is an egg.” - -I looked down into one and, sure enough, a small, thin, yellowish-white -egg was stuck squarely in the center of it. I looked into several other -cells, and each had its one egg. - -I shall never forget the story which he went on to unfold. The wonderful -cycle from egg to larva, from larva to bee, he explained in fascinating -detail. I saw at once that he was a real sage, that his knowledge was -boundless, and then to crown it he told me that even the Queen-Mother -herself had sprung from an ordinary egg, having been converted through -miracle into a queen ruling over this empire. Simply by feeding and -tending them differently—only the bees in their wisdom know how—the -egg which might develop into a worker or a drone, passing through a -metamorphosis, can be made to break from the dark cover of the cell the -personification of life eternal, as exemplified in the body and the life -of the Queen. - -I could not quite understand all these things, but I felt sure Crip was -telling the truth; and indeed I began to look up to him with increasing -admiration and wonder on account of the worlds of things he knew. - -We were silent awhile. There rose again for me the night hymn of the -hive. It penetrated me as not before; it had a new significance, a new -message—I had been visited with a revelation. The sight I had gained of -the Queen-Mother woke new and tremulous emotions within me—there was a -new meaning in life. - -Crip stirred rather sharply, breaking my train of thought. - -“What’s the matter?” I queried. - -“I’m tired holding on. We must get another place to rest. You see, with -only five legs the load of my body grows heavy.” - -With that we moved up the comb to the top of it, and there he spread -himself out with a little hum of content. And just then I developed a -curiosity to know how he had lost his leg. - -“You miss your leg, but do you suffer pain on account of it? And how did -it happen?” - -“That’s a short story. I was coming home late one day, well laden with -honey, when, without warning, one of those terrible black bee-hawks -darted for me and clutched me, sailing away to the nearest bush. He had -quickly rolled me up with his powerful legs and almost by the time he -lit he was ready to kill me with one thrust of his proboscis. Of course -I had struggled, but when one of those fellows gets his claws on you -it’s good-by. I had about ceased to struggle when suddenly there came a -tremendous shock, and the next moment I was rolling on the ground and -shaking myself free from the mutilated hawk. He had been torn to pieces -by some mysterious force, and my leg, my bread-basket leg, was gone. -At that moment the Master approached me; in his hands he held a long -black thing which I had seen emit fire on other occasions, and somehow -I suspected at once he had saved me. The little boy came hurriedly up, -stooped over me and helped release me, and in a moment I was circling -round to get my bearings. The little boy and the Master—and even the -dog—watched my movements with an expression of satisfaction on their -faces. I flew straightway home and was thankful still to be alive.” - -“Tell me more about this Master,” I begged, for I was now growing vastly -interested in his activities and in those of the Little One, and even the -dog which once I tried to sting, because he came so close to our hive. - -“Some say he is good—some say that he is bad. I only know him as the -chopper of weeds about our home and as my rescuer. Many times since the -day he saved me have I heard him shooting bee-hawks. Indeed, I had heard -the little thunder of his gun before that day, but I did not understand -its meaning. They say, too, that he takes away our honey—and he did take -some of ours once—and frightens us nearly to death with the prospect of -starvation. And they fall upon him and sting him, trying to drive him -away. But all this is useless, they report, since he comes armed with -fire and smoke. - -“Others tell of him that in the dark, cold days, if provisions run low, -he brings honey and closes the door against blizzards. But I know nothing -of this. I have not lived through a winter and I fear I shall never know -what it means.” - -Thus I became infinitely interested in the Master who passed from day -to day about the yard. But I was confused in mind about him. Somehow I -instinctively feared him and I always found myself ready to attack him, -as I explained to Crip. - -“There would be no use in that,” answered he. “Should you sting him, you -would achieve nothing. Instead, you would lose your life.” - -“How is that?” I cried, for I did not till then know I had a life—at -least I had never thought of it. - -“You can sting once, but unless you escape with your stinger, which is -rare, your life is sacrificed.” - -I seemed to know this and answered him nothing. - -“Is it not a strange fatality,” he continued, “that we should be given -stingers with which to defend ourselves and our homes, and yet, when -we make use of them, we lose our lives! Still, we are always ready to -strike, with no thought of death.” - -“What is death?” I asked of Crip. - -“I don’t know, except that once when the bee-hawk caught me I felt myself -going away. It grew dark and I heard the hum of wings that were strange -and wonderful. Somehow you go to sleep and forget.” - -“I have thought of death,” he went on. “I am old and battered, my days -are as the falling flowers when the frost is upon them, and the frost -soon will fall.” - -I waited awhile in silence, but he spoke no more. Soon he lay in that -buzzing hive, asleep, and I was not long in following him to where the -golden honey dripped in the garden of dreams. - - - - -[Illustration: CHAPTER EIGHT - -A Gleaner of Honey] - - -We awakened about the same time and began to stir about. The first thing -that happened was a new experience—the wax-pickers fell upon me and raked -and scraped me for the tiny bits of wax which now, on account of my -voracious appetite, had begun to grow in each of the rings marking the -under sections of my body. They were so rude that at first I was inclined -to resent their interference, which seemed to be mere meddling. But when -I looked at Crip and saw two busy wax-pickers fumbling over him, I began -to understand that this was part of a routine, and so I stood still until -they had finished. - -“They won’t bother with me much longer,” said Crip, sadly. “You see, when -one becomes old the wax grows thinly—so the pickers give over. But you! -They’ll get you. I have noticed that you are rather greedy about eating -honey. This means you’ll get fat and produce lots of wax.” - -“Tell me about wax and comb,” I begged of him. - -“Comb, my child, is made of wax; this is comb on which you are standing. -It is everywhere about you. The cups that hold our honey and our bread -are made of it. The cell in which you were born is of wax; and, besides, -it is used to stop the holes in our house. Of course there are different -kinds of comb, depending on the use to which it is put. Why, these sheets -of comb with their six-sided cells are wonderful in their economy, in -their plan and symmetry. The cell we build is perfect. No other structure -would serve our purposes, combining such strength and capacity. The cell -is indispensable to the life of the bee!—otherwise he could not exist. So -don’t let me see you make ready to fight the next time the wax-pickers -approach, and they’ll soon be after you again.” - -I answered nothing. I was wondering in what far age we had learned to -build the six-sided cell, and in what tiny brain it had been conceived. -They fit so perfectly, I stood quite still marveling at the harmony of -it all and wondering how many things there remained for me to learn. At -every turn I had been confronted with something new. And was it to be so -to the end? What could the end be, of which Crip frequently spoke? - -“How old are you?” I asked. - -“Two months—glorious with flowers, but ending in disaster.” - -“What disaster?” - -“Well, you saw the close of it—the death of our colony.” - -“Yes, I remember,” I said. But he was so wise I could scarcely believe -that he was but two months old, for he seemed so tattered of wing and -battered of body! - -Without thinking what we were about, we drew near the door. Groups of -workers were banked about the entrance, waiting impatiently to be away at -the first streaks of dawn. Presently a note like a bugle-call sounded, -and immediately the face of things was changed. By twos and threes and -fours the workers took wing and scurried into the fields. - -A dull gray light lay on the world; the air was damp and moved lazily -out of the east; the dew had fallen thick on the flowers and now began -to twinkle from myriad angles. Crip and I had left the hive at the same -instant, but once on the wing I forgot all about him and flew like mad -this way and that until I caught a whiff of fragrance from an unexplored -meadow, and thither I hastened. Strange and thrilling sensation! I had -not until now felt the joy of dipping into the flowers and searching out -their honey-pots. It was a field of late sunflowers, and all of them -had their faces toward the east, eager to look upon the sun. Joyfully -they waved in the breeze and beckoned to one another as if to say: “Good -morning. How glorious is the sun, our king!” In spite of the dew on their -faces, some of them already were wearing the brand of the hot summer, -which had all but gone and left them beseeching of autumn her tender -graces. - -“I am old and frayed,” I heard one say, “and these mornings chill me, but -my work is done. The heart and soul of me are here; I shall not pass; I -shall endure; my seed shall spring up to brighten the world.” - -“But I am young,” a tender blossom said, “and I shall be cut off. The -frost will slay me and I shall have rattled down to dust ere my soul has -developed its immortal parts.” - -At the moment I was taking honey from its lips, and I felt a quivering as -if its heart fluttered. - -“Dear little flower,” I said, “you are living your life; you cannot die; -you will be swallowed up in the universal spirit of things. Your face -has spread a glamour of gold in the world; your honey has nourished a -thousand winged things; your scented breath has floated far and has -carried blessings into silent places. Memory of you will linger; it -will be preserved by the things you have fed, by the things you have -gladdened. And, too, I promise that I shall remember you!” - -“How can you remember me,” the flower asked, “when you, too, are doomed?” - -“What!” I cried. “Doomed! Why, I am young, I am swift, I am beautiful, I -am glorious!” - -“Yes, and so am I. But we pass.” - -“You are wise for so young a flower,” spoke up the elder blossom. “Both -of you are of the heavens; both have your lives before you in this tiny -garden, ere you return to the golden fields that spread out toward the -sun. You are immortal.” - -Just then I saw one of the petals blow away from the face of the elder -flower. It fluttered and fluttered and finally fell to the earth. -Scarcely had it struck the ground when something with a long, thin body -and active legs seized it and began struggling to draw it through the -grass, intent on some mysterious purpose. I was quite absorbed, and from -my post of vantage on the breast of the floweret I followed the movements -of the thing that tugged at the petal. I had never seen this thing before -and I was wishing for Crip, when, behold! he appeared. - -“What are you doing?” he cried at me. “How many loads have you gathered? -What are you staring at?” - -He had submerged me with questions. I answered none of them. I had, -indeed, forgotten my work momentarily, so absorbed had I been in the talk -of the flowers. - -“Have you a load? Let’s go,” cried he. - -I was ready, truly, but I could not refrain from asking him about this -strange animal that pulled the leaf so sedulously through the grass. - -“An ant!” Crip answered, rather glumly. - -“Do you see what he is about?” - -“Yes he is gathering his winter stores. A time comes when he must go -indoors and he must have food even as you and I. Come now, let’s be off.” - -I looked down at the ant struggling with his burden and then at the -disheveled flower, casting a last glance at the tender face which had -yielded up honey to me, wondering at the strangeness of it all. - -“Come on,” cried Crip, rising on wing. - -I did not speak, but followed him. I flew at his heels until he began -to fag a bit and then I came up alongside, careful, however, not to -outdistance him. I soon saw that he had a heavier load than I, and I -felt ashamed, but I knew this had come through my having wasted a few -minutes, and I resolved then and there that the next time I should be -first. - -Another thing I noticed, we were flying very low, so near the earth we -almost brushed the tops of the bushes. I asked Crip the reason. - -“The wind,” he answered, in better humor than could have been expected. -“Don’t you feel that heavy head current? If you should go up it would -be a hard fight home with these loads. You see, there are currents and -currents,” he went on, “and you must use your wits. Take the current that -blows your way. Profit by whatever nature bestows.” - -Almost at once I saw the yard with its white hives, like dots, and -the Master with the Little One and the dog that seemed always with -them. The next moment Crip and I were dropping down to our hive. I was -overjoyed when I fell upon the alighting-board, and could not restrain my -exuberance of feeling. So I bowed my head humbly as best I might with the -load I carried, uttering a hymn of thanksgiving—the very hymn, Crip told -me, that every worker for a million years had uttered on returning to his -hive with his first load of honey. I cannot explain, but some mysterious -force seized me, compelling me to bow my head and to sing. I should -have done it had it cost my life. Such is the law of the hive, just as -there is the law of the jungle. I did not know why I was so happy, but -something bubbled over in me, and the very intoxication of it finally -sent me running madly to deposit my load in a waiting cell, and once more -to take wing for the field of the flowers of the sun. - - - - -[Illustration: CHAPTER NINE - -A STORM] - - -On my way back the first rays of light caught the topmost branches of the -trees and gilded the flying clouds in the east. Far in the west, black -and forbidding masses of cloud were gathering, and the wind, I observed, -had shifted its course. Again I had lost Crip, and I was regretful, -for there were questions which only he could answer. But I flew all -the faster for being alone, and soon found the very place and the very -flowers I had visited before. Speedily I took my load, but I could not -fail to return to the flowers I had come to love. Other petals from the -elder had fluttered away, due either to the eager foraging of bees or to -the gusty impatience of the wind. The younger had opened wider her heart -to the sun. - -“I’ve been waiting for you,” she said, sweetly. “All that I have I yield -up to you gladly. This is my end. Oh, how glorious is life! How splendid -to be able to give of one’s store so that life shall go on eternally!” - -“Yes, eternally,” echoed the elder blossom. “Even I, in dying, leave my -seed behind to follow the summer suns through numberless ages; and I -breathe into the world an imperishable fragrance. It shall be wafted to -the utmost bounds; it shall gladden the hearts of the lowliest. Though it -be scattered by the winds, it shall not cease to exist.” - -By this time I had filled my honey-sac, and, after flying three times -around these two well-beloved blossoms, I made for home. I was depressed -by the talk which I had heard. I could not wholly comprehend it, and I -wanted to consult Crip. - -I was not long reaching our hive, for the wind seemed to get under me -and literally to blow me on. I deposited my treasure, hurried out again, -and once more headed for the sunflower-field, where I quickly gathered a -load. Then straight for home. It was difficult flying now, because the -wind was in my face. I rose higher, following Crip’s advice, but still it -blew and almost beat me back. The black clouds which I remembered having -seen in the west seemed almost over me, and suddenly terrific noises -crashed around. It grew dark and great flashes of fire tore the heavens -apart and blinded me. - -This terrified me. I knew not its meaning, but instinctively I fled -homeward. But my progress was slow, and I had not gone far when again the -whole world seemed to tremble, shaken through and through by the most -violent rumblings conceivable. It grew so dark I almost stopped in my -flight, not sure of my way. At this moment of hesitation something struck -me squarely in the back, almost knocking me down. It had been a great -drop of water, and almost immediately others began to pelt me. Soaking -wet and tossed by the gale, I was forced to alight. As I dropped downward -I saw nothing but black shadows, and presently I was dashed into a great -tree. I seized a branch that offered shelter, which proved to be none too -well protected against the blast that now drove the rain in solid sheets. -I was cold, and clambered around to the under side of the limb, and -there, feeling none too secure, I grudgingly deposited some of my honey -in a crevice. By lightening my load I was better able to keep my balance; -but so gusty was the blast that it whipped the rain all over me, and I -was unable to find a spot that was dry. I began to climb from one branch -to another in the hope of reaching a safer haven, but, alas! none was to -be found. - -Worse things, too, were awaiting me. I was crying for Crip when the -branch to which I clung suddenly snapped. Down and down it fell while I -clung to it. I was too cold and wet to try to take wing, and presently -the branch crashed into a swirling stream of water. At first I was -entirely submerged. It seemed an interminable time that I stayed under -the water; but presently I came to the surface and caught my breath. Cold -as I was, I still clung with all the tenacity of my being to the floating -branch that was hurried onward by the raging torrent. I was beginning to -feel a little more comfortable when over went the branch again in the -seething water, and again I seemed to go down to immeasurable depths. -This time I felt my legs giving way in the rush of the waters. My head -swam and I strangled, but just as it seemed all over with me the branch -again came to the surface. I caught my breath, shifted slightly my -footing, and hurriedly emptied my honey-sac. This gave me more confidence -in spite of the numbness that had nearly overcome me from the cold and -water. There I sat shaking, awaiting the next turn of the branch, which -now seemed merely to be bobbing up and down in the waters. The wind was -still whistling through the trees, the rain was falling in torrents, and -the thunder rumbled in unabated violence. - -How long I clung to the branch in desperation I do not know. But after a -time the rain ceased, the wind fell to a whimper among the bushes, and -the darkness broke along the horizon. It began to grow a little brighter. -Imagine my joy, therefore, to find that my perch was now quite clear of -the flood waters, the branch safely nestling in the top of a bush. In a -short space it grew warmer, and I took courage; I began to dry myself and -to preen my wings. The light gained, and before long, after trying out -my strength, I found that I could again mount into the air, and with one -wide sweep I made for home. - - - - -[Illustration: CHAPTER TEN - -The Aftermath] - - -I flew with all my speed, and I was almost overcome with joy when I saw -my house. I noticed, too, as I approached, the Master bending over a -neighboring hive, and I wondered what was the matter. But on alighting I -was too happy to inquire about anything. I rushed inside and sang a song -of thanksgiving at my deliverance. - -Then I bolted straight for my cell to find my beloved Crip. He welcomed -me with joy. - -“Well,” said he, “I feared you were lost. You ought to have come home -before the storm broke. But I’m happy you escaped. The next time you see -great piles of cloud, make haste homeward. Your life is too precious to -lose through stupidity.” - -He came close and gave me a kiss, drawing his tongue across my mouth. -The taste of honey excited me, and immediately I dropped into a cell -and helped myself. I still felt stiff and cold from my experiences, and -complained to Crip. - -“It might have been worse,” he said, when I had told him all that -had befallen me. “If you live long enough you will have some real -adventures,” he concluded. - -I was inclined to resent his comment, for I felt that I should never -again pass through such a storm and survive. - -“Do you know what a real storm is, Crip?” I asked, with offended pride. -But he ignored my query. - -“Listen,” he said, suddenly. “Do you hear that alarm?” - -A note I had heard before suddenly ran through the hive. I could not at -first remember the occasion, but instantly both Crip and I were off. -By the time we were out I remembered what the sound meant. It was the -robber-call. There was honey at hand—pure honey for the taking, and off -we went. - -It was just where the Master stood. He had righted a hive which had -blown down in the storm, and was endeavoring to place a net over it, but -already thousands of bees were swarming about. - -“It is too late,” Crip said to me, as we lit on the bottom-board and -hurried into the hive. “They are dead. I see it all. The rains undermined -the foundations and the hive toppled over into the ditch. The storm -waters crept up and up, submerging it.” - -A little honey remained in the old combs, and we were soon busy with its -salvage. We helped ourselves to one load only, for when we returned the -Master had covered over the hive with his net. We flew about the place -for a while, hoping to find some tiny hole through which we might creep; -but none could be found. The net was covered with scrambling bees. - -“Did all the bees drown?” I asked. - -“Probably,” he answered. - -“Here’s one on the ground that seems to be alive.” - -We both lit beside the little fellow struggling to dry himself. We -approached and licked him all over, and when he could fly Crip begged him -to come home with us, since his own colony had ceased to exist. - -Right gladly he followed us; but when we had reached the entrance he -seemed to realize the seriousness of daring to enter a strange hive. -He drew back, but we urged him, standing one on either side. Almost -immediately, however, a guard scented him and flew at him. Crip headed -him off, but another quickly attacked from the same quarter. He caught -the stranger, and it was all I could do to save him. When we finally -freed him of the advance guards, we said to the stranger, “Run for your -life!” - -We three rushed like mad into the hive and escaped further interference, -and never again was he questioned as to his identity. - -He marched with us straight up to our cell, and thenceforward he claimed -it for his own. - -“What shall we call him?” I asked of Crip, when we had left him to -recover and were once more on our way to the fields. - -“Let’s see. Suppose we call him Buzz-Buzz.” - -“Excellent!” I cried. - -So, Buzz-Buzz it was, then and ever after. - -Crip and I reached the entrance and looked about us. Mountainous black -clouds still frowned, and in the distance thunder rumbled. It was much -brighter, but still the sun was hid and a haze of mist hung about the -world as far as eye could see. - -“We cannot safely go yet,” cried Crip. “The storm might break again. -Besides, there is no honey in the fields; it has been washed away by -the rains. It will be several hours before a trace can be found; even a -day or two will pass ere some of the flowers fill their cups. The rain -destroys the flow of honey for a time, and too much rain will cut off the -crop entirely.” - -While we were talking Buzz-Buzz approached. “Well,” he said, “you ran -away and left me, but I warn you that when there are things to do you -will find me close to you.” - -Presently we all rose on our wings, for the rain seemed to have spent -itself and the wind in the catclaw tree had fallen to a whisper. The -three of us flew, for a while keeping closely in touch, but I was -determined to guide, and had set my mind on seeing my sunflower-field. -I feared, and, as it proved, rightly, that the floods had swept them -away. On reaching the spot where the beautiful flowers had grown, we -found it a quagmire full of broken stalks. Nothing was there to remind of -the fragrant and glorious garden which only this day had displayed its -choicest blossoms to gladden the earth. And now all had vanished. - -I said not a word, but Crip seemed to divine the reason which inspired -my flying round and round about the spot where I had gathered my first -load of honey and where I had heard the fascinating speech of the flowers -of the sun. He circled about with me, while Buzz-Buzz, puzzled at our -actions, sailed in wider curves. He did not lose sight of us, however, -and presently joined us again. - -“What’s all this about?” he queried. - -“Why, only to-day this spot was wonderful with flowers. Look at it now!” -I had spoken. - -“That is nothing extraordinary,” observed Crip. “It is only a chapter out -of any life you choose. They had achieved all the things for which they -were sent into the world. They were ready to go.” - -It was hard for me to think that the tender little blossom which had -given me honey had filled its full scope of existence. It seemed fit for -days of service. What a pity that it was not permitted to radiate its -beauty in a world all too barren! - -We said very little more, but made for home. This must have been -instinctive, for suddenly we found the darkness descending upon us like a -flood. - - - - -[Illustration: CHAPTER ELEVEN - -The Fight with the Web Worms] - - -We reached home quickly and were making our way along the combs, when I -was accosted by a pretentious bee. - -“It’s your turn to nurse. Come with me. This shall be your section. These -little ones are to be fed to-night.” - -“Well, with what shall I feed them?” I asked, impulsively, somewhat -irritated to think that I, a honey-gatherer, should be set at such a task. - -In answer to my question I got only a look; but I shall not forget it—it -was withering. I felt ashamed of myself; and I resolved never again to -question an assignment of duty. - -Immediately I set about my task. Without thinking, I peeped into two or -three cells and found that the bees allotted to me were but four days -old. Miraculous as it may seem, while I knew nothing about preparing food -for the young, I fell to it with zest. Taking a supply of honey from one -cell, I sought one stored with pollen; and there, without ceremony, I -began to mix honey and bread, making a thin paste to which I had to add -ever so little water. Then I placed the least bit of it in each of the -cells of my section. The tiny worm-like bees began to wriggle, so I knew -at once that I had succeeded in my task. - -Several days now rolled away in comparative idleness. The great storm -had completely washed out the supplies of honey, leaving the flowers -draggled and broken. We busied ourselves with chores about the hive and -with flights into the fields, ever on the scout for sweets. For my part, -I was set to filling up a hole in the uppermost corner of the hive. At -the moment it was serving as a ventilator. A little stream of air was -constantly flowing out of it; but the cold weather was on its way and the -time had come to stop the hole. With winter once fallen, it would be too -late. - -“The mesquite-trees are full of gum,” said the dear old fellow who set me -to my task. “Hurry and bring home a good supply. I hear you are a capital -hand at this sort of thing.” - -So I went swiftly forth, and soon I found a crystal drop of gum on a -mesquite-tree. I bit off scraps of it quite easily, and soon had my -basket-legs filled with the gum; and it required only a moment to return -and pack it in the hole in the hive. - -“You’re a clever fellow,” said the old director. “But I see bits of gum -have fallen on the bottom-board and already there are accumulations which -afford excellent hiding-places for web-worms. Go and clean them out, if -you please.” - -I went promptly, and sure enough, chips from my patching and from many -others and scraps of comb had gathered in the corner, and I found myself -facing a considerable undertaking. Time after time I seized scraps in my -mandibles and flew away with them, dropping them outside. - -I was far from the end of my labors when suddenly the ugliest thing I had -ever seen burst out on me. It was a long, white-brown worm, which I had -uncovered in the débris. It wriggled away as though aware of danger. - -I was standing by, irresolute, when I heard a call, from I knew not what -source. - -“Why don’t you seize him, coward!” - -I was not a coward, but I could not make up my mind what to do. But -the little rascal that had scolded me knew, and fell upon the monster -manfully. - -Over and over the worm turned, writhing like a beast in torment, and -suddenly it twisted itself quite out of the clutches of its enemy and -made for a cell in the nearest comb. - -Up to this point I had taken no hand in the fight, but now I joined in -the pursuit. In the mean time the worm had escaped and was trying to hide -in a cell. - -We stopped for a moment, the two of us, peering at him, wondering what -next to do. At least I was wondering, when my mentor spoke out sharply. - -“You’re a poor excuse for a bee! If you had helped we should have done -for him by this time. We have still a chance to save ourselves. Now, -when I dive in upon him, he will probably rush out, throwing me from the -combs. Then you must do your work. Hold him until I come, and between us -we can manage him.” - -“Shall I sting him?” I asked. - -“No, you idiot! It’s not so desperate as that. You ought to know that -only in a great emergency should a bee sacrifice his life. Now mind you; -here I go!” - -With that he lurched forward, and instantly back he came, the worm -plunging along with him. I also seized the intruder, and the three of -us dropped to the floor. Round and round we were thrown until I thought -I was about to be beaten to death, but I had made up my mind to die -rather than have fresh slurs cast upon my courage. I am doubtful whether -we could have won the battle if two other active bees had not come to -our assistance. The four of us soon had the breath out of the worm’s -wriggling body, and then we dragged him to the front of the hive. After -vain efforts to fly away with him in the burial fashion of our people, we -found the best we could do was to drop him to the ground from the edge of -our board. - -I was quite out of breath, and stood panting on the spot, when, lo! from -the clouds dropped Crip. - -“What’s the matter?” he inquired. - -“Nothing much. We’ve just captured a great worm—one of our enemies. There -he lies on the ground.” - -Crip walked to the edge of the board and looked down. “Why, he isn’t -dead.” - -I looked, and, sure enough, he seemed to be alive. But on closer -inspection I saw that a multitude of small black creatures had taken -possession of the body. - -“He is dead for certain,” I said. “Some bugs have seized him for prey.” - -Crip looked again. “Why, those are black army ants,” he exclaimed; “one -of the worst enemies a bee can meet. Sometimes, when they are hungry, -they rush into the hive and help themselves. It is most difficult to deal -with them. They nab you by the leg, when they do not sting you, and you -cannot free yourself from their deadly grip.” - -I looked at Crip in silence. Was there no end to perils? - -“Let us hope they’ll travel on,” he added. “There’s plenty of food abroad -for them. But tell me, where did you find that worm?” - -“Back in the far corner. Come with me. I was cleaning out the débris when -I came upon him.” - -“Well, did you finish your task?” - -I had quite forgotten it. I had been so absorbed in the fight that the -original undertaking had gone out of mind. - -“Then come on. I’ll help you.” - -With that Crip led off, limpingly. I followed by his side, amazed at his -speed. - -Soon we came to the place. Each of us seized a bit of the débris, and -away we went to deposit it far from the entrance to our home. - -“I see where your worm came from,” Crip observed. “There’s a hole in -the board, and he found it, then crept in stealthily and hid in this -little heap of rubbish. I’m a bad guesser, or we’ll find another here any -minute.” - -And sure enough. Crip seized a piece of comb, and, upon dragging it away, -out sprang another worm, even more forbidding than the other. - -Crip was the first to spy him, and, valiant warrior that he was, seized -him instantly. I attacked him, also, with all my might. But the worm, a -full-grown one, and twice as big as both of us, simply flung us about -and thrashed us unmercifully. He quite knocked me to bits; but I never -relaxed my hold, nor did Crip. It was a poor showing that we were making, -when several guards rushed to our assistance. The fight was soon over and -the monster lay still. - -“He’s dead,” said one of the new-comers. “Out with him.” - -We all fell to, dragging him along. It took the combined energies of four -of us to move his huge form. - -At last we arrived at the edge of our alighting-board, and down we -dropped him to the tender mercies of the black ants, who immediately -swarmed over him. One could almost imagine that they thanked us for the -delicacy we had tossed them. I wondered what the ants thought of us, if -they thought at all. I had become particularly interested in those big -red ones that ran along the tiny trail skirting our home. - -I was looking down at the worm, covered with the little black ants, when, -in a final paroxysm, he flounced violently, scattering the little army -that beset him. But once again they fell upon him, and presently they -had cut him entirely to pieces, carrying away every scrap for a feast. - -In the economy of things, these worms had grown and fattened on the -refuse of our hive, and now they had become food in their turn for a host -of tiny creatures which roamed the earth below, all this seemingly in -accordance with some unknown law. - -I stood there watching them for some time, until the last ant made off, -following with unerring aim the trail of his fellows. Soon they were -lost to sight. It seemed to me that this last one disappeared under a -log where the Master often sat. I wondered what relation there might -be between them, if in some mysterious way they worked together, for I -remembered that Crip had told me that not only the Master, but even the -ants, sometimes raided our hives, taking our honey. I turned to ask him -to explain, but he was not to be seen among the bees swarming upon the -board. I must find him. - - - - -[Illustration: CHAPTER TWELVE - -The Wounding of Crip] - - -Back to the field of battle I hastened. - -“Tell me,” I cried in distress, for Crip was lying quite still on the -floor, “what is the matter?” - -“Ah, I fear I am done for at last.” - -Grieved by his words, I rushed up to him, saluting him, pressing my -tongue to his lips, praying for his life. I felt him all over, and at -last came to a little moist spot on his body, and realized that he had -lost his last basket-leg. I wiped his eyes, and came close to him to warm -him a bit, for he seemed cold and almost lifeless. - -“Go your way,” he murmured, dejectedly. “Leave me quite alone. My work -is done; I shall pass. Remember me sometimes when you cleave the air and -salute the sun and our mysterious Master.” - -By this time I was overcome with sorrow. My poor dear friend, the very -personification of wisdom, seemed passing out of my life. - -“No—don’t—please—don’t talk so mournfully!” I cried. “You will get well. -Do! I so want you to stay with me.” - -At this he seemed to stir a little and, with an effort, raised himself on -his remaining legs. - -“I cannot walk, you see. I cannot be sure of holding my weight on the -combs, even if I am not bleeding to death.” - -I was so shocked that it had not occurred to me to stanch his wound; but -instantly I fell to it most vigorously. - -“That will help,” he said. “Do you think I have done well with my life?” -Crip asked. “Do you think I have helped our people?” - -I answered that he had been wonderful—that he had worked faithfully for -two houses, and all for the betterment of our race—the Bee. - -“You really think me deserving? Then I am happy.” - -He seemed suddenly to take on new life, and began to flap his wings for -joy. - -After a little pause he again flapped his wings violently. I did not -understand. - -“I still can fly!” he exclaimed. “I can fly! Go now, finish your work,” -he commanded. “Perhaps I shall yet be able to labor for a little; but I -want to be as much as possible with you. Go now.” - -I went at his word, but when I came to the place of the débris, no scrap -remained. My fellow-workers, alarmed at the news of the worms, had -fallen upon it and borne it all away. - -Almost without thinking, I moved slowly toward the door of the hive, for -the afternoon was sultry and there now seemed nothing to do. Indeed, when -I reached the outside the bees were heaped on the board, and they clung -in great masses to the front of the hive. - -“What idlers!” thought I. But I quickly realized that there was nothing -in the fields to gather, and further, I knew that our hive was well -stored with bread and honey against any possible contingency. - -I made my way through the crowd, and presently I, too, was seized with -the fever of sleep, and, taking my place among a group that clung to the -uppermost front of the hive, I soon fell asleep. - -How long I slept I know not, but when again I roused myself a summer moon -was streaming above us, big and gloriously bright. The little dots of -stars that glinted through were almost lost in the sea of light. I could -hear the night hymn of the hive clearly, just as long ago I heard it for -the first time. It was the low, murmured music of a thousand voices. -This hymn of the night was like the throbbing of a muffled Æolian harp. -Mingling with its harmonies rose the dull whirring of many wings set to -the task of driving the sweet night air into the heart of the hive, to -render it tolerable for the little ones dreaming in their cells against a -day of awakening, and for our precious Queen-Mother, brooding through her -watches without end. - -Late in the night the air grew chilly, and one by one we drifted inside. -I had been one of the first, for I bethought me of Crip, whom I had left -disconsolate and battered from his fight with the worm. Returning to our -old haunt, he was nowhere to be found. Then I went to the spot of the -combat and there he was, more or less chilled and still sore from the -loss of his leg. - -“I thought you had forgotten me,” was his greeting. - -“I forget you? Not while I live. I was outside in the night.” - -“And the south wind blew? And there were stars?” he asked. “I want to -look upon them once more. Help me, for I can only crawl now. My body can -scarcely be carried by those four little legs, all that I have left. I -don’t know how soon I shall be done for, and then—and then—” - -He struggled pitifully in order to reach the front. Try as I might, I -could be of no assistance to him. But by dint of perseverance he finally -gained the threshold and gazed into the night. The moon had drifted far -toward the west, and already the morning star shone with transcendent -brilliancy. The south wind breathed ever so softly through the chaparral, -as it made its way to some hidden goal; and near the borders of the lake -a coyote, in staccato treble, gave warning that the dawn was near. - -Crip said nothing, nor did I. How useless are words when there is perfect -understanding. He came close to me, however, and put his face as near -mine as he might, as though he wished to look into the very depths of my -eyes. - -“It is well,” he said. “I know.” - -Then he turned and dragged himself into the hive. I followed closely. How -sad it was to see so great a soul chained in so broken a body. I stayed -by him, cheering him and encouraging him, until the bugle of the morning -sounded. - -“Now you must go,” he commanded. “You have your work to do. Mine is -nearly finished.” - -I took a turn in the fields, but there was nothing to report, save -the discovery that the white brush was ready to bloom, and that the -sage-brush and the broomweed promised honey. - -Again, for a number of days there was little to do. Toward the noon hour -the September sun blazed with midsummer intensity and the winds were -stifling. This meant that a deal of water was consumed. I was assigned -to help. So, back and forth to the lake I went, ever returning with my -sac filled to bursting. The young bees clamored for water, and it was a -delight to see them scramble for a drink. Again, the front of the hive -was packed with bees idling their day away, if, indeed, it can be said -that they were idle when there was nothing to be done. - -Another night passed as before and still another day. Then the news -resounded over the hive that the white brush was opening and that honey -was in the field! There was only the meagerest supply the first day, -but hungry tongues searched out the white tiny bell-shaped flowers. The -next day the flow was heavier, and the third day we began to carry such -quantities that the colony began “to develop a sort of delirium. Every -nook and cranny was being filled, when a strange sound echoed over the -hive. - -“What does this mean?” I queried of Buzz-Buzz. - -“I don’t know. Let’s find Crip. He can tell us.” - - - - -[Illustration: CHAPTER THIRTEEN - -The Swarming Fever] - - -We found him at once. “What does this mean?” I cried. - -“It means,” said he, “that, late as the season is, the swarming fever has -seized the colony.” - -“Why?” we cried. - -“Well, we have so much honey and there is so much in the field and the -colony so strong, it can easily spare a force of pioneers to begin a new -colony. Here is the working out of destiny controlling the very life of -the bee.” - -Crip spoke enthusiastically, and both Buzz-Buzz and I were fascinated by -his story. - -The first thing I knew I, also, was seized with the enthusiasm. -Queen-cells had been started—half a dozen at least. I laid hold and -helped draw out the comb to build up a huge cell, where, in the -mysterious processes of time, a Queen would appear! - -Almost against her wishes, the Queen-Mother deposited eggs in the various -cells and began, under mild protest, to expand her brood-chamber in -anticipation of the promised exodus of her children. While she did not -fear that enough would go to imperil the existence of her own colony, -she doubted the wisdom of the enterprise. She discouraged in every way -possible the ardor of the workers who continued to bring in honey until -there was no longer space to store it. Indeed, they crowded the Queen so -that she was driven to despair. The very space she had set aside for her -brood-chamber for the winter was encroached upon and heaped with bread -and honey, but for the nonce there was no stopping them. - -Crip said: “You are crazy; it is too late in the season to swarm; it -means extinction.” - -But one replied: “It is the law! There is a chance for the swarm to -survive, and the chance must be taken; particularly when the parent -colony shows its ability to survive.” - -“Truly said,” added Crip. “I merely wanted to find whether you knew what -the higher law compels.” - -But where would the swarm begin a home? This question now began to be -asked. It seemed that nobody thought of the great Master who sat for -hours under the mesquite-tree. Would he not provide a house? - -The next day Buzz-Buzz came to me, greatly excited. “You and I and -others are to go into the woods and search for a home for the swarm!” - -That was the order. It was enough—we went. - -We seemed to know that the only place to look for a home was among the -great oaks that bordered the lake, and thither we betook ourselves. We -flew from tree to tree, exploring every hole we could find in the hope of -discovering a hollow big enough to house a swarm. Three days we spent in -vain. On the fourth we found one, and with great joy we returned home and -reported. Immediately a hundred bees or more were assigned to prepare the -hollow tree for a habitation. Buzz-Buzz and I led the way back, and all -hands fell to cleaning out the cobwebs and the débris of decayed wood. -Several days were spent in this undertaking, and finally the word was -passed that the new home was ready. - -But things were not ready with the parent colony. No Queen had emerged -from her cell. From hour to hour the bees marched by impatiently, waiting -for the “click-click” of her mandibles and for sight of them piercing the -wax door to the cell. And there was much speculation as to which of the -half-dozen possible Queens would first emerge. Finally, one day, at high -noon, the rumor ran over the hive that a Queen had been born, and the -excitement became intense. “A Queen! A Queen!” - -Crip and I forced our way through the crush to the spot where the Queen -was surrounded by a joyous multitude. He, finally, on account of his -lameness, was compelled to abandon his efforts to pay his homage to the -new-born mother. But I, nothing daunted, persisted, and presently came -near enough to feel her presence. I, too, sang fervently, for a new hope -had risen. Soon in the vast forest of the world a new colony would be -planted to aid in carrying on the eternal work of the bee. - -At another corner of the hive I heard a different sound. It was the wail -of a Queen that was being destroyed. I hurried toward her, but somehow -felt no pity for her. A great cluster of bees completely enveloped her; -this was the mode of taking the royal life. All the remaining cells with -their occupants had been cut down, and soon there remained in all the -hive but the one mother and the one daughter. I came upon the destroyed -cells, torn and empty, and could not help mourning the death of the royal -creatures they had housed. Perhaps there had been but minutes between the -births of the Queens, but those minutes had been fatal to the last. - -Preparations went steadily on for the day of the exodus. The new Queen -took her first flight successfully; and then came the mating! Only -a few drones had been permitted to escape the massacre of a month -earlier—tolerated on the chance of a lost or a dead Queen—borne with -against a belated mating. - -“How wonderful,” Crip observed, “that these things should be provided -for—and how close are life and death!” - -It was a hot afternoon when the time came for the nuptial flight, and it -lacked the wild glamour of an earlier one that I had witnessed. On the -first occasion there were literally thousands of drones that went up -toward the heavens in search of the one radiant thing in the world. And -they had all returned save one immortal, who had found and won the Queen, -only to lose his life! Compared with the first flight, this last seemed -commonplace. I should have foregone the opportunity of witnessing the -thin procession, bound on the momentous journey of uniting two lives, so -that the thread of existence might not be cut short for the bee. - -I groped about impatiently, awaiting news of the bridal party. It was -not long delayed, for soon there were sounds of rejoicing throughout the -hive; and now the last preparations had been ended and the day was at -hand for the great adventure. - -Round and round the hive went the signal that on the morrow the swarm -should go forth to its home in the woods. Quietly and with no bickerings, -the tallies were laid—this one should go, this one should stay—there was -in no case dispute or contest. Each bee accepted the issue with all the -grace of a fatalist. I was one of them. - -Really, I was greatly disappointed not to have been chosen to go, for -I had been one of the pioneers and had helped find and prepare the new -home in the live-oak by the clear waters of the beautiful lake. It was a -bitter disappointment, but I uttered no word of complaint. When I came up -with Crip I found he, too, had been left behind. - -“Why shouldn’t we have been chosen to go?” I asked, somewhat downcast. - -“I am too old—too useless,” Crip answered. “You are young and brave -enough, but battles are to be fought here as well as yonder. And some of -the strong and gallant had need to remain.” - -Something in Crip’s look and tone struck me. Was I too old to go? Had -that been the reason? I had heard a cry over the hive that only young -bees should go, for there would be small hope of raising much of a brood -in the new colony through the winter. If it could build comb enough and -gather sufficient honey to feed itself, it would be fortunate. - -So, I was not young enough. Until then I had not thought of my age; it -seemed to me that I was still as active as on the day I flew into the sky. - -As for Crip, “too useless” seemed a cruel phrase. For who could say what -was the worth of his stores of knowledge? But I could see that he moved -more feebly from day to day. - -“Only the strong are to be chosen—the fit? Crip, that bears hard on us.” - -“Not a bit of it,” he replied, cheerily. “Take courage; that is the way -of things in the world of the bee.” - -Then he added that it would be a hard battle to build a home in the short -space of time allotted and to store food enough to last through the -winter. It meant a fight, for already the glimmerings of the fall were -upon us! Pale shadows of color began to stain the leaves, and the flowers -turned their faces more wistfully each day to the sun. Still, the bees -would go. There was no denying the operation of the law, which commanded -that the chance be taken. The whole law of survival was involved—and -there was none to deny it. - -So, all night long murmurings and vague discontents and forebodings and -anticipations ran through the hive. Those marked so mysteriously to go -realized that their lives were at stake and likely to be lost. Yet each -one in the hive would have gone. It was not until late that I learned -that our own mother, my mother, the mother of the hive, was to go away, -leaving her daughter to preside over the destinies of the old. Here, too, -Crip was wont to philosophize. - -“You see, our mother is not young,” he began. “If she should perish in -the stress of the winter and the new colony be lost, it would be less -grievous than the loss of this new, vigorous Queen. Besides, our mother -has had experience. She has lived over one winter. She knows how much of -a brood to rear to maintain the strength of the colony—or whether she -dare rear any at all—bearing in mind the while that there must be a fine -adjustment between the mouths to be fed and the total of supplies. She -knows well how to keep this account. Last winter, I am told, our stores -ran low, so low, in fact, that many of our brothers sacrificed their -lives in order to conserve the supplies so as to bring the Queen-Mother -with a few attendants through the long, bitter winter. Not a young bee -was reared until the first flowers had come riotously trampling on the -skirts of the frost. So, you see, _they_ know best. _She_ will lead the -swarm, and perhaps, if the season is late, and the frost slow to come, -they can build their combs and store sufficient honey to bring them -through. Perhaps even spring may come to their rescue, blossoming early. -A late, backward spring, however, might end them, even if they had -escaped the fury of the winter.” - -There seemed no end to Crip’s knowledge. Lying there on the comb, he -looked pathetically helpless, and there was a quaver in his voice. I -could see that he was reflecting—that age had dropped upon him heavily on -account of his wounds. Then, stoic that he was, I knew that some morning -I should search in vain for trace of him. Once a bee becomes useless, he -said, there is but one thing for him to do. I knew that Crip was already -contemplating the end. Bitterness for a moment welled up in me at the -thought that so much wisdom should be lost—and so soon. That was the -edict. But, after all, was the wisdom really lost? - -Our talk was broken at length by the call of the morning. The first pale -gleams of light filtered through the entrance of the hive. Already there -were murmurings and presently the faint note of the swarm. - -Two hours passed—three hours—and now the trumpet sounded for the flight. -Each of the chosen rushed to the nearest cell and filled his sac to -its utmost capacity. Some early-returning foragers, laden with pollen, -heard the signal and made ready to go, carrying with them their loads. -Stores must be taken along to last until comb was built and new supplies -gathered from the fields. Rations for three or four days were thus -provided. When all was ready the trumpet sounded again and the march -began. In the fore went the scouts who were to lead the way to the new -home. Then, following after, came the chosen ones in a mighty multitude, -and lastly the Queen. - -Out into the air they flew, then round and round, each one singing the -Song of the Swarm, which could be heard afar off. Round and round in a -dizzy circle they flew, but in an ever-widening whirl. The scouts, I -could hear from my point of vantage at the door, were becoming impatient. -The Queen had been delayed, and until word of her presence among them was -spoken, they could only circle about. Or else, failing that word, they -could and would return to the hive. But at the height of their impatience -the glad word came, “The Queen is here!” - -Then they delayed no longer, but started in a whirlwind flight toward the -lake and to their new home, uttering, as they drew away, that marvelously -wild and moving song which pulsed with the tremors of life and death. - - - - -[Illustration: CHAPTER FOURTEEN - -Perils] - - -Crip and I were sober and silent. - -From the alighting-board we watched them draw away and disappear, and -were on the eve of turning into the hive, when up came the Master -breathlessly. He stopped and gazed at the retreating cloud, knowing too -well what had happened. He knew, too, by their actions, that a home had -been prepared for their reception. He seemed surprised to think that the -bees should swarm so late in the season, and not a little chagrined to -think they could have done it under his eyes. His curiosity at once led -him to find whence the swarm had come, and he walked straight to our -hive. A few excited bees were still flying back and forth, but Crip and -I, like the condemned, stood stolidly and wondered. - -His lips moved, but he said no word; he turned on his heels and went away. - -Shortly, however, he returned, the little Shadow with him. They were -talking of the swarming, for he pointed the way the bees had gone. In his -hand he held that horrid smoking thing, and Crip and I both knew what -that meant. He would open our house. I resented this, for I remembered -the smoke in my eyes when he took the top off our hive and lifted out -frame after frame, taking away from us part of our honey. I remembered, -too, how I longed to sting him, but how all my efforts were unavailing, -for he had hidden himself under a screen. And yet I really did not want -to sting him. Just why I flew at him I could not understand. - -“He is angry with us now,” said Crip. “He knows we are insane. He -probably will take away our honey and leave us to starve, as we merit. We -have proven our short-sightedness and have lost our right to survive.” - -“No, he will not do that,” I replied. - -On the instant I seemed no longer to distrust him; I remembered his -kindness to me on a day when, overladen, a gust of wind had felled me to -the earth. He had placed me on a twig, where, after disgorging part of my -load, and washing my body and my wings, I again made way to my home. - -But it was certain that we should know his intentions shortly, for, on -coming close, he sent a puff of smoke into the entrance that choked and -blinded both Crip and me and the guards, and sent us scurrying into the -hive. Then, passing the smoker to the Little Master, he carefully lifted -off the top and the upper section of our hive, and began an inspection -of the brood-chamber. He seemed to be right happy at discovering that -the queen-cells had been destroyed, which carried the assurance to his -mind that no further swarming was in contemplation; but when his eyes -fell upon the new Queen-Mother, they widely distended and a smile of joy -lighted his face. - -“Wonderful creature,” he murmured. - -The little Shadow cried: “Let me see. Isn’t she a beauty!” - -By this time the smoke had cleared away and my disposition had changed. I -said to Crip that we ought to attack them. But he answered that it would -be folly now—that only evil would result. Further parleying was cut short -by a blast of smoke shot at us by the Little Master, who apparently had -discerned outward signs of the rebellion, for my body was poised and I -suppose I must have been emitting the note of anger. The smoke sent us -all flying into a remote corner of the hive. - -Then the Master replaced the section of hive he had removed, and began -to lift frame after frame, uttering little exclamations, as though he -had not suspected that we had gathered such quantities of honey in so -short and late a season. It was easy for him now to understand why we had -developed the swarming fever, although it evidently appeared to him a -foolish adventure. - -“He has been dreaming in his rose-garden,” commented Crip, when the -Master had nearly finished his examination. “That is the reason he has -neglected us of late. He did not know there had been a great flow of -honey.” - -We were talking among ourselves, when up came Buzz-Buzz, angry from the -smoke in his eyes. - -“A fine lot this fellow,” he growled. - -“You don’t like him?” I asked. - -He just looked at us. He was too irritated to speak. - -“He’ll get over it,” mused Crip. - -We were still holding converse when again the top came off and one by -one the Master lifted out our combs and robbed them of their honey. They -were battered and broken and empty when he restored them to us. We were -all infuriated, and for a while flew madly about him and about the Little -Master—the dog kept at a respectful distance—straining every effort to -drive them away. But the Little One only smoked us the more, while the -Master went on with his work. He was careful to kill no bee, brushing -off every one of them before taking away the combs of honey, and while -returning them. - -Quickly it was all over. When he had gone we at once took stock and found -that he had left us quite enough to carry us through the winter, barring -accident. But almost before the appraisal had been made a catastrophe -was upon us. The honey from a broken comb had flooded the bottom-board, -and began to pour out through the entrance onto the ground, and robber -bees were shortly upon it. We summoned all our guards for our protection, -but the robbers in thousands came, and in spite of our resistance they -forced their way into the hive and began to plunder at random. Poor old -Crip even mixed in the mêlée, fighting like a veteran, while I, beaten -and trampled, finally lay senseless on the floor. - -We should have been lost but for the thoughtfulness of the Master, who, -returning to see that all was well, found us besieged and overrun. He -quietly closed the entrance to our hive, and thus left us to clear it -of the marauders within doors, which we did promptly, although at heavy -cost in the lives of our brothers. An hour later he returned and opened -ever so slightly our door. Although a few robbers still lingered and -endeavored to force an entrance, they were easily beaten off. In the mean -time we carefully cleaned up the spilled honey which had nearly been our -undoing—and the battle was over. - -The night came and we cleared our house of the dead. Scattered -indiscriminately they lay—friend and foe—many score of them. Among them -I found the veteran who had been kind to me, with the mark of a lance in -his breast. Certain it was that he had died fighting bravely. I had found -his body, and I determined to keep it by me through the night, and on -the morrow I meant to give a fitting burial. I remembered a high knoll -overlooking the lake and the country round about, and there I said he -should be laid to rest. I told Crip of my purpose, and he applauded me, -and together we watched over him. More than once we almost had to fight -to prevent the cleaners from taking his body away. - -On the morrow, in the early dawn, I dragged him forth and, taking him in -my mandibles, flew away with him, dropping him on the knoll. The poor old -veteran! Somehow I had gained the notion that one day he would awake, and -from that vantage-point find himself nearer the stars. - -We now began another chapter in the life of our colony. We were left with -none too much honey, and, besides, our numbers had been greatly depleted -by the exodus and by the assault of the robbers. Our Queen-Mother -immediately organized her followers and sent us all scouring the fields -for additional foods. Thanks to the late season, there still remained an -abundant harvest. Soon we had replenished our supplies to a point where -we could rest comfortably, and our good mother set about rearing just -enough brood to have us weather the winter safely. But we never stopped -work. Day after day we gathered bread and honey. - -“We cannot have too much,” said Crip. “You see, since you have not gone -through a winter you have much to learn. It is no simple business. -Frightful northers sweep down upon us and chill us and kill us. Sometimes -it grows so cold the young bees are frozen in their cells. They must then -be removed, or else sickness and disease will follow. Sometimes, too, if -stores run low and our numbers fall below a certain point, we ourselves -can no longer keep warm. That means death for us all.” - -“But we have plenty of stores,” I replied. “We have nothing to fear.” - -“There are always fears. An animal running wild may topple over your -house; a bad man may slip in and steal your supplies; a moth may enter -and lay eggs producing destructive worms; a bear may chance to find you -and with his great paws rend the hive asunder!” - -“Stop!” I cried. “If there are yet other dangers, I do not wish to know -them.” - -“But it is well to know. There are diseases to combat, such as dysentery, -paralysis, and foul brood—” - -“Oh, stop!” I begged him. - -Was life really such a hazard? so perilous a journey? And all for what? -Toward what misty goal? - -It was a glorious day in October. The Indian summer had come, flooding -all the hills and vales with its magical sheets of amethyst, while a -drowsy wind from the south bore on its breath the odor of autumn. Now -and then that indefinable note, presaging the advent of winter—a note -which is neither a requiem nor a dirge—could be heard like a faint flute -in the branches of the trees. The sun shone big and round and still -with a suggestion of summer. Scattered clouds went drifting lazily by, -wonderfully emphasizing the turquoise blue of the sky. - -“Is it going to rain?” I asked of Crip, who was dragging himself along on -the alighting-board, ready for a new excursion into the woods. - -“No,” he mumbled. - -It had been weeks since my experience in the flood, but ever after that -when a cloud was in the sky I bethought me of rain. But I had now come to -know that rains were something more than clouds. - -Crip and I had been laboring to fill adjoining cells. We had already -gathered many loads of honey that day. “I’m tired,” he said, right -plaintively. “I can’t do as much as I could once.” - -“Why don’t you rest?” I begged of him. - -“Rest! What word is that? Did ever a bee rest when there was work to do?” - -With that he hobbled a little farther on his four legs, his poor old body -half carried and half dragged. But his wings were still powerful and -lifted him instantly into the all-absorbing space. - -This time I took an entirely different direction from any I had thus far -traveled. On and on I flew, mile after mile, until presently I scented -something and went for it. It proved to be a field of June corn, in silk -and tassel—and, oh, what quantities of pollen! I gathered a little and -hastened back to report. Almost at once a string of my brothers were -flying to and fro, laden with bread. - -We had now stored up a great surplus of food, and the Queen-Mother -broadened her brood areas. She deemed it wise to enlarge her family; -first, because she had a premonition that a wild winter would soon break -upon us, and, for the further reason, that half the battle was to be -strong in numbers in the spring, when the honey-fountains opened. - -When I returned with my last load, well toward sunset, I found Crip -waiting at our rendezvous, my ancient cell. - -“You have done well to-day,” he said, “and I wanted to tell you so. Five -miles is a long journey to go for a load, but it was worth it. I, too, -made one trip—but have pity on me—only when I got there did I remember -that I had no basket-legs; hence I was forced to return empty-handed. It -is too much for me to bear. I am old and useless.” - -I could not stand to hear him depreciate himself in such fashion, and -remonstrated with him. - -“Well, it’s too true,” he persisted. “Some day you will understand.” - - - - -[Illustration: CHAPTER FIFTEEN - -A Midnight Adventure] - - -I did not answer Crip, for at the moment I was notified that I should -take my turn at guard duty, and I went at once to report. - -It was now fast growing dark, and the last workers were dropping on the -alighting-board and groping their way into the hive. It was the duty of -guards to inspect all who entered, and to keep out bugs and ants and -intruders. More than a score of guards, I among them, kept a continuous -patrol before the entrance; and all went well until far into the night. - -The Master with his little Shadow had passed among us as if to bid us -good night, and had gone. The moon was now rising, and a mocking-bird in -a neighboring tree had been rendering melodies without number. There was -no sound in all the world save the mocking-bird’s song that ebbed and -flowed in ever wilder cadence. High above his perch he would soar into -the moonlight, and as he dropped again—his little gray body looking like -a bit of mist—he would almost burst his throat with rapturous song. Often -had I heard him sing, but never had he so completely abandoned himself to -the sheer frenzy of it—and at such an hour! - -“He’s making the best of it, for soon the winter will come and his songs -will cease,” observed a guard. - -“But what glorious singing!” added another. - -While we were talking a guard suddenly gave an alarm. He had either -scented or seen an enemy; but doubt was immediately removed, for the raw -smell of an animal was borne in to us. We paused and prepared for an -attack. Our wings were buzzing at intervals and our stings were ready to -strike. And none too soon, for in a moment more a monstrous animal stuck -his nose into the entrance of our hive. Instantly we all flew at him, -some landing in his face and some on his body. But only those that struck -his face succeeded in stinging him, for the hair was too long on his body. - -I was unfortunate enough to have been one of those landing on his back, -and immediately found myself so entangled in his hair that I could -neither sting him nor free myself. I struggled in vain, and my efforts -were rendered more difficult on account of the mad capers he cut in -escaping from the spot. The moment we flew at him and stung him about -the head, he turned somersaults and cried like a cat in torment, while -he fled madly. So wildly did he fly that he banged squarely into a -neighboring hive and nearly upset it. Then he collided with weeds and -brush and cacti—in fact, I now suspect he could see nothing. Certainly he -cared not what lay in his road. - -I can think of it calmly, now that I am safely back, but while I rode -unwillingly upon his back I thought each instant would be my last. After -vainly trying to reach his body in order to sting him, I gave over -and endeavored to free myself. What with the buzzing of many pairs of -wings in his ears, and the pain from the stings, he fled like the wind. -Presently, however, he stopped suddenly and tried to reach me with his -claws. Then he did his best to crush me with his teeth, snarling and -whining betimes. He did crush some of my brother guards; but I was just -back of his ears, and he could not reach me. However, I may add I almost -wished he had, for his breath was horrible. I never could abide the -breath of any living thing. - -Soon he gave over and set out running again at top speed. I had abandoned -myself for lost, when a bush scraped me out of my entanglement and I fell -half dead to the ground. But the would-be robber never stopped, for I -could hear the brush rattling in his wake. He still fled incontinently, -as though he feared another attack, as though his very life depended on -his rate of speed. - -I lay there for a moment, scarcely able to move. But what could I do? The -moon was still bright, but bright as it was, the way back home was dark. -Instinctively, I turned to a friendly bush and made my way to the topmost -branch, and there I planted myself for the rest of the night. - -The wind was blowing lustily. I did not like the threshing back and forth -of the branches in the gloom, with the chance of being knocked off at -any moment. I could not think calmly of crawling on the ground, for Crip -had told me this was a thing to be avoided at all hazards. Scorpions and -beetles and toads and snakes made the night perilous. So I clung to the -branch with all my might. Now and again a pause in the wind would allow -me to look up at the stars through the screen of leaves—and how dear -and wonderful they were! Long ago I had thought how beautiful it must -be up there in the blue space, fretted with tiny lights no bigger than -the candle burning in the window of the Master’s house. And even then, -as I turned, I could see his lamp, and I almost started to fly toward -it. There was a fascination in its beams which I could scarcely resist. -Always, when on guard duty, at any hour of the night, I had been able -to see his light and to hear the bark of his dog. He seemed never to -sleep—or if he slept the lamp and the dog kept watch over him. - -The blustering wind finally had compassion on me and ceased altogether. -There came a silence that was more than silence. I felt it oppressive. -Then, as if a pause had been made for them, the crickets and katydids -began a frightful chattering, which was punctuated betimes by the far -hooting of an owl. The air grew chilly, and I began to feel cold and -stiff, and held none too securely to my bush. It was a fortunate thing, I -thought, that the wind had died away. - -How tired I was! This had been one of the hardest days of my life. As I -reflected on it, it seemed very long ago that it began; and I heartily -wished for the dawn. I must have drowsed awhile, for when again I looked -about me a mellow light brooded on the horizon and a great star beamed -above it. Soon wide streams of gold flowed across the pale-blue sky, -quenching the fires of the stars. Then, as if in compensation for their -loss, fleecy Gulf clouds caught the early rays of the sun and filled the -world with showers of rainbow lights. - -Presently I could see well enough to rise on my wings, and in spite of -the chill in the air, up I went until I got my bearings. A strange fit -seized me. “Fly to the sun!” I heard in my ears; and off I went. Up and -up I flew—higher and higher—until below me I could scarcely see the white -houses of the apiary where I lived and the white house of the Master. But -under me the waters of Lake Espantoso glimmered like a mirror, and in the -dark fringe of trees that bordered it I remembered a swarm of my little -brothers had taken refuge, and I wondered how they fared. Far as I could -see stretched the undulating hills over which I had flown in search of -treasure—hills now clad in their robes of autumn. A fragrance reached me -at this great height, which came from I knew not where. - -I had wheeled about and started home, when I caught sight of the Master -wandering dreamily in his garden. Then immediately I knew that the -fragrance came from his beautiful roses. Many a time had I flown over -the place, marveling at the flowers. Indeed, I had gathered honey from -the honeysuckle that climbed on the walls of his house and from the -crêpe-myrtle hard by. But the roses—ah, the roses! I loved to drop into -their hearts and to breathe the sweet breath of their lives. So again, -without thinking, I flew down and down until I reached the garden and -sank into a rose to rest. I felt tired, ever so tired. When I emerged -there was the Master fondling a rose; I circled slowly past him and -around him. He saw me at once, and a tender look came into his eyes. -Reluctantly I left him caressing his roses, and flew rapidly home. - - - - -[Illustration: CHAPTER SIXTEEN - -TIDINGS OF WOE] - - -It was still so early that a chill enveloped the world and the workers -awaited the sun. I rushed to where I knew I should find Crip, and -breathlessly began the narrative of my adventure. - -“I know just about what happened,” he ventured, when he had expressed his -joy at seeing me, for he knew that I had been on duty and that a number -of the guards had been lost. “I wept not a little for you. Yes, it was a -racoon,” he repeated. “You will remember I told you about them. They are -crazy over honey.” - -He was deeply interested in the account of my mad and unwilling ride. - -Then I told him of my visit to the garden, and of the Master. He made no -reply, but presently asked: - -“What do you know of the Master?” - -“Little—very little.” - -“Do you know that lately I’ve been wondering whether I have been fair -to him? Once I was perfectly sure that he was an enemy to be fought on -all occasions, that he made use of us only for selfish ends. Now I am -beginning to think I was wrong. While he has taken our honey, he has -always left us enough. Last winter, I am told, he actually brought a lot -of honey and gave it to the colonies that had none. Besides, before we -came in contact with men, we lived in caves and hollow trees, exposed to -all manner of enemies. It is different now.” - -We were still busy talking when the signal for work rang through the -hive, and both Crip and I made our way to the front. And, as many times -before, we rose from the board together and flew at once to the field -of broomweed. Side by side we ranged, visiting many of the tiny yellow -flowers ere we were laden. Everything was now painfully dry, and it was -all too evident that the honey flow was over. Try as hard as we might, -we gathered only a few loads a day. And Crip remarked how short the days -were and how far into the south the sun had drifted. Then, besides, we -were obliged to leave off earlier, on account of the cold. - -“The leaves are all turning red and brown and yellow,” said Crip, as we -flew homeward. “This is the melancholy time I’ve heard about. Even the -wind seems sad and loiters around bush and tree as though he feared his -caressing touch might hasten the down-dropping of the stricken leaves. -Happy, I’m sad, too.” - -I could only answer him that I of all bees was one of the most unhappy. -And at the moment I was stricken with a feeling of homesickness, as -though I, too, were bound on a journey toward the setting sun, or as -though an unmeasured catastrophe impended. - -As we neared home we saw the Master and his little Shadow seated by our -hive, and near them, sprawling on the ground, the faithful dog. The -Master was watching the incoming bees. Well he knew by the burdens they -bore the condition of the fields. - -“The workers are coming home very light,” remarked the Shadow. “Just a -little bread.” - -“The season is ended,” murmured the Master. “Soon they will go indoors -and rest through the cold. We must come presently and take off the empty -uppers, so as to concentrate the heat of the cluster. In that way they -will conserve their stores. The cluster, you know, son, is formed by the -bees covering over the brood and hanging on to one another so as to keep -themselves and the young bees warm.” - -Crip and I deposited our loads and then returned to the alighting-board, -but the speakers had gone. We could hear the Master singing in his -garden; and from a mesquite-tree hard by a mocking-bird answered him. All -too soon he ceased; and the bird, after trilling a few wild refrains, -as though to coax him to return, dropped into silence. For a time not a -sound was heard, then the bird broke out again in a most plaintive song. -He seemed to summon his phrases from the depths of despair. - -Twilight had now quite engulfed the world. Crip, who had been for a time -very still, began to stir restlessly. - -“Happy, that is my passing song. How could the bird have known that this -very night I shall cleave the air for the last time? Yes, I mean it. -Please don’t interrupt me. The year has gone—I have done my work. I am a -cripple, and my wings are tattered. I shall be a burden, eating the food -that may be needed ere the harvest again is ripe. My time has come—and I -must go into the dark. This is the law. Why should not bees fly away and -never return? How much grander to pass away on the wing, hushed to sleep -by the stars. How poor a thing it is to cling to the combs until death -shall drag one down to the earth, there to embarrass one’s brothers. - -“My work is done. My body is wrecked, and the golden call echoing from -eternity is in my ears. I must go. You, Happy, have much to do ere your -time shall come. But you will face life bravely. - -“How can I thank you enough for having saved my life? Do you think I have -done well? Have I worked faithfully? Hero, you say? No, not a hero; but -I have tried to do the things that came to my hand; and that is all that -one can do. That sums up the true meaning of life—service and duty done. - -“Hear the bird! What a song for the night! Ah, but what music I shall -hear soon when I fly out across the spaces of light! I am ready. I love -you. Farewell—farewell.” - -Crip had turned about for the last time, and was ready to go, when a -heartrending cry woke the innermost caverns of the hive. He staggered a -little, for he knew its meaning. I stood puzzled and amazed. - -“What is it?” I begged of him. - -“The worst of news—our Queen is dead!” he echoed. - -“Let us go to her at once.” - -In we went, and while I was shaken by the news which I did not fully -comprehend, I was sobered and silent. I should probably have had no -thought of death at all had I known what lay before us, the midnight ways -we were to tread. - - - - -[Illustration: CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - -The Death of the Queen] - - -As we hurried in search of her, on all sides there was wailing: -“Ai—ai—ai! Woe—woe—woe! Our Queen is dead!” - -A spirit of dread and disaster filled the place and shook us mightily. -Crip said never a word. - -“I remember you told me once you had lost your Queen-Mother—that was the -time I found you in the hive that we robbed. You were going to tell me -about it.” - -“Yes; but now it is too late—it is terrible. You do not understand—” - -At length we came to where she lay asleep on the bottom-board of the -house she had graced for so short a space. Around her surged her -children, weeping for the queenly dead. - -“She had been ill but a few days,” one said. - -“She has not been well since the robbery,” added another. - -“She was hurt in the fight,” put in a third. - -“But she did not complain,” answered another. - -Crip and I now in our turn came into the presence of the Queen lying -prone on the floor, her wings draped about her. There were present -none of the trappings of the dead, nor anything to show that she was -not asleep, so peacefully she lay there. I came presently face to face -with her, and once I had looked into her eyes I saw that the vision had -vanished, that the spirit had gone. - -I turned away sick at heart, wailing I know not what black hymn of -despair. Crip, too, I had lost, and I feared he had gone on his long -journey. I seemed to sink into a bottomless abyss. - -Soon I had partially recovered my composure. The commotion which -had swept the colony slowly subsided, although there still ran an -undercurrent of anxiety. What should we do? That part of the intelligence -of the bee which has to grapple with such emergencies had been active on -the instant. - -“The Queen is dead—long live the Queen,” was the low, reverential chorus. - -“Three Queens have been ordained,” ran the cry. - -Without knowing why, I hurried to the place which had been chosen for the -wax-cell palaces—and there was Crip! He appeared to be the leader, and I -was overjoyed to see him. - -“You’ve found something more to do,” I said to him. “I’m so glad.” - -“You see, I’m one of the oldest—” - -“Don’t look so dejected,” Crip volunteered to those about him. -“Hurry—hurry! Soon we shall have another Queen to reign over us.” - -And now magic began to intervene—or miracle. Three cells with three tiny -larvæ, two days old, were selected, and over these the great cell-palaces -were erected. But more mysterious was the feeding of these tiny things, -which under normal conditions would emerge workers. Think, then, of the -transformation which will produce a Queen! Thanks to a secret buried in -the heart of the bee, the worker, it is supposed, is converted, through -feeding, into a Queen. Crip told me all this in his cheerful way; and he -assumed so much importance in looking after the destinies of the three -royal personages, that once or twice I was irritated at his conduct. - -“Why three Queens?” I inquired, one day. “We need only one.” - -“To make sure that _one_ will survive. The bee takes no chance where it -can be avoided.” - -The embryonic Queens grew rapidly, and in due season the doors of the -palaces were sealed, not to be broken until her ladyship herself should -choose to bite her way to the light. - -The days were now being counted, even the hours, against the time when -She would appear! Once more a little life was manifest in the hive. -Workers went scouring the country for forage, and every bee found -something to do, so happy were they in anticipation of the coming event. - -The Master, too, had shown much interest in us. On one of the early days -of our trouble, in passing, he had discovered our condition. - -“They have lost their Queen,” he said to the little Shadow. “You can -tell that by their movements. Everything is now in confusion. Let us -see whether they have eggs or young larvæ available for the making of a -Queen.” - -With that he opened our hive and found the queen-cells. - -“Here are cells already,” he commented, a gleam of satisfaction on his -grave face. - -“Let me see!” cried the Shadow, poking a little, curious face around a -corner of the hive. - -The Master knew at a glance the age of the Queens, for the cells had -not been sealed; he knew that on such a day one would come forth amid -the acclaim of a colony which had languished between hope and fear—life -and death. So now, from day to day, with his little Shadow, he passed, -pausing in front of the hive long enough to discover whether the great -event had occurred. - -It was on a day golden with a sun steeped in the waning glory of an -Indian summer that the Queen emerged and took her throne. Crip and I had -gone to the lake for a load of water, and we should probably not have -missed the event had we not, out of curiosity, returned by the hollow -tree which our brothers of the swarm had occupied. We flew up to the very -entrance; the workers were filing past in a great stream, humming a note -of content. - -“They will survive,” I said to Crip. “The season has been a late one, and -they must have gathered ample stores.” - -We were in jubilant mood, on account of this discovery, which chimed in -perfectly with conditions at home, for even before we alighted the sound -of rejoicing reached us. - -“A Queen has been born! A Queen! A Queen!” - -We found a throng mad with rejoicings. Crip and I edged our way in, eager -to pay our homage, thrilling at the thought that a new lease of life for -the colony had been vouchsafed. We reached the place of the palace-cells, -only to find them in ruins. Excited bees were razing the last buttresses, -while echoing from all sides were: “A new mother has come! A Queen!” -Presently two beautiful Queens were led to execution, for one had been -crowned—and one only might rule the hive. - -Order was restored, and things went normally until the nuptial day. In -the life of the colony there is no equally vital event. Destiny waits on -the mating of the Queen. - -On a wonderfully fine, warm day, at the noon hour, she made ready for -flight. Already in the air could be heard the roar of the drones, -that groped about in search of the queenly presence. And now from the -alighting-board she rose into the crystal blue. Crip and I, for no -reason, followed, not near enough, however, to encroach on the sacred -precincts. Higher and higher she climbed, now pursued by some scores of -drones. Round and round in mazy flight they whirled until the heavens -seemed dizzy, and the ultimate moment had arrived, when a yellow flash -crossed the sky and fluttered in their midst—a bee-bird. - -“Fly for your life!” a drone cried. “Fly—fly!” - -A moment later it was all over, and a silent doomed procession dropped -earthward—the Queen was missing—the bee-bird had caught her. - -The news spread instantly. I had been among the first to make report of -it. - -“We shall all die together now,” said Crip, in dejection. “It is only -a matter of days. We have no eggs, no larvæ, and may not rear another -mother. Alas—alas!” - - - - -[Illustration: CHAPTER EIGHTEEN - -Crip and the Imposter] - - -On the earlier occasion of the loss of the Queen there had been a brief -spasm of despair; but it had yielded, for the possibility of rearing -another rose uppermost. Now that possibility had vanished. There was -absolutely no hope. Death stalked abroad, and one by one, the eldest -first, the bees would go to their doom. There were no young bees to take -their places, nothing but dust and darkness. - -Several days passed, when one morning a great cry rang through the hive -that eggs had been found and that queen-cells had been started. It was a -strange and pathetic mystery, for we knew that we had no Queen, and yet -exulted over the finding of eggs. - -Still hoping beyond hope, we tried to create a Queen from the eggs—all in -vain. The eggs we now found deposited freely—one, two, or half-a-dozen -in a cell—were the eggs of an impostor, a would-be Queen, called a -fertile worker. - -Strangely enough, too, we began to work in a half-hearted way, gathering -honey, feeding the brood of the impostor, and yet we knew or seemed to -know that there would emerge but worthless drones. Hope still lingered in -our hearts, but daily it grew more faint until despair overcame us. - -One morning Crip and I were brooding over our affairs when we saw the -Master and his Shadow approaching. They stopped near us. - -“Something has happened,” said the Master; “something is wrong. We do not -need the smoker. Here, son, lend me a hand!” - -“A fertile worker—an impostor!” he exclaimed, on lifting up a frame from -the brood-chamber. “See those eggs dropped haphazard! A Queen never does -that.” - -“Why, there are six in one cell!” cried the Shadow. - -“Run, son, and bring me that Italian Queen in the new cage.” - -In a few minutes the cry of a Queen rang through the hive. Crip and I -flew toward it, and presently paused beside the trap which contained a -most beautiful Queen. But she was not _our_ Queen, and now a riot was -started. “Kill her—kill her!” broke on all sides. While Crip and I took -no part, we entered no protest—we stood almost alone. - -Over the cage, biting and clawing, a mob of bees, incited partly by -the impostor, endeavored to reach the royal personage. They meant to -kill her; first, because she was not of our tribe; secondly, because -the impostor had come to own an ascendency over the colony. It was a -strange fate, as Crip explained, that we should cling to an impostor and -die rather than bring an alien to reign over us. But Crip and I were -thinking, and so were many of our little brothers. Crip, on occasion, now -gave her food through the wire screen; while I found it convenient to -hang about the place. In the mean time the impostor spread her vile brood -over the hive, and kept up her conspiracy against the Queen the Master -had given us. - -Several days passed, and the Master, returning, found what he thought -a reconciliation. He opened the cage and out walked the most beautiful -Queen I had ever seen, except my own Queen-Mother. Instantly, however, a -troop of hostile bees, evidently led by the impostor, fell upon her, and -in a moment she was in the center of a “ball” and being slowly crushed to -death. - -The Master was watching, however, and quickly rescued her and restored -her to the cage. - -“They are not ready to receive her, son,” he said. “In fact, unless we -can destroy the fertile worker, that horrid impostor, we may not succeed.” - -“I’ve been thinking,” said Crip, to me that night as we stood by the cage -and listened to the regal call of the Queen, “that I shall fight the -first bee that comes near her.” - -“And so shall I.” - -Crip had just given her some honey, and was standing near her on the -screen when an ugly bee, unusually large, came up and caught hold of one -of her legs which had protruded through the meshes of the cage. He laid -hold of it and pulled it with all his might, and the Queen began to cry -with pain, when Crip rushed to the rescue. - -A terrific battle ensued. I tried to help, and did seize the vicious -bee by one wing, only to be kicked off. But Crip had grappled him in -his vise-like mandibles, and I saw it was a battle to the death. Over -and over they whirled, finally to fall to the bottom of the hive—still -fighting. I followed as fast as I might, and when I reached where they -lay they had ceased to struggle—both were dead. - -A lance wound in his heart had finished my beloved friend. - -“Crip—Crip!” I cried aloud; but got no answer. One little foot moved a -few times, then was still. - -Almost simultaneously an alarm sounded. The impostor had disappeared. - -I shook with an unrestrained emotion. “We are saved,” I thought. - -“Where is our Queen? The Queen is gone!” they called. - -A wild rush of bees set the hive in pandemonium. Finally one began to -cry: “Here she is—she is dead.” - -“Dead—dead!” rose loud over the place. - -They were wailing over the lifeless body of the impostor, while I stood -broken-hearted beside my Crip, who, at the sacrifice of his life, had -redeemed that of the colony. - - - - -[Illustration: CHAPTER NINETEEN - -FAREWELL] - - -Two days later the Master came and opened the door of the cage, and the -new Queen he had brought walked boldly out on the combs, to be wildly -acclaimed, “Mother!” The hostility which had been displayed toward her -had totally disappeared, and in its place had come affection. The death -of the impostor had wrought a profound revolution, and everywhere my poor -Crip was proclaimed a hero. - -Within the space of an hour every egg and every young bee which the -impostor had left was dragged out and cast to the ants; and almost at -once the new Queen began to deposit eggs of her kind, and the hymn of -rejoicing that welled up in that hive of many calamities cannot well be -imagined. I think that I more than any other was moved to the bottom of -my being. - -It is not possible for me to express the loneliness which came over me -at thought of Crip’s death. We had been such dear companions, and he had -been so kind and wise. - -When another day had dawned and the sun had sufficiently warmed the air, -I went into the fields with the rest, but I seemed to wander as in a -dream. All the while the desire possessed me to fly farther and farther -away. Had I, too, lived out my period of usefulness? But Crip said that I -had not, and I acted in this faith. - -On my next excursion into the fields I felt a tremor in the air such as -I remembered from another time, when the storm had broken. Black clouds, -too, loomed on the horizon and little snake-like flames crawled in and -out among them. This time I was not so eager to secure a load, and made -off with all possible speed. Scarcely had I reached home when the rain -began to fall in sheets and the thunder rattled frightfully. In a little -while it was over; the sky was clear, but a dreadful wind from the north -blew like a hurricane and it grew cold. By the next day it was so cold -that we formed a cluster about the brood in order to keep it warm. We, -too, were cold, and not a bee ventured from the hive. - -Three days passed ere it was warm enough for us to look outside; and when -I saw the world again, truly I was shocked. Everything was black and bare. - -“The frost has fallen, not a flower remains alive,” mournfully exclaimed -one of the nurses. - -This was surely the winter of which I had heard so much. Happily, the -Master came to our assistance by closing the door of our house, leaving -but the smallest hole for our passage. This helped greatly in the matter -of our keeping warm when the northers swooped upon us. - -The season now alternated between moderately warm days and biting weeks -of cold. On all days fit for flight, we sailed into the air for exercise -and for the care of our bodies. - -Close, close to one another we packed during the cold days and nights, -and in this way generated enough heat to keep the hive warm and -habitable. Life was monotonous. We were limited in our activities to -caring for the brood and to policing the hive. There was little enough -to do on the latter score, save on warm days. Then we searched out every -nook and corner to see that the moth had not entered, for she was the -mother of the web-worms, and I, for one, had the utmost respect for them. -Sometimes harmless beetles were found, and, much as we hated to send them -into the cold, we felt it must be done. Sometimes they went peacefully, -but often enough we were compelled to drag them bodily forth—and -occasionally we were forced to destroy them. - -And so the days ran on. As for me, I employed them in meditation. What -could be more conducive to reflection than the long, dark hours of quiet -that reign in a winter-bound hive? Slowly, ever so slowly, I neared the -end of my task. - -And now I have come to the end. There remains only to tell what these -last days held for me. Already the winter has gone and I am ready. Even -as poor Buzz-Buzz, I feel that my labors are done. I am old and worn and -need to make way for the young life which is already singing about me. -The Queen-Mother, aware of conditions, has been scattering her brood over -wide spaces, and already young bees, flapping their wings frantically, -are stumbling over the combs, and hundreds more of them soon will be -waiting for the signal to go into the fields. Eagerly will they try their -first wings and eagerly will they gather from the flowers the pollen and -honey that unfailingly come with the spring. - -Even as I—even as a hundred thousand generations before me—will -they marvel at the mysteries that surround them, but, undaunted and -undismayed, they will fly into the face of the sun or struggle in the -teeth of the hurricane! It is youth that knows no danger, that brooks no -defeat, that pursues, that conquers. It is youth that constructs, that -hopes, that achieves—youth that charges the heavens with glory! - -Crip was right. Now age has torn my wings and rendered my body nearly -useless. While I am still alive, I am among the dying—but, dying, I shall -live again. - -February has come and already the grass is green and the yellow -catclaw-buds are bursting. The great tree that stands hard by is a-bloom. -The alarm has been sounded, and out into the world the bees fly by tens -and hundreds. I, too, cannot resist the call and rise into the air, -driving toward a place I well remember. Sheltered from the north wind and -exposed to the sun, a little slope lies dotted with daisies. In its midst -a catclaw-tree sways like a golden ball in the breeze, and about it hum -a score of bees. I, too, gather my load and wend my way homeward, but at -heart I am weary. I had imagined that I alone knew of this particular -spot. Alas! there are no secrets. - -Flying out again, I took another course—one which led me over the -Master’s cottage. There he was in his garden, pondering his roses. Round -him I circled twice, thrice, until, perceiving me, he followed me with -his eyes until I passed from his vision. - -Then on I went to the place of the sunflowers, but where once had been -beautiful blossoms the green grass waved in triumph. - -It seemed to me that a never-ending night followed this excursion. I -rested little or none; back and forth I raced from end to end of the -hive, and from the entrance to my cell, which I had not forgotten. -I passed and re-passed the Queen-Mother at her tasks, touching her -reverently as one might touch the garment of a saint. - -At length the gray light broke along the horizon and gleams of color -pierced the low-lying clouds. My time had come. I felt the call, and -there was no denying the command. - -For a moment I seemed in a maze. Round and round I turned, like a child -lost in the wilderness, then made straight for the entrance, where -already a few of the hardier and younger workers were assembled, waiting -for the light. How restless they seemed; how they longed to be off in the -world; how alluring the unattained; how fascinating the great adventure -of life! - - * * * * * - -As best I might, I have told my story, and here it must end. I have -striven; I have dreamed; and as far as ever it comes to God’s creatures, -I have been—HAPPY. Farewell! - -[Illustration: THE END] - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HAPPY *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Happy</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:1em;'>The life of a bee</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Walter Flavius McCaleb</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Illustrator: Clement B. Davis</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: June 10, 2022 [eBook #68284]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Charlene Taylor and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HAPPY ***</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_1"></a>[1]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/frontispiece.jpg" width="450" height="700" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">AS IT LOOKED TO HAPPY FROM THE KNOLL</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_2"></a>[2]</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_3"></a>[3]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<img src="images/titlepage.jpg" width="450" height="700" alt="" /> - -<p class="center larger">HAPPY<br /> -The LIFE OF A BEE</p> - -<p class="caption">by<br /> -<span class="smcap">Walter Flavius McCaleb</span></p> - -<p class="caption">Illustrations<br /> -and Decorations<br /> -by<br /> -<span class="smcap">Clement B. Davis</span></p> - -<p class="caption">HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS<br /> -NEW YORK AND LONDON</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_4"></a>[4]</span></p> - -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Happy: the Life of a Bee</span></p> - -<p class="caption">Copyright, 1917, by Harper & Brothers<br /> -Printed in the United States of America<br /> -Published April, 1917</p> - -<p class="caption">D-R</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_5"></a>[5]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/dedication.jpg" width="350" height="500" alt="" /> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">To My Mother</span></p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_6"></a>[6]</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter-head"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_7"></a>[7]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">Contents</h2> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/contents.jpg" width="700" height="400" alt="" /> -</div> - -</div> - -<table> - <tr> - <td class="smaller">CHAP.</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdpg smaller">PAGE</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td><span class="smcap">Foreword</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#Foreword">9</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>I.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">The Awakening</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_ONE">15</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>II.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">The Cell-house</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_TWO">20</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>III.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">Mysteries</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_THREE">24</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>IV.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">The First Flight</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_FOUR">28</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>V.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">Robbery</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_FIVE">34</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>VI.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">Crip</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_SIX">40</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>VII.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">Crip, the Wise</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_SEVEN">45</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>VIII.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">A Gleaner of Honey</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_EIGHT">50</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>IX.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">A Storm</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_NINE">56</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>X.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">The Aftermath</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_TEN">60</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>XI.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">The Fight with the Web-worms</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_ELEVEN">65</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>XII.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">The Wounding of Crip</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_TWELVE">72</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>XIII.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">The Swarming Fever</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_THIRTEEN">77</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>XIV.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">Perils</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_FOURTEEN">86</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>XV.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">A Midnight Adventure</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_FIFTEEN">95</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>XVI.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">Tidings of Woe</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_SIXTEEN">101</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>XVII.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">The Death of the Queen</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_SEVENTEEN">106</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>XVIII.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">Crip and the Impostor</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_EIGHTEEN">112</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>XIX.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">Farewell</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_NINETEEN">116</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_8"></a>[8]</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter-head"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_9"></a>[9]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="Foreword"><span class="smcap">Foreword</span></h2> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter0"> - -<img src="images/chapter0.jpg" width="700" height="550" alt="" /> - -<p class="para1">Years ago, banished into the far Rio -Grande region, I became a keeper of -bees. As a child I had loved them, -even caressed them, and many a time -have I held them one and a hundred at once in my -hands. I knew their every mind and their wilful -ways; I loved their sweet contrarieties, their happy -acceptation of the inevitable, and their joyous facing -of life.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-body"> - -<p>So it came about that, grown older, I returned to -my old engagements, and, far from human habitation, -amid the wild, brush-set wilderness enveloping Lake -Espantoso, I built my house and brought my bees. -And, too, there came with me a little Shadow, and -at his heels a shepherd-dog. There, in that land -of boundless spaces, we waited and watched and -dreamed.</p> - -<p>The years went by silently, uneventfully—day following -day noiselessly, as sounds die in the sea. Spring -came with its bounty of flowers; and fast on the trail<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_10"></a>[10]</span> -of retreating winter they leaped forth in multitudes: -daisy and phlox and poppy and bluebonnet and Indian -feather and anemone all tossed their heads and flung -their beautiful wings into the sunlight. The earth -was sweet with the wild, fresh sweetness of flowers. -Even the cacti and the brush blossomed like roses of -Cashmere, hiding their thorns amid a profusion of -loveliness.</p> - -<p>Then the winter came, brief, primordial in its -changes. The brown earth and the brown-gray sweep -of the horizon, stretching inimitably away, wakened in -rueful contrast to the riot of the vernal months.</p> - -<p>Season after season went by until, indeed, I seemed -but a ghost fluttering in and out among the whirling -days. Overhead a sky of perennial blue; in my face -the winds from every zone, and in my ears the somnolent -sounds of the years gone to dust. I was overwhelmed -by the impalpable significance of the primeval -world—and by the mysterious unfoldings of -life.</p> - -<p>Hours at a time I sat amid my little brothers, the -bees, now and again catching up the harmonies of their -existence and marveling much at the divine rhythm -of their speech. The longer I sat and brooded the -more I grew into their lives, until I seemed to know -their every mood and to sound the mysteries of their -being.</p> - -<p>They seemed to know me and to love me. Often -in their flight, tired and overladen, they would rest -for a moment on my sleeve, and then away. Many a -one did I raise from the earth where he had fallen—all -too like our fellow-mortals—weighted down by burdens<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_11"></a>[11]</span> -too heavy to bear. And how happy I was to -see them, with ever so little help, again take wing and -fly heartened to their homes. I have sometimes -thought that, after all, men are but bees in their ultimate -essence.</p> - -<p>Thus, with the passing years, I, a keeper of bees, -came to be one of them; and even now, though far -distant, I wander in dreams through the open aisles -about which their white houses cluster, and through -that sweet rose-garden.</p> - -<p>My cottage was framed in roses. Clambering -Maréschal Neills, yellow as the sun; and Augusta -Victorias, white as the snows of dead winters, leaned -upon the walls; and all about varieties innumerable -and known only to my mother, lifted their heads and -prayed for the fulfilment of the law.</p> - -<p>One rose there was of all roses the most beautiful. -She called it the Queen of the Prairie. Red it was as -the blood of the martyrs; and, huge as a lotus leaf, it -blew the most wonderful of flowers. Here was my -special pride. I loved it because of her hands; I -loved it because it aspired toward perfection.</p> - -<p>Early in a morning now gone—a gorgeous spring -dawning—I rose and went into the garden, as was my -wont. The sun had not yet risen, and there was in -the air a brooding, a sound of far-away symphonies. -From rose to rose I turned, until presently I came to -the most marvelous of them all. Wonderful beyond -words, I drew it to me—a Queen of the Prairie. I -breathed its fragrance, thrilled at its beauty, when, -with a start, I saw deep within the folds of its heart a -little bee, drowsing in sleep. I could but gaze and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_12"></a>[12]</span> -wonder, and while I gazed one leg quivered a moment -and then was still.</p> - -<p>It is the story of his life that I would tell.</p> - -<p>I plucked the rose and bore it away with me; and -even now, as I write, its crumbled leaves lie over him -in a memorial urn; and I shall be happy if I have truly -caught the meaning of his life, which carried with it so -much of the sweetness of endeavor, so much of the joy -of living, and so much of love for the Kingdom of -Light.</p> - -<p class="hanging"><span class="smcap">Beechhurst, Long Island</span>,<br /> -March, 1917.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter-head"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_13"></a>[13]</span></p> - -<h1>HAPPY<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE LIFE OF A BEE</span></h1> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_14"></a>[14]</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter-head"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_15"></a>[15]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_ONE">CHAPTER ONE<br /> -The Awakening</h2> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter1"> - -<img src="images/chapter1.jpg" width="700" height="680" alt="" /> - -<p class="para1">My name is “Happy”—at -least that is what the bees -have always called me; and well I remember -the first time I heard the word. I suppose I -was joyfully flapping my wings at having emerged, -white and feeble, but a living being, from the darkness -of my cell, when I heard a queer, thin voice -saying: “He<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> isn’t a minute old, and yet what a fuss -he’s making with his wings! Let’s call him ‘Happy’!”</p> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-body"> - -<p>All around I could hear little noises of approval; -any number of strange faces came hurrying to look -me over; two or three actually jostled me, and one -even drew his tongue across my face—and for the -first time I tasted honey. I found out afterward that<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_16"></a>[16]</span> -this was the customary salutation to all newly-born -bees. Of course I was too young to appreciate all -they said and did, and I soon forgot the jubilation, for -I happened, in my wanderings, upon a cell brimming -with honey, and, without asking permission, I ate and -ate until I could not hold another mouthful.</p> - -<p>Then a strange drowsiness seized me, and I scarcely -knew which way to turn. But I fell in with what I -afterward learned were nurse bees, and they took me -in charge. Presently, hanging fast to the comb with -my half-a-dozen legs, I fell asleep.</p> - -<p>Wonderful things had happened in a very few -minutes. It seemed to me, as I began to drowse and -the light to fade, that once more I was falling asleep -in my cell, whence I had so shortly emerged. The -something that had awakened within me, that had -caused me to turn round and round in my cell, and -that had cried gently in my ear, “See the light—cut -your way through the door and live,” sang me to sleep.</p> - -<p>When I awoke, for a moment I imagined I was -still in my cell. I thought I could hear my neighbors, -on all sides of me, biting at the wax doors that closed -them in, and that I could see the thin, transparent -shutters giving way before the eager heads which appeared -in the doorways—tiny, whitish-black heads, -with huge eyes that slowly issued from the dungeon-like -cells. I, too, unconsciously trying my mandibles, -must have been biting on the combs about me, for presently -I was stopped by an important-looking bee that -cried, sharply, “What are you about, youngster?”</p> - -<p>He was rough to me, but I had learned that one -must not bite the combs just for the pleasure of biting;<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_17"></a>[17]</span> -it began to dawn on me that it cost infinite labor to -build the thousands of little six-sided houses which, -laid side by side, made up the combs of our hive. -And almost before I knew it, I came to have vast -respect for all the things I could see about me, for the -things I felt lay out there in the unexplored depths of -our home, and for the things which existed only in -the consciousness of the colony.</p> - -<p>I was still so young I walked but feebly; but everywhere -I was greeted as a brother. Some of the little -fellows climbed over me in their hurry; some of them, -hustling about me, almost knocked me from the -combs; and one actually stopped me, mumbling something -I could not understand; but his meaning was -soon made clear. I suppose he said:</p> - -<p>“I see you are a novice; you have on your swaddling-clothes. -This will never do. I must clean you up.”</p> - -<p>Whereat he proceeded, in spite of my protest, to lick -me all over and to rub my legs and body, saying, -“This white powder must come off; you can’t stand -here looking like that; you must get busy and be a -real bee!”</p> - -<p>When he had finished with me I found that I was no -longer so wobbly, that my wings moved more freely, -and, to my astonishment, a smart little bee came up -to me and said:</p> - -<p>“I note that you are changed; you are no longer -grayish-white, but look like everybody else; your eyes -are gray-black, a little delicate fuzz is in the middle -of your back, and beautiful alternating black and gold -bands make up the rest of your body. You look like a -real somebody.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_18"></a>[18]</span></p> - -<p>Then he hurried on, and I heard him make the same -speech to another bee.</p> - -<p>Still heeding the small voice, I had gone but a little -way on my round of exploration when I plumped into -the biggest bee! He was in such a hurry he nearly -ran me down. As he passed I saw on his two rearmost -legs great balls of yellow-looking stuff.</p> - -<p>“Out of the way!” he called. “The bread-man! -The bread-man!”</p> - -<p>Every one seemed to have understood except me, -and even I, a moment later, heard the cry and gave -way to a newly-arrived bread-man. Just what character -of bee he was I had yet to learn, and little did I then -dream that I, too, should one day be a bread-man, -carrying great baskets of bread on my legs.</p> - -<p>By this time I was again hungry, and presently, as -I traversed a white strip of comb, I came upon a great -store—cell after cell, like a thousand open pots, full to -overflowing with honey. I was on the point of helping -myself when I was turned away.</p> - -<p>“This is not to be eaten,” a worker said. “We are -ripening it and soon it will be sealed for the winter. -On over there you will find some.”</p> - -<p>He was busy and gave no further heed to me, but -as I turned away I noticed fully a hundred bees standing -ever so still—fanning, fanning with their wings -the open cells to hasten the ripening processes. He -left unanswered my wish to know what the ripening -of honey meant—and the winter.</p> - -<p>As indicated by the worker, I soon found plenty of -honey and quite gorged myself. This time I took away -with me a supply in my honey-sac. Again I felt sleepy,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_19"></a>[19]</span> -and started back to my cell. Finally I reached it. -I was dumfounded to find that it had been over-hauled -and that the bread-men had filled it with -shining yellow loaves. Wondering, I fell asleep hanging -between the combs. The last sound that I heard had -been a long, low murmur, which afterward I came -to know to be the voice of my hive singing an immemorial -hymn, a hymn, I have been told, the bees have -sung for a hundred times a thousand years.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"> -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[1]</a> It is well -known that all worker bees are females. But I have changed Happy to the -other sex. Here I have taken a liberty, warranted, I think, under the -circumstances.—<span class="smcap">The Author.</span></p> -<!-- Transcriber's Note: What circumstances would these be, then? The -circumstances of you being male and unable to imagine a female heroine? -May you be stung to death by bees. --> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-head"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_20"></a>[20]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_TWO">CHAPTER TWO<br /> -The Cell House</h2> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter2"> - -<img src="images/chapter2.jpg" width="700" height="700" alt="" /> - -<p class="para1">How long I slept I cannot say, -but I was awakened by a sharp -blow which nearly knocked me -from the combs. So nearly was -I toppled over that I seized the first thing my feet fell -upon. I felt immediately, by the way I was being -dragged about, that I had grappled something dangerous; -and imagine my consternation when I succeeded -in opening my eyes! I was holding fast to the -biggest bee that ever lived. Many of the same kind I -have seen since that awakening, but none ever looked -so terrible. When I had managed to loose my hold -on this monster and stood fairly on the combs, I asked -the nearest bee:</p> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-body"> - -<p>“Who is that?”</p> - -<p>“Nobody; he is just a drone.”</p> - -<p>“Please, then, what are drones?” for I had developed -a wholesome respect for one of them.</p> - -<p>“A drone is a great, worthless bee that won’t work.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_21"></a>[21]</span> -They stand around the hive until the time comes for -them to die. He is nearly the last. For almost a -month we have been driving them away, and when -they won’t go sometimes we sting them. You see, -they never work and are useless. Of an afternoon -they fly up into the sky with a deal of buzzing. Sometimes -they follow the Queen into the deep of heaven. -If they would stop there! But worse than that, they -bluster about over the hive and eat a lot of honey. -Besides, they get in the way and are just a nuisance.”</p> - -<p>I was listening very intently to this speech, when -the very same drone that had collided with me came -tearing past me with two mad workers clinging to his -wings.</p> - -<p>“Poor fellow,” I cried, “are they driving you away?”</p> - -<p>He headed straight for me, as though a friend had -come to his rescue, and the next thing I knew I began -to fall and fall, until I landed plump on the bottom-board -of the hive.</p> - -<p>In all my life I never fell quite so far again, although -once I was high in the air with a great load of -honey when a whirlwind caught me and hurled me -to the earth. You see, I then knew nothing of distance.</p> - -<p>I got up on my legs as quickly as I could and staggered -about a bit, trying to get my bearings. Now, indeed, -I had gone a long way from the tiny cell-house -where I was born; but strangely enough, I knew the -way back to it without even thinking. I had, up to -that time, moved but a few inches away from it, but -suddenly the world seemed to have yawned and swallowed -me up. However, I quickly regained my composure, -for around me bees were running, humming<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_22"></a>[22]</span> -strange words as they went; and over me I could hear -the croon of the nurse bees and other sounds which -were still foreign and mysterious.</p> - -<p>Without even thinking of the direction I took, I -started on the way back to my cell. Crawling along -the bottom-board until I reached the side of the hive, -I climbed up it until I came to a bridge of comb stretching -to a frame, and a moment later I was crossing from -comb to comb, and, ere long, to my great joy, stood -on the spot whence I had started. In my passage -I had met hundreds and hundreds of my brothers, -none of whom seemed glad to see me, although I thought -a few stopped to watch me stumbling along on my way. -However, I now know that not one actually paused -from his work. The world they live in is too full of -duties and the dark days of winter are always too -close at hand, while eternally is sounding in their ears -the refrain, “Work, work, for the frost is coming.”</p> - -<p>I went round and round the cell which had been my -house. I couldn’t make out why I did this, because I -was absolutely sure of my location. Still, to make -doubly sure, I even thrust my head into the doorway -and scented the bread with which it had been filled. -There still remained about it a curious odor, which I -never forgot, and at this late day, with my eyes closed, -I could find my cell—perhaps not by the smell, but -through the same divining sense that has led me across -ten thousand fields and streams and hills to my home -again. I found, however, that I had been a little -bruised by my fall. The foremost leg on my right side -was hurting me. It had probably been sprained when -I struck the bottom-board. I began to claw at it, when<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_23"></a>[23]</span> -a bee interrupted who seemed to understand what -troubled me. Forthwith he laid hold of the lame leg -and pulled and pushed it unceremoniously, and presently, -without a word, went on his way. I found immediately -that it gave me no further pain, and I was -engaged in licking my other legs when I seemed suddenly -to grow sleepy and in a trice I planted myself on -a comb and prepared to sleep.</p> - -<p>If I really slumbered, it could not have been long, -for when I began to drowse a bread-man was busy -taking the yellow pollen from the baskets on his hindmost -legs, and when I wakened he was just drawing -himself out of the cell where he had stored it away. -In fact, I saw him at the moment packing it down.</p> - -<p>“What are you doing?” I asked, sleepily.</p> - -<p>“Can’t you see?” he answered.</p> - -<p>Then it all dawned on me. It was interesting to -watch him draw himself out and thrust himself in, -head-on, battering down the loaves of bread.</p> - -<p>“Why does he do that?” I ventured, of a bee that -seemed to be loitering.</p> - -<p>“In order that he may store a great deal in the cell, -so that it will keep through the cold, wet months when -there are no flowers. Bread comes from flowers, you -know.”</p> - -<p>“Flowers! What are flowers?” I cried. “And -bread?”</p> - -<p>“You shall learn for yourself,” he answered, patiently, -turning away.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-head"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_24"></a>[24]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_THREE">CHAPTER THREE<br /> -Mysteries</h2> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter3"> - -<img src="images/chapter3.jpg" width="700" height="750" alt="" /> - -<p class="para1">I thought he might have answered -my questions, but, without -knowing why, I started off on -an excursion, and surprised myself at feeling so much -stronger. At least I could scamper along without -swaying and staggering and clutching at every bee and -thing I met. I began to feel brave and big.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-body"> - -<p>As I went forward I encountered a stream of workers. -They were humming a home-coming song as they -hurried up the combs to deposit their loads of honey. I -overheard some of them saying that the dark had -dropped on them suddenly out of a cloud and that<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_25"></a>[25]</span> -rain had begun to fall. I could not then understand -what terrors were couched in these words—rain and -darkness—else I might better have appreciated the -thanksgiving hymn which these late-returning, rain-draggled -workers were uttering. In days to come I -was to learn what danger meant, for more than once -I, too, was forced to flee before a storm in the growing -blackness, bearing a load almost too much for my -wings; and to spend a night in the woods, hiding as -best I might under a leaf, and quaking at the nameless -fears that beat about me in the gloom. There was no -comfort even in the tiny lights that glowed over my -head, nor in the small voices that called to me in the -night. It was not fear that I should be lost that oppressed -me, but that the load I had gathered with so -much travail should never reach the storehouse upon -which the life of the colony depended, for food was -necessary to life. And life? I knew naught of it. But -was it consciousness of imperative duty that made me -shake in every passing wind? Even to this day my own -life has given me no concern. I scarcely know that I -have any interest in living, apart from serving, apart -from the lives of these, my little brothers.</p> - -<p>I noticed as I moved onward that the workers -brought home no pollen. Their baskets were empty. -I thought this strange and inquired about it, learning -that the flowers yield pollen more freely in the morning; -that the sun, wind, and insects tend to dissipate it, and -that, therefore, bread was largely gathered in the early -hours. I also learned that as a food it was far less -important than honey; and that honey, too, was more -abundant when the day was young. I knew that the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_26"></a>[26]</span> -incoming hordes were now laden with honey, and -instinctively where it was carried, for my own sac was -still stuffed nearly to bursting.</p> - -<p>On I went without thinking, at each turn facing -laden and singing workers. It never occurred to me -that my progress would eventually lead me to the -door of the hive, which was the boundary between my -home and the wide universe that spread away to the -stars. Many things there were that stopped me on the -way. The last laden workers had passed, and I found -myself still wandering on. The night song of the hive -was already submerging the hymn of the late-arriving -workers; but the two were strangely commingling, the -one flowing into the other, even as the shades of twilight -merge with the dark.</p> - -<p>A mysterious feeling was creeping over me. I felt as -though something imponderable was pressing upon me. -Suddenly a whiff of air dashed in my face and I stopped, -stricken with an indefinable fear. Then, the reassuring -note of the guards at the door brought again my courage, -and boldly I walked out into the night.</p> - -<p>Several of the guards ran up to me, smelling me -strangely, then let me pass. I must have been wandering -as in a trance; all around me the night lay black -and the soft wind shook my wings, and the little stars -seemed hanging just over my head. I was seized with -a wild desire to try my wings, to fly into the beckoning -unknown. But my wings could not lift me, and -happily one of the guards, seeing me approach too near -the edge of the alighting-board, cautioned me and -suggested my going back into the hive.</p> - -<p>As I turned in I cast one long look back into the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_27"></a>[27]</span> -great black space that lay outside, and wondered and -wondered. Overhead the sprinkled lights, like flowers -in the gardens of heaven, leaned a little wistfully toward -the earth; and near, ever so near it seemed, a wonderfully -bright light shone, calling me to fly into its embrace.</p> - -<p>“What is that?” I asked of the gentle guard.</p> - -<p>“The Master’s lamp,” he said.</p> - -<p>The Master’s lamp! What might that be? But I -asked no more questions. There was too much of -mystery around me. I clambered over the combs as -rapidly as I might, back to my cell; but even there it -was a long time before I slept, so spellbound was I, so -stirred to the depths. Vast harmonies seemed athrob -in the outer world, and one dim undercurrent of tone, -the night song of my hive, ebbed and flowed ceaselessly -around me. Gradually I seemed to lose my identity -and to merge with the spirit of the things about me.</p> - -<p>In a flash I felt that I was no longer just a helpless -little bee, floating about in the maze of life, intent on -my own purposes, bound no whither, owning no duties -and driven by no destinies. Up to the moment I had -given no concern to things beyond dipping into honey-cells -for food, to exploring the house in which I found -myself, to groping about with eyes wide and ears that -missed no sound. But now I had been shaken with -new desires. I seemed to have climbed out of myself, -even as I had crawled out of my cell on that other day, -now but a memory—so far away it seemed. My -thoughts, my activities, my soul were no longer my -own—they belonged to my little brothers buzzing in -the alcoves or busy with endless tasks which I seemed -to know without knowing.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-head"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_28"></a>[28]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_FOUR">CHAPTER FOUR<br /> -The First Flight</h2> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter4"> - -<img src="images/chapter4.jpg" width="700" height="1000" alt="" /> - -<p class="para1">My sleep was interrupted by I -know not what strange dreams -or fantasies. I suppose I was -shaking my wings or my legs -unduly, when a kindly nurse -laid her hands on me.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-body"> - -<p>“What troubles you?” she asked.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_29"></a>[29]</span></p> - -<p>I did not immediately answer, because I was at a -loss for a reply and seemed still to be clinging to the -edge of things. Such wonderful vistas had been opened -to me, I suppose I acted like one entranced.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know,” I answered at last.</p> - -<p>“Wake up a bit, then.”</p> - -<p>Again I seemed quite alone, although all around me -hundreds of my brothers were sleeping, or working at -their manifold tasks.</p> - -<p>It was still very dark, but I began to move about -drowsily, giving no heed to the way. From comb to -comb I clambered, passing over unexplored regions. -Presently I came to what was clearly the outermost -comb. I saw a lot of workers tugging and pulling at -the cells. I stopped and watched them. Each cell -had its bee or bees busily engaged upon it. They -would seize the sides of it with their sharp mandibles, -and, by dint of biting and drawing, extend it little by -little. I could see that it was a laborious process, this -building of comb. I was standing quite still, looking -on and meditating, when, without ceremony, one of -the comb-builders rushed up to me and began to touch -my body, then left as suddenly as he had come. Instantly -I was inclined to resent this treatment, and -called to him as he turned:</p> - -<p>“What is all this about?”</p> - -<p>He did not stop to answer, and I was left to discover -that he had mistaken me for a comb-grower. Just what -that meant I was soon brought to understand.</p> - -<p>Hours passed and still I hung around the comb-builders, -until I felt that I had mastered the secret of -the art. Then slowly I turned and made my way<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_30"></a>[30]</span> -back to my home cell, tired, but greatly pleased with -my experiences.</p> - -<p>I suppose I must have slept, for with startling suddenness -it dawned on me that the night had passed. -The faintest light was coming into our hive, and over -the whole colony there was ringing the early summons -to the field. The cry caught me and unconsciously -I moved forward with the workers, a solid stream of -them making way to the entrance. I, too, passed out, -and once more—now the full dawn upon me—stopped -upon the alighting-board and flapped my wings, essaying -flight, only to find that I could not lift myself.</p> - -<p>I was distressed and sick at heart. I wanted to go—I -knew not where; but instead, there I was, an obstruction; -and I could not immediately re-enter the hive -on account of the outward press of workers. The -growing light, and then the sudden burst of the sun, -quite fascinated me. Besides this, the flight of a thousand -of my brothers, each taking the note of the field-worker -when about to embark, filled me with longing -to go into the wide world that spread around and that -called me with infinitely tender phrases.</p> - -<p>I suppose I was acting strangely, as well as blockading -the entrance, when one of the guards mildly remonstrated -with me and suggested my re-entering the hive. -By this time practically all the veteran honey-gatherers -had gone, and indeed those first out were beginning -to return, chanting the song that tells of a successful -foray into the fields. So, following the mandate of the -guard, I seized the opportunity of falling in the wake -of a laden bee. Instinctively I followed him.</p> - -<p>He rushed along like mad, darting into the hive,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_31"></a>[31]</span> -and then over the bottom-board to a point where a -bridge of wax stretched downward within his reach. -Up it he scampered, with me at his heels, until he came -to the very spot where the workers had been building -cells the night before. Finding one to his liking, he -buried himself in it, and in a moment had emptied -his sac, depositing the honey at the bottom of the -cell. Before I could turn around from inspecting what -he had done he had gone. He appeared delighted to -think he had been one of the first to return with a -load, and as he went out I heard him calling aloud to -his fellows to follow him, for he had found a new rich -harvest field.</p> - -<p>I hurried along and reached the alighting-board in -time to see him fly, closely pursued by half-a-dozen -eager workers. I rambled about on the alighting-board, -constantly buzzing my wings for I knew not what reason, -when I overheard one say:</p> - -<p>“There’s that Happy again!”</p> - -<p>It made no difference to me, for I was determined to -stay to watch the incoming bees, and presently the -worker I had followed inside returned and, at the briefest -intervals, those that had gone with him. And now -a real sensation was astir. These half-a-dozen all began -to cry aloud:</p> - -<p>“Hurry—hurry—honey—honey.”</p> - -<p>In the briefest space a multitude was flying over the -field to I knew not what rich storehouse. Indeed, -every worker, on returning, was told the great news, and -from one I gathered that a colony was being robbed, -that something tremendous had happened. <i>The Queen -had died!</i></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_32"></a>[32]</span></p> - -<p>I knew not what robbery meant, nor had I ever -heard the word <i>queen</i>.</p> - -<p>“What is a queen?” I asked.</p> - -<p>One of the guards stared at me impatiently. “You -had better go inside.”</p> - -<p>I refused to comply with the suggestion; on the contrary, -I remained where I was, ever and anon flapping -my wings, and presently to my overpowering joy I felt -my body being lifted off my legs, and without thinking -I rose in the air! It was a wonderful sensation. I -hardly knew what I was doing, but back and forth I -flew about our hive, looking and looking to make sure -I should know it when I returned; for now, indeed, I -felt my soul bounding within me and that the wide -world, upon which I had yearningly gazed, was about -to swallow me up. Back and forth I flew, ever widening -the distance, taking into view other white-faced hives -and trees and houses, until presently, in a long spiral -I rose into the heavens. Up and up I went toward the -sun, glorying in the power of wings and the infinite -grandeur of the world that spread out below me. -How far away it seemed and how cool and green and -inviting! I could hear around me strange noises, -mingled with the whirring of wings. The note of my -hive now and again faintly broke on my ears, and I -knew that my brothers were traveling the airy spaces, -working ever toward a goal far removed from thinking.</p> - -<p>I did not feel lonely at all, but after a time I decided -to return to my house to make sure that I knew the -way. You would be surprised to know how straight I -came back to it. Down and down I dropped into the -bee-yard, and, turning right and left, without further<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_33"></a>[33]</span> -thought I landed on the alighting-board. Immediately -a guard fell upon me, but passed me without -question. Then, with glee bubbling in my soul, I fled -into the hive and set up such a buzzing for joy as I -think none ever surpassed.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-head"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_34"></a>[34]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_FIVE">CHAPTER FIVE<br /> -Robbery</h2> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter5"> - -<img src="images/chapter5.jpg" width="700" height="800" alt="" /> - -<p class="para1">Now that I had taken my first flight -into the blue, I felt at last that the -world had truly opened for me, and -that I was a real bee with duties -and responsibilities—and without -hesitation I accepted them. Rushing around in uncontrolled -delight, I heard again the laden workers -murmuring about the great stores of honey they -were taking. It seemed, from what I could gather, -that practically all the workers of the hive were -directing their course to this new, rich field.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-body"> - -<p>I was listening as hard as ever I might to all this -converse, when an important bee cried out:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_35"></a>[35]</span></p> - -<p>“Why don’t you get to work?”</p> - -<p>Up to that moment I had done nothing nor had I -even then thought of it, but at the suggestion I made -off, following to the entrance and then into the air a -worker bound for the unknown treasure-field. I got off -a little more slowly than he, but to my surprise I -found I could easily outfly him. We had gone but a -short distance when he began to descend, and, with -no ceremony, landed at the same instant on the alighting-board -of a strange hive where a thousand bees -were struggling. I discovered immediately that many -of the bees around were strangers to me and that all -acted like mad—pushing, pulling, and fighting. Some -were struggling to get in and some to get out. I saw -at once that those outward bound were heavily laden -with honey, and that they had to fight the hungry bees -scrambling for a taste of the nectar. I collided with an -old fellow heavily loaded and was about to attack him, -when he hurled me aside. I was now aflame with the -passion of acquisition. Honey I must have, even if it -cost my life!</p> - -<p>I scrambled along with the rest to get in and finally -succeeded. But there the trouble began. Whether -it was because I looked young or was really ignorant of -the procedure, the first thing I knew a bad-tempered, -elderly bee attacked me. I learned long afterward -that he was one of the last survivors of the colony, -fighting to the end. First, he seized me by the leg, but -I kicked him off; then, undaunted, he got me by the -wing in such a way that I could not shake him, and the -next thing I knew he was about to sting me. Other -bees were rushing pell-mell over us. I felt the tiniest<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_36"></a>[36]</span> -prick of his stinger, and then with a supreme effort I -escaped his clutches. I rushed away from the spot -and soon came upon a batch of honey over which it -appeared ten thousand bees were quarreling and fighting. -Without thinking, I fell into the scrimmage and -by some chance finally landed on a half-filled cell, and -into it I plunged.</p> - -<p>Here my troubles began afresh. Hundreds of bees -piled on top of me and all but drowned me in the -honey I was intent on possessing. For a minute my -head was buried in it and I began to strangle. But -by a mighty effort I escaped.</p> - -<p>It was almost as difficult to get out of the hive as it -was in; and on my return journey a hungry, malevolent -bee intercepted me and demanded that I divide my -load with him. On my refusing he seized me by a wing -and jerked me so violently that I thought he had all -but torn it off. I fought him from the start, but, he -being a stalwart and I heavily laden, he thrashed me -almost into a lifeless state. To add to my terrible -mischance, another freebooter, more vicious than the -first, joined against me, and the two of them overcame -me quickly and robbed me of my load. They left me -half senseless and I was only too glad to escape with my -life.</p> - -<p>I flew as straight as an arrow to my home, feeling -outraged and exhausted. After all, I was not powerful—not -important. I was crestfallen; but I did not even -have to think of the direction or the location of my -house, and you may be assured I was glad to return -to it, if only to make sure that I was alive and knew -the road. At the same time I was still under the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_37"></a>[37]</span> -impression that I had some honey in my sac. Nobody -had taught me how to unload it, but I went forward -to a cell. Imagine how downcast I was to find that not -an atom of honey had been left me! I was infuriated; -so resolved at once to try again. Hurriedly I went -to the place for another load, but found the bees had -nearly all gone. Once inside, I discovered that not a -drop of honey remained, hence the reason for their -leaving. I was wandering about when a poor crippled -bee approached. Could this be one of the rascals that -robbed me and who had suffered a worse fate?</p> - -<p>“Won’t you have pity on me and let me go home -with you?” he said, sorrowfully. “I’m all alone in the -world.”</p> - -<p>His tone and request cut me deeply; he was clearly -no robber, for I saw that he was broken-hearted and -had but five legs—one of his basket-legs was missing. -And how wretched he looked!</p> - -<p>“Have you no home?” I asked, with compassion.</p> - -<p>“This was my home, but you and ten thousand like -you have destroyed it. There wasn’t much left of it, -though, when our Queen-Mother died.”</p> - -<p>I felt guilty as a thief caught red-handed. Remorse -was at my throat.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” I said, “you may go home with me. But -tell me about your Queen-Mother. What became of -her?”</p> - -<p>Then he began a fascinating story which kept me -rooted to the place, desolate as it was.</p> - -<p>“Well, it was this way: One sunny afternoon, a -long time ago, our Queen-Mother went for a flight into -the outer world, a thing she did but rarely—and never<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_38"></a>[38]</span> -returned. Have you ever lived in a house without a -Queen-Mother? You do not understand, then, what -a terrible thing that is.”</p> - -<p>He stopped short and would say no more.</p> - -<p>“Please go on!” I urged.</p> - -<p>“Some day I’ll tell you all of it. It is a long story, -but for us the end was in sight. In the large economy -of the universe our efforts were futile. Better for us -and for the great Life of the Bee that the honey we had -gathered should be conserved by strange colonies, and -that our short lives should be yielded up or dedicated -to strengthening them, than that it should be left rich -booty to web-worms and mice. So it came to pass, -you and others found out our condition and sought our -stores, as it has been written you should. We fought -at first, half-heartedly—as one without friends or kinsmen -or home will fight. You saw the end of the battle. -It is over. And now will you let me go home with you? -You see I have but five legs, but I can still work and -help do the things that remain to be done.”</p> - -<p>So absorbing had been his story, I quite forgot myself, -and while I answered, “I’m so sorry for you, and -want you to come,” my thoughts were far away.</p> - -<p>The things he had told me out of his life and out of -the life of the colony had gone deep in my breast. -Turning from him, I looked around and, lo! the hive was -silent as death. Not a thing of life remained except -this poor, miserable, orphaned bee. Death had come, -and now stood guard over the portal of the little home -where once a beautiful spirit had brooded, and where -some of the laws we may not understand had come to -fulfilment....</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_39"></a>[39]</span></p> - -<p>“Come with me,” I said, in a whisper.</p> - -<p>He followed, limping but uncomplaining.</p> - -<p>On the bottom-board we saw a number of dead bees -which I had not noticed on going in, I had been in such -haste.</p> - -<p>“So many of my brothers are dead,” he murmured, -“why should I want to live? Because I am needed? -You think I am needed? You think I am commanded -by the high powers to give my energies and my intelligence -to the problems that confront us? Perhaps that -is true, and I shall bide by the call and give my life to -my new family.”</p> - -<p>We came at length to the entrance; I noticed that he -turned and looked in a dazed way at the things about -him. It was a sad farewell. His little brothers had -gone. His tribe had perished. He should see his -home never again.</p> - -<p>Then I rose on my wings and he followed me ever so -closely. A new chapter in our lives had opened.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-head"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_40"></a>[40]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_SIX">CHAPTER SIX<br /> -CRIP</h2> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter6"> - -<img src="images/chapter6.jpg" width="700" height="910" alt="" /> - -<p class="para1">Scarcely were we risen in the -air when I discovered the Master -walking near my home. I seemed -to know instinctively that he was -our Master. Towering into the air and walking with -such majestic tread, he filled me with wonder and admiration. -Nor was I less interested in the Little One -that ran at his heels. Stories there were of these two, -eddying about the hive—of their kindness and also -their malevolence. How mighty they appeared! I -had seen them but once before. That picture was still -vivid.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-body"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_41"></a>[41]</span></p> - -<p>We were not long in reaching home. Without ceremony -I lit on the board and instantly my friend was -beside me. At the same moment a guard accosted -him and seized him, recognizing him as an intruder. -I interfered, but almost unavailingly, for the guard was -about to sting him. The two of us escaped this guard -only to be attacked by another, which we beat off, -and hurriedly entered the hive. I was almost certain -that yet others would question the stranger, and sure -enough, we had barely got inside before another guard -summarily attacked him. Poor fellow, with only five -legs and tired from the combats of the day, he could -make but a poor fight. Again I rescued him, and again -we raced into the interior. And now, happily, our -troubles were over. Without thinking, I made straight -for my cell, with “Crip,” as I began to call him, at my -heels.</p> - -<p>He seemed to realize that he was a stranger and -that he owed his life to me, for he clung to me as closely -as possible. He seemed to know, too, that the ground -whereon I stood was sacred to me. He did not speak -for a time, nor did I. We simply hung limp on the -comb, and rested. He broke the silence:</p> - -<p>“You have a wonderful colony, I can see. I hope -I shall grow into it as though it were my own. Indeed, -in a sense it is my own, for all bees are sprung from the -same source, and the life of the bee is kept alive by us, -each in his own cell. I know now that I shall grow -into it. Listen to that voice! How long it is since I -heard a Queen-Mother sing!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_42"></a>[42]</span></p> - -<p>I roused myself, somewhat confused. “Queen-Mother!” -I stammered.</p> - -<p>“Yes. Won’t you take me to her?”</p> - -<p>I hardly knew how to answer; I had never seen her -myself, although I knew from Crip’s story and from -some unknown source that there was somewhere a -reigning spirit. But my life had been so brief and I -had already learned so many things, I said, as lightly -as I might, “Let us go.”</p> - -<p>He seemed to know the way to her. He hobbled -along as best he might on his five legs. He was now no -longer suspected as an intruder, and we marched without -interruption. Presently we climbed through a hole in a -comb and came face to face with our Queen-Mother.</p> - -<p>I stopped, dazed, overcome by her serenity. The -grace and magnificent proportions of her body and the -fire of her eyes held me entranced. I shall not live long -enough fitly to describe my emotions. There she was, -queenly and wonderful, and yet simple as any one of us. -She approached us and appeared to nod, as if to say, -“I salute you, my children.” Then she went on with -her labors.</p> - -<p>I turned to Crip. He was speechless.</p> - -<p>Immediately we started back to our cell, for it was -henceforth to be his also.</p> - -<p>“It is strange,” he said. “I do not understand it. -Life and death are in her keeping, and yet she knows -it not. You and I don’t count for much. We pass -like the leaves, but life everlasting lingers in her body—the -very spirit of things ranges through her. But I am -content with my insignificant place, to live my life, -doing my duty from day to day.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_43"></a>[43]</span></p> - -<p>I did not answer him. We fell silent as we made our -way across the combs.</p> - -<p>“Suppose we take a turn in the woods,” he suddenly -suggested, wheeling about and heading for the door. -“I have new bearings to get and you have new lands -to explore.”</p> - -<p>“I supposed you knew this country,” I ventured.</p> - -<p>“I do, but the way to this new home of mine must -be learned.”</p> - -<p>Out into the air we hurried, but he flew back and -forth many times before our door. He wanted to make -sure that he knew it; then, flying round and round in -ever wider circles, we mounted with ecstasy into the -higher reaches. Lake Espantoso, with its border of -great oaks, lay below us like a bar of silver; and the -Master’s house stood like a sentinel beside the white -hives which, row on row, spread beneath us in the sun.</p> - -<p>“That prominent knoll,” said Crip, “is a thing to -remember, if you are returning late and flying low. -And remember, too, that in that window of the Master’s -house a lantern burns. This may sometimes be a -guide. But, mark you, never fly into it, though you -may be tempted. Better still, get in before it is too -dark. Just there by that row of hives is a tree to remember. -It is a glory in the spring with its yellow -flowers, until the cutting ants get it. They clip off -the leaves and blossoms. But it is an excellent land-mark, -nevertheless. And there’s the Master,” went -on Crip, “and the Little One, and that horrid dog. -That little boy sits by for hours while the great one -labors with some of us. The horrid dog sleeps—I’d like -to sting him. Things will go wrong—the Master sets<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_44"></a>[44]</span> -them to rights. He seems to know everything; and yet, -when he took away some of our honey, in spite of our -having vast stores of it, we fought him. The little he -took harmed us not at all, and I suppose we fight him -because our brothers have done so for centuries. But -I talk too much.”</p> - -<p>After a rather long flight, and much interesting converse, -we reached our door again. Crip’s experience -with the guard was still fresh in his mind, for he clung -closely to me for protection. But the guard this -time passed him without a word. He had acquired -the scent and the note of the hive, and henceforth his -life and all the energies of his body would be merged -with that of the colony.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-head"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_45"></a>[45]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_SEVEN">CHAPTER SEVEN<br /> -Crip, the Wise</h2> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter7"> - -<img src="images/chapter7.jpg" width="700" height="825" alt="" /> - -<p class="para1">When we had returned to our -cell we halted, and for a season -remained quiet. Indeed, we slept -a tiny bit, as much as ever a bee can sleep at a stretch, -and then we fell into meditation. Among other things, -I was wondering what the Queen-Mother was doing -when she popped her long, thin body into each cell -as she made her rounds. I could not understand and -so I called on Crip to explain.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-body"> - -<p>“Why, laying eggs!” he said, right sharply, as -though annoyed at my ignorance.</p> - -<p>“Well, what are eggs?” for I was still no wiser.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_46"></a>[46]</span></p> - -<p>“Come with me,” he said, and off we went across -the combs.</p> - -<p>He did not stop until he reached the very spot -where we had seen the Queen. The odor of her was -still strong thereabouts, but she had gone.</p> - -<p>“Now look, stupid!” Crip said. “At the bottom of -each of the cells in this section of comb is an egg.”</p> - -<p>I looked down into one and, sure enough, a small, -thin, yellowish-white egg was stuck squarely in the -center of it. I looked into several other cells, and each -had its one egg.</p> - -<p>I shall never forget the story which he went on to -unfold. The wonderful cycle from egg to larva, from -larva to bee, he explained in fascinating detail. I saw -at once that he was a real sage, that his knowledge was -boundless, and then to crown it he told me that even -the Queen-Mother herself had sprung from an ordinary -egg, having been converted through miracle into a -queen ruling over this empire. Simply by feeding and -tending them differently—only the bees in their wisdom -know how—the egg which might develop into a worker -or a drone, passing through a metamorphosis, can be -made to break from the dark cover of the cell the personification -of life eternal, as exemplified in the body -and the life of the Queen.</p> - -<p>I could not quite understand all these things, but -I felt sure Crip was telling the truth; and indeed I -began to look up to him with increasing admiration -and wonder on account of the worlds of things he knew.</p> - -<p>We were silent awhile. There rose again for me the -night hymn of the hive. It penetrated me as not before; -it had a new significance, a new message—I had been<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_47"></a>[47]</span> -visited with a revelation. The sight I had gained of -the Queen-Mother woke new and tremulous emotions -within me—there was a new meaning in life.</p> - -<p>Crip stirred rather sharply, breaking my train of -thought.</p> - -<p>“What’s the matter?” I queried.</p> - -<p>“I’m tired holding on. We must get another place -to rest. You see, with only five legs the load of my -body grows heavy.”</p> - -<p>With that we moved up the comb to the top of it, -and there he spread himself out with a little hum of -content. And just then I developed a curiosity to -know how he had lost his leg.</p> - -<p>“You miss your leg, but do you suffer pain on -account of it? And how did it happen?”</p> - -<p>“That’s a short story. I was coming home late one -day, well laden with honey, when, without warning, -one of those terrible black bee-hawks darted for me -and clutched me, sailing away to the nearest bush. -He had quickly rolled me up with his powerful legs -and almost by the time he lit he was ready to kill -me with one thrust of his proboscis. Of course I had -struggled, but when one of those fellows gets his claws -on you it’s good-by. I had about ceased to struggle -when suddenly there came a tremendous shock, and -the next moment I was rolling on the ground and shaking -myself free from the mutilated hawk. He had -been torn to pieces by some mysterious force, and my -leg, my bread-basket leg, was gone. At that moment -the Master approached me; in his hands he held a -long black thing which I had seen emit fire on other -occasions, and somehow I suspected at once he had<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_48"></a>[48]</span> -saved me. The little boy came hurriedly up, stooped -over me and helped release me, and in a moment I was -circling round to get my bearings. The little boy -and the Master—and even the dog—watched my movements -with an expression of satisfaction on their faces. -I flew straightway home and was thankful still to be -alive.”</p> - -<p>“Tell me more about this Master,” I begged, for I -was now growing vastly interested in his activities -and in those of the Little One, and even the dog which -once I tried to sting, because he came so close to our -hive.</p> - -<p>“Some say he is good—some say that he is bad. I -only know him as the chopper of weeds about our home -and as my rescuer. Many times since the day he saved -me have I heard him shooting bee-hawks. Indeed, I -had heard the little thunder of his gun before that day, -but I did not understand its meaning. They say, too, -that he takes away our honey—and he did take some -of ours once—and frightens us nearly to death with -the prospect of starvation. And they fall upon him and -sting him, trying to drive him away. But all this is -useless, they report, since he comes armed with fire -and smoke.</p> - -<p>“Others tell of him that in the dark, cold days, if -provisions run low, he brings honey and closes the door -against blizzards. But I know nothing of this. I have -not lived through a winter and I fear I shall never -know what it means.”</p> - -<p>Thus I became infinitely interested in the Master -who passed from day to day about the yard. But I -was confused in mind about him. Somehow I instinctively<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_49"></a>[49]</span> -feared him and I always found myself ready -to attack him, as I explained to Crip.</p> - -<p>“There would be no use in that,” answered he. -“Should you sting him, you would achieve nothing. -Instead, you would lose your life.”</p> - -<p>“How is that?” I cried, for I did not till then know -I had a life—at least I had never thought of it.</p> - -<p>“You can sting once, but unless you escape with -your stinger, which is rare, your life is sacrificed.”</p> - -<p>I seemed to know this and answered him nothing.</p> - -<p>“Is it not a strange fatality,” he continued, “that we -should be given stingers with which to defend ourselves -and our homes, and yet, when we make use of them, we -lose our lives! Still, we are always ready to strike, -with no thought of death.”</p> - -<p>“What is death?” I asked of Crip.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know, except that once when the bee-hawk -caught me I felt myself going away. It grew dark -and I heard the hum of wings that were strange and -wonderful. Somehow you go to sleep and forget.”</p> - -<p>“I have thought of death,” he went on. “I am old -and battered, my days are as the falling flowers when the -frost is upon them, and the frost soon will fall.”</p> - -<p>I waited awhile in silence, but he spoke no more. -Soon he lay in that buzzing hive, asleep, and I was -not long in following him to where the golden honey -dripped in the garden of dreams.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-head"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_50"></a>[50]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_EIGHT">CHAPTER EIGHT<br /> -A Gleaner of Honey</h2> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter8"> - -<img src="images/chapter8.jpg" width="700" height="780" alt="" /> - -<p class="para1">We awakened about the same -time and began to stir about. -The first thing that happened -was a new experience—the wax-pickers fell upon me -and raked and scraped me for the tiny bits of wax -which now, on account of my voracious appetite, had -begun to grow in each of the rings marking the under -sections of my body. They were so rude that at first -I was inclined to resent their interference, which -seemed to be mere meddling. But when I looked -at Crip and saw two busy wax-pickers fumbling -over him, I began to understand that this was part -of a routine, and so I stood still until they had -finished.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-body"> - -<p>“They won’t bother with me much longer,” said -Crip, sadly. “You see, when one becomes old the -wax grows thinly—so the pickers give over. But<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_51"></a>[51]</span> -you! They’ll get you. I have noticed that you are -rather greedy about eating honey. This means you’ll -get fat and produce lots of wax.”</p> - -<p>“Tell me about wax and comb,” I begged of him.</p> - -<p>“Comb, my child, is made of wax; this is comb on -which you are standing. It is everywhere about you. -The cups that hold our honey and our bread are made -of it. The cell in which you were born is of wax; and, -besides, it is used to stop the holes in our house. Of -course there are different kinds of comb, depending on -the use to which it is put. Why, these sheets of comb -with their six-sided cells are wonderful in their economy, -in their plan and symmetry. The cell we build -is perfect. No other structure would serve our purposes, -combining such strength and capacity. The cell is -indispensable to the life of the bee!—otherwise he could -not exist. So don’t let me see you make ready to fight -the next time the wax-pickers approach, and they’ll -soon be after you again.”</p> - -<p>I answered nothing. I was wondering in what far -age we had learned to build the six-sided cell, and in -what tiny brain it had been conceived. They fit so -perfectly, I stood quite still marveling at the harmony -of it all and wondering how many things there remained -for me to learn. At every turn I had been confronted -with something new. And was it to be so -to the end? What could the end be, of which Crip -frequently spoke?</p> - -<p>“How old are you?” I asked.</p> - -<p>“Two months—glorious with flowers, but ending in -disaster.”</p> - -<p>“What disaster?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_52"></a>[52]</span></p> - -<p>“Well, you saw the close of it—the death of our -colony.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I remember,” I said. But he was so wise I -could scarcely believe that he was but two months old, -for he seemed so tattered of wing and battered of body!</p> - -<p>Without thinking what we were about, we drew near -the door. Groups of workers were banked about -the entrance, waiting impatiently to be away at the -first streaks of dawn. Presently a note like a bugle-call -sounded, and immediately the face of things was -changed. By twos and threes and fours the workers -took wing and scurried into the fields.</p> - -<p>A dull gray light lay on the world; the air was damp -and moved lazily out of the east; the dew had fallen -thick on the flowers and now began to twinkle from -myriad angles. Crip and I had left the hive at the same -instant, but once on the wing I forgot all about him -and flew like mad this way and that until I caught a -whiff of fragrance from an unexplored meadow, and -thither I hastened. Strange and thrilling sensation! -I had not until now felt the joy of dipping into the -flowers and searching out their honey-pots. It was a -field of late sunflowers, and all of them had their faces -toward the east, eager to look upon the sun. Joyfully -they waved in the breeze and beckoned to one another -as if to say: “Good morning. How glorious is the sun, -our king!” In spite of the dew on their faces, some -of them already were wearing the brand of the hot -summer, which had all but gone and left them beseeching -of autumn her tender graces.</p> - -<p>“I am old and frayed,” I heard one say, “and these -mornings chill me, but my work is done. The heart<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_53"></a>[53]</span> -and soul of me are here; I shall not pass; I shall endure; -my seed shall spring up to brighten the world.”</p> - -<p>“But I am young,” a tender blossom said, “and -I shall be cut off. The frost will slay me and I shall -have rattled down to dust ere my soul has developed -its immortal parts.”</p> - -<p>At the moment I was taking honey from its lips, -and I felt a quivering as if its heart fluttered.</p> - -<p>“Dear little flower,” I said, “you are living your life; -you cannot die; you will be swallowed up in the universal -spirit of things. Your face has spread a glamour -of gold in the world; your honey has nourished a -thousand winged things; your scented breath has -floated far and has carried blessings into silent places. -Memory of you will linger; it will be preserved by the -things you have fed, by the things you have gladdened. -And, too, I promise that I shall remember you!”</p> - -<p>“How can you remember me,” the flower asked, -“when you, too, are doomed?”</p> - -<p>“What!” I cried. “Doomed! Why, I am young, I -am swift, I am beautiful, I am glorious!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, and so am I. But we pass.”</p> - -<p>“You are wise for so young a flower,” spoke up the -elder blossom. “Both of you are of the heavens; both -have your lives before you in this tiny garden, ere you -return to the golden fields that spread out toward the -sun. You are immortal.”</p> - -<p>Just then I saw one of the petals blow away from -the face of the elder flower. It fluttered and fluttered -and finally fell to the earth. Scarcely had it struck -the ground when something with a long, thin body -and active legs seized it and began struggling to draw<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_54"></a>[54]</span> -it through the grass, intent on some mysterious purpose. -I was quite absorbed, and from my post of -vantage on the breast of the floweret I followed the -movements of the thing that tugged at the petal. -I had never seen this thing before and I was wishing -for Crip, when, behold! he appeared.</p> - -<p>“What are you doing?” he cried at me. “How -many loads have you gathered? What are you -staring at?”</p> - -<p>He had submerged me with questions. I answered -none of them. I had, indeed, forgotten my work -momentarily, so absorbed had I been in the talk of -the flowers.</p> - -<p>“Have you a load? Let’s go,” cried he.</p> - -<p>I was ready, truly, but I could not refrain from asking -him about this strange animal that pulled the leaf so -sedulously through the grass.</p> - -<p>“An ant!” Crip answered, rather glumly.</p> - -<p>“Do you see what he is about?”</p> - -<p>“Yes he is gathering his winter stores. A time -comes when he must go indoors and he must have -food even as you and I. Come now, let’s be off.”</p> - -<p>I looked down at the ant struggling with his burden -and then at the disheveled flower, casting a last glance -at the tender face which had yielded up honey to me, -wondering at the strangeness of it all.</p> - -<p>“Come on,” cried Crip, rising on wing.</p> - -<p>I did not speak, but followed him. I flew at his -heels until he began to fag a bit and then I came up -alongside, careful, however, not to outdistance him. -I soon saw that he had a heavier load than I, and I -felt ashamed, but I knew this had come through my<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_55"></a>[55]</span> -having wasted a few minutes, and I resolved then and -there that the next time I should be first.</p> - -<p>Another thing I noticed, we were flying very low, -so near the earth we almost brushed the tops of the -bushes. I asked Crip the reason.</p> - -<p>“The wind,” he answered, in better humor than -could have been expected. “Don’t you feel that -heavy head current? If you should go up it would be -a hard fight home with these loads. You see, there are -currents and currents,” he went on, “and you must -use your wits. Take the current that blows your way. -Profit by whatever nature bestows.”</p> - -<p>Almost at once I saw the yard with its white hives, -like dots, and the Master with the Little One and the -dog that seemed always with them. The next moment -Crip and I were dropping down to our hive. I was -overjoyed when I fell upon the alighting-board, and -could not restrain my exuberance of feeling. So I -bowed my head humbly as best I might with the -load I carried, uttering a hymn of thanksgiving—the -very hymn, Crip told me, that every worker for a -million years had uttered on returning to his hive with -his first load of honey. I cannot explain, but some -mysterious force seized me, compelling me to bow my -head and to sing. I should have done it had it cost -my life. Such is the law of the hive, just as there is -the law of the jungle. I did not know why I was so -happy, but something bubbled over in me, and the -very intoxication of it finally sent me running madly -to deposit my load in a waiting cell, and once more to -take wing for the field of the flowers of the sun.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-head"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_56"></a>[56]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_NINE">CHAPTER NINE<br /> -A STORM</h2> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter9"> - -<img src="images/chapter9.jpg" width="700" height="1000" alt="" /> - -<p class="para1">On my way back the first -rays of light caught the topmost -branches of the trees -and gilded the flying clouds -in the east. Far in the -west, black and forbidding masses of cloud were -gathering, and the wind, I observed, had shifted its -course. Again I had lost Crip, and I was regretful, -for there were questions which only he could answer. -But I flew all the faster for being alone, and soon -found the very place and the very flowers I had visited -before. Speedily I took my load, but I could not -fail to return to the flowers I had come to love. Other -petals from the elder had fluttered away, due either to -the eager foraging of bees or to the gusty impatience -of the wind. The younger had opened wider her heart -to the sun.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-body"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_57"></a>[57]</span></p> - -<p>“I’ve been waiting for you,” she said, sweetly. -“All that I have I yield up to you gladly. This -is my end. Oh, how glorious is life! How splendid -to be able to give of one’s store so that life shall -go on eternally!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, eternally,” echoed the elder blossom. “Even -I, in dying, leave my seed behind to follow the summer -suns through numberless ages; and I breathe into the -world an imperishable fragrance. It shall be wafted -to the utmost bounds; it shall gladden the hearts of -the lowliest. Though it be scattered by the winds, it -shall not cease to exist.”</p> - -<p>By this time I had filled my honey-sac, and, after -flying three times around these two well-beloved blossoms, -I made for home. I was depressed by the talk -which I had heard. I could not wholly comprehend it, -and I wanted to consult Crip.</p> - -<p>I was not long reaching our hive, for the wind seemed -to get under me and literally to blow me on. I deposited -my treasure, hurried out again, and once more -headed for the sunflower-field, where I quickly gathered -a load. Then straight for home. It was difficult flying -now, because the wind was in my face. I rose -higher, following Crip’s advice, but still it blew and -almost beat me back. The black clouds which I remembered -having seen in the west seemed almost over -me, and suddenly terrific noises crashed around. It<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_58"></a>[58]</span> -grew dark and great flashes of fire tore the heavens -apart and blinded me.</p> - -<p>This terrified me. I knew not its meaning, but instinctively -I fled homeward. But my progress was -slow, and I had not gone far when again the whole -world seemed to tremble, shaken through and through -by the most violent rumblings conceivable. It grew -so dark I almost stopped in my flight, not sure of my -way. At this moment of hesitation something struck -me squarely in the back, almost knocking me down. -It had been a great drop of water, and almost immediately -others began to pelt me. Soaking wet and -tossed by the gale, I was forced to alight. As I dropped -downward I saw nothing but black shadows, and -presently I was dashed into a great tree. I seized a -branch that offered shelter, which proved to be none -too well protected against the blast that now drove -the rain in solid sheets. I was cold, and clambered -around to the under side of the limb, and there, -feeling none too secure, I grudgingly deposited some -of my honey in a crevice. By lightening my load I -was better able to keep my balance; but so gusty was -the blast that it whipped the rain all over me, and -I was unable to find a spot that was dry. I began -to climb from one branch to another in the hope of -reaching a safer haven, but, alas! none was to be found.</p> - -<p>Worse things, too, were awaiting me. I was crying -for Crip when the branch to which I clung suddenly -snapped. Down and down it fell while I clung to it. -I was too cold and wet to try to take wing, and presently -the branch crashed into a swirling stream of water. -At first I was entirely submerged. It seemed an interminable<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_59"></a>[59]</span> -time that I stayed under the water; but presently -I came to the surface and caught my breath. -Cold as I was, I still clung with all the tenacity of my -being to the floating branch that was hurried onward -by the raging torrent. I was beginning to feel a little -more comfortable when over went the branch again -in the seething water, and again I seemed to go down -to immeasurable depths. This time I felt my legs -giving way in the rush of the waters. My head swam -and I strangled, but just as it seemed all over with -me the branch again came to the surface. I caught -my breath, shifted slightly my footing, and hurriedly -emptied my honey-sac. This gave me more confidence -in spite of the numbness that had nearly overcome -me from the cold and water. There I sat shaking, -awaiting the next turn of the branch, which now -seemed merely to be bobbing up and down in the waters. -The wind was still whistling through the trees, the rain -was falling in torrents, and the thunder rumbled in -unabated violence.</p> - -<p>How long I clung to the branch in desperation I do -not know. But after a time the rain ceased, the wind -fell to a whimper among the bushes, and the darkness -broke along the horizon. It began to grow a little -brighter. Imagine my joy, therefore, to find that my -perch was now quite clear of the flood waters, the -branch safely nestling in the top of a bush. In a short -space it grew warmer, and I took courage; I began to -dry myself and to preen my wings. The light gained, -and before long, after trying out my strength, I found -that I could again mount into the air, and with one -wide sweep I made for home.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-head"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_60"></a>[60]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_TEN">CHAPTER TEN<br /> -The Aftermath</h2> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter10"> - -<img src="images/chapter10.jpg" width="700" height="550" alt="" /> - -<p class="para1">I flew with all my speed, and I was -almost overcome with joy when I saw -my house. I noticed, too, as I approached, -the Master bending over a neighboring hive, -and I wondered what was the matter. But on alighting -I was too happy to inquire about anything. I rushed -inside and sang a song of thanksgiving at my deliverance.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-body"> - -<p>Then I bolted straight for my cell to find my beloved -Crip. He welcomed me with joy.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said he, “I feared you were lost. You -ought to have come home before the storm broke. -But I’m happy you escaped. The next time you see -great piles of cloud, make haste homeward. Your -life is too precious to lose through stupidity.”</p> - -<p>He came close and gave me a kiss, drawing his -tongue across my mouth. The taste of honey excited -me, and immediately I dropped into a cell and helped -myself. I still felt stiff and cold from my experiences, -and complained to Crip.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_61"></a>[61]</span></p> - -<p>“It might have been worse,” he said, when I had -told him all that had befallen me. “If you live long -enough you will have some real adventures,” he concluded.</p> - -<p>I was inclined to resent his comment, for I felt that -I should never again pass through such a storm and -survive.</p> - -<p>“Do you know what a real storm is, Crip?” I asked, -with offended pride. But he ignored my query.</p> - -<p>“Listen,” he said, suddenly. “Do you hear that -alarm?”</p> - -<p>A note I had heard before suddenly ran through the -hive. I could not at first remember the occasion, but -instantly both Crip and I were off. By the time we -were out I remembered what the sound meant. It -was the robber-call. There was honey at hand—pure -honey for the taking, and off we went.</p> - -<p>It was just where the Master stood. He had -righted a hive which had blown down in the storm, -and was endeavoring to place a net over it, but already -thousands of bees were swarming about.</p> - -<p>“It is too late,” Crip said to me, as we lit on the -bottom-board and hurried into the hive. “They are -dead. I see it all. The rains undermined the -foundations and the hive toppled over into the -ditch. The storm waters crept up and up, submerging -it.”</p> - -<p>A little honey remained in the old combs, and we -were soon busy with its salvage. We helped ourselves -to one load only, for when we returned the Master had -covered over the hive with his net. We flew about the -place for a while, hoping to find some tiny hole through<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_62"></a>[62]</span> -which we might creep; but none could be found. The -net was covered with scrambling bees.</p> - -<p>“Did all the bees drown?” I asked.</p> - -<p>“Probably,” he answered.</p> - -<p>“Here’s one on the ground that seems to be alive.”</p> - -<p>We both lit beside the little fellow struggling to dry -himself. We approached and licked him all over, -and when he could fly Crip begged him to come home -with us, since his own colony had ceased to exist.</p> - -<p>Right gladly he followed us; but when we had -reached the entrance he seemed to realize the seriousness -of daring to enter a strange hive. He drew back, -but we urged him, standing one on either side. Almost -immediately, however, a guard scented him and -flew at him. Crip headed him off, but another quickly -attacked from the same quarter. He caught the -stranger, and it was all I could do to save him. When -we finally freed him of the advance guards, we said to -the stranger, “Run for your life!”</p> - -<p>We three rushed like mad into the hive and escaped -further interference, and never again was he questioned -as to his identity.</p> - -<p>He marched with us straight up to our cell, and -thenceforward he claimed it for his own.</p> - -<p>“What shall we call him?” I asked of Crip, when we -had left him to recover and were once more on our -way to the fields.</p> - -<p>“Let’s see. Suppose we call him Buzz-Buzz.”</p> - -<p>“Excellent!” I cried.</p> - -<p>So, Buzz-Buzz it was, then and ever after.</p> - -<p>Crip and I reached the entrance and looked about -us. Mountainous black clouds still frowned, and in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_63"></a>[63]</span> -the distance thunder rumbled. It was much brighter, -but still the sun was hid and a haze of mist hung about -the world as far as eye could see.</p> - -<p>“We cannot safely go yet,” cried Crip. “The storm -might break again. Besides, there is no honey in the -fields; it has been washed away by the rains. It will -be several hours before a trace can be found; even a -day or two will pass ere some of the flowers fill their -cups. The rain destroys the flow of honey for a time, -and too much rain will cut off the crop entirely.”</p> - -<p>While we were talking Buzz-Buzz approached. -“Well,” he said, “you ran away and left me, but I -warn you that when there are things to do you will -find me close to you.”</p> - -<p>Presently we all rose on our wings, for the rain -seemed to have spent itself and the wind in the catclaw -tree had fallen to a whisper. The three of us flew, -for a while keeping closely in touch, but I was determined -to guide, and had set my mind on seeing my -sunflower-field. I feared, and, as it proved, rightly, -that the floods had swept them away. On reaching -the spot where the beautiful flowers had grown, we -found it a quagmire full of broken stalks. Nothing was -there to remind of the fragrant and glorious garden -which only this day had displayed its choicest blossoms -to gladden the earth. And now all had vanished.</p> - -<p>I said not a word, but Crip seemed to divine the -reason which inspired my flying round and round -about the spot where I had gathered my first load of -honey and where I had heard the fascinating speech -of the flowers of the sun. He circled about with me, -while Buzz-Buzz, puzzled at our actions, sailed in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_64"></a>[64]</span> -wider curves. He did not lose sight of us, however, -and presently joined us again.</p> - -<p>“What’s all this about?” he queried.</p> - -<p>“Why, only to-day this spot was wonderful with -flowers. Look at it now!” I had spoken.</p> - -<p>“That is nothing extraordinary,” observed Crip. -“It is only a chapter out of any life you choose. They -had achieved all the things for which they were sent -into the world. They were ready to go.”</p> - -<p>It was hard for me to think that the tender little -blossom which had given me honey had filled its full -scope of existence. It seemed fit for days of service. -What a pity that it was not permitted to radiate its -beauty in a world all too barren!</p> - -<p>We said very little more, but made for home. This -must have been instinctive, for suddenly we found the -darkness descending upon us like a flood.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-head"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_65"></a>[65]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_ELEVEN">CHAPTER ELEVEN<br /> -The Fight with the Web Worms</h2> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter11"> - -<img src="images/chapter11.jpg" width="700" height="775" alt="" /> - -<p class="para1">W<span class="hide">e</span> reached home quickly and were -making our way along the combs, -when I was accosted by a pretentious -bee.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-body"> - -<p>“It’s your turn to nurse. Come with me. This -shall be your section. These little ones are to be fed -to-night.”</p> - -<p>“Well, with what shall I feed them?” I asked, impulsively, -somewhat irritated to think that I, a honey-gatherer, -should be set at such a task.</p> - -<p>In answer to my question I got only a look; but I -shall not forget it—it was withering. I felt ashamed -of myself; and I resolved never again to question an -assignment of duty.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_66"></a>[66]</span></p> - -<p>Immediately I set about my task. Without thinking, -I peeped into two or three cells and found that the -bees allotted to me were but four days old. Miraculous -as it may seem, while I knew nothing about preparing -food for the young, I fell to it with zest. Taking a -supply of honey from one cell, I sought one stored with -pollen; and there, without ceremony, I began to mix -honey and bread, making a thin paste to which I had -to add ever so little water. Then I placed the least bit -of it in each of the cells of my section. The tiny worm-like -bees began to wriggle, so I knew at once that I -had succeeded in my task.</p> - -<p>Several days now rolled away in comparative idleness. -The great storm had completely washed out -the supplies of honey, leaving the flowers draggled and -broken. We busied ourselves with chores about the -hive and with flights into the fields, ever on the scout -for sweets. For my part, I was set to filling up a hole in -the uppermost corner of the hive. At the moment it -was serving as a ventilator. A little stream of air was -constantly flowing out of it; but the cold weather was -on its way and the time had come to stop the hole. -With winter once fallen, it would be too late.</p> - -<p>“The mesquite-trees are full of gum,” said the dear -old fellow who set me to my task. “Hurry and bring -home a good supply. I hear you are a capital hand -at this sort of thing.”</p> - -<p>So I went swiftly forth, and soon I found a crystal -drop of gum on a mesquite-tree. I bit off scraps of it -quite easily, and soon had my basket-legs filled with -the gum; and it required only a moment to return and -pack it in the hole in the hive.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_67"></a>[67]</span></p> - -<p>“You’re a clever fellow,” said the old director. -“But I see bits of gum have fallen on the bottom-board -and already there are accumulations which afford -excellent hiding-places for web-worms. Go and -clean them out, if you please.”</p> - -<p>I went promptly, and sure enough, chips from my -patching and from many others and scraps of comb had -gathered in the corner, and I found myself facing a -considerable undertaking. Time after time I seized -scraps in my mandibles and flew away with them, -dropping them outside.</p> - -<p>I was far from the end of my labors when suddenly -the ugliest thing I had ever seen burst out on me. -It was a long, white-brown worm, which I had uncovered -in the débris. It wriggled away as though -aware of danger.</p> - -<p>I was standing by, irresolute, when I heard a call, -from I knew not what source.</p> - -<p>“Why don’t you seize him, coward!”</p> - -<p>I was not a coward, but I could not make up my -mind what to do. But the little rascal that had scolded -me knew, and fell upon the monster manfully.</p> - -<p>Over and over the worm turned, writhing like a -beast in torment, and suddenly it twisted itself quite -out of the clutches of its enemy and made for a cell -in the nearest comb.</p> - -<p>Up to this point I had taken no hand in the fight, -but now I joined in the pursuit. In the mean time the -worm had escaped and was trying to hide in a cell.</p> - -<p>We stopped for a moment, the two of us, peering -at him, wondering what next to do. At least I was -wondering, when my mentor spoke out sharply.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_68"></a>[68]</span></p> - -<p>“You’re a poor excuse for a bee! If you had helped -we should have done for him by this time. We have -still a chance to save ourselves. Now, when I dive -in upon him, he will probably rush out, throwing me -from the combs. Then you must do your work. -Hold him until I come, and between us we can manage -him.”</p> - -<p>“Shall I sting him?” I asked.</p> - -<p>“No, you idiot! It’s not so desperate as that. -You ought to know that only in a great emergency -should a bee sacrifice his life. Now mind you; here -I go!”</p> - -<p>With that he lurched forward, and instantly back -he came, the worm plunging along with him. I also -seized the intruder, and the three of us dropped to the -floor. Round and round we were thrown until I -thought I was about to be beaten to death, but I had -made up my mind to die rather than have fresh slurs -cast upon my courage. I am doubtful whether we -could have won the battle if two other active bees -had not come to our assistance. The four of us soon -had the breath out of the worm’s wriggling body, and -then we dragged him to the front of the hive. After -vain efforts to fly away with him in the burial fashion -of our people, we found the best we could do was to -drop him to the ground from the edge of our board.</p> - -<p>I was quite out of breath, and stood panting on -the spot, when, lo! from the clouds dropped Crip.</p> - -<p>“What’s the matter?” he inquired.</p> - -<p>“Nothing much. We’ve just captured a great -worm—one of our enemies. There he lies on the -ground.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_69"></a>[69]</span></p> - -<p>Crip walked to the edge of the board and looked -down. “Why, he isn’t dead.”</p> - -<p>I looked, and, sure enough, he seemed to be alive. -But on closer inspection I saw that a multitude of -small black creatures had taken possession of the -body.</p> - -<p>“He is dead for certain,” I said. “Some bugs have -seized him for prey.”</p> - -<p>Crip looked again. “Why, those are black army -ants,” he exclaimed; “one of the worst enemies a bee -can meet. Sometimes, when they are hungry, they -rush into the hive and help themselves. It is most -difficult to deal with them. They nab you by the leg, -when they do not sting you, and you cannot free yourself -from their deadly grip.”</p> - -<p>I looked at Crip in silence. Was there no end to -perils?</p> - -<p>“Let us hope they’ll travel on,” he added. “There’s -plenty of food abroad for them. But tell me, where -did you find that worm?”</p> - -<p>“Back in the far corner. Come with me. I was -cleaning out the débris when I came upon him.”</p> - -<p>“Well, did you finish your task?”</p> - -<p>I had quite forgotten it. I had been so absorbed -in the fight that the original undertaking had gone -out of mind.</p> - -<p>“Then come on. I’ll help you.”</p> - -<p>With that Crip led off, limpingly. I followed by his -side, amazed at his speed.</p> - -<p>Soon we came to the place. Each of us seized a bit -of the débris, and away we went to deposit it far from -the entrance to our home.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_70"></a>[70]</span></p> - -<p>“I see where your worm came from,” Crip observed. -“There’s a hole in the board, and he found it, then -crept in stealthily and hid in this little heap of rubbish. -I’m a bad guesser, or we’ll find another here any -minute.”</p> - -<p>And sure enough. Crip seized a piece of comb, and, -upon dragging it away, out sprang another worm, even -more forbidding than the other.</p> - -<p>Crip was the first to spy him, and, valiant warrior -that he was, seized him instantly. I attacked him, -also, with all my might. But the worm, a full-grown -one, and twice as big as both of us, simply flung us -about and thrashed us unmercifully. He quite knocked -me to bits; but I never relaxed my hold, nor did Crip. -It was a poor showing that we were making, when -several guards rushed to our assistance. The fight -was soon over and the monster lay still.</p> - -<p>“He’s dead,” said one of the new-comers. “Out -with him.”</p> - -<p>We all fell to, dragging him along. It took the combined -energies of four of us to move his huge form.</p> - -<p>At last we arrived at the edge of our alighting-board, -and down we dropped him to the tender mercies of the -black ants, who immediately swarmed over him. One -could almost imagine that they thanked us for the -delicacy we had tossed them. I wondered what the -ants thought of us, if they thought at all. I had become -particularly interested in those big red ones that -ran along the tiny trail skirting our home.</p> - -<p>I was looking down at the worm, covered with the -little black ants, when, in a final paroxysm, he flounced -violently, scattering the little army that beset him.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_71"></a>[71]</span> -But once again they fell upon him, and presently they -had cut him entirely to pieces, carrying away every -scrap for a feast.</p> - -<p>In the economy of things, these worms had grown -and fattened on the refuse of our hive, and now they -had become food in their turn for a host of tiny creatures -which roamed the earth below, all this seemingly -in accordance with some unknown law.</p> - -<p>I stood there watching them for some time, until -the last ant made off, following with unerring aim the -trail of his fellows. Soon they were lost to sight. It -seemed to me that this last one disappeared under a -log where the Master often sat. I wondered what relation -there might be between them, if in some mysterious -way they worked together, for I remembered -that Crip had told me that not only the Master, but -even the ants, sometimes raided our hives, taking our -honey. I turned to ask him to explain, but he was -not to be seen among the bees swarming upon the -board. I must find him.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-head"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_72"></a>[72]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_TWELVE">CHAPTER TWELVE<br /> -The Wounding of Crip</h2> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter12"> - -<img src="images/chapter12.jpg" width="700" height="625" alt="" /> - -<p class="para1">B<span class="hide">ack</span> to the field of battle I hastened.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-body"> - -<p>“Tell me,” I cried in distress, -for Crip was lying quite still on the floor, “what is the -matter?”</p> - -<p>“Ah, I fear I am done for at last.”</p> - -<p>Grieved by his words, I rushed up to him, saluting -him, pressing my tongue to his lips, praying for his life. -I felt him all over, and at last came to a little moist -spot on his body, and realized that he had lost his last -basket-leg. I wiped his eyes, and came close to him to -warm him a bit, for he seemed cold and almost lifeless.</p> - -<p>“Go your way,” he murmured, dejectedly. “Leave -me quite alone. My work is done; I shall pass. Remember -me sometimes when you cleave the air and -salute the sun and our mysterious Master.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_73"></a>[73]</span></p> - -<p>By this time I was overcome with sorrow. My poor -dear friend, the very personification of wisdom, seemed -passing out of my life.</p> - -<p>“No—don’t—please—don’t talk so mournfully!” I -cried. “You will get well. Do! I so want you to -stay with me.”</p> - -<p>At this he seemed to stir a little and, with an effort, -raised himself on his remaining legs.</p> - -<p>“I cannot walk, you see. I cannot be sure of holding -my weight on the combs, even if I am not bleeding -to death.”</p> - -<p>I was so shocked that it had not occurred to me to -stanch his wound; but instantly I fell to it most -vigorously.</p> - -<p>“That will help,” he said. “Do you think I have -done well with my life?” Crip asked. “Do you think -I have helped our people?”</p> - -<p>I answered that he had been wonderful—that he -had worked faithfully for two houses, and all for the -betterment of our race—the Bee.</p> - -<p>“You really think me deserving? Then I am -happy.”</p> - -<p>He seemed suddenly to take on new life, and began -to flap his wings for joy.</p> - -<p>After a little pause he again flapped his wings violently. -I did not understand.</p> - -<p>“I still can fly!” he exclaimed. “I can fly! Go -now, finish your work,” he commanded. “Perhaps -I shall yet be able to labor for a little; but I want to -be as much as possible with you. Go now.”</p> - -<p>I went at his word, but when I came to the place of -the débris, no scrap remained. My fellow-workers,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_74"></a>[74]</span> -alarmed at the news of the worms, had fallen upon it -and borne it all away.</p> - -<p>Almost without thinking, I moved slowly toward the -door of the hive, for the afternoon was sultry and -there now seemed nothing to do. Indeed, when I -reached the outside the bees were heaped on the board, -and they clung in great masses to the front of the hive.</p> - -<p>“What idlers!” thought I. But I quickly realized -that there was nothing in the fields to gather, and -further, I knew that our hive was well stored with -bread and honey against any possible contingency.</p> - -<p>I made my way through the crowd, and presently I, -too, was seized with the fever of sleep, and, taking my -place among a group that clung to the uppermost -front of the hive, I soon fell asleep.</p> - -<p>How long I slept I know not, but when again I -roused myself a summer moon was streaming above -us, big and gloriously bright. The little dots of stars -that glinted through were almost lost in the sea of -light. I could hear the night hymn of the hive clearly, -just as long ago I heard it for the first time. It was -the low, murmured music of a thousand voices. This -hymn of the night was like the throbbing of a muffled -Æolian harp. Mingling with its harmonies rose -the dull whirring of many wings set to the task of -driving the sweet night air into the heart of the hive, -to render it tolerable for the little ones dreaming -in their cells against a day of awakening, and for our -precious Queen-Mother, brooding through her watches -without end.</p> - -<p>Late in the night the air grew chilly, and one by -one we drifted inside. I had been one of the first, for<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_75"></a>[75]</span> -I bethought me of Crip, whom I had left disconsolate -and battered from his fight with the worm. Returning -to our old haunt, he was nowhere to be found. Then -I went to the spot of the combat and there he was, -more or less chilled and still sore from the loss of his leg.</p> - -<p>“I thought you had forgotten me,” was his greeting.</p> - -<p>“I forget you? Not while I live. I was outside in -the night.”</p> - -<p>“And the south wind blew? And there were -stars?” he asked. “I want to look upon them once -more. Help me, for I can only crawl now. My body -can scarcely be carried by those four little legs, all -that I have left. I don’t know how soon I shall be -done for, and then—and then—”</p> - -<p>He struggled pitifully in order to reach the front. -Try as I might, I could be of no assistance to him. -But by dint of perseverance he finally gained the threshold -and gazed into the night. The moon had drifted -far toward the west, and already the morning star -shone with transcendent brilliancy. The south wind -breathed ever so softly through the chaparral, as it -made its way to some hidden goal; and near the borders -of the lake a coyote, in staccato treble, gave -warning that the dawn was near.</p> - -<p>Crip said nothing, nor did I. How useless are words -when there is perfect understanding. He came close -to me, however, and put his face as near mine as he -might, as though he wished to look into the very -depths of my eyes.</p> - -<p>“It is well,” he said. “I know.”</p> - -<p>Then he turned and dragged himself into the hive. -I followed closely. How sad it was to see so great a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_76"></a>[76]</span> -soul chained in so broken a body. I stayed by him, -cheering him and encouraging him, until the bugle of -the morning sounded.</p> - -<p>“Now you must go,” he commanded. “You have -your work to do. Mine is nearly finished.”</p> - -<p>I took a turn in the fields, but there was nothing to -report, save the discovery that the white brush was -ready to bloom, and that the sage-brush and the -broomweed promised honey.</p> - -<p>Again, for a number of days there was little to do. -Toward the noon hour the September sun blazed with -midsummer intensity and the winds were stifling. -This meant that a deal of water was consumed. I was -assigned to help. So, back and forth to the lake I -went, ever returning with my sac filled to bursting. -The young bees clamored for water, and it was a delight -to see them scramble for a drink. Again, the -front of the hive was packed with bees idling their -day away, if, indeed, it can be said that they were idle -when there was nothing to be done.</p> - -<p>Another night passed as before and still another day. -Then the news resounded over the hive that the white -brush was opening and that honey was in the field! -There was only the meagerest supply the first day, -but hungry tongues searched out the white tiny bell-shaped -flowers. The next day the flow was heavier, -and the third day we began to carry such quantities -that the colony began “to develop a sort of delirium. -Every nook and cranny was being filled, when a strange -sound echoed over the hive.</p> - -<p>“What does this mean?” I queried of Buzz-Buzz.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know. Let’s find Crip. He can tell us.”</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-head"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_77"></a>[77]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_THIRTEEN">CHAPTER THIRTEEN<br /> -The Swarming Fever</h2> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter13"> - -<img src="images/chapter13.jpg" width="700" height="750" alt="" /> - -<p class="para1">We found him at once. “What -does this mean?” I cried.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-body"> - -<p>“It means,” said he, “that, -late as the season is, the -swarming fever has seized -the colony.”</p> - -<p>“Why?” we cried.</p> - -<p>“Well, we have so much honey and there is so -much in the field and the colony so strong, it can -easily spare a force of pioneers to begin a new colony. -Here is the working out of destiny controlling the very -life of the bee.”</p> - -<p>Crip spoke enthusiastically, and both Buzz-Buzz -and I were fascinated by his story.</p> - -<p>The first thing I knew I, also, was seized with the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_78"></a>[78]</span> -enthusiasm. Queen-cells had been started—half a -dozen at least. I laid hold and helped draw out the -comb to build up a huge cell, where, in the mysterious -processes of time, a Queen would appear!</p> - -<p>Almost against her wishes, the Queen-Mother deposited -eggs in the various cells and began, under mild -protest, to expand her brood-chamber in anticipation -of the promised exodus of her children. While she -did not fear that enough would go to imperil the existence -of her own colony, she doubted the wisdom of the -enterprise. She discouraged in every way possible -the ardor of the workers who continued to bring in -honey until there was no longer space to store it. Indeed, -they crowded the Queen so that she was driven -to despair. The very space she had set aside for her -brood-chamber for the winter was encroached upon -and heaped with bread and honey, but for the nonce -there was no stopping them.</p> - -<p>Crip said: “You are crazy; it is too late in the -season to swarm; it means extinction.”</p> - -<p>But one replied: “It is the law! There is a chance -for the swarm to survive, and the chance must be -taken; particularly when the parent colony shows its -ability to survive.”</p> - -<p>“Truly said,” added Crip. “I merely wanted to -find whether you knew what the higher law compels.”</p> - -<p>But where would the swarm begin a home? This -question now began to be asked. It seemed that -nobody thought of the great Master who sat for hours -under the mesquite-tree. Would he not provide a -house?</p> - -<p>The next day Buzz-Buzz came to me, greatly excited.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_79"></a>[79]</span> -“You and I and others are to go into the woods and -search for a home for the swarm!”</p> - -<p>That was the order. It was enough—we went.</p> - -<p>We seemed to know that the only place to look for -a home was among the great oaks that bordered the -lake, and thither we betook ourselves. We flew from -tree to tree, exploring every hole we could find in the -hope of discovering a hollow big enough to house a -swarm. Three days we spent in vain. On the fourth -we found one, and with great joy we returned home -and reported. Immediately a hundred bees or more -were assigned to prepare the hollow tree for a habitation. -Buzz-Buzz and I led the way back, and all -hands fell to cleaning out the cobwebs and the débris -of decayed wood. Several days were spent in this -undertaking, and finally the word was passed that -the new home was ready.</p> - -<p>But things were not ready with the parent colony. -No Queen had emerged from her cell. From hour to -hour the bees marched by impatiently, waiting for the -“click-click” of her mandibles and for sight of them -piercing the wax door to the cell. And there was much -speculation as to which of the half-dozen possible -Queens would first emerge. Finally, one day, at high -noon, the rumor ran over the hive that a Queen had -been born, and the excitement became intense. “A -Queen! A Queen!”</p> - -<p>Crip and I forced our way through the crush to the -spot where the Queen was surrounded by a joyous -multitude. He, finally, on account of his lameness, -was compelled to abandon his efforts to pay his homage -to the new-born mother. But I, nothing daunted,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_80"></a>[80]</span> -persisted, and presently came near enough to feel her -presence. I, too, sang fervently, for a new hope had -risen. Soon in the vast forest of the world a new -colony would be planted to aid in carrying on the -eternal work of the bee.</p> - -<p>At another corner of the hive I heard a different -sound. It was the wail of a Queen that was being -destroyed. I hurried toward her, but somehow felt -no pity for her. A great cluster of bees completely -enveloped her; this was the mode of taking the royal -life. All the remaining cells with their occupants had -been cut down, and soon there remained in all the -hive but the one mother and the one daughter. I came -upon the destroyed cells, torn and empty, and could -not help mourning the death of the royal creatures -they had housed. Perhaps there had been but minutes -between the births of the Queens, but those -minutes had been fatal to the last.</p> - -<p>Preparations went steadily on for the day of the -exodus. The new Queen took her first flight successfully; -and then came the mating! Only a few -drones had been permitted to escape the massacre -of a month earlier—tolerated on the chance of a -lost or a dead Queen—borne with against a belated -mating.</p> - -<p>“How wonderful,” Crip observed, “that these -things should be provided for—and how close are life -and death!”</p> - -<p>It was a hot afternoon when the time came for the -nuptial flight, and it lacked the wild glamour of an -earlier one that I had witnessed. On the first occasion -there were literally thousands of drones that went<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_81"></a>[81]</span> -up toward the heavens in search of the one radiant -thing in the world. And they had all returned save -one immortal, who had found and won the Queen, -only to lose his life! Compared with the first flight, -this last seemed commonplace. I should have foregone -the opportunity of witnessing the thin procession, -bound on the momentous journey of uniting two -lives, so that the thread of existence might not be -cut short for the bee.</p> - -<p>I groped about impatiently, awaiting news of the -bridal party. It was not long delayed, for soon there -were sounds of rejoicing throughout the hive; and -now the last preparations had been ended and the -day was at hand for the great adventure.</p> - -<p>Round and round the hive went the signal that on -the morrow the swarm should go forth to its home in -the woods. Quietly and with no bickerings, the tallies -were laid—this one should go, this one should stay—there -was in no case dispute or contest. Each bee -accepted the issue with all the grace of a fatalist. I -was one of them.</p> - -<p>Really, I was greatly disappointed not to have been -chosen to go, for I had been one of the pioneers and -had helped find and prepare the new home in the live-oak -by the clear waters of the beautiful lake. It -was a bitter disappointment, but I uttered no word of -complaint. When I came up with Crip I found he, too, -had been left behind.</p> - -<p>“Why shouldn’t we have been chosen to go?” I -asked, somewhat downcast.</p> - -<p>“I am too old—too useless,” Crip answered. “You -are young and brave enough, but battles are to be<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_82"></a>[82]</span> -fought here as well as yonder. And some of the strong -and gallant had need to remain.”</p> - -<p>Something in Crip’s look and tone struck me. Was -I too old to go? Had that been the reason? I had -heard a cry over the hive that only young bees should -go, for there would be small hope of raising much of -a brood in the new colony through the winter. If it -could build comb enough and gather sufficient honey -to feed itself, it would be fortunate.</p> - -<p>So, I was not young enough. Until then I had not -thought of my age; it seemed to me that I was still -as active as on the day I flew into the sky.</p> - -<p>As for Crip, “too useless” seemed a cruel phrase. -For who could say what was the worth of his stores of -knowledge? But I could see that he moved more -feebly from day to day.</p> - -<p>“Only the strong are to be chosen—the fit? Crip, -that bears hard on us.”</p> - -<p>“Not a bit of it,” he replied, cheerily. “Take -courage; that is the way of things in the world of -the bee.”</p> - -<p>Then he added that it would be a hard battle to -build a home in the short space of time allotted and -to store food enough to last through the winter. It -meant a fight, for already the glimmerings of the fall -were upon us! Pale shadows of color began to stain -the leaves, and the flowers turned their faces more -wistfully each day to the sun. Still, the bees would -go. There was no denying the operation of the law, -which commanded that the chance be taken. The -whole law of survival was involved—and there was -none to deny it.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_83"></a>[83]</span></p> - -<p>So, all night long murmurings and vague discontents -and forebodings and anticipations ran through the -hive. Those marked so mysteriously to go realized -that their lives were at stake and likely to be -lost. Yet each one in the hive would have gone. -It was not until late that I learned that our own -mother, my mother, the mother of the hive, was -to go away, leaving her daughter to preside over -the destinies of the old. Here, too, Crip was wont -to philosophize.</p> - -<p>“You see, our mother is not young,” he began. “If -she should perish in the stress of the winter and the -new colony be lost, it would be less grievous than the -loss of this new, vigorous Queen. Besides, our mother -has had experience. She has lived over one winter. -She knows how much of a brood to rear to maintain -the strength of the colony—or whether she dare rear -any at all—bearing in mind the while that there must -be a fine adjustment between the mouths to be fed -and the total of supplies. She knows well how to keep -this account. Last winter, I am told, our stores ran -low, so low, in fact, that many of our brothers sacrificed -their lives in order to conserve the supplies so -as to bring the Queen-Mother with a few attendants -through the long, bitter winter. Not a young bee was -reared until the first flowers had come riotously trampling -on the skirts of the frost. So, you see, <i>they</i> know -best. <i>She</i> will lead the swarm, and perhaps, if the -season is late, and the frost slow to come, they can -build their combs and store sufficient honey to bring -them through. Perhaps even spring may come to -their rescue, blossoming early. A late, backward<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_84"></a>[84]</span> -spring, however, might end them, even if they had -escaped the fury of the winter.”</p> - -<p>There seemed no end to Crip’s knowledge. Lying -there on the comb, he looked pathetically helpless, and -there was a quaver in his voice. I could see that he -was reflecting—that age had dropped upon him heavily -on account of his wounds. Then, stoic that he was, I -knew that some morning I should search in vain for -trace of him. Once a bee becomes useless, he said, -there is but one thing for him to do. I knew that -Crip was already contemplating the end. Bitterness -for a moment welled up in me at the thought that -so much wisdom should be lost—and so soon. That -was the edict. But, after all, was the wisdom really -lost?</p> - -<p>Our talk was broken at length by the call of the -morning. The first pale gleams of light filtered through -the entrance of the hive. Already there were murmurings -and presently the faint note of the swarm.</p> - -<p>Two hours passed—three hours—and now the trumpet -sounded for the flight. Each of the chosen rushed -to the nearest cell and filled his sac to its utmost -capacity. Some early-returning foragers, laden with -pollen, heard the signal and made ready to go, carrying -with them their loads. Stores must be taken along -to last until comb was built and new supplies gathered -from the fields. Rations for three or four days -were thus provided. When all was ready the trumpet -sounded again and the march began. In the fore -went the scouts who were to lead the way to the new -home. Then, following after, came the chosen ones -in a mighty multitude, and lastly the Queen.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_85"></a>[85]</span></p> - -<p>Out into the air they flew, then round and round, -each one singing the Song of the Swarm, which could -be heard afar off. Round and round in a dizzy circle -they flew, but in an ever-widening whirl. The scouts, -I could hear from my point of vantage at the door, -were becoming impatient. The Queen had been delayed, -and until word of her presence among them -was spoken, they could only circle about. Or else, -failing that word, they could and would return to the -hive. But at the height of their impatience the glad -word came, “The Queen is here!”</p> - -<p>Then they delayed no longer, but started in a whirlwind -flight toward the lake and to their new home, -uttering, as they drew away, that marvelously wild and -moving song which pulsed with the tremors of life and -death.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-head"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_86"></a>[86]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_FOURTEEN">CHAPTER FOURTEEN<br /> -Perils</h2> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter14"> - -<img src="images/chapter14.jpg" width="700" height="775" alt="" /> - -<p class="para1">C<span class="hide">rip</span> and I were sober and silent.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-body"> - -<p>From the alighting-board we -watched them draw away and disappear, -and were on the eve of turning -into the hive, when up came the Master breathlessly. -He stopped and gazed at the retreating cloud, -knowing too well what had happened. He knew, too, -by their actions, that a home had been prepared for -their reception. He seemed surprised to think that -the bees should swarm so late in the season, and not -a little chagrined to think they could have done it -under his eyes. His curiosity at once led him to find -whence the swarm had come, and he walked straight<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_87"></a>[87]</span> -to our hive. A few excited bees were still flying back -and forth, but Crip and I, like the condemned, stood -stolidly and wondered.</p> - -<p>His lips moved, but he said no word; he turned on -his heels and went away.</p> - -<p>Shortly, however, he returned, the little Shadow -with him. They were talking of the swarming, for -he pointed the way the bees had gone. In his hand -he held that horrid smoking thing, and Crip and I -both knew what that meant. He would open our -house. I resented this, for I remembered the smoke -in my eyes when he took the top off our hive and lifted -out frame after frame, taking away from us part of -our honey. I remembered, too, how I longed to sting -him, but how all my efforts were unavailing, for he had -hidden himself under a screen. And yet I really did -not want to sting him. Just why I flew at him I could -not understand.</p> - -<p>“He is angry with us now,” said Crip. “He knows -we are insane. He probably will take away our honey -and leave us to starve, as we merit. We have proven -our short-sightedness and have lost our right to survive.”</p> - -<p>“No, he will not do that,” I replied.</p> - -<p>On the instant I seemed no longer to distrust him; -I remembered his kindness to me on a day when, -overladen, a gust of wind had felled me to the earth. -He had placed me on a twig, where, after disgorging -part of my load, and washing my body and my wings, -I again made way to my home.</p> - -<p>But it was certain that we should know his intentions -shortly, for, on coming close, he sent a puff of smoke<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_88"></a>[88]</span> -into the entrance that choked and blinded both Crip -and me and the guards, and sent us scurrying into the -hive. Then, passing the smoker to the Little Master, -he carefully lifted off the top and the upper section of -our hive, and began an inspection of the brood-chamber. -He seemed to be right happy at discovering that -the queen-cells had been destroyed, which carried the -assurance to his mind that no further swarming was -in contemplation; but when his eyes fell upon the new -Queen-Mother, they widely distended and a smile of -joy lighted his face.</p> - -<p>“Wonderful creature,” he murmured.</p> - -<p>The little Shadow cried: “Let me see. Isn’t she a -beauty!”</p> - -<p>By this time the smoke had cleared away and my -disposition had changed. I said to Crip that we ought -to attack them. But he answered that it would be -folly now—that only evil would result. Further parleying -was cut short by a blast of smoke shot at us -by the Little Master, who apparently had discerned -outward signs of the rebellion, for my body was poised -and I suppose I must have been emitting the note of -anger. The smoke sent us all flying into a remote -corner of the hive.</p> - -<p>Then the Master replaced the section of hive he had -removed, and began to lift frame after frame, uttering -little exclamations, as though he had not suspected -that we had gathered such quantities of honey in so -short and late a season. It was easy for him now to -understand why we had developed the swarming fever, -although it evidently appeared to him a foolish adventure.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_89"></a>[89]</span></p> - -<p>“He has been dreaming in his rose-garden,” commented -Crip, when the Master had nearly finished his -examination. “That is the reason he has neglected -us of late. He did not know there had been a great -flow of honey.”</p> - -<p>We were talking among ourselves, when up came -Buzz-Buzz, angry from the smoke in his eyes.</p> - -<p>“A fine lot this fellow,” he growled.</p> - -<p>“You don’t like him?” I asked.</p> - -<p>He just looked at us. He was too irritated to speak.</p> - -<p>“He’ll get over it,” mused Crip.</p> - -<p>We were still holding converse when again the top -came off and one by one the Master lifted out our -combs and robbed them of their honey. They were -battered and broken and empty when he restored -them to us. We were all infuriated, and for a while -flew madly about him and about the Little Master—the -dog kept at a respectful distance—straining every -effort to drive them away. But the Little One only -smoked us the more, while the Master went on with -his work. He was careful to kill no bee, brushing off -every one of them before taking away the combs of -honey, and while returning them.</p> - -<p>Quickly it was all over. When he had gone we at -once took stock and found that he had left us quite -enough to carry us through the winter, barring accident. -But almost before the appraisal had been made -a catastrophe was upon us. The honey from a broken -comb had flooded the bottom-board, and began to -pour out through the entrance onto the ground, and -robber bees were shortly upon it. We summoned all -our guards for our protection, but the robbers in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_90"></a>[90]</span> -thousands came, and in spite of our resistance they -forced their way into the hive and began to plunder at -random. Poor old Crip even mixed in the mêlée, -fighting like a veteran, while I, beaten and trampled, -finally lay senseless on the floor.</p> - -<p>We should have been lost but for the thoughtfulness -of the Master, who, returning to see that all was well, -found us besieged and overrun. He quietly closed the -entrance to our hive, and thus left us to clear it of the -marauders within doors, which we did promptly, although -at heavy cost in the lives of our brothers. An -hour later he returned and opened ever so slightly our -door. Although a few robbers still lingered and endeavored -to force an entrance, they were easily beaten -off. In the mean time we carefully cleaned up the -spilled honey which had nearly been our undoing—and -the battle was over.</p> - -<p>The night came and we cleared our house of the -dead. Scattered indiscriminately they lay—friend and -foe—many score of them. Among them I found the -veteran who had been kind to me, with the mark of -a lance in his breast. Certain it was that he had died -fighting bravely. I had found his body, and I determined -to keep it by me through the night, and on the -morrow I meant to give a fitting burial. I remembered -a high knoll overlooking the lake and the -country round about, and there I said he should be -laid to rest. I told Crip of my purpose, and he applauded -me, and together we watched over him. -More than once we almost had to fight to prevent -the cleaners from taking his body away.</p> - -<p>On the morrow, in the early dawn, I dragged him<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_91"></a>[91]</span> -forth and, taking him in my mandibles, flew away -with him, dropping him on the knoll. The poor old -veteran! Somehow I had gained the notion that -one day he would awake, and from that vantage-point -find himself nearer the stars.</p> - -<p>We now began another chapter in the life of our -colony. We were left with none too much honey, and, -besides, our numbers had been greatly depleted by -the exodus and by the assault of the robbers. Our -Queen-Mother immediately organized her followers -and sent us all scouring the fields for additional foods. -Thanks to the late season, there still remained an -abundant harvest. Soon we had replenished our supplies -to a point where we could rest comfortably, and -our good mother set about rearing just enough brood -to have us weather the winter safely. But we never -stopped work. Day after day we gathered bread and -honey.</p> - -<p>“We cannot have too much,” said Crip. “You -see, since you have not gone through a winter you -have much to learn. It is no simple business. Frightful -northers sweep down upon us and chill us and kill -us. Sometimes it grows so cold the young bees are -frozen in their cells. They must then be removed, or -else sickness and disease will follow. Sometimes, too, -if stores run low and our numbers fall below a certain -point, we ourselves can no longer keep warm. That -means death for us all.”</p> - -<p>“But we have plenty of stores,” I replied. “We -have nothing to fear.”</p> - -<p>“There are always fears. An animal running wild -may topple over your house; a bad man may slip in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_92"></a>[92]</span> -and steal your supplies; a moth may enter and lay -eggs producing destructive worms; a bear may chance -to find you and with his great paws rend the hive -asunder!”</p> - -<p>“Stop!” I cried. “If there are yet other dangers, -I do not wish to know them.”</p> - -<p>“But it is well to know. There are diseases to combat, -such as dysentery, paralysis, and foul brood—”</p> - -<p>“Oh, stop!” I begged him.</p> - -<p>Was life really such a hazard? so perilous a journey? -And all for what? Toward what misty goal?</p> - -<p>It was a glorious day in October. The Indian summer -had come, flooding all the hills and vales with its -magical sheets of amethyst, while a drowsy wind -from the south bore on its breath the odor of autumn. -Now and then that indefinable note, presaging the -advent of winter—a note which is neither a requiem -nor a dirge—could be heard like a faint flute in the -branches of the trees. The sun shone big and round -and still with a suggestion of summer. Scattered -clouds went drifting lazily by, wonderfully emphasizing -the turquoise blue of the sky.</p> - -<p>“Is it going to rain?” I asked of Crip, who was dragging -himself along on the alighting-board, ready for a -new excursion into the woods.</p> - -<p>“No,” he mumbled.</p> - -<p>It had been weeks since my experience in the flood, -but ever after that when a cloud was in the sky I -bethought me of rain. But I had now come to know -that rains were something more than clouds.</p> - -<p>Crip and I had been laboring to fill adjoining cells. -We had already gathered many loads of honey that day.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_93"></a>[93]</span> -“I’m tired,” he said, right plaintively. “I can’t do -as much as I could once.”</p> - -<p>“Why don’t you rest?” I begged of him.</p> - -<p>“Rest! What word is that? Did ever a bee rest -when there was work to do?”</p> - -<p>With that he hobbled a little farther on his four legs, -his poor old body half carried and half dragged. But -his wings were still powerful and lifted him instantly -into the all-absorbing space.</p> - -<p>This time I took an entirely different direction -from any I had thus far traveled. On and on I flew, -mile after mile, until presently I scented something -and went for it. It proved to be a field of June corn, -in silk and tassel—and, oh, what quantities of pollen! -I gathered a little and hastened back to report. Almost -at once a string of my brothers were flying to and -fro, laden with bread.</p> - -<p>We had now stored up a great surplus of food, and -the Queen-Mother broadened her brood areas. She -deemed it wise to enlarge her family; first, because she -had a premonition that a wild winter would soon -break upon us, and, for the further reason, that half -the battle was to be strong in numbers in the spring, -when the honey-fountains opened.</p> - -<p>When I returned with my last load, well toward -sunset, I found Crip waiting at our rendezvous, my -ancient cell.</p> - -<p>“You have done well to-day,” he said, “and I -wanted to tell you so. Five miles is a long journey to -go for a load, but it was worth it. I, too, made one -trip—but have pity on me—only when I got there did -I remember that I had no basket-legs; hence I was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_94"></a>[94]</span> -forced to return empty-handed. It is too much for -me to bear. I am old and useless.”</p> - -<p>I could not stand to hear him depreciate himself in -such fashion, and remonstrated with him.</p> - -<p>“Well, it’s too true,” he persisted. “Some day you -will understand.”</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-head"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_95"></a>[95]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_FIFTEEN">CHAPTER FIFTEEN<br /> -A Midnight Adventure</h2> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter15"> - -<img src="images/chapter15.jpg" width="700" height="900" alt="" /> - -<p class="para1">I did not answer Crip, for at the -moment I was notified that I -should take my turn at guard -duty, and I went at once to report.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-body"> - -<p>It was now fast growing dark, and the last workers -were dropping on the alighting-board and groping their -way into the hive. It was the duty of guards to inspect -all who entered, and to keep out bugs and ants and intruders. -More than a score of guards, I among them,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_96"></a>[96]</span> -kept a continuous patrol before the entrance; and all -went well until far into the night.</p> - -<p>The Master with his little Shadow had passed among -us as if to bid us good night, and had gone. The moon -was now rising, and a mocking-bird in a neighboring -tree had been rendering melodies without number. -There was no sound in all the world save the mocking-bird’s -song that ebbed and flowed in ever wilder -cadence. High above his perch he would soar into -the moonlight, and as he dropped again—his little -gray body looking like a bit of mist—he would almost -burst his throat with rapturous song. Often had I -heard him sing, but never had he so completely abandoned -himself to the sheer frenzy of it—and at such -an hour!</p> - -<p>“He’s making the best of it, for soon the winter -will come and his songs will cease,” observed a guard.</p> - -<p>“But what glorious singing!” added another.</p> - -<p>While we were talking a guard suddenly gave an -alarm. He had either scented or seen an enemy; -but doubt was immediately removed, for the raw smell -of an animal was borne in to us. We paused and prepared -for an attack. Our wings were buzzing at intervals -and our stings were ready to strike. And none -too soon, for in a moment more a monstrous animal -stuck his nose into the entrance of our hive. Instantly -we all flew at him, some landing in his face and -some on his body. But only those that struck his face -succeeded in stinging him, for the hair was too long on -his body.</p> - -<p>I was unfortunate enough to have been one of those -landing on his back, and immediately found myself<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_97"></a>[97]</span> -so entangled in his hair that I could neither sting him -nor free myself. I struggled in vain, and my efforts -were rendered more difficult on account of the mad -capers he cut in escaping from the spot. The moment -we flew at him and stung him about the head, he turned -somersaults and cried like a cat in torment, while he -fled madly. So wildly did he fly that he banged squarely -into a neighboring hive and nearly upset it. Then -he collided with weeds and brush and cacti—in fact, I -now suspect he could see nothing. Certainly he cared -not what lay in his road.</p> - -<p>I can think of it calmly, now that I am safely back, -but while I rode unwillingly upon his back I thought -each instant would be my last. After vainly trying -to reach his body in order to sting him, I gave over -and endeavored to free myself. What with the buzzing -of many pairs of wings in his ears, and the pain -from the stings, he fled like the wind. Presently, however, -he stopped suddenly and tried to reach me with -his claws. Then he did his best to crush me with his -teeth, snarling and whining betimes. He did crush -some of my brother guards; but I was just back of -his ears, and he could not reach me. However, I -may add I almost wished he had, for his breath -was horrible. I never could abide the breath of any -living thing.</p> - -<p>Soon he gave over and set out running again at top -speed. I had abandoned myself for lost, when a bush -scraped me out of my entanglement and I fell half -dead to the ground. But the would-be robber never -stopped, for I could hear the brush rattling in his wake. -He still fled incontinently, as though he feared another<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_98"></a>[98]</span> -attack, as though his very life depended on his rate of -speed.</p> - -<p>I lay there for a moment, scarcely able to move. -But what could I do? The moon was still bright, but -bright as it was, the way back home was dark. Instinctively, -I turned to a friendly bush and made my -way to the topmost branch, and there I planted myself -for the rest of the night.</p> - -<p>The wind was blowing lustily. I did not like the -threshing back and forth of the branches in the gloom, -with the chance of being knocked off at any moment. -I could not think calmly of crawling on the ground, -for Crip had told me this was a thing to be avoided at -all hazards. Scorpions and beetles and toads and -snakes made the night perilous. So I clung to the -branch with all my might. Now and again a pause -in the wind would allow me to look up at the stars -through the screen of leaves—and how dear and wonderful -they were! Long ago I had thought how beautiful -it must be up there in the blue space, fretted with -tiny lights no bigger than the candle burning in the -window of the Master’s house. And even then, as I -turned, I could see his lamp, and I almost started to -fly toward it. There was a fascination in its beams -which I could scarcely resist. Always, when on -guard duty, at any hour of the night, I had been able -to see his light and to hear the bark of his dog. He -seemed never to sleep—or if he slept the lamp and the -dog kept watch over him.</p> - -<p>The blustering wind finally had compassion on me -and ceased altogether. There came a silence that was -more than silence. I felt it oppressive. Then, as if<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_99"></a>[99]</span> -a pause had been made for them, the crickets and -katydids began a frightful chattering, which was -punctuated betimes by the far hooting of an owl. -The air grew chilly, and I began to feel cold and stiff, -and held none too securely to my bush. It was a fortunate -thing, I thought, that the wind had died away.</p> - -<p>How tired I was! This had been one of the hardest -days of my life. As I reflected on it, it seemed very -long ago that it began; and I heartily wished for the -dawn. I must have drowsed awhile, for when again -I looked about me a mellow light brooded on the -horizon and a great star beamed above it. Soon wide -streams of gold flowed across the pale-blue sky, quenching -the fires of the stars. Then, as if in compensation -for their loss, fleecy Gulf clouds caught the early rays -of the sun and filled the world with showers of rainbow -lights.</p> - -<p>Presently I could see well enough to rise on my -wings, and in spite of the chill in the air, up I went -until I got my bearings. A strange fit seized me. -“Fly to the sun!” I heard in my ears; and off I went. -Up and up I flew—higher and higher—until below me -I could scarcely see the white houses of the apiary -where I lived and the white house of the Master. But -under me the waters of Lake Espantoso glimmered like -a mirror, and in the dark fringe of trees that bordered -it I remembered a swarm of my little brothers had -taken refuge, and I wondered how they fared. Far as -I could see stretched the undulating hills over which -I had flown in search of treasure—hills now clad in -their robes of autumn. A fragrance reached me at this -great height, which came from I knew not where.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_100"></a>[100]</span></p> - -<p>I had wheeled about and started home, when I -caught sight of the Master wandering dreamily in his -garden. Then immediately I knew that the fragrance -came from his beautiful roses. Many a time had I -flown over the place, marveling at the flowers. Indeed, -I had gathered honey from the honeysuckle that -climbed on the walls of his house and from the crêpe-myrtle -hard by. But the roses—ah, the roses! I -loved to drop into their hearts and to breathe the sweet -breath of their lives. So again, without thinking, I -flew down and down until I reached the garden and -sank into a rose to rest. I felt tired, ever so tired. -When I emerged there was the Master fondling a rose; -I circled slowly past him and around him. He saw -me at once, and a tender look came into his eyes. -Reluctantly I left him caressing his roses, and flew -rapidly home.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-head"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_101"></a>[101]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_SIXTEEN">CHAPTER SIXTEEN<br /> -TIDINGS OF WOE</h2> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter16"> - -<img src="images/chapter16.jpg" width="700" height="750" alt="" /> - -<p class="para1">I<span class="hide">t</span> was still so early that a chill enveloped -the world and the workers -awaited the sun. I rushed to where -I knew I should find Crip, and -breathlessly began the narrative -of my adventure.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-body"> - -<p>“I know just about what happened,” he ventured, -when he had expressed his joy at seeing me, for he -knew that I had been on duty and that a number of -the guards had been lost. “I wept not a little for you. -Yes, it was a racoon,” he repeated. “You will remember -I told you about them. They are crazy over -honey.”</p> - -<p>He was deeply interested in the account of my mad -and unwilling ride.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_102"></a>[102]</span></p> - -<p>Then I told him of my visit to the garden, and of the -Master. He made no reply, but presently asked:</p> - -<p>“What do you know of the Master?”</p> - -<p>“Little—very little.”</p> - -<p>“Do you know that lately I’ve been wondering -whether I have been fair to him? Once I was perfectly -sure that he was an enemy to be fought on all occasions, -that he made use of us only for selfish ends. -Now I am beginning to think I was wrong. While -he has taken our honey, he has always left us enough. -Last winter, I am told, he actually brought a lot of -honey and gave it to the colonies that had none. -Besides, before we came in contact with men, we lived -in caves and hollow trees, exposed to all manner of -enemies. It is different now.”</p> - -<p>We were still busy talking when the signal for work -rang through the hive, and both Crip and I made our -way to the front. And, as many times before, we rose -from the board together and flew at once to the field -of broomweed. Side by side we ranged, visiting many -of the tiny yellow flowers ere we were laden. Everything -was now painfully dry, and it was all too evident -that the honey flow was over. Try as hard as we -might, we gathered only a few loads a day. And -Crip remarked how short the days were and how far -into the south the sun had drifted. Then, besides, -we were obliged to leave off earlier, on account of the -cold.</p> - -<p>“The leaves are all turning red and brown and yellow,” -said Crip, as we flew homeward. “This is the -melancholy time I’ve heard about. Even the wind -seems sad and loiters around bush and tree as though<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_103"></a>[103]</span> -he feared his caressing touch might hasten the down-dropping -of the stricken leaves. Happy, I’m sad, -too.”</p> - -<p>I could only answer him that I of all bees was one -of the most unhappy. And at the moment I was -stricken with a feeling of homesickness, as though I, -too, were bound on a journey toward the setting -sun, or as though an unmeasured catastrophe impended.</p> - -<p>As we neared home we saw the Master and his little -Shadow seated by our hive, and near them, sprawling -on the ground, the faithful dog. The Master was -watching the incoming bees. Well he knew by the -burdens they bore the condition of the fields.</p> - -<p>“The workers are coming home very light,” remarked -the Shadow. “Just a little bread.”</p> - -<p>“The season is ended,” murmured the Master. -“Soon they will go indoors and rest through the cold. -We must come presently and take off the empty uppers, -so as to concentrate the heat of the cluster. In -that way they will conserve their stores. The cluster, -you know, son, is formed by the bees covering over the -brood and hanging on to one another so as to keep -themselves and the young bees warm.”</p> - -<p>Crip and I deposited our loads and then returned to -the alighting-board, but the speakers had gone. We -could hear the Master singing in his garden; and from -a mesquite-tree hard by a mocking-bird answered him. -All too soon he ceased; and the bird, after trilling a -few wild refrains, as though to coax him to return, -dropped into silence. For a time not a sound was -heard, then the bird broke out again in a most plaintive<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_104"></a>[104]</span> -song. He seemed to summon his phrases from -the depths of despair.</p> - -<p>Twilight had now quite engulfed the world. Crip, -who had been for a time very still, began to stir restlessly.</p> - -<p>“Happy, that is my passing song. How could the -bird have known that this very night I shall cleave -the air for the last time? Yes, I mean it. Please don’t -interrupt me. The year has gone—I have done my -work. I am a cripple, and my wings are tattered. I -shall be a burden, eating the food that may be needed -ere the harvest again is ripe. My time has come—and -I must go into the dark. This is the law. Why should -not bees fly away and never return? How much -grander to pass away on the wing, hushed to sleep by -the stars. How poor a thing it is to cling to the -combs until death shall drag one down to the earth, -there to embarrass one’s brothers.</p> - -<p>“My work is done. My body is wrecked, and the -golden call echoing from eternity is in my ears. I -must go. You, Happy, have much to do ere your -time shall come. But you will face life bravely.</p> - -<p>“How can I thank you enough for having saved -my life? Do you think I have done well? Have I -worked faithfully? Hero, you say? No, not a hero; -but I have tried to do the things that came to my -hand; and that is all that one can do. That sums -up the true meaning of life—service and duty done.</p> - -<p>“Hear the bird! What a song for the night! Ah, -but what music I shall hear soon when I fly out -across the spaces of light! I am ready. I love you. -Farewell—farewell.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_105"></a>[105]</span></p> - -<p>Crip had turned about for the last time, and was -ready to go, when a heartrending cry woke the innermost -caverns of the hive. He staggered a little, for -he knew its meaning. I stood puzzled and amazed.</p> - -<p>“What is it?” I begged of him.</p> - -<p>“The worst of news—our Queen is dead!” he echoed.</p> - -<p>“Let us go to her at once.”</p> - -<p>In we went, and while I was shaken by the news -which I did not fully comprehend, I was sobered and -silent. I should probably have had no thought of -death at all had I known what lay before us, the midnight -ways we were to tread.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-head"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_106"></a>[106]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_SEVENTEEN">CHAPTER SEVENTEEN<br /> -The Death of the Queen</h2> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter17"> - -<img src="images/chapter17.jpg" width="700" height="675" alt="" /> - -<p class="para1">A<span class="hide">s</span> we hurried in search of her, on -all sides there was wailing: “Ai—ai—ai! -Woe—woe—woe! Our -Queen is dead!”</p> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-body"> - -<p>A spirit of dread and disaster -filled the place and shook us mightily. Crip said -never a word.</p> - -<p>“I remember you told me once you had lost your -Queen-Mother—that was the time I found you in the -hive that we robbed. You were going to tell me -about it.”</p> - -<p>“Yes; but now it is too late—it is terrible. You -do not understand—”</p> - -<p>At length we came to where she lay asleep on the -bottom-board of the house she had graced for so short -a space. Around her surged her children, weeping -for the queenly dead.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_107"></a>[107]</span></p> - -<p>“She had been ill but a few days,” one said.</p> - -<p>“She has not been well since the robbery,” added -another.</p> - -<p>“She was hurt in the fight,” put in a third.</p> - -<p>“But she did not complain,” answered another.</p> - -<p>Crip and I now in our turn came into the presence -of the Queen lying prone on the floor, her wings draped -about her. There were present none of the trappings -of the dead, nor anything to show that she was -not asleep, so peacefully she lay there. I came presently -face to face with her, and once I had looked into -her eyes I saw that the vision had vanished, that the -spirit had gone.</p> - -<p>I turned away sick at heart, wailing I know not -what black hymn of despair. Crip, too, I had lost, -and I feared he had gone on his long journey. I -seemed to sink into a bottomless abyss.</p> - -<p>Soon I had partially recovered my composure. The -commotion which had swept the colony slowly subsided, -although there still ran an undercurrent of -anxiety. What should we do? That part of the intelligence -of the bee which has to grapple with such -emergencies had been active on the instant.</p> - -<p>“The Queen is dead—long live the Queen,” was the -low, reverential chorus.</p> - -<p>“Three Queens have been ordained,” ran the cry.</p> - -<p>Without knowing why, I hurried to the place which -had been chosen for the wax-cell palaces—and there -was Crip! He appeared to be the leader, and I was -overjoyed to see him.</p> - -<p>“You’ve found something more to do,” I said to -him. “I’m so glad.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_108"></a>[108]</span></p> - -<p>“You see, I’m one of the oldest—”</p> - -<p>“Don’t look so dejected,” Crip volunteered to those -about him. “Hurry—hurry! Soon we shall have -another Queen to reign over us.”</p> - -<p>And now magic began to intervene—or miracle. -Three cells with three tiny larvæ, two days old, were -selected, and over these the great cell-palaces were -erected. But more mysterious was the feeding of -these tiny things, which under normal conditions would -emerge workers. Think, then, of the transformation -which will produce a Queen! Thanks to a secret buried -in the heart of the bee, the worker, it is supposed, is -converted, through feeding, into a Queen. Crip told -me all this in his cheerful way; and he assumed so -much importance in looking after the destinies of the -three royal personages, that once or twice I was irritated -at his conduct.</p> - -<p>“Why three Queens?” I inquired, one day. “We -need only one.”</p> - -<p>“To make sure that <i>one</i> will survive. The bee takes -no chance where it can be avoided.”</p> - -<p>The embryonic Queens grew rapidly, and in due -season the doors of the palaces were sealed, not to be -broken until her ladyship herself should choose to -bite her way to the light.</p> - -<p>The days were now being counted, even the hours, -against the time when She would appear! Once more -a little life was manifest in the hive. Workers went -scouring the country for forage, and every bee found -something to do, so happy were they in anticipation -of the coming event.</p> - -<p>The Master, too, had shown much interest in us.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_109"></a>[109]</span> -On one of the early days of our trouble, in passing, he -had discovered our condition.</p> - -<p>“They have lost their Queen,” he said to the little -Shadow. “You can tell that by their movements. -Everything is now in confusion. Let us see whether -they have eggs or young larvæ available for the making -of a Queen.”</p> - -<p>With that he opened our hive and found the queen-cells.</p> - -<p>“Here are cells already,” he commented, a gleam of -satisfaction on his grave face.</p> - -<p>“Let me see!” cried the Shadow, poking a little, -curious face around a corner of the hive.</p> - -<p>The Master knew at a glance the age of the Queens, -for the cells had not been sealed; he knew that on -such a day one would come forth amid the acclaim of -a colony which had languished between hope and fear—life -and death. So now, from day to day, with his -little Shadow, he passed, pausing in front of the hive -long enough to discover whether the great event had -occurred.</p> - -<p>It was on a day golden with a sun steeped in the -waning glory of an Indian summer that the Queen -emerged and took her throne. Crip and I had gone -to the lake for a load of water, and we should probably -not have missed the event had we not, out of -curiosity, returned by the hollow tree which our -brothers of the swarm had occupied. We flew up to -the very entrance; the workers were filing past in a -great stream, humming a note of content.</p> - -<p>“They will survive,” I said to Crip. “The season -has been a late one, and they must have gathered -ample stores.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_110"></a>[110]</span></p> - -<p>We were in jubilant mood, on account of this discovery, -which chimed in perfectly with conditions at -home, for even before we alighted the sound of rejoicing -reached us.</p> - -<p>“A Queen has been born! A Queen! A Queen!”</p> - -<p>We found a throng mad with rejoicings. Crip and -I edged our way in, eager to pay our homage, thrilling -at the thought that a new lease of life for the colony -had been vouchsafed. We reached the place of the -palace-cells, only to find them in ruins. Excited bees -were razing the last buttresses, while echoing from all -sides were: “A new mother has come! A Queen!” -Presently two beautiful Queens were led to execution, -for one had been crowned—and one only might rule -the hive.</p> - -<p>Order was restored, and things went normally until -the nuptial day. In the life of the colony there is no -equally vital event. Destiny waits on the mating of -the Queen.</p> - -<p>On a wonderfully fine, warm day, at the noon hour, -she made ready for flight. Already in the air could -be heard the roar of the drones, that groped about in -search of the queenly presence. And now from the -alighting-board she rose into the crystal blue. Crip -and I, for no reason, followed, not near enough, however, -to encroach on the sacred precincts. Higher and -higher she climbed, now pursued by some scores of -drones. Round and round in mazy flight they whirled -until the heavens seemed dizzy, and the ultimate moment -had arrived, when a yellow flash crossed the sky -and fluttered in their midst—a bee-bird.</p> - -<p>“Fly for your life!” a drone cried. “Fly—fly!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_111"></a>[111]</span></p> - -<p>A moment later it was all over, and a silent doomed -procession dropped earthward—the Queen was missing—the -bee-bird had caught her.</p> - -<p>The news spread instantly. I had been among the -first to make report of it.</p> - -<p>“We shall all die together now,” said Crip, in dejection. -“It is only a matter of days. We have no -eggs, no larvæ, and may not rear another mother. -Alas—alas!”</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-head"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_112"></a>[112]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_EIGHTEEN">CHAPTER EIGHTEEN<br /> -Crip and the Imposter</h2> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter18"> - -<img src="images/chapter18.jpg" width="700" height="700" alt="" /> - -<p class="para1">On the earlier occasion of the loss -of the Queen there had been a -brief spasm of despair; but it had yielded, for the -possibility of rearing another rose uppermost. Now -that possibility had vanished. There was absolutely -no hope. Death stalked abroad, and one by one, the -eldest first, the bees would go to their doom. There -were no young bees to take their places, nothing but -dust and darkness.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-body"> - -<p>Several days passed, when one morning a great cry -rang through the hive that eggs had been found and -that queen-cells had been started. It was a strange and -pathetic mystery, for we knew that we had no Queen, -and yet exulted over the finding of eggs.</p> - -<p>Still hoping beyond hope, we tried to create a -Queen from the eggs—all in vain. The eggs we now<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_113"></a>[113]</span> -found deposited freely—one, two, or half-a-dozen in -a cell—were the eggs of an impostor, a would-be Queen, -called a fertile worker.</p> - -<p>Strangely enough, too, we began to work in a half-hearted -way, gathering honey, feeding the brood of -the impostor, and yet we knew or seemed to know that -there would emerge but worthless drones. Hope still -lingered in our hearts, but daily it grew more faint -until despair overcame us.</p> - -<p>One morning Crip and I were brooding over our -affairs when we saw the Master and his Shadow approaching. -They stopped near us.</p> - -<p>“Something has happened,” said the Master; -“something is wrong. We do not need the smoker. -Here, son, lend me a hand!”</p> - -<p>“A fertile worker—an impostor!” he exclaimed, on -lifting up a frame from the brood-chamber. “See those -eggs dropped haphazard! A Queen never does that.”</p> - -<p>“Why, there are six in one cell!” cried the Shadow.</p> - -<p>“Run, son, and bring me that Italian Queen in the -new cage.”</p> - -<p>In a few minutes the cry of a Queen rang through -the hive. Crip and I flew toward it, and presently -paused beside the trap which contained a most beautiful -Queen. But she was not <i>our</i> Queen, and now a -riot was started. “Kill her—kill her!” broke on all -sides. While Crip and I took no part, we entered no -protest—we stood almost alone.</p> - -<p>Over the cage, biting and clawing, a mob of bees, -incited partly by the impostor, endeavored to reach -the royal personage. They meant to kill her; first, -because she was not of our tribe; secondly, because the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_114"></a>[114]</span> -impostor had come to own an ascendency over the -colony. It was a strange fate, as Crip explained, -that we should cling to an impostor and die rather than -bring an alien to reign over us. But Crip and I were -thinking, and so were many of our little brothers. -Crip, on occasion, now gave her food through the wire -screen; while I found it convenient to hang about the -place. In the mean time the impostor spread her vile -brood over the hive, and kept up her conspiracy against -the Queen the Master had given us.</p> - -<p>Several days passed, and the Master, returning, -found what he thought a reconciliation. He opened -the cage and out walked the most beautiful Queen I -had ever seen, except my own Queen-Mother. Instantly, -however, a troop of hostile bees, evidently led -by the impostor, fell upon her, and in a moment she -was in the center of a “ball” and being slowly crushed -to death.</p> - -<p>The Master was watching, however, and quickly -rescued her and restored her to the cage.</p> - -<p>“They are not ready to receive her, son,” he said. -“In fact, unless we can destroy the fertile worker, -that horrid impostor, we may not succeed.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve been thinking,” said Crip, to me that night -as we stood by the cage and listened to the regal call -of the Queen, “that I shall fight the first bee that -comes near her.”</p> - -<p>“And so shall I.”</p> - -<p>Crip had just given her some honey, and was standing -near her on the screen when an ugly bee, unusually -large, came up and caught hold of one of her legs which -had protruded through the meshes of the cage. He<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_115"></a>[115]</span> -laid hold of it and pulled it with all his might, and the -Queen began to cry with pain, when Crip rushed to -the rescue.</p> - -<p>A terrific battle ensued. I tried to help, and did -seize the vicious bee by one wing, only to be kicked -off. But Crip had grappled him in his vise-like mandibles, -and I saw it was a battle to the death. Over and -over they whirled, finally to fall to the bottom of the -hive—still fighting. I followed as fast as I might, and -when I reached where they lay they had ceased to -struggle—both were dead.</p> - -<p>A lance wound in his heart had finished my beloved -friend.</p> - -<p>“Crip—Crip!” I cried aloud; but got no answer. -One little foot moved a few times, then was still.</p> - -<p>Almost simultaneously an alarm sounded. The impostor -had disappeared.</p> - -<p>I shook with an unrestrained emotion. “We are -saved,” I thought.</p> - -<p>“Where is our Queen? The Queen is gone!” they -called.</p> - -<p>A wild rush of bees set the hive in pandemonium. -Finally one began to cry: “Here she is—she is dead.”</p> - -<p>“Dead—dead!” rose loud over the place.</p> - -<p>They were wailing over the lifeless body of the -impostor, while I stood broken-hearted beside my -Crip, who, at the sacrifice of his life, had redeemed that -of the colony.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-head"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_116"></a>[116]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_NINETEEN">CHAPTER NINETEEN<br /> -FAREWELL</h2> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter19"> - -<img src="images/chapter19.jpg" width="700" height="525" alt="" /> - -<p class="para1">Two days later the Master came -and opened the door of the cage, -and the new Queen he had brought -walked boldly out on the combs, -to be wildly acclaimed, “Mother!” -The hostility which had been displayed -toward her had totally disappeared, and in -its place had come affection. The death of the impostor -had wrought a profound revolution, and everywhere -my poor Crip was proclaimed a hero.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="chapter-body"> - -<p>Within the space of an hour every egg and every -young bee which the impostor had left was dragged -out and cast to the ants; and almost at once the new -Queen began to deposit eggs of her kind, and the hymn -of rejoicing that welled up in that hive of many calamities -cannot well be imagined. I think that I more than -any other was moved to the bottom of my being.</p> - -<p>It is not possible for me to express the loneliness -which came over me at thought of Crip’s death. We -had been such dear companions, and he had been so -kind and wise.</p> - -<p>When another day had dawned and the sun had sufficiently -warmed the air, I went into the fields with the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_117"></a>[117]</span> -rest, but I seemed to wander as in a dream. All the -while the desire possessed me to fly farther and farther -away. Had I, too, lived out my period of usefulness? -But Crip said that I had not, and I acted in this faith.</p> - -<p>On my next excursion into the fields I felt a tremor -in the air such as I remembered from another time, -when the storm had broken. Black clouds, too, -loomed on the horizon and little snake-like flames -crawled in and out among them. This time I was not -so eager to secure a load, and made off with all possible -speed. Scarcely had I reached home when the -rain began to fall in sheets and the thunder rattled -frightfully. In a little while it was over; the sky was -clear, but a dreadful wind from the north blew like a -hurricane and it grew cold. By the next day it was -so cold that we formed a cluster about the brood in order -to keep it warm. We, too, were cold, and not a bee -ventured from the hive.</p> - -<p>Three days passed ere it was warm enough for us -to look outside; and when I saw the world again, -truly I was shocked. Everything was black and bare.</p> - -<p>“The frost has fallen, not a flower remains alive,” -mournfully exclaimed one of the nurses.</p> - -<p>This was surely the winter of which I had heard so -much. Happily, the Master came to our assistance by -closing the door of our house, leaving but the smallest -hole for our passage. This helped greatly in the matter -of our keeping warm when the northers swooped upon us.</p> - -<p>The season now alternated between moderately -warm days and biting weeks of cold. On all days fit -for flight, we sailed into the air for exercise and for -the care of our bodies.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_118"></a>[118]</span></p> - -<p>Close, close to one another we packed during the -cold days and nights, and in this way generated enough -heat to keep the hive warm and habitable. Life was -monotonous. We were limited in our activities to -caring for the brood and to policing the hive. There -was little enough to do on the latter score, save on -warm days. Then we searched out every nook and -corner to see that the moth had not entered, for she -was the mother of the web-worms, and I, for one, -had the utmost respect for them. Sometimes harmless -beetles were found, and, much as we hated to send -them into the cold, we felt it must be done. Sometimes -they went peacefully, but often enough we were -compelled to drag them bodily forth—and occasionally -we were forced to destroy them.</p> - -<p>And so the days ran on. As for me, I employed them -in meditation. What could be more conducive to reflection -than the long, dark hours of quiet that reign -in a winter-bound hive? Slowly, ever so slowly, I -neared the end of my task.</p> - -<p>And now I have come to the end. There remains -only to tell what these last days held for me. Already -the winter has gone and I am ready. Even as poor -Buzz-Buzz, I feel that my labors are done. I am old -and worn and need to make way for the young life -which is already singing about me. The Queen-Mother, -aware of conditions, has been scattering her -brood over wide spaces, and already young bees, flapping -their wings frantically, are stumbling over the -combs, and hundreds more of them soon will be waiting -for the signal to go into the fields. Eagerly will -they try their first wings and eagerly will they gather<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_119"></a>[119]</span> -from the flowers the pollen and honey that unfailingly -come with the spring.</p> - -<p>Even as I—even as a hundred thousand generations -before me—will they marvel at the mysteries that surround -them, but, undaunted and undismayed, they -will fly into the face of the sun or struggle in the teeth -of the hurricane! It is youth that knows no danger, -that brooks no defeat, that pursues, that conquers. It -is youth that constructs, that hopes, that achieves—youth -that charges the heavens with glory!</p> - -<p>Crip was right. Now age has torn my wings and -rendered my body nearly useless. While I am still -alive, I am among the dying—but, dying, I shall live -again.</p> - -<p>February has come and already the grass is green -and the yellow catclaw-buds are bursting. The great -tree that stands hard by is a-bloom. The alarm has -been sounded, and out into the world the bees fly by -tens and hundreds. I, too, cannot resist the call and -rise into the air, driving toward a place I well remember. -Sheltered from the north wind and exposed to -the sun, a little slope lies dotted with daisies. In its -midst a catclaw-tree sways like a golden ball in the -breeze, and about it hum a score of bees. I, too, -gather my load and wend my way homeward, but at -heart I am weary. I had imagined that I alone knew -of this particular spot. Alas! there are no secrets.</p> - -<p>Flying out again, I took another course—one which -led me over the Master’s cottage. There he was in his -garden, pondering his roses. Round him I circled twice, -thrice, until, perceiving me, he followed me with his -eyes until I passed from his vision.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_120"></a>[120]</span></p> - -<p>Then on I went to the place of the sunflowers, but -where once had been beautiful blossoms the green -grass waved in triumph.</p> - -<p>It seemed to me that a never-ending night followed -this excursion. I rested little or none; back and forth -I raced from end to end of the hive, and from the entrance -to my cell, which I had not forgotten. I passed -and re-passed the Queen-Mother at her tasks, touching -her reverently as one might touch the garment of a saint.</p> - -<p>At length the gray light broke along the horizon -and gleams of color pierced the low-lying clouds. My -time had come. I felt the call, and there was no -denying the command.</p> - -<p>For a moment I seemed in a maze. Round and -round I turned, like a child lost in the wilderness, then -made straight for the entrance, where already a few -of the hardier and younger workers were assembled, -waiting for the light. How restless they seemed; how -they longed to be off in the world; how alluring the -unattained; how fascinating the great adventure of life!</p> - -<p class="tb">As best I might, I have told my story, and here it -must end. I have striven; I have dreamed; and as -far as ever it comes to God’s creatures, I have been—<span class="smcap">Happy</span>. -Farewell!</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -</div> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/the-end.jpg" width="500" height="225" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">THE END</p> -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HAPPY ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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