The Raid on the Termites

ermit

oned hopefully that they were near ground level. And now they began to see termite workers bearing a

le of human porters bearing the equipment of a jungle expedition. Slowly, the things moved-carefull

" Denny whispered. "They're coming from the Queen t

ame to the nearest passage branching away from the avenu

m what little science knows of the termites, I can guess th

had left; which might be an artery leading to the outside world. But t

ldiers larger than the usual squad. They filled the tunnel so c

d Jim, pointing

had been an unlucky one: the crash of the heavy, armored bodies con

er us again?"

the insects. It seemed impossible that the ruling brain behind them had survived the cannibalist

broadened-and abruptly ended in another of the vast chambers that seemed to dot the mound city at fairly regular

e they paused there, the soldiers behind them rounded a corner. They could not go back. There were no more of the

rhythmically along. But once inside the great chamber, they shrank back against the w

d doubled back on them without their having been aware of it. They were in the

ble tunnel entrances. At each of these stood a termite guard-picked soldiers half again as large as the

e were centering their activities on an object as fear

hangar. And like a zeppelin-a blunt, bloated zeppelin-the object was circular and t

ker termites pressed, giving nourishment to the insatiable mouth. At the far end of the vast shape another cluster of termites thronged. A

tons of flabby, greasy flesh, immo

loathsome mass, listening to its snapping jaws as it took on the t

But now, with the admittance of the soldier band that had pressed them in here,

tter do?" he br

ving the lair of the termite-ruler. These were moving uneasily, restlessly, stopping now and again with waving, inquisitive antennae. It looked

s muttered at last. "But for heaven's sake don't touch any of the brutes! I think that at the slightest signal

, special guard of soldiers if he could help it, or against any o

m one exit to another. But nowhere did any chance of getting out of the place present itself. Across each

but also without finding an exit they could slip through. An

foot of Jim, who had brushed against the wall to let the burden bearer pass without touching him. Jim, attempting to sidestep away from the spot, as

tood staring at each other, holding their breaths, fearful of what m

d egg. It drew back abruptly, as though in perplexity: soft and tough, the

two breathed again, and began to hope that their

tragedy. And Jim and Dennis rushed back and forth, too, engaged in a deadly game of blind man's buff as they tried to avoid the questing

of the feelers whipped against D

aw gone wild. And on the instant all its fellows, and the

Jim and Dennis had seen performed by the termite guard when it was confronted by the horde of ants. Not moving their feet, they commenced to sway back and forth, while l

sence and ravening for their blood. But in this exit-the only one accessible to them now-the guard had commenced the jaw-clashing that closed openin

the rasping alarm. Even the workers, ordinarily quick to run from danger, were advancing instead of retreating. Of all living things in t

given the alarm touched one of the men. With a deaf

scarcely less hard mandibles of the worker, not ha

ords were wasted by the two men. It was a fight for life again, with the o

s clashing mandible duty. If only it, too, would join in the blind search for the trespassers, thus

but still capable of slicing either of the men in two, snapped perilously close to Jim's body. There was a sec

only too sure the enemy could not possibly get away from them. And the two worker termites killed were me

on. He glanced from the carcasses to the mechanically movi

panted, "f

t carcass and then toward the rock

o hold the

ay, catching Jim's idea

wo hundred pounds the mass weighed; but strength is an inconstant thing, an

and with its repulsive weight clasped in hi

te that was about to attack. No feeble worker this, b

him came the main body of the horde. It was painfully evident that the clash with the lone soldier would be the l

ed to tell of it, Jim had clenched his fingers around his spear and calculated as to the best

ck. But a shade more quickly, Jim sidestepped the terrible mandibles, leaped back along the ar

with a thrust. As though nothing had happened, the huge hulk wheeled around. The mandibl

the living barrier of the attacking soldier. But it was only a matter of a few seconds now, before he and Denny

his shoulder, not daring to take hi

e heard D

osed the exit. He paused a moment, gathering strength. Then he hea

, as the burden

n the ring of death and the doorway. Together they

st ten minutes. And then both cried aloud-and crouched to repeat the maneuve

f the worker termite with ferocious eagerness, and we

his own kind that he was mangling so thoroughly. But in that instant Jim had slid on his c

s not to get

etely in by now. The snapping mandibles of the

eet almost before he had landed; but between him and the exit was the bulk of the termite that had felled him, and i

sake...." shriek

im and the doorway. But there he stopped, with the guard's great mandibles f

with at least a possibility of safety lying op

to the unarmored rear of the gua

nnel with its rasping anger-and taking its attention a

the trampling guard's bulk and the wall. He felt his left arm and shoulder go numb as he was crushed for a flee

topped trying to turn in the narrow passage and had rushed ahead into the Queen's chamber, to turn there and come dashing back. He did not see that Jim was finally disarmed and completely helpless, with hi

in the narrow passage at once-keeping pace with them in spite of all they could do to make haste. And he only knew that finall

sunlight; but these, not being of the band outraged by the destruction of

Ignoring his gashed and bleeding fingers, he widened the breach till he, could pull himself u

uter world once more, on a terrace

the jungle of grass stalks beneath. And there Denny bit his lip s

he termites poured out through the broken wall in an enraged flood, braving even the sun

f his lungs, forgetting that his voice coul

lightest inattention at his guard duty at that second wo

e of termites pursuing them. Then he saw another pinkish-gray wall, in which was set something-a shallow, regular, hollo

hat great plateau; he was too exhaus

f earth all around him. He was flung from his feet to roll helplessly beside the uncon

ile of the mound city, over all the surrounding landscape, and was borne back toward Matt's automobile-and tow