Certain puff-balls of white smoke, and one big
smudge of black smoke, which last signified a bomb of high explosives,
broke over them and among them, hiding all from sight for a space of
seconds. Dust clouds succeeded the smoke; then the dust lifted slowly.
Those ants were not to be seen. They had altogether vanished. It was
as though an anteater had come forth invisibly and eaten them all up.
Marveling at this phenomenon and unable to convince myself that I had
seen men destroyed, and not insects, I turned my head south again to
watch the red ladybugs in the field. Lo! They were gone too! Either
they had reached shelter or a painful thing had befallen them.
The telephone spoke a brisk warning. I think it made a clicking sound.
I am sure it did not ring; but in any event it called attention to
itself. The other man clapped his ear to the receiver and took heed to
the word that came up the dangling wire, and snapped back an answer.
"I think we should return at once," he said to me over his shoulder.
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