If so, it was quite conceivable that, bit
by bit, the bees had found other and more positive ways of securing the
aid of men through threatening to sting. "Even to cultivating flowers
for their benefit," she conceded. "It's quite possible."
Smith had been thinking of something else. "I always understood that a
bee's stinging apparatus is good for only one attack. Doesn't it always
remain behind after stinging?"
"Yes," from the doctor, quietly. "That is true. The sting has tiny barbs
on its tip, and these cause it to remain in the wound. The sting is
actually torn away from the bee when it flies away. It never grows
another. That is why, in fact, the bee never stings except as a last
resort, when it thinks it's a question of self-defense."
"Just what I thought!" chuckled Smith. "A bee is helpless without its
sting! If so, how can you account for anything like a soldier bee?"
The doctor returned his gaze with perfect equanimity. He looked at Van
Emmon and Billie; they, too, seemed to think that the engineer had found
a real flaw in Kinney's reasoning. The doctor dropped his eyes, and
searched his mind thoroughly for the best words. He removed his
bracelets while he was thinking; the others did the same.
Pages:
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65