[Ill.u.s.tration]

The broad country around the ants' town was almost deserted. Tom saw only his garrison in the square, the guards hiding in the blossoms of hawkweed and gra.s.s stems, groups of workmen putting various things in order, and the nurses in perturbation, running all over the town and taking care of the entrances where they had placed the chrysalises.

Tom ran down from the top of the mound, saw that there were guards at the magazines and went out to take a look at the surroundings. At the gate, he met two guards who were leading his rose-bug steed out of the stall, having been ordered by Mirmex to get him ready, in case Tom should need him in the fight. Tom at once mounted and rode to the heather, to see if there was any danger threatening the town in that direction.

On the way, he thought of his friends and wondered how they were getting on in the fight; then he thought of Chrysomela and decided that after the battle he would send her a message, lest she should worry about him.

As he rode through the moss, he saw behind a stone at one side, two little red spots moving. They seemed, at first, only two dry twigs, but their movement was suspicious. He rode along slowly as if he did not see them, but when he had come up to them, he jumped down suddenly and with drawn sword threw himself behind the stone; there he found a Redhead whom he cut in two. The moss moved and there were two other Redheads running away. Tom left them, mounted hurriedly and rode back to the town as fast as he could go. It was high time.

The reserves of the Redhead army were stealing through the heather to the town, hoping to find it weakly guarded and to plunder it. When a messenger reached them reporting how a giant had killed one of their spies, they were greatly surprised; but they did not suspect that Tom was an ally of the Black Ants, so they became quieted, thinking that the giant had met their spies only by accident, and started forward toward the town.

Tom ordered all the guards to be brought back to the town, so that they should not be surprised by the attack of the Redheads, and placed part of the garrison on top of the town and the rest in the gra.s.s close by.

He already knew whence the attack would come and was prepared to meet it.

The Redheads crawled carefully through the moss and when they did not encounter any guards, they thought that the Black Ants did not suspect that they had reserves. They soon came out on the square and ran in a great crowd to the town which seemed to be deserted. As soon as they came close, Tom sent the garrison hidden by the gates to attack them.

Although taken by surprise, the Redheads defended themselves bravely.

They struck the defenders with their long, sharp jaws and in a compact body, pushed forward toward the main gate. At this moment, out of the gate came Tom with his band of selected workers, and wherever he struck with his sword, off flew a red head or a foot. Then, two or three of his companions would throw themselves on the red fighters, biting their feet and backs. The Redheads became afraid and leaving many dead and wounded on the square, ran headlong for the moss.

At this moment, a great company of Black Ants that had hidden in the gra.s.s, came out and met them. A terrible fight followed and only a few of the Redheads were able to beat their way through the black ranks and return as best they could to the rest of their army.

Tom was not satisfied with this victory. He sat on his rose-bug and, in his rage, wished to exterminate the Redheads altogether. All his friends begged him not to leave the town, but he was burning for revenge.

Leaving the older men on guard, he chose a group of young, enthusiastic workers and hurried with them after the retreating enemy.

Moss, red and blue berries, sped by them as they hastened on and, whenever they came to one of their foes lagging behind, they immediately cut him to pieces. The rose-bug, who also became enthusiastic over the fight, was soon running at the head of the scattered crowd and wherever he saw a Redhead easily overtook him, when Little Tom would cut him down with his sword. So they ran blindly ahead, paying little heed to anything, intoxicated with their victory.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Now brave Little Tom did not know the sly cunning of his foes. The fleeing ones scattered broadly as they made for their home. The strongest among them, however, stopped a moment and, hiding themselves, noticed that Tom was riding almost alone, having outridden his own troop. Then they ran as fast as they could to their home, where they found a swarm of slaves awaiting the results of the main battle. With them were many of their masters in great excitement. They had received many discouraging reports. Many fighters had been lost and the army was being pressed back, step by step.

Tom was really dreaming how he would attack the deserted Red Town, start a revolt of the black slaves and fall upon their army in the rear, thus completing the victory. He did not even wait for his scattered party to catch up with him and, as soon as he saw the black slaves, immediately urged his steed after them. The slaves became frightened at the sight of this victorious giant on a golden horse and turned around, running in desperate fright with Tom galloping after them.

At this moment, some of those who were retreating came up and reported that just behind them was a great giant at the head of a band of Black fighters, heading straight for their town. Immediately, they gathered themselves together and, hiding all along the path, sent some black slaves toward Tom. They knew these slaves could not fight, but would start to run away from Tom and thus draw him on.

Already, before him, appeared the town and he was almost on the square in front of it, when the Red fighters came out of their ambush and threw themselves on the rose-bug. He stopped. Tom struck around him into the red bodies which squirmed under his blows; but the clever fighters, protected by the bodies of their fallen comrades, attacked him by biting his feet with their powerful jaws, until he slipped and fell to the ground.

Before he could get up, they rendered him unconscious and ordered the slaves to drag him victoriously into the town. There they took away everything that he had, bit his clothes to pieces and left him unconscious in a dark dungeon.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

CHAPTER TEN.

LITTLE TOM IN CAPTIVITY AND FREEDOM.

THE DEFEAT OF THE REDHEADS.

MIRMEX TRIES TO FIND LITTLE TOM.

LITTLE TOM IN PRISON.

THE BANQUET OF THE REDHEADS.

LITTLE TOM BECOMES AN ARCHITECT.

HIS WALKS TO THE BROOK.

SEVEN SPOT DISCOVERS THE WHEREABOUTS OF LITTLE TOM.

LITTLE TOM SAVED BY THE WOOD-BUG.

LITTLE TOM AND CHRYSOMELA.

THE PREPARATIONS FOR THE WINTER-SLEEP.

LITTLE TOM AND CHRYSOMELA SET OUT ON THEIR WAY TO THE ABODES OF MEN.

The Red fighters returned to their nest in disorder and were very angry.

They had lost the battle. The Blacks, after chasing them away, stopped the pursuit and returned to their homes. Mirmex hurried along among the first to learn how things were going in the town. When he approached, the guards hurried out to meet him with great joy and told him how Tom had defeated the treacherous attack of the Reds and how the town was untouched.

Mirmex at once looked for Tom to thank him and was surprised that he did not come to greet him. When he learned that Tom had gone in pursuit of the fleeing enemy, he was greatly troubled. He knew Tom's brave heart and also the cool, treacherous Redheads and he feared for the worst.

The town quickly resumed its normal life. Workers cleared the square and removed the dead bodies, while the nurses carried the chrysalises back to the upper stories; everything moved along in the regular channels, only Mirmex ran impatiently out to the paths looking and waiting for Tom's return.

But he did not return. Towards evening, the tired warriors who had accompanied him, returned and told of his brave fight and his capture.

They related how he was overpowered and pulled away before they could run to his rescue.

The entire town was very sad over the fate of its brave defender. Mirmex went himself to announce the sad news to Chrysomela and the Ladybird kingdom. There was no thought of rescue. In their defenses the Red fighters were invincible. This the Black Ants knew very well. Therefore they gave up the idea of trying to free Tom. They again took up the work that had been interrupted by the fight and could no longer be delayed, as they were preparing for the winter.

In the meantime, Tom was lying wounded and unconscious in the nest of the Redheads, who crawled over him and looked at him with the greatest curiosity. When he finally revived, he could not move and lay for a long while trying to think where he was. He felt the touch of feelers and feet, which he began to push away, but was at once bitten. Then he remembered his defeat and that he was in captivity.

When the Redheads saw that Tom was becoming conscious, they gathered around him. He raised himself to a sitting position with difficulty and looked about. He saw that they had brought him a kind of porridge with little seeds in it, but he was not hungry. His wounds burned and he had a fever. When he fully recalled all that had happened, he almost cried with sorrow. All his dreams of capturing the town had melted away, and his friends had vanished. What was to happen to Chrysomela? In vain, she would be waiting and watching for her hero to return. And what would happen to him?

When the Redheads had looked at Tom long enough to satisfy their curiosity, they left him alone; but he noted that the little hall was well guarded and that they were watching to see what he would do when he could again control the strength of his limbs. After his pain and sadness had pa.s.sed, he did not by any means give up all hope. He thought that Mirmex would surely learn of his fate and tell what had happened to the ladybirds, and his friends would plan how to set him free.

Of course they were powerless against the Redheads and would not dare to attack their town. He himself, without armor and with torn clothes would not dare to pit his strength alone against his captors. He had observed that they were quarrelsome, doughty and well armed.

If he should stand up against them, even if he could kill some of them, he would be wounded and very likely be killed himself. He realized that, first of all, he must regain his strength, act very quietly so as not to arouse suspicion, and wait for an opportunity to escape. Therefore, he sat quietly all day long, ate the unpalatable seed porridge, until he felt that he had quite recovered his strength.

The Redheads noticed that he was beginning to walk about and appearing better; so, one morning, they sent a few slaves to him to request him to go out with them. He accompanied them quietly through the corridors and out on the square where many fighters had gathered. They sat around him in a dense circle, proud in manner and not seeming to notice anything while they were being served by their slaves.

Tom saw how the slaves swarmed about them, bringing to them quant.i.ties of food. Each fighter simply opened his terrible jaws and the obliging slaves quickly and skilfully thrust in morsels of tasty food. None of them wanted to be kept waiting a minute, and if he did not immediately get his morsel he would pitilessly grasp the slave by the foot and remind him of his duty.

Tom paled with anger when he saw all this, and waited to see what would happen next. When the masters had eaten enough, they formed into dense battle array for an expedition and started off, while in the town only the slaves and a few guards remained, walking about without noticing Tom in the least.

Some of the slaves ran to Tom and led him through corridors to a great hall, whose ceiling had fallen. With their feelers, they pointed to a heap of stones and spines. He understood that they were asking him to help. He thought the best thing to do would be to work and thus gain their confidence, so that he would not remain all of the time locked up in his dark cell.

He started bravely at the work and the ants saw with surprise how well he knew how to handle the stones and beams, and what a gigantic strength he had. The slaves began to obey him, when he showed them how to clear away the fallen pieces, and the fighters themselves admired him, when they saw that he knew how to build, how to support the ceiling with beams, fasten the walls and smoothly level the corners.

Tom was very glad to have the work, for the time forgetting his wounds and humiliation, and hoped that through it he would regain his freedom.

When the evening came, the work had advanced more than the slaves could have accomplished in weeks; when they had finished, they led Tom back to prison.

[Ill.u.s.tration]