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"New National Fourth Reader"


crim'i nals, _those who have broken the law_.
con'cen trate, _gather in a large mass_.
in tol'er a ble, _not to be borne_.
ir re sist'i ble, _can not be opposed_.

* * * * *


AFRICAN ANTS.

A strange kind of ant is very abundant in the whole region I have
traveled over in Africa, and is the most voracious creature I ever met.
It is the dread of all living animals, from the leopard to the smallest
insect.
I do not think that these ants build nests or homes of any kind. At any
rate they carry nothing away, but eat all their prey on the spot. It is
their habit to march through the forests in a long, regular line--a line
about two inches broad and often several miles in length. All along this
line are larger ants, who act as officers, stand outside the ranks, and
keep this singular army in order.
If they come to a place where there are no trees to shelter them from
the sun, whose heat they can not bear, they immediately build
underground tunnels, through which the whole army passes in columns to
the forest beyond. These tunnels are four or five feet underground, and
are used only in the heat of the day, or during a storm.


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