52 THE "DEATH-WATCH."

"Quite right, Cary, to ask that question,"

said Mr. Fraser; "you shall hear. It is the

gentleman-beetle which makes the noise, and

it is a call to some female not far off. So you

see the ticking is really the beetle's mode of

making love."At this the whole party laughed merrily,

Lilly exclaiming with vehemence, " What silly

children we were, to be frightened by a poor

little beetle calling his wife ! Oh, I do hope it

will tick again."Fred now put in his query: "I wonder

if we could catch one; I should like to

see it.""Oh, yes-yes ! can we catch one, papa ?"

cried both Lilly and Cary in the same breath.

" That might, perhaps, be managed; if we

called in Sam Cox to cut open the old wainscot

of your bed-room to-morrow, we might find the

beetle in some dark corner; but then you'll

not hear the sound again."

The morning came; Lilly and Cary could

scarcely take breakfast-so great was their ex-

citement; and Fred was constantly wondering

"how the death-watch would feel when fairly