The presence of the ant seemed to explain the condition of the latex; but someone must have placed it there. It was possible that it had been attracted by the fluid and had fallen into it while drinking. But he did not recall having seen a single one at any time and if they were so plentiful that they invaded fully half his cups, it seemed that he must have observed them for they were of extraordinary size, being nearly an inch long. David cut open one after another of the muffin-like pieces as he found them; each contained one or more of the ants. That fact confirmed his suspicions. Then he pulled out one of the insects and examined it minutely; and the first thing he saw was that it was headless. He cut and broke the mass of rubber into small bits, but the missing head could not be found. A hurried examination of a number of other pieces produced the same result. All the insects had been decapitated and were in about the center of the mass, indicating that they had been dropped into the cups some time after the sap began to flow--probably late in the afternoon. The whole thing was perfectly clear to David now. After finishing his work in the smokehouse Miguel stole back over David’s trail with a supply of the ants he had gathered at some nest he had discovered and placed them in the containers. He recalled now that Miguel was always among the first to finish the smoking and often disappeared shortly after. Also, it was not surprising that he should want to have revenge on the person who had humiliated him. David determined that he would feign ignorance of his discovery and trap the culprit at his game. He did not trouble to collect the coagulated masses, for they would only be thrown into the scrap heap, but tossed them aside and placed new cups into position. That afternoon David was passing the time with his lasso, as usual; several of the men who had finished their task were watching him and offering advice when up walked Miguel. The thrashing he had received rankled. He had lost prestige with the men; and he was determined to square the account. David saw at a glance that Miguel was in an ugly mood and bent on starting trouble, but pretended not to notice him. For a moment the Brazilian said nothing. But the look on his face as he watched David plainly showed the thoughts that were in his mind. “That was wonderful,” he said finally and with a note of sarcasm in his voice, as David, throwing at one of the men who ran past, thus serving as a moving target, missed. “Keep it up and you’ll soon be foreman of the ranch.” Strange to say, none of the men laughed. Their sympathy was entirely with David and this added to Miguel’s anger. “And how about that fancy swimming you talked so much about?” he added. “Who, me?” David seemed surprised. “I don’t remember saying anything about it.” “I do, and I have witnesses. You said you would go anywhere I would.” “All right. I’ll go any time you say.”