silk stockings; nor do they expend their money in silk, satin, brocade,
or velvet hangings. The fashion, too, has much to do with the demand.
Some seasons women wear only satins and that throws back on the
manufacturers the silks they have on hand; or velvets are worn and the
satins have to be shelved. The vogue of certain colors also often causes
loss. It is a great lottery to be a silk merchant, my father says."

"Certainly the silkworm creates lots of business for people," declared
Pierre smiling.

"And the thread for weaving sarsnet--or sateen, taffeta, satin, and
velvet, as well as providing the fibres for sewing-silk is not all the
little caterpillar gives, either. Had you thought of the oiled silk,
used for a thousand and one purposes? Or of the silk-gut we use near the
hooks of our fish-lines?"

"I fish with just a string," replied Pierre.

Henri chuckled.

"You are not an expert fisherman then, Pierre," he answered. "Still, one
can land a very good fish with a pole and string; I have done it scores
of times. But professional fishermen have a bit of silk-gut to connect
the hook with the line. Not only is it very strong, but it is invisible
when under water. Most of the silk-gut is made in Italy or Spain, the
Spaniards surpassing all others at manufacturing it. Valencia is the
chief centre for the industry."

"And how is it made? Spun from silk fibres?"

"Not at all. You remember how, before the silkworm begins to spin, the
viscid secretion is stored in the two long ducts at each side of the
little creature's body. It is that material which it unites into a
single thread in the spinaret, you know. Well, before the worm has a
chance to spin, it is put into vinegar and this jellied silk is
extracted. It is first soaked in cold water and afterward in a caustic
solution so that its outer covering can be loosened and taken off. Then
the yellowish gum is dried in a shady place and bleached white by means
of sulphur fumes. You can see that it is expensive because so many
silkworms must be sacrificed, and because the thread produced is so
small. Why, I have read that it takes as many as twenty or thirty
thousand strings to make a pound."

Pierre gasped.

"No wonder I don't use silk-gut on my fish-line!" he exclaimed.

In the meantime the boys were passing on amid the stifling atmosphere
and whirling machines.

Suddenly the noon whistle blew and the busy wheels of the mill became
still.

Pierre and Henri