Evening star., 1944-08-17
This and That
By Charles E. TrdceUeH.

a suddenly Illuminated room
woman's scream
flying shape
No, it Is not the latest detective story,
but merely the midnight drama Of the
entry and discovery Of bat indoors.
Nothing upsets the average household
so quickly and so completely as this.
Not even a burglar would cause such
screams, or so much excitement, such
q wild scurrying for broon1s, such a
slamming Of DOORS
Usually the bat is discovered between
midnight and am.
This makes all the more electric and
startling its presence where it has no
real reason for being.
1t is common night scene in WASH
ington and vicinity because the city
and environs have plenty of trees.
Bats, get their food in wild dipping
flights between trees, seldom touching
even the smallest limb in their
journeyings
1t Is all the more odd, then, that they
manage to intrude themselves through
crevices in attics next to the caves,
and SO come downstairs when attic
doors are left open in hot weather.
y +
In the old days, before screens, bats
in Washington homes were very
common.
Nowadays about their only means OF
entrance is through the attic.
Their delicate sense of touch enables
them to come in, but their dipping
manner of flight makes it most difd-
cult for them to get out.
Let it be whispered that the master
of the house is not always the hero
Of these occasions.
Though the women may scream the
loudest, in the thralls of the ancient
superstition that bats get in women's
hair, they are quickest to 60 for the
broom, and often the bravest to knock
the mammal down.
Yes, the bat Is a mammal, although
it resembles a bird. It is merely
mammal with the fore limbs modified
for flight.
When bat is discovered, the thing
to do is to keep the light on, and shut
all doors into the other parts OF the
house as quickly as possible.
A bit Of Scurrying and excitement
merely adds to the bats dilemma.
1t Is often a question, who or which
is the most dismayed, the lady of the
house or the bat.
Picture the perplexity of the bat, a
creature made for long dipping flights
in the outdoors, honestly hunting for
his nightly food, when he discovers
himself in bright light within the
confines Of four walls.
The members Of the household need
not fear that ha. will get scot on or
otherwise soil the walls.
He is a clean mammal, despite the
ancient slurs against his tribe.
His delicate perceptions will keep him
from even touching with the tips of
his wings anything in the room.
X
He may seem erratic, indoors, in the
night, but when he is outside those
queer dips are what get him his food.
One touch of broom, and down he
comes. because his organization Is easily
upset.
Usually he sets up mighty sqeaking.
when brought down, and then he may
be gathered up between some handy
cloth and the broom, and safely carried
outside.
The family cat may or may not be a
help. Mostly he merely succeeds in
knocking on an assortment Of toilet
articles On the dresser, whereas the
bat. even when assaulted with broom,
never touches anything.
It is best to tie up the head in a
towel, when facing bat, in Difference
to The old superstition. that they harbor
inimical insects.
t. Is no wonder that the phrase, Like
bat out Of hell" came into being
All one has to do is to see one, large
and black, against the bedroom walls,
to understand what fine phrase it is.