The Boy Scouts of the Geological Survey | Page 7

about half a mile in order to cross the mountain

stream; for to cross it at the spot which he had chosen for his ambush
would have been impossible, owing to the depth and swiftness of the
current.
After fording the stream at the further point---under protest from Keno,
who picked his way very carefully and grudgingly over the treacherous
rocky bed---Ralph dismounted and tied the horse to a tree. Then he
walked carefully along the base of the cliff, crawling or jumping from
one rock to another, taking advantage of every slight projection, and
holding his breath for dread lest he slip and hurl himself into the
foaming water. At last he came to the foot of the rock where, but a
short time ago, the eagles were devouring their breakfast. There he
paused to get his wind and to look for the fallen bird.
Quite out of reach, on the ledge above his head, the female eagle lay
stunned and broken-winged, but still alive. To scale the cliff was not
possible, for here it sloped sharply out over its base, where it had been
worn smooth by the stream at some previous age when the water was
swollen higher. There were no trailing vines or overhanging saplings
strong enough to bear Ralph's weight; but, foreseeing this very obstacle,
he had brought a rope which he now uncoiled from around his waist.
He flung it dexterously over the ledge. To his utter surprise, it caught
there at the middle, while the other end dangled within his grasp. He
seized it, gave a few strong tugs at each end of the rope to make certain
it was secure, leaving his coat and rifle on the ground, and then he
began to climb up, hand-over-hand.
Gaining the ledge, he at once saw the wounded bird. After a short,
sharp struggle, he dispatched her, and was in the act of tying the lifeless
body to his hunting belt when he was startled suddenly by a loud whir
of wings, and something hit him a stinging blow on the back of his
head. The male eagle, attracted by the shrill cries of its mate, had come
to the rescue!
A hasty glance over his shoulder showed him an alarming glimpse of
the mighty potentate of the air bent on revenge for the death of his mate.
Ralph ducked just in time to escape another blow from those powerful
wings, and he struck out wildly with his right arm, missing the winged

warrior by a mere inch. He saw that he was going to wage battle, then
and there, on the face of that precipitous cliff.
As he drew his long hunting knife out of its sheath, the eagle darted at
him once more. Ralph threw his arms up to shield his head and face,
and as he did so, his foot slipped. He clutched frantically at the rock to
save himself from falling, and dropped his knife. He heard it clink on
the rocks several feet below his reach.
Before he could fully recover his footing, the bird was upon him, beak
and talons, seizing the sleeve of his shirt and making gashes in the
boy's arm. By a mighty effort Ralph got his balance again, and turned
to meet the onslaught, waving his arms like flails, to beat down the
force of those wide threshing wings. Again and again the eagle made a
vicious rush, and once managed to get under Ralph's arm and to take an
ugly nip in the flesh just above the eye. Maddened by the pain of this
wound, and half blinded by the blood which soon began to flow from
the cut, Ralph snatched the dead bird from his belt and swung it around
his head like a club. Once this improvised club crashed against the
attacking bird, and Ralph took advantage of the latter's hasty retreat to
slide down the ropes and land on firmer ground. He tossed the dead
bird aside, and lunged forward to recapture his knife. But the king of
the clouds was not by any means outdone. Indeed, the sight of his dead
mate lying on the rocks, near where Ralph was crouching with his back
protected by the sloping rock wall, seemed to put a new idea into the
crafty bird's brain. Screaming with rage, he swooped down after Ralph,
and alighted on the ground about two yards from the place where the
lad crouched in his protecting niche. Then, with wings bowed outward
and downward like a belligerent hen, with beak snapping and talons
spread wide, rending the air, he charged straight into Ralph's face.
The plucky youth was ready for this, however, and he awaited the
attack, knife in hand. He was unwilling to use the knife if he could
avoid