CHAPTER III
THE COMBAT ON THE CLIFF
Lying on his back in the narrow trail, with his eyes continuallyroving over the jagged side of the cliff, Ralph became drowsy, inspite of his desire to catch sight of the eagles when they rose tostretch their wings in the first flight of the day. Along theeastern rim of the hills the sky was paling into a yellow glowwithout a cloud to mar its perfect clarity.
How long the young hunter dozed he could not tell, but he rousedwith a start, and sat bolt upright, glancing around him impatiently.Directly over his head, soaring high over the trees, was one of thegreat birds, evidently in search of prey: perhaps an unwary rabbit,squirrel, or fat woodchuck, for breakfast.
Catching sight of the bird as it hung poised in mid air, Ralphmuttered:
"If that's the male, hunting alone, the female must be on thenest---which will make matters twice as difficult for me."
Even as he watched it, the solitary bird made a sudden swoop downward,sailed closer over the tops of the highest trees, and then suddenlydived into their midst, emerging after a few minutes with a smalllimp form seized in its talons. With this prize the eagle now flewswiftly and silently to a ledge on the side of the cliff, anduttered a curious loud whistle of invitation. In response, thelarger bird, the female, appeared on the ledge, and the pairforthwith began their meal.
Very cautiously, so that his slow movements might have the leastpossible chance of being observed, Ralph reached out for his rifle,and---shifting his position by crawling forward until the feastingeagles were within range---fired. At the report, one big birdtoppled over the precipice to a ledge not ten feet above the foamingwater, on the other side of the stream. Its mate, with a harshscream of alarm, darted up into the air, circled once over the spotwhere Ralph crouched, and flew hastily away. It was so swift inits flight from the place that Ralph was unable to get a second shot.
Nevertheless, even in his vexation at apparently losing it, Ralphcould not refrain from giving a shout of triumph. Hurriedly securinghis pony, he made a detour of about half a mile in order to crossthe mountain stream; for to cross it at the spot which he had chosenfor his ambush would have been impossible, owing to the depth andswiftness of the current.
After fording the stream at the further point---under protest fromKeno, who picked his way very carefully and grudgingly over thetreacherous rocky bed---Ralph dismounted and tied the horse to atree. Then he walked carefully along the base of the cliff,crawling or jumping from one rock to another, taking advantageof every slight projection, and holding his breath for dread lesthe slip and hurl himself into the foaming water. At last he cameto the foot of the rock where, but a short time ago, the eagleswere devouring their breakfast. There he paused to get his windand to look for the fallen bird.
Quite out of reach, on the ledge above his head, the female eaglelay stunned and broken-winged, but still alive. To scale thecliff was not possible, for here it sloped sharply out over itsbase, where it had been worn smooth by the stream at some previousage when the water was swollen higher. There were no trailingvines or overhanging saplings strong enough to bear Ralph's weight;but, foreseeing this very obstacle, he had brought a rope whichhe now uncoiled from around his waist. He flung it dexterouslyover the ledge. To his utter surprise, it caught there at themiddle, while the other end dangled within his grasp. He seizedit, gave a few strong tugs at each end of the rope to make certainit was secure, leaving his coat and rifle on the ground, and thenhe 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 tyingthe lifeless body to his hunting belt when he was startled suddenlyby a loud whir of wings, and something hit him a stinging blow onthe back of his head. The male eagle, attracted by the shrillcries of its mate, had come to the rescue!
A hasty glance over his shoulder showed him an alarming glimpse ofthe mighty potentate of the air bent on revenge for the death ofhis mate. Ralph ducked just in time to escape another blow fromthose powerful wings, and he struck out wildly with his right arm,missing the winged warrior by a mere inch. He saw that he wasgoing to wage battle, then and there, on the face of thatprecipitous cliff.
As he drew his long hunting knife out of its sheath, the eagledarted at him once more. Ralph threw his arms up to shield hishead and face, and as he did so, his foot slipped. He clutchedfrantically at the rock to save himself from falling, and droppedhis knife. He heard it clink on the rocks several feet below hisreach.
Before he could fully recover his footing, the bird was upon him,beak and talons, seizing the sleeve of his shirt and making gashesin the boy's arm. By a mighty effort Ralph got his balance again,and turned to meet the onslaught, waving his arms like flails, tobeat down the force of those wide threshing wings. Again and againthe eagle made a vicious rush, and once managed to get underRalph's arm and to take an ugly nip in the flesh just above theeye. Maddened by the pain of this wound, and half blinded bythe blood which soon began to flow from the cut, Ralph snatchedthe dead bird from his belt and swung it around his head likea club. Once this improvised club crashed against the attackingbird, and Ralph took advantage of the latter's hasty retreat toslide down the ropes and land on firmer ground. He tossed thedead bird aside, and lunged forward to recapture his knife. Butthe king of the clouds was not by any means outdone. Indeed, thesight of his dead mate lying on the rocks, near where Ralph wascrouching with his back protected by the sloping rock wall, seemedto put a new idea into the crafty bird's brain. Screaming withrage, he swooped down after Ralph, and alighted on the groundabout two yards from the place where the lad crouched in his protectingniche. Then, with wings bowed outward and downward like a belligerenthen, with beak snapping and talons spread wide, rending the air, hecharged straight into Ralph's face.
The plucky youth was ready for this, however, and he awaited theattack, knife in hand. He was unwilling to use the knife if hecould avoid doing so, for a bad cut might injure the skin andfeathers of the coveted trophy. But it seemed likely that suchconsiderations would have to be banished in the face of this horribledanger.
After repeatedly beating back the infuriated eagle, Ralph saw thathis best blows were glancing harmlessly from its shining armor offeathers, and that the vengeful creature was gaining courage withevery charge. Moreover, in his cramped position he was at adisadvantage, while the blood trickling down from the wound in hisforehead made his sight uncertain. In desperation he resolved toturn the knife edge uppermost and to strike with an upward motionas the bird rushed close.
His next blow showed the wisdom of this course. Aided by the bird'sreckless attack, the keen blade found its mark under one of thosegreat pounding pinions, and by the diminishing force of the nextcharge, and the next, Ralph knew that the eagle was weakening.
Another lucky thrust hurled the wounded bird to the ground, whereit lay kicking feebly for a few moments; then, with a convulsivejerk, it flopped over and lay still at the edge of the stream.
Ralph slid out from his crevice, and bathed his face in the coldwater. Refreshed, he picked up the two splendid birds and gazed atthem almost sadly, with no feeling of elation. He was full ofadmiration for the brave fight they had made.
"I had to do it, I had to do it," he muttered apologetically, asif seeking an excuse for an act which he found difficult to defend."Better do this than to borrow money and get into debt."
Thus he argued; but, in spite of his gladness at having won themeans wherewith his mother might undergo the operation, he felt areaction after the excitement of the fight. Weary and wounded, andmoved to a pitying admiration of the prize within his grasp, it wasnothing to the discredit of this simple, manly lad that he shed afew tears over his victory. Have not seasoned hunters been knownto weep over the death of a noble stag or a gentle doe? And werethese eagles no less noble in their sphere of the animal kingdom?
Almost sadly he tied them to his belt, carefully avoiding furtherinjury to
their plumage; and as he did so, the thought crossed hismind:
"Wonder what those fellows and the Scout Master would say aboutthis, if they knew?"
Still wondering, he retraced his steps along the edge of the stream,back to the spot where he had left Keno. Imagine his dismay andconsternation when he found the tie-rope broken and the pony---gone!
Keno had disappeared! Had he grown restive and wandered away, orhad he been stolen by some lawless prowler among the hills?
The situation, in either case, was bad enough, for the distancehome was long, and Ralph was sore and aching in every limb. Knowinga horse's infallible instinct for going homeward, he felt noapprehension that Keno would get lost; yet he realized what asensation the pony would make when, provided he were not stolen,he ambled into the farmyard, saddled and bridled and riderless!
"Mother'll be scared out of her wits!" thought Ralph. "Gee! I wishthis hadn't happened! I wish Keno hadn't bolted like this! My fault,I suppose; I ought to have tied him more firmly, but in my hurry toget the first eagle I neglected to do it!"
Removing his belt, he sat down on a flat stone in the sunlight, andstared at the ground dejectedly.
"I guess this is when little Weary Willie walks home!" he groaned."Confound the luck!"
Suddenly his gaze became riveted on a peculiar mark on the soft dryloam: the imprint of a large paw like that of a cat rising hastily,he examined the ground all around the place and discovered manysimilar tracks.
"It's a bobcat!" he exclaimed aloud. "A big bobcat or a lynx!The critter must have frightened old Keno and made him hit thetrail home! Hope I don't meet the brute! I've got only two orthree cartridges left."
Pausing only to remove his coat and shirt and to bathe the upperpart of his body in the stream, he put on his garments again andset forth along the trail. As he walked slowly through the fragrantwoods, squirrels and jays chattered derisively at him overhead, andfrightened rabbits dashed helter-skelter among the thickets. Hegave them not the slightest heed; his chief interest now was to gethome as soon as possible and to relieve his mother from anxietyover his absence.
To hasten his arrival he resolved upon taking a short-cut throughthe thickest part of the forest, which, though it would eventuallylead him out upon the boundary of Silas Perkins' farm, and necessitatehis crossing that surly neighbor's property, would save at leasttwo miles of the return journey.
Getting his bearings by the sun, in true woodsman's fashion, heleft the trail and struck off through the unblazed aisles of thewood, going onward farther and farther at a resolute pace. Thesun presently was obscured by the thick canopy of budding trees,as Ralph descended into a little hollow between two hills, anddusky shadows contended with mid-daylight. Still the boy staggeredonward, now and then faltering to rest. His wounds gave him littlepain now, though one eye was badly swollen around the cut. Butit bothered him and distracted his mind; and this was probablythe reason why, in his haste and distress, he found himself growingmore and more bewildered by his surroundings. Finally he realizedthat he had lost his way.
"And I can't be more than five miles from home, too!" he reproachedhimself, in tired disgust.
Boy Scouts of the Geological Survey Page 3