he boat."

This they did, and although the old eagles followed them for two or
three miles, sometimes coming rather close, and frequently uttering
their wild calls of anger, the boys had no trouble in making away with
their young captives. The birds seemed rather stupid than otherwise, and
were as ready to eat food from human hands as from the talons of their
parents. They did not really become tame, but, having learned their
source of food, in a few days became so indifferent to human presence
that they would only ruffle up their scanty crests and beat their wings
a little when approached. They never allowed one to put a hand on their
heads, and, indeed, were very far from being friendly. Their presence
about the camp, however, did serve in part to mitigate the nuisance of
crows and ravens, which continually hovered about, trying to steal from
the scaffold where the boys kept their supplies of meat and fish. All
boys like pets, and these found their strange captives interesting
enough at least to help pass the time.

XXIV

AN ADVENTURE ON THE GULL ROCKS

"I'll tell you, fellows," began Rob, a day or so after they had brought
home the young eagles--"I'll tell you what we ought to do to-day after
we have got the breakfast dishes done. Let's make a trip over to the big
rocks beyond, where we went with Jimmy that time. If the eggs are not
all hatched, and if these birds keep on laying, as maybe they do, we
might still get some fresh eggs."

"That would be fine," said John, "because I for one am getting just a
little tired of salmon all the while. I'd give anything for a good piece
of bread and butter."

"Or pie," said Jesse, his mouth almost watering.

"Now, there you go," said Rob, "talking about things we can't have. Why,
I wouldn't give a cent for a piece of pie myself--that is, not unless it
was a piece of real cherry pie, with fresh cherries, the kind we used
to get--" All three boys looked at one another and broke out laughing.

"Anyhow," said John, "maybe we can make a sort of pie after the
salmon-berries get ripe. At least we could if we had a little flour and
lard and baking-powder and things--"

"And if we knew how," added Jesse. "It seems to me the best thing we can
do, the way things are, is to go egg-hunting as Rob suggests."

There was perhaps more wisdom in Rob's plan than any one of the boys
knew at first. He was old and wise enough to know that the best way to
keep them all from homesic