ide, but was ready to serve us in every
way he could. We had just encamped, when a short distance off an
enormous eagle rose from a stunted tree on the borders of a neighbouring
hummock. Lejoillie was anxious to obtain its eggs, or one of the young
birds should they be hatched; and Jup immediately volunteered to climb
up and procure one or the other. Supposing that the eagle had flown to
a distance, Jup advanced to the tree, leaving his axe and knife, which
he had been using, behind him on the ground. Some thick bark, and a few
branches and twigs projecting from the trunk, enabled him to make his
way up the tree in a manner none of us could imitate.

Lejoillie was engaged at the time in skinning a bird he had just before
shot, and we were all busy in preparing the camp, when we heard Jup
shriek out. He had ample reason for doing so. He had gained the branch
of the tree on a level with the nest--filled with skeletons and bones of
other birds and animals which the eagle had brought to feed its young.
The parent bird, with its sharp eyes, though far beyond our sight, must
have observed the intruder approaching its home. In an instant, down it
swooped with discordant shrieks, and Jup with great difficulty managed
to spring behind a branch to avoid its onslaught. Every instant it
threatened to drive its sharp claws into his woolly head, or to peck out
his eyes.

I was the first to see his danger, and rushing forward with my rifle,
attempted to obtain a shot. I was afraid, however, that while trying to
shoot the bird, I might wound the black. Jup shouted at the top of his
voice, hoping to keep the eagle at bay.

"Come down, Jup! come down!" I cried.

"Bery well to say dat, massa, but not so easy to do dat," answered Jup,
who preserved his presence of mind.

I united my voice to his, and we were soon joined by Tim, who shouted as
lustily as the black. This prevented the eagle from striking down at
Jup, who now began to descend; and as there was sufficient distance
between his head and the eagle's beak, I fired. At the same moment I
heard a crash, and thought the eagle had fallen; but when the smoke
cleared away, what was my horror to discover Jup lying on the ground,
while the eagle was clinging on to a branch just above its nest.
Regardless of the bird, Tim and I ran to pick up the fallen black.
Great was our satisfaction to find, on seeing him quickly get up, that
no bones had been broken.

"Me go 'gain a