s valley.

Instead of being a timbered slope, this mountain was a sheer precipice of
rock that rose abruptly a thousand feet in air. Its rugged sides were
seamed and scarred. Here and there a projecting ledge offered a scant
foothold, but mostly the face of the cliff was one vast, frowning rock
that rose almost perpendicularly. On tiny ledges and in crevices of the
rock little ferns grew in masses, hanging down the face of the cliff like
green fringes. Wild flowers had taken possession of the crannies. In
precarious footholds, where it seemed impossible for them to exist, a few
trees had sprung up, their roots crawling fantastically over the rocks in
search of bits of earth to grow in, while the tops of the trees stood up
slantingly against the face of the cliff. Mostly they were evergreens, and
their scraggly branches made irregular dark masses on the face of the
precipice.

As the two boys made their way toward the foot of this cliff, a great bird
came soaring over the top of it, and sailed in lofty circles over the
valley.

"Look at that hawk!" cried Lew. "Isn't he a whopper? Look at the spread of
his wings. And see how he soars, without ever moving a muscle. I wonder if
he can see us."

Evidently the bird saw something, for suddenly it tilted downward, shot
toward the earth like a flash, and was lost to sight behind the trees.

"Whew!" cried Charley. "Did you see that drop? It almost took my breath
away to watch him."

A moment later the bird rose into sight again, bearing in its talons a
dark-colored animal of some sort. Though the animal was not large, it must
have weighed many pounds. Yet the bird flew upward swiftly, lifting
himself rapidly with strong strokes of its wings.

"Gee whiz!" exclaimed Charley, after watching the bird a moment. "That's
no hawk! That's an eagle. It's a bald eagle, too. See his white tail and
head and the bare shanks?"

"Are you sure?" demanded Lew. "I've always wanted to see a bald eagle.
It's our national emblem, you know."

"I'm pretty sure that's one," replied Charley. "I've read about them and
seen pictures of them, and that bird's exactly like the pictures. We can
see his legs well because he's holding them straight down. They're bare.
The golden eagle has feathers all the way to his toes."

"Gee! I'm glad we saw him," exclaimed Lew. "Look where he's going."

The bird flew straight toward the cliff, climbing upward with tremendous
speed. He flew directly to a ledge fa