ddenly burst
forth and lighted with one of its rays all that procession of gold, all
the ornaments, all the glowing eyes, and turned everything into a
torrent of flame. Then, as if it had waited for that moment so that the
sun might shine on its defeat, a heron rose from the midst of the reeds
with a prolonged and plaintiff cry.

"Haw! Haw!" cried Charles, unhooding his falcon and sending it after the
fugitive.

"Haw! Haw!" cried every voice to encourage the bird.

The falcon, dazzled for an instant by the light, turned, described a
circle, then suddenly perceiving the heron, dashed after it.

But the heron, like a prudent bird, had risen a hundred yards before the
beaters, and while the King had been unhooding his falcon, and while the
latter had been growing accustomed to the light, it had gained a
considerable height, so that by the time its enemy saw it, it had risen
more than five hundred feet, and finding in the higher zones the air
necessary for its powerful wings, continued to mount rapidly.

"Haw! Haw! Iron Beak!" cried Charles, cheering his falcon. "Show us that
you are a thoroughbred! Haw! Haw!"

As if it understood the words the noble bird rose like an arrow,
described a diagonal line, then a vertical one, as the heron had done,
and mounted higher as though it would soon disappear in the upper air.

"Ah! coward!" cried Charles, as if the fugitive could hear him, and,
spurring his horse, he followed the flight of the birds as far as he
could, his head thrown back so as not to lose sight of them for an
instant. "Ah! double coward! You run! My Iron Beak is a thoroughbred;
on! on! Haw, Iron Beak! Haw!"

The contest was growing exciting. The birds were beginning to approach
each other, or rather the falcon was nearing the heron. The only
question was which could rise the higher.

Fear had stronger wings than courage. The falcon passed under the heron,
and the latter, profiting by its advantage, dealt a blow with its long
beak.

The falcon, as though hit by a dagger, described three circles,
apparently overcome, and for an instant it looked as if the bird would
fall. But like a warrior, who when wounded rises more terrible than
before, it uttered a sharp and threatening cry, and went after the
heron. The latter, making the most of its advantage, had changed the
direction of its flight and turned toward the forest, trying this time
to gain in distance instead of in height, and so escape. But the falcon