plied all the power of his wings to rise higher into the air.
He seemed resolved to hold on to his hard-earned plunder; or, at all
events, not to yield it, without giving the more powerful robber the
trouble of a chase. The fresh remembrance of the peril he had passed
through in obtaining it, no doubt stimulated him to this resolve.

Birds of his species will sometimes outfly and escape the eagle--that
is, _some_ eagles, for these bird-kings differ in degrees of swiftness
as hounds or horses. So, too, do the kites; and the one in question
having, no doubt, full confidence in _his_ wings, thought he would make
trial of those of his pursuer--who, being personally unknown to him,
might be some individual too fat, or too old, or too young, perhaps, to
possess full powers of flight. At all events he had made up his mind to
have a "fly" for it--believing that if overtaken he could easily put an
end to the pursuit by surrendering the snake, as his cousin, the osprey,
often has to do with his fish. Up, therefore, he went, in a spiral
curve of about fifty yards in diameter.

If the kite entertained the idea that his pursuer was either a very old
or young bird, or too fat a bird, or in any way a "slow" bird, he was
likely to be soon undeceived. That idea was not shared by those who
watched him in his flight. On the contrary, the young hunters thought
they had never seen a more splendid specimen of his kind,--of full
feather, snow-white head and tail-tip, and broad clean-cut wings. He
was one of the largest size, too; which proved him not to be a "him,"
but a female--for, strange to say, Nature seems to have reversed her
order with these birds--the females being universally brighter in
plumage, larger in body, swifter of wing, stronger, and even fiercer
than the males. It may be inferred, that in the social life of
"eagle-dom" the fair sex have their "rights," and perhaps a little more.
One thing is certain, and it seems to be a consequence of this (in
compliment to the sex I say it) that nothing like polygamy is known
amongst them. Woe to the eagle husband that would even dream of such a
thing!

_Voila_! up goes the kite, straining every pinion of his pointed wings--
up the spiral curve, _screwing_ himself towards the zenith. Upward
follows the eagle, spirally as well, but in wider gyrations that embrace
and seem to hold the curvatures of the other within their circumference.
Both birds circle concentrically. Now th