ill struggling to get away with its prey; the eagle,
easily circling above it, itself now and then uttering a shrill cry--a
scream-like whistle that could be heard at a great distance.

At last the osprey gave up the struggle and attempted to escape. With
difficulty it detached one foot from the fish, which now fell down at
full length and disarranged the osprey's flight. Finally it succeeded in
shaking the talons of the other foot free. The osprey made a swift side
dash and left the salmon to fall, at a height of, perhaps, one hundred
and fifty feet or so.

The eagle, which seemed to be twice that high above the ground, now
performed a feat which the boys could never understand. They did not see
how he could fall much faster than the fish; yet before their eyes they
saw the great bird half fold its wings and dart down swift as a flash.
Before the salmon had struck the ground the eagle struck it, fair, with
both feet, and, never touching the earth itself, swung in a wide, low
circle, itself master by robbery of the prize which the labor of the
fish-hawk had won.

"Look at that old thief!" said Rob. "It's a funny thing to me that an
eagle can't very often catch fish for himself, plentiful as they are
here. Yet you'll notice that if an eagle is on a tree directly over the
salmon he can't start quick enough to catch a fish--it'll always swim
away from him. They catch some in shallow water, but they don't seem to
be very good fishermen after all. A bald-headed eagle would rather steal
a fish from an osprey than to catch one for himself, and we've just seen
how it's done. Watch the old thief!"

The eagle, apparently contented with his morning's work, leisurely rose
and flapped on his way toward a clump of small cotton-woods. At the
summit of a small tree he perched, holding the fish under his feet and
uttering now some short, shrill cries, which the boys could hear
answered from the heap of brush which they saw was the nest prepared by
these birds. There were scores of these rude nests scattered along the
timber flats.

"Let's go and see what they do now," suggested Rob.

As they approached they saw the male bird clumsily flap down to the
nest, where it dropped the fish. The hen eagle fell upon it with short,
savage screams and began to tear it apart. They also saw, now and again
bobbing above the rim of the nest, the heads of two young eagles.

Rob cast a critical look at the trunk of the tree. "I can climb that
tre