ht him game, he
would advance to meet us with wings slightly lifted, and uttering a
shrill cry. Toss him a mouse or sparrow, and he would seize it with one
foot and hop off to his cover, where he would bend above it, spread his
plumage, look this way and that, uttering all the time the most exultant
and satisfied chuckle.

About this time he began to practice striking with his talons, as an
Indian boy might begin practicing with his bow and arrow. He would
strike at a dry leaf in the grass, or at a fallen apple, or at some
imaginary object. He was learning the use of his weapons. His wings
also,--he seemed to feel them sprouting from his shoulders. He would
lift them straight up and hold them expanded, and they would seem to
quiver with excitement. Every hour in the day he would do this. The
pressure was beginning to centre there. Then he would strike playfully
at a leaf or a bit of wood, and keep his wings lifted.

The next step was to spring into the air and beat his wings. He seemed
now to be thinking entirely of his wings. They itched to be put to use.

A day or two later he would leap and fly several feet. A pile of brush
ten or twelve feet below the bank was easily reached. Here he would
perch in true hawk fashion, to the bewilderment and scandal of all the
robins and catbirds in the vicinity. Here he would dart his eye in all
directions, turning his head over and glancing up into the sky.

He was now a lovely creature, fully fledged, and as tame as a kitten.
But he was not a bit like a kitten in one respect,--he could not bear to
have you stroke or even touch his plumage. He had a horror of your hand,
as if it would hopelessly defile him. But he would perch upon it, and
allow you to carry him about. If a dog or cat appeared, he was ready to
give battle instantly. He rushed up to a little dog one day, and struck
him with his foot savagely. He was afraid of strangers, and of any
unusual object.

The last week in July he began to fly quite freely, and it was necessary
to clip one of his wings. As the clipping embraced only the ends of his
primaries, he soon overcame the difficulty, and, by carrying his broad,
long tail more on that side, flew with considerable ease. He made
longer and longer excursions into the surrounding fields and vineyards,
and did not always return. On such occasions we would go to find him and
fetch him back.

Late one rainy afternoon he flew away into the vineyard, and when, an
hour la