should such things be? Instantly there flashed
into his mind a picture he had often seen. It was the side of a steep
cliff, and there a shepherd was rescuing a sheep from its perilous
position. The man was clinging with His left hand to a crevice in the
rock, while with His right He was reaching far over to lift up the poor
animal, which was looking up pathetically into the shepherd's loving
face. He knew the meaning of that picture, and it came to him now with
a startling intensity. Why did he think of it? he asked himself.
Although his life was clean, yet Reynolds was not what might be called
a religious man. He was not in the habit of praying, and he seldom
went to church. But something about that picture appealed to him as he
crouched on that burning hillside. Was there One who would help him
out of his present difficulty? He believed there was, for he had been
so taught as a little child. He remembered the Master's words, "Ask,
and ye shall have." "Here, then, is a chance to test the truthfulness
of that saying," a voice whispered.

"I shall not do it," Reynolds emphatically declared. "I have not
prayed for so long, that I'm not going to act the hypocrite now, and
cry for help when I'm in a tight corner. I daresay He would assist me,
but I am ashamed to ask Him. If I should only think of a friend when I
am in trouble I should consider myself a mean cur, and unfit to have
the friendship of anyone. And that's about how I stand with Him, so I
do not consider myself worthy of His help."

Although Reynolds reasoned in this manner, yet that picture of The Good
Shepherd inspired him. He could not get it out of his mind as he lay
there watching the eagle soaring nearer and nearer.

"I wonder what that bird is after?" he mused. "It is coming this way,
and it seems to be getting ready to alight. Perhaps it has a nest
somewhere on this hill."

This thought aroused him. An eagle's nest! It was generally built on
some high rocky place, and why should there not be one here? And if
so, there might be eggs, and eggs would mean food for a starving man.

Eagerly and anxiously he watched the bird now, hoping and longing that
it would alight close to where he was crouching. Neither was he
disappointed, for in a few minutes the eagle drove straight for the
hill, about fifty yards above, and landed upon a rocky ledge. Seizing
a stick lying near, with cat-like agility, Reynolds sprang forward, and
hurried to