y watching a pair, he succeeded in finding
where their nest was made. It was on the summit of an almost
insurmountable bowlder, rising nearly a hundred and twenty-five feet in
the valley of the Guadaloupe.

The bravest man might well shrink from attempting to scale the
perpendicular sides of this mass of rock, but as young Hemingway gazed
longingly up the side to the nest, he noticed that the stone had become
coated, in the course of time, with earth, which was covered with
tangled vines and stunted vegetation.

"I believe I can climb that," thought the sturdy lad, after
scrutinizing the herculean task, and watching one of the eagles soaring
far above the summit. "I think there is enough foothold, and I can use
the vines to help pull me up; but, if the eagles should catch me at it,
they would make music."

It was the birds that caused him more dread than the forty odd yards of
rock. We knew their fierce nature, and, if they discovered his designs
against their home, as they were almost certain to do, they would
assail him with a fury that must be resistless in his cramped position.

The professor advised him not to make the attempt, but the daring youth
had to earn his own living, and the prize of fifty dollars was too
tempting to be resisted.

"_I'll do it_!" he exclaimed, after considering the question, "if you
will keep watch with your gun for the eagles."

"Of course I'll do _that_," replied the professor, delighted with the
prospect of securing that which he had sought so long in vain.

The preparations for the work were simple. With a basket, furnished
with a lid, slung to his back, in which to secure the eggs or eaglets,
young Hemingway began his laborious and dangerous ascent, while the
professor, gun in hand, watched him from the ground below.

The boy quickly proved the possession of unusual skill as a climber.
With the help of the vines he went steadily upward, hunting secure
places for his feet and testing every support before trusting his
weight to it. Once or twice, the professor thought the lad had made a
mistake and was on the point of paying the penalty, but he never
faltered nor slipped. Higher and higher he ascended until at last the
feat was accomplished, and the very summit reached.

His heart throbbed with pleasure when he discovered two young eagles in
the nest. They were no more than a couple of days old, and he had no
trouble in placing them and a portion of the nest in the bask