the dust, would fain have "jumped" it. But perceiving the strong
curving beak and the sharp talons extended towards him, Fritz was easily
persuaded to remain at a prudent distance, and leave the shikaree to
make a finish of the bearcoot with his long boar-spear.

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX.

A HOPE BUILT UPON THE BEARCOOT.

In this unexpected supply of food--which might be said almost literally
to have descended from heaven--Karl could not help recognising the hand
of Providence, and pointing it out to his companions. Even the less
reflecting mind of Caspar, and the half-heathen heart of the Hindoo,
were impressed with a belief that some other agency than mere chance had
befriended them; and they were only too willing to join with Karl in a
prayerful expression of their gratitude to that Being who, although
unseen, was with them even in that lone valley.

For a time they stood contemplating with curiosity, not only the two
ibex, but also the eagles--interesting on account of the knowledge that
all four animals had but lately been roaming freely beyond the
boundaries of that mountain prison--and had just arrived, as it were,
from the outside world, with which they themselves so eagerly longed to
hold communication. What would they not have given to have been each
provided with a pair of wings like that bearcoot--the one that still
lived? Furnished in that fashion, they would soon have sought escape
from the valley--to them a valley of tears--and from the snowy mountains
that surrounded it.

While reflecting thus, a thought shaped itself in the mind of the
philosophic Karl, which caused his face to brighten up a little. Only a
little: for the idea which had occurred to him was not one of the
brightest. There was something in it, however; and, as the drowning man
will clutch even at straws, Karl caught at a singular conception, and
after examining it a while, communicated it to the others.

It was the bearcoot that had brought forth this conception. The bird
was a true eagle, strong of wing and muscle like all of his tribe, and
one of the strongest of the genus. Like an arrow, he could fly straight
up towards the sky. In a few minutes--ay, in a few seconds--he could
easily shoot up to the summits of the snowy mountains that towered above
them.

"What is to hinder him?" asked Karl, pointing to the bird, "to carry--"

"To carry what?" said Caspar, interrupting the interrogation of his
brother, who spoke in a h