am."

"You have reliable testimony of this?"

"Yes, the evidence of my own ears."

"And in the midst of this noise, Mr. Smith, did you believe that you
heard that most remarkable of all the phenomena, a sound like the
flapping of great wings?"

"I thought so, Mr. Strock; but what mighty bird could this be, which
sped away after the flames had died down, and what wings could ever
make such tremendous sounds. I therefore seriously question, if this
must not have been a deception of my imagination. The Great Eyrie a
refuge for unknown monsters of the sky! Would they not have been seen
long since, soaring above their immense nest of stone? In short,
there is in all this a mystery which has not yet been solved."

"But we will solve it, Mr. Smith, if you will give me your aid."

"Surely, Mr. Strock; tomorrow we will start our campaign."

"Tomorrow." And on that word the mayor and I separated. I went to a
hotel, and established myself for a stay which might be indefinitely
prolonged. Then having dined, and written to Mr. Ward, I saw Mr.
Smith again in the afternoon, and arranged to leave Morganton with
him at daybreak.

Our first purpose was to undertake the ascent of the mountain, with
the aid of two experienced guides. These men had ascended Mt.
Mitchell and others of the highest peaks of the Blueridge. They had
never, however, attempted the Great Eyrie, knowing that its walls of
inaccessible cliffs defended it on every side. Moreover, before the
recent startling occurrences the Great Eyrie had not particularly
attracted the attention of tourists. Mr. Smith knew the two guides
personally as men daring, skillful and trustworthy. They would stop
at no obstacle; and we were resolved to follow them through
everything.

Moreover Mr. Smith remarked at the last that perhaps it was no longer
as difficult as formerly to penetrate within the Great Eyrie.

"And why?" asked I.

"Because a huge block has recently broken away from the mountain side
and perhaps it has left a practicable path or entrance."

"That would be a fortunate chance, Mr. Smith."

"We shall know all about it, Mr. Strock, no later than tomorrow."

"Till tomorrow, then."

Chapter 3

THE GREAT EYRIE

The next day at dawn, Elias Smith and I left Morganton by a road
which, winding along the left bank of the Catawba River, led to the
village of Pleasant Garden. The guides accompanied us, Harry Horn, a
man of thirty, and James Bruck, aged twen