WHERE THE WAYS DIVIDE 221 



luminous sky, and the slanting rays of the autumn 

 sun merged the primary wing-coverts into their 

 shafts of golden- brown, and turned the whity- brown 

 tail to a wisp of fire. 



Honck ! Honck / 



The bald eagle stiffened, and fixed his gaze on 

 a speck coming down the Arm and growing larger 

 and larger each instant. A black goose, remnant 

 of a migrated army, flying low, and indicating by 

 his wavering flight that he was tired and didn't 

 know in the least where he was going to, and had 

 his doubts that he would ever get there. Curving 

 his neck, he tucked his powerful tail close, and hit 

 off" the exact steering angle he wanted ; then he 

 turned landwards. 



As the goose neared the tree standing sentinel- 

 wise on the heights, the eagle shook the whole of 

 his body and launched himself into the air, screaming, 

 darkening the water beneath with his seven feet 

 expanse of wing. Ducks rose in myriads and 

 scuttled away down the Arm, quacking above the 

 iEolian music of their whistling feathers. 



The goose saw his foe and his fate in a flash, and 

 doubled at once, and mounted and wheeled and 

 manoeuvred and parried in futile attempts to escape 



