CAMP LIFE NEAR THE TETONS 



eagle strove to balance himself on his perch, 

 and then he collapsed in a lifeless mass, a 

 few feet below. 



Having watched the lifeless shape a few 

 seconds, I reloaded the rifle without betray- 

 ing any signs of emotion or uttering a word. 

 Although my eyes were turned in a different 

 direction, I felt conscious of a penetrating 

 gaze which seemed to go through me like an 

 X-ray and read my inmost thought. Turn- 

 ing to mount my horse, I met the wide-open 

 eyes of Jake staring at me in astonishment. 

 Neither of us said a word for some time, but 

 Jake was thinking, wondering whether it was 

 an accident or a fair exhibition of my skill. 

 The only data he had to work on in drawing 

 his conclusions was the previous bad marks- 

 manship in shooting at the coyotes, and the 

 telling recent shot at the eagle, which I 

 seemed to regard as a matter of course, but 

 I acted the same way when I missed the 

 coyotes. 



109 



