THE OUTLAW 117 



till he came to the beechwood; seeing it 

 below, and wrapping his wings around 

 him, he had fallen like a great iron arrow- 

 head into its solitude. 



The pigeons who roosted were in the 

 stubble : the starlings haunted the water- 

 meadows: the jackdaws flocked with the 

 rooks about the furrows. The beechwood 

 was still, for the blackbird had slipped 

 away. 



The stranger flapped his long thin wings, 

 and looked around him. 



He was about eighteen inches long, and 

 bluish-ash in colour. His throat and upper 

 breast were white, tinged with yellow, and 

 marked with a few dark streaks. But the 

 most noticeable thing was the eyes. They 

 were large, and keen, dusky; ringed with 

 yellow eyelids. Fierce and remorseless was 

 their expression, aided by the short, hooked 

 bill. 



The falcon suddenly stiffened. From the 

 lake below the sloping forest had come a 



