THE SECRETARY-BIRD. 



Yes," he said to himself, " it's a bird's nest as sure as my name is Jack Harvey, 

 but since, as near as I can figure, there are about seventeen hundred million of the 

 critters in this country, I can't feel sure what kind of a bird this is." 



Several times, in peering upward, Jack fancied he saw the parent bird looking 

 down at him. It was a queer front, as he caught a glimpse of it now and then, the 

 eyes being very bright, and the head showing a resemblance to a crest 



The size of the nest left no doubt that the occupant was very large ; and, brave 

 as was Jack, he might well hesitate about climbing the tree and combating it, since, 

 more than likely, its mate would hasten to its assistance. 



Since the bird was sure to keep her place as long as danger threatened her 

 castle, the Texan resorted to strategy to draw her forth. He turned about 

 and walked away until beyond her sight, when he came back from another 

 direction, taking care in doing so, and halting behind a trunk, large enough to 

 hide his body. 



This artifice was successful. He could not see the parent bird, for her head 

 was turned away from him, and it was not likely she was looking for any danger. 



All the same, however, she discovered it with a quickness that amazed the 

 watcher, especially when he found he was much closer to peril than to the nest 



An enormous bird appeared on the edge of the latter, coming into sight with the 

 suddenness of a jack-in-the-box. Its head was turned sideways, proving that it was 

 gazing downward. 



Naturally, Jack's first thought was that it had detected him again though that 

 seemed improbable, but, while he was still puzzling over it, the question was settled 

 in rather a startling manner. 



No more than a dozen feet off was a serpent, some six or eight feet long, quite 

 slender, brightly colored, and with an appearance that left no doubt of its venomous 

 nature. 



It must have been crawling toward Jack, and it might have come nigh enough to 

 bury its fangs in his body before he suspected his danger, so absorbing was his 

 interest in the bird among the limbs above. 



As yet, the snake showed no signs of being aware of the man's presence, but it 

 saw her who had hopped upon the edge of her nest so promptly and was now 

 gazing down at the reptile. 



" By jingo ! " muttered Jack, " there's going to be a fight ! " 



Sure enough, the thought was nardly formed, when the huge bird fluttered 

 downward through the branches, landing on the ground less than a rod from where 

 the snake prepared tself for the battle that was sure to be to the death. 



The presence of the bird so near Jack Harvey gave him a chance to study its ap- 

 pearance closely, without frightening it away. It bore a likeness to the eagle and 

 crane, the head resembling the former, and the body the latter, and was fully three 

 feet tall. Ten or a dozen dark-colored feathers projected from the back of the 

 head, hanging loosely like a pendent crest, and were erected or depressed at 

 pleasure. 



