THE EAGLE AND HIS PREY. 211 



quaking around among them in a restless and uneasy 

 way for a little time, as if counting them up. But 

 she soon forgot the lost one, if she missed it, for in a 

 few minutes she became quiet, raised herself partly 

 out of the water, flapped her wings, and then fell to 

 straightening out her feathers with her bill, as if 

 nothing had happened. * 



" The eagle," said Tucker, " knows what water- 

 fowl it's safe to make prey of. He never takes the 

 loon. That bird, as you see, floats away out on the 

 water, and don't seem to take any notice of the eagle. 

 He's got a long, sharp bill, like a dirk, and he uses it 

 like one, sometimes, too. I mind once, I was over on 

 the Shazee with a man from down south, who had a 

 large water-dog that he'd larnt to fetch and carry, and 

 when he shot anything on the water, he'd send his 

 dog, ISTero, as he called him, in after it. Well, one 

 morning a loon was plumin' himself near the shore, 

 and the gentleman crept carefully down to the bank 

 of the lake, and with his gun loaded with duck-shot, 

 fired upon and wounded it, so that it could not swim 

 fast or fly away. He sent his dog to bring it to the 

 shore. Nero plunged in, fierce enough, and swam 

 boldly up to it. The wounded bird dodged the grab 



