THE FALCON AND THE CROWS. 225 



The crow must shift his tactics. Now he attempts to take 

 the air, wheeling in huge circles, gradually contracted. 

 But Hyder has already reached his level. The crow falls, 

 with rare cunning and skill, presenting his bill and claws, 

 saves himself from the falcon's terrible swoop, and having 

 won distance, as he supposes, turns over and hurries through 

 the air towards his asylum. He nears the clump of thorny 

 mimosa, from the ragged boughs of which resound the 

 voices of a startled colony. Hyder perceives the critical 

 moment, plies his pinions with redoubled velocity, grapples 

 with his quarry from behind, weighs him down rapidly 

 through the air, and nearing the earth, strives to give the 

 crow a death-fall. But in spite of his fall, a rent in the 

 back, and several pecks, the crow fights gallantly, and 

 tremble Hyder ! there come a whole army of crows to 

 his aid. They wheel about over the brave falcon's head, 

 and occasionally pounce upon him with ferocious force. 

 At this crisis, we rushed forward to Hyder's assistance, 

 but arrived, hardly in season. As we plunged through 

 the last clump of bushes between us and the combatants, 

 at least a dozen crows rose hurriedly from the ground. The 

 quarry was stone dead upon the grass. Hyder had lost 

 his eyes, and was so pecked and torn that the patriarch 

 prepared to sustain the affliction of the speedy death of 

 his favorite bird. To us the scene had been full of ex- 

 citement, and Mr. Barrill promptly offered the patriarch 



