_ I had barely settled comfortably into my 



place, -wondering how long human patience 



Cloud-Winds could endure the sting of insects and the 



" ^"^7,^^ hot close air without moving or stirring a 



^ ^ leaf, when a heavy silken rustle sounded 



_ close at hand, and I heard the grip of his 



talons on the log. There he stood, at arm's 



length, turning his head uneasily, the light 



glinting on his white crest, the fierce, untamed 



flash in his bright eye. Never before had he 



seemed so big, so strong, so splendid; my 



heart jumped at the thought of him as our 



national emblem. I am glad still to have 



seen that emblem once, and felt the thrill 



of it. 



But I had little time to think; for Chep- 

 lahgan was restless. Some instinct seemed 

 to warn him of a danger that he could not 

 see. The moment his head was turned away, 

 I stretched out my arm. Scarcely a leaf 

 moved with the motion, yet he whirled like 

 a flash and crouched to spring, his eyes glar- 

 ing straight into mine with an intensity that 

 I could scarce endure. Perhaps I was mis- 

 taken, but in that swift instant the hard glare 



