It was scaring business, that three-hundred- 

 foot dimb up the sheer face of the mountain. 

 Fortunately the rock was seamed and scarred CIoud'tl)Jn<gs 

 with the wear of centuries; bushes and m^^ja^Ie 

 stunted trees grew out of countless crevices, 

 which gave me sure footing, and sometimes 

 a lift of a dozen feet or more on my way up. 

 As I climbed, the eagles circled lower and 

 lower ; the strong rustling of their wings was 

 about my head continually; they seemed to 

 grow larger, fiercer, every moment, as my 

 hold grew more precarious, and the earth 

 and the pointed tree-tops dropped farther 

 below. There was a good revolver in my 

 pocket, to use in case of necessity; but had 

 the great birds attacked me I should have 

 fared badly; for at times I was obliged to 

 grip hard with both hands, my face to the 

 cliff, leaving the eagles free to strike from 

 above and behind. I think now that had I 

 shown fear in such a place, or shouted, or 

 tried to fray them away, they would have 

 swooped upon me, wing and claw, like furies. 

 I could see it in their fierce eyes as I looked 

 up. But the thought of the times when I 



