252 ON THE EDGE OF THE WILDERNESS 
of a rushing in the air above him. His head shot 
up, his eyes turned skywards, with the lightning 
rapidity for which he was noted, and he had an 
instant’s vision of something grayish white and 
huge, with red eyes, shooting down upon him like 
a meteor. Have you ever seen a watch spring 
suddenly leap from the open case and fly out 
across the room? Much like that, Red Slayer 
seemed to uncoil and leap away. He turned in 
the air, or at the instant of landing, you could not 
have said which, and fled back toward his wall. 
But as his feet left the ground on that first spring, 
he felt the rush of the great bird just behind him, 
the blow of cloven air at his back, the snatch of a 
talon grazing his tail. As he leaped madly for 
his wall, varying his direction with each jump, he 
heard the beat of the wings behind him, too, for 
the bird had wheeled and come on to strike again. 
He dared not look back, but once more he felt the 
monster strike, and once more the talons grazed 
the black tip of his tail. With terror at last in 
his heart, he dove into the protection of his wall, 
and from a safe hole he looked up and watched 
the strange bird circle and swoop three or four 
