Argosy All-Story Weekly, April 4, 1925 — page 160: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

950 terror of that steel-jacketed bullet was only a split minute past, but his half-century habits of caution won over his fear and his homing impulse. In long spirals, he climbed till the mountain was small and green be- low him, and the man was only a mite even to his telescopic eyes. Then he coursed westward toward the sea thirty miles away; then swung south; then north and east and finally back to the snowy peak of Dunali Mayor. The hunter picked up a small female eagle he had shot that morning on her nest, and started toward his cabin down the mountain valley. “T’ll get ’im,” he muttered to himself, choosing his path wisely through the ava: lanche debris. ‘“‘ I’ll find where he’s nestin’ if it takes all summer. ‘Sides t’ bounty, he'll fetch a rare price—that boy will!” II. OncE he was safely back with his sedate helpmate and was guarding the three big splotchy eggs on the ledge where the pair had nested for two generations of man, Chak-oor’s wound began to stiffen and grow sore. Deep and jagged, it had bled till his breast plumage was spongy and bright crim- son. The next morning, at the first flush of a misty dawn, he tried a hop into the air. His leaden wings spread slowly and pain- fully; his short flight was wabbly and er- ratic. With difficulty he flopped back to the ledge beside the nest, and folded his wings. His mate understood nothing of his trouble; she circled around the peak with swoops that invited him to rise and accompany her. Finally realizing he was not coming, she flew off alone northeast across the range toward a muskeg lake, where a white wavy rookery had finished its mating and nesting quarrels, and had settled to the business of brooding. If he had been left alone to fast and heal himself, Chak-oor would quickly have re- covered from his wound. But that was not to be. Out of the clouds playing over Greater Dunali came the one enemy whom he had reason to fear on that moming of all mornings. ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. The rival golden male was a mighty and younger bird, lacking only a few inches of Chak-oor’s nine-foot spread. Twice he had battled with the master of Dunali Major for possession of the favored ledge; twice he had been beaten away after a feathery Carnage on the airy arena. His nest had been down the valley on a smaller, more accessible peak. By his lack of caution he had betrayed his eerie to the hunter on the previous morning; and his mate had fallen to the bark of the rifle. Now, morose and grim-tempered he hurtled down from the lacy clouds; lusting for a fight, covetous not only of Chak-oor’s home but of his mate also. The wounded master of Dunali heard the challenging scream and hiss of wings. He turned his head sidewise and looked up, barely in time to hop aside and elude the vicious thrust of beak and clutch of feath- ered talons. The call of battle tugged at him. He launched himself stiffly in pursuit of his enemy who had swooped on past after missing his stroke. But Chak-oor, who could usually pick a swift canvasback out of the air, now flopped heavily, like a lum- bering crow. His agile rival easily spiraled above him and attacked from this immense vantage point. Mercifully the battle was short. Chak-oor was stunned by the enemy’s wings; stabbed by beak and talons. He tried to rise to the ledge again; but his wings failed him. His rival, screaming his chak-chak-chak trium- phantly, beat him down, toward the gnarled conifers at timber line. The harrying pur- Suit ended, only when the once master of the peak dashed against the slope, entangled in a thicket. The rival eagle circled over him, saw he did not move, then breasted the steep angle straight back to the ledge. iil, For three days Chak-oor huddled in the thicket, unable to fly. Foxes that ran un- awares into his covert backed off and barked at him. A gray wolf eyed him in the bright moonlight, but decided the big bird. still had too much fight in him to pay for a meal on the tough, purgative flesh. A flock of crows found him out; and after ther Conn lDOOlK