"What is the matter, Frank?"
"I am thinking about something."
"A tree-top is a funny place to think. Here is the other hawk coming to pay you a visit, and it is the female. She will be more savage than the other, and may attack you."
"No fear," said Frank, but at that moment both hawks made a sudden onslaught upon him, and the female struck him so savagely, that she tore a big gash in his cheek. He was so startled at this unexpected and hostile measure that he lost his hold and fell. When Dick and Jimmy saw their leader crashing through the branches, and turning over and over as he fell, they could not repress a shriek, and closed their eyes to shut out the horrible accident that must happen. They waited in fearful suspense for the expected thud, but not hearing it, they ventured to look up again, and saw Frank lying on a thickly spreading branch not far below the nest. He was lying quite still, but clutching hold of the boughs with his hands. Both Dick and Jimmy flew to the tree, and commenced to climb it. With a speed that seemed wonderful to them afterwards they reached Frank.
"Are you hurt, old man?"
"Not at all, only all the wind is knocked out of me. I shall be all right in a minute. I say, if my mater saw that tumble, she would not let me go out alone any more, would she? That hawk was a plucky bird. I am going up to the nest again."
"What for? I should think you have had enough of hawks' nests for a long time."
"Yes, but I want to take two of the young ones. Two of them are much larger than the others, so they must be females. Now I'll tell you what struck me before the bird knocked me off my perch. Suppose we take these young hawks, and train them up in the way they should go—that is, let us use them for hawking."
"It is a good idea and no mistake—but can we do that?"
"Easily," answered Frank, gathering himself together, and resuming his ascent.