SOMETHING WORSE.
"There! there!" cried Glenarvan.
Then suddenly a thought flashed through his mind.
"If Robert is still living!" exclaimed he, with a cry of terror, "this bird! Fire, my friends, fire!"
But he was too late. The condor had disappeared behind the lofty boulders. A second passed that seemed an eternity. Then the enormous bird reappeared, heavily laden, and rising slowly.
A cry of horror was uttered. In the claws of the condor an inanimate body was seen suspended and dangling. It was Robert Grant. The bird had raised him by his garments, and was now hovering in mid-air at least one hundred and fifty feet above the encampment. He had perceived the travelers, and was violently striving to escape with his heavy prey.
"May Robert's body be dashed upon these rocks," cried Glenarvan, "rather than serve——"
He did not finish, but, seizing Wilson's rifle, attempted to take aim at the condor. But his arm trembled; he could not sight the piece. His eyes were dimmed.
"Let me try," said the major.