For some time they watched the ledge to which the eagle had flown, but the bird did not again come into sight. Evidently the ledge was much wider than it appeared to be from the bottom of the valley, and perhaps the face of the cliff was worn away, cave like, at that point, affording a secure retreat. At any rate, the eagle was seen no more.
"Well," said Lew, after a time, "if we can't see the eagle again, perhaps we can find out what sort of an animal it was he got. I think I can pretty nearly point out the spot where he landed."
They started toward the point at which the eagle had come to earth. When they thought they were near the place they began to search the ground carefully for some signs of the tragedy that had occurred. They looked in vain. Nowhere could they find any telltale marks.
"I suspect it must have been a coon," suggested Charley. "It looked like it to me. We know there are lots of them in this forest."
Just then the excited chattering of squirrels attracted them. They began to examine the trees about them. Presently they came to one around which were scattered innumerable shells of nuts that had been gnawed into and eaten.
"There must be squirrels in that tree," said Lew.
Now muffled squeaks of fear or pain were audible. The two boys looked at each other questioningly.
"There are squirrels up there all right," agreed Charley, "and something's wrong. That's exactly the way a squirrel sounds when it's in trouble. Yes; there are some squirrels in the tree top. They're terribly excited over something."
The boys began to examine the tree. It was an old oak. Well up its trunk a limb had broken or rotted away, and the resulting decay of the stub had made a hole in the tree itself. What instantly riveted the attention of the two boys was something black and tapering that projected from the hole and that slowly waved in the air.
"A blacksnake!" cried Charley. "He's probably eaten the little squirrels."