The fourth of July came, and Master Mann had invited the school to come together on the holiday for patriotic exercises.  He had one of the pupils read the Declaration of Independence on the occasion, and Gretchen played the President’s March on the violin.  He himself made an historical address, and then joined in some games out of doors under the trees.

He brought to the school-house that day an American flag, which he hung over the desk during the exercises.  When the school went out to play he said: 

“I wish I could hang the flag from a pole, or from the top of one of the trees.”

Benjamin’s face brightened.

“I will go,” he said; “I will go up.”

“Hang it on the eagle’s nest,” said one of the pupils.  “The eagle is the national bird.”

Mr. Mann saw that to suspend the national emblem from the eagle’s nest would be a patriotic episode of the day, and he gave the flag to Benjamin, saying: 

“Beware of the rotten limbs.”

“I no woman,” said Benjamin; and, waving the flag, he moved like a squirrel up the trees.  He placed the flag on the nest, while the eagles wheeled around him, screaming wildly.  He descended safely, and made the incident an object lesson, as Mr. Mann repeated the ode to the American eagle, found at that time in many reading-books.

While Mr. Mann was doing so, and had reached the line—­

    “Bird of Columbia, well art thou,” etc.,

one of the eagles swept down to the nest and seized the banner in his talons.  He rose again into the air and circled high, then with a swift, strong curve of the wings, came down to the nest again, and, seizing the flag, tore it from the nest and bore it aloft to the sky.

[Illustration:  The eagle soared away in the blue heavens, and the flag streamed after him in his talons.]

It was a beautiful sight.  The air was clear, the far peaks were serene, and the glaciers of Mount Hood gleamed like a glory of crystallized light.  The children cheered.  The bird soared away in the blue heavens, and the flag streamed after him in his talons.  He dropped the flag at last over a dark, green forest.  The children cheered again.

It was miles away.

“I go find it,” said Benjamin; and he darted away from the place and was not seen until the next day, when he returned, bringing the flag with him.

Marlowe Mann never forgot that fourth of July on the Columbia.

CHAPTER VI.

THE MOUNTAIN LION.

One morning, as Mrs. Woods sat in her door picking over some red whortleberries which she had gathered in the timber the day before, a young cow came running into the yard, as if for protection.  Mrs. Woods started up, and looked in the direction from which the animal had come running, but saw nothing to cause the alarm.

The cow looked backward, and lowed.  Mrs. Woods set down her dish of red berries, took her gun, and went out toward the timber where the cow had been alarmed.