But that feat was quite beyond her power. Indeed, the girl was so frightened--frightened for Myron--that she scarcely thought of any plan of action. She merely urged Molly on, hoping that her coming would drive the great bird away. For she did not understand the courage and savageness of this, the king of the feathered tribes. However, her appearance on horseback so near the stooping child made the eagle swerve. It mounted again, wheeled, and with a hoarse cry swooped again. At this Myron was startled and stood up to see what was happening, while Nurse Brown and Marian began to scream. "Oh! Oh! Shoo that naughty bird away, Oriole!" shrieked little Marian. "It'll eat up Mywon." "Use your quirt, child!" commanded Sadie Brown earnestly. But Oriole had no quirt with her. She had found Molly so gentle and kind that she had seen no reason for carrying the heavy whip which the punchers seemed to consider a necessary part of their equipment when riding. Now she found out why this was so. Not always was the quirt needed to discipline the mount. Had she possessed the heavy whip Oriole could have beaten off the eagle in its second swoop upon the frightened twin. As it was, Molly leaped aside again, snorting, and the pinions of the frantic eagle almost swept Oriole from her seat in the saddle. Myron looked up to see the distended talons of the great bird and its fierce eyes just overhead. The little boy did not shriek aloud, but he cast himself face down on the grass. It was the wisest move he could have made, although without doubt Myron did it quite involuntarily. The great eagle came down with its legs so widely astride that it straddled the little blue-clad body of the boy, with its talons not even touching Myron's clothing! To Oriole, whirling her pony at a distance of only a few yards to charge back bravely at the fierce bird, the landing of the latter was like the landing of an aeroplane. The eagle seemed to rebound from the force of its contact with the sward. But it stopped directly over the prostrate Myron. "Hit him! Oh, if I only had a gun!" screamed Nurse Brown. But nobody had a weapon--that is, nobody on the spot. And even the cowpunchers on the Three-bar and the neighboring ranches seldom carried six-shooters in their belts save on night-watch when wolves or big cats were likely to come down from the mountains to prey upon the herds. In any case, there was no chance of killing the eagle right at this moment, and to drive it away from its prey seemed impossible. But Oriole urged her pony toward the huge bird, crying out as well for Myron to lie still. Oriole realized that if the child remained quiet the bird would be less savage. Somewhere she had heard or read that these huge birds of prey did not care for dead game--although the idea has often been exploded in fact. However, Myron's struggles would have excited the eagle to greater rage.