The great nest still was there.

It was as is described in the book of the early explorers.
It hung over the mists of the rapids, and, strangely enough, there were revealed three black plumes in the nest.
Benjamin beheld these plumes with a kind of religious awe.

His eyes dilated as he pointed to them.
"They are for me," he said.

"One for me, one for father, and one for you.
I'll get them all." He glided along a shelf of rocks toward the little island, and mounted the tree.

The black eagles were yet there, though their nest was empty.