“Same as the sky?” Nate questioned.
“Same principle,” the ranger assured him. “Folks, please don’t wander past the roped-off area. There may be dangerous crevasses past that point.”
David had strolled away from where the tourists were grouped around the ranger. He examined rocks scattered on the glacier’s surface and looked around at the intricate mosaic of seracs and ice formations. Colin ran toward him, then, laughing, slid on the icy surface, his snow boots throwing sparkles of ice flakes into the air. Nate stood close to a colossal ice spire, gazing up, then walked around it in a circle to watch it sparkle as it caught the sunlight. Joshua moved to join him, and they stood for a moment, laughing at Colin, who was trying to outdo himself by gliding further and further on the slick ice.
Joshua looked toward the interior from which the ice flowed in a blue-tinged, rock-encrusted river. “Twelve miles long,” he said, shaking his head in awe. Then, spotting a dark, moving form on the glacier’s surface, he turned to Nate, who was imitating Colin by sliding on the ice. “What’s that?”
“What’swhat?”
Joshua pointed. “There’s something out there. Something’s moving. It’s just past the rope behind a big chunk of ice. Can you see it?”
“It’s not abear,is it?” Nate asked, grabbing Joshua’s arm and peering in the direction he was pointing.
“Oh, Nate, there aren’t any bears on this glacier! And besides, it’s too small.” Curious, Joshua moved toward it, approaching it slowly with Nate creeping along beside him.
“Josh!” Colin called. “Where are you going?”
“He saw something,” Nate called back to Colin. “Just past the rope.”
Colin frowned and trotted toward them, followed by David. “Josh! Wait up!”
Joshua slowed as he approached the animal, half-hidden behind a jagged chunk of ice. “It’s a bird!” He cried out, pointing. “I can see feathers!”
“Josh, stop!” Colin called out, striding toward him, his feet skidding on the icy surface. “Don’t get too close.” He reached Joshua’s side and gripped his arm to keep him from moving. They stood in stunned silence for several seconds, staring at the bird, which flapped and floundered on the glacial ice, clearly injured.
“It’s aneagle!” Joshua exclaimed. “A bald eagle!” He turned to Colin, his eyes wide. “It’s hurt! See the blood?”
Colin knelt on the ice and inched as close as he dared to the injured raptor, trying to determine the extent of its injuries. After a moment, he hissed out an angry curse and rose. “Looks to me like it’s beenshot,” he spat out in disgust. “Goddammit!” He turned to his husband, who had moved to stand beside him. “You can see its wing has been injured, and there’s blood on the crest feathers.”
“Jesus, Colin,” Nate asked, cringing against David’s arm. “How did itgethere, all shot up like that?”
“He must have been able to fly this far before the wing gave out. Fly or glide.” He noticed Joshua approaching the struggling bird and grabbed his arm. “Honey, stay back! Don’t try to touch it. Do you see those talons? They’d rip you to shreds if you got too close.”
“We need the ranger,” David muttered.
Colin nodded, then turned and blew a shrill whistle, gesturing to the ranger and waving him to where they all stood.
“Should I put my jacket over it?” Joshua asked.
“Baby, I wouldn’t get too close if I were you,” Colin cautioned.
The ranger jogged to where the friends stood and peered at the injured bird. “He’s been shot,” Colin said, pointing to the blood spattered on the ice near the great predator’s wounded wing.
“Yep,” the ranger agreed. “He sure has.” He grabbed a radio attached to his uniform and lifted it to his lips, walking a short distance away to relay information about the wounded animal.
“Who would shoot an eagle?” Nate asked.
“Fishermen don’t like them,” the ranger told him as he rejoined the group. “And sometimes farmers shoot them. The problem with eagles is that they attack animals. Chickens. Dogs. Other farm animals. Even children at times.”
“Who did you call?” Colin asked.
“Alaska Wildlife and Rescue,” the ranger told him. “They’re sending a chopper. They’ll take him to the Juneau Raptor Center, where he can get treatment.”
“Should I give him some water?” Nate asked.
“No,” the ranger told him. “Don’t give him anything. Might do more harm than good.”
Joshua knelt on the ice, a short distance from the stricken bird. “He’s so big!” He glanced up at the ranger. “Should I cover him with my jacket?” The plight of the splendid raptor wrung Joshua’s heart. He loved watching the eagles soar in the high air over David’s cabin, and it hurt him to see the enormous bird bloodied and broken this way.
