Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1896-08-08
F&t(k WELDON ESTATE, E,
BY ALFRED r. CALHOUN.
Copyright, 1895, by American Press Association
CHAPTER x.

CHAPTER K
In obedience to the stronger will and
the additional fact that Captain Bran
don had rescued him from his pursuers,
Howard Blanchard submitted at once
to his control and followed where he
led Back into the hills they went un-
til it was nearly daylight, when How.
ard, who had been stumbling on behind
with feet as heavy as his heart, called
out:
Captain, do you think we are bet
tering ourselves by this fight?'
"You are deceived" replied the cap
tain. 1.-The man who gallops back for
re-enforcements when the battle is rag
ing can hardly be said to be rereating.
If Louis Kyle is living, I expect to hear
from him before the sun goes down"
The captain resumed the lead, and
descending from the mountain side,
which they had been traversing, en-
tered a valley. This valley narrowed as
they went on. the sloping sides rising
at a sharper and sharper angle until
they became perpendicular and the val
ley became canyon. Through this cam
yon a thread Of clear water flowed, with
q splashing and waving that struck
Howard to be out of all proportion to
its size. Even the fall Of his own feet
and the sound Of his voice impressed
him as painful exaggerations
The high perpendicular walls Of the
canyon magnifed the sound, the echoes
being dashed back and forth till lost in
q hoarse mur1lur far overhead As they
went on it seemed to Howard as If they
were descending into the bowels Of the
earth. The narrow strip Of blue sky
looked like an ethereal river in which
the stars were reflected, for be it known
that in the profound depths that char
acterize the mountains Of the west the
stars can be distinctly seen even when
the cloudless sun shines with mldSum.
mer fervor in the sky of the upper
world
"Can we ever get out Of this place
captain?' asked Howard Blanchard,
when the darkness became 80 dense that
he could hardly make out the form OF
his guide few yards in the advance
Eyes Trust to me and keep a good
heart" replied the captain. without
halting or looking back
To pass from the narrow, black cell
Of dungeon into the center Of an illu-
minated salon in Windsor palace, if
suddenly affected, would be a transfer.
nation that would blind the eyes for
the time and overwhelm the senses If
q light like the sun were suddenly TO
fash in the high heavens at midnight.
people would ignore the phenomenon for
the moment in the overwhelming effect
upon the senses, yet something like this
happened to Howard Blanchard There
was short turn in the canyon-a turn
that revealed what seemed to Howard
Blanchard like the door Of mighty fur
mace filed with molten gold, and in
this door the black form of Captain
Brandon stood out like statue against
the sun.
"Hold your hand to your eyes for a
Bit" the captain shouted back, himself
setting the example, and Howard obeyed
him After few minutes the captain
called out:
"Now, open your eyes and come on. .
This advice was to prepare the young
man for the sudden effect of light that
was natural, but dazzling on account of
the change and the brilliancy of the sur
rounding snow peaks from which it was
reflected A few yards farther on How
ard Blanchard discovered that the
canyon terminated in a valley or de-
preston about quarter of mile in
diameter. Excepting at point directly
opposite to that by which they had en-
tered, this remarkable valley was shut
in by precipitous walls that rose up for
5000 feet or more, and here and there
detached masses in the form of pinnacles
and looking like the mighty ruins of
Gothic cathedrals rose for 1000 feet
higher
The stream flowing along the bottom
Of the canyon by which the two men
had entered widened out into an irreg-
ular shaped lake hundred yards wide
in its narrowest diameter and flashing
like great mirror in the center Of the
rock trimmed basin. Here the waters
seemed to rest before rushing on through
the opening in the opposite wall, by
which avenue they went down to join
the sulphur crusted rocks of the Won
derful Yellowstone The lake was fur
ther fed by waterfall that leaped from
the summit of the wall, starting as a
band of liquid silver and reaching the
bottom veil of iridescent foam The
irregular shape of this valley added not
little to its beauty. The few trees near
the walls, the many shrubs bordering
the lake and the grass carpeting the ez'
panse were Of various shades Of emerald,
each, as the eye rested on it, seeming
the very perfection of natures coloring
"Why," exclaimed Howard Blanch-
ard, when he could give utterance to
his surprise, ''this is wonderful"
''The Indians call it The Great
Spirits Council Place said the cap
tain, his face glowing in the soft light
that suffused everything about him
''And a fitting name it is The com.
bined hands Of humanity, working
through all the ages, could not build so
II E IL.