Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1905-09-16
CHAPTER XXI.

Inc sun was eiOplnR toward the west,
but there were still two hours Of day.
light left when the Adventures came
upon as strange spectacle as IL often
seen In nature. They had journeyed oil
the second day Of their quest toward
mountain, of which one side approached
the perpendicular. and even appeared In
places to overhang. The vast wall rose
some fifteen hundred feet In height. and
stretched out Of sight with scarce n
break. At the western end Of this wall
. river bed began abruptly. There was
no installing It for anything but what 1t
was-the bed Of vanished watercourse.
But there, where the stream had How\!.
was a little projecting spur Of the noun.
tain, just big and deep enough to cut of
the stream. and with trees and brush.
wood growing upon It. The enormous
loose boulders which strcwed the arid
bed Of the bygone stream showed clearly
that II must at one time have rushed up.
on It's course with torrential power and
swiftness. while the slope Of the land
and the depth and nearness Of the banks
supported the same conclusion.
The travellers paused, and Jethroe
waved triumphant hand at the view be-
fore him.
'Pretty right 10 farT he asked. In a
voice Of banter. Lets dismount and
look at this" he added, as he swung out
Of his saddle. 1--WE had an idea about
this since first knew Of It."
He led the way In a scrambling de.
scent of the river bed. and up the difficult
bank on the other side. Long years ago
Q fal! from tho overhanging face OF the
mountain had closed the course Of the
river ut this point, and had diverted II
into another channel; but the remarka.
bic thing was that when the top Of the
obstruction was reached It was seen to he
barely six feet wide. The rocks Of which
Shis natural dam was composed had so
>edged themselves M to present front
resistance to the rush Of the OncOming
river as perfect as II It had been scien'
tifcally designed. and the accidental COM
pleteness of construction was all the
more remarkable because Of the extreme
scantiness Of the material employed. M.
ture, In short. had worked miracle OF
engineering.
The diverted river flowed but few
yards away from It's old bed, and ran
wide and sluggish. 1t had, indeed. spread
into something like Jake for the space
Of half a mile. aud the current was only
Just perceptible.
''It's a thousand times easier than
thought It would be-" said Jethroe, a.
he stood on the dam and alternately ex.
amined the fall Of the rocky wall on
either side Of 1t.
"What II easier?" asked Harvey.
~ won't keep yOu waiting long for the
secret this time" JethrOe answered. ~
have had plan In my mind-that's all
I shall work it II the time comes. W.
shall see."
He scrambled back into the river bed
and climbing the Ear side, remounted
his horse and rode on In silence with
Harvey at his side. The young man wa,
losing something Of his skepticsm. Wha
Jethroe had expected to find had SO fal
been found. and now new bit Of evi
dence was waiting.
"Do you see thatT" asked Jethroe
pointing to the river bed. II suppos,
Il looks like anything else to you. eh
It's earth and stone, and there's an en-
to It, ehT"
~ see nothing belond the common
certainly" Harvey answered.
"That Il blue clay" said Jethroe, Fan,
In this part of the world blue clay l
acknowledgement times"
"Ohw said Harvey, and said no NOR
until sudden exclamation. which be
spoke at once intense amazement an,
annoyance, escaped Jethroe.
"Forestalled" the elder man cried, Il
a hoarse and strangled scream.
"What Il the matter?" cried Harvey
He had fallen few yards to the rear
but he put In spurs, and was beside hi
uncle In an instant.
''Theres somebody here before us,
said Jethroe. "See yOnder, there ha
been digging there within an hour or two
They haven't found out yet that ther
isn't need to dig--that's something. LII
" push on"
The driver Of the baggage cart wa
half a mile In front. He had been Of
dsrsd to 90 on while Jethroe and Harve
examined the river at the place OF II
detection, and they could SEQ the tor
heavy.looking machine. with Its shinin
tilt OF white canvas, as 1t swayed frOl
this side to that In its passage over tn
uneven and hillocky ground. At the II
slant at which they urged their horse
to the test they heard the clear, shar
report Of a rifle, and then another, an
another, and another. The baggage cal
turned clumsily around, and the hal
breed driver was seen standing on th
buekboard and doggins into the mules q
II loS dear life. The Vehicle came dan
~ saA Jumping fssm bullock = hilloel