Cavalier County farmers press. (Langdon, N.D.) 1920-1921, 1921-01-13

rock standing out against the sky.
BE was an hour reaching this OBJ
jective, but once there he found the
trail plainly traced along the edge of
the bank. 1t led in and out amid the
in~tricacies of the hills, taking, Of nee
essity, SO winding a course as to give
Shelby no view ahead and o Q on
fused him in point Of direction. he
could only move forward cautiously,
fearful lest they might have halted for
some purpose, and watchful of every
trace of their passage, as other ravines
were constantly uniting with this
| through which he was blindly feeling
his way. He came to sand and lost
all signs Of the trail instantly, search
ing for it in vain for nearly an hour
before confessing himself at fault.
Then, leaving the horse below, he
climbed the nearest hill for a view of
his surroundings.
The sun gave him the proper direc-
lions, but all about stretched the same
dreary, bare ridges Of rock, offering
no guidance. There was no life visi-
! UlS lilly WlCIc anu o1I1lOu6A 1C WdAlCu
for some time, sweeping his glasses
back and forth he gained 10 glimpse
Of the two he endeavored to follow.
They had vanished as though swal-
lowed up by the earth. The u was
already in the west and desperately he
determined to try the level. Even this.
amid the intricacies of those branch
ing passages between the round hills.
was difficult to achieve, vet he finally
discovered an exit and ventured to-
ward the north, confident >that the
Cottonwood would surely lie some
where in that direction.
He came upon it so suddenly and
unexpectedly as to almost daze his
faculties. Almost without warning he
stood at the very edge of a yawning
hole and stared in amaZement down
into those depths below. Again and
again he had heard this scene describ7
ed, yet had never before comprehended
its reality. A huge cut straight down,
fully a mile wide, cleft the plain in
! two. with no visible signs of its pres
T, ence until one stood at the very era
ter's edge. At night he would have rid
den off without the slightest warning
Of danger. And below! Feeling sick,
dizzy. Shelby swung himself from the
saddle, crept cautiously to the edge
and looked down. He had no concep-
ton of the depth, for it already was
hazy down there. as though he gazed
through a blue fog, but how small
those trees appeared, mere toy trees,
and the silvery stream running through
the center seemed scarcely a yard
wide. A yard, why, if it was actually
the Cottonwood. it must be a hundred
feet from bank to bank! God! What
a hole! What a freak of nature !
What a wilderness hiding place!
He lay motionless, with eyes search
ing up and down the valley. To the
right he could not determine how far
it extended, but to the left he could
discern the silver shield Of water
where the Cottonwood came tumbling
over a precipice. One. of the two pos
sible entrances was there: the other
must be along some n of those nu-
! Az ~ - 81 " ~ lloSS lGiS Eli
frances he could dimly perceive. 1t
was all so serene. so peaceful, the
truth seemed impossible-that he was
actually gazing down into a veritable
hell on earth. a rendezvous Of white
thieves and Indian murderers, a Dor
der fortress for all the nameless devil
try of the frontier.
And he must invade the Hole, alone.
if he would be of service to this woman
captive, BY sheer recklessness he
must pierce the thing to the heart. Yet
how was it to be done? Not ever a
mountain goat could find passage
down those rocks even by daylight and
in another homr all would be darkness.
He could not remain there; before
night made the search impossible he
must at least find water and a place
in which to camp. He stared down
! into those deepening mists below, al
ready beginning to blot out the fea-
lures of the valley.
sGod, what a hole" he breathed;
sit is like looking straight into hell.
The only way down must be some
where to the left. Case told me they
passed in under that waterfall"
He got to his feet, with the pony
trailing behind. moved backward away
from the edge of the chasm into the
open plain. Suddenly, as his glance
wandered s%earehingly toward the
chain Of rock hills, the man stopped,
his heart pounding. What was that
moving yonder. just emerging from out
the mouth OF that ravine and becoming
clearly outlined against the gray al
kali? He knew almost in~stantly-the
advance OF a drove Of cattle. debouch-
Ing through the marrow defile and
spreading out MS they attained the
wider open space. There must be a
hundred head and even as he COM
pretended, horsemen appeared In their
rear, squirting forward to turn them
10 the left down a shallow gulch.
There wns no way he couid escape
observation no possibility. of hIaine
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