The Red Cloud chief. [volume] (Red Cloud, Webster Co., Neb.) 1873-1923, 1921-01-27

himself, and looked about In an IN
slant of bewilderment. As the truth
of his situation reasserted itself. ne
sat up, conscious of stiffness In every
Joint. yet relnvigoratei by several
hours Of rest. He faced day OF In
activity, q hard demand upon man
of his temperament, and he was as
Stow as possible over a meager break
fast. his eyes continually wandering
toward the narrow opening, as his
mind again reviewed the occurrences
Of the day before.
Finally, unable to resist the tempta-
ton longer. he ventured to thrust his
head through the entrance to learn
something more definite as to his sur
roundings. All he could perceive was
the shelf Of rock, with a considerable
coping about its outer edge. together
with few feet of the descending
trail. On the other hand new cleft
appeared In the front Of the cliff over
shadowlng him. and he suspicioned
tIlut tit pun it Iuu i''iON'' wv
night previous continued upward
was, perhaps. that secret passageway
which Pancha had said led finally to
the .Op OF the gorge. and along which
she planned to guide their future es-
cape. Beyond the outer edge Of the
shelf there was nothing but shy visi-
Bile, and. believing the coping would
conceal his movements from observa-
ton below. Shelby pushed his way out
through the opening. and crept on
hands and knees to where he cautious
ly could gaze over.
He was higher up on the cliff than
he had previously realized. although
Its precipitous front yet lowered men,
aclngly above. The view below was
like that Of n distant picture. its de-
tails indistlnct. He felt no longer any
special fear Of being observed. how
ever, and leaned far enough forward
to see clearly up and down the broad
valley. His position lay somewhat re-
moved. around the angle of side
ravine, so that he could not trace the
entire course of the Cottonwood, or
even discern the waterfall beneath
which he had entered the Hole. Yet
he had glimpse of the main stream.
could pick out what he believed to be
the log house from which he had es-
capped, while, within grove so as to
be scarcely distinguishable. appeared
the roof Of another. smaller building.
He would not have noticed this. but
for thin spiral Of smoke arising from
the chimney. Pamela had said the
place where Olga was confined was
visible from this spot. Could this be
It? He stared down long while, but
without reward.
Yet there seemed TO be much pass
ing and repasslng along the main val
ley; black. ill-defned figures of men
on horseback almost constantly visible.
He was surprised at the number,
never having supposed that this colony
Of outlaws was so numerous. An
other thing, while he could not clear
~ distinguish such small objects ut
that distance, the majority Of these
riders had the appearance Of being In
diars. Could they be Sioux warriors
gathered here In preparation for some
raid on the exposed settlements? or
was It possible that the troops had al
ready struck, and driven the rem
nants of scattered war parties into
this Hole for refuge? In either case
their presence In such numbers rem
dered his own position so much more
precariOus and increased the danger
surrounding Olga. He felt that, In
he could not remain In his hiding
place quietly. without endeavoring to
learn more Of what had actually &C.
Cured during the night.
Indeed he could perceive no reason
why he should remain entirely inac-
tive. At the very best she could ac-
complish nothing before night and
had held out very little hope for even
then. There were no signs that he
was being sought after down below. 1t
might be that In the excitement Of
other happenings his escape had been
considered as of minor importance !;
| that Indian Joe. convinced that he
served, took no immediate interest in
trailing him. What was the use. when
he must eventually surrender? 1t
would be simple matter to steal eau
tiOusly down through that deep cleft
In the rocks. as far, at least, as the
stream below. He would be concealed
all the way. and once there, hidden
securely among those thick bushes, he
might then learn what was actually
occurring. 1t would be far better fol
him to know. Besides, this would be
no dislOyalty to Pancha; even II she
sought him he would still be In the
path she must follow. and. so long as
he remained undiscovered. just. where
he was concealed could make no pos
sible difference. The argument salts
A q 4. R.lA l.