Gunnison news-champion., 1921-01-28

tnsricoc1es Of the hiilS- taking 03 ner~
-<sity. - winding Q courpe ~ TO give
She,by NO view ahead and ann coa-
frs>ed him In gspins sc .is-..s-,ion- He
ruuld only move forward cautiously.
fearful lest fhey might have haiss-i for
some purpoee snd vufrhfN 81 evesy
mare Of their raSsss~. as other ravines
werr constantly uniting with this
through which he was biindly f~eiins
his ~ny. He ~.nsr In snnd and is~s
all signs of the TRAN Instantly. searrh-
ing for II iu vain for nearly an hcur
,s.fore cunfe~sing himself NJ fault,
Then. leaving the hor~e below. h.
climbed the nesrv~s htli for . New Of
his surroundings
The sun gave him the proper direc
lions. but sii atsout stretched the aame
,ir~sry. here ridges Of vock, ofYerine
M guidance. Th~re was no life visi-
hle anywhere snd although he waiiesi
for some time. sweeping his gias-e>
hack and forth. he gained no riimy,.r
~ the swo ne endeavored to follow.
They had vsnished n though swaI.
lowed up by the enrfh The run was
already In the west and Desperately b.
determined so try the level. Even this
amid the intricacies OF those branch
ing passages between the round hills
was dif'icult 20 achieve. yet he finally
discovered nm exit and v<nsured TO
ward the north. confident Tint In.
Cottonwood would surely lie some
where In that direction
Tie came upon II 81 suddenly and
unexpectedly as To almost dnze his
,aruities. AitnoSi WITHOUT warning he
stood nj the very edge Of q yawnin:
hole and stared In anazcmeni down
nfo those depths heiow. Again and
,rain he had heard this scene d..srrii,
Il yet had never before cniiipreh.n n'is.'i
Is reality. A huge cut strnighf down.
ruiiy mile wide. cicft the plain In
iwo. with mn visible signs NJ It's pres
.nre until one sios.i nj the very era
'-rs edge. Al nigh, he wonld have rid
len on without the slightest warning
n danger. And is.low! Feeling sick.
Ivy. Shelby SWUNG himself from the
snd,lie. crept cnuiionsiy 10 the edge
md looked down. He had no concep.
lion of the depth. for II alrendy was
haZy down there. as though he gnzed
hrongh hInr fog. hut how small
hose trees appeared. there toy trees.
md the siivery stream running through
he center seemed scarcely q yard
yi'ie. A yard. why. II u WIS actually
he Cottonwood u must he n hundred
ic~i from hank to bnnk! Godl What
a hole. Whaf II freak Of nature I
Nhnt wilderness hiding piacei
lie lay mosioniess with eyes senrch-
ing w and down the valley. To the
right ne could not determine how far
~ extended. but 10 the left he couid
discern fl,e silver shield Of water
where the Cottonwood came tumbilng
aver preripice. One Of the two pos-
-ihle entrances WIS there; the other
inns, he along some one Of those nu-
merous side ravines. whose black en-
frances he could dimly perceive. Il
was all SO serene. so peaceful. the
truth seemed impnssibie-ihat he was
,rtually gazing down into verifnbie
hell on earth. rendezvous of white
thieves and Indian murderers. bor-
der fortress for all the nnmeless devil
ry Of the frontier.
And he must Invade the Hole. alone.
II he would he Of service TO this woman
saptive, By sheer recklessness he
n,nst pierce the thing TO the heart. Yet
how was II TO be done3 Not even .
mountain goat could find passage
down those rocks even by daylight and
In another hour oil would be darkness
He could not remain there; before
night made the search impossible be
must at least nnd water and . place
In which to camp. he stared down
Into those deepeping mists below. a.
ready beginning to blot out the fea-
lures Of the valley.
God. what a hole" be breathed |;
1T 10 like looking straight into bell.
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, a. his glance
Wandered searchIngly toward the
chain Of rock hills. the man stopped.
his heart pounding. What was that
moving yooder. just emerging from out
the mouth Of that ravine and becoming
clearly outlined against the gray a.
salif He knew almost instantly-ths
sdvance Of q drove Of cattle. de60dch-
Ing through the narrow defile and
spreading -out ~ they attained The
wider open space. There must bs .
hundred head and even ~ be CON
prehended. horsemen appeared u their
rear, spurring forward to turn them
to the left down Q shallow gulch.
There was no way he could escaps
observation: no possibility Of hiding
op that bare plain. SheIby's brain
worked ike lightning There were I'VE
riders: be could count them now; In
dians mostly, although one WAS surely
white. There WAS nothing lefi him
but audacity and liea He must take