The Clio messenger., 1921-06-02

ue'ermined to try the Level. Even this,
,a uiu the intricacies OF those branch
ne passages between the round hills,
aus sas uiincult to achieve, yet he finally
oeoVered an exit and ventured to-
"aru the north, confident that the
Cottonwood would surely lie some
"nere IN that direction.
ne came upon II so suddenly and
unexpectedly as to almost daze his
.aculties. Almost without warning he
s'oou at the very edge Of a yawning
no'e ana stared In amazement down
.u'o tnose depths below. Again and
asaih ne had heard this scene describ-
eu' YET had never before comprehended
l's reality. A huge cut straight down,
iuiiy mile wide, cleft the plain in
tWo' with no visible signs Of its pres
ehce until one stood at the very era
ters edge. At night he would have rid
ueh on without the slightest warning
VI uanger. And below! Feeling sick,
uizzy, Shelby swung himself from the
SADDLE, crept cautiously to the edge
ana looked down. He had no concep-
.ioh or the depth. for 1t already was
nazy down there, as though he gazed
through blue fog, but how small
'hose trees appeared, mere toy trees,
ana the silvery stream running through
'he center seemed scarcely yard
VIDE. A yard, why, If 1t was actually
the Cottonwood, 1t must be a hundred
feet from bank to bank! God! What
hole! What freak of nature
What wilderness hiding place!
lie lay motionless, with eyes search
Ing up and down the valley. To the
right he could not determine how far
1t extended, but to the left he could
discern the silver shield of water
where the Cottonwood came tumbling
over precipice. One of the two pos
slble entrances was there; the other
must be along some one of those nu-
merous side ravines. whose black en-
frances he could dlmly perceive. 1t
was all so serene, so peaceful, the
truth seemed mposslble-that he was
actually gazing down into a veritable
hell on earth, rendezvous of white
thieves and Indian murderers, bor-
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 even a
mountain goat could find passage
down those rocks even by daylight and
in another hour 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.
"God, what a hole," he breathed;
ut 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 searchingly 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 instantly-the
advance of drove Of cattle, debouch-
Ing through the narrow defile and
spreading out as they attained the
wider open space. There must be a
hundred head and even as he CON-
pretended, horsemen appeared in their
rear. squirting forward to turn them
to the left down shallow gulch.
There was no way he could escape
observation; no possibility Of hiding
on that bare plain. Shelby's brain
worked like lightning. There were five
riders; he could count them now; In
dans mostly. although one was surely
white. There was nothing left him
but audacity and lies. He must take
the chance, the one chance, mad, des-
perate, yet yielding possibility Of sue
cess. He swung the field glasses to
his eyes-yes, one rider was white,
squat figure with red beard, and
another, the fellow at this end, ap-
neared to be a Mexican. Then he
laughed grimly; the vortex Of his glass
rested on the exposed flank Of the
nearest steer and he saw the brand.
nv all the gods, they were his own
cattlel The humor Of It flashed in
his eyes, but the jaw Of the man set
sternIy. The ID thieves He
strode forward, the pony trailing at
his heels, and then the Mexican saw
him. Qhrowing up one hand In swift
signal and squirting his horse reckless
,y across the gray plain. They met
half way, Shelby still afoot, the other
sweeping up at full speed, his horse
brought fairly to Its launches by the
cruel pressure Of Spanish bit.
The fellow was a handsome devil
but for the evil in his eyes and a dis
eeuring scar down one cheek. The
owes of the two met and the riders
hand dropped instantly upon the ex-