The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1921-06-16

himself, anu lOoheu 49," .,.l
slant of bewilderment. AS lle u ".
OF his situation reasserted lise'i' :"
sat mn. conscious of stiffness III every
Joint. vet reinvigorated by se'ei"'
hours OF rest. He faced day OF III
activity. a hard demand upon n i"an
of his temperament, and ne was
slow as possible over meager preaA
fast. his eyes continually wahuer,ne
toward the narrow opening, as h's
mind again reviewed the occurrences
of the day before.
Finally. unable to resist the ternpla'
ton longer, he ventured TO thrust lie
head through the entrance 10 iea'n
something more definite as TO MS SUI
roundings. All he could perceive was
the shelf of rock, with consideraoi7
COPING about its outer edge togeliio'
with a few feet of the DESCENDING
trail On the other hand new ciei'
appeared in the front Of the CHI over
shadowing him, and he susplcIoheu
that the path he had followed IDS
night previous continued upward
was, perhaps, that secret paSsaee"ay
which Pamela had said led finally 10
the .op Of the gorge, and along WHICH
she planned 10 guide their future es-
cape. Beyond the outer edge OF inc
shelf there was nothing but sky 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 10 where he CAUTIOUS
ly could gaze over.
He was higher up on the cliff than
he had previously realized, although
it's precipitous front yet lowered men
aciRgly above. The view below was
like that of a distant picture, It's de-
tails indistinct 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 be could not trace the
entire course OF the Cottonwood or
even discern the waterfall beneath
which he had entered the Hole. Yet
he had a glimpse of the main stream,
could pick out what he believed 10 be
the log house from which he had es-
capped, while. within a grove so as 10
be scarcely dlStinguishable. appeared
the roof OF another, smaller building
10 ho
for a thin spiral of smoke arising from
the chimney. Pamela had said the
place where Olga was confined was
visible from thrs spot. Could this he
It? He stared down long while, but
without reward.
Yet there seemed 10 be much pass.
ing and repassing along the main val
ley; black, ill-defined 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.
ly distinguish such small objects at
that distance, the majority of these
riders had the appearance Of being In.
dians. Could they be Sioux warriors
gathered here in preparation for some
raid on the exposed settlementsi or
was 1t 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
spite of his pledge TO the Mexican girl
he could not remain IA els hiding
place quietly, without endeavUing 10
learn more Of what had actually &C
Cured during the night.
Indeed he could perceive no reason
why he should remain entirely mac
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. II
might be that In the excitement of
other happenings. his escape had been
considered as OF minor importance:
that Indian Joe, convinced that he
could never get ont Of the Hole unob-
served, took no immediate interest IN
trailing him. What was the use. when
he must eventually surrender II
would be a 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 IA,
him to know. Besides, this would be
no disloyalty to Pancha; even II shs
sought him he would still be In thu
path she must follow, and, so long n,
he remained undiscovered. Just where
he was concealed could make no nos
sible difference. The argument satl,
fed his mind. because he felt he INNS,
act; must make some effort OF bi,
own.