Cheyenne record., 1921-06-30

| ground, but the most pdinstone
animation failed to, reveal the 1ainte''
spark Of life.
Leaving the body where 1t lay Oh
the ledge l crept into the cave ~ N
connoiter. l found a large CHAMBER
possibly a hundred feet In d,aine'ea
and thirty or forty feet In height
smooth and well-worn floor, and mans
other evidences that the cave nao. d.
some remote period. been inhaDiteu.
As was continuing my examiha.
tIop 7 commenced to feel pleasant
drowsiness creeping over me which !
attributed to the fatigue OF. my long
and strenuous ride, and the reaction
| from the excitement of the hsht anu
the pursuit. .
soon became SO drowsy that
could scarcely resist the strong desire
to throw myself on the floor OF the
cave for few moments rest out !
knew that this would never do, as II
would mean certain death at the
hands of my red friends, who might
be upon me at any moment with an
effort l started toward the opening OF
the cave only to reel drunkenly
| against side wall, and from there
| slip prone upon the floor.
| sense of delicious dreaminess
oy ercame me, my muscles relaxed, and
| l was on the point Of giving away 10
nv desire to sleep when the sound OF
approaching horses reached my ears.
I attempted to spring to my feet put
was Mortified to discover that my
| muscles refused to respond to my
will. I was now thoroughly awake,
| but as unable to move muscle as
though turned to stone. 1t was then.
| for the first time, that I noticed
| slight vapor filling the cave. There
| also come to my nostrils family
pungent odor, and could only assume
| that had been overcome by some
poisonous gas, but why I should re-
| tain my mental faculties and yet oe
unable to move could not fathom.
The noise Of the approaching horses
had ceased, and I Judged the Indians
were creeping stealthily upon me
| along the little ledge which led to my
living tomb.
I had not long to wait before
stealthy sound apprised me Of their
nearness, and then q war-bonneted'
| paint-streaked face was thrust eau
tiously around the shoulder Of the
cliff, and savage eyes looked into
mine.
The fellow. instead Of approaching,
merely stood and stared; his eyes
bulging and his Jaw dropped. And
then another savage face appeared.
and a third and fourth and fifth,
craning their necks over the shoul-
ders of their fellows whom they could
not pass upon the narrow ledge. Each
face was the picture Of awe and fear,
but for what reason I did not know,
nor did I learn until ten years later.
Suddenly low but distant moan
Ing sound issued from the recesses OF
the cave behind me. and, as 1t reached
the ears Of the Indians, they turned
and fed In terror, panic stricken.
Their wild cries echoed in the can
yon for short time. and then all was
still once more.
The sound which had frightened
them was not repeated. but 1t had
been sufficient as 1t was to start me
speculating on the possible horror
which lurked In the shadows at my
back.
Several times I thought I heard
faint sounds behind me as Of some
body moving cautiously, but eventual
ly, even these ceased, and I was left
to the contemplation Of my position
without interruption.
Until possibly midnight all was ST.
lence, the silence of the dead; then,
suddenly, the awful moan of the morn
ing broke upon my startled ears. and
there came again from the black
shadows the sound Of moving thing,
and faint rustling as Of dead leaves
The shock to my already overstrained
nervous system was terrible in the
extreme, and with superhuman ef-
fort stroye to break my awful bonds.
Then something gave, there was mo-
mentary feeling Of nausea, sharp
click as of the swapping Of steel
wire, and 1 stood with my back
against the wall of the cave, facing
my unknown foe.
And then the moonlight flooded the
cave, uuu lucEc uClOiC Auc Auy bsy O"A
body as it had been lying all these
hours, with the eyes staring toward
the open ledge and the hands resting
Imply upon the ground. looked first
at my lifeless clay there upon the
floor of the cave and then down at
myself in utter bewilderment; for
there I lay clothed, and yet here l
stood, but naked as at the minute of
my birth.
My first thought, was. Is this then
death! Have l indeed passed over for
ever into that other lifel But could
not we'll believe this, as could feel
my heart pounding against my ribs
from the exertion Of my efforts to re-
lease myself from the anesthesis
which had held me.
Again was / suddenly recalled to