The Pulaskian., 1921-02-03

amid the intricacieS of those branch ing passages between the round hills, was difficult to achieve, yet he finally discovered an exit and ventured to- ward the north, confident that the Cottonwood would surely lie some where in that direction.
 He came upon it so suddenly and unexpectedly as to almost daze his faculties. Almost without warning he stood at the very edge of yawning hole and stared in amazement down into those depths below. Again and again he had heard this scene describ- ed, yet had never before comprehended It's reality A huge cut straight down, fully a mile wide, cleft the plain in two, with no visible signs of it's pres ence until one stood at the very era ters edge. At night he would have rid den off without the slightest warning of danger And below Feeling sick, dizzy, Shelby swung himself from the saddle, crept cautiously to the edge and looked down. He had no concep- tion of the depth, for it already was hay down there, as though he gazed through a blue fog, but how small those trees appeared, mere toy trees, and the silyery stream running through the center seemed scarcely yard wide. A yard, why, if it was actually the Cottonwood, it must be hundred feet from bank to bank! God! What hole! What a freak of nature What a wilderness hiding place!
 He lay motionless, with eyes search ing up and down the valley. To the right he could not determine how far it extended, but to the left he could discern the silver shield of water where the Cottonwood came tumbling over a precipice. One of the two pos l sible entrances was there; the other must be along some one of those nu- merous side ravines, whose black en- frances he could dimly perceive. It was all so serene, so peaceful, the truth seemed impossible-that he was l actually gazing down into a yeritable hell on earth. a 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 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 hole" he breathed; 'it 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 searehingly toward the chain of rock hills, the man stopped, his heart pounding. What was that moving wonder, just emerging from out l the mouth of that ravine and becoming clearly outlined against the gray al l kali? He knew almost instantly-the 1 advance of a drove of cattle, debouch- 1 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 com l prehended, horsemen appeared in their rear, spurring forward to turn them to the left down a 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- l dians mostly, although one was surely white There was nothing left him 1 but audacity and lies. He must take l 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 a red beard, and another, the fellow at this end, ap- 1 peared 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 By all the gods, they were his own cattle! The humor of it flashed in his eyes, but the jaw of the man set sternly. The d-d thieves He strode forward, the pony trailing at his heels, and then the Mexican saw him, throwing up one hand in a swift signal and spurring his horse reckless ly across the gray plain. They met half way, Shelby still afoot, the other sweeping up at full speed, his horse brought fairly to it's haunches by the cruel pressure of a Spanish bit
 The fellow was a handsome devil but for the evil in his eyes and dis l figuring scar down one cheek. The