The Red Cloud chief. [volume] (Red Cloud, Webster Co., Neb.) 1873-1923, 1921-01-13

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 II so suddenly and |
as to almost daze his
faculties. Almost without warning he |
stood at the very edge Of a yawnlng
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
Its reality. A huge cut straight down,
fully o mile wide, cleft the plain In
two, with no visible signs OF its pres
ence until one stood at the very era
ter's edge. At night he would have rid
den of 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-
ton Of the depth, for II already was
hazy down there, as though he gazed
through blue fog, but how small
those trees appeared. mere toy trees.
and the silvery stream running through
the center seemed scarcely yard
wide. A yard. why, II II was actually
the Cottonwood, II must be hundred
feet from bank 20 banki Godl What
a holei What q freak Of naturel
What q wilderness hiding placei
He lay motionless. with eyes search
ing up and down the valley. To the
right he could not determine how far
II extended, but to the left he could
discern the silver shield Of water
where the Cottonwood came tumbling
over O precipiee. One Of the two pos
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 80 serene, so peaceful. the
truth seemed impossible-that he was
actually gazing down into veritable
hell on earth, rendezvous Of white
thieves and Indian murderers, a bor-
der fortress for oil the nameless devil
try Of the frontier.
And he must invade the Hole. alone.
II he would be Of service to this woman
captive! BY sheer recklessness he
must pierce the thing to the heart. Yet
how wns Il to be done1 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 n 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 tha
moving yonder. just emerging from out
the mouth Of that ravine and becoming
clearly outlined against the gray al
kali7 He knew almost instantly-tht
advance Of drove of cattle. debouch
Ing through the narrow defile nnC
spreading out rs they attained TIT
wider open space. There must be ,
hundred head and even as he com
pretended, horsemen appeared In thei
rear, squirting forward to turn then
to the left down a shallow gulch.
There was no way ne could escape
observation; no possibility Of hidinl
on that bare plain. Shelby's brail
worked like lightning. There were fiv
riders; ne could count them now; In
dams mostly, although one was surel
white. There was nothing left hir
but audacity and lies. He must tax
the chance, the one chance, mad, des
perate. yet yielding possibility of SUE
cess. He swung the field glasses I
his eyes-yes, one rider was white,
squat figure with red beard, an
another, the fellow at this end. az
peared to be Mexican. Then h
laughed grimly; the vortex of his glas
rested on the exposed flank of tn
| nearest steer and he saw the bran,
| BY all the gods, they were his ow
| cattlel The humor of It flashed
| his eyes. but the jaw Of the man 81
\ sternly. The ID thievesl II
| strobe forward, the pony trailing ,
his heels. and then the Mexican ga
him, throwing up one hand in a swi
signal and squirting his horse reckless
! ly across the gray plain. They M
half way Shelby still afoot. the 9th,
sweeping up at full speed, his hor,
brought fairly to its launches by Il
cruel pressure Of Spanish bit.
The fellow was handsome de,
but for the evil In his eyes and a dl
figuring scar down one cheek. TT
eyes of the two met and the rider
e hand dropped instantly upon the e
]. posed butt Of . revolver.
e1 "Buenas dIas, senor," he said hars