The Holly chieftain., 1923-12-20

4
against twenty at least. his only ad-
vantage being Meagers belief that he
| was dead. and safely out of the way.
| He must remain unseen, undiscovered
until he learned the truth. His mind
grasped the situation swiftly. as he
planned his own course Of action.
There was no reason why Casebeer's
outfit should remain in the valley |;
they had already unloaded and stored
away out Of sight whatever they had
to transport. Their whole interest
must be to get safely away on the back
trail before daylight.s Already the fire
had died down into mere embers, and.
he believed, part at least of the
pack train had departed. After they
all had gone only Meager. and. his
small party would be left behind.
| How many there might be of these
Kelleen had no means Of knowing, yet
1t was scarcely probable many were
in the secret of what was going on
Meager himself, Sanchez and one or
| two others perhaps: not enough to
prove particularly dangerous, II they
did not even suspect his being alive.
Tomorrow surely that squad Of cav
alrymen must appear from Box can
| yon; they would scout up this way II
| nothing occurred to detaIn them.
Those were their orders, and, II they
followed the trail. they could scarcely
| fail to reach this hole In the desert.
| All he needed to do In the meanwhile
was to discover exactly what this
gang was up to, and then wait.
To Lis mind the key of the whole
mystery must lie in that cave tunnel
described by Deborah. II he could
once probe into its secret the whole
strange case would be solved. If any
investigation was to be made, 1t must
be attempted now-he would take the
chance.
To decide, with Kelleen, was to act.
The peril of the adventure scarcely
occurred to him; his life had long be-
fore Injured him to danger. All he
sought was opportunity. Slowly. eau
tiously, keeping well back In the
shadow, he lowered his body down the
face Of the cliff. taking advantage of
every irregularity. outcroppIns rocks
giving him foot and handhold, until
he finally reached the firm turf be-
low. AS he glanced back over his
course. mari.ing the high outline Of
the crest against the lighter sky above,
the memory Of that awful plunge over
the edge left him for all instant sick
and nerveless. Then he drove the
recollection from him with a bitter
laugh. What odds! he was alive; he
would pay the debt. He could not
stand there like frightened child in
the dark. He moved on In the depth
of the cliff shadow with eyes searching
the gloom and ears listening for any
sound.
In that darkness he scarcely real
lied where he was, yet. when he
came to 1t. experienced no difficulty
In recognizing the mound on which
he and Deborah had taken breakfast
together. He climbed the sloping side
cautiously on hands and knees, his re-
volver drawn and clenched In his
nerveless fingers. The man was cool
now. and ready. advancing steadily
through the maze Of rocks strewing
the surface, until he felt out the
slight evidences of a trail. Here was
where Deborah must have attempted
her retreat, as 1t skirted the face Of
the cliff. which bulged out above him.
The front was draped with clinging
vines, while below he found tangle
Of bushes, almost impenetrable. Kel-
leen crept along these. vainly seeking
some opening, and, finally, In despair,
pressed them aside, crawling noise
lessly into the dark covert. seeking
that opening In the rock which must
be hidden somewhere beyond. Its
discovery eluded him, and 1t was not
until he ventured to stand erect, feel
ing above the lower barrier Of rock,
that he really convinced himself Of its
| existence. He stood hesitatingly, his
heart humping from excitement
There was no sound of movement
within-only profound silence and i'm
penetrable darkness. Yet surely this
could be no storage house, no mere
receptacle for stolen goods as he pre-
! viously had imagined. There was no
beaten trail leading to it; no dead
| trampled vines, no pathway opening
through the shrubs. The secret Of the
place remained hidden. its shield un-
disturbed. Whoever came here must
have weaved their way as carefully
as he had. concealing all evidence Of
passage, leaving no trail behind.
In spite Of the shrinking of his flesh.
Kelleen began to advance, feeling with
his feet, and keeping one hand against
the rough side wall. 1t was tunnel
beyond all doubt. leading at first
straight into the cliff. the sides
Clipped and irregular. leaving to the
touch of his fingers the ridge marks
of pick. Men had toiled here. not
nature. and had plainly left their
handiwork. When? How long ago?
What had become Of them7 "Alvara's 8
Lost Mine!" The words seemed to
burp themselves on his mind. and be-
fore him arose vision of the old