The Winslow mail., 1923-12-14

he go? He was one man pitted
against twenty at least, his only ad
vantage being Meager's 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. Already the fire
had died down into mere emberS, and.
he believed, part at least of the
pack train had departed. After they
al had9 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
it 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, if 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 if
nothing occurred to detain them.
Those were their orders, and, if 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. If he could
once probe into it's secret the whole
| strange case would be solved. If any
| investigation was to be made, it 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. marring the high outline of
| the crest against the lighter sky above,
| the memory of that awful plunge over
| the edge left him for an instant sick
and nerveless. Then he drove the
| recollection from him with bitter
laugh. What odds he was alive; he
would pay the debt. He could not
| stand there like a 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 it, 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
nery eless 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 a 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. It's
| discovery eluded him, and it was not
until he ventured to stand erect, feel
| ing above the lower barrier of rock,
! that he really convinced himself of it's
| 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-
vjously 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 a 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
| handwork When? How long ago?
| What had become of them? "Alvara's