Page 42 (1/1)
On a sudden he heard above the soft roar of the waterfall an unusual sound that he could not define He dropped flat behind a stone and listened Fro that rese Despite his nerve the chill sweat began to daht not be possible in this stonewalled maze of ripping his rifle and fighting for coolness Then from the open canized a hobble-bell of a horse, and the cracking of iron on subed stones, and the hollow splash of hoofs in water
Relief surged over hiain at realities, and curiosity prompted him to peep fro string of packed burros driven by three superbly ed, heavily armed men anywhere in Utah, let alone in this robbers' retreat, he would have recognized thens of a long, arduous trip These es They were tired, and their horses were almost played out, and the burros plodded on, after the manner of their kind when exhausted, faithful and patient, but as if every weary, splashing, slipping step would be their last
All this Venters noted in one glance After that he watched with a thrilling eagerness Straight at the waterfall the rustlers drove the burros, and straight through the middle, where the water spread into a fleecy, thin fil closely, the rustlers rode into this whitein bold black relief for an instant, and then they vanished
Venters drew a full breath that rushed out in brief and sudden utterance
"Good Heaven! Of all the holes for a rustler!There's a cavern under that waterfall, and a passageway leading out to a canyon beyond Oldring hides in there He needs only to guard a trail leading down froer of this outlet to the pass being discovered I stuiven up And now I know the truth of what puzzled me most--why that cattle trail et!"
He wheeled and ran down the slope, and out to the level of the sage-brush Returning, he had no time to spare, only now and then, between dashes, a morass left no trace of his trail Short work he made of the distance to the circle of canyons He doubted that he would ever see it again; he knew he never wanted to; yet he looked at the red corners and toith the eyes of a rider picturing landotten