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Theirs had been a bitter fight, and Venters felt a strange sympathy for them This country was hard on trees--andtheressed, the belt of trees widened and he kept to its upper in He passed shady pockets half full of water, and, as he marked the location for possible future need, he reflected that there had been no rain since the winter snows

From one of these shady holes a rabbit hopped out and squatted down, laying its ears flat

Venters wanted fresh meat now more than when he had only himself to think of But it would not do to fire his rifle there So he broke off a cedar branch and threw it He crippled the rabbit, which started to flounder up the slope Venters did not wish to lose the aly in solance below, and back toward the canyon, he began to chase the rabbit

The fact that rabbits generally ran uphill was not new to hiular why this rabbit, that ht have escaped doard, chose to ascend the slope Venters knew then that it had a burrow higher up More than once he jerked over to seize it, only in vain, for the rabbit by renewed effort eluded his grasp Thus the chase continued on up the bare slope The farther Venters clirew to catch his quarry At last, panting and sweating, he captured the rabbit at the foot of a steeper grade Laying his rifle on the bulge of rising stone, he killed the ani down he waited to catch his breath He had climbed far up that wonderful smooth slope, and had ale scarred and cracked bulk It frowned down upon him as if to forbid further ascent Venters bent over for his rifle, and, as he picked it up frorade, he saw several little nicks cut in the solid stone

They were only a few inches deep and about a foot apart Venters began to count them--one--two--three--four--on up to sixteen

That nu bench of cliff-base Above, after a more level offset, was still steeper slope, and the line of nicks kept on, to wind round a projecting corner of wall

A casual glance would have passed by these little dents; if Venters had not knohat they signified he would never have bestowed upon thelance But he knew they had been cut there by hand, and, though age-worn, he recognized them as steps cut in the rock by the cliff-dwellers With a pulse beginning to beat and hammer away his calmness, he eyed that indistinct line of steps, up to where the buttress of wall hid further sight of them He knew that behind the corner of stone would be a cave or a crack which could never be suspected from below Chance, that had sported with hiain he laid aside his rifle, and, rean to walk up the steps Like a ile, sure-footed, and heto use his hands The next ascent took grip of fingers as well as toes, but he cli corner, and slipped around it