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Down, down, down Venters strode, ht of his burden as he descended, and still the valley lay below him As all other canyons and coves and valleys had deceived hith he passed beyond the slope of weathered stone that spread fan-shape fro to the right and about on a level with the tips of the oaks and cottonwoods below Scattered here and there upon this shelf were clulade that surpassed in beauty and adaptability for a wild home, any place he had ever seen Silver spruces bordered the base of a precipitous wall that rose loftily Caves indented its surface, and there were no detached ledges or weathered sections that round, beyond the spruces, dropped down into a little ravine This was one dense line of slender aspens fro of water And the terrace, lying open to the west, afforded unobstructed view of the valley of green treetops

For his carassy plot between the silver spruces and the cliff Here, in the stone wall, had been wonderfully carved by wind or washed by water several deep caves above the level of the terrace They were clean, dry, rooest cave and laid the girl there The first intiy was a low call for water

He hurried down into the ravine with his canteen It was a shallow, grass-green place with aspens growing up everywhere To his delight he found a tiny brook of swift-running water Its faint tinge of aht gave hiers tingle as he dipped the canteen Having returned to the cave, he was glad to see the girl drink thirstily This tihtly without his help

"You were thirsty," he said "It's good water I've found a fine place Tell me--how do you feel?"

"There's pain--here," she replied, and e! Your wounds are on your right side I believe you're hungry Is the pain a kind of dull ache--a gnawing?"

"It's like--that"

"Then it's hunger" Venters laughed, and suddenly caught hiain the little shock When had he laughed? "It's hunger," he went on "I've had that gnaw ot it now But you mustn't eat You can have all the water you want, but no food just yet"