thick scrub-oak made travel
difficult. It had not appeared far up to that saddle, but it was far.
There were straggling pine-trees and huge rocks that obstructed his
gaze. But once up he saw that the saddle was only a narrow ridge,
curved to slope up on both sides.

Straight before Slone and under him opened the canyon, blazing and
glorious along the peaks and ramparts, where the rising sun struck,
misty and smoky and shadowy down in those mysterious depths.

It took an effort not to keep on gazing. But Slone turned to the grim
business of his pursuit. The trail he saw leading down had been made by
Indians. It was used probably once a year by them; and also by wild
animals, and it was exceedingly steep and rough. Wildfire had paced to
and fro along the narrow ridge of that saddle, making many tracks,
before he had headed down again. Slone imagined that the great stallion
had been daunted by the tremendous chasm, but had finally faced it,
meaning to put this obstacle between him and his pursuers. It never
occurred to Slone to attribute less intelligence to Wildfire than that.
So, dismounting, Slone took Nagger's bridle and started down. The
mustang with the pack was reluctant. He snorted and whistled and pawed
the earth. But he would not be left alone, so he followed.

The trail led down under cedars that fringed a precipice. Slone was
aware of this without looking. He attended only to the trail and to his
horse. Only an Indian could have picked out that course, and it was
cruel to put a horse to it. But Nagger was powerful, sure-footed, and
he would go anywhere that Slone led him. Gradually Slone worked down
and away from the bulging rim-wall. It was hard, rough work, and risky
because it could not be accomplished slowly. Brush and rocks, loose
shale and weathered slope, long, dusty inclines of yellow earth, and
jumbles of stone--these made bad going for miles of slow, zigzag trail
down out of the cedars. Then the trail entered what appeared to be a
ravine.

That ravine became a canyon. At its head it was a dry wash, full of
gravel and rocks. It began to cut deep into the bowels of the earth. It
shut out sight of the surrounding walls and peaks. Water appeared from
under a cliff and, augmented by other springs, became a brook. Hot,
dry, and barren at its beginning, this cleft became cool and shady and
luxuriant with grass and flowers and amber moss with silver blossoms.
The rocks had changed color from yellow to dee