h us, leaving us where we crossed Middle Canyon.

Jones and I rimmed a mile of our canyon and worked out almost to the
west end of the Bay, without finding so much as a single track, so we
started to retrace our way. The sun was now hot; the snow all gone;
the ground dry as if it had never been damp; and Jones grumbled that
no success would attend our efforts this morning.

We reached the ragged mouth of Right Canyon, where it opened into the
deep, wide Bay, and because we hoped to hear our companions across the
canyon, we rode close to the rim. Sounder and Jude both began to bark
on a cliff; however, as we could find no tracks in the dust we called
them off. Sounder obeyed reluctantly, but Jude wanted to get down over
the wall.

"They scent a lion," averred Jones. "Let's put them over the wall."

Once permitted to go, the hounds needed no assistance. They ran up
and down the rim till they found a crack. Hardly had they gone out
of sight when we heard them yelping. We rushed to the rim and looked
over. The first step was short, a crumbled section of wall, and from
it led down a long slope, dotted here and there with cedars. Both
hounds were baying furiously.

I spied Jude with her paws up on a cedar, and above her hung a lion,
so close that she could nearly reach him. Sounder was not yet in
sight.

"There! There!" I cried, directing Jones' glance. "Are we not lucky?"

"I see. By George! Come, we'll go down. Leave everything that you
don't absolutely need."

Spurs, chaps, gun, coat, hat, I left on the rim, taking only my camera
and lasso. I had forgotten to bring my canteen. We descended a ladder
of shaly cliff, the steps of which broke under our feet. The slope
below us was easy, and soon we stood on a level with the lion. The
cedar was small, and afforded no good place for him. Evidently he
jumped from the slope to the tree, and had hung where he first
alighted.

"Where's Sounder? Look for him. I hear him below. This lion won't stay
treed long."

I, too, heard Sounder. The cedar tree obstructed my view, and I moved
aside. A hundred feet farther down the hound bayed under a tall pinon.
High in the branches I saw a great mass of yellow, and at first glance
thought Sounder had treed old Sultan. How I yelled! Then a second
glance showed two lions close together.

"Two more! two more! look! look!" I yelled to Jones.

"Hi! Hi! Hi!" he joined his robust yell to mine, and for a moment we
made the canyon bellow.