nel grew steadily smaller as they progressed; their bodies shut off
the light. The terrible thought presented itself to Kendric that when
they came to the outlet it might be too small for them to pass through;
and that to return up the tunnel was a task which would present its
difficulties. So, when they came to a place where Betty could cling on
and keep from slipping, he called to her to wait while he went on.

The time had come when his rifle was an encumbrance; he needed both
hands to keep from slipping. He had had the forethought to turn the
muzzle downward, since Betty was above him. Now he craned his neck and
sought to peer down along his body. Far away, somewhere, was a glint
of sunlight, small but full of promise. He saw, as he had seen before,
a tangle of brush. He wondered if it were a clump of bushes on a
little flat? Or if they were shrubs clinging to some steep face of
cliff? When at last he came to the mouth of this chute--if it were
wide enough for a man's body to pass through--would the man have
reached safety or would he be precipitated through space and down a
fifty foot fall of rock?

"The bushes ought to stop the rifle," he decided. "At any rate the
time has come when I need both hands." And he let it slide past him
and sought to watch it as it clattered along the incline. But he saw
nothing of it in the dim passage until it struck the fringe of bushes.
Then it crashed through and was gone--without telling him how and
where! The bag, a knot tied in it, he sent down after the gun.

His misgivings were considerable but he went on. He called out to
Betty: "It looks all right. Hold on till I call," and began inching
downward again. With his feet he sought to judge the slope below him.
It seemed to be growing steeper. Still he went on and down. He caught
at any unevenness in the rock he could lay hand upon, lowering himself
to the length of his arm, groping for handhold and foothold everywhere.
Then a handhold to which he had entrusted his weight betrayed him, the
tiny sliver of stone scaled off and he began to slip. He clutched
wildly but his body gained fresh momentum. He heard Betty shriek above
him. He had a vision of himself plunging down the cliffs. Then he
knew that he had struck the bushes, had broken through, was rolling
down a steep slope, rolling and rolling.

The breath jolted out of him, he was brought up with a jerk in another
clump of bushes, wild sage in a little