at them, as they passed near. Instead of following
the course taken by their guide they bore to the right, but at the same
time proceeded nearly westward, which led them deeper into the
mountains. Remembering the caution of their friend they studied the
landmarks around them, in the hope of not losing their way when it
should become time to return to camp.

When fairly clear of the plateau, where they must have been at a
considerable elevation above the sea, they found the way so rough that
travelling became a task. There was nothing in the nature of a path or
trail to follow, and they were compelled to pass around boulders and
rocks, sometimes turning back and retracing their steps, and making long
detours, so as to flank impassable chasms. All this tended to confuse
their knowledge of the points of the compass, but they did not forget to
note everything that could serve as a guide, and were confident of
finding their way whenever it should become necessary to return.

Most of the time Jack Dudley was in the lead, for it was not easy to
walk beside each other. He was perhaps a half-dozen paces in advance of
Fred, when he abruptly stopped with an exclamation of affright.

"What is it?" asked his friend, hardly less startled.

"Look at that!"

He pointed downward, almost at his feet. Still unaware of what he meant,
Fred stepped guardedly forward to his side.

There was good cause, indeed, for the alarm of the elder, for he had
checked himself on the edge of a ravine or canyon fully a thousand feet
deep. One step further and he would have dropped into eternity.

The peculiar formation of the canyon accounted for this peril. The chasm
was barely a dozen feet wide, but the other side was depressed, so that
it was not noticed by the youth until on the edge of the danger. The
walls were of solid rock, showing the numerous strata of sandstone and
other formations, worn so unevenly that it looked possible for a person
to use them as stairs in climbing the sides. Pausing on the edge and
peering cautiously down the dizzy steep, the youths could see a stream
of water, winding its course far down at the bottom, where the roughness
of its bed churned it into foam, and gave it the appearance of a white
ribbon that had been strung along the course. The murmur was so soft and
faint that at times they were not sure they heard it, and when it
reached their ears the voice of the distant ocean was suggested.

A striking feature of