ne who
was aware of the coming and going of the red man.

Following out Hazletine's theory, it would seem that the prison of Fred
Greenwood, instead of being among the mountains, was within the gorge.
This was a startling conclusion, but the more Jack reflected upon it the
more strongly did he believe it.

"At any rate, I mean to find out whether it is so."

But on the verge of setting out he hesitated. There was more than one
reason why he should do so. In the first place, it was exceedingly
dangerous to attempt to make his way up the canyon even by daylight, and
the sun had already disappeared. He was totally unfamiliar with the
windings and would be in constant danger of drowning. Moreover, he was
liable, in the event of Fred being held a prisoner in the gorge, to
place himself with him, or to defeat the negotiations for restoring him
to liberty.

And yet, in the face of these and other obstacles, the youth decided to
make the foolhardy attempt.

First of all he fastened his Winchester to his back, both he and his
comrade having made provision for doing that before leaving Bowman's
ranch. Then he thrust his revolver more firmly into its resting-place.
This left his hands free, in case a sudden emergency should call for
their use, and gave him an opportunity of saving the more important
weapon. Then, night being fully come, he stepped into the open space
which marked the bank at the break of the canyon. The stars were
shining, but it would be a long time before the moon rose.

A quick glance to the right and left revealed nothing to cause alarm,
and Jack pressed on until he stood on the spot where the Sioux had
landed when making his last leap. There was enough star-gleam to show
the black mass of stone, like a crouching monster gathering to spring
upon him. It will not be forgotten that the youth was an exceptionally
fine athlete, and, pausing but a moment, he easily made the leap that
carried him to the rock. In fact the task was easy, and he would not
have hesitated to follow in the footsteps of the white man and Indian,
could he have had the twilight of mid-day to assist him.

The next bound placed him within the walls of the canyon, where he
paused with the question whether it would do to venture further. The
rushing waters were on all sides of him, and the cool spray was dashed
in his face and over his clothing. It was to be supposed that where this
furious current was compressed into such a narrow compa