evidence of life. A
high cliff rose menacingly to their right, bare of the slightest trace
of vegetation, while in the opposite direction the plain assumed a dead
level, mirages appearing occasionally in the far distance. Far away
ahead a strange buttress of rock rose into the sky resembling the
turret of a huge castle. The sun was directly overhead when Moore
turned his team suddenly to the left, and drove down a sharp declivity
leading into a ravine.

"Drop the canvas, Joe," he said shortly, "there's only 'bout a mile
more."

CHAPTER XVIII: IN MEXICAN POWER

The passage was so narrow, and so diversified by sharp turns, that Miss
Donovan, shut in behind the closed cover, could perceive little of its
nature. Apparently the ravine was a mere gash in the surface of the
desert plain, to be originally discovered purely through accident. One
might pass a hundred yards to either side, and never realise its
existence, the hard rock, covered by a thin layer of sand, retaining no
trace of wheel-marks in guidance. How Moore had ever driven so
unerringly to the spot was a mystery. Yet he had done so, and now the
team was slowly creeping down the narrow ledge utilised as a road, the
slipping wheels securely locked, as they drifted here and there about
the sharp corners, ever descending into the unknown depths.

The cliffs arose precipitously on either side, absolutely bare. To the
left nothing could be seen but black rock, but on the other side an
open space yawned, perhaps twenty feet across, its bottom
imperceptible. The horses stumbled over the rough stones, held only by
Moore's firm grip on the reins, and the light began to fade as they
descended. At last nothing appeared above but a narrow strip of sky,
and the glimmer of sun had totally vanished. Almost at the same moment
the driver released the creaking brake, and at a trot the wagon swept
forward between two pinnacles of rock, and came out into an open valley.

The transition was so sudden and startling as to cause the girl to give
utterance to a cry of surprise. She had been clinging desperately to
the seat in front, expecting every instant to be hurled headlong.
Intense fear gripped her and it seemed as if every drop of blood in her
veins stood still. The change was like a leap into fairy land; as
though they had emerged from the mouth of hell into the beauty of
paradise. They were in a green, watered valley, a clear stream
wandering here and th