they turned into another, opening at right angles
into the first, and after a time they could hear the crunching of wet
sand under their horses' feet and finally the tinkle of a little
waterfall met their ears.

"Here's the place," said Jim, dismounting.

"Sure this isn't h'alkali?" said Haney.

"You and the tenderfoot needn't drink it if you don't want to,"
growled Jim. "And you needn't stay with me if you're afraid I'm
a-going to pizen your coffee."

"Don't get angry, my friend," said Wellesly. "Mr. Mullford didn't mean
anything out of the way. We are both very much obliged to you for
allowing us to share your camp."

"Yes," assented Haney warmly, "it's w'ite, that's what it is, to take
in two 'ungry fellows and feed us out of your grub. And we'll see that
you don't lose by it."

They watered their horses, which Jim hobbled and left to graze upon
the vegetation of the little canyon. All three men hunted about in the
dim light for wood with which to make a fire, and they soon had ready
a supper of coffee, bacon, and canned baked beans, which Jim produced
from his pack. Afterward, he brought out a blanket apiece and each man
rolled himself up and lay down on the ground with his saddle for a
pillow. Wellesly thought the matter all over as he lay on his back and
stared up at the moon-lighted sky. He finally decided there was
nothing to do but to wait for the next day and its developments, and
in the meantime to get as much sleep as he could.

When he awakened the next morning he found that the others were
already up and had prepared breakfast. The blue sky was brilliant with
the morning sun, but the little canyon was still damp and cool in the
black shadow of its walls and of the beetling mountains that towered
beyond. Their camp was at the very head of the canyon. On two sides
the walls reached high above them in almost perpendicular cliffs. At
the end, the rocky barrier was more broken and was heaped with
boulders, through which the clear waters of the streamlet came
trickling and gurgling and finally leaped over the wall into a little
pool. The floor of the canyon was barely more than two hundred feet
across, and twice that distance below the pool the walls drew so near
together that they formed a narrow pass. In this little oval enclosure
grew several pine trees of fairly good size, some scrub pines and
cedars and other bushes, and the ground was well covered with green
grass and flowers.

Haney was hearty