ombrero and began to brush down my shock of light hair.
"I must slick up," I announced, "if we are going into society. Lend me
your mirror, Tommy."

"I'll lend you a kick," he offered, as he rode alongside, and shot his
moccasined foot out, but missed me and hit Coyote in the flanks, making
him jump.

"You do that again to my horse and I'll bump your nose for you," I
cried, hotly.

I would not have minded it if he had landed on me. Tom knew that I meant
business and refrained from further exercises along that line.

"Just look at the dust on your clothes, Thomas, I'm ashamed of you," I
continued, after a moment, "and you have no more polish on your
moccasins than you have on your manners."

"Stop your kidding, Jo," commanded Jim, "you and Tom can do your
scrapping in camp."

"Beware of the Boss, he bites," I said, warningly.

Jim grinned, his only response.

"Look out, Tom, he's showing his teeth."

But we forgot our little controversy as we drew near to the great mesa.
It was as impregnable as a powerful battleship of these later days.
There was nothing to detract from its impressiveness as it rose in clear
cut symmetry and sheer walls from the level plain. We gazed up at it in
admiration.

"How high are those walls, do you suppose, Jim?" I asked.

"All of five hundred feet," he answered, "but I don't see how we are
going to get up."

"Get up!" I exclaimed, "what for, we haven't got any relatives up there
that we want to meet."

"Why Jo," expostulated Jim, "don't you want to meet and converse with
our red brothers and have a great powwow. You know they are the original
Americans?"

"All Americans are original," I retorted. "I thought you were in a hurry
to see the river."

"I am," replied Jim, "perhaps we can see it if we climb up there. Then I
want to see this village; you can't make out much from here. Looks
something like swallow nests built in the rafters of the old barn."

"How do you suppose the Indians get up there?" I asked, "ladders?"

"Hardly," replied Jim. "Let's look around and find out. You and Tom go
around the north end and I'll ride the other way."

"All right," we responded.

So we separated after we had arrived at the middle of the east wall. We
rode slowly along, but found no break in the solid grey masonry of the
wall. Before rounding the northern end we waved our hats to Jim in a
given signal indicating that we had found nothing so far.

The mesa must have been three quar