t; I believe I could go through there without a
scratch."

"What in the world would anybody want to do it for? What is there to be
gained by it, to the good of anybody?" she wondered.

"Well, there's the reward of five hundred dollars offered by the
newspaper in Denver," he answered.

"It's a pitiful stake against such odds!" she scorned.

"And all the old settlers say there's gold in there--rich pockets of it,
washed out of the ledges in the sides of the walls and held by the rocks
in the river-bed and along the margins. A nugget is picked up now and
then on the other side, so there seems to be ground for the belief that
fortune waits for the man who makes a careful exploration."

"He couldn't carry enough of it out to make it worth while," she
objected.

"But he could go back," Dr. Slavens reminded her. "It would be easy the
second time. Or he might put in effect the scheme a sheep-herder had
once."

"What was that?" she asked, turning her face up to him from her place on
the low stone where she sat, the moonlight glinting in her eyes.

He laughed a little.

"Not that it was much of a joke the way it turned out," he explained.
"He went in there to hunt for the gold, leaving two of his companions to
labor along the brink of the canyon above and listen for his signal shout
in case he came across any gold worth while. Then they were to let a
rope down to him and he'd send up the treasure. It was a great scheme,
but they never got a chance to try it. If he ever gave any signal they
never heard it, for down there a man's voice strained to its shrillest
would be no more than a whisper against a tornado. You can believe that,
can't you, from the way it roars and tears around out here?"

"All the gold that remains unmined wouldn't tempt me a hundred feet down
that black throat," she shuddered. "But what became of the adventurer
with the scheme?"

"He came through in time--they caught him at the outlet over there in
the mountains. The one pocket that remained in his shredded clothing was
full of gold nuggets, they say. So he must have found it, even if he
couldn't make them hear."

"What a dismal end for any man!"

"A man could beat it, though," said he, leaning forward in thoughtful
attitude. "He'd need a strong light, and moccasins, so he could cling to
the rocks. I believe it could be done, and I've thought a good deal
about exploring it myself for a day or two past. If I don't draw a low
number I think I'l