body of the wolf and the man seemed to sway together for one
agonized moment on the very brink of the precipice. Then there was a
ringing scream, and both disappeared from view over the edge of the
abyss.

CHAPTER XV

THE TAKING OF DUSTY STAR

For the first few moments after this awful event, Dusty Star was too
terrified to do anything but crouch where he was. Through the opening he
could see the Indians gesticulating wildly on the other side of the
chasm, as they gazed down into the gorge. Then they disappeared, and
peering out from behind the foliage, he saw that they were retreating
rapidly along the ledge.

He waited a little to allow them to get out of sight; then cautiously
climbed down from his hiding place, and, lowering himself by the
pine-tree's roots till he hung over the very edge of the precipice,
looked down, dreading what he might see.

What he saw, was only a mass of shadowy boulders, far below, with the
wreck of a pine-tree fallen across the creek. Not a sign of Kiopo, or of
his victim! He listened intently. He heard the hollow wash of waters,
rising and falling in a muffled roar, as the flow of the air rushed
through the neck of the gorge. There was no other sound.

It was not possible to climb down at this point. Even if it had been, he
dreaded lest the Indians might be there before him. Nevertheless he
could not bear to remain in uncertainty as to what had been the fate of
Kiopo, who had so nobly defended his life at the risk of his own. He
felt that, at all costs, he must find his way down to the depths of that
terrible gorge.

To do this, owing to the necessity of travelling back along the ravine,
took him so long that darkness had fallen before he would reach a place
where the descent would be possible. After wandering about for some
time, he became completely lost, and it was not till the morning of the
following day that he was at length able to make his way back to the
camp.

During all his wanderings, he was comforted by a vague hope that Kiopo
might, after all, have miraculously escaped with his life, and have
reached the camp before him. But when he came in sight of the familiar
landmarks, and arrived at last to find the place wholly deserted, a
terrible loneliness settled down upon him. The night passed, and the
following day. Still there was no sign of Kiopo. Dusty Star did not like
to leave the camp, in case the wolf should return in his absence and not
find him there t