es, and in some of these caves
during the winter the snow drifts down, and in the spring becomes a
solid mass of ice, and the writer remembers upon one occasion after a
long and weary scramble over rocks under the face of a cliff which
towers up and overlooks counties, being shown a rock cave where there
was a solid mass of ice, which, in its contour resembled a ship. The ice
must have been at least sixty feet in length, twenty feet broad, and
fully forty feet high, and adjoining it were all manner of caves. These
caves are within a few miles of several settlements, and possibly at the
time of the visit of the writer had not been entered by over a dozen
persons. In these mountains are some very remarkable rock conformations,
and we merely mention this fact to the lads in the East, who may think
that these stories of rock caverns are exaggerated. There are probably
hundreds of caves in the Catskill and Shawangunk Mountains that have
never been entered or explored since the days when the early settlers
may have found them while bear hunting.

Desmond had been raised, as we have stated, near the mountains, and
probably had explored many rock caverns, and it is because of this fact
probably that he was not surprised when led to the cave where he first
beheld the girl Amy Brooks. That cave still exists and is well known to
many of the people living in its vicinity, and in our description we
adhered to almost absolute accuracy.

Creedon was a rough and ready sort of man, but not, the fellow, as
Desmond argued, who would apply himself to a critical study. It was a
great thing to have learned the facts concerning the old Mexican, and
the lad really believed that there was gold secreted somewhere in one of
the little cavities in that perforated mountain.

Creedon started in to relate to Brooks the facts about the mine he
believed he had discovered, and Desmond, taking the mask lantern,
started off to explore.

"You will burn out all my oil, lad; that is the only harm you will do,
and certainly little good. I cannot replenish the oil when it's burned
out, and I've been very careful, holding it for only such occasions as
when we came here across the chasm."

Creedon explained that he had only carried with him one can of oil,
which had lasted him to date.

Desmond started off and went direct to the crevice he had first entered,
and Creedon smiled as he saw him go in there, remarking to Brooks:

"The lad will run up against