ar
confidence or rash impulse. And he did not know whether that slope was
long or short. Once at the summit he saw with surprise that it broke
abruptly and the descent was very steep and short on that side. Through
the trees he once more saw the black mesa, rising to the dignity of a
mountain; and he had glimpses of another flat, narrow valley, this time
with a red wall running parallel with the mesa. He could not help but
hurry down to get an unobstructed view. His eagerness was rewarded by a
splendid scene, yet to his regret he could not force himself to believe
it had any relation to the pictured scenes in his mind. The valley was
half a mile wide, perhaps several miles long, and it extended in a curve
between the cedar-sloped mesa and a looming wall of red stone. There was
not a bird or a beast in sight. He found a well-defined trail, but it
had not been recently used. He passed a low structure made of peeled
logs and mud, with a dark opening like a door. It did not take him many
minutes to learn that the valley was longer than he had calculated.
He walked swiftly and steadily, in spite of the fact that the pack had
become burdensome. What lay beyond the jutting corner of the mesa had
increasing fascination for him and acted as a spur. At last he turned
the corner, only to be disappointed at sight of another cedar slope.
He had a glimpse of a single black shaft of rock rising far in the
distance, and it disappeared as his striding forward made the crest of
the slope rise toward the sky.

Again his view became restricted, and he lost the sense of a slow and
gradual uplift of rock and an increase in the scale of proportion.
Half-way up this ascent he was compelled to rest; and again the sun was
slanting low when he entered the cedar forest. Soon he was descending,
and he suddenly came into the open to face a scene that made his heart
beat thick and fast.

He saw lofty crags and cathedral spires, and a wonderful canyon winding
between huge beetling red walk. He heard the murmur of flowing water.
The trail led down to the canyon floor, which appeared to be level and
green and cut by deep washes in red earth. Could this canyon be the
mouth of Deception Pass? It bore no resemblance to any place Shefford
had heard described, yet somehow he felt rather than saw that it was the
portal to the wild fastness he had traveled so far to enter.

Not till he had descended the trail and had dropped his pack did he
realize how wear