the lakes being set at a great height in tiny
valleys, enclosed by forests and lofty cliffs. There was no dying of
thirst, and about the water they always found the beaver. Wood, too, was
sure to be plentiful and, in the fierce cold of the northwestern winters
they needed much of it. If the valleys were not visited for a long
period, and often the Indians themselves did not come to them in years,
elk and other game, large and small, made a home there.

It was into one of these most striking nooks that the three had now
come. They had been in a valley of the same type before, but this was
far deeper and far bolder. There were several acres of good grass, on
which the horses and mules might find forage, even under the snow, and
the lake, two or three acres in extent, was sure to contain fish good
for eating.

But the two men examined with the most care the rocky, western cliff,
weathered and honeycombed by the storms of a thousand centuries. As
they had expected, they found great cave-like openings at its base, and
after much hunting they decided upon one running back about fifty feet,
with a width half as great, and a roof varying from seven to twenty feet
in height. The floor, fairly level, sloped rather sharply toward the
doorway, which would protect them against floods from melting snows. The
interior could be fitted up in a considerable degree of comfort with the
material from their packs and furs they might take.

They found about fifty yards away another, though shallower, cavern
which Will, with his gift for dealing with animals, could induce the
horses and mules to use in bad weather. He proved his competency for the
task a few hours after their arrival by leading them into it, tolling
them on with wisps of fresh grass.

"That settles it so far as they are concerned," said Boyd, "and we had
to think of them first. If we're snowed in here it's of the last
importance to us to save our animals."

"An' we're goin' to be snowed in, I think," said the Little Giant,
looking at the sombre heavens. "How high up did you say we wuz here,
young William, ten miles above the level o' the sea?"

"Not ten miles, but we're certainly high, high enough for it to be
winter here any time it feels like it. Now I'm going to rake and scrape
as many old dead leaves as I can find into the new stone stable. The
floor is pretty rough in places, and we don't want any of our beasts to
break a leg there."

"All right, you set to work