much except to give us the benefit of your
advice, so take the mule over yonder and tether him where he can
browse," directed Butler. "Walter, did you tether the others?"

"I did."

"Come on, you lazy mule. I'm not going to tote you. You'll tote yourself
if you want a feed," growled Stacy, taking hold of the lead rope and
slouching off to the right. The bushes where they had placed the ponies
were about ten rods to the northward of the point at which the party had
landed. Stacy was apparently trying to see how near he could walk to the
edge without himself or the mule slipping down that glassy side of
granite-like rocks.

"Come along, you lazy cayuse," he yelled, giving the lead line a series
of tugs. It was like pulling on a dead weight, the pack mule being too
weary to hasten its lagging footsteps. Chunky turned around and taking
firm grip on the rope with both hands began to pull with all his might.
The mule braced himself. He resented this sort of treatment.

The halter suddenly slipped over the animal's head, and the pack mule
sat down heavily. So did the fat boy. Unfortunately for the mule it sat
down with its haunches slightly over the edge of the slope, and down it
went over the slippery surface.

"There goes the other mule!" yelled Walter Perkins.

"Fat boy him go, too," grunted Anvik.

They had failed to observe Stacy. What they were most interested in was
the sight of their pack mule sliding down the slope backwards in a
sitting posture. Alarmed as they were to see their stores disappearing,
the ludicrousness of the sight interested them. The mule came in contact
with one of the high places--a rocky bump, which bounced him up into the
air and turned him completely around. Down to the next obstruction the
animal traveled, principally on its nose.

Stacy Brown was only a few seconds behind the mule. The two had sat down
facing each other. The mule being the heavier had gone first and, when
once under way, his momentum carried him along with greater force and
speed.

With a wild yell, the fat boy, sprawling and struggling to catch hold of
something to stop his progress, began the descent. Below him he could
hear the rattle of tin cans, for the pack had broken open. It was
raining canned goods down there, but Stacy was not particularly
interested in this phase of the situation. He hit the bump over which
the pack mule had leaped, was hurled up into the air, where he did a
dizzy spin, then sat down with