ow dust at the base of the rim wall. The mere sight
of them was sufficient to make a man tremble.

"Hold in the dogs, Frank," I called. "Listen. I think I heard a yell."

From far above came a yell, which, though thinned out by distance, was
easily recognized as Jones's. We returned to the opening of the break,
and throwing our heads back, looked up the slide to see him coming down.

"Wait for me! Wait for me! I saw the lion go in a cave. Wait for me!"

With the same roar and crack and slide of rocks as had attended our
descent, Jones bore down on us. For an old man it was a marvelous
performance. He walked on the avalanches as though he wore seven-league
boots, and presently, as we began to dodge whizzing bowlders, he
stepped down to us, whirling his coiled lasso. His jaw bulged out; a
flash made fire in his cold eyes.

"Boys, we've got Old Tom in a corner. I worked along the rim north and
looked over every place I could. Now, maybe you won't believe it, but I
heard him pant. Yes, sir, he panted like the tired lion he is. Well,
presently I saw him lying along the base of the rim wall. His tongue
was hanging out. You see, he's a heavy lion, and not used to running
long distances. Come on, now. It's not far. Hold in the dogs. You there
with the rifle, lead off, and keep your eyes peeled."

Single file, we passed along in the shadow of the great cliff. A wide
trail had been worn in the dust.

"A lion run-way," said Jones. "Don't you smell the cat?"

Indeed, the strong odor of cat was very pronounced; and that, without
the big fresh tracks, made the skin on my face tighten and chill. As we
turned a jutting point in the wall, a number of animals, which I did
not recognize, plunged helter-skelter down the canyon slope.

"Rocky Mountain sheep!" exclaimed Jones. "Look! Well, this is a
discovery. I never heard of a bighorn in the Canyon."

It was indicative of the strong grip Old Tom had on us that we at once
forgot the remarkable fact of coming upon those rare sheep in such a
place.

Jones halted us presently before a deep curve described by the rim
wall, the extreme end of which terminated across the slope in an
impassable projecting corner.

"See across there, boys. See that black hole. Old Tom's in there."

"What's your plan?" queried the cowboy sharply.

"Wait. We'll slip up to get better lay of the land."

We worked our way noiselessly along the rim-wall curve for several
hundred yards and came to a halt