rse careened above the
pit. She now sat dumbly staring where the two had disappeared.
Nothing could she see of Van or his pony. A chill of horror attacked
her, there in the blaze of the sun. It was not, even then, so much of
herself and Elsa she was thinking--two helpless women, lost in this
place of terrible silence; she was smitten by the fate of their guide.

Van, for his part, looked about as best he might, observing his
situation comprehensively. He was safe for the moment. The ledge
whereon he was bearing a portion of his weight was narrow and crumbling
with old disintegration. The shrub to which he clung was as tough as
wire cable, and had once been stoutly rooted in the crevice. Now,
however, its hold had been weakened by the heavy strain upon it, and
yet he must continue to trust a part of his weight to its branches.
There was nothing, positively nothing, by which he could hope to climb
to the trail up above.

He deliberately rested and fostered his breath, not a trifle of which
had been jolted in violence from his body. Presently he raised his
voice and called out, as cheerfully as possible:

"Ship ahoy! Hullo--Miss Laughing Water!"

For a moment there was no response. Beth was to utterly overcome to
speak. She hardly dared believe it was his call she heard, issuing up
from the tomb. She feared that her hope, her frantic imagination, her
wish to have it so, had conjured up a voice that had no genuine
existence. Her lips moved, but made no audible sound. She trembled
violently. Van called again, with more of his natural power.

"Hullo! Hullo! Miss Beth--are you up there on the trail?"

"Oh, yes! Oh! what shall I do?" cried Beth in a sudden outburst of
relief and pent-up emotions. "Tell me what to do!"

Van knew she was rather near at hand. The bridge and trail were
certainly no more than twenty-five feet above his head. He could make
her hear with little effort.

"Brace up and keep your nerve," he instructed. "We're O.K. up to date.
Just ride ahead till you come to the flat. Let Elsa hold your mare.
Can you hear me plainly?"

"Oh! yes--yes--then what next?" replied the worried girl.

Van resumed calmly: "You'll find a rawhide rope on Elsa's saddle. Come
back with that, on foot. Then I'll tell you what to do. Don't try to
hurry; take your time, and don't worry." After a moment, as he got no
reply, he added: "Have you started?"

Beth had not budged her mare, for terror of w