iful creature before my eyes. There was no deception in
that--there could be none--no scheme could have contrived a contingency
so remarkable.

Ijurra might easily have known of the expedition without _her_ agency.
Its result he would have learned from the returned vaqueros. He had
time enough then to collect his band, and set after me. Perhaps she
even knew not that he was a leader of guerrilleros? I had heard that
his movements were shrouded in mystery--that mystery which covers the
designs of the adventurer. He had served in the school of Antonio Lopez
de Santa Anna--a fit master of deception. Isolina might be innocent
even of the knowledge of his acts.

I re-read Isolina's letter, weighing every word. Strange epistle, but
natural to the spirit that had dictated it. In its pages I could trace
no evidence of treason. No; Isolina was loyal--she was true!

CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN.

ELIJAH QUACKENBOSS.

While these reflections were passing through my mind, I was standing, or
rather leaning, with my back against the boulder, and my face towards
the wall of the mesa. Directly in front of me was a recess or
indentation in the cliff, carried groove-like upward, and deepening as
it approached the summit. It was a slight gorge or furrow, evidently
formed by the attrition of water, and probably the conduit of the rain
that fell upon the table surface of the mound.

Though the cliffs on each side were perfectly vertical, the gorge had a
considerable inclination; and the instant my eyes rested upon it, it
occurred to me that the precipice at this point could be scaled!

Up to this moment, I had not thought of such a thing; for I had been
under the impression--from what my companions had told me--that the
summit of the mesa was inaccessible.

Housing myself to more energetic observation, I scrutinised the cliff
from base to summit; and the more I regarded it, the stronger grew my
conviction that, without great difficulty, an active climber might reach
the top. There were knob-like protuberances on the rock that would
serve as foot-holds, and here and there small bushes of the trailing
cedar hung out from the seams, that would materially assist any one
making the ascent.

While scanning these peculiarities, I was startled by observing several
abrasions on the face of the rock. These marks appeared quite fresh,
and evidently made by some other agency than that of the elements.

After a short examination, I