Argosy All-Story Weekly, February 7, 1925 — page 123: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

= — xi .< — her. * THE: VALLEY horse and strapped it to the saddle, Then he went in search of Naylor’s horse, and led it around, to where Edna stood wait- ing. and watched him as he swung into the sad- die. She saw him wince as he swung up, but once he settled back against the cantle he smiled. “Now you wouldn’t think that a man would need two arms to do his ridin’. —But a man gets used to usin’ both, an’ when one is gone he misses it.” Saying nothing more he urged his horse northward, over the trail which had brought Edna to. the cabin the night before. Follow- ing him closely, she observed that when he reached the trail leading to Willets he veered - northeastward, and when half an hour had passed she became aware that they were riding in the gully where Naylor had roped Her horse was not in sight, and she presumed it had strayed. — However, she was not interested in the She kept scanning the surrounding country, dreading the appearance of a animal. — horseman. But she saw no signs of a rider, and she was relieved when Nevins led her into a maze of hills and cahons where they could not be seen from the- level country they had left. E For another half hour they rode—slowly, for. the trail was rouch and at i times hazard-_ Later they began to ascend a rise that ous. led to a plateau. Still they could not be seen from the section of level that had been left behind, and yet at times from between the shoulders of hills and through clefts in the walls of cafons they could see the lower country for many miles. They came, after a while, toa little level high among some ragged, towering peaks. Southward, shutting from view the lower country from which they had come, was a wall of granite perhaps a hundred feet high- er than the level on which they stood. To the right and left of the granite wall ran miniature cafions, corridors with rock walls and roofs, caves. In front of them, to the north, beginning at the bottom of a slope not more than a : dozen feet below. them, was a vast, green level. It stretched for several miles to 5 Ae 8A OF THE STARS. She mounted -first, cea turned her head — Te, = <a Ems 5 gt fee aaa = Pang : eae i se — lg at, OO a pr A a ne een a oS se hills that rimmed it, northward; east and west it merged into other hills. Near the center of the level ran a narrow stream of water, white and sparkling in the sun. Near by were trees that spread an in- viting shade. Over the level was a brood- _ing calm, a slumberous peace, a pervading atmosphere of aloofness and security. “Oh!” exclaimed Edna as the two halted their horses and sat motionless, ney absorbing the beauty of the picture, “isn’t it wonderful! How in the world did you happen to discover this place?” Nevins smiled. 3 “FE reckon I’m the only one that knows about it,” he replied. “ There’s only one way to get here—the way we came. You take any of the other trails and you run plumb into the hills and blank walls that you can’t see over. You’d never suspect there was anything on the other side. ‘ T’ve never heard of anybody findin’ this 593 place. Only one. He was a Swede, named — “Svenson.- days oh a flock of sheep. Not many. Maybe twenty-five. tains. “| happened toe be ridin’ over to Rignal’s that night. There was a good moon, an’ I - Saw Svenson an’ his Sees fads this direction. I followed him an’ saw him drive through the pass we took. After that I came durin’ the day an’ talked with him. He knew what would happen to him if he ever showed himself on the plains, an’ so he stayed here. ‘“ He didn’t bother anybody. Until the time he died ne one ever knew he was here. He wasn’t much of a talker an’ J never found out anything about him. But I came here one day an’ he was dead. Natural. “I didn’t want his sheep, an’ I reckon some of them are still here. Anyway, Pm hopin’ they’re here.” She detected a note of earnestness in his voice. “Why do vou hope the sheep are still here?” she asked. | “Mutton tallow is one thing that will draw the poison from an infection.” he said. “I’m goin’ to kill a sheep and get some tallow. ‘You find it near the bidneys, He came in here between two He’d followed the Rio ~ -Grantle down from the = moun- genes Hm — ee my has _ eae —= ae ee Ss eo = "comichooks.com_