Page:Allan Dunn--Dead Man's Gold.djvu/99

Rh grew Yucca juniper and cedars with here and there a sycamore thicket. It seemed miraculous, this pleasant place hidden among walls of lava and limestone girdled by desert.

They rode along the rim, seeking a place of descent, and found at last an eroded split that was steep but practical. It was sunset before they gained the lower level, and the burros quickened their steps toward the needed water. They shivered in the change of temperature. Promontory Peak blazed in the sunset, but the valley was in violet shade and at least fifty degrees cooler than on the chalcedony heights. It did not take long to make camp after their first thirst was quenched.

"How about a fire?" asked Stone.

"Why not?" asked Healy. "Lots of wood. It's damned cold. Let's have a hot meal. I'll bet there are trout in the stream, too, for breakfast."

"How about the Indians?"

"They know we're here," said Harvey. "We won't see anything of them to-night. But I wouldn't be surprised to have 'em pay us a little visit in the mornin'. They'll want to see what kind of folks we are. How we're armed. Whether we'll fight if necessary. If we can be scared away, or bluffed. An' I want to tell all of ye right now that a 'Pache can size up a bluff quicker 'n most. You got to show 'em you ain't afraid or you're a cooked goose. They may not start anything. They know their boundaries better than they pretend they do. We got to establish in their minds that you have got a