Page:Edward Ellis--Alden the Pony Express Rider.djvu/251

. The appearance of the gorge suggested that a torrent of water poured through it, when the snows melted or the floods descended. Its width varied from fifty feet to two or three times that extent, and the irregular walls rose on each side almost as many feet. If the course lasted, it could not be more favorable.

The bottom of this peculiar ravine was broken at intervals by stones, and then only pebbles showed. It would have been easy for Dick to dash through on the gallop which seemed to be his natural gait, for it was comparatively level, but he chose of his own accord to walk. He was traveling round instead of crossing lots, as he had been accustomed to do, and the incident promised to prove another illustration of the proverb.

And then came the surprise. Dick had turned one of the many corners, his head dipping with each vigorous step, when he flung up his nose and snorted. The alert Alden in the same instant saw an Indian warrior coming toward him.

The redskin was a duplicate of the one who had launched an arrow at the youth several miles back. He had the same squat, sturdy