The Pony Rider Boys in the Ozarks | Page 8

those deep canyons that had been cut through the
mountains by water courses during hundreds of years.
The wall on each side, while nearly straight up and down, was jagged
and broken, but so precipitous as to make any idea of descending it

impossible. There was not a bush nor shrub in sight until near the
bottom, where Tad discovered a thick growth of bushes on the edge of
the swiftly flowing water course.
A disturbed spot among these showed where the pack mule had fallen.
That he had not gone on into the stream and been swept away was due
to the matted growth down there. The others had joined Tad by the time
he had made up his mind that their guide had described the situation
correctly.
"What do you make of it, Master Tad?" asked the Professor.
"Nothing very encouraging."
"Whew! That's a drop!" exclaimed Ned, peering cautiously over.
"Where is our kitchen outfit?"
"There, where you see the bushes trampled down. What there is left of
it, anyway. But perhaps the canvas wrapped around the stuff has
protected it from serious damage."
"Little difference it makes to us whether or not," answered the
Professor. "The supplies are lost and that's all there is about it. We have
scarcely enough left to carry us through the day."
"No!" said Walter. "Then what are we going to do?"
"I don't know, Master Walter."
"We've got to get the stuff up here, that's all," answered Tad, with a
firm compression of the lips.
"Then you'll have to borrow a flying machine if you do. That's the only
way we'll ever reach the pack mule. Why, it's a mile down there--"
"Not quite," answered Tad.
"How deep do you think the gorge is, Tad?" asked the Professor.

"Oh, forty or fifty feet, I should say. I hardly think it is deeper than that.
But that is quite enough--"
Tad, in the meantime, had been considering the problem, thinking
deeply on the best means of solving it.
"Yes, I think I can do it," he decided.
"Do what?" asked Walter.
"Get the stuff up."
"How?" demanded Ned sharply.
"Why, go down after it, of course."
"Out of the question," answered the Professor, with emphasis.
"No, I think it can be done, if you will allow me to--"
"You mean, Master Ted, that you will attempt to get to the bottom of
that gorge and bring up the provisions?"
"Yes, sir; I'll try it."
"Impossible. I cannot permit it."
"I should say not," growled Ned. "If anybody goes it should be the
guide. He is an expert at climbing, I should imagine, and--" Tad
laughed.
"Why, my dear Ned, you couldn't even push Eagle-eye down there. For
some reason he seems to have a superstitious dread of that place. I don't
know why, for Indians are not supposed to be much afraid of anything.
I'll ask him. Eagle-eye, will you go down there and try to get the
provisions for us?" asked Tad, turning to the guide.
Eagle-eye shrugged his shoulders, at the same time giving a negative
twist to his body.

"Eagle-eye not go down there," he grunted.
"Why not?" asked Ned.
"Bad spirits live in waters. Bymeby come out and get Eagle-eye."
"Oh, shucks!" jeered Ned. "My opinion is that they wouldn't bother to
get you, even if there were any such things down there."
"Then there remains only one thing for us to do," said the Professor.
"And that?" queried Walter.
"Get to the nearest settlement as quickly as possible."
"That would take at least a day or two, would it not?" inquired Tad.
"Yes, I believe so."
"Then why not let me try--at least make an effort to recover our things?
Why, just think of the amount of stuff we are losing, Professor."
"But the risk, Tad. No, I cannot assume the responsibility--"
"I'll take the risk of all that. The only danger will be up here. I shall not
be taking any risks to speak of--"
"How do you propose to go about it, young man?"
"Simplest thing imaginable. I'll climb down with a rope around me, so
that in case I slip anywhere you can straighten me up. I promise you I
will not fall."
"The next question is, where are you going to get the rope?"
"I have one that is plenty long enough," answered Tad.
"You mean the quarter-inch rope?" spoke up Walter. "That's in the pack
that went over the cliff."

Tad Butler's face fell.
"Guess you are mistaken, Walt," corrected Ned. "You threw that rope
down when you were packing. I picked it up and it's in my kit on my
pony now."
"Hurrah!" shouted the other boys. "You can't down the Pony Riders."
Tad hurried to Ned's mount, and, pulling down the pack, secured the