Rocky Mountain Sam — page 205: what you’re looking at

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

196 ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. — uninterrupted light, was suddenly obscured by drifting. clouds, and when she again illuminated the scene, Firefoot and his party were seen just disappearing into one of the ~ orges. Z Tbs too bad!’ groaned the professor. ‘‘T’o have the ob- ject of our search almost within our grasp, and then to lose her this way, drat it! It’s powerful hard luck; but there’s no help for it. Our gas is nearly exhausted, and we must be mighty spry in looking out for another canon, where a supply can be had.” oe As the balloon rode gradually out of the canon into the open air, the first signs of the coming dawn began to streak the sky above the eastern peaks. By the time it was broad daylight, they were so fortunate as to find out oneof the best canons for their peculiar pur- pose that had yet been discovered. It was rather shallow, and broad and fertile, with innumerable. columns of gas issuing from one corner, while the surface of the remainder was delightfully turfed and. wooded, with a stream of pure water dashing through its verdant bosom. Upon landing, they first occupied themselves with clean- ing their clothes from the bloody marks of the recent en- counter and bathing in the clear stream; Mewanee retiring some distance into a cottonwood grove, where she busied herself in erecting a little leafy lodge for her individual shel- ter while the party should remain in camp. cai It was found that, though none of the party had come forth unscathed, all of the wounds that had been received were of a superficial character, which time would hea! with bnt little aid; Big Horn’s were the most severe, but after his bath in the stream, he seemed to think no more of them, and chatted away with Mewanee in her tribal dialect, as if ~ he were really building for himself certain future castles in which Indian fighting and buffalo killing would play but a second part. : Lhe professor built a fire; Sam returned to camp, after an hour’s hunt, with the carcass of a fine young buck on his shoulders; and by high noon they had eaten and drank their fill, and were ready to enjoy a well-earned. repose. It was agreed that they should defer any further voyaging until the following day when it was determined to set out in search of the renegade’s more remote fastness, of which Rube Tenyck had made mention, and which they hoped the (E(@) comicbooks