Yellowstone Jack: Trappers of the Enchanted Ground — page 13: what you’re looking at

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

. 5 w~ ss . & y! ov 1 TP Ne i 5 . 7 *' . wmyt Bg ~~ >) ~~*s er Ms ® ‘ Te » mo te ~~ 2», a ™ ry » . They say not aha semi res | kind of courage. Notone among them ie « could haye faced death without a hia tremor, but this was different. What fe iy ~ could skill or brute courage avail against a spook—a fom ae ¢ “Mebbe sh € gs a spook: I don’t know. mes hey say there 7s sech things in these ra --—pa ts. But I b’lieve she’s a good one, 1% po nen. I don’t think she’d do a feller any real hurt. Anyhow, I’m goin’ to try it on. rE she's, human, she’s bound to leave ae ome sort o’ trail ahind her, an’ I kin find We Lt by goin’ over the ridge,I reckon. You ‘a i ellers. kin ay here ; ef I don’t come pie ~ back— | “s i m wi’ ye. Brindle Joe mayn’t be much Tae Jue: ee Piss i ion go back on a pardner,” quiet Vs e trapper, though - has cheek was still pale. 7 us ae _ “We'll go ina caboodle, then,” added ¢ eely Hank. “ Five mountain men ’d oy Rertae to be a match for the devil hisself, i mg Sans: ki j alone a.teenty spook like that.” 3 Le’s pitch this car’on into the bresh, Nexlilee ‘Thar ain't time to clean up the | _ muss, but I don’t reekon any one ’ll come a this way afore we git back,” observed ry % See J ack, setting the example f self, | ‘a AE few moments later the little party ie passed out of the valley, reaching a _. point where the southern ridge might be W- ‘sealed by an active, quick-eyed, sure- Ws Socted man, and then they pecered curiously down into the adjoining | 4 valley. | 3 In this valley they had first noticed the 4 -apinit who had as suddenly disappeared, rf i without leaving any trace behind her, had . 8 vanished. as completely and mysteriously ye key as though she had dissolved into thin ) t. The surroundings, too, were well cal- ulated to arouse the strerstition of the ee trappers.’ This valicy had a reputation - second only to that popularly known among them as the “ Devil's Kitchen,” | Rear Hustis Lake. Many an unlucky ye trapper had journeyed thisher to “ make _ meilieine” at the Boiling Springs; many | a fabulous tale was solemnly told of the ee sty hinge sights witnessed, otf the madden- _ lug temptations resisted, of the marrow- ES # ee combats with spirits, spooks _ gfoblize, snd even with the master of ev 29 tg : 4 ’ é = F ae re OF THE ENCHAN witep VALLEY, + Hf you ‘re bound. to go, Yallerstone, eid aid bai tn thasa wild | atead, : il - | legends and traditions is a Sik moun tain man’s religion—too frequently his — only one. “fwould be a bold man who © would openly doubt these marvels. “T cain’t see any livin’ critter, onless 'e mought be them black-tail,” muttered » Yellowstone Jack. “Look beyond the white mound, — yender. I kin see somethin’, looks like a_ two-legged eritter squattin’ in the shade | o that bush-pine,” added Brindle Joe. 7 eain’é’ match eyes wi’ you, par rd on’y wish ’t Ll could. But ef you say eee I reckon it’s thar. Come, we kan down under kiver o’ this bresh =o enough, and then creep . up ahind the mound. ” pe - Now, that they had fairly entered npon the adventure, not one of the party. betrayed any hesitation. Yellowstone — Jack led the way, the others close at his” heels. Nor did they neglect any of their usual precautions, but kept a keen look- — out in every direction, not knowing what — moment might bring a score of vengeful, bloodthirsty enemies upon them. The bottom oi the valley was almost — devoid of living vegetation. Al! around were scattered littl mounds and minia- ture hills, of a dirty, ashen-grey hue, that afforded the trappers sutfticient cover, — thoroughly skilled as they were in the art of stalking. Here and there tiny jets of — foul-smelling vapour issued from the eracked surface. A dull, subdeéed, — rumbling sound came from beneath their feet, and more than once the crust seemed ~ to shake beneath their stealthy footfalls. — Cautiously Yellowstone Jack skirted the curious, truncated cone, that seemed composed of a dirty soda, and peered around the base of a broken column. A little ery of wonder broke from his HpScs <3 He saw two strange figures running swiftly toward him. One was un- doubtedly the spirit they had seen upon — the face of the cliff. The other appeared - to be an old woman, wild and weird- locking, her long snow-white hair fioating behind her, her hlmbs igh! partially protected by rudely-stitened skins. The two strange beings ran swiftly on until nearly opposite the trappers. Then they paused upon the brink of a large boiling spring, which in past ages had thrown up 2 caleareous deposit, ‘forming a “curb” nearly ten feet above the level. Upon this “curb” the two women now gazing uoen the asstoréshed eoiniclboolks.cotin <S