Old Tom 



u 



&quot; Rocky Mountain sheep ! &quot; exclaimed Jones. 

 Look! Well, this is a discovery. I never heard 

 of a bighorn in the canon.&quot; 



It was indicative of the strong grip Old Tom had 

 on us that we at once forgot the remarkable fact of 

 coming upon those rare sheep in such a place. 



Jones halted us presently before a deep curve 

 described by the rim wall, the extreme end of which 

 terminated across the slope in an impassable pro 

 jecting corner. 



&quot; See across there, boys. See that black hole. 

 Old Tom s in there.&quot; 



&quot; What s your plan? &quot; queried the cowboy sharply. 



&quot; Wait. We ll slip up to get better lay of the 

 land.&quot; 



We worked our way noiselessly along the rim-wall 

 curve for several hundred yards and came to a halt 

 again, this time with a splendid command of the 

 situation. The trail ended abruptly at the dark cave, 

 so menacingly staring at us, and the corner of the 

 cliff had curled back upon itself. It was a box-trap, 

 with a drop at the end, too great for any beast, a 

 narrow slide of weathered stone running down, and 

 the rim wall trail. Old Tom would plainly be com 

 pelled to choose one of these directions if he left his 

 cave. 



&quot; Frank, you and I will keep to the wall and stop 



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