The Border Legion

Soon they were on the trail. For Joan time always passed swiftly on

horseback. Movement and changing scene were pleasurable to her. The

passing of time now held a strange expectancy, a mingled fear and

hope and pain, for at the end of this trail was Jim Cleve. In other

days she had flouted him, made fun of him, dominated him, everything

except loved and feared him. And now she was assured of her love and

almost convinced of her fear. The reputation these wild bandits gave

Jim was astounding and inexplicable to Joan. She rode the miles

thinking of Jim, dreading to meet him, longing to see him, and

praying and planning for him.

About noon the cavalcade rode out of the mouth of a canon into a

wide valley, surrounded by high, rounded foot-hills. Horses and

cattle were grazing on the green levels. A wide, shallow, noisy

stream split the valley. Joan could tell from the tracks at the

crossing that this place, whatever and wherever it was, saw

considerable travel; and she concluded the main rendezvous of the

bandits was close at hand.

The pack drivers led across the stream and the valley to enter an

intersecting ravine. It was narrow, rough-sided, and floored, but

the trail was good. Presently it opened out into a beautiful V-

shaped gulch, very different from the high-walled, shut-in canons.

It had a level floor, through which a brook flowed, and clumps of

spruce and pine, with here and there a giant balsam. Huge patches of

wild flowers gave rosy color to the grassy slopes. At the upper end

of this gulch Joan saw a number of widely separated cabins. This

place, then, was Cabin Gulch.

Upon reaching the first cabin the cavalcade split up. There were men

here who hallooed a welcome. Gulden halted with his pack-horse. Some

of the others rode on. Wood drove other pack-animals off to the

right, up the gentle slope. And Red Pearce, who was beside Kells,

instructed Joan to follow them. They rode up to a bench of

straggling spruce-trees, in the midst of which stood a large log

cabin. It was new, as in fact all the structures in the Gulch

appeared to be, and none of them had seen a winter. The chinks

between the logs were yet open. This cabin was of the rudest make of

notched logs one upon another, and roof of brush and earth. It was

low and flat, but very long, and extending before the whole of it

was a porch roof supported by posts. At one end was a corral. There

were doors and windows with nothing in them. Upon the front wall,

outside, hung saddles and bridles.