Finally, after several slips, and more or less excitement, they managed to gain the bottom of the canyon.
"Say, I don't remember this place any, Frank!" declared Bob, as he stared about him as well as he could by the flickering light of the lantern which his companion still carried, and which had served them well through all their descent.
"For a mighty good reason," replied Frank. "We were never here before."
"But this is the same old turtle crawl, isn't it; the barranca we followed up to the time we climbed the slope with our horses?" Bob asked.
"It sure is, only a lot farther along, Bob. Notice how the walls tower upon each side. I knew something about this, and that was why I held back when you wanted to come down here. But let's hurry. We've got to make that slope as soon as we can."
"Supposing the thing broke loose before we could find any place to climb out?" suggested Bob, looking up again with awe, as he stumbled along after his chum, who was already hurrying down the canyon.
"We might try to outrun it first," Frank replied, over his shoulder.
"And if that didn't work, what then?" the other continued.
"Nothing left but to climb the walls, Bob."
"Whew! then perhaps I'd better be keeping an eye out as we go along, and see how the land lies?" suggested the boy from Kentucky.