“It must be a high fall to make such a noise,” added Betty.
“Tally, you scout for the torrent and, should it be accessible, we will follow and get a snapshot of it,” advised Mrs. Vernon. Then Sanderson spoke.
“You’ll find the falls over there, a short half-mile from here; but you’d better leave the burros out here; the undergrowth is too much for them. Tally can tether them back there in the bushes. While you go to the falls, I’ll do a little hunting in these woods for supper.”
“All right, Ranger, that’s a good plan; we’ll all meet you here in half-hour, eh?” agreed Mr. Gilroy, nodding at the Indian to do as Sanderson had advised.
With a friendly assent the Ranger rode away, and the others in the party watched his graceful form disappear behind the trees; then they turned to ride to the falls. Suddenly Julie turned to Hester and said: “Say! what did we do with the camera?”
“Captain remembered it, but you didn’t,” laughed she, nodding her head accusingly at the scout leader.
“My! I felt my heart sink in my shoes then,” sighed Julie, with a melodramatic roll of her eyes.
“You’re lucky to have such soft elk-skin foot-gear to catch your heart when it falls,” remarked Mrs. Vernon, teasingly.
The sound of the mountain stream which had called the girls to seek the falls mellowed to a distinct splashing as they drew nearer the ledge where the Guide had preceded them. When they reached the place where Tally stood, his horse’s bridle over one arm, the tourists gazed with astonishment at the scene of wild beauty.
The water, a small insignificant bit of water had it been running on the plains, was transformed into a veritable fairy’s veil of white spray, because of the height from which it fell. The group stood upon a crag which projected over a ravine and gazed up at the misty cascade which began its descent about fifty feet higher than the ledge where they were. It fell sheer down to a rocky basin twenty feet below the ledge, and thence it fell again to another depth of about fifty feet before it resumed its rushing career on down to the base of the mountain.