In a little while Ring returned.

Whereupon Venters led his horse on to the break in the ground.
The opening into Deception Pass was one of the remarkable natural phenomena in a country remarkable for vast slopes of sage, uplands insulated by gigantic red walls, and deep canyons of mysterious source and outlet.

Here the valley floor was level, and here opened a narrow chasm, a ragged vent in yellow walls of stone.

The trail down the five hundred feet of sheer depth always tested Venters's nerve.

It was bad going for even a burro.