Frequently he halted to listen; everything was still.

From this he inferred that his enemies had passed him, and were now stationed along the brink of the gorge in order to intercept him, and that he had gone far enough to risk a descent from where he stood.

It did not seem likely that the Navajos had posted themselves so far up the brink, since he knew it to be beyond the highest cave-dwellings.

Turning to the north, therefore, he soon found himself under the last trees of the mesa.

Beyond opened a whitish chasm, and the northern cliffs of the Rito rose like dim gigantic phantoms.
Here he knew the descent had to be made, but here also the most imminent danger was lurking.
The brink of the Rito on the south side is lined by shrubbery, with high timber interspersed; but ledges of friable volcanic rocks advance in places beyond this shade, crowning the heights like irregular battlements.