A FEW yards above the level of the stream we found a large cave-like recess where an immense boulder had fallen from the canon’s side, and in this we prepared to pass the night. There were plenty of dry branches scattered along the brink of the stream; a cheery fire was soon blazing; fish that the Indians had shot with their arrows were soon broiling, and the Indians’ first fears seemed forgotten. With the roar of the stream in my ears, I fell asleep. How long I slept I do not know, but I was awakened by a blinding flash and a deafening report. Again came the vivid flash; a thunderstorm was raging on the land far above our heads, and even above the roar of the river I could hear the thrashing of wind and the torrential downpour of rain. Then to my ears came a louder, a new sound; a dull, steady rumble that seemed momentarily to increase. For a moment I was at a loss. Then it dawned upon me and with realization came deadly gripping fear. A flood was descending upon us! The stream, swollen with the heavy rain, had risen in the narrow confines of the cañon and was sweeping towards us. In a moment more we would be engulfed, swallowed up, utterly destroyed. The Indians realized their peril instantly. With wild cries of terror some leaped from the shelter of the cave and dashed madly down stream. In vain I shouted to them, trying to make them understand that their act was suicidal. My voice was drowned in the reverberating claps of thunder and the ever-louder roar of the oncoming flood. Others of the Indians, digging their toes into crevices in the cliff, clinging with fingers, struggled to climb beyond the reach of the hungry waters. But the cliff side was slippery, water-soaked. With heartrending screams they fell back, rolled down the bank and were lost in the blackness of the canon’s depths. Only the chief remained. Gabbling at me, gesturing wildly, he tried to make me understand something, some message that to him seemed vital. Then, finding it impossible, he sprang forward, tapped my coat, and slipping his hand into my pocket, drew out the codex. I was dazed, frightened, my mind in a turmoil, striving vainly to formulate some plan, some faint chance of saving myself from seemingly certain death, and I scarcely noticed the chief’s action. * * * * * [Illustration: I saw with amazement that in his outstretched hands he held my copy of the codex] * * * * *