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Suddenly the storm broke. From across the mountain peaks darted a vivid flash of lizhtning, followed instantancously by a ter- rific peal of thunder, which madc our frightened horses gallop forward entirely beyond our control. On we went, till sud- denly, to our horror, another blinding flash revealed that before us was a chasm streteh- ing as far as the eye could reach.

With all our might we struggled to restram the horses, but in vain. Over the

side of the chasm apparcently those

whom we were pursuing went; there was another wild shrick from the captive, and the next moment our horses, rccognising the danger when too late, reared almost perpendicularly, then fell headlong down the abyss ! I closed my cyes and fclt a strange choking 1 my throat aswe wentsheerdown, and the horse quivered "oy terror beneath me. A sen sation of drowning appeared to ensuc, then the air seemed to fan my cheeks, and wonderingly 1

opened my eyes again and looked around for my com- panion. We had fallen into a deep ravine, through

which swept a wide mountain torrent, and the horses were now swimming rapidly with the ficrce current.

“What an cs- cape ! T called out to Denviers, as 1 saw him still cling- ing to his horsc.

“I don’t know that we have much to be elated about,” he answered, “the sides of the ravine are almost perpendicular, apparently; to climb them is impossible, and it is quite likely that the current may bear us away into some greater danger.”

Again the cry of the peasant sounded upon our cars—this time beyond the sceth- ing watcrs.

“eep with the stream,” Denviers ex- claimed, “le has evidently been carried down

STRAND

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“ HEADLONG DOWN TIHE ADBVSS.”

MAGAZINVI. that way. After such an cffort as this we shall surcly rescue him b7

“Don’t you think that this torrent 1s becoming more rapid 2”7 1 asked, as my horse breasted the waters and carried me close to Denvier’s side. He looked at the current steadily, then replied - —

1 am inclined to think that it 1s; watch carcfully, and, if you sce anything to cling to, make for ity and L will turn my horse’s head that way and try to follow you.”

I was now lead- ing the way by a few yards, and soon found that my fears were well grounded, for the stream be- gan to sweep along at an alarming rate, while in the dis- tance a roar as of waters confined to narrow limits scemed to indicate that further danger lay ahcad. We knew that an attempt to return would be use- less, and on looking up obscrved that the sides of the chasm now met In a vaulted roof of a

reddish colour, through which a

light seemed occa- sionally to steal, from which we con- cluded that the storm was over, and that the moon was shining forth once more.

The noise of the waters now became almost deafening, and we could des- cry that ahead of us o was a passage scarcely large cnough for a man to pass through, for rocks scemed to rise like buttresses on either side of 1t. I pointed to the narrow defile, and asked my companion i—

“Do you think that we can get through that on horschack ?”

“T am afraid not,” he answcred, ““and, considering the splendid way in which our

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