In a few moments his yelp sounded from lower down, at the base of the bluff, and it was now the cry of an intelligent dog that was trying to call some one to his aid.
Ellen grew convinced that the dog was near where Colter had said Bill Isbel had plunged over the declivity.

Would the dog yelp that way if the man was dead?
Ellen thought not.
No one came, and the continuous yelping of the dog got on Ellen's nerves.

It was a call for help.

And finally she surrendered to it.
Since her natural terror when Colter's horse was shot from under her and she had been dragged away, she had not recovered from fear of the Isbels.

But calm consideration now convinced her that she could hardly be in a worse plight in their hands than if she remained in Colter's.
So she started out to find the dog.
The wooded bench was level for a few hundred yards, and then it began to heave in rugged, rocky bulges up toward the Rim.