"Yes, yes. Oh, yes, I understand," nodded the Professor. "I recall having heard of something of the kind in hot countries, and----"
"Is this a hot country?" asked Stacy innocently.
"No, you ninny; this is a section of Greenland that"s been dropped down here by an earthquake or something," laughed Walter.
"You"re mistaken. It was washed down by the flood," corrected Ned.
All this helped to pa.s.s away the hours as well as to make the boys forget their troubles for the time being. Perhaps the lads did not fully realize the extent of their predicament. Not so the guide, however. He knew that they must find water soon. Not many hours would pa.s.s before the stock, unable to stand the strain longer, would give out, leaving the party in a serious plight. They would then be without water, and without horses to take them to water. The wild stallions, however, were accustomed to going without drink for long periods at a time, so that they were doing much better than the rest of the stock.
Tom Parry reasoned that they would be able to go through that day and part of the next without fresh supply, and that no serious consequences would result from it. Beyond that, he did not attempt to forecast what the result would be.
Late that afternoon, without having informed his charges, Parry varied his course, turning more to the west of south, eventually picking up a copper colored b.u.t.te that rose out of the desert. Reaching it at last, Parry dismounted, and, bidding the others wait for him, he climbed up the rocky sides of the miniature mountain, quirt in hand.
They watched him until he had disappeared around the opposite side of the b.u.t.te. When they caught sight of him again Tom had descended to the desert, and was approaching them along the base of the mountain.
"Anything encouraging?" called the Professor.
Parry shook his head.
"Why can"t we all go up there and get a breath of fresh air? There must be some breeze on the top of the mountain," suggested Ned.
"No, I couldn"t think of it," replied the guide firmly.
"Why not, please?" asked Walter.
"Because you might not come back," replied the guide, with a grim compression of the lips.
Later, upon being pressed by Tad for his reasons, he confided to the lad that there were snakes on the b.u.t.te. He said he did not care to tell that to the boys, adding that "what they don"t know won"t hurt them."
Camp was made at dusk, some five miles further on, much to the relief of man and beast, for it had been the most trying day they had experienced.
The boys threw off their sombreros, shaking the dust from their heads.
They then removed their clothes, giving them a thorough beating. After a brisk rub down with dry bath towels, the lads announced themselves as ready for supper.
"Our dry spread," Ned Rector called it, for not a drop of anything did they have to drink. They had drained their canteens of what little remained in them.
"It isn"t good for one to drink with meals anyway," comforted Stacy.
"That"s what my uncle"s doctor says," he explained, munching his bacon, forcing it down his parched throat.
Chunky was a philosopher, but he was unaware of the fact.
"That is right. Not until an hour and a half after meals," agreed the Professor. "I imagine we shall have to wait longer than that this time."
"Never mind; we"ll pull through somehow. We always have," encouraged Tad cheerfully. "We"ve gotten out of some pretty tight places, and I am sure we"ll manage to weather this gale in one way or another."
"Gale? Huh! I wish we had a gale to weather," murmured Walter.
"Providing it was a wet one," added Stacy.
"That"s so. Now wouldn"t it be fine to have a rainstorm?" agreed Ned, with enthusiasm.
"We could cuddle in our tents and listen to the raindrops patter on the roof," suggested Stacy.
"No; we"d lie down on our backs outside, open our mouths wide----"
"Like a nest of young robins," laughed Tad.
"Yes. Only we"d fill our mouths with water instead of----"
"Boys, boys!" warned the Professor. "I fear you are drifting into questionable dinner topics again."
"Why, we"re talking about water, Professor," replied Ned in a tone of innocent surprise. "Surely you do not object to that?"
"Not so long as you confine your remarks to the subject of water. That seems to be our princ.i.p.al need at the present time."
"Speaking of water----" began Chunky.
"Hold on; is this a story or a joke?" interrupted Ned.
"I heard of a case like ours once," continued the fat boy, without heeding the interruption. "A party of travelers on the desert found themselves without water. In the party was a bookkeeper. He was from the East. Well, they were thinking about dying from thirst. But they didn"t. The bookkeeper saved them."
There was silence in the group for a moment.
"I"ll be the goat. How did he save them?" asked Ned.
"He had a fountain pen," replied the fat boy sagely.
"Y-e-o-w!" howled the Pony Rider Boys. "Put him out! Put him out!"
CHAPTER XXI
OFF ON A DRY TRAIL
"We shall have to divide up our forces to-day, Professor. We"ll make a desperate effort to find a water hole," announced Tom Parry.
"What do you propose doing? You mean you"re going to let us help you?"
"Yes."
"I"m glad."
"We"ll make a big pull to-day. Should we fail to find water there is only one thing left for us to do."
"And that?"