and so intense my anxiety,
that to me it appeared an age. The heat soon became almost as great as
before the storm, and the atmosphere as oppressive, warning us that,
though thus far preserved, we were still placed in a position of great
peril. It was now that I felt the benefit of the firm reliance in the
goodness of Providence, which my father had ever inculcated, and which
at this juncture supported him.

"Courage, my dear boy," he exclaimed. "God has thus far preserved us.
He will still find the means of rescuing us."

As he spoke, the dark wall of sand, which had been receding from us,
after whirling in various directions, seemed to settle down in a line of
undulating mounds in the distance; and on every side the horizon once
more became entirely clear.

We naturally first tried to discover any traces of the Spanish cavalry;
and after straining my eyes for some time, I perceived a few dark
objects which seemed to be moving on towards the point which, from the
position of the sun, we judged to be the north. Some other objects
beyond them afforded us a fair hope of being able to find our way out of
this dreadful desert. I could not doubt that what I saw were the tops
of some tall trees, though at such a distance that their base was not
visible; indeed my father, who agreed with me that they were trees, was
of opinion that they grew on ground somewhat elevated above the sandy
plain.

Towards them, therefore, we steered our course, as the Spaniards were
also probably doing. Our horses, we fancied, must have seen them
likewise, or their instinct told them that water was to be found in the
neighbourhood. We looked round in vain for Ithulpo and the Indians.
Not a sign of them could we perceive, and it would have been madness to
have attempted to search for them. Indeed, had we found them, we could
have rendered them no assistance. I was in hopes, indeed, that Ithulpo,
whose horse was strong, and who I suspected knew the country better than
he pretended to the Spaniards, would have found some means of escaping,
and of aiding his countrymen. We had, in truth, still too much to do in
attempting to preserve our own lives, to allow us to think much of
others. It would be assuming to be above humanity, did I not confess
this.

The sun was already sinking low; and should we be unable to reach the
trees before dark, and be compelled to rest on the plain or wander about
it all night, we could scarcely hope to sur