plodded through the sand he wondered what would be the outcome
of his journey, even if he should succeed in getting safely across the
desert and beyond the mountain pass. He remembered that there was no
sign of water and no human habitation between the desert and the ranch
where his misfortunes had begun. He had seen no one there but the
Englishman, and he wondered whether he would find the place deserted
or whether he would run into the arms of other members of the same
gang that had lured him away. No matter. He would find water there,
and he was ready to face any danger or run any risk for the chance of
once more having all the water he could drink.

The sun was well up in the sky and the desert glowed like an oven. Hot
winds began to blow across it--light, variable winds, rushing now this
way and now that. They made little whirlwinds that picked up the sand,
carried it some distance, and then dropped it and died away. Wellesly
saw one of these sand clouds dancing across the plain not far away,
and instantly the hopeful thought flashed upon him that it was the
dust raised by some horsemen. He ran toward it, shouting and waving
his hat. It turned and whirled along the sandy levels in another
direction, and he turned too and ran toward a point at which he
thought he could intercept it. Presently it vanished into the heated
air and he stopped, bewildered, and for a moment dazed, that no
horsemen came galloping out of the cloud. He looked helplessly about
him and saw another, a high, round column that reached to mid-sky,
swirling across the plain. Then he knew that he had been chasing a
"dust-devil." He swore angrily at himself and started on, and when
next he swept the mountain range with his eye for the pass that was
his objective point he could not find it. Suddenly he stopped and shut
his eyes, and a shuddering fear held his heart. Slowly he turned
squarely around and looked up, afraid and trembling. There were the
Fernandez mountains and there was the pass he wished to reach. He had
no idea how long he had been traveling in the backward direction. A
sudden panic seized him and he ran wildly about, now in one direction
and now in another. Panting with the exertion he savagely grasped the
coffee pot and drained it of its last drop.

"Now I have signed my death warrant," he thought, as he threw away the
empty vessel. He sank down on the hot sands and buried his face in his
arms. For the first time his courage was all