f lava and sand rear its head from
the desert a short distance off, so we decided to make for that and see
if there was a crevice in its side where we might find shelter from the
baking sun.

"We left the horses hobbled while we scrambled up its sides to look for
any projection that would cast a shadow for us.

"The men separated when we started to climb, but we all met at the top
without having found any shade. The wind that blew across the desert,
was comparatively cool, however, so we sat on the uncomfortable spikes
of lava and planned where we might have something to eat.

"Ken turned to speak to me, and a great mass of shale broke away from
his feet and rolled down the steep sides of the crag. But he managed to
catch himself from slipping. Then we began breaking off fragments of
shale and tried to see who could throw it the farthest out on the
desert. We laid wagers, and one of the party said he would go down,
after a bit, and mark the ones that were prize-winners. That made us
laugh as no one would ever be able to find any individual chunk of shale
out on that wild place.

"The breeze that had been blowing rather too strong, now became
stronger, and then Prang, who was in charge of us, that day, shaded his
eyes with a hand and stared off at the horizon. We all gazed in the same
direction, but we were not experienced enough to know what it was he
saw.

"'My God, boys! slide down this crag as fast as you can--that's a storm
blowing across the sands. It will hit us in a few moments. Grab the
horses or they'll bolt and we'll all be lost on the desert!'"

"Gee! didn't we get down those awful sides. Ken slid more than half-way
down, then he lost his grasp on the side. His back and arms are all
scraped now, from the way he rolled the rest of the way."

The girls sympathized with Ken, but he laughed away the thought that he
had been too tender to stand such a test.

"Well, most of us got down and had caught our horses before the
sand-storm struck us, but two of our crowd had to stumble through the
terrific storm that blinded them. Had we not kept on calling and
shouting to direct them, they would have wandered away and been buried.

"It was an awful experience, but now that it is over, I'm glad we had
it. I will have _something_ to brag about when I'm at college, this
Fall."

Ken laughed. "I'd rather not brag than to go through such a hair-raising
time again."

"Do both of you boys intend going to college?"