lighter than the bordering gray, wound down the
valley floor. Once a river had flowed there, leaving only a forlorn
trace down the winding floor of this forlorn valley.

Movement on the part of Warren attracted Cameron's attention. Evidently
the old prospector had recovered his sight and some of his strength,
for he had arisen, and now began to walk along the arroyo bed with his
forked peach branch held before him. He had clung to the precious bit
of wood. Cameron considered the prospect for water hopeless, because
he saw that the arroyo had once been a canyon, and had been filled with
sands by desert winds. Warren, however, stopped in a deep pit, and,
cutting his canteen in half, began to use one side of it as a scoop.
He scooped out a wide hollow, so wide that Cameron was certain he had
gone crazy. Cameron gently urged him to stop, and then forcibly tried
to make him. But these efforts were futile. Warren worked with slow,
ceaseless, methodical movement. He toiled for what seemed hours.
Cameron, seeing the darkening, dampening sand, realized a wonderful
possibility of water, and he plunged into the pit with the other half
of the canteen. Then both men toiled, round and round the wide hole,
down deeper and deeper. The sand grew moist, then wet. At the bottom
of the deep pit the sand coarsened, gave place to gravel. Finally water
welled in, a stronger volume than Cameron ever remembered finding on
the desert. It would soon fill the hole and run over. He marveled at
the circumstance. The time was near the end of the dry season.
Perhaps an underground stream flowed from the range behind down to the
valley floor, and at this point came near to the surface. Cameron had
heard of such desert miracles.

The finding of water revived Cameron's flagging hopes. But they were
short-lived. Warren had spend himself utterly.

"I'm done. Don't linger," he whispered. "My son, go--go!"

Then he fell. Cameron dragged him out of the sand pit to a sheltered
place under the ledge. While sitting beside the failing man Cameron
discovered painted images on the wall. Often in the desert he had
found these evidences of a prehistoric people. Then, from long habit,
he picked up a piece of rock and examined it. Its weight made him
closely scrutinize it. The color was a peculiar black. He scraped
through the black rust to find a piece of gold. Around him lay
scattered heaps of black pebbles and bits of black, weathered ro