I told Hudson to return to La Paz before daylight and circulate the
report that I was coming for the purpose he had mentioned. I also
requested him to watch Jack and Dick, and if he saw them making
preparations for flight to come and meet me. We were met on the
outskirts of the town by Mr. Gray, who told us we were to be his
guests during our stay, and that his corral and store-rooms were at
the service of my men and stock.

Going directly to the house of the hospitable trader, we found it to
consist of well-furnished bachelor quarters, with several spare rooms
for guests. The boys were assigned a room by themselves, and I one
adjoining them, in which we found ample evidence that our host had
looked forward with pleasure to our visit and had fully understood
boyish needs and desires.

Henry, after exchanging his travelling-dress for a neat uniform,
appeared upon the veranda with glowing face and shining hair.

"Mr. Gray, how pleasant you have made our room for us! Have you any
boys of your own?" he asked.

"Only two nephews, Sandy and Malcolm, in the 'Land of Cakes,'" was the
reply.

"What a good uncle you must be to them!"

"Thank you, laddie. I hope the bairns are as fine boys as you and your
brother."

"You are very kind to say so, sir. May I ask you a question?"

"A dozen, laddie. What is it?"

"When you overtook us on the desert you said it was not far to Tyson's
Wells, and that we should soon be there."

"Ah! then you thought it a long way, sergeant?"

"Perhaps my terrible thirst had something to do with it, but it seemed
more than twenty-five miles. I thought you had a queer notion of
distances."

"Only a little deception to keep up your heart, laddie. I saw you were
in sad need of water, and I made a hard ride to send it to you, but I
wanted you to do your best to meet it. What do you think of the
shrinking properties of water when applied to a desert road?"

"Wasn't it great, though! Those last twenty miles your four barrels
shrank into nothing but a pleasant three hours' ride."

After dinner Mr. Hudson reported that he had dropped information at
the hotels and business places that we were here to meet a director of
the Colorado Navigation Company. We also learned from him that the
steamer _Cocopah_ had arrived that morning from up-river, and was now
lying at her landing, one mile below town, awaiting the return of the
director from Wickenburg. Both Mr. Gray and Hudson were of the opinion
t