a matter
of self-protection. The desert has got such a devil of a fight for
existence, without shade and practically without water, that it can't
afford to take any other chance of extermination, and so it protects
itself with needles here and spears there and sabers at other places and
roots that strike down to China everywhere. First thing we are going to
get is some soap."

"Great hat!" exclaimed Donald. "If you wanted soap why didn't you bring
some?"

"For all you know," laughed Linda, "I may be going to education you up a
little. Dare you to tell me how many kinds of soap I can find today that
the Indians used, and where I can find it."

"Couldn't tell you one to save my life," said Donald.

"And born and reared within a few miles of the desert!" scoffed Linda.
"Nice Indian you'd make. We take our choice today between finding
deer-brush and digging for amole, because the mock oranges aren't ripe
enough to be nice and soapy yet. I've got the deer-brush spotted, and
we'll pass an amole before we go very far. Look for a wavy blue-green
leaf like a wide blade of grass and coming up like a lily."

So together they went to the deer-brush and gathered a bunch of flowers
that Linda bound together with some wiry desert grass and fastened to
her belt. It was not long before Donald spied an amole, and having found
one, discovered many others growing near. Then Linda led the way past
thorns and brush, past impenetrable beds of cholla, until they reached
a huge barrel cactus that she had located with the glasses. Beside this
bristling monstrous growth Linda paused, and reached for the axe, which
Donald handed to her. She drew it lightly across the armor protecting
the plant.

"Short of Victrola needles?" she inquired. "Because if you are, these
make excellent ones. A lot more singing quality to them than the steel
needles, not nearly so metallic."

"Well, I am surely going to try that," said Donald. "Never heard of such
a thing."

Linda chopped off a section of plant. Then she picked one of the knives
from the bucket and handed it to him.

"All right, you get what you want," she said, "while I operate on the
barrel."

She set her feet firmly in the sand, swung the axe, and with a couple of
deft strokes sliced off the top of the huge plant, and from the heart of
it lifted up half a bucketful of the juicy interior, with her dipper.

"If we didn't have drink, here is where we would get it, and mighty good
it is," s