"Hello! Wat on earf is dem?"
Sam turned in the direction pointed out by Ike, and to his amazement he saw the forms of four gigantic horsemen; but, instead of their riding along the solid earth, they appeared to be moving far up in the sky.
All were familiar enough with the phenomena of this land to know that the riders were on the ground and that the spectral figures, representing them in the heavens had their origin in the mirage which is so frequent and delusive in this land.
"Ulna has reached Hurley's Gulch, and those must be men who have come to search for us," said Sam after he had surveyed the figures for some seconds.
About the same time the horsemen must have discovered Sam and his friends, for the giant figures could be seen pointing and waving their arms, while the monstrous horses plunged across the sky with mighty bounds.
Again Sam hurried on till he came to a towering rock that commanded from its summit a view of the country round about.
Up this he clambered, Ike and Wah Shin following him with great activity.
On the summit of the rock there were a series of excavations, some of which were partly filled with water left there by the late storm.
This water was comparatively cool, and after drinking till satisfied, Sam looked in the direction from which he expected the riders.
To his surprise, they were only a few hundred yards away, and it did not need a second glance to convince him that one of these riders was Frank Shirley, and another was the man with one eye who had accompanied him on that day, that seemed so far away, to Gold Cave Camp.