“Jim and I are going to follow the creek a ways and see if there could possibly be any fish in it,” Tom said.
The latter two started off and Madge and Virginia started to walk along the creek in the opposite direction.
“Let’s cross the creek and see what’s over the hill on the other side,” proposed Phyllis to Gale.
The two crossed the creek on a series of stones placed just right for the purpose. From the other side they waved gayly at their remaining camp mates and started forward. Here the undergrowth was thick. In her hand Gale held the gun Mr. Wilson had given her. It was not her intention to be confronted unprepared by any more rattlesnakes. Jim had explained the working mechanism of the little gun and Gale was sure she knew enough about it not to hurt herself at least.
“Oh!” Phyllis jumped as something darted across in front of them.
“Only a jack rabbit,” Gale laughed.
“You never can tell,” Phyllis murmured, treading through the grass more warily. “I knew of a man once who tread on a snake.”
“That’s not as bad as finding one wound around your leg,” Gale declared. “Look, what’s that up there?”
Half hidden by a growth of cactus and tangled vines, yawned a dark cavernous hole.
“Let’s investigate,” proposed Phyllis. “It rather looks like a cave. I didn’t know they had caves in Arizona.”