“He may hold out against one, but three will floor him, you mark my words,” Donald told the relieved fat boy.
And sure enough, finding that they were all against him; and perhaps realizing, after Donald had made him smell of the panther skin, that it did not bite, old Bray quieted down a little, so that they loaded him without further trouble. But he often gave a sudden lurch, and a snort during the balance of the day, as though catching a scent of the objectionable object, and feeling new alarm.
Donald had mapped out their course as well as he had been able, from the crude descriptions given to him by others. They knew that as the first day’s journey had really been wholly among the mountain heights, and this, the second one was for the most part down in the valley, so the third would
differ in every respect from those that had gone before, since they must cross the dreary stretch of sand that was known far and wide as a dangerous desert.
But they would be certain to have an abundance of water along, and by keeping their heads about them, surely there could not be any great peril come upon them while making this passage.
So they thought, for youth is ever optimistic; and a merciful Fate takes delight in hiding the future from mortal eyes.
The middle of the afternoon found them making fair progress onward, still in the valley, though Donald warned them that in all probability they would camp that night on the edge of the wide desert strip that lay between them and the region where the village of the cliff dwellers was located.
“I’m getting awful thirsty,” remarked Billie, smacking his lips; “and this water we’re carrying along in the canteens is hot, and don’t seem to go right to the spot. I hope we’ll run across a good spring after a little while; because a nice cold drink would please me more’n I can tell you.”
“Cheer up then, Billie, for chances are we’ll do that very same before a great while,” said Adrian; “because I saw where Donald here has got a mark on his map that means water, and we can’t be very far away from it right now.”
Donald said nothing one way or the other, though