Parry and Tad grasped Stacy by the arms and hauled him, dripping, from the alkali sink into which he had plunged.
They shouted with laughter when they saw that he was not hurt seriously.
"Well, of all the blundering idiots——" began Ned.
"That will do," warned the Professor, hurrying to Stacy's side. "Hurt you much, lad?"
"I—I fell in," stammered Chunky.
"I should say you did. How in the world did it happen?"
The guide explained, that frequently these thin crusts were found on the desert, covering alkali sinks, some being dry, others having water in them.
"And of course Chunky had to find one. He's the original hoodoo," laughed Ned.
"Oh, I don't know," replied the guide. "He has done us a real service by falling in."
"How's that!" questioned Tad.