"No; so much the worse for us! There is no water there. No need to look. The tank is empty. Some wandering prospector has emptied it to save his burros and fill his canteen," announced the guide.
"What are we going to do, then!" queried Ned.
"Do without it. We shall have to give the stock a very little of our fresh supply, saving only enough out of it for our own breakfast and a canteen full apiece to take with us on the morrow. I think I shall be able to find a river about ten miles below here, providing it has not changed its course or gone dry. The water here in this country is as fickle as the desert itself."
"What if we should fail to find any?" breathed Tad.
"Well, you know, neither man nor beast can travel far on the desert without it. But we'll find some to-morrow. Don't worry," soothed the guide, though in his innermost heart he was troubled. That this water hole should prove to be dry did not promise well for those that were to follow.
CHAPTER IX
THE BOYS DISCOVER A RIVER
"Where's that river you were talking about?" demanded the lads when the outfit pulled up at noon next day.
"Don't you see it?" smiled Parry.