As for the ponies, they raised their heads from where they were striving to get a little nourishment from some dust-covered twigs, and whinnied their welcome to their masters when they were saddled and bridled.
All was soon ready, when Chris raised his head to mark exactly where the sun had disappeared—a hard task, for the heat haze was thicker than ever.
“Where’s that star?” he said impatiently.
“Which star?”
“That one that goes down of a night three hours after the sun. The one my father used to guide us by in the early part of the night, and said that it was a planet.”
“I don’t know. I never heard him say anything about it.”
“He did to me. There, there. High up; I can see it now; but it looks faint through this thick dusty air, and it’s higher up than I thought for. It will be clearer, and lower down by and by.”
“Are you going to steer by that?”
“Yes, of course. Ready?”
“No; we must go and tell our fathers what we are going to do.”