The people were almost in a state of mutiny, and ready to ask the Doctor if he had dragged them to this terrible blinding waste to perish from thirst; while it was evident that if water was not soon reached half the beasts must fall down by the way.
As it was, numbers of the poor animals were bleeding from the mouth and nostrils from the pricks received as they eagerly champed the various plants of the cactus family.
“Let us push on,” said the Doctor; “everything depends upon our getting on to that shallow lake, for there is no water in the way;” but with every desire to push on, the task became more laborious every hour,—the cattle were constantly striving to stray off to right or left in search of something to quench their maddening thirst, while, go where he would, the Doctor was met by fierce, angry looks and muttered threats.
It would have been easy enough for the men to ride on to find water, but there was always the fear that if they did, the Indians would select just that moment for marching down and driving off their cattle and plundering the waggons. Such an attack would have been ruin, perhaps death to all, so there was nothing for it but to ride sullenly on in company with the now plodding cattle, hour after hour.
“Why don’t the Beaver come back, Joses?” cried Bart, pettishly. “If he were here, his men could take care of the cattle and waggons, while we went on for water. The lake can’t be many miles ahead.”
“A good ways yet,” said Joses. “That mountain looks close when it’s miles away. Beaver’s watching the Injuns somewheres, or he’d have been back before now. Say, Master Bart, I’m glad we haven’t got much farther to go. If we had, we shouldn’t do it.”
“I’m afraid not,” replied Bart, and then they both had to join in the task of driving back the suffering cattle into the main body, for they would keep straying away.
And so the journey went on all that day through the blinding, choking dust and scorching heat, which seemed to blister and sting till it was almost unbearable.
“Keep it up, my lads,” Bart kept on saying. “There’s water ahead. Not much farther now.”
“That mountain gets farther away,” said one of the newcomers. “I don’t believe we shall ever get there.”