There were perhaps ten of the creatures, standing side by side so that the beaver King and his friends found their way completely blocked by this wall of living flame. Waves of heat radiated from their flaming bodies, and Twink and Tom had to blink their eyes several times to become accustomed to the glare of flame and light.
"Halt! You can go no further. Turn back at once to whence you came." One of the flame folk was speaking. He appeared to be their leader, since he was taller than his companions and his eyes glowed much more fiercely than the rest.
"Who are you?" asked the beaver King calmly.
"We are Dwellers of the Desert. We live on the shifting sands on the surface. Occasionally we visit the oasis just above, where there is no sand, but blue grass that glows with blue flame," the flame being answered.
"An oasis on the Deadly Desert?" asked the Shaggy Man incredulously.
"Certainly. Did you ever hear of a desert that didn't have an oasis?" replied the fire creature.
"Maybe not," muttered the Shaggy Man. "And I suppose the flame grass keeps the deadly sand from shifting into the tunnel."
"Exactly," replied the fire creature. "But we are not concerned with sand in the tunnel. There are other things much more objectionable—yourselves, for instance."
"How did you find out about the tunnel?" asked the beaver King, ignoring the fire being's insult.