“What kept you so long?” he asked.
“That over there,” replied Joe, pointing to the snake, which lay but a few feet away.
The naturalist ran over to it. Then he straightened up in surprise.
“A horned viper,” he pronounced. “Where’d you find it?”
Bob related the narrow escape at the top of the dune, not forgetting to point out Joe’s part in killing the reptile. When he had finished, Mr. Lewis shook his head gravely.
“Never leave camp without your rifles,” he warned them. “In a strange land anything is likely to happen.”
During breakfast the youths’ experience with the viper was the chief topic for conversation. Tishmak looked at the boys with a new respect as he heard the account of their daring deed.
As soon as the morning meal was over, the tent and provisions were packed back on the dromedaries, and the explorers continued their journey.
“How much ground did we probably cover yesterday?” asked Dr. Kirshner of Fekmah, as they followed a narrow way between the rolling sand dunes.