"Yes, of course."
"And yet you camped right here? I shan't sleep a wink to-night."
"Don't be foolish, Emma. Let it be a reminder to us to be prudent with our water supply," soothed Grace. "I do not suppose this water hole existed at that time; did it, Mr. Lang?"
"It may have. Travelers have been known to give up and die of thirst when water was almost within reach of their hand. You will see more such as that as we get south," said Hi, nodding in the direction of the leaning cross.
"I suppose that, in most instances, they were persons who did not know the desert well," suggested Grace.
"Just so," agreed the guide. "Shall we go out and look at it?"
"Not to-night, thank you. The morning will do for that. It is not a pleasant thought to take to bed with one."
Hi got up and strode out to look at the cross, followed by Hippy. The guide believed in investigating everything. It was a precaution that he had learned after many journeys across the Great American Desert. It might not mark the resting place of a lost traveler at all; the cross might be a guide to water, or it might mean nothing at all. In any event Hi's curiosity must be satisfied.
"What do you find?" questioned Hippy, as he joined the guide by the leaning cross.
"The stones that held it up have been moved, as you see. They are scattered, some half covered with sand. Windstorm did that in all probability. Queer thing, but I don't see any indications of anything but wind having disturbed the place."