They had outdistanced the other car, for Judge Breckenridge was driving slowly for the sake of the invalid.
When they saw the foothills ahead of them, Kit began to get excited.
"I've been up that road," she exclaimed. "Once Dad and I went up to
Jasper Crowe's claims to sell him a horse."
But Shirley was staring ahead. Suddenly she cried: "There's a lake! Isn't it refreshing after so many miles of desert? I had no idea you had such large bodies of water in this country."
The driver turned and glanced at Kit, then spoke to Shirley: "How far away do you reckon that lake is, Miss?"
"A mile!" replied Bet decidedly.
"No, it's more than that," corrected Shirley. "I remember of reading somewhere that distances in the desert are very deceiving. It's probably a lot farther off than it seems. I'll say five miles."
"Let's hurry and get there so we can eat our lunch at the water's edge," suggested Joy.
"That's an idea!" replied Matt with a sly glance at Kit. "We'll try and get there by lunch time."
"And look at the lovely trees!" cried Joy. "It's like an oasis in the desert, isn't it?"
But half an hour later they were no nearer the lake than when they had first seen it. A haziness now hung over the water, partly hiding it, and the trees seemed to be floating in mid air.