An hour after the Camp Fire party had eaten lunch and recommenced their journey, they discovered their possessions waiting in the neighborhood of Cottonwood Creek and watched over by one of Mr. Gardener’s men. Several weeks ago Mr. and Mrs. Burton had purchased the necessary camping outfit and sent them on ahead to be taken care of at the ranch.
So, the wagon joining the procession, the entire party journeyed on for another two hours.
It was Peggy Webster who finally selected the ideal mesa for the new camp, and as much for sentiment as any other reason. She was riding ahead when she chanced to see a mesa about twenty feet high, with a group of pine trees growing upon it and a portion of the ground covered with soft pine needles.
Giving the reins of her burro to Bettina, Peggy climbed alone up the steep side, in which there were jagged steps of sandstone inlaid with agate.
The Camp Fire party halted below. Some miles beyond they could faintly see the outline of giant cliffs.
Mrs. Burton followed her niece, finding the view from this particular spot beautiful beyond words.
“May we have our camp here if we can find water near?” Peggy entreated. “We can see the sunrise over the hills, and this is to be a new Sunrise camp.”
And Polly Burton nodded absently, thinking of another camp fire.
At the moment they were in the wonderful plateau country of Arizona and near the Painted Desert, which has no connection with the great Arizona desert to the south. Encircling them halfway around were giant hills and cliffs. The air was so clear one could see many miles. Small wonder that the restless Spanish adventurers of the sixteenth century came here to search for the seven lost cities of Cibola!
A little later Terry Benton reported that clear water was not far away, and the other girls followed their guardian and Peggy to the top of their enchanted mesa.