car. You see, since I drove an ambulance in France I do not
exactly creep along the roads with my spirited little roadster."

"He did not object to the trip then?"

"Well, he did threaten to balk when I told him that we Overlanders
had planned to ride horseback across the Great American Desert,
starting from Elk Run, Nevada. However, he listened to reason. Tom
is such a dear," reflected Grace.

"Yes, reason in the form of Grace Harlowe Gray," nodded Elfreda
understandingly. "Should I ever have the misfortune to possess a
husband I hope he may be as amenable to reason. Where is Tom, by
the way?"

"He has gone out with Hippy Wingate to look for one Hiram Lang,
known hereabouts as Hi Lang, the man who is to act as our guide
and protector across the desert. He is Mr. Fairweather's cousin,
you will recall, and my one great hope is that he may prove to be
as fine a character as the man who piloted us over the Old Apache
Trail last summer."

"I sincerely hope, for our sake, that he knows his business,"
nodded Elfreda Briggs.

"Where did you leave the girls?" questioned Grace.

"I left Emma Dean, Anne Nesbit and Nora Wingate at the general
store where they were selecting picture cards of wild west scenes
to send to the folks back home. By the way, when does Tom leave