thirst. Her lips were parched and cracked and the sun beat
pitilessly down. So the hours passed till the stars began to pale
and a new day was at hand. Before sunrise the party had been
called, and, filled with excitement, made the wooden walls of the
National Rouse resound with the hum of preparation.

Now, though Peggy at midnight had fully determined to tell Mr. Bell
all she had overheard, Peggy, in the bright, crisp early dawn, felt
that to do so would be absurd. After all, the men might merely have
been chatting about the party, whose expedition was surely an
adventurous and interesting one. It might make Mr. Bell think her a
victim of girlish fancies if she went to him with the story, so
Peggy decided to remain silent. Afterward she was sorry for this.

As arrangements had been made with the ubiquitous Cash for burros
and ponies before the party left for the West, there was little or
no delay in getting started. The girls uttered delighted
exclamations as their little animals were led up to the hotel steps
by a long-legged Mexican who was to accompany the party to Steer
Wells, where the ponies were to be abandoned and a permanent camp
formed. From that point the dash into the alkali would be made by
aeroplane.

For Peggy there was a lively little "calico" animal which both girls
pronounced "a darling." But Jess was no less pleased with her
little animal, a bright bay with a white star on its forehead. For
the boys similar animals had been provided, while Miss Prescott's
mount was a rather raw-boned gray of sedate appearance. In her
youth Miss Prescott had done a good deal of horseback riding, and
the manner in which she sat her mount showed that she had not