46 MIGHTY ANIMALS 



region. The three men from the museum rode horse- 

 back while the others found places in the wagon. 

 The weather was hot, and the farther they went the 

 hotter it became. The roads were rough and dusty 

 and sometimes little more than a trail. When, to- 

 ward the end of the second day, they came within 

 sight of their goal, they were thankful, although the 

 country was a barren spot fit only for sheep grazing. 

 They chose for the site of their camp a little stretch 

 of grassy ground near a narrow stream of water. It 

 was not such water as they could have found in 

 a country filled with verdure, for it was unpleasant 

 to the taste and not even good to look upon; but 

 it was the best there was, and so they were satisfied. 

 Soon the tents were pitched, after which a quantity 

 of the sagebrush, growing everywhere about, was 

 gathered for a fire. As this brush burns like tinder, 

 there was soon a roaring blaze. Supper was 

 cooked and eaten with a relish, although the fare 

 was of the plainest. By this time the sun had dis- 

 appeared and the air had become filled with a chil- 

 liness that made the three men glad to sit close to 

 the fire, smoking their pipes, sometimes telling 



