the forehead, but of course
without any results.

The good effects of the water lasted us about a day. Then we began to
see things again. Off and on I could see water plain as could be in
every hollow, and game of all kinds standing around and looking at me.
I knew these were all fakes. By making an effort I could swing things
around to where they belonged. I used to do that every once in a
while, just to be sure we weren't doubling back, and to look out for
real water. But most of the time it didn't seem to be worth while. I
just let all these visions riot around and have a good time inside me
or outside me, whichever it was. I knew I could get rid of them any
minute. Most of the time, if I was in any doubt, it was easier to
throw a stone to see if the animals were real or not. The real ones
ran away.

We began to see bands of wild horses in the uplands. One day both
Denton and I plainly saw one with saddle marks on him. If only one of
us had seen him, it wouldn't have counted much, but we both made him
out. This encouraged us wonderfully, though I don't see why it should
have. We had topped the high country, too, and had started down the
other side of the mountains that ran out on the promontory. Denton and
I were still navigating without any thought of giving up, but Schwartz
was getting in bad shape. I'd hate to pack twenty pounds over that
country even with rest, food, and water. He was toting it on nothing.
We told him so, and he came to see it, but he never could persuade
himself to get rid of the gold all at once. Instead he threw away the
pieces one by one. Each sacrifice seemed to nerve him up for another
heat. I can shut my eyes and see it now--the wide, glaring, yellow
country, the pasteboard mountains, we three dragging along, and the
fierce sunshine flashing from the doubloons as one by one they went
spinning through the air.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

THE CHEWED SUGAR CANE

"I'd like to have trailed you fellows," sighed a voice from the corner.

"Would you!" said Colorado Rogers grimly.

It was five days to the next water. But they were worse than the eight
days before. We were lucky, however, for at the spring we discovered
in a deep wash near the coast, was the dried-up skull of a horse. It
had been there a long time, but a few shreds of dried flesh still clung
to it. It was the only thing that could be described as food that had
passed our lips since breakfast thirteen