a half dozen more whirling
in our direction. We're going to have a sand storm."

Ned looked with interest. The "dust devils," rising up like water
spouts, danced over the surface of the sand. They were a half dozen,
then a dozen, then twenty. A sharp wind struck the faces of the two
fugitives, and it had an edge of fine sand that stung. All the "dust
devils" were merged and the air darkened rapidly. The cloud of dust
about them thickened. They drew their sombreros far down over their
eyes, and rode very close together. They could not see twenty yards
away, and if they became separated in the dust storm it was not likely
that they would ever see each other again. But they urged their horses
on at a good rate, trusting to the instinct of the animals to take them
over a safe course.

Ned had not only pulled the brim of his sombrero down over his eyes, but
he reinforced it with one hand to keep from being blinded, for the time,
by the sand, but it was hard work. As a final resort he let the lids
remain open only enough for him to see his comrade who was but three
feet away. Meanwhile, he felt the sand going down his collar, and
entering every opening of his clothing, scratching and stinging his
skin. The wind all the time was roaring in his ears, and now and then
the horses neighed in alarm. But they kept onward. Ned knew that they
were passing dips and swells, but he knew nothing else.

The storm blew itself out in about three hours. Ned and Obed emerged
from an obscurity as great as that of night. The wind ceased shrieking
and was succeeded by a stillness that was almost deathly in comparison.
The sun came out suddenly, and shone brightly over the dips and swells.
But Ned and Obed looked at each other and laughed. Both were so thickly
plastered with sand and dust that they had little human semblance.

Ned shook himself, and a cloud of dust flew from him, but so much
remained that he could not tell the difference.

"I think we'd better take a drink out of our water bottles," said Obed.
"I'd like mighty well to have a bath, too, but I don't see a bath tub
convenient. Is there any sign of our friends, the enemy, Ned?"

"None," replied Ned, examining the horizon line. "There is absolutely
nothing within view on the plains."

"Don't you fret about 'em. They'll come. They'll spread out and pick up
our trail just as they do every morning."

Obed spoke dispassionately, as if he and Ned were not concerned in it.
His predi