help find Pat, therefore, you declare yourself one
of us -- and are gladly admitted."

He rode along in silence. "Why was the feeling
so intense in the old days?" he inquired,
after a time.

"It was due to physical conditions," she replied -- "the
geography of the country. Water-holes
were few and very far apart, and to get from
one to another often entailed a journey impossible
to a man without a horse. To steal his horse,
therefore, was to deprive him of his sole means of
getting to water -- practically to deprive him of his
life. If he didn't die of thirst, which frequently
he did, at best it was a very grave offense. It
isn't considered so now -- not so much so, at any
rate -- unless in the desert wastes to the west of us.
Yet the feeling still lurks within us, and a stolen
horse is a matter that concerns the whole community."

He nodded thoughtfully, but remained silent.
Suddenly Helen drew rein. Before her was a
horned toad, peculiarly a part of the desert, blinking
up at them wickedly. He drew rein and followed
her eyes.

"A horned toad, isn't it?"

Helen shook her head. "Are you interested
in such things?" she inquired.

"In a way -- yes," he affirmed, doubtfully.
"Though I can't see good reason for their existence."
His eyes twinkled. "Can you?"

Helen was thoughtful a moment. "Well, no,"
she admitted, finally. "Yet there must be a

[[115]]

p114 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p115w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p116

v?