THE PALM Ned awoke about noon.

The morning had been cold, but having been wrapped very thoroughly in the great serape, he had remained snug and warm all through his long sleep.

He rose very cautiously, lest the spikes and thorns should get him, and then went to a comparatively open place among the giant cactus stems whence he could see over the hills and valleys.
He saw in the valley nearest him the flat roofs of a small village.
Columns of smoke rose from two or three of the adobe houses, and he heard the faint, mellow voices of men singing in a field.

Women by the side of a small but swift stream were pounding and washing clothes after the primitive fashion.
Looking eastward he saw hills and a small mountain, but all the country in that direction seemed to be extremely arid and repellent.

The bare basalt of volcanic origin showed everywhere, and, even at the distance, he could see many deep quarries in the stone, where races older, doubtless, than Aztecs and Toltecs, had obtained material for building.
It was always Ned's feeling when in Mexico that he was in an old, old land, not ancient like England or France, but ancient as Egypt and Babylon are ancient.
He had calculated his course very carefully, and he knew that it would lead through this desert, volcanic region, but on the whole he was not sorry.