He was new to the plains.
"Likely," said Jones, who thought it best not to tell all he knew.

Then he added to himself: "We've no time to lose.

There's water back here somewhere.

The Indians have spotted the buffalo, and were running the horses away from the water." The three got under way again, proceeding carefully, so as not to raise the dust, and headed due southwest.

Scantier and scantier grew the grass; the hollows were washes of sand; steely gray dunes, like long, flat, ocean swells, ribbed the prairie.