of us an' five horses, on a pint of water an' three cans of tomatoes?
When that storm hits it's goin' to be hot. We've just naturally got to
make that water-hole! Come on, ride like the devil before she hits,
because we're goin' to slack up considerable, directly."

The cowboy led the way and the others followed, urging their horses at
top speed. The air was still cool, and as she rode, Alice glanced over
her shoulder toward the dust cloud, nearer now, by many miles. The roar
of the wind increased in volume. "It's like the roar of the falls at
Niagara," she thought, and spurred her horse close beside the Texan's.

"Only seventeen or eighteen miles," she heard him say, as her horse drew
abreast. "The wind's almost at our back, an' that'll help some." He
jerked the silk scarf from his neck and extended it toward her. "Cover
your mouth an' nose with that when she hits. An' keep your eyes shut.
We'll make it all right, but it's goin' to be tough." A mile further on
the storm burst with the fury of a hurricane. The wind roared down upon
them like a blast from hell. Daylight blotted out, and where a moment
before the sun had hung like a burnished brazen shield, was only a dim
lightening of the impenetrable fog of grey-black dust. The girl opened
her eyes and instantly they seemed filled with a thousand needles that
bit and seared and caused hot stinging tears to well between the
tight-closed lids. She gasped for breath and her lips and tongue went
dry. Sand gritted against her teeth as she closed them, and she tried in
vain to spit the dust from her mouth. She was aware that someone was
tying the scarf about her head, and close against her ear she heard the
voice of the Texan: "Breathe through your nose as long as you can an'
then through your teeth. Hang onto your saddle-horn, I've got your
reins. An' whatever you do, keep your eyes shut, this sand will cut 'em
out if you don't." She turned her face for an instant toward the west,