river here. They ought to see the Drainage Canal!" and he laughed.
"What do you suppose they would say to the Mississippi River?"

"Just what Rhoda said she thought of it when she first saw that
noble stream: That it was an awful waste of land to put so much
water on it! You know there are sections of this country down here
where it rains only once in about eight years."

They reached the river's edge. It was light enough here to see what
they were about. Both knelt down and laved their faces and hands
and, as Nan said, "wiggled the winkers out of their eyes."

Walter produced a clean towel, for Nan had forgotten hers, and one
on one end and one on the other, they dried their faces and hands.
Nan's hair was in two firm plaits, and she would not dress it anew
until later.

"I don't want to wake up the tribe. They are sleeping so soundly,"
she explained.

"There's that funny call again!" exclaimed Walter, stopping in a
vigorous scrubbing of his face with the towel to listen.

"Come on!" cried Nan under her breath. "We must find out what that
means."

They started for the campfire where the cooks were at work, and
ran, clinging to each other's hand. Before they reached the cleared
space about the Rose Ranch chuck wagon, a figure loomed up before
them.