scorpions and other reptiles.

But if the oasis itself was a pretty spot, it was made doubly so by
the contrast it afforded to the scenery surrounding it. On all
sides shot up frowning walls of rugged black rock which seemed to
have been torn and ripped in some remote period by a terrific
convulsion of nature. In places, too, the rock masses seemed to
have been seared by subterranean fires. Frank gazed upward at the
terrific character of the scenery about them.

"We shall need the rope-ladder," he announced suddenly after a long
silence.

"The rope-ladder?" inquired Harry, "what for?"

Frank laughed.

"I mean the rope-ladder we use in the Golden Eagle. As you know,
the only way to locate the cache is to strike a direct line down
from the nose of the upturned face. That will bring us to the small
cairn or pile of rocks that marks the Arab's hiding-place."

"He could hardly have chosen a better," remarked Harry. "Who would
ever guess, unless they had the key to the mystery, that these
mountains held such a fortune in tusks."

The rest of that day was spent in overhauling the outfit which they
would need to use on their expedition of the morrow. Luckily the
boots they wore had been fitted with "hob-nails" so that they were
ideal for the tough climb that they had ahead of them. Each member