The sand lay in billows, and was in places very uneven, so that the
boat rocked dangerously from side to side; but it never quite tipped
over, and the speed was so great that the shaggy man himself became
frightened and began to wonder how he could make the ship go slower.
"It we're spilled in this sand, in the middle of the desert," Dorothy
thought to herself, "we'll be nothing but dust in a few minutes, and
that will be the end of us."
But they were not spilled, and by-and-by Polychrome, who was clinging
to the bow and looking straight ahead, saw a dark line before them and
wondered what it was. It grew plainer every second, until she
discovered it to be a row of jagged rocks at the end of the desert,
while high above these rocks she could see a tableland of green grass
and beautiful trees.
"Look out!" she screamed to the shaggy man. "Go slowly, or we shall
smash into the rocks."
He heard her, and tried to pull down the sail; but the wind would
not let go of the broad canvas and the ropes had become tangled.
Nearer and nearer they drew to the great rocks, and the shaggy man
was in despair because he could do nothing to stop the wild rush
of the sand-boat.
They reached the edge of the desert and bumped squarely into the
rocks. There was a crash as Dorothy, Button-Bright, Toto and Polly
flew up in the air in a curve like a skyrocket's, one after another
landing high upon the grass, where they rolled and tumbled for a time
before they could stop themselves.
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