They woke early the next morning and continued their journey before it got hot. They were high enough to see far out into the desert. Occasionally they would see a car on a dirt road, but most of the time all they saw was endless desert. Jonathan was happy about that. He was enjoying their outing, though he confessed to being hungry.
Alex said they were close to where he suspected they might find water, so he divided his attention between the horse and their back trail. He was certain they were being followed, but never said why. No one else saw anything that would indicate anyone was following them.
They found the water in an unexpected place. They were on a ridge below a peak when the horse perked its ears and nickered. There was a place that looked like part of the mountain side had collapsed, forming a tiny valley with a depression where water collected from a spring coming out of the mountain. There were deer and antelope tracks at the water's edge and lots of grass. Alex refilled the canteen from the spring while the horse drank from the pool. Afterward he let the horse graze while he checked to see if anyone followed.
Carmen watched as he climbed the slope and lay on his stomach at the top where he could look down the mountain. He stayed there a long time and when he returned, he took Carmen to the side.
"There are two men following us on horseback. I want you and the children to stay here. I'm going to see if I can discourage them."
Carmen frowned. "What do you think you can do? Don't shoot at them, Alex. They might be trying to rescue us."
He shook his head. "They're not trying to rescue us, Carmen."
"How can you be so sure?"
"I recognized one of them."
There was only one man he could recognize, and that was the man who had captured them. "Be careful, Alex."
He nodded. "I'll try to lead them in another direction. Follow this trail. Jonathan can lead you. We haven't made near the progress I had hoped, but you should get there before dark. I'll try to get more horses."
He handed the rifle to her and mounted the horse. When he reached down for the rifle, she handed it to him.
If he was encouraging them to leave without him, it was because he thought he might not make it back. She clutched his leg. "Don't take unnecessary risks, Alex."
He gathered the reins and looked down at her. "Carmen, what do you think they're going to do if they catch up with us?"