On the surface of this fluid sand, one could find bits of brilliant stone, crystals and agates and onyx, and petrified wood as red as blood. Dried toads and lizards were to be found there, too. Birds, decomposing more rapidly, left only feathered skeletons. After a little reconnoitering, Mrs. Tellamantez declared that it was time for lunch, and Ray took his hatchet and began to cut greasewood, which burns fiercely in its green state. The little boys dragged the bushes to the spot that Mrs. Tellamantez had chosen for her fire.
Mexican women like to cook out of doors.
After lunch Thea sent Gunner and Axel to hunt for agates. If you see a rattlesnake, run. If Ray would let me take the hatchet, I could kill one all right. Mrs. Tellamantez smiled and said something to Johnny in Spanish. They call him the house snake.