“That sounds like a good plan. Somewhere kind of dry I hope,” he added. With the clouds overhead the sunlight was fading more quickly than usual. By the time they reached the rocks it was just about dark. Cam got down to lead the horse by foot as they looked for a good spot to camp.<br/><br/>“There – the rock wall kicks out enough to form a rainshadow. It’s not quite a cave, but it’s better than nothing. All three of us can fit under it. I’ll take care of Bronzey if you look for anything that will burn. Agreed?”<br/><br/>The area under the outcrop was mostly but not completely dry. It took several minutes for Cam to get the load off of Bronzey who was by then completely stressed out and exhausted. Working by flashlight Cam fished out his horse’s feed bag and filled it up with Bronze’s evening meal.<br/><br/>“You doing OK?” he asked Mare as she stepped back into sight carrying some waterlogged brush. Nights in the desert were always cold – even in the middle of summer – but this night’s dampness made things much worse. Cam was utterly soaked and shivering but still managed to find a smile for Mare.<br/><br/>He asked her to set down the brush while he retrieved a few things. When he returned he squirted a dash of some kind of fluid over the wood and then set it on fire with a cigarette lighter. He then tore pages out of an old paperback novel to feed the flames. Once the fire was going he turned back to his gear and fished out a towel and sleeping bag, both of which were relatively dry.<br/><br/>“Here, you get first dibs on the towel, and you can have the sleeping bag. I’ll trade you for the poncho,” he added with clattering teeth as he warmed his hands over the small fire.