Then Dick remembered
the name, and now he saw where the desert got its pale-gray color.
A huge, lofty, fluted column of green was a saguaro, or giant
cactus. Another oddshaped cactus, resembling the legs of an
inverted devil-fish, bore the name ocatillo. Each branch
rose high and symmetrical, furnished with sharp blades
that seemed to be at once leaves and thorns. Yet another
cactus interested Gale, and it looked like a huge, low
barrel covered with green-ribbed cloth and long thorns. This was
the bisnaga, or barrel cactus. According to Nell and Mercedes,
this plant was a happy exception to its desert neighbors, for it
secreted water which had many times saved the lives of men. Last
of the cacti to attract Gale, and the one to make him shiver, was
a low plant, consisting of stem and many rounded protuberances of
a frosty, steely white, and covered with long murderous spikes.
From this plant the desert got its frosty glitter. It was as
stiff, as unyielding as steel, and bore the name choya.
Dick's enthusiasm was contagious, and his earnest desire to learn
was flattering to his teachers. When it came to assimilating
Spanish, however, he did not appear to be so apt a pupil. He
managed, after many trials, to acquire "buenos dias" and "buenos
tardes," and "senorita" and "gracias," and a few other short terms.
Dick was indeed eager to get a little smattering of Spanish, and
perhaps he was not really quite so stupid as he pretended to be.
Pages:
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129