Tonto was to meet the Lone Ranger and Dan in camp, but instead of following the trail, the Indian had ridden in a bee line which took him over land that was known to few. There was no life on the barrens, no life of any sort, not even stunted vegetation, and the sun beat down without mercy, and the wind drove sharp grains of alkali sand to bite the flesh of horse and rider. Tonto was glad the trip was nearly over, but when he topped a small rise, he saw something that caused him to rein up sharply.