Gray gave a soft whistle of bewilderment. These were the boxes that were supposed to contain their emergency rations, that Delabar had purchased in San Francisco. The Syrian's name was written on them. He wondered fleetingly if Wu Fang Chien had been tampering with their baggage. But the boxes had clearly not been opened since they were packed. Also, the vinegar was of American make, and bore the name of a San Francisco firm. Had there been a mistake in shipping the order? It might be. Yet Delabar should have checked up the shipment. No, the Syrian must have known what was in the boxes. He had chosen the other two mules--knowing these few boxes were worthless. "I should have looked at 'em before I let Delabar go," thought Gray. "He is too far away now to follow. Now why----" That was the question--why? Delabar, from the first, had placed every obstacle in the way of the expedition. Even to buying bogus supplies. Delabar had not wanted Gray to succeed. He had used every means to keep the American from the Gobi Desert. He had tried to instill into Gray the poison of his own fear. He had attempted to seize the maps, showing the location of Sungan, which were of vital importance. Delabar had been Gray's enemy. Why? Gray had guessed much of this, when he ordered the other back to the coast. But he did not know the answer to this "why?" He puzzled over it much in the following days, and gleaned some light from his reasoning. It was long before he knew the answer to the "why?" It did not come until he had gained the desert, and seen the _liu sha_. Not until he had met with Mary Hastings and seen the guards of Sungan. Not until he had learned the explanation of much that he as yet dimly imagined. CHAPTER IX THE _LIU SHA_ Mirai Khan agreed with Gray that it would be useless to stay where they were until dark. They had no food. In spite of the risk of discovery, they must go forward. "If we sleep," the hunter agreed, "we will waken with empty bellies and our strength will be less than now. The time will come when we shall need meat; and there is none here. To the west, we may see a village or shoot a gazelle." Without further delay they unhitched the mules, packing the small remainder of Gray's outfit--a tent, and his personal kit--on one animal. The American mounted the other, not without protest from the beast, who scented water and forage. With Mirai Khan leading on his shaggy pony they made their way westward out of the hillocks to the plain. They were now on the Mongolian plain--a barren tableland of brown hills and stony valleys. No huts were to be seen. They had left teeming China behind, and were entering the outskirts of Central Asia and the Gobi Desert. A steady wind blew at their backs. The blue sky overhead was cloudless.