Ascending toward the covered landing, Micky heard the rustle of busy rodents scurrying along vertical tunnels in the thatchwork of dry brown fronds, as though they were pacing her, keeping her under observation.

That need attended to, she gathered up enough dry fronds to cushion her body, and went to sleep.

Instantly the dry fronds of the thatch that had been leaned against the bottom of the skins to fill in the gaps caught fire and the inside of the shelter was illumined by the sudden glare of flames.

And as we waited in the car Victor got out and loped over to the house and said a few words to an old lady, who promptly turned and went to the garden in back and began gathering dry fronds of marijuana that had been pulled off the plants and left to dry in the desert sun.

But the opening set me straight: "The wild hawk eyes read havoc in the Monday morning clouds leading the northwest wind over the mountains into the valley, ripping dry fronds from tall bent palms."

'They'll put dry fronds on top of the sago starch.'

I came presently into a hollow basin bristling with tall, brown, dry fronds about its edge, and I sat down under these to rest and cool.