Chapter Thirty-FourLong before he collapsed, Dixon shredded his jacket and gunbelt and tramped as if in a daze across the harsh, barren plain. No longer aware of his surroundings, his mind a confusion of shapes, sounds, colours and images, the one overpowering sensation his burning throat, gradually growing drier with each passing step. Above him, the sun beat down, not as strong as in summer but still unbearable. Listless, the strength drained from his muscles, he stumbled and fell, gasping as his knees struck the hard earth. From somewhere, he dragged up the last remnants of his strength and zigzagged towards an outcrop of rock, the hope of some shade and respite acting like a magnet. Looking out through blurred eyes, he staggered forward, hands thrust out like a blind man, groping in th
