Zeke plunged headfirst into the cool, refreshing waters of the oasis and began drinking until his stomach felt like it was about to burst. Max and Felipe were right beside him drinking just as ravenously. He glanced up in time to see a musk ox standing just upcurrent of him scrubbing its armpits with a bar of soap.

"Oh, don't mind me," the musk ox said. "Just cleaning myself up a little bit. That sand gets absolutely everywhere, you know? If there's a crack or a crevasse on you, sand will find its way in, that's for sure."

"Would you mind doing that somewhere not so close to where we're drinking? We're basically dying of thirst here. Plus, what's the point of bathing in an oasis anyway? You're going to have to cross that desert again to get out of here and get covered in sand all over again."

"Yes, well I also recently had an unfortunate experience involving a camel with chronic explosive vomiting, so I kind of wanted to get clean now as opposed to later."

"Again, could you go do that somewhere else? You weren't there when we jumped in, so you clearly waited until you saw us drinking and then came over near us to start bathing, which is both rude and gross."

"Okay, I'll come clean. I don't really need to wash up right now, although I did recently get puked on by a camel. Really I was just hoping to eavesdrop on you guys in case you found the clue to that treasure. I've been searching this oasis for awhile now and haven't found anything."

"Do we look like we've found the clue?" Zeke asked.

"Hey, I think I just found the clue!" Max shouted.

"You want to keep it down?" Zeke motioned at Max to hush.

"What's that you said?" the musk ox asked as he moved closer to Max.

"Yeah, what exactly was that you said?" Felipe asked.

Max suddenly realized there were other people around. "Who me? I didn't say anything. Say, uh, Zeke? Could I talk to you over here for a moment?"

"Why do you want to talk to him in private?" the musk ox asked. "Why don't you say whatever it is you have to say out loud so everyone can hear?"

"Because it's a private matter, okay? Now scram."

"But I'm a part of the team," Felipe said. "I should be involved in any private talks."

"Not when they involve STD's," Max said. "That sort of conversation is reserved for close friends and family only."

"Wait, you want to tell me you have an STD?" Zeke asked. "Is this really the time or place for that? And do I need to know anyway?"

"Well, I'm actually an expert on STD's," Felipe said. "Name an STD and I've probably had it. Chlamydia? You betcha. Syphilis? Had that one twice. Gonorrhea? I think I've got a case of it right now. You might even say my Gonorrhea's not gone anywhere. I think I might have also caught the crabs recently. Something's certainly crawling around down there, you know what I mean?"

"For crying out loud, would you stop talking about STD's?" Max asked. "I just want to talk to Zeke for a second. It's not about the clue. I promise. Now just back off, both of you."

"I was just trying to be helpful," Felipe sniffed. "You're the one who brought STD's up.

"Okay, it's totally about the clue," Max whispered once he managed to get Zeke out of hearing range of the others. "I was downing the water like it was last call at the bar when my foot slipped into a depression in the ground. I didn't think much about it at first, but then I scooted over a little bit and I slipped into another depression. I felt around and I figured out it was shaped like a letter. B, to be precise. And right next to it was another depression shaped like an A. And next to that was an L. Something is written in the ground underneath the water. It's got to be the clue."

"Wow. So how are we going to read what it says if it's written underwater?"

"We're going to have to figure out where the writing begins and then feel around with our feet until we can spell out the whole clue. And we're going to have to try to look as inconspicuous as possible while we do it so these jokers don't figure out what we're up to. Especially that Felipe clown. I never trusted him from the get-go. We should have never hired him."

"Yeah, he hasn't exactly been super helpful. Although maybe we can get him to point us to a good ice cream parlor when we get back to town. The guy does seem to know his desserts."

"If he's half as knowledgeable about desserts as he is about STD's, then maybe we'll take him up on that. In the meantime we need to keep him in the dark about this clue, lest he gets big ideas to steal the treasure for himself. Why don't you head to the left and I'll go to the right? Maybe you can start at the beginning and I'll try to find the end and work my way back. We can meet in the middle and piece it all together. Then, once we've figured it out, we'll pretend we've given up and hightail it back to the city."

"Sounds like a plan," Zeke said as he waded off to the left.

The musk ox immediately fell into step beside him. "What did you guys talk about just now?"

"Nothing you'd be interested in," Zeke said. "It was a personal matter."

"I think I am interested," the musk ox said. "Now are you going to tell me what you really talked about, or am I going to have to involve Bessie?"

"Who's Bessie?" Zeke asked.

The musk ox pulled out a long jagged knife and pressed it against Zeke's side. "This is Bessie. It's been awhile since she's tasted blood and she's getting a bit peckish. So I'd start spilling the beans before she starts spilling your guts."

"There's no need to start pulling weapons," Zeke said. "He's got a little crush on a coworker and he just wanted some advice. That's all. We're not even looking for this 'treasure' everyone's talking about. We just wanted to come out and see this oasis. I heard it's beautiful at this time of year, and I've just got to say all the reports were very accurate. It's quite lovely out here, don't you think?"

"I don't believe you," the musk ox said. "Who is this coworker he's sweet on?"

"Well, obviously it's Felipe over there. Why do you think he sent me away? It's so he can get some one-on-one time with the object of his desires."

"Yeah? Then why did he just splash water at him and yell at him to go away?"

"How should I know? Maybe he got rejected and his feelings are hurt!"

The musk ox held the knife up to his own ear. "What's that you say, Bessie? You don't believe him? Me neither. Looks like you're about to enjoy yourself a blood feast."

"Hold on, let's not be hasty here. I'll tell you the truth, okay? He found a rock with the clue printed on it. He read it and quickly threw it under the water so nobody else would find it. We were just going to hang out here for awhile so as not to arouse suspicion and then leave."

"Are you lying to me right now?"

"Cub Scout's honor," Zeke said raising his fingers in a salute.

"So where is the next clue at?" the musk ox said as he pointed the knife toward Zeke's face.

"Uh, I'm not entirely sure. You know how tricky those clues are with their vague rhymes and everything. I'll tell you what, it said something about a scorpion bat massage parlor."

"Wait. You mean the one that just opened recently over on Noodle Street?"

"Uh, yeah, that sounds like a promising candidate."

"I see. Well, it's been nice chatting with you, but I need to get going. Right now." The musk ox splashed out of the water and took off into the desert.

"Well, that's a relief," Zeke said. He was pretty sure he had found the beginning of the clue, where his feet had sank into a W-shaped depression in the ground.