Dick in the Desert — James Otis

Western adventure novel for children, first published in 1893. According to Wikipedia: "James Otis Kaler (1848 -- 1912) was an American journalist and author of children's literature. He used the pen name James Otis. Kaler was born on March 19, 1848, in Winterport, Maine. He attended public schools during his childhood. Kaler got a job with the Boston Journal when he was in his teens. Later, he went on to work as a journalist or editor for various newspapers, superintendent at schools, and a publicity man at a circus. In 1880, under the pen name James Otis, he authored his first children's book, Toby Tyler, or Ten Weeks with a Circus, a story about an orphan who runs away to join the circus. Following the book's success he went on to author numerous other children's books."