sharing dsl connection between a laptop and desktop

I'm sure this is something really stupid or just some piece of
equipment I'm missing to make this work. Any input appreciated.

I have the laptop connected to the internet. The ethernet cable is
plugged into a port on the back of a microsoft wireless router. An
ethernet cable is going to the back of the dsl modem. Lights and
activity on both are on and everything is fine.

My problem is getting the desktop hooked up to this. The ethernet port
on the back of the desktop is fried otherwise I would have the desktop
hooked up to the router and modem. I can't get the desktop to see the
connection using the wireless usb adapter. I've tried setting up a
network wireless or otherwise and it's not working. There is no
wireless card on the desktop.

Obviously I'm no genius here.. anybody wanna take a stab at giving me
the low down on all the things I'm doing wrong? lol

by the way.. xp home on the laptop and xp pro on the desktop

by the way.. xp home on the laptop and xp pro on the desktop