Then the sun rose; it preyed on the back of her head, and she involuntarily dozed a little.
The two animals rambled along side by side, their feet sinking into the silent sand.
When they had passed the mountain of the Hot Springs, they went on at a more rapid rate, the ground being firmer.
But although it was the season for sowing and ploughing, the fields were as empty as the desert as far as the eye could reach.

Here and there were scattered heaps of corn; at other places the barley was shedding its reddened ears.

The villages showed black upon the clear horizon, with shapes incoherently carved.
From time to time a half-calcined piece of wall would be found standing on the edge of the road.

The roofs of the cottages were falling in, and in the interiors might be distinguished fragments of pottery, rags of clothing, and all kinds of unrecognisable utensils and broken things.
Often a creature clothed in tatters, with earthy face and flaming eyes would emerge from these ruins.

But he would very quickly begin to run or would disappear into a hole.