midday
The plateau upon which I stood was one of a series of giant steps , and on the west was a sheer descent to a dense jungle , where banks of rotten vegetation , sun-dried upon the top , lay heaped about the tree stems . `` Dragging the heavy body of Vadi to the brink of this precipice , I toppled it over , swaying dizzily as I watched it crash down into the poisonous undergrowth two hundred feet below . `` I made a rough cache , where I stored the bulk of my provisions ; and , selecting only such articles as I thought necessary for my purpose , I set out again northward , guided by the sound of falling water , and having my face turned toward the silver pencillings in the blue sky , which marked the giant peaks of the distant mountains . `` At midday the heat grew so great that a halt became imperative . The path was still clearly discernible ; and in a little cave beside it , which afforded grateful shelter from the merciless rays of the sun , I unfastened my bundle and prepared to take a frugal lunch . `` I was so employed , gentlemen , when I heard the sound of approaching footsteps on the path behind me -- the path which I had recently traversed . `` Hastily concealing my bundle , I slipped into some dense undergrowth by the entrance to the cave , and crouched there , waiting and watching .