noon
`` He might have found it difficult to track us over the rocky ground , even had he wished it ; but I suspect that he has gone away north with his friends , and that we shall not again set eyes on him . '' We trudged on along the bottom of the gorge , the heat as the sun rose and beat down into it becoming greater and greater till it was almost insupportable . The scenery became still wilder as we advanced , and much more arid ; often bare rocks alone were to be seen on either hand , with only the most stunted vegetation , and no signs of water . We travelled on till noon , when we stopped under the shade of a rock to eat our frugal meal . We had , of course , filled our bottles in the morning , and therefore did not suffer from thirst , though we had been compelled to exhaust a large portion of their contents . Hitherto the route we had fortunately hit upon was practicable for horses , though in many places the riders would have to dismount in order to proceed with safety . The day was well advanced when , as we were making our way through a narrow gorge , we came upon the bones of a large animal ; which , upon examination , proved to be those of a horse -- picked completely clean , however , by birds or insects .