Midday
Red gold showers fell upon them ; fiery vines clutched at their feet , or , swinging from the trees , struck at their faces with vicious tendrils ; the pines made the ground beneath like ice ; rotting logs covered with gorgeous fungi barred their way ; dark and poisonous swamps appeared before them , and had to be skirted -- the forest leagued itself with its children and did them yeoman service . The two aliens hastened breathlessly on . The sun climbed above the tree tops and looked down upon them through the half denuded branches . Midday came , and the short bright afternoon , and still they went fast through the woods , and still they heard no other sound than the rustle and sough of the leaves and the beating of their own hearts . They came to rising ground , and mounting it , found themselves upon a chinquepin ridge , and before them an abrupt descent of rain-washed , boulder-strewn earth . It was so nearly a precipice that Patricia shrunk back with an exclamation of dismay . `` I will go first , '' said Landless .