midday
When at noon that devil 's slough resolved itself into a comparatively narrow strip , and Dorothy saw that they could easily have left it , she began to understand their reason for keeping on such dangerous ground -- _ they did not wish to leave any tracks behind them _ . In all truth there was absolutely nothing to show that they had ever been in that part of the country . At last they came to what looked like a high hill with a wall-like cliff surmounting it . They stepped on to the firm clayey soil where the sage-bush waved , and had their midday meal . As soon as that had been disposed of , they resumed their journey . They now went on foot , and steadily climbed the steep hillside by the bed of an old watercourse . Dorothy wondered what was behind the sharply-cut outline of the cliffs , for it gave the impression that nothing lay beyond save infinite space .