the midday sun
Finally we decided to hide the canoe and strike inland in search of game . At Juag 's suggestion we dug a hole in the sand at the upper edge of the beach and buried the craft , smoothing the surface over nicely and throwing aside the excess material we had excavated . Then we set out away from the sea . Traveling in Thuria is less arduous than under the midday sun which perpetually glares down on the rest of Pellucidar 's surface ; but it has its draw-backs , one of which is the depressing influence exerted by the everlasting shade of the Land of Awful Shadow . The farther inland we went the darker it became , until we were moving at last through an endless twilight . The vegetation here was sparse and of a weird , colorless nature , though what did grow was wondrous in shape and form . Often we saw huge lidi , or beasts of burden , striding across the dim landscape , browsing upon the grotesque vegetation or drinking from the slow and sullen rivers that run down from the Lidi Plains to empty into the sea in Thuria .