midnight
Rifts were here like gulleys ; little buttes reared their rounded , dome heads . And there were caves and crevices in which deep sea fish once had lurked . * * * * * For ten minutes or so we climbed . It was past the midnight hour ; the village was asleep . We entered its outposts . The houses were small structures of clay . In the gloom they looked like drab little beehives set in unplanned groups , with paths for streets wandering between them .