about noon
P'raps hims good master be dead , an ' him go wid de rest of de goods an ' chattels to a bad master , who berry soon make him sorry him sole hisself . '' Pushing forward for several days in the manner which we have attempted to describe , our travellers passed through many varied scenes , which , however , all bore one mark in common , namely , teeming animal and vegetable life . Human beings were also found to be exceedingly numerous , but not so universally distributed as the others , for , although many villages and hamlets were passed , the inhabitants of which were all peacefully inclined and busy in their fields , or with their native cotton , iron , and pottery manufactures , vast expanses of rich ground were also traversed , which , as far as man was concerned , appeared to be absolute solitudes . Entering upon one of these about noon of a remarkably fine day , Harold could not help remarking on the strange stillness which pervaded the air . No sound was heard from beast , bird , or insect ; no village was near , no rippling stream murmured , or zephyr stirred the leaves ; in short , it was a scene which , from its solitude and profound silence , became oppressive . `` W ` y , sir , '' said Disco , whose face was bathed in perspiration , `` it do seem to me as if we 'd got to the fag-end of the world altogether . There ai n't nothin ' nowhere . ''