midday
he gasped , lifting agonised face . `` My spirit is willing , Martin , but alas , my poor flesh -- '' `` Nay -- 't is I am selfish ! '' quoth I. `` Aye , a selfish man ever , dreaming only of my own woes ! '' Saying which , I raised him and , setting an arm about his wasted form , aided him as well as I might until , seeing how he failed despite his brave struggles , I made him sit and rest awhile , unheeding his breathless protestations , and thus at last , by easy stages , we came to the top of the ascent amid a grove of very tall trees , in whose pleasant shade we paused awhile , it being now midday and very hot . Behind us lay the ocean , before us a range of mighty mountains blue with distance that rose , jagged peak on peak , far as eye could see , and betwixt them and us a vast and rolling wilderness , a land of vivid sun and stark shadow , dazzling glare on the uplands , gloom in the valleys and above swamp and thicket and trackless forests a vapour that hung sullen and ominous like the brooding soul of this evil country . `` Fever ! '' quoth Sir Richard , stabbing at the sluggish mist with bony fingers .