noon
Berselius knew nothing about it ; he only knew what lay before his sight . Toward evening the trees came out to meet them , baobab and monkey-bread , set widely apart ; and they camped by a pool and lit their fire , and slept as men sleep in the pure air of the woods and the desert . Next morning they pursued their journey , Berselius still confident . At noon , however , he began to exhibit slight signs of agitation and anxiety . The trees were thickening around them ; he still knew the way , but the view before him was getting shorter and shorter as the trees thickened ; that is to say , the mist was coming closer and closer . He knew nothing of the dense jungle before them ; he only knew that the clear road in front of him was shortening up rapidly and horribly , and that if it continued to do so it would inevitably vanish . The joy that had filled his heart became transformed to the grief which the man condemned to blindness feels when he sees the bright world fading from his sight , slowly but surely as the expiring flame of a lamp .