Beasts There Are None; For There Is Nought For Them To Eat.
But there is a
marvellous thing related of this Desert, which is that when travellers are
on the move
By night, and one of them chances to lag behind or to fall
asleep or the like, when he tries to gain his company again he will hear
spirits talking, and will suppose them to be his comrades. Sometimes the
spirits will call him by name; and thus shall a traveller ofttimes be led
astray so that he never finds his party. And in this way many have
perished. [Sometimes the stray travellers will hear as it were the tramp
and hum of a great cavalcade of people away from the real line of road,
and taking this to be their own company they will follow the sound; and
when day breaks they find that a cheat has been put on them and that they
are in an ill plight.[NOTE 2]] Even in the day-time one hears those
spirits talking. And sometimes you shall hear the sound of a variety of
musical instruments, and still more commonly the sound of drums. [Hence in
making this journey 'tis customary for travellers to keep close together.
All the animals too have bells at their necks, so that they cannot easily
get astray. And at sleeping-time a signal is put up to show the direction
of the next march.]
So thus it is that the Desert is crossed.[NOTE 3]
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