The dog then left the beach, and guided by his wonderful instinct, without showing the least hesitation, went straight in among the downs.

They followed him.

The country appeared an absolute desert.

Not a living creature was to be seen.
The downs, the extent of which was large, were composed of hillocks and even of hills, very irregularly distributed.

They resembled a Switzerland modeled in sand, and only an amazing instinct could have possibly recognized the way.
Five minutes after having left the beach, the reporter and his two companions arrived at a sort of excavation, hollowed out at the back of a high mound.