But when I saw the actual condition of the fruitful gardens without in the waning daylight, I confess that I was moved to some sympathy with their owners.

It was appalling.

Not a handful of grain was there left to gather, for the corn had been not only "laid" but literally cut to ribbons by the hail.
After running for some miles through the cultivated land the road entered the forest.

Here it was dark as pitch, so dark that I wondered how our guides found their way.

In that blackness dreadful apprehensions seized me, for I became convinced that we had been brought here to be murdered.