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The desert was never quiet, not even now, in the middle of the night. |
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Mike Danziger stood motionless to avoid rubbing his running shoes against the gritty walkway, for he was listening. |
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A breeze whistled softly. The sand it whipped about scratched at the wooden walls of the cabin beside him as small animals scuffled in sparse brushmost likely mice, jackrabbits, snakes, or scorpions. In the distance, a coyote yipped and an owl keened a mournful "hoo." |
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Despite the length of time Mike had spent here, he never tired of comparing these sporadic wilderness sounds with the cacaphony left behind in Los Angeles: freeway traffic, burglar alarms, phones, beepers, radios, television . . . civilization. |
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He squinted and looked about but couldn't see the creatures that were his only company. With- |
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