The dust the party raised was quickly dispersed and lost in the immensity of that landscape and there was no dust other for the pale sutler who pursued them drives unseen and his lean horse and his lean cart leave no track upon such ground or any ground. By a thousand fires in the iron blue dusk he keeps his commissary and he's a wry and grinning tradesman good to follow every campaign or hound men from their holds in just those whited regions where they've gone to hide from God.
The passage describes a desolate landscape where a party stirs up dust that quickly disappears into the vastness around them. This imagery conveys a sense of isolation and insignificance against the backdrop of nature. The focus shifts to a pale sutler, a supply dealer, who quietly follows the party with his weary horse and cart, leaving no trace in the inhospitable terrain. His presence underscores a grim reality of pursuit and survival.
The sutler's existence is marked by irony, as he exists in the shadows of conflicts, always ready to serve those who are engaged in battles or fleeing from their own fears. The mention of "whited regions" alludes to spaces where people try to evade their fate or divine judgement, emphasizing the broader themes of violence and the human condition in McCarthy's narrative. The vivid description evokes a harsh, unforgiving world that mirrors the struggles of its characters.
