the midday sun
Cautiously pushing aside the branches bordering a small gap in this hedge , Uncle John discovered a charming garden lying beyond , so he quickly squeezed himself through the opening and entered . The garden was rudely but not badly kept . There was even some attempt at ornamentation , and many of the shrubs and flowers were rare and beautiful . Narrow walks traversed the masses of foliage , and several leafy bowers invited one to escape the heat of the midday sun in their shelter . It was not a large place , and struck one as being overcrowded because so many of the plants were taller than a man 's head . Uncle John turned down one path which , after several curves and turns , came to an abrupt ending beneath the spreading branches of an acacia tree which had been converted into a bower by a thick , climbing vine , whose matted leaves and purple blossoms effectually screened off the garden beyond . While he stood gazing around him to find a way out without retracing his steps , a clear voice within a few feet of him caused him to start .