midday
But he had no words to explain this to the girl , and would hardly have done so if he could . It had been a narrow escape : a Pathan took such incidents as a matter of course . Having made his preparations , he repeated his orders to the men , and led his horse gently up the nullah towards the road . It was now midday ; the sun burnt at its fiercest ; not a living soul was passing along the road , and the horsemen at the plantation were without doubt in a state of somnolence . It was not at all improbable that he might mount and ride some paces before he was seen . He crept quietly along the nullah until he reached the end , then sprang lightly into the saddle , walked the horse the few yards to the road , and urged it to a mad gallop towards Delhi . Some few seconds passed before the clatter of the hoofs was heard by the men dozing in the plantation ; then some of them rose lazily to their feet and gazed at this strange figure in yellow and red tearing along so furiously .