noon
She had mounted with the voice of prayer into the sunshine , surely a little way towards God . Androvsky had remained in the dark shadow with a curse . It was foolish , perhaps -- a woman 's vagrant fancy -- but she wished he had mounted with her . It was noon in the desert . The voice of the Mueddin died away on the minaret , and the golden silence that comes out of the heart of the sun sank down once more softly over everything . Nature seemed unnaturally still in the heat . The slight winds were not at play , and the palms of Beni-Mora stood motionless as palm trees in a dream .