noon
He could only fall in with her unreflective mood and leave the dreadful truth to its own evil time . In their little nook the power of the sun had not yet made itself felt . By ordinary computation it was about nine o'clock . Long before noon they would be grilling . Throughout the next few hours they must suffer the torture of Dives with one meager pint of water to share between them . Of course the wine and spirit must be shunned like a pestilence . To touch either under such conditions would be courting heat , apoplexy , and death .