five o'clock
It was very hot , even in the adobe . About three o'clock Roger wiped the sweat out of his eyes and paused -- pipe poised : `` It 's letting up , Ern , '' he said . Ernest paused to listen . There was a perceptible lull in the uproar , and the lull increased until at five o'clock they emerged from their shelter . The air had miraculously cleared . The sky was a deep , rich violet and the desert , lighted by the westering sun , was a beaten gold and remodeled to unfamiliar lines . Well known cat 's - claw and cactus clumps had disappeared .