noon
* * * * * They had come to a road at last , a road which seemed to be leading in from the desert very gradually to the hills upon their left , and it seemed to Billy that it must be a caravan road to Girgeh , and he felt themselves upon the right track . They must keep their lead , and when that lead seemed sufficient , they must put on all possible speed to make the crossing through the hills into the Nile valley ahead of their pursuers . Once more he stirred their lagging camels into a jogging trot ... . It was around the middle of the afternoon now , and it had been noon since their tongues had tasted water . Arlee felt her mouth parched and her tongue dry and curling ; her skin was feverishly hot ; her whole body burned and ached , and her head was giddy with the heat and the hunger . But she thought how little a thing it was to be hot and hungry and tired -- when one was free . And she drew the silver shawl closer over her head and wrapped the silken tunic of her frock about her scorching shoulders , and clung tight to the pommel of her big saddle as her beast pounded on and on in his lurching stride .