noon
She held on straight for the Red Sea under a serene sky , under a sky scorching and unclouded , enveloped in a fulgor of sunshine that killed all thought , oppressed the heart , withered all impulses of strength and energy . And under the sinister splendour of that sky the sea , blue and profound , remained still , without a stir , without a ripple , without a wrinkle -- viscous , stagnant , dead . The Patna , with a slight hiss , passed over that plain , luminous and smooth , unrolled a black ribbon of smoke across the sky , left behind her on the water a white ribbon of foam that vanished at once , like the phantom of a track drawn upon a lifeless sea by the phantom of a steamer . Every morning the sun , as if keeping pace in his revolutions with the progress of the pilgrimage , emerged with a silent burst of light exactly at the same distance astern of the ship , caught up with her at noon , pouring the concentrated fire of his rays on the pious purposes of the men , glided past on his descent , and sank mysteriously into the sea evening after evening , preserving the same distance ahead of her advancing bows . The five whites on board lived amidships , isolated from the human cargo . The awnings covered the deck with a white roof from stem to stern , and a faint hum , a low murmur of sad voices , alone revealed the presence of a crowd of people upon the great blaze of the ocean . Such were the days , still , hot , heavy , disappearing one by one into the past , as if falling into an abyss for ever open in the wake of the ship ; and the ship , lonely under a wisp of smoke , held on her steadfast way black and smouldering in a luminous immensity , as if scorched by a flame flicked at her from a heaven without pity .