noon
For the benefit of those who have not experienced the assorted joys of travelling in India , a dâk -- pronounced dork -- bungalow is a travellers ' rest , humble or spacious , presided over or not , as the case may be , by a simple and courteous native . They are to be found dotted about everywhere -- in jungles , on roads , and outside ruined cities ; and there you can stay for an hour or a night , sleeping in comfort , provided you have brought your own bedding and mosquito netting ; eating according to the contents of your hamper . In the cooler hours vivid flashes of orange and black , or black and red , or turquoise blue and green , or white flit across from tree to tree ; parrots chatter , crows scream , and the brain-fever bird soothes or irritates you according to your mood , and you tap your fingers on the table in time to the metallic anvil cry of the coppersmith bird , until a tiger-ant or some such voracious insect claims your undivided attention . In the heat of noon the only sounds to break the intense stillness are the metallic anvil cry of the aforesaid coppersmith bird , and the never-ceasing call of his brain-fever brother . Except for your own there is no movement whatever -- the voracious insect is always with you . Quite alone in the bungalow , with her back to the open bedroom , Leonie sat undisturbed , with her eyes fixed unseeingly upon the tree-lined road , and a torrent of disconnected thought swirling through her mind . Exactly what she was doing , and why she was doing it , she had no idea ; she only knew that do it she must , and was content to let it rest .