about noon
Beyond again , tangles of hawthorn were interspersed with patches of dried weeds and grass . But as they neared the mining district the soil was bleak and barren . The mountain rivers were dry , and their beds made yawning gaps as though the earth had violently shuddered at her own desolation . At last , about noon , they came to the village of Vencata Minore , which stood in a little plain of green . The house of Donna Marcella was set on a slight eminence and , compared with the surrounding habitations , was quite pretentious . It was kalsomined white , had a courtyard of its own , and back of it was a little fruit and flower garden . Donna Marcella was a buxom , thrifty , and dominating woman .