midday
Now the Emir was old , and with the shock of that sight the world darkened before him , and he gave forth a groan and stumbled over the sunken breast of Zurvan , and stretched over him as one without life . When Bhanavar saw that old man stretched over the body of his son , she sickened , and her ear was filled with the wailings of grief that would arise , and she stood up and stole away from the habitations of the tribe , stricken with her guilt , and wandered beyond the mountains , knowing not whither she went , looking on no living thing , for the sight of a thing that moved was hateful to her , and all sounds were sounds of lamentation for a great loss . Now , she had wandered on alone two days and two nights , and nigh morn she was seized with a swoon of weariness , and fell forward with her face to the earth , and lay there prostrate , even as one that is adoring the shrine ; and it was on the sands of the desert she was lying . It chanced that the Chieftain of a desert tribe passed at midday by the spot , and seeing the figure of a damsel unshaded ' by any shade of tree or herb or tent-covering , and prostrate on the sands , he reined his steed and leaned forward to her , and called to her . Then as she answered nothing he dismounted , and thrust his arm softly beneath her and lifted her gently ; and her swoon had the whiteness of death , so that he thought her dead verily , and the marvel of her great loveliness in death smote the heart on his ribs as with a blow , and the powers of life went from him a moment as he looked on her and the long dark wet lashes that clung to her colourless face , as at night in groves where the betrothed ones wander , the slender leaves of the acacia spread darkly over the full moon . And he cried , `` Tis a loveliness that maketh the soul yearn to the cold bosom of death , so lovely , exceeding all that liveth , is she ! ' After he had contemplated her longwhile , he snatched his sight from her , and swung her swiftly on the back of his mare , and leaned her on one arm , and sped westward over the sands of the desert , halting not till he was in the hum of many tents , and the sun of that day hung a red half-circle across the sand .