The sun at noon
His barrier was crude but efficient . Neither man nor horse could have scaled it readily , and the slopes on either side were not only well-nigh perpendicular , they were also built of crumbling stone that broke beneath the smallest weight . He labored doggedly , persistently , despite his half-starved condition , and when he had finished he looked to his gun , proceeded down the trail some fifty yards or more , climbed the slope , and there in the rocks , where the walls gave way to a sandy acclivity , concealed himself to wait . The sun at noon found Van a mark for punishment . The day was the hottest of the season . The earth and rocks irradiated heat that danced in the air before him . All the world was vibrant , the atmosphere a shimmer , as if in very mockery of the thoughts that similarly rose and gyrated in his brain .