noon
After a while he added : `` But the pursuing party will not overtake us nor will you escape . '' `` No , '' answered Stas , `` I shall not escape -- unless with her . '' And he pointed to the sleeping girl . Until noon they sped almost without pausing for breath , but when the sun rose high in the sky and began to scorch , the camels , which by nature perspire but little , were covered with sweat , and their pace slackened considerably . The caravan again was surrounded by rocks and dunes . The ravines , which during the rainy season are changed into channels of streams , or so-called `` khors , '' came to view more and more frequently . The Bedouins finally halted in one of them which was entirely concealed amid the rocks .