noon
`` Probably poison , '' he said , digging his toe into the sand . `` This thing is too mean to fool with -- without a good reason . Let 's keep going . '' It was before noon when Lea fell down . She really wanted to go on , but her body would n't obey . The thin soles of her shoes were no protection against the burning sand and her feet were lumps of raw pain . Heat hammered down , poured up from the sand and swirled her in an oven of pain .