nine o'clock
In the distance it assumed all manner of faint colors , pink , purple , and pale orange . To the west rose the Panamint Range , sparsely sprinkled with gray sagebrush ; here the earths and sands were yellow , ochre , and rich , deep red , the hollows and cañóns picked out with intense blue shadows . It seemed strange that such barrenness could exhibit this radiance of color , but nothing could have been more beautiful than the deep red of the higher bluffs and ridges , seamed with purple shadows , standing sharply out against the pale-blue whiteness of the horizon . By nine o'clock the sun stood high in the sky . The heat was intense ; the atmosphere was thick and heavy with it . McTeague gasped for breath and wiped the beads of perspiration from his forehead , his cheeks , and his neck . Every inch and pore of his skin was tingling and pricking under the merciless lash of the sun 's rays .