noon
`` And what is the Kingdom of Twi like ? '' `` No one knows that , '' answered Nerle . `` Then , '' returned the prince , with a smile , `` if by chance we visit the place we shall know more than any one else . '' At noon they ate luncheon by the wayside , Nerle having filled his pouch by stealth at the breakfast table . There were great fragments of rock lying all about them , and the sun beat down so fiercely that the heat reflected from the rocks was hard to bear . So the travelers did not linger over their meal , but remounted and rode away as soon as possible . When the sun began to get lower in the sky the rocks beside the path threw the riders into shadow , so that their journey became more pleasant .