midday
We slackened speed a fraction to negotiate a turn off to the right down a side road . We seemed to take that corner on two wheels . A thin church spire protruded from the trees in the centre of the group of houses which we were approaching so furiously . The village was all but deserted : everybody seemed to be indoors at their midday meal , but Francis slowed down and ran along the dirty street at a demure pace . The village passed , he jammed down the accelerator and once more the car sprang forward . The country was flat as a pancake , but presently the fields fell away a bit from the road with boulders and patches of gorse here and there . The next moment we were slackening speed .