midday
Large warm drops fell from a violet cloud and traversed the air . The men looked at the sky with interest . The little children roared with laughter , and went about splashing their tiny naked feet in the surface-mud . Then the cloud faded away in the light , the sky remained implacably pure , and a short time after midday the mud had once more turned into dust under the sun . But this momentary shower had sufficed . It filled the town with gaiety . The men congregated on the pavement of the Agora , and the women thronged together in groups , intermingling their shrill voices .