noon
Perhaps the oarsmen were weary , or suffering from the heat . The glare pierced the awning . Mr. Heard , as he reclined about his cushions , felt the perspiration gathering on his forehead . A spell had fallen upon him -- the spell of a Southern noon . It lulled his senses . It laid chains upon his thoughts . There was a long silence , broken only by the splash of the oars and by a steady flow of conversation on the part of the two Greek genii , who seemed impervious to the midday beams and entirely absorbed in one another .