noon
She shook her head . Bees hummed above them in the festoons of flowers . Purple parrots with scarlet crests went fluttering away . At noon they paused , ate some biscuits , then pressed ahead , she driven by her obsession and he , as he believed , by the purposes of Allah . Just as a rosy warmth was invading the upper foliage , Hamoud pushed her from him , and struck at the ground with his gun butt . He had stepped upon a puff adder . He sat down to examine his ankle , on which four tiny pinpricks were visible .