noon
Yet the distances melted in ephemeral slopes as lovely in their tints as they were accursed in their reality of cruelty . Rhoda , unaccustomed to day travel , panted and gasped as they walked . But she held her own fairly well , while DeWitt , sick and overstrained at the start , was failing rapidly . `` It 's noon now , '' said John a little thickly . `` You had better lie in the shade of that rock for an hour . '' `` You sleep too ! '' pleaded Rhoda .