noon
I saw that it was of no use to remain where I was . I knew that I could make a straight path for a couple of hours at least -- the sun was in the sky , and that would guide me -- until near the meridian hours . Then I should have to halt , and wait a while ; for in that southern latitude , and just at that time of the year , the sun at noon is so near the zenith that a practised astronomer could not tell north from south . I reflected that before noon I might reach the timber , though that would not insure my safety . Even the naked plain is not more bewildering than the openings of the mezquite groves and the chapparal that border it . Among these you may travel for days without getting twenty miles from your starting-point , and they are often as destitute of the means of life as the desert itself ! Such were my reflections as I had saddled and bridled my horse , and stood scanning the plain in order to make up my mind as to the direction I should take .