noon
By tacit consent they agreed that their loss should be concealed from Charley , who had slept throughout the incident . They knew him well enough to be sure that he would not touch the little water remaining if he knew they were suffering from thirst . To add to the troubles of the little party , the day proved very hot and sultry , not a breath of air stirring . By noon all were very thirsty , and when night came without bringing any relief from the heat , they began to suffer severely for lack of water . The hot night dragged slowly away to bring another breathless sultry day , the close of which found the little party almost at the limits of their endurance . Since the night before they had been unable to eat the dry venison as it greatly increased their thirst . Their tongues and throats were dry and swollen and every nerve and atom of their heated bodies clamored for water .